New Oxford Annotated Bible With Apocrypha (NRSV) 4e, The - Bible

THE NEW OXFORD
ANNOTATED BIBLE
New Revised
Standard Version
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Fully Revised Fourth Edition
THE NEW OXFORD

ANNOTATED BIBLE
New Revised
Standard Version
With The Apocrypha
An Ecumenical Study Bible
Michael D. Coogan, Editor

Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom,
and Pheme Perkins, Associate Editors
3
Oxford New York
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Augmentations to the Third Edition copyright 2007 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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The Oxford Annotated Bible copyright 1962 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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New Revised Standard Version Bible Copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian
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CONTRIBUTORS
Contributor
Book(s)
Contributor
Book(s)
Yairah Amit
John R. Bartle
Jennifer K. Berenson
Theodore A. Bergren
Adele Berlin
M. Eugene Boring
Sheila Briggs
Timothy B. Cargal
David M. Carr
Richard J. Cliord
David J. A. Clines
John J. Collins
Stephen L. Cook
J. R. C. Cousland
Katharine Dell
Neil Ellio
Tamara Cohn Eskenazi
J. Cheryl Exum
Terence E. Fretheim
Mahew Go
Lester Grabbe
Daniel J. Harrington
David G. Horrell
Richard A. Horsley
Rodney R. Huon
Cynthia Briggs Kiredge
Gary N. Knoppers
David Lambert
Mary Joan Winn Leith
Amy-Jill Levine
Judges
1 Maccabees
Ephesians, Colossians
2 Esdras
Lamentations
1 Peter
Galatians
James
Genesis
Psalms
Job
3 Maccabees
Ezekiel
Mahew
Proverbs
Romans
Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 Esdras
Song of Solomon
Numbers
Baruch, Leer of Jeremiah
Wisdom of Solomon
Sirach
1, 2 Thessalonians
Mark
Jeremiah
Hebrews
1, 2 Chronicles
Prayer of Manasseh
Esther, Greek Esther
Daniel, Additions to Daniel,
Tobit
Bernard M. Levinson
Christopher R. Mahews
Steven L. McKenzie
Carol Meyers
Margaret M. Mitchell
Deuteronomy
Acts
1, 2 Samuel
Exodus
1, 2 Timothy, Titus,
Philemon
Hosea, Amos, Micah
Psalm 151
John
Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah
Philippians
1, 2, 3 John
Joel, Haggai, Zechariah,
Malachi
1, 2 Kings
Revelation
2 Maccabees
Ecclesiastes
4 Maccabees
Luke
Leviticus
Isaiah
2 Peter, Jude
2 Corinthians
1 Corinthians
Judith
Joshua
Ruth, Jonah
Gregory Mobley
Judith H. Newman
Jerome H. Neyrey, S.J.
Julia M. OBrien
Carolyn Osiek
Pheme Perkins
David L. Petersen
Thomas Rmer
Jean-Pierre Ruiz
Daniel R. Schwartz
Choon-Leong Seow
David A. de Silva
Marion L. Soards
Jerey Stackert
Marvin A. Sweeney
Patrick A. Tiller
Sze-kar Wan
Laurence L. Welborn
Lawrence M. Wills
K. Lawson Younger, Jr.
Yair Zakovitch
Marc Z. Breler: The Pentateuch; The Historical Books; The Poetical and Wisdom Books, The Canons of the Bible
[with Pheme Perkins]; The Hebrew Bibles Interpretation of Itself; Jewish Interpretation in the Premodern Era
Michael D. Coogan: Textual Criticism [with Pheme Perkins]; The Interpretation of the Bible: From the Nineteenth to
the Mid-twentieth Centuries; The Geography of the Bible; The Ancient Near East
Carol A. Newsom: The Prophetic Books; Introduction to the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books; Christian Interpretation in the Premodern Era; Contemporary Methods in Biblical Study; The Persian and Hellenistic Periods
Pheme Perkins: The Gospels; Leers/Epistles in the New Testament; The Canons of the Bible [with Marc Z. Breler];
Textual Criticism [with Michael D. Coogan]; Translation of the Bible into English; The New Testament Interprets the
Jewish Scriptures; The Roman Period
CONTENTS
The Editors Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii
To the Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Alphabetical Listing of the Books of the Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xix
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxi
The Hebrew Bible

the pentateuch
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Genesis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Exodus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Leviticus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Deuteronomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
the historical books

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313
Joshua. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
Judges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Ruth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
1 Samuel (1 Kingdoms in Greek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
2 Samuel (2 Kingdoms in Greek). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
1 Kings (3 Kingdoms in Greek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
2 Kings (4 Kingdoms in Greek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .531

1 Chronicles (1 Paralipomenon in Greek) . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
2 Chronicles (2 Paralipomenon in Greek) . . . . . . . . . . . .617
Ezra (2 Esdras in Greek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
Nehemiah (2 Esdras in Greek). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
Esther . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
the poetical and wisdom books

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .721
Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
Psalms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773
Proverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 895
Ecclesiastes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935
Song of Solomon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 950
the prophetic books

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 961
Isaiah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 965
Jeremiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1057
Lamentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1147
Ezekiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1159
Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1233
Hosea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1259
Joel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1275
Amos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1282
Obadiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1298
Jonah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1301
Micah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1306
Nahum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1316
Habakkuk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1321
Zephaniah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1327
Haggai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1333
Zechariah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1337
Malachi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1351
vii
The Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1361
The Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books are listed here in four
groupings, as follows:
(a) books and additions to esther and daniel that are in the roman catholic, greek, and slavonic bibles
Tobit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1368
Judith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1389
The Additions to the Book of Esther
(with a translation of the entire Greek text of Esther). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1411
Wisdom of Solomon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1427
Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1457
Baruch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1529
The Leer of Jeremiah (Baruch ch 6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1537
The Additions to the Greek Book of Daniel:
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews. . . . . . . . . . . . 1543
Susanna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1548
Bel and the Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1552
1 Maccabees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1555
2 Maccabees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1599
(b) books in the greek and slavonic bibles; not in the roman catholic canon
1 Esdras (2 Esdras in Slavonic,
3 Esdras in Appendix to Vulgate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1633
Prayer of Manasseh (in Appendix to Vulgate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1656
Psalm 151 (following Psalm 150 in the Greek Bible) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1658
3 Maccabees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1659
(c) in the slavonic bible and in the latin vulgate appendix
2 Esdras (3 Esdras in Slavonic,
4 Esdras in Vulgate Appendix) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1675
(Note: In the Latin Vulgate, EzraNehemiah
are 1 and 2 Esdras.)
(d) in an appendix to the greek bible
4 Maccabees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1717
The New Testament

the gospels
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1743
Mahew. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1746
Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1791
Luke. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1827
John. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1879
The Acts of the Apostles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1919
viii
letters/epistles in the new testament

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1973
Romans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1975
1 Corinthians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999
2 Corinthians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2025
Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2041
Ephesians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2052
Philippians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2061
Colossians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2067
1 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2074
2 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2080
Introduction to the Pastoral Epistles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2084
1 Timothy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2085
2 Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2091
Titus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2096
Philemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2100
Hebrews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2103
James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2119
1 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2126
2 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2132
1 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2137
2 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2145
3 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2147
Jude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2149
Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2153
General Essays, Tables

The Canons of the Bible. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2185
Textual Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2192
Translation of the Bible into English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2197
interpretation
The Hebrew Bibles Interpretation of Itself. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2201
The New Testament Interprets the Jewish Scriptures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2204
Jewish Interpretation in the Premodern Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2208
Christian Interpretation in the Premodern Era. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2213
The Interpretation of the Bible: From the Nineteenth to the
Mid-twentieth Centuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2221
Contemporary Methods in Biblical Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2227
The Geography of the Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2234
cultural contexts
The Ancient Near East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2236
The Persian and Hellenistic Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2242
The Roman Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2247
tables
Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2254
Chronological Table of Rulers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2258
Weights and Measures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2262
Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2263
Parallel Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2264
translations of ancient texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2267
glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2269
index to the study materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2289
concordance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2315
color maps follow the last page of text
ix
MAPS, CHARTS, AND DIAGRAMS

Hebrew Bible
The table of nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The geography of the ancestral narratives . . . . . . . . . . . 27
The genealogy of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob . . . . . . . . . 52
The structure of the Tabernacle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
The route of the spies in Numbers 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Conicts in the Negeb and Transjordan. . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
The territory of the Transjordan tribes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
The boundaries of the promised land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
The circuit via Transjordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
The numbering of the Ten Commandments
in Deuteronomy 5.618 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
What Moses saw from Mt. Nebo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
The conquest of Canaan according to the
book of Joshua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
The Levitical cities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347, 585
The geography of the book of Judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
The Benjaminite War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
The activity of Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Wanderings of the ark of the covenant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
The kingdom of Saul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411
Davids early career and his ight from Saul. . . . . . . . . 424
The kingdom of David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .452, 592
The sons of David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

Solomons twelve administrative districts . . . . . . . . . . 494
The Temple and palace of Solomon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
The Divided Monarchy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .510, 630
The geography of the Elijah narratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
The geography of the Elisha narratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Assyria and Israel and Judah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .555, 650
Places associated with Sennacheribs
invasion of Judah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .560, 657
Important cities in Judah in the late seventh
and early sixth centuries bce. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Babylon and Judah in the early sixth
century bce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571, 663, 1122
The Temple of Solomon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620
The kingdom of Solomon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626
Judah and its neighbors in Ezra-Nehemiah. . . . . . . . . . 682
Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686
Places mentioned in the oracles against
foreign nations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .986, 1130, 1195, 1285, 1330
The last kings of Judah in the book of Jeremiah. . . . . 1058
Tribal territories in the restored Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1229
Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books
The geography of Tobit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1370
The geography of the book of Judith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1394
Campaigns of the Maccabees and Hasmoneans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1560
The Jerusalem vicinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1563
Campaigns of the Maccabees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1615
New Testament
Four Source Hypothesis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1745
The geography of the Gospel of Mahew . . . . . . . . . .1777
The geography of the Gospel of Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1800
The geography of the Gospel of Luke . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1862
The geography of the Gospel of John. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1883
The native lands of Pentecost pilgrims . . . . . . . . . . . . 1924
Early Christian missionary activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1934
First missionary journey of Paul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1944
Second missionary journey of Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1948

Third missionary journey of Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1954
Pauls journey to Rome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1968
Places mentioned in Galatians 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2044
Similar passages in Ephesians and Colossians . . . . . . 2052
Similar passages in 2 Peter and Jude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2132
The seven churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2157
xi
THE EDITORS PREFACE

For nearly ve decades The Oxford Annotated Bible and its successor The New Oxford Annotated Bible have served
generations of readers and students as a study Bible. That extraordinary longevity alone is eloquent testimony
to its success. This new edition retains the format and features that have proven so aractive. At the same time,
the eld of biblical studies has not been static, and this edition is a thoroughgoing revision of the previous
ones. In particular, the editors have recruited contributors from a wide diversity of backgrounds and of scholarly approaches to the biblical traditions. In order to present this diversity more fully, the introductions to the
biblical books, the maps and charts, the annotations, and the study materials at the end of the book have been
signicantly enhanced and lengthened since the third edition.
We recognize that no single interpretation or approach is sucient for informed reading of these ancient
texts, and have aimed at inclusivity of interpretive strategies. On a great number of issues there is a consensus
among scholars, and the contributors have been encouraged to present such consensus when it exists. Where
it has broken down, and has not yet re-formed, alternatives are mentioned. Moreover, in order to respect the
canonical status of various parts of the Bible for dierent communities, and to avoid privileging any book or
part of the Bible, we have kept both introductions and annotations roughly proportionate to the length of the
books, while recognizing that some parts require more elaboration than others.
The editorial process was collaborative. Each contribution was read in its entirety by at least three of the
editors, and revised with a view toward consistency of tone, coherence of approach, and completeness of coverage. We have also wanted to allow the contributors own voices to be heard, and we have avoided imposing
a supercial uniformity of style and approach. Throughout, we have kept the needs of the general audience
rmly in mind during the editorial stages, and our aim has been a congruity of experience as a reader turns from
book to book and from section to section of the nished volume.
contents of the annotated bible

The biblical text stands apart from any editorial contributions, in both placement and format. This will enable
anyone who wishes to do so to read the text unprejudiced by editorial judgments.
The footnotes that are part of the New Revised Standard Version (indicated by an italic superscript leer
aer the word or phrase in question) are printed at the boom of the right-hand column of the biblical text on
each page where they occur. In these notes, divergent textual readings and alternate translations are printed
in italics. The phrase Other ancient authorities read means that the reading (i.e., the wording) of the passage
is dierent in various manuscripts and early versions, and the word Or signies that the Hebrew, Aramaic,
Greek, or Latin text permits an alternate rendering besides the one given in the text. (See Textual Criticism,
p. 2192.)
Discussion of larger units in the Bible is provided by essays introducing each of them: The Pentateuch,
The Historical Books, The Poetical and Wisdom Books, The Prophetic Books, The Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, The Gospels, and Leers/Epistles in the New Testament.
Each book is preceded by its own introduction, which sketches the books structure, main themes, literary
history, and historical context, as well as broad lines of interpretation; they therefore present a clear overview
and guide to reading. For this edition we have not only made the introductions longer than in previous editions
but have also organized them so that they cover the same topics in the same order.
At the boom of each page of the biblical text, in a dierent font from it and in a single column, are the annotations. The annotations are just that, notes rather than paraphrase or commentary, although these genres
admiedly overlap. They are intended to enhance the readers understanding of the text, providing essential
information, background, and interpretation, rather than only summarizing what it says. The boldface headings delineate the larger units of the book and provide a detailed consecutive outline of its contents. The word
or phrase being glossed is given in italics. Quotation marks are used for words quoted from elsewhere in the
Bible as well as for transliterations of ancient languages. Since we desire each book to stand on its own, as
much as possible the annotations are self-contained. We have thus tried to avoid both cross-references to
fuller discussions elsewhere, and the misconception that a book or larger part of the Bible is merely a perfunctory reworking of other material, or that a particular passage can only be understood fully in the light of later
xiii
biblical traditions. At the same time, we recognize that the Bible is oen a progressive text, and that later parts
of the Bible oen contain the oldest interpretations of earlier traditions. The best starting point for interpreting
a particular passage is oen another passage, and we have encouraged contributors to point out interconnections in the biblical material by means of cross-references. (The cross-references that end with n. refer to the
annotation as well as to the biblical text.)
A listing of abbreviations for the books of the Bible used in this edition is found on p. xxi. The chapter and
verse divisions in a reference are separated by a period; thus, Gen 3.8 refers to the book of Genesis, chapter 3,
verse 8. Inclusive references are used for both chapters and verses; thus, Ex 115 refers to the rst een chapters of the book of Exodus; Rom 11.3336 to verses 33 through 36 of chapter 11 of the leer to the Romans; and
so forth. When a book of the Bible is referred to within an annotation on that book, the name of the book is not
repeated unless there is ambiguity.
In keeping with our general desire to take account of the diversity of the users of this study Bible, we have
adopted two widely accepted conventions: We have referred to the rst portion of the text as the Hebrew
Bible, since it is a collection preserved by the Jewish community and that is how Jews regard it; and we have
cited all dates in the notes as bce or ce (Before the Common Era and Common Era) instead of bc or ad (Before Christ and Anno Domini [in the year of the Lord]), which imply a Christian view of the status of Jesus of
Nazareth. Use of the title Old Testament for those books here designated as the Hebrew Bible is conned
to instances expressing the historical view of various Christian interpreters. These conventions are followed
in the study materials that we have produced; the translation has its own conventions, which we are not at
liberty to alter.
Several dozen maps and plans are interspersed in the biblical text. These will assist readers to locate important places mentioned in the text or to clarify the prose descriptions of such structures as the Tabernacle and
the Temple.
The study materials at the end of the volume are a series of interconnected essays that provide background
information for understanding the Bible, the processes by which it was formed, the contexts in which it was
produced, and the ways in which it has been interpreted through the ages. These essays are followed by tables
of rulers, of weights and measures, of the calendar, and of parallel passages in the biblical traditions. There is
also a brief bibliography to English translations of ancient writings that are referred to in the notes. A select
chronology provides a quick reference for major events, rulers, and other persons contemporaneous with the
biblical accounts. The study materials also include a glossary of important terms and concepts.
At the end of the book is a comprehensive subject index to all of the study materials, including the annotations. Finally, there is a separate set of fourteen color maps, with a separate index to them, that constitute a
brief historical atlas to the Bible.
acknowledgments
It remains to express our gratitude, rst and above all to the contributors, whose learning has made this a work
of which we are immensely proud, and whose uncommon patience with the editorial process made our task
light. Donald Kraus, Executive Editor in the Bible department at Oxford University Press, U.S.A., has guided this
edition from its inception with wisdom and tact. Elisabeth Nelson carried out with eciency and accuracy a
wide variety of editorial tasks that are needed in a project of this complexity. Mary Sutherland prepared the text
for composition, and 2Krogh AS, Denmark, designed and typeset the entire text. We thank them all.
michael d. coogan, marc z. brettler,
carol a. newsom, pheme perkins
August, 2009
xiv
TO THE READER
[The following prefatory essay, To the Reader, is part of the New Revised Standard Version Bible translation
(NRSV), and is reprinted here in accordance with the requirements of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the U.S.A., which holds copyright to the NRSV.]
This preface is addressed to you by the Commiee of translators, who wish to explain, as briey as possible,
the origin and character of our work. The publication of our revision is yet another step in the long, continual process of making the Bible available in the form of the English language that is most widely current
in our day. To summarize in a single sentence: the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is an authorized
revision of the Revised Standard Version, published in 1952, which was a revision of the American Standard
Version, published in 1901, which, in turn, embodied earlier revisions of the King James Version, published
in 1611.
In the course of time, the King James Version came to be regarded as the Authorized Version. With good
reason it has been termed the noblest monument of English prose, and it has entered, as no other book has,
into the making of the personal character and the public institutions of the English-speaking peoples. We owe
to it an incalculable debt.
Yet the King James Version has serious defects. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the development
of biblical studies and the discovery of many biblical manuscripts more ancient than those on which the King
James Version was based made it apparent that these defects were so many as to call for revision. The task
was begun, by authority of the Church of England, in 1870. The (British) Revised Version of the Bible was published in 18811885; and the American Standard Version, its variant embodying the preferences of the American
scholars associated with the work, was published, as was mentioned above, in 1901. In 1928 the copyright of
the laer was acquired by the International Council of Religious Education and thus passed into the ownership
of the Churches of the United States and Canada that were associated in this Council through their boards of
education and publication.
The Council appointed a commiee of scholars to have charge of the text of the American Standard Version
and to undertake inquiry concerning the need for further revision. Aer studying the questions whether or not
revision should be undertaken, and if so, what its nature and extent should be, in 1937 the Council authorized
a revision. The scholars who served as members of the Commiee worked in two sections, one dealing with
the Old Testament and one with the New Testament. In 1946 the Revised Standard Version of the New Testament was published. The publication of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, containing the Old and New
Testaments, took place on September 30, 1952. A translation of the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books of
the Old Testament followed in 1957. In 1977 this collection was issued in an expanded edition, containing three
additional texts received by Eastern Orthodox communions (3 and 4 Maccabees and Psalm 151). Thereaer the
Revised Standard Version gained the distinction of being ocially authorized for use by all major Christian
churches: Protestant, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox.
The Revised Standard Version Bible Commiee is a continuing body, comprising about thirty members,
both men and women. Ecumenical in representation, it includes scholars aliated with various Protestant denominations, as well as several Roman Catholic members, an Eastern Orthodox member, and a Jewish member
who serves in the Old Testament section. For a period of time the Commiee included several members from
Canada and from England.
Because no translation of the Bible is perfect or is acceptable to all groups of readers, and because discoveries of older manuscripts and further investigation of linguistic features of the text continue to become
available, renderings of the Bible have proliferated. During the years following the publication of the Revised
Standard Version, twenty-six other English translations and revisions of the Bible were produced by committees and by individual scholarsnot to mention twenty-ve other translations and revisions of the New Testament alone. One of the laer was the second edition of the RSV New Testament, issued in 1971, twenty-ve
years aer its initial publication.
Following the publication of the RSV Old Testament in 1952, signicant advances were made in the discovery and interpretation of documents in Semitic languages related to Hebrew. In addition to the information
xv
that had become available in the late 1940s from the Dead Sea texts of Isaiah and Habakkuk, subsequent acquisitions from the same area brought to light many other early copies of all the books of the Hebrew Scriptures
(except Esther), though most of these copies are fragmentary. During the same period early Greek manuscript
copies of books of the New Testament also became available.
In order to take these discoveries into account, along with recent studies of documents in Semitic languages related to Hebrew, in 1974 the Policies Commiee of the Revised Standard Version, which is a standing
commiee of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., authorized the preparation of a revision of the entire RSV Bible.
For the Old Testament the Commiee has made use of the Biblia Hebraica Stugartensia (1977; ed. sec.
emendata, 1983). This is an edition of the Hebrew and Aramaic text as current early in the Christian era and xed
by Jewish scholars (the Masoretes) of the sixth to the ninth centuries. The vowel signs, which were added by
the Masoretes, are accepted in the main, but where a more probable and convincing reading can be obtained by
assuming dierent vowels, this has been done. No notes are given in such cases, because the vowel points are
less ancient and reliable than the consonants. When an alternative reading given by the Masoretes is translated
in a footnote, this is identied by the words Another reading is.
Departures from the consonantal text of the best manuscripts have been made only where it seems clear
that errors in copying had been made before the text was standardized. Most of the corrections adopted are
based on the ancient versions (translations into Greek, Aramaic, Syriac, and Latin), which were made prior to
the time of the work of the Masoretes and which therefore may reect earlier forms of the Hebrew text. In such
instances a footnote species the version or versions from which the correction has been derived and also
gives a translation of the Masoretic Text. Where it was deemed appropriate to do so, information is supplied in
footnotes from subsidiary Jewish traditions concerning other textual readings (the Tiqqune Sopherim, emendations of the scribes). These are identied in the footnotes as Ancient Heb tradition.
Occasionally it is evident that the text has suered in transmission and that none of the versions provides a
satisfactory restoration. Here we can only follow the best judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original text. Such reconstructions are indicated in footnotes by the abbreviation Cn
(Correction), and a translation of the Masoretic Text is added.
For the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books of the Old Testament the Commiee has made use of a number
of texts. For most of these books the basic Greek text from which the present translation was made is the edition of the Septuagint prepared by Alfred Rahlfs and published by the Wremberg Bible Society (Stugart,
1935). For several of the books the more recently published individual volumes of the Gingen Septuagint
project were utilized. For the book of Tobit it was decided to follow the form of the Greek text found in codex
Sinaiticus (supported as it is by evidence from Qumran); where this text is defective, it was supplemented and
corrected by other Greek manuscripts. For the three Additions to Daniel (namely, Susanna, the Prayer of Azariah
and the Song of the Three Jews, and Bel and the Dragon) the Commiee continued to use the Greek version
aributed to Theodotion (the so-called Theodotion-Daniel). In translating Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), while constant reference was made to the Hebrew fragments of a large portion of this book (those discovered at Qumran
and Masada as well as those recovered from the Cairo Geniza), the Commiee generally followed the Greek
text (including verse numbers) published by Joseph Ziegler in the Gingen Septuagint (1965). But in many
places the Commiee has translated the Hebrew text when this provides a reading that is clearly superior to the
Greek; the Syriac and Latin versions were also consulted throughout and occasionally adopted. The basic text
adopted in rendering 2 Esdras is the Latin version given in Biblia Sacra, edited by Robert Weber (Stugart, 1971).
This was supplemented by consulting the Latin text as edited by R. L. Bensly (1895) and by Bruno Violet (1910),
as well as by taking into account the several Oriental versions of 2 Esdras, namely, the Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic
(two forms, referred to as Arabic 1 and Arabic 2), Armenian, and Georgian versions. Finally, since the Additions
to the Book of Esther are disjointed and quite unintelligible as they stand in most editions of the Apocrypha,
we have provided them with their original context by translating the whole of the Greek version of Esther from
Robert Hanharts Gingen edition (1983).
For the New Testament the Commiee has based its work on the most recent edition of The Greek New Testament, prepared by an interconfessional and international commiee and published by the United Bible Societies (1966; 3rd ed. corrected, 1983; information concerning changes to be introduced into the critical apparatus
of the forthcoming 4th edition was available to the Commiee). As in that edition, double brackets are used to
xvi
enclose a few passages that are generally regarded to be later additions to the text, but which we have retained
because of their evident antiquity and their importance in the textual tradition. Only in very rare instances have
we replaced the text or the punctuation of the Bible Societies edition by an alternative that seemed to us to
be superior. Here and there in the footnotes the phrase, Other ancient authorities read, identies alternative
readings preserved by Greek manuscripts and early versions. In both Testaments, alternative renderings of the
text are indicated by the word Or.
As for the style of English adopted for the present revision, among the mandates given to the Commiee
in 1980 by the Division of Education and Ministry of the National Council of Churches of Christ (which now
holds the copyright of the RSV Bible) was the directive to continue in the tradition of the King James Bible,
but to introduce such changes as are warranted on the basis of accuracy, clarity, euphony, and current English
usage. Within the constraints set by the original texts and by the mandates of the Division, the Commiee has
followed the maxim, As literal as possible, as free as necessary. As a consequence, the New Revised Standard
Version (NRSV) remains essentially a literal translation. Paraphrastic renderings have been adopted only sparingly, and then chiey to compensate for a deciency in the English languagethe lack of a common gender
third person singular pronoun.
During the almost half a century since the publication of the RSV, many in the churches have become sensitive to the danger of linguistic sexism arising from the inherent bias of the English language towards the masculine gender, a bias that in the case of the Bible has oen restricted or obscured the meaning of the original
text. The mandates from the Division specied that, in references to men and women, masculine-oriented
language should be eliminated as far as this can be done without altering passages that reect the historical
situation of ancient patriarchal culture. As can be appreciated, more than once the Commiee found that the
several mandates stood in tension and even in conict. The various concerns had to be balanced case by case
in order to provide a faithful and acceptable rendering without using contrived English. Only very occasionally
has the pronoun he or him been retained in passages where the reference may have been to a woman as
well as to a man; for example, in several legal texts in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In such instances of formal,
legal language, the options of either puing the passage in the plural or of introducing additional nouns to
avoid masculine pronouns in English seemed to the Commiee to obscure the historic structure and literary
character of the original. In the vast majority of cases, however, inclusiveness has been aained by simple
rephrasing or by introducing plural forms when this does not distort the meaning of the passage. Of course, in
narrative and in parable no aempt was made to generalize the sex of individual persons.
Another aspect of style will be detected by readers who compare the more stately English rendering of the
Old Testament with the less formal rendering adopted for the New Testament. For example, the traditional
distinction between shall and will in English has been retained in the Old Testament as appropriate in rendering
a document that embodies what may be termed the classic form of Hebrew, while in the New Testament the
abandonment of such distinctions in the usage of the future tense in English reects the more colloquial nature
of the koine Greek used by most New Testament authors except when they are quoting the Old Testament.
Careful readers will notice that here and there in the Old Testament the word Lord (or in certain cases
God) is printed in capital leers. This represents the traditional manner in English versions of rendering the
Divine Name, the Tetragrammaton (see the notes on Exodus 3.14, 15), following the precedent of the ancient
Greek and Latin translators and the long established practice in the reading of the Hebrew Scriptures in the
synagogue. While it is almost if not quite certain that the Name was originally pronounced Yahweh, this
pronunciation was not indicated when the Masoretes added vowel sounds to the consonantal Hebrew text. To
the four consonants YHWH of the Name, which had come to be regarded as too sacred to be pronounced, they
aached vowel signs indicating that in its place should be read the Hebrew word Adonai meaning Lord (or
Elohim meaning God). Ancient Greek translators employed the word Kyrios (Lord) for the Name. The Vulgate
likewise used the Latin word Dominus (Lord). The form Jehovah is of late medieval origin; it is a combination of the consonants of the Divine Name and the vowels aached to it by the Masoretes but belonging to
an entirely dierent word. Although the American Standard Version (1901) had used Jehovah to render the
Tetragrammaton (the sound of Y being represented by J and the sound of W by V, as in Latin), for two reasons
the Commiees that produced the RSV and the NRSV returned to the more familiar usage of the King James
Version. (1) The word Jehovah does not accurately represent any form of the Name ever used in Hebrew. (2)
The use of any proper name for the one and only God, as though there were other gods from whom the true
xvii
God had to be distinguished, began to be discontinued in Judaism before the Christian era and is inappropriate
for the universal faith of the Christian Church.
It will be seen that in the Psalms and in other prayers addressed to God the archaic second person singular
pronouns thee, thou, thine) and verb forms (art, hast, hadst) are no longer used. Although some readers may regret this change, it should be pointed out that in the original languages neither the Old Testament nor the New
makes any linguistic distinction between addressing a human being and addressing the Deity. Furthermore, in
the tradition of the King James Version one will not expect to nd the use of capital leers for pronouns that
refer to the Deitysuch capitalization is an unnecessary innovation that has only recently been introduced
into a few English translations of the Bible. Finally, we have le to the discretion of the licensed publishers such
maers as section headings, cross-references, and clues to the pronunciation of proper names.
This new version seeks to preserve all that is best in the English Bible as it has been known and used through
the years. It is intended for use in public reading and congregational worship, as well as in private study, instruction, and meditation. We have resisted the temptation to introduce terms and phrases that merely reect
current moods, and have tried to put the message of the Scriptures in simple, enduring words and expressions
that are worthy to stand in the great tradition of the King James Bible and its predecessors.
In traditional Judaism and Christianity, the Bible has been more than a historical document to be preserved
or a classic of literature to be cherished and admired; it is recognized as the unique record of Gods dealings
with people over the ages. The Old Testament sets forth the call of a special people to enter into covenant
relation with the God of justice and steadfast love and to bring Gods law to the nations. The New Testament
records the life and work of Jesus Christ, the one in whom the Word became esh, as well as describes the rise
and spread of the early Christian Church. The Bible carries its full message, not to those who regard it simply as
a noble literary heritage of the past or who wish to use it to enhance political purposes and advance otherwise
desirable goals, but to all persons and communities who read it so that they may discern and understand what
God is saying to them. That message must not be disguised in phrases that are no longer clear, or hidden under
words that have changed or lost their meaning; it must be presented in language that is direct and plain and
meaningful to people today. It is the hope and prayer of the translators that this version of the Bible may continue to hold a large place in congregational life and to speak to all readers, young and old alike, helping them
to understand and believe and respond to its message.
For the Commiee,
bruce m. metzger
xviii
ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF THE

BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
Including the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books
The Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1919
Additions to Esther (Gk). . . . . . . . 1411
Amos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1282
Azariah, Prayer of . . . . . . . . . . . . .1543
Baruch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1529
Bel and the Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . .1552
1 Chronicles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .575
2 Chronicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .617
Colossians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2067
1 Corinthians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999
2 Corinthians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2025
Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1233
Deuteronomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Ecclesiastes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935
Ecclesiasticus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1547
Ephesians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2052
1 Esdras. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1633
2 Esdras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1675
Esther . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
Esther (Gk), Additions to . . . . . . . 1411
Exodus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Ezekiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1159
Ezra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2041
Genesis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Habakkuk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1321
Haggai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1333
Hebrews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2103
Hosea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1259
Isaiah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 965
James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2119
Jeremiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1057
Jeremiah, Leer of . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1537
Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
Joel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1275
John. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1879
1 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2137
2 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2145
3 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2147
Jonah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1301
Joshua. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
Jude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2149
Judges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .355
Judith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1389
1 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
2 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Lamentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1147
Leer of Jeremiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1537
Leviticus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Luke. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1827
1 Maccabees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1555
2 Maccabees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1599
3 Maccabees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1659
4 Maccabees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1717
Malachi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1351
Manasseh, Prayer of . . . . . . . . . . 1656
Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1791
Mahew. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1746
Micah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1306
Nahum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1316
Nehemiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Obadiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1298
1 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2126
2 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2132
Philemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2100
Philippians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2061
Prayer of Azariah . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1543
Prayer of Manasseh. . . . . . . . . . . 1656
Proverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 895
Psalm 151 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1658
Psalms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .773
Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2153
Romans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1975
Ruth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
1 Samuel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
2 Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Sirach, Wisdom of Jesus, Son of . .1457
Song of Solomon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 950
Song of the Three Jews . . . . . . . .1543
Susanna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1548
1 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2074
2 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2080
1 Timothy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2085
2 Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2091
Titus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2096
Tobit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1368
Wisdom of Solomon . . . . . . . . . . .1427
Zechariah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1337
Zephaniah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1327
xix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Books of the Bible: Abbreviation First
hebrew bible
Gen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Genesis
Ex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exodus
Lev. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leviticus
Num . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Numbers
Deut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deuteronomy
Josh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joshua
Judg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Judges
Ruth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ruth
1 Sam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Samuel
2 Sam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Samuel
1 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Kings
2 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Kings
1 Chr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chronicles
2 Chr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Chronicles
Ezra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ezra
Neh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nehemiah
Esth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Esther
Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Job
Ps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Psalms
Prov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Proverbs
Eccl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ecclesiastes
Song . . . . . . . . . . . . .Song of Solomon
Isa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Isaiah
Jer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jeremiah
Lam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lamentations
Ezek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ezekiel
Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Daniel
Hos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hosea
Joel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joel
Am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amos
Ob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Obadiah
Jon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jonah
Mic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Micah
Nah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nahum
Hah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Habakkuk
Zeph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zephaniah
Hag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Haggai
Zech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zechariah
Mal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Malachi
the apocryphal/deuterocanonical books

Tob. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tobit
Jdt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Judith
Add Esth. . . . . . . . . . . . Esther (Greek)
Wis . . . . . . .The Wisdom of Solomon
Sir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sirach
Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baruch
Let Jer . . . . . . . The Leer of Jeremiah
Song of Thr . . . . . . . . . . . .Azariah and

the Three Jews
Sus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Susanna
Bel . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bel and the Dragon
1 Macc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Maccabees
2 Macc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Maccabees
1 Esd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Esdras
Pr Man . . . . The Prayer of Manasseh

Ps 151. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Psalm 151
3 Macc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Maccabees
2 Esd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Esdras
4 Macc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Maccabees
Eph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ephesians
Phil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Philippians
Col . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Colossians
1 Thess . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Thessalonians
2 Thess . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Thessalonians
1 Tim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Timothy
2 Tim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Timothy
Titus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Titus
Philem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Philemon
Heb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hebrews
Jas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James
1 Pet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Peter
2 Pet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Peter
1 Jn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 John
2 Jn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 John
3 Jn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 John
Jude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jude
Rev. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Revelation
new testament
Mt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mahew
Mk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark
Lk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Luke
Jn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John
Acts . . . . . . . . . . . Acts of the Apostles
Rom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Romans
1 Cor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Corinthians
2 Cor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Corinthians
Gal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Galatians
xxi
In the textual notes to the books of the Bible, the following abbreviations are used:
Ant.
Aram
Ch, chs
Cn
Gk
Heb
Josephus
Macc.
Ms(s)
MT
OL
Q Ms(s)
Sam
Syr
Syr H
Tg
Vg
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews

Aramaic
Chapter, chapters
Correction; made where the text has suered in transmission and the versions provide
no satisfactory restoration but where the Standard Bible Commiee agrees with the
judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original
text.
Septuagint, Greek version of the Old Testament [also used in the NT, where it means
simply Greek]
Hebrew of the consonantal Masoretic Text of the Old Testament
Flavius Josephus (Jewish historian, about a.d. 37 to about 95)
The book(s) of the Maccabees
Manuscript(s)
The Hebrew of the pointed Masoretic Text of the Old Testament
Old Latin
Manuscript(s) found at Qumran by the Dead Sea
Samaritan Hebrew text of the Old Testament
Syriac Version of the Old Testament
Syriac Version of Origens Hexapla
Targum
Vulgate, Latin Version of the Old Testament
For a detailed discussion of these terms, see Textual Criticism, p. 2192.

The following abbreviations of additional ancient works are used in the introductions and annotations to the
biblical books, and in the General Essays at the end of the volume:
Ag. Ap.
Apoc. Bar.
Apoc. Zeph.
Aristophanes, Ran.
Aristotle, Pol.
Aristotle, Rh.
Aristotle, Virt.
2 Bar.
b. B. Bat.
b. Ber.
b. Eruv.
b. Git.
b. Meg.
b. Ned.
b. San.
b. Shabb.
xxii
Josephus, Against Apion

Apocalypse of Baruch
Apocalypse of Zephaniah
Aristophanes, Ranae (Frogs)
Aristotle, Politics
Aristotle, Rhetoric
Aristotle, Virtues and Vices
2 Baruch (another name for the
Apocalypse of Baruch)
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Baba
Bathra
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berakot
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Eruvim
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Giin
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Megillah
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Nedarim
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Yoma

Cairo Genizah, Damascus Document
Cicero, Fin.
Cicero, De nibus
1 Clem
1 Clement (First Epistle of Clement)
CoS
The Context of Scripture: Canonical
Compositions, Monumental
Inscriptions, and Archival Documents
from the Ancient World, 3 vols. (ed.
W.W. Hallo; Leiden: Brill, 19972002)
Did.
Didache
Dio Chrys., Or.
Dio Chrysostom, Orationes
Diod. Sic.
Diodorus of Sicily (Library of
History)
1 En.
1 Enoch
Ep. Arist.
Leer of Aristeas
Euripides, Tro.
Euripides, Trojan Women
Eusebius, Hist. eccl. Eusebius, Historia ecclesiastica
Eusebius, Praep. Ev. Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica
Gen. Rab.
Genesis Rabbah
Gk
Greek
Hermas, Mand.
Shepherd of Hermas, Mandate
b. Yoma
CD
Hermas, Sim.
Hist.
Homer, Od.
HS
Ignatius, Philad.
Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude

Herodotus, Histories
Homer, Odyssey
Holiness School
Ignatius, Epistle to the Philadelphians
Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. Irenaeus, Adversus omnes Haereses
jb
Jerusalem Bible
Jer. Sot.
Jerusalem Talmud, Sotah (see y.
Sot.)
Josephus, Ant.
Josephus, Jewish Antiquities
Josephus, Ap.
Josephus, Against Apion
Josephus, J.W.
Josephus, Jewish War
Jub.
Jubilees
Juvenal, Sat.
Juvenal, Satires
KJV
King James Version (1611)
l
liter
Lam. Rab.
Lamentations Rabbah
lit.
literally
LXX
the Septuagint
m. Abot
Mishnah Abot
m. Avoda Zara
Mishnah Avoda Zara
m. Ber.
Mishnah Berakot
m. Ketub.
Mishnah Ketubim
m. Ned.
Mishnah Nedarim
m. Ohalot
Mishnah Ohalot
Midr.
Midrash
Midr. Pss.
Midrash Psalms
Midr. Rab.
Midrash Rabbah
m. Shabb.
Misnah Shabbat
m. Sot.
Mishnah Sotah
niv
New International Version
NT
New Testament
P. Oxy.
Oxyrhynchus Papyri
Philo, De Conf.Ling. Philo, De Confusione Linguarum
Philo, De spec. leg. Philo, De specialibus Legibus
Philo, Flaccus
Philo, Against Flaccus
Philo, Her.
Philo, Quis rerum divinarum heres sit
Philo, Leg. all.
Philo, Legum allegoriae
Philo, Leg. Gai.
Philo, Legatio ad Gaium
Philo, Migr.
Philo, De migratione Abrahami
Philo, Opif.
Philo, De opicio mundi
Philo, Quest. in Gen. Philo, Quaestiones in Genesis
Plato, Cri.
Plato, Crito
Plato, Gorg.
Plato, Gorgias
Plato, Phaedr.
Plato, Symp.
Pliny, Nat. Hist.
Plutarch, Mor.
Pro Rabirio
Pss. Sol.
11QTemple
1QH
1QM
11QMelch
1QpHab
11QPs a
1QS
Quintilian, Inst.
reb
rsv
Seder Olam R.
Shab.
Sifre Num.
Sib. Or.
Sophocles, Ant.
Strom.
Tacitus, Hist.
T. Abr.
T. Jos.
T. Jud. (Test. Jud.)
T. Levi
T. Moses
T. Naph.
T. Reuben
T. Sol.
Tg. Ps-.J.
Tr. Eruv.
y.
y. Sot.
v., vv.
Plato, Phaedrus
Plato, Symposium
Pliny, Naturalis Historia
Plutarch, Moralia
Cicero, Pro Rabirio Postuma
Psalms of Solomon
The Temple Scroll from Qumran
Cave 11 (11Q19)
Hodayot (Thanksgiving Hymns)
from Qumran Cave 1
Milhamah (War Scroll) from Qumran Cave 1
Melchizedek Scroll from Qumran
Cave 11 (11Q13)
Pesher to Habakkuk from Qumran
Cave 1
The Psalms a Scroll from Qumran
Cave 11 (11Q5)
Rule of the Community (Serek
Hayahad) from Qumran Cave 1
Institutio Oratoria
revised english bible
revised standard version
Seder Olam Rabbah
Shabbat
Sifre Numbers
Sibylline Oracles
Sophocles, Antigone
Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis
Tacitus, Historiae
Testament of Abraham
Testament of Joseph
Testament of Judah
Testament of Levi
Testament of Moses
Testament of Naphtali
Testament of Reuben
Testament of Solomon
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Eruvim
(see b. Eruv.)
Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud, Sotah
verse, verses
Note: The abbreviation Q, unless specied as Quelle (Source) for the posited New Testament document
of non-Markan common material in Mahew and Luke, refers to Qumran, and manuscripts from Qumran are
identied by the cave number, which precedes the Q, and the ocial manuscript number, which follows it;
thus, 1Q34 = Manuscript 34 from Cave 1 at Qumran; 4Q174 = Manuscript 174 from Cave 4; etc.
xxiii
THE NEW OXFORD

ANNOTATED BIBLE
Fully Revised
Fourth Edition
New Revised Standard Version
THE HEBREW BIBLE

The Hebrew Scriptures
commonly called
The Old Testament
New Revised Standard Version
INTRODUCTION
TO THE PENTATEUCH
terminology, contents, and traditional views of authorship
The word Pentateuch, from the Greek for ve (penta) books (teuchos), has entered English by way of Latin
as the designation for the rst group of books in the Bible, comprising Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
and Deuteronomy. Unlike other canonical divisions, where there is signicant debate within and between different religious traditions, both Jewish and Christian traditions view these ve books in this order as a single
unit, introducing the Bible. The unanimity of tradition and the initial placement of these ve books reect their
signicance within both Judaism and Christianity.
Despite this unanimity of tradition, it is not so obvious how these ve books cohere. They certainly do
not form a single book in the modern sense, with a single author; modern scholarship has persuasively argued that each of these books is composite, consisting of several sources from dierent periods in Israels
history (see below). Nor is there complete coherence of plot among them. Moses is the central human
character of much of the Pentateuch, but he is only introduced in ch 2 of Exodus, the second book. Nor is
the early development of Israel as a people the Pentateuchs unifying theme, as may be seen from the rst
eleven chapters of the Bible, which are concerned with the world from creation to the birth of Abraham
(Gen 11.27). Other suggested unifying themes for the Pentateuch, such as covenant, are also inadequate,
since they do not explicitly appear at the beginning of the Pentateuch and continue well beyond it. The
suggestion that the promise of the land unies the Pentateuch is especially problematic, since this theme,
though introduced in Gen 12, is only fullled with the conquest of the land in the book of Joshua, in which
case the Hexateuch (six books: the Pentateuch plus Joshua) rather than the Pentateuch should be seen
as the decisive unit.
The Hebrew terms torah, torat moshe (the Torah of Moses), torat YHWH (the Torah of the Lord), and
torat haelohim (the Torah of God), already in use in late biblical literature to describe what is later called the
Pentateuch (e.g., 2 Chr 23.18; Ezra 7.6,10; Neh 8.1,18; Dan 9.11), oer a beer clue to the nature and unity of these
books. Torah is oen understood as law, and indeed this is one of its frequent meanings in the Bible, as in
Ex 12.49; There shall be one law [Heb torah] for the native and for the alien who resides among you. Law is a
predominant genre of the Pentateuch, which contains extensive legal collections in Ex 2123, Lev 1726, and
Deut 1226, as well as selected laws within various narratives, such as the law of circumcision in the narrative
about Abraham in Gen 17 and the law concerning inheritance of the land by women in Num 36, embedded
within a section about the possession of the land. Many narrative sections also contain material that is of legal
signicance. For example, the rst creation account in Genesis culminates with the creation of the sabbath
(Gen 2.23), though this would only be legislated in Exodus, rst in ch 16, and then as part of the Decalogue,
in Ex 20.811. Similarly, the account of the construction of the tabernacle (Ex 2540), a temporary temple for
God in the wilderness, is not narrated for its own sake, but as an introduction to the various laws of sacrice,
narrated at the beginning of Leviticus, the book that immediately follows these chapters.
Yet law is not the only possible translation of torah, and the Pentateuch should not be described as a
book of law. The Hebrew term torah also means instruction or teaching, as in Prov 1.8, Hear, my child, your
fathers instruction, and do not reject your mothers teaching [Heb torah]. Teaching is not conned to law;
indeed narratives or stories are as eective a medium of instruction. Thus, given the predominance of narrative in signicant portions of the Pentateuch, especially in Genesis, the beginning of Exodus, and Numbers, it
is best to understand the biblical term torat moshe as the instruction of Moses. This instruction was realized
through narratives and laws, which together elucidate the proper norms of living and the relationship between
God and the world.
The term torat moshe, in various late biblical books such as Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles, refers to the
Pentateuch more or less as it now exists, but it is not found in the Pentateuch. In fact, the Torah does not explicitly suggest that it was compiled by Moses himself. (The phrase the Torah in passages such as Deut 4.44, This
is the law [Heb torah] that Moses set before the Israelites, never refers to the complete Pentateuch.) It is easy
hebrew bible | 3
pentateuch
to see how the tradition ascribing these ve books as a whole to Moses developed. In several places, the Bible
suggests that Moses stayed on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights (Ex 24.18; 34.28; Deut 9.9; 10.10).
Clearly, this was too long a time for short legal collections such as Ex 2123 to have been conveyed to him, and
thus traditions developed that Moses received the entire wrien Torah from God at that point. According to
the classical rabbis, Moses simultaneously received the oral law, which served as the authoritative interpretation of the wrien law. The wrien Torah would include, according to all rabbinic sources (which are followed
by the early church), even the book of Genesis, which represents Gods narration to Moses of the early history
of the world and of Abraham and his family. Some rabbinic sources even suggest that the nal chapter of the
Torah, Deut 34, which narrates the death of Moses, was dictated by God to Moses, who wrote it with his tears.
The view that the Torah should be understood as the divine word mediated by Moses was the standard view of
synagogue and church through the Renaissance.
This view is explicitly contradicted by the Torahs narrative, as was sometimes (though rarely) recognized in
the Middle Ages. Thus, Abraham ibn Ezra, a scholar active in the twelh century ce, noted that Gen 12.6 states
in reference to Abraham that at that time the Canaanites were in the land. The words at that time suggest
that for the author, the Canaanites were no longer in the land; in other words, it appears that the text was written aer the time of Moses, because during his time the Canaanites were still in the land. A small number of
other places that indicate authorship later than Moses were pointed out by a few medieval scholars, but these
were not systematized into a thesis that could challenge the dominant view concerning Moses authorship of
the Torah.
modern source theories

Slowly, with the rise of rationalism, particularly as associated with gures such as Thomas Hobbes (1588
1679) and Benedict (Baruch) Spinoza (16321677), the view that the Torah was a unied whole, wrien by
Moses, began to be questioned. (For additional information on this development, see the essays on The
Interpretation of the Bible,) This culminated in the development of the Documentary Hypothesis in the
nineteenth century, according to which the Pentateuch (or Hexateuch) is composed of four main sources
or documents that were edited or redacted together: J, E, P, and D. Each of these sources or documents is
embedded in a (relatively) complete form in the current Pentateuch, and each has a distinct vocabulary and
theological perspective.
J and E are so called aer the names for God that each of them uses in Genesis: J uses the name Yahweh
(German Jahwe, hence J), translated in the NRSV as Lord, though it is really a personal name, whose exact
meaning is unknown, from the root to be; E prefers to call the deity Elohim (translated God), an epithet
that also serves as the generic term for God or gods in the Bible. P, which also uses Elohim, is an abbreviation
for the Priestly material, and D refers to Deuteronomy.
The dierence in divine names, however, is not the main criterion used by scholars for suggesting that the
Torah is not a unied composition. Much more signicant are doublets and contradictions, in both narrative
and legal material. For example, it has long been noted that chs 13 of Genesis twice narrate the creation of
the world. People are created rst in 1.27So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he
created them; male and female he created themand then again in 2.7Then the Lord God formed man
from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. Furthermore, the second creation account does not simply mirror or repeat the rst, but diers from the
rst both in outline and in detail. Gen 1.12.3, the rst account, narrates the creation of a highly symmetrical
world by a very powerful deity who creates through the word. In this account, for example, man and woman
are created together (1.27) aer the creation of the land animals (1.25). In contrast, the second account, in Gen
2.43.24, suggests that man was created (2.7), then the animals (2.19), and then woman (2.2122). Its focus is
on the creation of humanity, not of the entire physical world, and God experiments and anthropomorphically
forms various beings, rather than creating them with the word. Thus, these are two distinct accounts, wrien
by two authors, representing dierent worldviews about the nature of creation, humanity, and God.
The two creation accounts appear as two totally separate blocks of material in Gen 1.12.3 and 2.43.24.
In several cases, however, such a clear-cut division of sources is impossible. For example, the ood story culminates in a tradition that God will never again bring a ood on the land (Gen 9.11); for this reason, the J and
P ood narratives cannot appear as separate and complete narratives, so they are intertwined. Similarly, the
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pentateuch
story of the plague of blood (Ex 7.1424) contains two intertwined accounts; in one (J), Moses is the protagonist,
and the blood aects only the Nile, and the main plague is death of sh (e.g., vv. 1718), while in the other (P),
Aaron appears as well, and blood aects all Egyptian water sources (e.g., vv. 19, 24). In such cases, the narratives
are combined with skill, though careful aention to plot and vocabulary help to discern the original building
blocks or sources of the story.
In addition to narrative, the legal material in the Torah is also the product of several sources. For example,
slave laws concerning Hebrew or Israelite slaves are found in the Torah in Ex 21.16, Lev 25.3946, and Deut
15.1218. These laws cannot be reconciled in a straightforward fashion since three dierent notions of slavery
underlie them. Most signicant is the way in which Exodus dierentiates between the treatment of male and
female slaves, whereas Deuteronomy claims that they should both be treated similarly. While Exodus and Deuteronomy agree that a slave who loves his master may opt to remain a slave for life (Ex 21.6) or forever (Deut
15.17), Lev 25 insists that slavery does not really exist, since slaves must be treated as hired or bound laborers,
and they may only serve until the year of the jubilee (v. 40). Such legal dierences are not surprising given
that the Bible is composite, and that the dierent legal collections reect norms or ideals of dierent groups
living in dierent times.
In fact, it is possible to trace distinctive styles and theological notions that typify individual Pentateuchal
sources. For example, the J source is well known for its highly anthropomorphic God, who has a close relationship with humans, as seen in Gen 2.43.24, which includes, for example, a description of the Lord God walking in the garden (3.8) and says that the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and
clothed them (3.21). On the other hand, in E, the Elohist source, God is more distant from people, typically
communicating with them by dreams or through intermediaries, such as heavenly messengers (NRSV angels)
and prophets. The P or Priestly source is characterized by a strong interest in order and boundaries (see Gen
1), as well as an overriding concern with the priestly family of Aaron and the Temple-based religious system,
which is pregured by worship at the tabernacle in the wilderness. D, or Deuteronomy, is characterized by a
unique hortatory or preaching style and insists strongly that God cannot be seen, as in this sources description
of revelation: Then the Lord spoke to you out of the re. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there
was only a voice (Deut 4.12). This explains why this source, uniquely, insists that God does not physically dwell
in the Temple or tabernacle; rather, the Temple is the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling
for his name (Deut 12.11). D further emphasizes that this one God must be worshiped in one place only (see especially Deut 12); this place is later understood to be Jerusalem. Deuteronomy also shows exceptional concern
for the underclasses, such as the widow and orphan, and it focuses on Moses.
The narrative sources J, E, P, and D also have legal collections associated with them. The Covenant Collection or Covenant Code (see Ex 24.7) in Ex 20.2223.33 is associated with J or E. The Holiness Collection or
Holiness Code of Lev 1726 is so named because of its central injunction, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your
God am holy (Lev 19.2). Though not composed by the Priestly author (P), it represents Priestly theology. The
Deuteronomic law collection appears in Deut 1226. These blocks of material were called codes by earlier
scholars; but since the blocks are neither complete nor organized for the law court, as a code might be, the
term collection is more suitable.
Critical biblical scholarship, through the laer part of the twentieth century, was quite condent in dating
each of these Pentateuchal sources along with the legal collections they incorporated. Thus, J was seen as the
earliest collection, oen dated to the period of David and Solomon in the tenth century bce, followed by E,
which was oen associated with the Northern Kingdom of Israel, established aer the death of Solomon. D was
connected to the reform of King Josiah of Judah in the late seventh century, and P was seen as deriving from
the Babylonian exile in the sixth century. Scholars now agree that the reasons usually given for assigning these
dates are problematic, and a lively debate has developed concerning such fundamental issues as the relative
order of these sources and the extent to which any of them are as early as previous scholars had suggested.
The existence of E as a complete source has been questioned as well, especially since E rst appears well aer
the beginning of the Torah and is very dicult to disentangle from J aer the beginning of Exodus. Thus, many
scholars now talk of JE together as an early narrative source, incorporating diverse traditions. Additionally,
most scholars no longer see each source as the work of a single author writing at one particular time but recognize that each is the product of a single group or school over a long time. Thus, it is best to speak of streams
or strands of tradition and to contrast their basic underpinnings, rather than to speak of a source coming from
hebrew bible | 5
pentateuch
a single author, period, and locale. Some scholars are also exploring the possibility that Genesis2 Kings, rather than
GenesisDeuteronomy, should be considered a book. Yet, despite the unraveling of a consensus on the exact date and
nature of the sources, it is still valid to contrast the ideologies and worldviews of the sources, contrasting, for example,
the Deuteronomic view of Israels fundamental, intrinsic holinessas seen, in Deut 7.6, For you are a people holy to
the Lord your Godwith the Priestly view, articulated most clearly in the Holiness Collection, which suggests that
Israel must aspire to holinessas in Lev 19.2, You shall be holy.
compilation and redaction of the pentateuch

It is unclear how these various sources and legal collections, which now comprise the Torah, came together to form
a single book. A number of scholars have recently posited that the Torah was compiled by Ezra on the basis of a request by the Persian authorities, but this goes beyond the evidence available. Most scholars posit an editor or series
of editors or redactors, conventionally called R, who combined the various sources, perhaps in several stages, over
a long time. Not all ancient Israelite legal and narrative traditions were collected and redacted as part of the Torah,
as the Torah itself occasionally indicates when it refers to other sources (see Num 21.14,27). Much was certainly lost.
Without access to this lost material, it is impossible to suggest in detail how and why the redactor(s), R, functioned
in a particular way. It is sucient to notice that in contrast to modern editing, which is fundamentally interested in
developing a single viewpoint, the redaction of the Torah, like the editing of other ancient works, was not interested
in creating a purely consistent, singular perspective but incorporated a variety of voices and perspectives and wished
to preserve them despite their repetitions and contradictions. This is part of the process of the formation of authoritative scripture.
The ultimate result of this redaction, which most likely took place during the Babylonian exile (586538 bce) or
soon thereaer in the early Persian period, was the creation of a very long book, narrating what must have been
thought to be the formative period of Israel, from the period of the creation of the world through the death of Moses.
Perhaps the events narrated in Gen 111 were included as a type of introduction to the choosing of Abraham, describing in detail the failures of humanity, as seen especially in the ood narrative (Gen 69) and the Tower of Babel episode
(Gen 11.19), which necessitated the choosing of a particular nation by God.
No other work of comparable length or inclusiveness, in terms of the time covered and the sources systematically
incorporated, was produced in the ancient Near East. This extensive, inclusive nature of the Torah has created a fundamental and interesting problem with which all serious biblical interpreters have either consciously or subconsciously
grappled: Do we concentrate on interpreting the individual sources, on hearing the voices of the constituent parts of
the text before redaction took place? Or do we focus on the nal product, an approach that has been called holistic
reading? The annotations of the following books will draw aention to this issue, showing how meaning may be uncovered by looking both at the early building blocks of the text, and at the text in its nal, redacted form.
Dwane Harris
GENESIS
name
Jewish tradition calls the rst book of the Bible aer its rst signicant word, Bereshit, which can be translated
as in the beginning or when rst. It was common in the ancient world to name a book aer its rst word(s);
for example, the great Mesopotamian epic of creation, Enuma Elish, gets its name from its rst words, which
mean When on high. Bereshit also highlights the character of the book as the beginning of the Bible.
Christian tradition takes its name for the rst book of the Bible, Genesis, from the old Greek translation
of the Torah, the Septuagint. Genesis in Greek means origin or birth, and it appears in labels throughout the
Greek translation of book, starting with two labels that refer to a book of origins/births (2.4 and 5.1 in the
Septuagint). This name highlights an important dimension of the book of Genesis: its focus on genealogical
origins. Though Genesis contains some of the most powerful narratives in the Bible, these stories occur within
a genealogical structure, starting with 2.4 and ending with 37.2. Within this framework, the book may be understood as an expanded genealogy of the children of Israel who will be the focus of aention in the book of
Exodus and subsequent books.
canonical status and location

The book of Genesis, along with the rest of the Pentateuch/Torah, is one of the most central parts of both
the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament. Every ordering of the Bible places it rst, and as such it
sets the stage for what follows. Jews have long revered Genesis as the rst book in the Torah, the most authoritative part of the Hebrew Bible. Christians have paid particular aention to Genesis because of its focus
on Gods work with humanity prior to the giving of the law. When Islam arose, it too featured a prominent
focus on traditions from Genesis, such as the stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Ishmael, and Joseph. As
a result, three major religious traditionsJudaism, Christianity, and Islamall lay claim to the characters
and stories of Genesis, each with their distinct understanding of the meaning of this important book of
beginnings.
authorship
Ancient manuscripts of Genesis lack any claim of authorship. In the ancient Near East, most literary compositions were anonymous. Only during the Greco-Roman period do we start to see statements in early Jewish
texts that Moses wrote Genesis and the rest of the Pentateuch. By this time Judaism had been inuenced by
Greek culture, where authorship was important and the writings of Homer enjoyed the highest prestige. In
response, the Jewish authors of texts such as Jubilees (second century bce) claimed that their Pentateuch had
an ancient author as wellMoses. This identication of authorship made some sense since the four books of
the Pentateuch that follow Genesis all are set during the lifetime of Moses, and Moses is by far the most prominent human character in the Pentateuch. In addition, verses such as Deut 4.44, This is the law [Heb torah] that
Moses set before the Israelites, were understood by later tradition as aributing the authorship of the entire
Pentateuch to Moses.
Nevertheless, careful readers of the Bible realized in subsequent centuries that there were problems with
this claim of authorship by Moses. Some verses in Genesis refer to events aer the time of Moses, such as when
the Canaanites were no longer in the land (12.6). In addition, a few rabbis wondered how Moses would have
wrien a narrative about his own death and burial (Deut 34). To be sure, interpreters who have made it an article
of faith to arm Moses authorship of the Pentateuch have found ways to explain these and other problems.
These discussions, however, highlight ways that Genesis and other books of the Pentateuch do not seem to
have been wrien originally in the voice of Moses. Like other ancient texts, it was originally anonymous, and
only aributed to Moses in the context of later, author-oriented cultures.
dates of composition, historical contexts, and literary history

Two hundred and y years of historical scholarship on Genesis have established that Genesis was wrien over
many centuries, using oral and wrien traditions. In the beginning, so to speak, were oral traditions, since
hebrew bible | 7
genesis
Genesis was composed in a largely oral culture. We can see marks of that oral culture in the way similar stories
about wife endangerment, wells, and oaths were aached to dierent patriarchs; compare, for example, stories
about Abraham in Philistia in 20.118; 21.2234 with stories about Isaac in the same location in 26.633. Indeed,
these sorts of oral traditions about beginnings were important at every stage in the composition of Genesis.
Most scholars agree that the texts now found in Genesis began to be wrien down sometime aer the
establishment of the monarchy in Israel in the tenth century bce. Building on German scholarship from the
nineteenth century, many scholars think they can nd (fragments of) two early sources in Genesis, a tenthcentury bce Yahwistic source (J for German Jahwist) wrien in Judah during the reign of David or Solomon,
and an Elohistic source (E) wrien in the Northern Kingdom of Israel sometime during the eighth century bce.
Much recent scholarship, however, has doubted the existence of such sources and preferred to see the earliest
wrien origins of Genesis in separate compositions, such as a Yahwistic primeval history covering the creation
and ood, an originally Northern Israelite narrative about Jacob and Joseph, and a separate Moses story. In
either case, the earliest works now embedded in Genesis were products of scribes working in the context of
the monarchies of early Judah and Israel.
Many important parts of Genesis, however, were not wrien until aer the monarchy had fallen in 586
bce and Judean leaders were living in exile in Babylon. According to many scholars, this is the time when the
Abraham narrative was wrien, and the theme of the promise of the land and much progeny was added to
earlier stories about Jacob and Joseph. Through such new compositions and additions, former royal scribes
adapted earlier writings about creation and ancestors to reassure the exiles of Gods intent to bless them as
God once blessed their ancestors. Moreover, they used this theme of promise to link earlier separate stories
to each other and to the Moses story that followed. Alongside these scribal adaptations, a priestly group of
authors wrote a parallel version of many stories in Genesis, starting with the seven-day creation account in
1.12.3 and the genealogy in ch 5, continuing with a priestly version of the ood story, and moving on from
Gods covenant of circumcision with Abraham (ch 17) to short stories about the inheritance of this covenant
promise by his descendants. This layer of texts in Genesis, parallel to the non-Priestly texts, is called P for
Priestly source, because of its strong links to other Pentateuchal texts in ExodusNumbers that focus on
the priesthood of Aaron and sacricial worship. For example, in structure and vocabulary, the seven-day creation account in 1.12.3 anticipates the story of the creation of the Priestly tabernacle at the end of the book
of Exodus (Ex 3540).
The last major stage in the composition of Genesis was the combination of the older non-Priestly writings about creationood and ancestors with their priestly counterparts. This probably happened during the
postexilic period, when exiles such as Nehemiah and Ezra had returned and were rebuilding Jerusalem and its
Temple. The consolidation of parallel traditions now in Genesis (and the rest of the Pentateuch) resulted in a
common Torah around which the community could unite. This consolidation, however, also produced powerful contrasts in Genesis that can be seen by the aentive reader, such as between the seven-day creation in
1.12.3 (P) and the earlier non-Priestly story of creation and aermath in 2.43.24, or between a version of the
ood culminating in Noahs sacrice (e.g., 7.15 and 8.2022) and a Priestly version of the ood that lacks such
a sacrice and does not describe the provision of extra animals for it (e.g., 6.1122 and 9.117). The contrasts are
so clear that historical scholars already started to distinguish between the Priestly layer and the other parts of
Genesis almost three hundred years ago, and the specics of this distinction of P and non-P throughout the
Pentateuch has remained an assured result of historical scholarship.
In sum, we do not know many of the details of the earliest composition of Genesis, and the oral stories that
stand behind the book are lost. Nevertheless, we do know that the book was wrien over centuries by multiple
authors, and we have a more specic and assured picture of the nal stages of its composition. This picture
highlights the way Genesis is not limited to just one situation or set of perspectives. Instead, it is a chorus of
dierent voices, a distillate of ancient Israels experiences with God over the centuries, wrien in the form of
continually adapted stories about beginnings.
structure and contents

There are two main sections in Genesis, the primeval history in chs 111 and the ancestral history in chs 1250.
The laer section is oen divided into the story of Abraham and Sarah (chs 1225), the story of Jacob and Esau
(chs 2636), and the story of Joseph and his brothers (chs 3750). Notably, despite the male focus of headings
8 | hebrew bible
genesis
like this and in the book itself, it is matriarchs of ancient Israel, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah, who oen
play a determinative role in the Genesis narratives of birth and the fulllment of Gods promise.
The primeval history has two major sections that parallel each other: (1) the creation of the cosmos and
stories of the rst humans (1.16.4); and (2) the ood and dispersal of post-ood humanity (6.511.9). It features universal traditions similar to myths in other cultures, particularly in the ancient Near East and Greece.
For example, the Mesopotamian Atrahasis epic was wrien hundreds of years before chs 111, yet it parallels
numerous particulars of the biblical narrative as it describes the creation of the world, a ood, and the vow of
the gods (here plural) not to destroy life with a ood again.
The ancestral history picks up where the primeval history le o and tells the story of Gods choice of
Abraham and the transmission of the promise (12.13) through Isaac and Jacob (whose name is changed to
Israel in 32.28; 35.10), down to Jacobs twelve sons, the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel. These stories
are closest to oral folklore, so it is oen dicult to nd ancient wrien parallels to chs 1250. Nevertheless,
recent scholarship has found similarities between Israelite tales about the matriarchs and patriarchs and modern legends told in oral cultures. For example, there are some striking parallels between the depiction of the
clever deceptions of Jacob and others (e.g., 25.2734; 27.145) and the celebration of wily tricksters in Native
American and other traditions.
These dierent parts of Genesis are brought together through the framework of toledot (generations or
descendants) headings (originally from the Priestly source), each of which guides the reader to the major
focus of the section that follows it (2.4; 5.1; 6.9; 10.1; 11.10; 11.27; 25.12; 25.19; 36.1,9; 37.2). Aer an initial focus
on all the peoples of the world descending from Adam (5.1) and Noah (6.9; 10.1), they highlight a narrowing
focus in Genesis on those who receive the divine promise. The headings rst lead us to Abraham, the rst
to receive Gods promise (11.10,27). Then they distinguish between descendants of Abraham who receive the
promise (Isaac and Jacob/Israel) and those who do not (Ishmael and Esau).
Using these kinds of guides, we can outline Genesis as follows:
I. The primeval history
1.111.26
A. Creation and violence before the ood
1.16.4
B. Re-creation through ood and multiplication of humanity
6.511.26
II. The ancestral history
11.2750.26
A. Gi of the divine promise to Abraham and his descendants
11.2725.11
B. The divergent destinies of the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac (Jacob/Esau) 25.1235.29
C. The divergent destinies of the descendants of Esau and Jacob/Israel
36.150.26
By the end of the book, the lens of the narrative camera has moved from a wide-angle overview of all the peoples of the world to a narrow focus on one small group, the sons of Jacob (also named Israel). As the book
concludes, this family is stuck together in Egypt because of famine in their homeland, but they all are heirs
of the promise of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This family of promise will become the people of
promise featured at the outset of the book of Exodus.
interpretation
The history of interpretation of Genesis begins with its gradual composition over centuries. Early monarchic
scribes reinterpreted oral traditions in writing the rst preexilic compositions behind Genesis. Later exilic
scribes expanded and joined earlier compositions in the process of addressing an audience of Judeans exiled in
Babylon. Priests (exilic or postexilic) wrote their own versions of the beginnings of Israel, P. Later postexilic
writers consolidated the non-Priestly and Priestly writings into a common Torah that was the foundation for
later Judaism. Each of these stages involved interpretation of how earlier writings pertained to the present.
Genesis as we have it now is a crystallization of these multiple interpretations.
As discussed, the book has continued to be centrally important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It was
a major focus of early Jewish writings from the h century bce to the rst century ce. Later Jewish rabbinic
scholars built on these traditions, writing midrashic interpretations of Genesis and expansive Aramaic translations of the book. Some of these Jewish traditions adapted the stories of Genesis so that they linked beer
with Torah law. For example, already in the book of Jubilees (wrien in the second century bce), Abraham was
portrayed as the rst monotheist, destroying his fathers idols before departing for the promised land. More-
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genesis
over, the story of Abrahams virtual sacrice of Isaac (22.119), termed the Akedah (the binding) in Jewish
tradition, was adapted by some readers into an account of how Isaac actually was sacriced by Abraham and
resurrected by Godanticipating later Jewish suering and hopes for redemption.
Christian communities likewise focused on the stories of Genesis. For example, Paul, the central gure
behind the outreach of Christians to Gentiles, argued that Abraham was an important example of how grace,
through faith, came before the giving of the law. In his leer to the Romans (4.115) he notes that Abraham had
his faith reckoned to him as righteousness (Gen 15.6) before he had undergone circumcision (Gen 17). Based on
this and other arguments, Paul argued that Gentiles did not have to fulll Torah requirements such as circumcision in order to partake of Gods promise, as long as they joined themselves to Jesus Christ, whom Paul armed
as the true spiritual ospring and heir of Abraham. Thus, whereas earlier and later Jewish interpreters tended to
stress Abrahams and other patriarchs Torah obedience, Paul, himself also a Jew, reinterpreted Abraham apart
from Torah obedience in order to create a place for non-Jews to have a full relationship with the God of Israel.
Stories originating from Genesis also play a prominent role in Islam. Building on older Jewish traditions
about Abraham destroying his fathers idols, the Koran and other Muslim traditions revere Abraham as one of
the rst monotheists. Yet within Islam, Ishmael and not Isaac is the most important of his sons. It is Ishmael
and not Isaac whom Abraham almost sacrices (cf. Gen 22) according to Islamic tradition. Moreover, aer that,
Islamic tradition holds that Abraham and Ishmael went on to nd and rebuild the Kaaba shrine at Mecca, Islams
most holy site. In this way, stories from Genesis are linked to two of the ve central pillars of Islam: monotheism
and pilgrimage.
In the modern era, Genesis has been an important baleground as communities have worked to live out
ancient faiths in a modern world. For example, much discussion of Genesis, at least among Christians in the
West, has focused on whether the stories of Genesis are historically true. Astronomers, biologists, and other
scientists have oered accounts of the origins of the cosmos and humanity dierent from those in Gen 12.
Some believers, however, insist on the importance of arming the historical accuracy of every part of Genesis,
and have come to see such belief as a dening characteristic of what it means to be truly faithful. This denition is relatively new: the historicity of Genesis was not a signicant concern prior to the rise of modern science
and the historical method; in fact, in premodern times, the stories of Genesis were oen read metaphorically
or allegorically. Moreover, many would argue that an ancient document such as Genesis is not ideally treated
as scientic treatise or a modern-style historical source. Instead, its rich store of narratives oer nonscientic,
narrative, and poetic perspectives on values and the meaning of the cosmos that pertain to other dimensions
of human life.
Finally, recent years have seen a proliferation of other approaches to Genesis, particularly literary studies
of Genesis in its nal form and feminist rereadings of many narratives in Genesis. For example, some feminist
scholars have questioned whether the typical reading of the garden of Eden story, which is highly critical of
women, is correct. Others have highlighted the crucial role of the matriarchs as actors in the Genesis drama,
especially as determiners of which son of a given patriarch will inherit the promise (e.g., Sarah and Rebekah)
or as inuencers of the levels of privilege among brothers (e.g., Rachel). Reading from another perspective,
African American interpreters have traced the misuse of the story of Ham to reinforce racism and slavery, and a
wide variety of interpreters have called into question the traditional interpretation of the story of Sodom and
Gomorrah as a judgment on homosexuality. In these ways and many others, an ever more diverse range of interpreters of the Bible have oered new perspectives on a text centrally important to readers for many centuries.
guide to reading
Many who have resolved to read the whole Bible actually have made it through Genesis, but what they nd
oen surprises them. Those who know the stories of Genesis through the lens of later interpretation oen
assume that the characters in the book are saints. A closer reading reveals otherwise. The supposedly faithful Abraham oen seems doubtful of Gods intent to protect and provide for him, and Jacob and his family are
distinguished by their ability to survive in the world through bargaining and trickery. Such stories pose a challenge to those who would use the Bible as a source of role models for ethical behavior. Standing at the Bibles
outset, they challenge readers to develop other models for understanding and appreciating this ancient text.
Genesis has been a major focus for literary approaches to the Bible. These approaches adopt techniques
from study of contemporary literature to illuminate the artistry and poetics of the Bible. The story of Joseph
10 | hebrew bible
genesis 1
and his brothers is a particularly constructive place to explore this kind of approach. Note how the narrator
subtly leads the reader through an arc extending from Josephs initial dreams of rule of his brothers in ch 37 to
their submission to him and his provision of food for them in chs 4250. Along the way, the speeches of Joseph
and his brothers oen do not correspond precisely to the reality described by the narrator, and the divergences
reveal much about their characters. For example, Josephs brothers trick their father about Joseph being killed
(37.3135), but their failure to report that their money was back in their sacks (42.2534) is found out by Jacob,
who guesses that they were planning to take Benjamin from him (42.3538) as they actually took Joseph. Later,
Joseph puts his brothers in a position where they can save themselves from slavery by betraying Benjamin,
Josephs full brother, as they once betrayed Joseph himself (44.117). Only when Judah, who formerly initiated
the sale of Joseph into slavery (37.2628), oers himself in place of Benjamin (44.1834) does Joseph break down
and reveal his true identity to his brothers (45.115). In this way the Joseph story artfully describes the rst
movement in Genesis from the urge toward fratricide (cf. 4.116; 27.4145; see 33.1217n.) to full reunion. Reading the Joseph story for such turns and characterizations can be an excellent introduction to the elegance of
biblical narrative more generally.
Finally, one strategy in reading Genesis is to observe the dierences between some of the writings embedded in it. The reader can compare parallel stories in Genesis, such as the dierent stories of creation in 1.12.3
and 2.43.24 or the parallel and yet dierent accounts about Hagar (chs 16 and 21), the covenant with Abraham (chs 15 and 17), or Abraham and Sarah (12.1020 and 20.118), or Abraham, Abimelech, and Isaac (20.118;
21.2234 and 26.633). Comparing these dierent accounts helps uncover the distinct perspectives of each and
their contribution to the book of Genesis as a whole.
David M. Carr
In the beginning when God createda the

heavens and the earth, the earth was
a formless void and darkness covered the
face of the deep, while a wind from Godb
swept over the face of the waters. Then
God said, Let there be light; and there
was light. And God saw that the light was
good; and God separated the light from the

darkness. God called the light Day, and the
darkness he called Night. And there was
a Or when God began to create or In the beginning
God created
b Or while the spirit of God or while a mighty wind
1.111.26: The primeval history: from creation to the birth of Abraham. This unit is composed of two principal layers, a Priestly source that also provides an editorial framework (1.12.3; 5.128,3032; 6.922; 7.6,11,13
16a,1821,24; 8.12a,35,1419; 9.117; 10.1027), and an earlier non-Priestly primeval history that uses the divine name Yahweh (represented as Lord in the translation) found in the rest of 2.411.9. As seen in the chart on
correspondences spanning the primeval history (see p. 13), the present combined text is an intricate narrative,
with echoes of creation and un-creation, struggles surrounding human god-likeness, and other themes.
1.12.3: Creation culminating in sabbath. This Priestly account of creation presents God as a king, creating
the universe by decree in six days and resting on the seventh. 1.1: Scholars dier on whether this verse is to be
translated as an independent sentence summarizing what follows (e.g., In the beginning God created) or as
a temporal phrase describing what things were like when God started (e.g., When God began to create . . . the
earth was a formless void; cf. 2.46). In either case, the text does not describe creation out of nothing (contrast 2 Macc 7.28). Instead, the story emphasizes how God creates order from a watery chaos. 2: As elsewhere
in the Bible, the deep (Heb tehom) has no denite article aached to it in Hebrew. Some scholars understand
tehom to be related to the Babylonian goddess Tiamat, a deity representing primeval oceanic chaos, whom
the head god, Marduk, defeated in Enuma Elish, a major Babylonian myth that includes an account of creation.
Christian interpreters have oen seen the Spirit of the Trinity later in this verse. Wind ts the ancient context
beer (see 8.1). 3: The rst of eight acts of creation through decree. Like a divine king God pronounces his will
and it is accomplished. 45: These verses introduce two other themes crucial to this account: the goodness of
creation and the idea that creation is accomplished through Gods separating, ordering, and naming elements
of the universe. The seven-day scheme of 1.12.3 requires the creation of light, day, and night at the outset.
hebrew bible | 11
genesis 1
evening and there was morning, the first
day.
And God said, Let there be a dome in
the midst of the waters, and let it separate
the waters from the waters. So God made
the dome and separated the waters that were
under the dome from the waters that were
above the dome. And it was so. God called
the dome Sky. And there was evening and
there was morning, the second day.
And God said, Let the waters under the
sky be gathered together into one place, and
let the dry land appear. And it was so. God
called the dry land Earth, and the waters that
were gathered together he called Seas. And
God saw that it was good. Then God said,
Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants
yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on
earth that bear fruit with the seed in it. And it
was so. The earth brought forth vegetation:
plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees
of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it.
And God saw that it was good. And there was
evening and there was morning, the third day.
And God said, Let there be lights in the
dome of the sky to separate the day from the
night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be
lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon
the earth. And it was so. God made the two
great lightsthe greater light to rule the day
and the lesser light to rule the nightand the

stars. God set them in the dome of the sky
to give light upon the earth, to rule over the
day and over the night, and to separate the
light from the darkness. And God saw that it
was good. And there was evening and there
was morning, the fourth day.
And God said, Let the waters bring
forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds
y above the earth across the dome of the
sky. So God created the great sea monsters
and every living creature that moves, of every
kind, with which the waters swarm, and
every winged bird of every kind. And God
saw that it was good. God blessed them,
saying, Be fruitful and multiply and ll the
waters in the seas, and let birds multiply
on the earth. And there was evening and
there was morning, the fth day.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth
living creatures of every kind: cattle and
creeping things and wild animals of the earth
of every kind. And it was so. God made the
wild animals of the earth of every kind, and
the cattle of every kind, and everything that
creeps upon the ground of every kind. And
God saw that it was good.
Then God said, Let us make humankinda in our image, according to our likeness;
a Heb adam
68: The dome/Sky made on the second day separates an upper ocean (Ps 148.4; see Gen 7.11) from a lower one.
This creates a space in which subsequent creation can take place. 913: Two creative acts: creation of dry land
and command that the land bring forth vegetation. Earth is a feminine noun in Heb. The text thus echoes other
ancient mythologies and the life cycle in having a feminine earth bring forth the rst life in the universe (cf. Job
1.21). God is involved only indirectly here, commanding the earth to put forth. 1419: There is a correspondence
between days one to three and days four to six (1 || 4, 2 || 5, 3 || 6), which heightens the symmetry and order of
Gods creation. Here, Gods creation of heavenly lights on the fourth day corresponds to creation of light, day,
and night on the rst. In a critical response to non-Israelite cultures who worshiped these heavenly bodies, the
bodies are not named and are identied as mere timekeepers. 2023: See vv. 1419n. The second day featured
the dome separating upper and lower oceans; the corresponding h day features the creation of birds to
y across the dome and ocean creatures, including sea monsters (Ps 104.2526)this is probably a polemic
against other ancient Israelite traditions, which suggested that the sea monsters rebelled against God (e.g., Isa
51.9). Gods blessing of the swarming creatures (1.22) anticipates a similar blessing that God will give humanity
(1.28). 2430: The third day described creation of land and plants in turn, the corresponding sixth day involves
the creation of two types of plant-eating land-dwellers: animals and then humans. 2425: Again, earth is involved in bringing forth life (see 1.913n.). 26: The plural us, our (3.22; 11.7) probably refers to the divine beings
who compose Gods heavenly court (1 Kings 22.19; Job 1.6). Image, likeness is oen interpreted to be a spiritual
likeness between God and humanity. Another view is that this text builds on ancient concepts of the king
physically resembling the god and thus bearing a bodily stamp of his authority to rule. Here this idea is democratized, as all of humanity appears godlike. This appearance equips humans for godlike rule over the sh, birds,
12 | hebrew bible
genesis 2
and let them have dominion over the sh of
the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over
the cattle, and over all the wild animals of
the earth,a and over every creeping thing that
creeps upon the earth.
So God created humankindb in his
image,
in the image of God he created them;c
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them,
Be fruitful and multiply, and ll the earth
and subdue it; and have dominion over the
sh of the sea and over the birds of the air
and over every living thing that moves upon
the earth. God said, See, I have given you
every plant yielding seed that is upon the face
of all the earth, and every tree with seed in
its fruit; you shall have them for food. And
to every beast of the earth, and to every bird
of the air, and to everything that creeps on
the earth, everything that has the breath of
life, I have given every green plant for food.
And it was so. God saw everything that he
had made, and indeed, it was very good. And
there was evening and there was morning,
the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were

nished, and all their multitude. And on
the seventh day God nished the work that
he had done, and he rested on the seventh
day from all the work that he had done. So
God blessed the seventh day and hallowed
it, because on it God rested from all the work
that he had done in creation.
These are the generations of the heavens
and the earth when they were created.
In the day that the Lordd God made the
earth and the heavens, when no plant of the
eld was yet in the earth and no herb of the
eld had yet sprung upfor the Lord God
had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and
there was no one to till the ground; but a
stream would rise from the earth, and water
the whole face of the ground then the
Lord God formed man from the dust of the
a
b
c
d
Syr: Heb and over all the earth

Heb adam
Heb him
Heb YHWH, as in other places where Lord is
spelled with capital letters (see also Exod 3.14-15
with notes).
and animals. 2728: The text stresses the creation of humanity as simultaneously male and female. This leads
to the emphasis in the blessing of v. 28 and the book of Genesis as a whole on the multiplication of humanity
in general (6.1; 9.17) and Israel in particular (17.26; 47.27). 2930: The text envisions an ancient mythological time before violence disturbs Gods perfect order (cf. 6.11). 31: Where individual elements of creation were
good (vv. 4,10, etc.), the whole is very good, perfectly corresponding to Gods intention. 2.13: This day is the
climax to which the whole seven-day scheme has led. God does not command the sabbath, but does rest (Heb
shabat) on the seventh day and bless it, weaving the seven-day rhythm into creation. The establishment of
institutions is found in other ancient creation stories as well.
2.4a: Although many scholars view this as the conclusion to the Priestly creation account, it is probably a
separate introduction to the following material, as elsewhere in Genesis (e.g., 5.1; 6.9; 10.1).
correspondences spanning the primeval history

Creation (1.12.3)
Crime and punishment with eating of fruit (2.43.24) Crime and punishment with brother conict (4.116)
Prevention of godlike immortality (3.2324)
Origins of cultures (4.1724 origins of peoples, ch 10)
Flood: un-creation and re-creation (6.59.17)
Spreading of peoples (10.111.9) as part of divine
Brother separation: subjugation of a people (9.2027)
prevention of people gaining godlike power (11.19)
as a result of the rst drinking of wine
2.4b25: Creation in a garden. This non-Priestly Yahwistic tradition is dierent from 1.12.3, as evidenced
by the dierent style and order of events. Though distinct from the Priestly account of 1.12.3, it nevertheless
reects ancient temple imagery. 4b6: A description of how things were prior to creation (cf. 1.12) is common
in ancient Near Eastern creation stories. 7: The wordplay on Heb adam (human being; here translated man
[cf. 1.26]) and adamah (arable land; here ground) introduces a motif characteristic of this tradition: the relation of humankind to the soil from which it was formed. Human nature is not a duality of body and soul; rather
hebrew bible | 13
genesis 2
ground,a and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and the man became a living
being. And the Lord God planted a garden
in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man
whom he had formed. Out of the ground
the Lord God made to grow every tree that is
pleasant to the sight and good for food, the
tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A river ows out of Eden to water the
garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches. The name of the rst
is Pishon; it is the one that ows around the
whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
and the gold of that land is good; bdellium
and onyx stone are there. The name of the
second river is Gihon; it is the one that ows
around the whole land of Cush. The name
of the third river is Tigris, which ows east of
Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
The Lord God took the man and put
him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep
it. And the Lord God commanded the
man, You may freely eat of every tree of the
garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day
that you eat of it you shall die.
Then the Lord God said, It is not good
that the man should be alone; I will make
him a helper as his partner. So out of the

ground the Lord God formed every animal
of the eld and every bird of the air, and
brought them to the man to see what he
would call them; and whatever the man
called every living creature, that was its
name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every
animal of the eld; but for the manb there
was not found a helper as his partner. So
the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall
upon the man, and he slept; then he took
one of his ribs and closed up its place with
esh. And the rib that the Lord God had
taken from the man he made into a woman
and brought her to the man. Then the man
said,
This at last is bone of my bones
and esh of my esh;
this one shall be called Woman,c
for out of Mand this one was taken.
Therefore a man leaves his father and his
mother and clings to his wife, and they bea Or formed a man (Heb adam) of dust from the
ground (Heb adamah)
b Or for Adam
c Heb ishshah
d Heb ish
Gods breath animates the dust and it becomes a single living being (Ps 104.29; Job 34.1415). 89: Eden means
delight. This divine garden recalls the garden of God/the Lord mentioned elsewhere in the Bible (13.10;
Ezek 28.1316; 31.89; Isa 51.3; Joel 2.3); such sacred gardens are known in other ancient Near Eastern temple
traditions. In addition, ancient Near Eastern art and texts feature a prominent focus on trees, oen associated
with feminine powers of fertility. Usually such trees symbolize life, as in the tree of life here (3.22; see Prov 3.18;
Rev 22.2,14,19). But this story focuses more on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, symbolizing wisdom
(2 Sam 14.17; 1 Kings 3.9). See further 12.68n. 1014: This section, along with the preceding one describing
the stream rising up to water the ground (2.6), may draw on the ancient tradition that a temple is built on a
primal mountain of creation from which the waters of the earth ow. The rivers mentioned here combine world
rivers like the Tigris and Euphrates (both in Mesopotamia) with the local Gihon that owed from Mount Zion in
Jerusalem (Ps 46.4; Isa 7.6; Zech 14.8), although Cush is generally either Ethiopia or in Arabia. Pishon is unknown;
Havilah is probably in Arabia. 1617: The speech concludes with a legal prohibition using technical Priestly
death-penalty language (e.g., Lev 20.9,11,12). 1820: Animals are created aer the rst human rather than before (cf. 1.2425). The humans naming of the animals implies a dominion over them analogous to that seen in
1.2628. Yet the Lord God here contrasts with the all-powerful deity depicted in ch 1. The Lord God creates
the animals in a comical, failed aempt to make a helper for the human that corresponds to him (NRSV: as his
partner). 2123: Just as the connection of humanity to the ground is armed in the making of the rst human
(Heb adam) from earthy humus (adamah) (2.7), so also the connection of men and women is armed
here through the crowning event of creation: the making of the woman from a part of the man (2.2122). The
man arms this connection in a jubilant poem (2.23) featuring a wordplay on man (Heb ish) and woman
(ishshah). This concluding song of praise of the woman corresponds to Gods concluding armation of all of
creation as very good in 1.31. 2425: Sex between a man and his wife is regarded here as reecting the essence
14 | hebrew bible
genesis 3
come one esh. And the man and his wife
were both naked, and were not ashamed.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any
other wild animal that the Lord God had
made. He said to the woman, Did God say,
You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?
The woman said to the serpent, We may
eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but
God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the
tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor
shall you touch it, or you shall die. But the
serpent said to the woman, You will not die;
for God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,a
knowing good and evil. So when the woman
saw that the tree was good for food, and that it
was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was
to be desired to make one wise, she took of its
fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her
husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then
the eyes of both were opened, and they knew
that they were naked; and they sewed g leaves
together and made loincloths for themselves.
They heard the sound of the Lord God
walking in the garden at the time of the
evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the Lord God
among the trees of the garden. But the Lord
God called to the man, and said to him, Where

are you? He said, I heard the sound of you
in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was
naked; and I hid myself. He said, Who told
you that you were naked? Have you eaten from
the tree of which I commanded you not to
eat? The man said, The woman whom you
gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the
tree, and I ate. Then the Lord God said to
the woman, What is this that you have done?
The woman said, The serpent tricked me, and
I ate. The Lord God said to the serpent,
Because you have done this,
cursed are you among all animals
and among all wild creatures;
upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the
woman,
and between your ospring and hers;
he will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.
To the woman he said,
I will greatly increase your pangs in
childbearing;
a Or gods
of the connection God created between men and women. The unashamed nakedness of the man and woman
indicates their still uncivilized and innocent status.
3.124: Garden disobedience and punishment. Though this story is oen taken by Christians as an account
of original sin, the word sin never occurs in it. Instead, it describes how the maturing of humans into civilized
life involved damage of connections established in 2.425 between the Lord God, man, woman, and earth. 1:
This characterization of the snake emphasizes his wise crainess (Heb arum), a characteristic that contrasts
with the innocent nakedness (arum) of the man and woman. Snakes were a symbol in the ancient world of
wisdom, fertility, and immortality. Only later was the snake in this story seen by interpreters as the devil (see
Wis 2.24). 45: The snake introduces doubt by rightly predicting the consequences of eating the fruitthe
humans will not be put to death as implied in the language of 2.17 and their eyes will be opened (see v. 7) so they
gain wisdom, knowing good and evil. 67: The woman sees that the pleasant fruit of the tree is desirable to make
one wise; she eats it and shares it with her husband. The result is enlightenment: the eyes of both were opened.
Such wisdom takes them from the earlier unashamed nakedness (2.25) to clothing, a mark of civilization. 813:
Legal forms recur as the Lord God interrogates rst the man and then the woman (see 2.1617n.). The disintegration of earlier connectedness is shown by the hiding of the humans from the Lord God and the tendency of
the man to blame the woman (and implicitly the Lord God) for his action. Later interpreters of the story have
shown a similar tendency to blame the woman (e.g., Sir 25.24; 1 Tim 2.14). 1419: A proclamation of sentence or
penalty follows the interrogation, starting with the snake and concluding with the man. 1415: Here the crawl
of the snake is linked to the Lord Gods punishing curse. As a result, later audiences can look to the crawling
snake as a reminder of the story and testimony to its truth. 1619: Though this is oen understood as a curse of
the woman to pain in childbirth, the word curse is not used in these verses. Another interpretation is that the
woman is sentenced to endless toil (not pain) of reproduction, much as the man is condemned in vv. 1719 to
endless toil in food production. The mans rule over the woman here is a tragic reection of the disintegration of
hebrew bible | 15
genesis 4
The descendants of Adam
according to the Yahwistic source (Gen 4)
The descendants of Adam

according to the Priestly source (Gen 5)
Adam
Adam
Cain
Abel
Enoch
Seth
Seth
Enosh
Enosh
Irad
Kenan
Mehujael
Mehalalel
Methushael
Jared
Lamech
by Adah
Jabal
Enoch
by Zillah
Jubal
Methuselah
Lamech
Tubal-cain Naamah
Noah
Shem
in pain you shall bring forth children,

yet your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.
And to the mana he said,
Because you have listened to the voice of
your wife,
and have eaten of the tree
about which I commanded you,
You shall not eat of it,
cursed is the ground because of you;
in toil you shall eat of it all the days of
your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth
for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the
eld.
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.
Ham
Japheth
The man named his wife Eve,b because

she was the mother of all living. And the
Lord God made garments of skins for the
manc and for his wife, and clothed them.
Then the Lord God said, See, the man
has become like one of us, knowing good and
evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and
take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live
forever therefore the Lord God sent him
forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground
from which he was taken. He drove out the
man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he
placed the cherubim, and a sword aming and
turning to guard the way to the tree of life.
Now the man knew his wife Eve, and
she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I
have producedd a man with the help of the
4
a
b
c
d
Or to Adam
In Heb Eve resembles the word for living
Or for Adam
The verb in Heb resembles the word for Cain
original connectedness between them. 21: The Lord Gods clothing of the humans here reects care for them in
the process of becoming civilized, even though that process involved disobedience. 22: As elsewhere in the ancient Near East, humans here are depicted as having a brief opportunity for immortality. The Lord Gods fear of
humans becoming godlike (cf. 1.2627) recalls the snakes assertions in 3.45. The term us probably refers to
the heavenly court (see 1.26n.). 24: Cf. Ezek 28.1316. The last echoes of temple imagery (see 2.89n.; 2.2011n.)
occur here. The cherubim are composite, winged creatures like the Sphinx of Egypt, half human and half lion.
Representations of them guarded sanctuaries like the one in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6.2328,32,35). The gate to the
garden of Eden is in the east, like the processional gate to the Temple (Ezek 10.19).
4.116: Cain and Abel. While 2.43.24 featured relations between men and women, 4.116 turns to relations
between brothers, paralleling 3.124 in many respects. 1: This rst verse emphasizes the wonder of creative
16 | hebrew bible
genesis 4
Lord. Next she bore his brother Abel. Now
Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller
of the ground. In the course of time Cain
brought to the Lord an oering of the fruit
of the ground, and Abel for his part brought
of the rstlings of his ock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and
his oering, but for Cain and his oering
he had no regard. So Cain was very angry,
and his countenance fell. The Lord said to
Cain, Why are you angry, and why has your
countenance fallen? If you do well, will you
not be accepted? And if you do not do well,
sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you,
but you must master it.
Cain said to his brother Abel, Let us go
out to the eld.a And when they were in the
eld, Cain rose up against his brother Abel,
and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain,
Where is your brother Abel? He said, I do
not know; am I my brothers keeper? And
the Lord said, What have you done? Listen;
your brothers blood is crying out to me from
the ground! And now you are cursed from
the ground, which has opened its mouth to
receive your brothers blood from your hand.
When you till the ground, it will no longer
yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive
and a wanderer on the earth. Cain said to
the Lord, My punishment is greater than I
can bear! Today you have driven me away
from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your
face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on
the earth, and anyone who meets me may

kill me. Then the Lord said to him, Not
so!b Whoever kills Cain will suer a sevenfold vengeance. And the Lord put a mark
on Cain, so that no one who came upon him
would kill him. Then Cain went away from
the presence of the Lord, and settled in the
land of Nod,c east of Eden.
Cain knew his wife, and she conceived
and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and
named it Enoch after his son Enoch. To
Enoch was born Irad; and Irad was the father
of Mehujael, and Mehujael the father of
Methushael, and Methushael the father of
Lamech. Lamech took two wives; the name
of the one was Adah, and the name of the
other Zillah. Adah bore Jabal; he was the
ancestor of those who live in tents and have
livestock. His brothers name was Jubal; he
was the ancestor of all those who play the
lyre and pipe. Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who
made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. The
sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
Lamech said to his wives:
Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
a Sam Gk Syr Compare Vg: MT lacks Let us go out to
the eld
b Gk Syr Vg: Heb Therefore

c That is Wandering
power in the rst birth of a child. The childs name, Cain, derives from a Hebrew word for create, qanah.
Ancient Israelites may have associated this Cain with the Kenite tribe (Num 24.2122). 2: The name Abel is the
same word translated as vanity (or emptiness) in the book of Ecclesiastes. His name anticipates his destiny.
The distinction between Cain and Abels occupations implies a further step toward culture. 35: The story does
not explain why the Lord had regard for Abel and his oering but not for Cain and his oering. Instead, it focuses
on Cains reaction to this unexplained divine preference for the sacrice of his younger brother. 67: This is the
rst mention of sin in the Bible. It is depicted as a predatory animal, lurking at the door. 1011: Blood is sacred,
for it is the seat of life (9.4; Deut 12.23), and blood of unpunished murders pollutes the ground (Num 35.3034).
1314: The importance of arable ground in these chapters can be seen in Cains conclusion that expulsion from
the soil means being hidden from the Lords face. 16: See 11.19n.
4.1726: First overview of generations from creation to ood. Though the order of the names is dierent,
most of them are variants of those in 5.132. 17: Cains marriage, along with his fear of others (4.14), presumes
the presence of a broader population, indicating that the narratives about him were not originally connected
with creation. 1922: The emphasis on civilization seen in 3.124 emerges again here in the depiction of the
occupations of Lamechs sons. This tradition does not anticipate a ood narrative. 2324: The rst half of this
song may once have been used to brag about the ability of Lamech and his family to avenge their honor. Placed
where it is and including v. 24, it now functions to demonstrate a major consequence of the expansion of
civilization: an expansion of the violence with which the family tree began (see 4.116). 25: A parallel to 4.1,
hebrew bible | 17
genesis 5
If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.
Adam knew his wife again, and she bore
a son and named him Seth, for she said, God
has appointeda for me another child instead
of Abel, because Cain killed him. To Seth
also a son was born, and he named him
Enosh. At that time people began to invoke
the name of the Lord.
This is the list of the descendants of
Adam. When God created humankind,b
he made themc in the likeness of God. Male
and female he created them, and he blessed
them and named them Humankindb when
they were created.
When Adam had lived one hundred
thirty years, he became the father of a son
in his likeness, according to his image, and
named him Seth. The days of Adam after he
became the father of Seth were eight hundred
years; and he had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days that Adam lived were nine
hundred thirty years; and he died.
When Seth had lived one hundred ve
years, he became the father of Enosh. Seth
lived after the birth of Enosh eight hundred
seven years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Seth were nine
hundred twelve years; and he died.
When Enosh had lived ninety years, he
became the father of Kenan. Enosh lived
after the birth of Kenan eight hundred fteen
years, and had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Enosh were nine hundred ve years; and he died.
When Kenan had lived seventy years,
he became the father of Mahalalel. Kenan
lived after the birth of Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years, and had other sons
and daughters. Thus all the days of Kenan
were nine hundred and ten years; and he
died.
When Mahalalel had lived sixty-ve
years, he became the father of Jared. Mahalalel lived after the birth of Jared eight
hundred thirty years, and had other sons and
daughters. Thus all the days of Mahalalel
were eight hundred ninety-ve years; and he
died.
When Jared had lived one hundred
sixty-two years he became the father of
Enoch. Jared lived after the birth of Enoch
eight hundred years, and had other sons and
daughters. Thus all the days of Jared were
nine hundred sixty-two years; and he died.
When Enoch had lived sixty-ve years,
he became the father of Methuselah. Enoch
walked with God after the birth of Methuselah three hundred years, and had other sons
and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch
were three hundred sixty-ve years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more,
because God took him.
When Methuselah had lived one
hundred eighty-seven years, he became the
father of Lamech. Methuselah lived after
the birth of Lamech seven hundred eightytwo years, and had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Methuselah were nine
hundred sixty-nine years; and he died.
a The verb in Heb resembles the word for Seth
b Heb adam
c Heb him
introducing a new line of Seth. 26: This tradition locates the beginning of use of the divine name Yahweh
(Lord) in the primeval period, in contrast to the Priestly tradition, in which the divine name is not used until the
time of Moses (Ex 6.26).
5.132: Second overview of generations from creation to ood. This Priestly genealogy parallels 4.126,
building from the P creation story (1.12.3) to the Priestly strand of the ood narrative. 1a: The list of the descendants of Adam was evidently a separate source which the Priestly writer drew upon for this chapter and used
as a model for later notices (6.9; 10.1; etc.). 1b2: The Priestly writer uses this reprise of 1.2628 to bind his
genealogical source (where adam designates a particular person) to 1.12.3 (where adam designates humanity as a whole). 3: The divine likeness (v. 1; see 1.26n.) was continued in Adams son Seth and thus transmied
to succeeding generations (9.6). 432: Ancient Babylonian lists similarly survey a series of heroes before the
ood, each of whom lived fantastically long times. Like those lists, the list in 5.432 gives extraordinary ages
for pre-ood gures, with ages declining over time to the 100200 years of Israels ancestors. The names in this
list resemble those of 4.1726 (see 4.1726n.). 24: Babylonian traditions also report that some individualse.g.,
Emmeduranki (a pre-ood gure), Etana, and Adapawere taken up into heaven by God. Later Jewish tradition
18 | hebrew bible
genesis 6
When Lamech had lived one hundred
eighty-two years, he became the father of
a son; he named him Noah, saying, Out
of the ground that the Lord has cursed
this one shall bring us relief from our work
and from the toil of our hands. Lamech
lived after the birth of Noah ve hundred
ninety-ve years, and had other sons and
daughters. Thus all the days of Lamech
were seven hundred seventy-seven years;
and he died.
After Noah was ve hundred years old,
Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and
Japheth.
When people began to multiply on the
face of the ground, and daughters were
born to them, the sons of God saw that they
were fair; and they took wives for themselves
of all that they chose. Then the Lord said,
My spirit shall not abidea in mortals forever,
for they are esh; their days shall be one
hundred twenty years. The Nephilim were
on the earth in those daysand also afterwardwhen the sons of God went in to the
daughters of humans, who bore children to
them. These were the heroes that were of old,
warriors of renown.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of
humankind was great in the earth, and that
every inclination of the thoughts of their
hearts was only evil continually. And the

Lord was sorry that he had made humankind
on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
So the Lord said, I will blot out from the
earth the human beings I have created
people together with animals and creeping
things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that
I have made them. But Noah found favor in
the sight of the Lord.
These are the descendants of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his
generation; Noah walked with God. And
Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and
Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in Gods sight,
and the earth was lled with violence. And
God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all
esh had corrupted its ways upon the earth.
And God said to Noah, I have determined
to make an end of all esh, for the earth is
lled with violence because of them; now
I am going to destroy them along with the
earth. Make yourself an ark of cypressa
wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it
inside and out with pitch. This is how you
are to make it: the length of the ark three
hundred cubits, its width fty cubits, and its
a Meaning of Heb uncertain
speculated at length on Enochs travels. 29: This (non-Priestly) verse links the curse of the ground in 3.1719 and
viticulture, which was inaugurated by Noah (9.20).
6.14: Divine-human reproduction illustrates the breaching of the divine-human boundary that the Lord
God feared in 3.22. There the Lord God drove humans away from the tree of life. Here, in an abbreviated narrative oen aributed to the Yahwistic primeval history, the Lord God limits their life span to one hundred twenty
years, the life span of Moses (Deut 31.2); another interpretation is that the one hundred twenty years refer to
a reprieve from punishment for several generations. Nothing appears to happen to the sons of God (see the
heavenly court in 1.26n.) who instigated it all. 4: The products of divine-human intercourse are legendary
warriors of renown. They are distinguished here from the Nephilim, a race of giants said to exist both prior to and
aer those times (cf. Num 13.33; Deut 2.1011).
6.58.19: The great ood. This story describes Gods un-creation and re-creation of the world. The version preserved here is an interweaving of parallel accounts, one of which links with the Priestly traditions of
1.12.3; 5.132 and the other of which links with the Yahwistic primeval history in 2.4b4.26. This type of intertwining of traditions is less usual but is necessary here to avoid describing two consecutive oods. 6.58:
This introduction links with the non-Priestly material, particularly 2.7 (compare 6.7). 5: Though the biblical
account is quite close in many respects to Mesopotamian ood stories, one signicant dierence is that this
text aributes the ood to Gods judgment on the wickedness of humankind rather than divine frustration with
human overpopulation and noise. 922: This section begins the Priestly account of the ood. 1113: Here the
Priestly writers aribute the ood to corruption of the earth and violence lling it (see 4.8,10,2324). 1416: In
the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, the hero, named Utnapishtim, is told to build a similar houseboat, sealing
it with pitch. The description of a three-leveled ark may be based on an ancient idea that the ark reects the
hebrew bible | 19
genesis 7
height thirty cubits. Make a roofa for the
ark, and nish it to a cubit above; and put
the door of the ark in its side; make it with
lower, second, and third decks. For my part,
I am going to bring a ood of waters on the
earth, to destroy from under heaven all esh
in which is the breath of life; everything that
is on the earth shall die. But I will establish
my covenant with you; and you shall come
into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and
your sons wives with you. And of every
living thing, of all esh, you shall bring two
of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive
with you; they shall be male and female. Of
the birds according to their kinds, and of the
animals according to their kinds, of every
creeping thing of the ground according to its
kind, two of every kind shall come in to you,
to keep them alive. Also take with you every
kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and
it shall serve as food for you and for them.
Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
Then the Lord said to Noah, Go into
the ark, you and all your household,
for I have seen that you alone are righteous
before me in this generation. Take with you
seven pairs of all clean animals, the male
and its mate; and a pair of the animals that
are not clean, the male and its mate; and
seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male
and female, to keep their kind alive on the
face of all the earth. For in seven days I will
send rain on the earth for forty days and
forty nights; and every living thing that I
have made I will blot out from the face of the
ground. And Noah did all that the Lord
had commanded him.
Noah was six hundred years old when the

ood of waters came on the earth. And Noah
with his sons and his wife and his sons wives
went into the ark to escape the waters of the
ood. Of clean animals, and of animals that
are not clean, and of birds, and of everything
that creeps on the ground, two and two, male
and female, went into the ark with Noah, as
God had commanded Noah. And after seven
days the waters of the ood came on the earth.
In the six hundredth year of Noahs life, in
the second month, on the seventeenth day of
the month, on that day all the fountains of the
great deep burst forth, and the windows of the
heavens were opened. The rain fell on the
earth forty days and forty nights. On the very
same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham
and Japheth, and Noahs wife and the three
wives of his sons entered the ark, they and
every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every
bird of every kindevery bird, every winged
creature. They went into the ark with Noah,
two and two of all esh in which there was the
breath of life. And those that entered, male
and female of all esh, went in as God had
commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.
The ood continued forty days on the
earth; and the waters increased, and bore
up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
The waters swelled and increased greatly on
the earth; and the ark oated on the face of
the waters. The waters swelled so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains
under the whole heaven were covered; the
a Or window
three-part structure of both universe and temple. It is about 437 x 73 x 44 (133 x 22 x 13 m). 18: Covenant, see
9.817n. 1920: See 7.23n. 7.15: This non-Priestly text parallels P in 6.1122 and continues the tradition seen in
6.58. 23: The provision of extra clean animals allows for the sacrice that will occur in 8.20. If only one pair of
each animal were taken, every sacrice would eliminate a species. In contrast, the Priestly tradition presumes
that both sacrice and the distinction between clean and unclean animals (see Lev 11) were not introduced
until Sinai. Therefore only one pair of each species is taken in that tradition (6.1920; 7.1415; cf. 7.9), and there
is no concluding sacrice (9.117). 616: Noah, his family, and the animals enter the ark twice (7.79 || 7.1316),
reecting the interweaving of the two ood accounts discussed earlier. Whereas the non-Priestly account has
the ood caused by forty days of rain (7.4,12), the Priestly account aributes the ood to Gods opening of the
protective dome created on the second day (1.68), thus allowing the upper and lower oceans to meet (7.11).
1724: The P and non-P strands are thoroughly interwoven in this description of the ood itself, including
multiple descriptions of the extinction of life outside the ark (7.2123). Such ood imagery seems to have been
a powerful image of worldwide chaos. Though many world traditions speak of oods, there is no geological
20 | hebrew bible
genesis 8
waters swelled above the mountains, covering them fteen cubits deep. And all esh
died that moved on the earth, birds, domestic
animals, wild animals, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all human
beings; everything on dry land in whose
nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face
of the ground, human beings and animals
and creeping things and birds of the air; they
were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah
was left, and those that were with him in the
ark. And the waters swelled on the earth for
one hundred fty days.
But God remembered Noah and all the
wild animals and all the domestic animals
that were with him in the ark. And God made
a wind blow over the earth, and the waters
subsided; the fountains of the deep and the
windows of the heavens were closed, the rain
from the heavens was restrained, and the
waters gradually receded from the earth. At
the end of one hundred fty days the waters
had abated; and in the seventh month, on the
seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to
rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters
continued to abate until the tenth month; in
the tenth month, on the rst day of the month,
the tops of the mountains appeared.
At the end of forty days Noah opened the
window of the ark that he had made and sent
out the raven; and it went to and fro until the
waters were dried up from the earth. Then he
sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters
had subsided from the face of the ground; but

the dove found no place to set its foot, and it
returned to him to the ark, for the waters were
still on the face of the whole earth. So he put
out his hand and took it and brought it into
the ark with him. He waited another seven
days, and again he sent out the dove from the
ark; and the dove came back to him in the
evening, and there in its beak was a freshly
plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the
waters had subsided from the earth. Then he
waited another seven days, and sent out the
dove; and it did not return to him any more.
In the six hundred rst year, in the rst
month, on the rst day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah
removed the covering of the ark, and looked,
and saw that the face of the ground was drying. In the second month, on the twentyseventh day of the month, the earth was dry.
Then God said to Noah, Go out of the
ark, you and your wife, and your sons and
your sons wives with you. Bring out with
you every living thing that is with you of all
eshbirds and animals and every creeping
thing that creeps on the earthso that they
may abound on the earth, and be fruitful
and multiply on the earth. So Noah went
out with his sons and his wife and his sons
wives. And every animal, every creeping
thing, and every bird, everything that moves
on the earth, went out of the ark by families.
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord,
and took of every clean animal and of every
evidence of a global ood of the sort described here. 8.15: With the exception of 8.2b3a, this unit comes
from the Priestly writer. 12a: Gods wind echoes the rst creation (1.2) in the process of starting the re-creation
process. The closing of the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens reestablishes the space for life
that was rst created on the second day (1.68). 4: In the Gilgamesh epic the boat also rested on a mountain.
Ararat, a region in Armenia. 612: Part of the non-Priestly account. In the Gilgamesh epic the hero sent out two
birds, a dove and a swallow, each of which came back; the third, a raven, did not return. 1319: The Priestly account resumes here with a description of the exit from the ark of Noah, his family, and the animals.
8.209.17: Divine commitments a%er the ood. This section features two accounts of Gods commitments
aer the ood (8.2022 [non-P]; 9.117 [P]), both of which include Gods promise not to destroy life through
such a ood ever again. 8.2022: The non-Priestly tradition describes Noahs burnt oerings of clean animals
(see 7.23n.). In the Gilgamesh epic (see 6.1416n.; 8.4n.; 8.612n.) the hero oered sacrices and the gods
smelled the pleasant fragrance and repented of their decision to destroy humanity. Here the Lord smells the
pleasing odor of Noahs oering and resolves never again to curse the ground or destroy all creatures (v. 21).
The Lord does this despite full recognition that the human heart has not changed (cf. 6.57). The nal result
of Noahs sacrice is the Lords promise to preserve the cycle of agricultural seasons (v. 22). A central aim of
temple sacrice in Israel and elsewhere was to preserve that cycle. The echo of that idea here is yet another
way in which the non-Priestly primeval history reects temple concerns (see also the focus on responses to
hebrew bible | 21
genesis 9
clean bird, and oered burnt oerings on
the altar. And when the Lord smelled the
pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, I
will never again curse the ground because of
humankind, for the inclination of the human
heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again
destroy every living creature as I have done.
As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night,
shall not cease.
God blessed Noah and his sons, and said
to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and
ll the earth. The fear and dread of you
shall rest on every animal of the earth, and
on every bird of the air, on everything that
creeps on the ground, and on all the sh of
the sea; into your hand they are delivered.
Every moving thing that lives shall be food
for you; and just as I gave you the green
plants, I give you everything. Only, you shall
not eat esh with its life, that is, its blood.
For your own lifeblood I will surely require
a reckoning: from every animal I will require
it and from human beings, each one for the
blood of another, I will require a reckoning
for human life.
Whoever sheds the blood of a human,
by a human shall that persons blood be
shed;
for in his own image
God made humankind.
And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound
on the earth and multiply in it.
Then God said to Noah and to his sons

with him, As for me, I am establishing my
covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that
is with you, the birds, the domestic animals,
and every animal of the earth with you, as
many as came out of the ark.a I establish
my covenant with you, that never again shall
all esh be cut o by the waters of a ood,
and never again shall there be a ood to
destroy the earth. God said, This is the
sign of the covenant that I make between
me and you and every living creature that
is with you, for all future generations: I
have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall
be a sign of the covenant between me and
the earth. When I bring clouds over the
earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I
will remember my covenant that is between
me and you and every living creature of
all esh; and the waters shall never again
become a ood to destroy all esh. When
the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and
remember the everlasting covenant between
God and every living creature of all esh
that is on the earth. God said to Noah,
This is the sign of the covenant that I have
established between me and all esh that is
on the earth.
The sons of Noah who went out of the
ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was
the father of Canaan. These three were the
a Gk: Heb adds every animal of the earth
sacrice in 4.18 and notes on 2.89,1014; 3.24). 9.117: The Priestly tradition lacks an account of sacrice (see
7.23n.). Instead it focuses on armations of some aspects of the creation in 1.131 and revisions of others. 17:
This section begins and ends with a rearmation of the fertility blessing (vv. 1,7; cf. 1.28). 26: Here God revises
the earlier command of vegetarianism (1.2930). This is a partial concession to the violence observed prior
to the ood (6.11,13) and an extension of the human dominion over creation described in 1.2628. At the same
time, God regulates this violence through stipulating that humans may not eat the blood in which life resides
(see 4.1011n.) and that humans as bearers of Gods image (1.2627) may not be killed. Since these laws are given
to Noah and his sons, the ancestors of all post-ood humanity, they were used in later Jewish tradition as the
basis for a set of seven Noachide laws that were seen as binding upon Gentiles as well as Jews (see Acts 15.20;
21.25; b. San. 58b). 817: This is the rst covenant explicitly described as such in the Bible, and it encompasses all
of humanity, as well as the animal world (vv. 10,12,15) and even the earth (v. 13). A covenant is a formal agreement, oen between a superior and inferior party, the former making or establishing (vv. 9,11) the bond with
the laer, and the superior protecting the weaker party. This agreement is oen sealed through ceremonies. In
this case, God sets his weapon, the bow (Ps 7.1213; Hab 3.911), in the sky facing away from humanity as a sign
of Gods commitment not to ood the earth again.
9.1829: Noah and his sons. Aside from P in vv. 1819 and 2829, this text is part of the Yahwistic primeval
history. It repeats major themes from the pre-ood period: farming (see 3.17; 5.29), nakedness, alienation in
22 | hebrew bible
ASHKENAZ (Scythians)
Black Sea
Caspian
Sea
JAPHETH
Gomer
LUD
(Lydia)
Meshech
Tubal
Togarmah
JAVAN
ASSHUR (Assyria)
Nineveh
Hamath
Arvad
River Euphrates
gris
Aram
r Ti
Elishah
(Cyprus)
Sidon
Med i t e r ra n ea n S ea
Accad
Babylon (Babel)
Gaza
Put
(Lehabim?)
(Libya)
MADAI
(Medes)
Rive
Caphtorim
(Crete)
Calah
Asshur
Rodanim
(Rhodes)
ELAM
Shinar
Canaan
Erech
Gerar
EGYP T
Persian
Gulf
MIDIAN
DEDAN
Dedan
SHEM
River Nile
HAM
OPHIR
CUSH (Ethiopia)
Red Sea
HAZARMAVETH
SEBA
0
0
100
100
SHEBA
200 Miles
200 Kilometers
Havilah
Sabtah
Ch 10: The table of nations. Only places that can be identied with probability are shown.
hebrew bible | 23
genesis 10
sons of Noah; and from these the whole earth
was peopled.
Noah, a man of the soil, was the rst to
plant a vineyard. He drank some of the wine
and became drunk, and he lay uncovered in his
tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the
nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers
outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked
backward and covered the nakedness of their
father; their faces were turned away, and they did
not see their fathers nakedness. When Noah
awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said,
Cursed be Canaan;
lowest of slaves shall he be to his
brothers.
He also said,
Blessed by the Lord my God be Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.
May God make space fora Japheth,
and let him live in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.
After the ood Noah lived three hundred
fty years. All the days of Noah were nine
hundred fty years; and he died.
These are the descendants of Noahs
sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; children were born to them after the ood.
The descendants of Japheth: Gomer,
Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and
10
Tiras. The descendants of Gomer: Ashkenaz,

Riphath, and Togarmah. The descendants of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and
Rodanim.b From these the coastland peoples
spread. These are the descendants of Japhethc
in their lands, with their own language, by
their families, in their nations.
The descendants of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put,
and Canaan. The descendants of Cush: Seba,
Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The
descendants of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
Cush became the father of Nimrod; he was the
rst on earth to become a mighty warrior. He
was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore
it is said, Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before
the Lord. The beginning of his kingdom
was Babel, Erech, and Accad, all of them in the
land of Shinar. From that land he went into
Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah,
and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that
is the great city. Egypt became the father of
Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim, from which
the Philistines come.d
a Heb yapht, a play on Japheth
b Heb Mss Sam Gk See 1Chr 1.7: MT Dodanim
c Compare verses 20, 31. Heb lacks These are the
descendants of Japheth
d Cn: Heb Casluhim, from which the Philistines come,

and Caphtorim
the family, curse, and domination. 2223: Some have speculated that Ham had sex with his father, since seeing
nakedness refers to incestuous behavior in Lev 20.17. Nevertheless, a more common expression for sexual intercourse in Leviticus is uncover nakedness (e.g., 18.6; 20.18) or lie with (e.g., 20.1112). Moreover, the description of Hams brothers contrasting behavior in v. 23 (their faces were turned away) makes clear that the problem
with Hams behavior was that he did not look away. In the ancient Near East, sons were expected to protect the
honor of their father, including caring for him when he was drunk (there was no negative judgment aached
to geing drunk). Ham here does the opposite, both looking upon his father naked and telling his brothers
about it. Such behavior is an example of the breakdown of family relationships seen in ch 3 (see 3.813,1619n.)
and ch 4 (see 4.116n.). 2427: Many have puzzled over why Canaan is cursed for his father, Hams, misdeed
(9.2526). Some speculate that a story originally focusing on Canaan was modied to focus on Ham, featured
in the broader context. Yet it is more likely that a later editor redirected an earlier curse on Ham toward Canaan,
so that the curse could help justify the conquest of the land of Canaan (see 10.1618a; 14.112,1316n.).
10.132: The table of nations. See map on p. 23 and compare with 1 Chr 1.423. This is a (largely Priestly) survey of the world of the Israelites. Like many ancient peoples, they depicted the relations between national groups in kinship terms. This list identies three large spheres of nationsJaphethites, Hamites, and
Shemitesthat overlap precisely in the holy land of Canaan. 25: The descendants of Japheth had their center
in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). 620: The descendants of Ham lived in the Egyptian orbit. 815: A fragment of the non-Priestly primeval history. It features a legend regarding Nimrods building a kingdom in Shinar
(southern Mesopotamia) and Assyria (vv. 812). Canaan is the father of two sons, Heth (representing the Hittites originally of Asia Minor) and Sidon (who represents the Phoenician coastal cities). 14: See Jer 47.4; Am
24 | hebrew bible
genesis 11
Canaan became the father of Sidon his
rstborn, and Heth, and the Jebusites, the
Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the
Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. And
the territory of the Canaanites extended from
Sidon, in the direction of Gerar, as far as Gaza,
and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah,
Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. These
are the descendants of Ham, by their families,
their languages, their lands, and their nations.
To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth,
children were born. The descendants of
Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and
Aram. The descendants of Aram: Uz, Hul,
Gether, and Mash. Arpachshad became
the father of Shelah; and Shelah became the
father of Eber. To Eber were born two sons:
the name of the one was Peleg,a for in his
days the earth was divided, and his brothers
name was Joktan. Joktan became the father
of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,
Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael,
Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these
were the descendants of Joktan. The territory in which they lived extended from
Mesha in the direction of Sephar, the hill
country of the east. These are the descend-
ants of Shem, by their families, their languages, their lands, and their nations.
These are the families of Noahs sons, according to their genealogies, in their nations;
and from these the nations spread abroad on
the earth after the ood.
Now the whole earth had one language
and the same words. And as they migrated from the east,b they came upon a plain
in the land of Shinar and settled there. And
they said to one another, Come, let us make
bricks, and burn them thoroughly. And they
had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
Then they said, Come, let us build ourselves
a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves;
otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon
the face of the whole earth. The Lord came
down to see the city and the tower, which
mortals had built. And the Lord said, Look,
they are one people, and they have all one
language; and this is only the beginning of
what they will do; nothing that they propose
to do will now be impossible for them. Come,
let us go down, and confuse their language
there, so that they will not understand one
anothers speech. So the Lord scattered
11
a That is Division
b Or migrated eastward
9.7. 1618a: This survey of Canaanite peoples lists ethnic groups rather than ancestors, including the Jebusites
(centered in Jerusalem), Amorites (natives of the hill country), and the Hivites (a group in central Palestine). The
list resembles later lists of peoples displaced by Israel (e.g., 15.1921; Deut 7.1) and may be an addition from the
same hand that directed Noahs curse toward Canaan (see 9.1827n.). 2131: Shem is the father of the Semitic
peoples, including Israel. Another pair of fragments of the non-Priestly primeval history (vv. 21,2430) focuses
on the children of Eber. The name Eber may be related to Hebrew. If so, then this text postulates a wider group
of children of Eber of which the Israelites are a part.
11.19: The tower of Babel. This narrative (from the non-Priestly Yahwistic primeval history) revisits the
theme of preservation of the divine-human boundary. The threat to that boundary, self-reective speech by
the Lord, and act of divine prevention all parallel 3.2224 and 6.14. With 11.2 the human family completes the
eastward movement begun in 3.2224 (cf. 4.16). Yet this story will focus on a scaering of the human family into
dierent ethnic, linguistic, and territorial groups. As such, it now gives background for the table of nations in
ch 10, although it was not originally wrien with that in view. 2: Shinar, see 10.815n. 4: The humans are depicted as fearful of being scaered and thus aiming to make a name for themselves through a tower reaching into
heaven. The humans intention here to stay together contradicts the divine imperative to ll the earth now
found in Priestly traditions (1.28; 9.1,7). 6: The Lord is described here as fearing the human power that might
result from ethnic and linguistic unity (see 3.22). 7: Let us, see 1.26n. 89: The Lords scaering of humanity and
confusing of language is the nal step in creation of civilized humanity, with its multiple territorial and linguistic groups. The movement toward cultural maturity begun in ch 3 is complete. Each step toward this end has
been fraught with conict and loss. The name Babel, interpreted here as confusion but originally meaning
gate of god (cf. 28.15n.) serves as a nal testimony to the ambiguous results of this process.
hebrew bible | 25
genesis 11
them abroad from there over the face of all
the earth, and they left o building the city.
Therefore it was called Babel, because there
the Lord confuseda the language of all the
earth; and from there the Lord scattered them
abroad over the face of all the earth.
These are the descendants of Shem.
When Shem was one hundred years old, he
became the father of Arpachshad two years
after the ood; and Shem lived after the
birth of Arpachshad ve hundred years, and
had other sons and daughters.
When Arpachshad had lived thirty-ve
years, he became the father of Shelah; and
Arpachshad lived after the birth of Shelah
four hundred three years, and had other sons
and daughters.
When Shelah had lived thirty years, he
became the father of Eber; and Shelah lived
after the birth of Eber four hundred three
When Eber had lived thirty-four years,
he became the father of Peleg; and Eber
lived after the birth of Peleg four hundred
thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.
When Peleg had lived thirty years, he
became the father of Reu; and Peleg lived
after the birth of Reu two hundred nine years,

and had other sons and daughters.
When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he
became the father of Serug; and Reu lived
after the birth of Serug two hundred seven
When Serug had lived thirty years, he
became the father of Nahor; and Serug
lived after the birth of Nahor two hundred
When Nahor had lived twenty-nine
years, he became the father of Terah; and
Nahor lived after the birth of Terah one
hundred nineteen years, and had other sons
and daughters.
When Terah had lived seventy years,
he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and
Haran.
Now these are the descendants of Terah.
Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and
Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. Haran died before his father Terah in the land
of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram
and Nahor took wives; the name of Abrams
wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahors wife
was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran
a Heb balal, meaning to confuse
11.2026: The descendants of Shem. This genealogy from the Priestly tradition closely parallels 5.132
(though it lacks death notices). It builds a genealogical bridge from Shem to Terah, the father of Abraham. Parts
of the genealogy of Shem (10.2131) are repeated, but now the text focuses exclusively on those descendants
who will lead to Abraham. The text implies that all these descendants are rstborn sons, thus seing up Abraham as the rstborn heir of Shem, the eldest of Noahs sons.
11.2725.11: The story of Abraham and his family. The bulk of this section is a non-Priestly narrative about
Abraham. It builds on a blend of oral traditions about him, such as the stories standing behind the present
narratives about his descent into Egypt (12.1020), the Abraham and Lot cycle (13.213; 18.116; 19.128,3037),
a pair of Hagar and Ishmael narratives (16.114 and 21.820), and the tradition about Abrahams stay in Philistine Gerar (20.118; 21.2234; cf. 26.633). Some scholars think that these once were part of two separate
wrien J and E sources, with remnants of J (the Yahwistic source) found primarily in chs 1219 (along with ch
24) and E (Elohistic source) fragments in chs 2022. Others see indicators that these chapters, though building on a range of separate traditions, were composed as a single whole (see the Introduction and 20.118n.).
Scholars generally agree, however, that other parts of the Abraham story were added later, such as the story
of conquest and covenant in 14.115.21 and Priestly materials found in 17.127 and elsewhere (see 11.2732n.;
12.4b5n; 16.3n; 17.127n; 21.35n; 25.711n). For paerns uniting this complex whole, see Chiasm in the
Abraham Story on p. 38.
11.2732: Introduction to the Abraham story. The genealogical heading (v. 27) and the concluding notices
regarding Terahs travels and death (vv. 3132) are Priestly, but most scholars consider vv. 2830 to be earlier,
non-Priestly material. 27: Abram, see 17.5n. The designation Abraham is used here in the annotations as the
beer-known name of Abra(ha)m. Aside from his birth, nothing is told about the early life of Abraham; this lack
is lled in by later postbiblical tradition. 2930: Sarai, see 17.15n. This is the rst appearance of the theme of
barrenness of the three most central matriarchs: Sarai/Sarah, Rebekah (25.21), and Rachel (29.31). Their initial
26 | hebrew bible
100
200 Miles
HaranA , J
0
Paddan-aramJ
R iv
100
200 Kilometers
er E
up
Mediterranean
Sea
hr
ate
DamascusA
CA
Ur of the ChaldeesA
ELA
NA
AN
BABYLONIA
(Shinar)
GOSHENJ
Kadesh
EGYPT
River Nile
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
DanA
33
Mediterranean
Sea
Ashteroth-karnaim
River Jordan
Dothan J
ShechemA,J
GILEADJ
Penuel J
Mahanaim
Timnah
bok J
AMMON
32
Ai
Jerusalem
(Salem)A
Bethlehem
(Ephrath) J
HebronA,I,J
Gerar A,I
r Ja b
D ea d Se a
Bethel (Luz)A,J
R ive
J
Chs 1250: The geography of the

ancestral narratives. Places associated
with a particular ancestor are highlighted
with a star, and the initial of the
ancestor follows the place name:
A(braham), I(saac), or J(acob).
10
10
Beer-shebaA,I,J
MOAB
The Negeb
KadeshA
31
E D O M
35
36
hebrew bible | 27
genesis 12
the father of Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai
was barren; she had no child.
Terah took his son Abram and his
grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughterin-law Sarai, his son Abrams wife, and they
went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans
to go into the land of Canaan; but when they
came to Haran, they settled there. The days
of Terah were two hundred ve years; and
Terah died in Haran.
Now the Lord said to Abram, Go
from your country and your kindred
and your fathers house to the land that I
will show you. I will make of you a great
12
nation, and I will bless you, and make your

name great, so that you will be a blessing. I
will bless those who bless you, and the one
who curses you I will curse; and in you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed.a
So Abram went, as the Lord had told
him; and Lot went with him. Abram was
seventy-ve years old when he departed
from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and
his brothers son Lot, and all the possessions
that they had gathered, and the persons
a Or by you all the families of the earth shall bless
themselves
barrenness helps highlight Gods power to provide heirs of the promise. 31: Haran, in northwest Mesopotamia, was Abrahams ancestral home, according to 24.10 (cf. 29.4). Nonbiblical sources show that several of the
names of Abrahams ancestors in the preceding genealogy were place names near Haran; e.g., Peleg (vv. 1619;
also 10.25), Serug (vv. 2023), Nahor (vv. 2425; cf. 26), and Terah (vv. 2426).
12.13: The Lords call and promise to Abraham initiates a major new movement in the story of Genesis.
This is the rst of three divine speeches in which a patriarch is given travel directions and promises of blessing
(12.13; 26.25; 46.14; see also 31.3,13). The combination of command (v. 1) and promise (vv. 23) implies that
the Lords fulllment of the promise will follow upon Abrahams fulllment of the command. 1: This command
to Abraham is similar to, and may have been modeled on, the later divine command for Jacob to return to the
land of your ancestors and to your kindred (31.3) and to the land of your birth (31.13). Due to the complex history of the book of Genesis, it is not surprising that material found in earlier chapters is based on material found
in later parts of the book. 2: The promise that a great nation will come from Abraham stands in tension with Sarahs barrenness in 11.30. Much of the following narrative revolves around this tension. Nation implies not just a
numerous people (cf. 13.16; 15.5; etc.), but a politically independent social group. I will bless you, involves giving
Abraham the power to ourish in ocks, other riches, and ospring (12.16; 13.2,5,16; etc.; cf. Job 42.1213). And
make your name great, to become famous. The Lord promises Abraham a fame similar to that promised to Israelite kings (2 Sam 7.9; 1 Kings 1.47). Thus Abraham, as heir of Shem (see 11.2026n.)which means name in
Hebrewgains the great name that the peoples at Babel had futilely sought for themselves (cf. 11.4). So that
you will be a blessing, implies that those associated with Abraham and his heirs will ourish as well. Later Laban
(30.2730) and Potiphar (39.5) will both gain blessing through their association with Abrahams heirs. 3: Though
obscured in the translation, the promise to curse the one who curses Abraham is a slight modication of a similar
formula. Whereas the parallel texts (e.g., 27.29; Num 24.9) speak of God cursing the one who curses, the Lord in
this text promises to curse anyone who even treats [Abraham] lightly. In you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed has been a particularly important passage in Christian tradition. Building on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, Paul interpreted this as a blessing of the Gentiles through Abraham
(Gal 3.8). Yet the closest analogies to this promise suggest that the alternate translation, by you all the families of
the earth shall bless themselves, i.e., they will say may we be like Abraham, is probably closer to the meaning of
the Hebrew. Like 48.20, it envisions other nations of the world looking to Abrahams great blessing and wishing
a similar one on themselves (see Ps 72.17). Later in the narrative we see this kind of recognition of Abraham and
his heirs special blessing by foreigners like Abimelech (26.28), Laban (30.27), Potiphar (39.35), Josephs jailer
(39.2123), Pharaoh (Ex 1.9), Jethro (Ex 18.1012), and Balaam (24.1).
12.49: Abrahams rst journey to the land. 4b5: Part of the Priestly Abraham narrative. 68: This brief report of Abrahams journey anticipates the much longer story of Jacobs travels through similar places: Shechem
with its oak (cf. 33.1835.4) and Bethel (cf. 35.1,916; see map on p. 27). Sacred trees like the oak of Moreh (oracle
giver; cf. 13.18; 18.1; 35.4; Deut 11.30; Josh 24.26; Judg 9.37) occur elsewhere in Genesis (e.g., 21.33; 35.8) and
seem to have played an important role in the religion of the ancient Israelites and surrounding peoples (see
2.89n.).
28 | hebrew bible
genesis 13
whom they had acquired in Haran; and
they set forth to go to the land of Canaan.
When they had come to the land of Canaan,
Abram passed through the land to the place
at Shechem, to the oaka of Moreh. At that
time the Canaanites were in the land. Then
the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, To
your ospringb I will give this land. So he
built there an altar to the Lord, who had
appeared to him. From there he moved on
to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and
pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and
Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to
the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord.
And Abram journeyed on by stages toward
the Negeb.
Now there was a famine in the land. So
Abram went down to Egypt to reside there as
an alien, for the famine was severe in the land.
When he was about to enter Egypt, he said
to his wife Sarai, I know well that you are a
woman beautiful in appearance; and when
the Egyptians see you, they will say, This is
his wife; then they will kill me, but they will
let you live. Say you are my sister, so that
it may go well with me because of you, and
that my life may be spared on your account.
When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians
saw that the woman was very beautiful.
When the ocials of Pharaoh saw her, they
praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was
taken into Pharaohs house. And for her sake
he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep,
oxen, male donkeys, male and female slaves,
female donkeys, and camels.
But the Lord aicted Pharaoh and his
house with great plagues because of Sarai,
Abrams wife. So Pharaoh called Abram, and
said, What is this you have done to me? Why
did you not tell me that she was your wife?
Why did you say, She is my sister, so that I
took her for my wife? Now then, here is your
wife, take her, and be gone. And Pharaoh

gave his men orders concerning him; and
they set him on the way, with his wife and all
that he had.
So Abram went up from Egypt, he and
his wife, and all that he had, and Lot
with him, into the Negeb.
Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in
silver, and in gold. He journeyed on by stages
from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place
where his tent had been at the beginning,
between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he
had made an altar at the rst; and there Abram
called on the name of the Lord. Now Lot,
who went with Abram, also had ocks and
herds and tents, so that the land could not
support both of them living together; for their
possessions were so great that they could not
live together, and there was strife between
the herders of Abrams livestock and the herders of Lots livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land.
Then Abram said to Lot, Let there be no
strife between you and me, and between your
herders and my herders; for we are kindred.
Is not the whole land before you? Separate
yourself from me. If you take the left hand,
then I will go to the right; or if you take the
right hand, then I will go to the left. Lot
looked about him, and saw that the plain of
the Jordan was well watered everywhere like
the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt,
in the direction of Zoar; this was before the
Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the
Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward; thus
they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled
among the cities of the Plain and moved his
13
a Or terebinth
b Heb seed
12.1013.1: First story of endangerment of the matriarch (cf. ch 20; 26.611). Puing Sarah in jeopardy to
protect himself, Abraham appears not to trust the promise of protection just oered him. On Abrahams later
claim to be Sarahs half-brother, see 20.12n. Overall, this story of descent into Egypt because of famine and
rescue through plagues anticipates many aspects of the later narrative about Israels descent into Egypt and
Exodus from it (Gen 45Ex 14).
13.218: Split of Abraham and Lot. 27: This narrative describing huge ocks and riches in Abrahams household testies to the preliminary fulllment of the promises of blessing in 12.23. Lot, see 11.27,31. 813: The
narrative anticipates the Sodom and Gomorrah narrative (ch 19) through mention of those cities, the wickedness of their inhabitants (13.13), and references to Zoar (19.1923). It also notes that Lot, the heir apparent, does
hebrew bible | 29
genesis 14
tent as far as Sodom. Now the people of
Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the
Lord.
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had
separated from him, Raise your eyes now,
and look from the place where you are,
northward and southward and eastward and
westward; for all the land that you see I will
give to you and to your ospringa forever. I
will make your ospring like the dust of the
earth; so that if one can count the dust of the
earth, your ospring also can be counted.
Rise up, walk through the length and the
breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.
So Abram moved his tent, and came and
settled by the oaksb of Mamre, which are at
Hebron; and there he built an altar to the
Lord.
In the days of King Amraphel of
Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King
Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of
Goiim, these kings made war with King
Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah,
King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber
of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is,
Zoar). All these joined forces in the Valley
of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea).c Twelve
years they had served Chedorlaomer, but
in the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the
fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings
who were with him came and subdued the
Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim
in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
and the Horites in the hill country of Seir
as far as El-paran on the edge of the wilderness; then they turned back and came to
14
En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued

all the country of the Amalekites, and
also the Amorites who lived in Hazazontamar. Then the king of Sodom, the king
of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king
of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is,
Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the
Valley of Siddim with King Chedorlaomer
of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar,
four kings against ve. Now the Valley of
Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the
kings of Sodom and Gomorrah ed, some
fell into them, and the rest ed to the hill
country. So the enemy took all the goods
of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way; they also took
Lot, the son of Abrams brother, who lived in
Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
Then one who had escaped came and
told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by
the oaksb of Mamre the Amorite, brother
of Eshcol and of Aner; these were allies
of Abram. When Abram heard that his
nephew had been taken captive, he led
forth his trained men, born in his house,
three hundred eighteen of them, and went
in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his
forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them
to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he
brought back all the goods, and also brought
a Heb seed
b Or terebinths
c Heb Salt Sea
not choose to stay in the land of Canaan (vv. 1012). 1417: Only aer Abraham has split from Lot and seled
in Canaan does God show him the land (cf. 12.7). This certies that Abraham has fullled Gods command to
go to the land that God will show him (12.1). Similarly, Jacob is promised the land aer he has split from Esau
(28.1314). 18: Mamre was an ancient southern sacred place, slightly north of Hebron, with which Abraham was
associated (see ch 23).
14.124: Abrahams rescue of Lot from the eastern kings. This and ch 15 are closely related (see 15.1n., 15.12
16n.) and link in multiple ways with late layers of the primeval history (see 9.1827n.; 10.1618a n.). 112: Here
an alliance of four eastern kings conquers ve Canaanite kings associated with the Dead Sea region where Lot
is said to have seled. In a fulllment of the curse of Noah predicting the enslavement of Canaan by Shem
(9.2526), these Canaanite kings had been subject for twelve years to an eastern alliance of kings headed by the
Shemite king, Chedorlaomer (cf. 10.22). When the Canaanite kings rebel, the eastern kings crush the revolt and
seize Lot and his household and take them back toward their home. Neither the bale nor any of the kings can
be identied in nonbiblical sources. 1316: Abrahams ability to pursue and overcome the Shemite conquerors
testies to his status as heir of Shem and recipient of Shems blessing (9.2527). Moreover, this demonstrates
the fulllment of the divine promise to protect Abraham and his household (12.3). 13: Hebrew, probably meaning
30 | hebrew bible
genesis 15
back his nephew Lot with his goods, and the
women and the people.
After his return from the defeat of
Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with
him, the king of Sodom went out to meet
him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the
Kings Valley). And King Melchizedek of
Salem brought out bread and wine; he was
priest of God Most High.a He blessed him
and said,
Blessed be Abram by God
Most High,a
maker of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,a
who has delivered your enemies into
your hand!
And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything. Then the king of Sodom said to
Abram, Give me the persons, but take the
goods for yourself. But Abram said to the
king of Sodom, I have sworn to the Lord,
God Most High,a maker of heaven and earth,
that I would not take a thread or a sandalthong or anything that is yours, so that you
might not say, I have made Abram rich. I
will take nothing but what the young men
have eaten, and the share of the men who
went with meAner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let
them take their share.
15
After these things the word of the

Lord came to Abram in a vision, Do
not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your
reward shall be very great. But Abram said,
OLord God, what will you give me, for I
continue childless, and the heir of my house
is Eliezer of Damascus?b And Abram said,
You have given me no ospring, and so a
slave born in my house is to be my heir. But
the word of the Lord came to him, This man
shall not be your heir; no one but your very
own issue shall be your heir. He brought
him outside and said, Look toward heaven
and count the stars, if you are able to count
them. Then he said to him, So shall your
descendants be. And he believed the Lord;
and the Lordc reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Then he said to him, I am the Lord who
brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to
give you this land to possess. But he said,
OLord God, how am I to know that I shall
possess it? He said to him, Bring me a
heifer three years old, a female goat three
years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove,
a Heb El Elyon
b Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Heb he
an outsider, as oen in the Bible (see 39.14; Ex 1.15; 1 Sam 29.3; Jon 1.9). 1720: This is the only section of Genesis
associating a patriarch with Jerusalem; indeed, it is the only place in the entire Torah where Jerusalem is referred
to by name. As heir of Shem, Abraham now receives the blessing of the priest in what will become Israels royal
and religious center. Salem is a name for Jerusalem (Ps 76.2), where the ancient high god of the Canaanite
pantheon, El Elyon (God Most High), was worshiped in pre- and early Israelite times. The Kings Valley is near
Jerusalem (2 Sam 18.18), and the priest Melchizedek appears as the founder of a royal priesthood in an ancient
Jerusalemite psalm (110.4). This mysterious Melchizedek was later interpreted eschatologically at Qumran and
typologically by early Christians (Heb 7.117). 20: One-tenth, i.e., a tithe; cf. 28.22; Num 18.2128.
15.121: The rst covenant with Abraham. The Lord promises Abraham protection, reward, and an heir in
the wake of his recent military encounter with the eastern kings. 1: The promise to be a shield (Heb magen) for
Abraham echoes Melchizedeks praise of the god who delivered (miggen) Abraham (14.20), and the reward
replaces the goods he had refused from the king of Sodom (14.2124). 25: The parallel objections from Abraham
(vv. 2 and 3) and parallel divine responses (vv. 4 and 5) may be indicators of growth in this text, whether parallel
sources (J and E; see the Introduction) or the supplementation of an earlier story by later material. 6: This verse
indicates that Abraham considered his objections answered. Though later tradition has generally understood
God to be the one who reckoned righteousness to Abraham (e.g., Rom 4.9; Gal 3.6), the subject and object are
not specied in Hebrew. Righteousness is being true to ones social obligations and commitments. It is possible
that it is Abraham here who reckons righteousness to the Lord, certifying that he now believes that the Lord will
be true to his commitments in 15.1 (cf. 15.23). 721: This section parallels the promise-objection-reassurance
paern of 15.16, but with the added component of a covenant ceremony sealing Gods promise to give Abraham the land. 917: The ceremony (911,17) reects an ancient practice in which the participants in a covenant
oath passed through the dismembered parts of an animal and proclaimed a similar fate on themselves if they
hebrew bible | 31
genesis 16
and a young pigeon. He brought him all
these and cut them in two, laying each half
over against the other; but he did not cut the
birds in two. And when birds of prey came
down on the carcasses, Abram drove them
away.
As the sun was going down, a deep
sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and
terrifying darkness descended upon him.
Then the Lorda said to Abram, Know
this for certain, that your offspring shall be
aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall
be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed
for four hundred years; but I will bring
judgment on the nation that they serve, and
afterward they shall come out with great
possessions. As for yourself, you shall
go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be
buried in a good old age. And they shall
come back here in the fourth generation;

for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet
complete.
When the sun had gone down and it
was dark, a smoking re pot and a aming
torch passed between these pieces. On that
day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,
saying, To your descendants I give this land,
from the river of Egypt to the great river, the
river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the
Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites,
the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites,
the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the
Jebusites.
Now Sarai, Abrams wife, bore him
no children. She had an Egyptian
slave-girl whose name was Hagar, and Sarai
16
a Heb he
disobeyed the terms of the agreement (see Jer 34.18). Likely because of this, the Hebrew word for making a
covenant is literally to cut a covenant (found in 15.18). In this case, God passes between the pieces in the form
of re (see Ex 3.2; 13.21). 12-16: A speech has been inserted into this ceremony that echoes Abrahams earlier
triumph over the eastern kings at Dan and return from there with goods (Heb rekush; 14.1416). Here in
v. 14 God promises a future judgment (Heb dan) on Egypt and escape of Abrahams descendants from there
with yet more goods (again rekush in 15.14; see Ex 3.2122; 12.3336). Though this is promised in four generations at the end of the speech (15.16), a Priestly editor may have modied this in v. 13 to four hundred years
in order to beer match Priestly material in Exodus (Ex 12.40). 16: The iniquity of the Amorites, see Lev 20.23;
Deut 9.4. 1821: The ceremony is concluded with Gods promise to give the land of the Canaanite peoples (cf.
10.1618) to Abraham. 18: The boundaries given here are the broadest denition of the promised land in the
Bible. They correspond to similarly broad, ideal descriptions of the land in the Deuteronomistic History (e.g.,
2 Sam 8.3; 1 Kings 4.21; cf. Deut 1.7; 11.24; Josh 1.4). The phrase river of Egypt occurs only here, and may refer to the
Nile. But elsewhere in the Bible (e.g., Num 34.5; 2 Kings 24.7; Isa 27.12) and in other sources, the Wadi of Egypt
is apparently either the Wadi Besor or the Wadi el-Arish, both south of Gaza. 1921: The form of this list of ten
nations to be displaced resembles the list of Canaanite groups in Gen 10.1618, but its contents more resemble
lists of Canaanite peoples in the Tetrateuch (e.g., Ex 3.8,17; 13.5) and Deuteronomistic History (e.g., Deut 7.1; 20.17;
Josh 3.10). This list, however, is longer than others. Though it is missing the Hivites (see 10.1618a n.), who occur on most other lists, this list is unique in including the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, and Rephaim.
16.116: Hagars encounter with God and the birth of Ishmael stand at the heart of the Abraham story (see
Chiasm in the Abraham Story on p. 38), enveloped by parallel traditions dealing with covenant (chs 15 and
17), Lot and Abraham (chs 1314 and 1819), the endangerment of Sarah (12.1020 and ch 20), and the promise
(12.16 and 22.119). This story echoes the story of Abrahams endangerment of Sarah in 12.1020 in describing
the complications resulting from human aempts to fulll the promise, in this case the promise of ospring.
In addition, like that story, this one links with the Exodus, though oering a quite dierent picture. In the book
of Exodus Israelites are oppressed (Heb anah) by the Egyptians (Ex 1.12), ee east toward Israel through the
wilderness, and meet God there (Ex 19.24.12,1011). In this chapter, however, it is an Egyptian, Hagar, who is
oppressed (Heb anah; dealt harshly with in the NRSV of v. 6) by the Israelite matriarch Sarah; Hagar ees
west from Israel toward Egypt and meets God in the wilderness. Later, in Gen 21.821, we will see a doublet of
this story, where Hagar again must leave Abrahams clan, go into the desert, and hear an oracle that will revolve
around an interpretation of the name of Hagars son, Ishmael (Heb for God hears). Both stories have their
origins in ancient traditions surrounding the origins of the Ishmaelites, seen in Genesis as ancestors of the Arab
peoples (see Gen 25.1218), but the version here in Gen 16 is distinguished by its echoes of the Exodus story
32 | hebrew bible
genesis 17
said to Abram, You see that the Lord has
prevented me from bearing children; go in
to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain
children by her. And Abram listened to the
voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived ten
years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abrams
wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl,
and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife.
He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and
when she saw that she had conceived, she
looked with contempt on her mistress. Then
Sarai said to Abram, May the wrong done
to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your
embrace, and when she saw that she had
conceived, she looked on me with contempt.
May the Lord judge between you and me!
But Abram said to Sarai, Your slave-girl is
in your power; do to her as you please. Then
Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away
from her.
The angel of the Lord found her by a
spring of water in the wilderness, the spring
on the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar,
slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from
and where are you going? She said, I am
running away from my mistress Sarai. The
angel of the Lord said to her, Return to your
mistress, and submit to her. The angel of
the Lord also said to her, I will so greatly
multiply your ospring that they cannot be
counted for multitude. And the angel of
the Lord said to her,
Now you have conceived and shall bear
a son;
you shall call him Ishmael,a

for the Lord has given heed to your
aiction.
He shall be a wild ass of a man,
with his hand against everyone,
and everyones hand against him;
and he shall live at odds with all his kin.
So she named the Lord who spoke to her,
You are El-roi;b for she said, Have I really
seen God and remained alive after seeing
him?c Therefore the well was called Beerlahai-roi;d it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram
named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar
bore hime Ishmael.
When Abram was ninety-nine years
old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and
said to him, I am God Almighty;f walk before
me, and be blameless. And I will make my
covenant between me and you, and will make
you exceedingly numerous. Then Abram
fell on his face; and God said to him, As for
me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be
the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No
longer shall your name be Abram,g but your
17
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
That is God hears

Perhaps God of seeing or God who sees
Meaning of Heb uncertain
That is the Well of the Living One who sees me
Heb Abram
Traditional rendering of Heb El Shaddai
That is exalted ancestor
and ultimately sympathetic focus on Hagar. 2: According to ancient surrogate motherhood customs, a wife
could give her maid to her husband and claim the child as her own (30.3,9). 3: This duplicate notice of Sarahs
transfer of Hagar to Abraham as a surrogate mother probably comes from the Priestly source. 45: The translation looked with contempt implies that Hagar disdained her mistress, whereas the Hebrew verb (qll, to treat
lightly) only implies that Hagar did not look up to her mistress the way she once did. Having had a child, Hagar
is now derisively seen by her mistress as a slave who is not suciently submissive. 7: Here the angel of the Lord
is not a heavenly being subordinate to God but the Lord (Yahweh) in earthly manifestation, as is clear from v. 13
(cf. 21.17,19; Ex 14.19). 11: The Lord has given heed, lit., The Lord has heard, an explanation of the name Ishmael
(see note a and 21.17n.). 13: God of seeing (see note b) was the name of the deity at the Beer-lahai-roi well, now
identied with Israels God. On Hagars question, cf. 32.30; Ex 33.20; Judg 6.2223; 13.22. 1516: Priestly material
focusing more on Ishmael than on Hagar.
17.127: The everlasting covenant and sign of circumcision. This account from the Priestly tradition is parallel to that in 15.121 and links to the Priestly covenant with Noah in 9.817; see further 9.817n. 1: The phrase
translated as God Almighty (Heb El Shadday) is variously understood as God [or El], the one of the mountains, God of the Shadday [deities], or even fertile God (literally, God with breasts, see 49.25). Whatever
its original meaning, the Priestly tradition understands this epithet to be what the early ancestors of Israel
called God before they learned the name Yahweh (Ex 6.28). 26: In a parallel to 15.16 this text includes the
hebrew bible | 33
genesis 17
name shall be Abraham;a for I have made
you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and
I will make nations of you, and kings shall
come from you. I will establish my covenant
between me and you, and your ospring after
you throughout their generations, for an
everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to
your ospringb after you. And I will give to
you, and to your ospring after you, the land
where you are now an alien, all the land of
Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be
their God.
God said to Abraham, As for you, you
shall keep my covenant, you and your
ospring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you
shall keep, between me and you and your
ospring after you: Every male among you
shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise
the esh of your foreskins, and it shall be a
sign of the covenant between me and you.
Throughout your generations every male
among you shall be circumcised when he is
eight days old, including the slave born in
your house and the one bought with your
money from any foreigner who is not of
your ospring. Both the slave born in your
house and the one bought with your money
must be circumcised. So shall my covenant
be in your esh an everlasting covenant.
Any uncircumcised male who is not
circumcised in the esh of his foreskin shall
be cut o from his people; he has broken my
covenant.
God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your

wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah
shall be her name. I will bless her, and
moreover I will give you a son by her. I will
bless her, and she shall give rise to nations;
kings of peoples shall come from her. Then
Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and
said to himself, Can a child be born to a
man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah,
who is ninety years old, bear a child? And
Abraham said to God, Othat Ishmael might
live in your sight! God said, No, but your
wife Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall
name him Isaac.c I will establish my covenant
with him as an everlasting covenant for his
ospring after him. As for Ishmael, I have
heard you; I will bless him and make him
fruitful and exceedingly numerous; he shall
be the father of twelve princes, and I will
make him a great nation. But my covenant
I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall
bear to you at this season next year. And
when he had nished talking with him, God
went up from Abraham.
Then Abraham took his son Ishmael
and all the slaves born in his house or bought
with his money, every male among the men
of Abrahams house, and he circumcised the
esh of their foreskins that very day, as God
had said to him. Abraham was ninety-nine
years old when he was circumcised in the
a Here taken to mean ancestor of a multitude
b Heb seed
c That is he laughs
promise of ospring in the covenant. 5: A new name signies a new relationship or status (see 32.28). Abraham,
a dialectal variant of Abram, means the [divine] ancestor is exalted. Here the name is explained by its similarity to the Hebrew for ancestor of a multitude, referring to nations whose ancestry was traced to Abraham (v. 16;
28.3; 35.11; 48.4), such as Edomites and Ishmaelites. The promise to make Abraham exceedingly numerous (v.
2) and exceedingly fruitful (v. 6) echoes the broader fertility blessing given animals (1.22; 8.17) and humanity (1.28;
9.1,7) in the primeval history. 7: Within the Priestly tradition, the promise to be God to Abraham and his ospring leads to the divine provision of religious laws and a tabernacle sanctuary into which God comes to dwell
in Israels midst (Ex 2531; 3540). Like the covenant with Noah (9.817), this covenant to be bound to Israel is
an everlasting covenant (vv. 13,19) because it is grounded in the will of God, not human behavior. It is a covenant
of grant, rather than a conditional covenant. 914: Circumcision was an ancient rite practiced among some
Semitic groups, perhaps originally connected to marriage (see 34.1417), probably having to do with warding
o demons (see Ex 4.2426). Here, however, it is moved to early childhood and reinterpreted as a sign of Gods
everlasting covenant with Israel, a mark of membership in the covenant community. Unlike the covenant with
Noah (9.117), this one pertains only to the household and heirs of Abraham. 15: Sarah, meaning princess, is
a variant of Sarai; see v. 5n. 17: Abrahams laughter here in the Priestly tradition anticipates Sarahs laughter in
the non-Priestly account (18.915n.).
34 | hebrew bible
genesis 18
esh of his foreskin. And his son Ishmael
was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the esh of his foreskin. That
very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were
circumcised; and all the men of his house,
slaves born in the house and those bought
with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
The Lord appeared to Abrahama by
the oaksb of Mamre, as he sat at the
entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.
He looked up and saw three men standing
near him. When he saw them, he ran from
the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed
down to the ground. He said, My lord, if I
nd favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash
your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass
onsince you have come to your servant.
So they said, Do as you have said. And
Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and
said, Make ready quickly three measuresc
of choice our, knead it, and make cakes.
Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf,
tender and good, and gave it to the servant,
who hastened to prepare it. Then he took
curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by
them under the tree while they ate.
They said to him, Where is your wife
Sarah? And he said, There, in the tent.
Then one said, I will surely return to you
in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have
a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent
entrance behind him. Now Abraham and
18
Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased

to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, After I
have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I
have pleasure? The Lord said to Abraham,
Why did Sarah laugh, and say, Shall I indeed
bear a child, now that I am old? Is anything
too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time
I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah
shall have a son. But Sarah denied, saying,
I did not laugh; for she was afraid. He said,
Oh yes, you did laugh.
Then the men set out from there, and
they looked toward Sodom; and Abraham
went with them to set them on their way.
The Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham
what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham
shall become a great and mighty nation, and
all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in
him?d No, for I have chosene him, that he
may charge his children and his household
after him to keep the way of the Lord by
doing righteousness and justice; so that the
Lord may bring about for Abraham what he
has promised him. Then the Lord said,
How great is the outcry against Sodom and
Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I
must go down and see whether they have
done altogether according to the outcry that
has come to me; and if not, I will know.
a
b
c
d
Heb him
Or terebinths
Heb seahs
Or and all the nations of the earth shall bless
themselves by him
e Heb known
18.115: The Lords visit to Abraham and Sarah. 1: The oaks of Mamre, see 12.68n.; 13.18n. 28: A description
of ideal hospitality of Abraham parallel to that of Lot in 19.111. This motif of secretly divine visitors is widespread in folklore. The relation between the three visitors and the Lord (v. 1) is unclear. The narrative uidly
shis from speaking of them as a group (e.g., v. 9) to having the Lord speak alone (e.g., v. 13; cf. v. 10). Later
materials in v. 22 and 19.1 conceive of the Lord as one of the three angels (see 16.7n.), though this is not specied in the preceding narrative (one in the NRSV of v. 10 is a translators addition). 915: The narrator uses the
theme of Sarahs laughter (cf. 17.17) to stress the incredibility of Gods promise of a son (eventually Isaac, 21.13).
11: Ceased . . . aer the manner of women, a circumlocution for menopause. 12: Isaacs name means he [God]
laughs, and other traditions develop the link with laughter as well (17.1719; 21.6,8; 26.8).
18.1633: Abrahams intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah. 1719: This rst speech by the Lord stresses
that he speaks to Abraham because he chose him to teach his household the ways of righteousness. In vv.
2232 the Lord will model such righteousness in his responsiveness to Abraham. 18: See 12.3n. 2021: This
second speech by the Lord echoes his decision at Babel to go down and see what was going on there (11.5; cf.
divine self-reection in 3.22; 6.3,57; 11.67). Unlike vv. 1719, this speech suggests that the Lord has not yet
hebrew bible | 35
genesis 19
So the men turned from there, and went
toward Sodom, while Abraham remained
standing before the Lord.a Then Abraham
came near and said, Will you indeed sweep
away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fty righteous within the city;
will you then sweep away the place and not
forgive it for the fty righteous who are in
it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to
slay the righteous with the wicked, so that
the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that
from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth
do what is just? And the Lord said, If I
nd at Sodom fty righteous in the city, I
will forgive the whole place for their sake.
Abraham answered, Let me take it upon
myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but
dust and ashes. Suppose ve of the fty
righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the
whole city for lack of ve? And he said, I
will not destroy it if I nd forty-ve there.
Again he spoke to him, Suppose forty are
found there. He answered, For the sake of
forty I will not do it. Then he said, Oh do
not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose
thirty are found there. He answered, I will
not do it, if I nd thirty there. He said,
Let me take it upon myself to speak to the
Lord. Suppose twenty are found there. He
answered, For the sake of twenty I will not
destroy it. Then he said, Oh do not let the
Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there. He answered, For
the sake of ten I will not destroy it. And
the Lord went his way, when he had nished
speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned
to his place.
19
The two angels came to Sodom in the

evening, and Lot was sitting in the
gateway of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he
rose to meet them, and bowed down with
his face to the ground. He said, Please, my
lords, turn aside to your servants house and
spend the night, and wash your feet; then you
can rise early and go on your way. They said,
No; we will spend the night in the square.
But he urged them strongly; so they turned
aside to him and entered his house; and he
made them a feast, and baked unleavened
bread, and they ate. But before they lay
down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom,
both young and old, all the people to the last
man, surrounded the house; and they called
to Lot, Where are the men who came to you
tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may
know them. Lot went out of the door to the
men, shut the door after him, and said, I
beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.
Look, I have two daughters who have not
known a man; let me bring them out to you,
and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under
the shelter of my roof. But they replied,
Stand back! And they said, This fellow
came here as an alien, and he would play the
judge! Now we will deal worse with you than
with them. Then they pressed hard against
the man Lot, and came near the door to break
it down. But the men inside reached out
their hands and brought Lot into the house
with them, and shut the door. And they
a Another ancient tradition reads while the Lord
remained standing before Abraham
decided what to do. 2233: Like Moses (e.g., Ex 32.914), Abraham negotiates with an angry God, appealing to
Gods righteousness. In this case, however, the terms he ends up winningaversion of disaster if ten righteous
people can be founddo not avert destruction. Thus, this text appears to be a theoretical reection on Gods
righteousness and how many righteous people are required to save a broader group; cf. Ezek 14.1223.
19.138: The rescue of Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah was a prominent example in Israelite tradition of Gods total judgment (Deut 29.23;
Isa 1.9; Jer 49.18; Am 4.11). 1: Two angels, see 18.28n. 111: As in the case of 18.18, the main issue here is hospitality to secretly divine visitors. Here, however, the sanctity of hospitality is threatened by the men of the city
who wish to rape (know) the guests (cf. Judg 19.2230). The primary point of this text is how this threat by the
townspeople violates the value of hospitality (contrast 18.116). Hospitality is valued so strongly in this context
that Lot oers his virgin daughters in place of his guests (vv. 78). Nevertheless, this foolish and cruel act has
the opposite of its intended eect, leading the townspeople to threaten worse things to Lot than the rape
they were going to inict on his guests (v. 9), and requiring the guests to protect their host (vv. 1011). Where
Abraham was the model of hospitality (Gen 18.116), Lots actions show him to be a bungling, almost heartless
36 | hebrew bible
genesis 19
struck with blindness the men who were at
the door of the house, both small and great,
so that they were unable to nd the door.
Then the men said to Lot, Have you
anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the citybring
them out of the place. For we are about to
destroy this place, because the outcry against
its people has become great before the Lord,
and the Lord has sent us to destroy it. So
Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who
were to marry his daughters, Up, get out of
this place; for the Lord is about to destroy the
city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be
jesting.
When morning dawned, the angels
urged Lot, saying, Get up, take your wife
and your two daughters who are here, or else
you will be consumed in the punishment
of the city. But he lingered; so the men
seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to
him, and they brought him out and left him
outside the city. When they had brought
them outside, theya said, Flee for your life;
do not look back or stop anywhere in the
Plain; ee to the hills, or else you will be
consumed. And Lot said to them, Oh, no,
my lords; your servant has found favor with
you, and you have shown me great kindness
in saving my life; but I cannot ee to the
hills, for fear the disaster will overtake me
and I die. Look, that city is near enough
to ee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape
thereis it not a little one?and my life will
be saved! He said to him, Very well, I grant
you this favor too, and will not overthrow
the city of which you have spoken. Hurry,
escape there, for I can do nothing until you
arrive there. Therefore the city was called
Zoar.b The sun had risen on the earth when

Lot came to Zoar.
Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and re from the Lord out of
heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and
all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the
cities, and what grew on the ground. But
Lots wife, behind him, looked back, and she
became a pillar of salt.
Abraham went early in the morning
to the place where he had stood before the
Lord; and he looked down toward Sodom
and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the
Plain and saw the smoke of the land going up
like the smoke of a furnace.
So it was that, when God destroyed the
cities of the Plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the
overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in
which Lot had settled.
Now Lot went up out of Zoar and settled
in the hills with his two daughters, for he was
afraid to stay in Zoar; so he lived in a cave with
his two daughters. And the rstborn said to
the younger, Our father is old, and there is
not a man on earth to come in to us after the
manner of all the world. Come, let us make
our father drink wine, and we will lie with him,
so that we may preserve ospring through
our father. So they made their father drink
wine that night; and the rstborn went in,
and lay with her father; he did not know when
she lay down or when she rose. On the next
day, the rstborn said to the younger, Look,
I lay last night with my father; let us make
him drink wine tonight also; then you go in
and lie with him, so that we may preserve
a Gk Syr Vg: Heb he
b That is Little
imitator who does not deserve to be the heir of the promise to Abraham. 1214: In place of Sarahs laughter (Heb
tshq) in the preceding hospitality scene (18.1114), we have here the Sodomite sons-in-law assuming that Lot
is jesting
(Heb tshq). 1523: Once again, Lot is unfavorably contrasted with Abraham. Where Abraham hurried
guests (18.2,6,7), Lot hesitates at their urging to leave Sodom, requiring them to take him
to serve his angelic
away by force (vv. 1516). Then, doubting their rescue plan, he asks them to let him stop in a nearby city (Zoar,
which means lile; see note b and v. 20) lest he be caught up in the coming destruction (vv. 1722). In the end,
though Lot claims that he has found a Noah-like favor with his angelic rescuers (19.19; cf. Gen 6.8), this is not
armed by the angels or the narrator. 2425: The rain of destruction continues the echoes of the Noah story.
26: This text turns salt formations in the Dead Sea area into a testimony to the truth of the story, asserting that
one of those formations was Lots wife, who disobediently looked back at the cities God was destroying. 29:
This is a Priestly summary of the story, echoing 8.1 and aributing Lots rescue to his relation with Abraham.
hebrew bible | 37
genesis 20
ospring through our father. So they made
their father drink wine that night also; and
the younger rose, and lay with him; and he
did not know when she lay down or when she
rose. Thus both the daughters of Lot became
pregnant by their father. The rstborn bore a
son, and named him Moab; he is the ancestor
of the Moabites to this day. The younger also
bore a son and named him Ben-ammi; he is
the ancestor of the Ammonites to this day.
From there Abraham journeyed
toward the region of the Negeb, and
settled between Kadesh and Shur. While
residing in Gerar as an alien, Abraham said
20
of his wife Sarah, She is my sister. And King

Abimelech of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
But God came to Abimelech in a dream by
night, and said to him, You are about to
die because of the woman whom you have
taken; for she is a married woman. Now
Abimelech had not approached her; so he
said, Lord, will you destroy an innocent
people? Did he not himself say to me, She
is my sister? And she herself said, He is my
brother. I did this in the integrity of my heart
and the innocence of my hands. Then God
said to him in the dream, Yes, I know that
you did this in the integrity of your heart; fur-
3738: This story suggests that two of Israels closest neighbors, the Moabites and Ammonites in Transjordan,
originated in incest. Mistakenly assuming that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was so total that there
is no one else on earth by whom to have children (19.31), Lots daughters get their father drunk so that he will
conceive with them. The themes of drunkenness and (implicit) nakedness are reminiscent of the story of Noah
and his sons (9.2027).
20.118: The second story of endangerment of the matriarch (cf. 12.1020; 26.611). Many scholars have
argued that chs 2022 contain the rst major block of an Elohistic (E) source parallel to the Yahwistic (J) source
found in chs 1219 and extending through the rest of the Pentateuch (see further 15.25n. and the Introduction). Note parallels between stories of endangerment of Sarah in 20.118 (E) and 12.1020 (J); the Hagar stories
21.819 (E) and 16.114 (J), and even stories about Abimelech in 21.2234 (E) and 26.1733 (J). These similarities
indicate that the author of the non-Priestly Abraham narrative probably drew upon cycles of Yahwistic and
Elohistic traditions that were parallel at some points. Nevertheless, there are some important indicators that
the Elohistic traditions seen in Gen 2022 were wrien down as part of a larger whole that included the preceding narratives in Gen 1219 and thus do not reect (in their present form) a separate wrien source. Not only
are the Elohistic accounts organized as part of a broader chiasm that includes the narratives of Genesis 1219,
but details of Genesis 2022 are understandable only when these chapters are read following Genesis 1219.
chiasm in the abraham story

There are a series of correspondences between dierent parts of the Abraham story, where themes introduced at the outset of a narrative are resumed in reverse order in its second half. This chiastic paern binds
many parts of the Abraham story together and puts a heightened emphasis on the sections that occur at the
center (in boldface).
A. Prologue (11.2830)
B. First challenge: call for Abraham to leave family of origin (12:13)
C. Wife-sister story 12:1013:1
D. Separation from Lot (13:218)
E. Covenant of pieces with Abraham (1415)
F. Hagar-Ishmael story (Gen 16:114)
E.' Covenant of circumcision with Abraham (17)
D.' Hospitality/progeny episodes; Abraham contrasted with Lot (1819)
C.' Wife-sister story (20)
B.' Final challenge: calls for Abraham to let go of family of future (21.821 and 22.119)
A.' Epilogue 22.2024
For example, Abrahams brief claim in 20.2 that Sarah is his sister would not make sense without the explanation of his request to her to make the same claim in 12.1113. 37: The depiction of Abimelech is far more
detailed and sympathetic than that of the foreign king in either of the parallel accounts (cf. 12.1519; 26.910).
38 | hebrew bible
genesis 21
thermore it was I who kept you from sinning
against me. Therefore I did not let you touch
her. Now then, return the mans wife; for he
is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you
shall live. But if you do not restore her, know
that you shall surely die, you and all that are
yours.
So Abimelech rose early in the morning,
and called all his servants and told them all
these things; and the men were very much
afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham,
and said to him, What have you done to us?
How have I sinned against you, that you have
brought such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that ought
not to be done. And Abimelech said to
Abraham, What were you thinking of, that
you did this thing? Abraham said, I did it
because I thought, There is no fear of God at
all in this place, and they will kill me because
of my wife. Besides, she is indeed my sister,
the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
And when God caused me to wander from
my fathers house, I said to her, This is the
kindness you must do me: at every place to
which we come, say of me, He is my brother.
Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and
male and female slaves, and gave them to
Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him.
Abimelech said, My land is before you; settle where it pleases you. To Sarah he said,
Look, I have given your brother a thousand
pieces of silver; it is your exoneration before
all who are with you; you are completely vindicated. Then Abraham prayed to God; and
God healed Abimelech, and also healed his
wife and female slaves so that they bore children. For the Lord had closed fast all the
wombs of the house of Abimelech because of
Sarah, Abrahams wife.
The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had
said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he
had promised. Sarah conceived and bore
Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of
which God had spoken to him. Abraham
gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah
bore him. And Abraham circumcised his son
Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had
commanded him. Abraham was a hundred
years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Now Sarah said, God has brought laughter
for me; everyone who hears will laugh with
me. And she said, Who would ever have
said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse
children? Yet I have borne him a son in his
old age.
The child grew, and was weaned; and
Abraham made a great feast on the day that
Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of
Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to
Abraham, playing with her son Isaac.a So
she said to Abraham, Cast out this slave
woman with her son; for the son of this
slave woman shall not inherit along with my
son Isaac. The matter was very distress-
21
a Gk Vg: Heb lacks with her son Isaac
7: To Abraham is aributed the intercessory role of prophet; this is the Bibles rst use of the term, and the only
designation of Abraham as a prophet in the Torah (but see Ps 105.15). 12: The narrator never asserts that Sarah is
Terahs daughter (cf. 11.2730). Nevertheless, faced with Abimelechs passionate questioning, Abraham claims
to be her half-brother by way of his father. Though many have taken his assertion at face value, it may be an
aempt to provide as many excuses for his behavior as possible (cf. 20.11).
21.121: Isaac and Ishmael. 35: A notice of Isaacs birth and circumcision taken from the Priestly source (see
17.124). On the name Isaac, see 18.12n. 6: See 18.915n. 821: This story of endangerment of Ishmael parallels
the following one of endangerment of Isaac. Aer God gives Abraham the command to let his child go (v. 12;
22.2), he rises early in the morning to fulll it (v. 14 || 22.3), the child is delivered when an angel of God/the Lord
cries out from heaven (v. 17; 22.1112), and Hagar and Abraham both see a way to save the child (v. 19 || 22.13).
These features distinguish this story of Hagar and Ishmael from its parallel in ch. 16, where Hagar likewise le
Abrahams clan, went into the desert, and heard a message from an angel of God (there an angel of the Lord)
about her childs destiny. Though the divinity is referred to in ch. 16 as the Lord and here in ch. 21 as God,
the angel in both cases promises that Hagars ospring will be numerous (16.10; 21.18) and assures her that God
has heard hers (ch. 16.11) or her childs (ch. 21.17) suering, wordplays on Ishamels name, which means God
hears (see also 17.20, part of the Priestly tradition). These are probably oral variants of a story about the origin
of the Ishmaelites (see 25.1218). 9: Playing with, literally making [him] laugh, another reference to Isaacs
hebrew bible | 39
genesis 22
ing to Abraham on account of his son. But
God said to Abraham, Do not be distressed
because of the boy and because of your slave
woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as
she tells you, for it is through Isaac that
ospring shall be named for you. As for the
son of the slave woman, I will make a nation
of him also, because he is your ospring.
So Abraham rose early in the morning, and
took bread and a skin of water, and gave it
to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along
with the child, and sent her away. And she
departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
When the water in the skin was gone,
she cast the child under one of the bushes.
Then she went and sat down opposite him
a good way o, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, Do not let me look on the
death of the child. And as she sat opposite
him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And
God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel
of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said
to her, What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be
afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy
where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold
him fast with your hand, for I will make a
great nation of him. Then God opened her
eyes and she saw a well of water. She went,
and lled the skin with water, and gave the
boy a drink.
God was with the boy, and he grew up;
he lived in the wilderness, and became an
expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for
him from the land of Egypt.
At that time Abimelech, with Phicol the
commander of his army, said to Abraham,
God is with you in all that you do; now

therefore swear to me here by God that you
will not deal falsely with me or with my
ospring or with my posterity, but as I have
dealt loyally with you, you will deal with me
and with the land where you have resided as
an alien. And Abraham said, I swear it.
When Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelechs
servants had seized, Abimelech said, I
do not know who has done this; you did
not tell me, and I have not heard of it until
today. So Abraham took sheep and oxen
and gave them to Abimelech, and the two
men made a covenant. Abraham set apart
seven ewe lambs of the ock. And Abimelech said to Abraham, What is the meaning
of these seven ewe lambs that you have set
apart? He said, These seven ewe lambs
you shall accept from my hand, in order that
you may be a witness for me that I dug this
well. Therefore that place was called Beersheba;a because there both of them swore an
oath. When they had made a covenant at
Beer-sheba, Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, left and returned to the
land of the Philistines. Abrahamb planted
a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called
there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.c And Abraham resided as an alien
many days in the land of the Philistines.
After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, Abraham! And
he said, Here I am. He said, Take your
22
a That is Well of seven or Well of the oath

b Heb He
c Or the Lord, ElOlam
name; see 18.12n. 1417: In these verses Ishmael is a lile boy, a stark contrast to the presentation of him as a
teenager in the preceding Priestly traditions (16.16; 17.25; 21.5). This is just one sign that stories like this one
about Hagar and Ishmael were not originally wrien with the Priestly tradition in view. 17: See 16.7n.
21.2234: Abrahams dispute with Abimelech. This text continues the story about Abraham and Abimelech
that was begun in ch 20. Together, the narratives of Abrahams sojourn in Gerar in ch 20 and 21.2234 resemble
that of Isaacs sojourn in Gerar in 26.633, and they may have a common oral background. This story combines
a tradition that explains the name Beer-sheba as meaning well of seven (see 22.2830) with an explanation
(parallel to 26.3133) that it means well of oath. 33: On the tamarisk tree, see 12.68n. Everlasting God (El
Olam) may be an ancient divine name once associated with the sanctuary at Beer-sheba.
22.119: The testing of Abraham. Although in later tradition this is one of the most signicant chapters in
the ancestral narratives, nothing in the text marks it as such. 1a: The narrative begins by informing the reader
of something that Abraham does not know, that God tested Abraham. Abrahams fear of God is not proven
(v. 12) until he has reached out his hand to slaughter his son (v. 10). 1b2: Aer giving up Ishmael earlier (see
40 | hebrew bible
genesis 22
son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and
go to the land of Moriah, and oer him there
as a burnt oering on one of the mountains
that I shall show you. So Abraham rose
early in the morning, saddled his donkey,
and took two of his young men with him, and
his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt
oering, and set out and went to the place in
the distance that God had shown him. On
the third day Abraham looked up and saw the
place far away. Then Abraham said to his
young men, Stay here with the donkey; the
boy and I will go over there; we will worship,
and then we will come back to you. Abraham took the wood of the burnt oering and
laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried
the re and the knife. So the two of them
walked on together. Isaac said to his father
Abraham, Father! And he said, Here I am,
my son. He said, The re and the wood
are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt
oering? Abraham said, God himself will
provide the lamb for a burnt oering, my
son. So the two of them walked on together.
When they came to the place that God
had shown him, Abraham built an altar there
and laid the wood in order. He bound his
son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top
of the wood. Then Abraham reached out
his hand and took the knife to killa his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from
heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham! And
he said, Here I am. He said, Do not lay
your hand on the boy or do anything to him;

for now I know that you fear God, since you
have not withheld your son, your only son,
from me. And Abraham looked up and
saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns.
Abraham went and took the ram and oered
it up as a burnt oering instead of his son.
So Abraham called that place The Lord
will provide;b as it is said to this day, On the
mount of the Lord it shall be provided.c
The angel of the Lord called to Abraham
a second time from heaven, and said, By
myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you
have done this, and have not withheld your son,
your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I
will make your ospring as numerous as the
stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the
seashore. And your ospring shall possess the
gate of their enemies, and by your ospring
shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing
for themselves, because you have obeyed my
voice. So Abraham returned to his young
men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beer-sheba.
Now after these things it was told Abraham, Milcah also has borne children, to your
brother Nahor: Uz the rstborn, Buz his
brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, Chea Or to slaughter
b Or will see; Heb traditionally transliterated Jehovah
Jireh
c Or he shall be seen
21.821n.), Abraham must prepare to give up Isaac, his promised heir, as well. The story echoes the opening of
the Abraham story. Just as he was once asked to go (Heb lek leka) from his family of origin and travel to a land
God would show him (12.1), so now he must go (lek leka) and sacrice his future family on a mountain that
God will show him (v. 2). The way the command is stated (your only son . . . whom you love), which parallels the
syntax of 12.1, presupposes that what is being asked of Abraham is extraordinary and extremely dicult. The
narrative is not a polemic against child sacrice: while it does not presuppose a general practice of sacrice of
the rstborn, it does suggest that such a practice could be performed under extraordinary circumstances (see
2 Kings 3.27). 3: As in 12.46 Abraham obeys the command immediately. 5: Abrahams promise that he and Isaac
will return may suggest a faith that God will work out an alternative sacrice (see v. 8). 913: The narration
slows down here, showing how close Abraham came to fullling the command. Some later Jewish traditions
understood Abraham to have actually sacriced (an obedient) Isaac, making both men models for later generations of Jewish martyrs. A similar image stands behind the Christian understanding of Isaac as a preguration
of Jesus. 12: See 22.1a n. 14: Like other characters in Genesis (e.g., Jacob in 28.19 and 32.2,30), Abraham names
the place in response to his encounter with God (see 22.8; cf. 28.19; 32.30). The name The Lord will provide is not
aested elsewhere as a place name. The mention of Moriah in v. 2 and of the mount of the Lord in v. 14 may be
allusions to Jerusalem (see 1 Chr 3.1). 1518: This second divine call stands out as an additional divine response
to his obedience (cf. vv. 1112), this time providing a reward for Abrahams passing of the test. 18: See 12.3n.
22.2024: The descendants of Abrahams brother Nahor. See 11.2729; 24.15.
hebrew bible | 41
genesis 23
sed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.
These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abrahams
brother. Moreover, his concubine, whose
name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham,
Tahash, and Maacah.
Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven
years; this was the length of Sarahs
life. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is,
Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham
went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for
her. Abraham rose up from beside his dead,
and said to the Hittites, I am a stranger and
an alien residing among you; give me property
among you for a burying place, so that I may
bury my dead out of my sight. The Hittites
answered Abraham, Hear us, my lord; you
are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead
in the choicest of our burial places; none of
us will withhold from you any burial ground
for burying your dead. Abraham rose and
bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land.
He said to them, If you are willing that I
should bury my dead out of my sight, hear
me, and entreat for me Ephron son of Zohar,
so that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his eld.
For the full price let him give it to me in your
presence as a possession for a burying place.
Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites;
and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham
in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went
in at the gate of his city, No, my lord, hear
me; I give you the eld, and I give you the cave
that is in it; in the presence of my people I give
it to you; bury your dead. Then Abraham
bowed down before the people of the land.
He said to Ephron in the hearing of the
people of the land, If you only will listen to
23
me! I will give the price of the eld; accept it

from me, so that I may bury my dead there.
Ephron answered Abraham, My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred
shekels of silverwhat is that between you
and me? Bury your dead. Abraham agreed
with Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for
Ephron the silver that he had named in the
hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels
of silver, according to the weights current
among the merchants.
So the eld of Ephron in Machpelah,
which was to the east of Mamre, the eld
with the cave that was in it and all the trees
that were in the eld, throughout its whole
area, passed to Abraham as a possession in
the presence of the Hittites, in the presence
of all who went in at the gate of his city. After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the
cave of the eld of Machpelah facing Mamre
(that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. The
eld and the cave that is in it passed from
the Hittites into Abrahams possession as a
burying place.
Now Abraham was old, well advanced
in years; and the Lord had blessed
Abraham in all things. Abraham said to his
servant, the oldest of his house, who had
charge of all that he had, Put your hand
under my thigh and I will make you swear
by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth,
that you will not get a wife for my son from
the daughters of the Canaanites, among
whom I live, but will go to my country and
to my kindred and get a wife for my son
Isaac. The servant said to him, Perhaps the
woman may not be willing to follow me to
this land; must I then take your son back to
the land from which you came? Abraham
24
23.120: Abrahams purchase of a family burial place. A late Priestly tradition. 2: Kiriath-arba, the older name
of Hebron (Josh 14.15; 15.13; Judg 1.10). 3: The Hiites are considered at this point to be among the Canaanite
peoples (see v. 7 and 10.15; 15.9). 416: The narrative stresses the legitimacy of the Israelites claim to this burial
plot. 10: Legal transactions oen took place at the city gate; see 34.20; Deut 20.19; 25.7; Ruth 4.111; 2 Sam 15.2).
15: Four hundred shekels, about 10 lb (4.5 kg). 1720: As in many ancient cultures, the Israelites believed that
burial of ancestors in a plot of land gave their heirs a sacred claim to it. The Priestly notices of the Genesis story
indicate that descendants of Abraham who did not inherit the promise ended up outside Canaan (e.g., Ishmael
in 25.1218 and Esau in 36.143; cf. 25.16), while Israels early patriarchs and matriarchs were buried in the land
(25.910; 35.2729; 49.2932; 50.1213; etc.; cf. non-Priestly traditions in 35.1920; 50.5,25).
24.167: Finding a wife for Isaac among kinfolk in Haran. 2: Puing the hand under the thigh, an old form of
oath taking (47.29), reected the view that reproductive organs were sacred. 3: The text describes a concern by
Abraham about intermarriage with Canaanites that is otherwise seen primarily in late materials from Deuter-
42 | hebrew bible
genesis 24
said to him, See to it that you do not take
my son back there. The Lord, the God of
heaven, who took me from my fathers house
and from the land of my birth, and who spoke
to me and swore to me, To your ospring
I will give this land, he will send his angel
before you, and you shall take a wife for my
son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from
this oath of mine; only you must not take my
son back there. So the servant put his hand
under the thigh of Abraham his master and
swore to him concerning this matter.
Then the servant took ten of his masters
camels and departed, taking all kinds of
choice gifts from his master; and he set out
and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of
Nahor. He made the camels kneel down
outside the city by the well of water; it was
toward evening, the time when women go out
to draw water. And he said, OLord, God of
my master Abraham, please grant me success
today and show steadfast love to my master
Abraham. I am standing here by the spring
of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. Let the
girl to whom I shall say, Please oer your jar
that I may drink, and who shall say, Drink,
and I will water your camelslet her be the
one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have
shown steadfast love to my master.
Before he had nished speaking, there
was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of
Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abrahams brother,
coming out with her water jar on her shoulder. The girl was very fair to look upon, a
virgin, whom no man had known. She went
down to the spring, lled her jar, and came
up. Then the servant ran to meet her and
said, Please let me sip a little water from
your jar. Drink, my lord, she said, and
quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and
gave him a drink. When she had nished
giving him a drink, she said, I will draw for
your camels also, until they have nished
drinking. So she quickly emptied her jar
into the trough and ran again to the well to

draw, and she drew for all his camels. The
man gazed at her in silence to learn whether
or not the Lord had made his journey successful.
When the camels had nished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing
a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms
weighing ten gold shekels, and said, Tell
me whose daughter you are. Is there room
in your fathers house for us to spend the
night? She said to him, I am the daughter
of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore
to Nahor. She added, We have plenty of
straw and fodder and a place to spend the
night. The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord and said, Blessed be the
Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who
has not forsaken his steadfast love and his
faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the
Lord has led me on the way to the house of
my masters kin.
Then the girl ran and told her mothers
household about these things. Rebekah had
a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban
ran out to the man, to the spring. As soon
as he had seen the nose-ring, and the bracelets on his sisters arms, and when he heard
the words of his sister Rebekah, Thus the
man spoke to me, he went to the man; and
there he was, standing by the camels at the
spring. He said, Come in, Oblessed of the
Lord. Why do you stand outside when I have
prepared the house and a place for the camels? So the man came into the house; and
Laban unloaded the camels, and gave him
straw and fodder for the camels, and water
to wash his feet and the feet of the men who
were with him. Then food was set before
him to eat; but he said, I will not eat until I
have told my errand. He said, Speak on.
So he said, I am Abrahams servant.
The Lord has greatly blessed my master,
and he has become wealthy; he has given him
ocks and herds, silver and gold, male and
female slaves, camels and donkeys. And
Sarah my masters wife bore a son to my
onomy (e.g., Deut 7.34) and texts inuenced by Deuteronomy. 10: Aram-naharaim, the upper Euphrates region
of northern Syria, in which Haran, Abrahams original home, was located (see 12.4). 12: Steadfast love, NRSVs
translation of Heb hesed that signies the loyalty arising from a relationship (e.g., friendship; see 1 Sam 20.8).
Applied to God, it means

benevolent action, loyalty manifest in deeds. 15: See 22.2023. 22: A shekel weighed
hebrew bible | 43
genesis 25
master when she was old; and he has given
him all that he has. My master made me
swear, saying, You shall not take a wife for
my son from the daughters of the Canaanites,
in whose land I live; but you shall go to my
fathers house, to my kindred, and get a wife
for my son. I said to my master, Perhaps
the woman will not follow me. But he said
to me, The Lord, before whom I walk, will
send his angel with you and make your way
successful. You shall get a wife for my son
from my kindred, from my fathers house.
Then you will be free from my oath, when
you come to my kindred; even if they will
not give her to you, you will be free from my
oath.
I came today to the spring, and said,
OLord, the God of my master Abraham, if
now you will only make successful the way I
am going! I am standing here by the spring
of water; let the young woman who comes out
to draw, to whom I shall say, Please give me a
little water from your jar to drink, and who
will say to me, Drink, and I will draw for your
camels alsolet her be the woman whom
the Lord has appointed for my masters son.
Before I had nished speaking in my
heart, there was Rebekah coming out with
her water jar on her shoulder; and she went
down to the spring, and drew. I said to her,
Please let me drink. She quickly let down
her jar from her shoulder, and said, Drink,
and I will also water your camels. So I drank,
and she also watered the camels. Then I
asked her, Whose daughter are you? She
said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahors son,
whom Milcah bore to him. So I put the ring
on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms.
Then I bowed my head and worshiped the
Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my
master Abraham, who had led me by the right
way to obtain the daughter of my masters
kinsman for his son. Now then, if you will
deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me;
and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to
the right hand or to the left.
Then Laban and Bethuel answered, The
thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak
to you anything bad or good. Look, Rebekah
is before you, take her and go, and let her be
the wife of your masters son, as the Lord has
spoken.
44 | hebrew bible
When Abrahams servant heard their

words, he bowed himself to the ground
before the Lord. And the servant brought
out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also
gave to her brother and to her mother costly
ornaments. Then he and the men who were
with him ate and drank, and they spent the
night there. When they rose in the morning,
he said, Send me back to my master. Her
brother and her mother said, Let the girl
remain with us a while, at least ten days; after
that she may go. But he said to them, Do
not delay me, since the Lord has made my
journey successful; let me go that I may go to
my master. They said, We will call the girl,
and ask her. And they called Rebekah, and
said to her, Will you go with this man? She
said, I will. So they sent away their sister
Rebekah and her nurse along with Abrahams
servant and his men. And they blessed
Rebekah and said to her,
May you, our sister, become
thousands of myriads;
may your ospring gain possession
of the gates of their foes.
Then Rebekah and her maids rose up,
mounted the camels, and followed the man;
thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his
way.
Now Isaac had come froma Beer-lahairoi, and was settled in the Negeb. Isaac
went out in the evening to walkb in the
eld; and looking up, he saw camels coming. And Rebekah looked up, and when
she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the
camel, and said to the servant, Who is the
man over there, walking in the eld to meet
us? The servant said, It is my master. So
she took her veil and covered herself. And
the servant told Isaac all the things that he
had done. Then Isaac brought her into
his mother Sarahs tent. He took Rebekah,
and she became his wife; and he loved her.
So Isaac was comforted after his mothers
death.
Abraham took another wife, whose
name was Keturah. She bore him
Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and
25
a Syr Tg: Heb from coming to

b Meaning of Heb word is uncertain
genesis 25
Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and
Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim,
Letushim, and Leummim. The sons of
Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida,
and Eldaah. All these were the children of
Keturah. Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.
But to the sons of his concubines Abraham
gave gifts, while he was still living, and he
sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward
to the east country.
This is the length of Abrahams life,
one hundred seventy-five years. Abraham
breathed his last and died in a good old
age, an old man and full of years, and was
gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and
Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar
the Hittite, east of Mamre, the field that
Abraham purchased from the Hittites.
There Abraham was buried, with his wife

Sarah. After the death of Abraham God
blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled at
Beer-lahai-roi.
These are the descendants of Ishmael,
Abrahams son, whom Hagar the Egyptian,
Sarahs slave-girl, bore to Abraham. These
are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named
in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the
rstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel,
Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
These are the sons of Ishmael and these
are their names, by their villages and by their
encampments, twelve princes according to
their tribes. (This is the length of the life of
Ishmael, one hundred thirty-seven years; he
breathed his last and died, and was gathered
to his people.) They settled from Havilah to
about .4 oz (11.5 gr). 62: Beer-lahai-roi, see 16.14; 25.11.

25.111: The death of Abraham. 16: The ancestry of Arabian tribes, including Midian (Ex 2.15b22; 18.127),
is traced to Abraham through another wife, Keturah. 711: A conclusion to the Abraham story taken from the
Priestly source. On the cave of Machpelah, see ch 23. 11: Beer-lahai-roi, see 16.14; 24.62.
25.1218: Overview of the descendants of Ishmael (cf. 36.143). Before the narrative discusses the descendants of Isaac (25.1935.29), it gives an overview of the descendants of Ishmael, the rstborn son of Abraham.
For the genealogy of Abraham, see chart on p. 52. 16: Like Israel, the Ishmaelites are said to have twelve tribes.
18: The Ishmaelites are placed in the desert on either side of the Red Sea. See map on p. 23.
25.1935.29: The story of Jacob and his family. The bulk of this section of Genesis goes back to early traditions about Jacob/Israel, the father of the Israelite tribes. Though many originated as ancient Israelite oral
traditions, this wrien version of the Jacob story shows multiple connections to places that were important in
the Northern Kingdom of Israel (see 28.1011n., 2022n., 31.13n., 32.12n., 32.3031n., and 33.18n.), and it thus
likely originated there. This story has been enriched through additions that balance the early northern focus on
Jacob with an emphasis on Judah, King Davids ancestor (see 30.21n.; 34.131n. and 49.128n.). Later, still other
texts were added, such as the interlude about Jacobs father, Isaac (26.133), the gi of the Abrahamic promise to Jacob at Bethel (28.13-16), and fragments of Priestly material (25.1920; 26.3435; 27.4628.9; 31.1718;
35.915,22b29).
chiasm in the jacob story

As in the Abraham story [see p. 38], there may be a chiastic paern in the Jacob story, where themes introduced in its rst half are resumed in reverse order in the second. This kind of paern places emphasis on its
center (in boldface), in this case the fertility of Jacob himself and of his ocks:
A. Encounter between Jacob/Esau (25.2134; 27)
B. Encounter with God and departure from home (28)
C. Acquisition of wives, Leah and Rachel (29.130)
D. Fertility: the birth of Jacobs children (29.3130.24)
D.' Fertility: the growth of Jacobs ocks (30.2543)
C.' Jacobs removal of his wives from their fathers household (31.132.1)
B.' Encounter with God on return home (32.2232)
A.' Reunion encounter between Jacob and Esau (33.133.17)
hebrew bible | 45
genesis 26
Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction
of Assyria; he settled downa alongside ofb all
his people.
These are the descendants of Isaac,
Abrahams son: Abraham was the father of
Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when
he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the
Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the
Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his
wife, because she was barren; and the Lord
granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah
conceived. The children struggled together
within her; and she said, If it is to be this
way, why do I live?c So she went to inquire of
the Lord. And the Lord said to her,
Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be
divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger.
When her time to give birth was at hand,
there were twins in her womb. The rst
came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle;
so they named him Esau. Afterward his
brother came out, with his hand gripping
Esaus heel; so he was named Jacob.d Isaac
was sixty years old when she bore them.
When the boys grew up, Esau was a
skillful hunter, a man of the eld, while Jacob
was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved
Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Once when Jacob was cooking a stew,

Esau came in from the eld, and he was
famished. Esau said to Jacob, Let me eat
some of that red stu, for I am famished!
(Therefore he was called Edom.e) Jacob said,
First sell me your birthright. Esau said, I
am about to die; of what use is a birthright to
me? Jacob said, Swear to me rst.f So he
swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew,
and he ate and drank, and rose and went his
way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Now there was a famine in the land,
besides the former famine that had
occurred in the days of Abraham. And Isaac
went to Gerar, to King Abimelech of the
Philistines. The Lord appeared to Isaacg and
said, Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the
land that I shall show you. Reside in this land
as an alien, and I will be with you, and will
bless you; for to you and to your descendants
I will give all these lands, and I will fulll the
oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I
will make your ospring as numerous as the
26
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Heb he fell
Or down in opposition to
Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
That is He takes by the heel or He supplants
That is Red
Heb today
Heb him
25.1928: Introduction of the descendants of Isaac. 1920: Introductory Priestly material. For the genealogy of Isaac, see chart on p. 52. 2223: The narrative presupposes an ancient practice of seeking a divine oracle
at a local sanctuary. 25: The Hebrew word for red (admoni) is a play on the word Edom (edom; v. 30); hairy
(sear) is a play on Seir, the region of the Edomites (32.3). 26: Jacob, which probably means may (God) protect, is interpreted here by a play on the Hebrew word for heel, i.e., he takes by the heel or he supplants;
see Hos 12.3. 2728: As in the Cain and Abel story, this narrative plays on the tension between the hunter and
the shepherd (4.2), as well as between the older and the younger brother.
25.2934: Jacob buys Esaus birthright. 30: See 25.25n. 3134: The birthright refers to the extra rights that
normally go to the eldest son: leadership of the family and a double share of the inheritance (Deut 21.1517).
This caricature of Esau as a dull person, outwied on an empty stomach, is intended to explain Israels domination of Edom (2 Sam 8.914; 1 Kings 11.1422; 1 Kings 3.912; 8.2022).
26.133: Interlude on Isaac. Whereas the surrounding sections focus primarily on Isaacs descendants,
this chapter focuses on Isaac apart from his children. Although relatively lile is told about Isaac, it is signicant that each element makes him parallel to his father Abraham: the initial note linking his trip to Gerar with
Abrahams initial journey to Egypt (v. 1; cf. 12.10), the travel command and promise (vv. 25; see 12.13n.; 22.18n.),
the story of endangerment of the matriarch (vv. 611; cf. 12.1013.1 and 20.118), the manifestation of blessing
on Isaac (vv. 1214; cf. 12.16; 20.14), the recognition of that blessing by Abimelech (v. 28; cf. 21.22), and the well
stories (vv. 1733; see 21.2234n.). The narratives of Abraham and Isaac have clearly inuenced one another. By
the end of the chapter it is clear that Isaac has successfully inherited Abrahams blessing and is thus prepared
46 | hebrew bible
genesis 26
stars of heaven, and will give to your ospring
all these lands; and all the nations of the earth
shall gain blessing for themselves through
your ospring, because Abraham obeyed
my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
So Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men
of the place asked him about his wife, he said,
She is my sister; for he was afraid to say,
My wife, thinking, or else the men of the
place might kill me for the sake of Rebekah,
because she is attractive in appearance.
When Isaac had been there a long time,
King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out
of a window and saw him fondling his wife
Rebekah. So Abimelech called for Isaac, and
said, So she is your wife! Why then did you
say, She is my sister? Isaac said to him, Because I thought I might die because of her.
Abimelech said, What is this you have
done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would
have brought guilt upon us. So Abimelech
warned all the people, saying, Whoever
touches this man or his wife shall be put to
death.
Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in the
same year reaped a hundredfold. The Lord
blessed him, and the man became rich; he
prospered more and more until he became
very wealthy. He had possessions of ocks
and herds, and a great household, so that the
Philistines envied him. (Now the Philistines
had stopped up and lled with earth all the
wells that his fathers servants had dug in the
days of his father Abraham.) And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us; you have
become too powerful for us.
So Isaac departed from there and
camped in the valley of Gerar and settled
there. Isaac dug again the wells of water
that had been dug in the days of his father
Abraham; for the Philistines had stopped
them up after the death of Abraham; and
he gave them the names that his father had
given them. But when Isaacs servants dug
in the valley and found there a well of spring
water, the herders of Gerar quarreled with
Isaacs herders, saying, The water is ours.

So he called the well Esek,a because they contended with him. Then they dug another
well, and they quarreled over that one also;
so he called it Sitnah.b He moved from
there and dug another well, and they did
not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth,c
saying, Now the Lord has made room for us,
and we shall be fruitful in the land.
From there he went up to Beer-sheba.
And that very night the Lord appeared to
him and said, I am the God of your father
Abraham; do not be afraid, for I am with you
and will bless you and make your ospring
numerous for my servant Abrahams sake.
So he built an altar there, called on the
name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there.
And there Isaacs servants dug a well.
Then Abimelech went to him from
Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol
the commander of his army. Isaac said to
them, Why have you come to me, seeing
that you hate me and have sent me away from
you? They said, We see plainly that the
Lord has been with you; so we say, let there
be an oath between you and us, and let us
make a covenant with you so that you will
do us no harm, just as we have not touched
you and have done to you nothing but good
and have sent you away in peace. You are
now the blessed of the Lord. So he made
them a feast, and they ate and drank. In
the morning they rose early and exchanged
oaths; and Isaac set them on their way, and
they departed from him in peace. That
same day Isaacs servants came and told him
about the well that they had dug, and said
to him, We have found water! He called
it Shibah;d therefore the name of the city is
Beer-shebae to this day.
When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and
a
b
c
d
e
That is Contention
That is Enmity
That is Broad places or Room
A word resembling the word for oath
That is Well of the oath or Well of seven
to pass it on to one of his sons (see ch 27). 8: Fondling, Heb metsaheq, another reference to Isaacs name; see
18.12n. 33: Another explanation of the name Beer-sheba; see 21.2234n.

26.3428.4: The transfer of blessing to Jacob and not Esau. 26.3435 (cf. 28.89 and 36.23): This Priestly
hebrew bible | 47
genesis 27
Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite; and
they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.
When Isaac was old and his eyes were
dim so that he could not see, he called
his elder son Esau and said to him, My son;
and he answered, Here I am. He said,
See, I am old; I do not know the day of my
death. Now then, take your weapons, your
quiver and your bow, and go out to the eld,
and hunt game for me. Then prepare for me
savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me
to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.
Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac
spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went
to the eld to hunt for game and bring it,
Rebekah said to her son Jacob, I heard your
father say to your brother Esau, Bring me
game, and prepare for me savory food to eat,
that I may bless you before the Lord before I
die. Now therefore, my son, obey my word
as I command you. Go to the ock, and get
me two choice kids, so that I may prepare
from them savory food for your father, such
as he likes; and you shall take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he
dies. But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah,
Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and
I am a man of smooth skin. Perhaps my
father will feel me, and I shall seem to be
mocking him, and bring a curse on myself
and not a blessing. His mother said to
him, Let your curse be on me, my son; only
obey my word, and go, get them for me. So
he went and got them and brought them to
his mother; and his mother prepared savory
food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son
Esau, which were with her in the house, and
put them on her younger son Jacob; and
she put the skins of the kids on his hands and
on the smooth part of his neck. Then she
handed the savory food, and the bread that
she had prepared, to her son Jacob.
27
So he went in to his father, and said, My

father; and he said, Here I am; who are you,
my son? Jacob said to his father, I am Esau
your rstborn. I have done as you told me;
now sit up and eat of my game, so that you
may bless me. But Isaac said to his son,
How is it that you have found it so quickly,
my son? He answered, Because the Lord
your God granted me success. Then Isaac
said to Jacob, Come near, that I may feel you,
my son, to know whether you are really my
son Esau or not. So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, The voice
is Jacobs voice, but the hands are the hands
of Esau. He did not recognize him, because
his hands were hairy like his brother Esaus
hands; so he blessed him. He said, Are you
really my son Esau? He answered, I am.
Then he said, Bring it to me, that I may
eat of my sons game and bless you. So he
brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought
him wine, and he drank. Then his father
Isaac said to him, Come near and kiss me,
my son. So he came near and kissed him;
and he smelled the smell of his garments, and
blessed him, and said,
Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a eld that the Lord
has blessed.
May God give you of the dew of heaven,
and of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and wine.
Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mothers sons bow down
to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses
you!
As soon as Isaac had nished blessing
Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from
the presence of his father Isaac, his brother
note on Esaus dicult marriages was originally connected with 27.4628.9 (P). Now, however, it helps legitimate the following story about how he was tricked out of his fathers blessing. 27.145: This non-Priestly story
of Rebekah and Jacobs cunning resembles trickster traditions in other cultures, where a culture hero ourishes through underhanded tactics (cf. 29.2325; 31.1935; 34.131; 38.130). Women had lile power and oen
had to use unconventional means to accomplish their goals. 4: Deathbed blessings (and curses) were important
in the life and literature of ancient peoples (e.g., 48.820; 49.128). It was believed that such blessings irrevocably released a tangible power that determined the character and destiny of the recipient. Ch 27 itself focuses
exclusively on Isaacs blessing, but the preceding chapter (ch 26) makes clear that this is Isaacs transfer of
48 | hebrew bible
genesis 28
Esau came in from his hunting. He also
prepared savory food, and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, Let my father
sit up and eat of his sons game, so that you
may bless me. His father Isaac said to him,
Who are you? He answered, I am your
rstborn son, Esau. Then Isaac trembled
violently, and said, Who was it then that
hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate
it alla before you came, and I have blessed
him?yes, and blessed he shall be! When
Esau heard his fathers words, he cried out
with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and
said to his father, Bless me, me also, father!
But he said, Your brother came deceitfully,
and he has taken away your blessing. Esau
said, Is he not rightly named Jacob?b For
he has supplanted me these two times. He
took away my birthright; and look, now he
has taken away my blessing. Then he said,
Have you not reserved a blessing for me?
Isaac answered Esau, I have already made
him your lord, and I have given him all his
brothers as servants, and with grain and wine
I have sustained him. What then can I do for
you, my son? Esau said to his father, Have
you only one blessing, father? Bless me, me
also, father! And Esau lifted up his voice and
wept.
Then his father Isaac answered him:
See, away fromc the fatness of the earth
shall your home be,
and away fromd the dew of heaven on
high.
By your sword you shall live,
and you shall serve your brother;
but when you break loose,e
you shall break his yoke from your
neck.
Now Esau hated Jacob because of the
blessing with which his father had blessed
him, and Esau said to himself, The days of

mourning for my father are approaching;
then I will kill my brother Jacob. But the
words of her elder son Esau were told to
Rebekah; so she sent and called her younger
son Jacob and said to him, Your brother Esau
is consoling himself by planning to kill you.
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; ee
at once to my brother Laban in Haran, and
stay with him a while, until your brothers
fury turns away until your brothers
anger against you turns away, and he forgets
what you have done to him; then I will send,
and bring you back from there. Why should I
lose both of you in one day?
Then Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary
of my life because of the Hittite women. If
Jacob marries one of the Hittite women such
as these, one of the women of the land, what
good will my life be to me?
Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed
him, and charged him, You shall not
marry one of the Canaanite women. Go at
once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel,
your mothers father; and take as wife from
there one of the daughters of Laban, your
mothers brother. May God Almightyf bless
you and make you fruitful and numerous,
that you may become a company of peoples.
May he give to you the blessing of Abraham,
to you and to your ospring with you, so that
you may take possession of the land where
you now live as an alienland that God gave
to Abraham. Thus Isaac sent Jacob away;
28
a
b
c
d
e
f
Cn: Heb of all

That is He supplants or He takes by the heel
Or See, of
Or and of
a divine blessing rst given to Abraham (12.13; etc.). 11: See 25.25n. 3435: The blessing was believed to release a power that could not be retracted (see v. 4n.). 36: See 25.26n.; 25.2934. There is a wordplay in the Heb
words for my birthright (bekorati) and my blessing (birkati). 39: An inversion of the same words in v. 28. 40:
See 25.3134n. Edom repeatedly revolted from subjection by Judah (1 Kings 11.1422; 2 Kings 8.2022). 43: See
24.4,29. Haran was the home of Abrahams brother Nahor, whose son was Laban. Like Isaac, Jacob will marry
within the extended family; see 24.4,10n.,29; 29. 46: See 26.3435n. 27.4628.2: On intermarriage, see 24.3n.
28.14: A Priestly parallel to the preceding story (27.2729) where Isaac was not tricked into blessing Jacob, but
intended from the outset to bless him in the process of sending him away to nd a proper wife (see 26.3435n.).
Compare with P in 17.18; 35.1112; 48.34. 3: God Almighty, see 17.1n.
28.522: The split between Jacob and Esau occurs twice here, the Priestly version in 28.59 and the non-
hebrew bible | 49
genesis 29
and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of
Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacobs and Esaus mother.
Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed
Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram
to take a wife from there, and that as he
blessed him he charged him, You shall
not marry one of the Canaanite women,
and that Jacob had obeyed his father and
his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. So
when Esau saw that the Canaanite women
did not please his father Isaac, Esau went
to Ishmael and took Mahalath daughter of
Abrahams son Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives
he had.
Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward
Haran. He came to a certain place and
stayed there for the night, because the sun
had set. Taking one of the stones of the place,
he put it under his head and lay down in that
place. And he dreamed that there was a laddera set up on the earth, the top of it reaching
to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord
stood beside himb and said, I am the Lord,
the God of Abraham your father and the God
of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give
to you and to your ospring; and your ospring shall be like the dust of the earth, and
you shall spread abroad to the west and to the
east and to the north and to the south; and
all the families of the earth shall be blessedc

in you and in your ospring. Know that I
am with you and will keep you wherever you
go, and will bring you back to this land; for
I will not leave you until I have done what I
have promised you. Then Jacob woke from
his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this
placeand I did not know it! And he was
afraid, and said, How awesome is this place!
This is none other than the house of God,
and this is the gate of heaven.
So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he
took the stone that he had put under his head
and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the
top of it. He called that place Bethel;d but the
name of the city was Luz at the rst. Then
Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with
me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and
will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
so that I come again to my fathers house in
peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and
this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall
be Gods house; and of all that you give me I
will surely give one-tenth to you.
Then Jacob went on his journey, and
came to the land of the people of the
east. As he looked, he saw a well in the eld
29
a
b
c
d
Or stairway or ramp
Or stood above it
Or shall bless themselves
That is House of God
Priestly account in 28.1022. 89: See 26.3435 and compare 36.23. 1011: Bethel (see 12.68n.; map on p. 27)
was one of the two major royal sanctuaries of the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 12.2613.10; Am 7.1013). Here it is
depicted as an unseled place. 12: The earliest version of this oracle described divine messengers (NRSV angels)
ascending and descending a stairway (a beer translation than NRSVs ladder) to heaven. This is reected in v.
17. 1315: Gods appearance here is awkwardly linked to the preceding stairway vision. Therefore, many scholars
see another authorial hand here, adding the Abrahamic promise to an early Bethel narrative that lacked it.
1314: The promise to Jacob here aer his split from Esau is similar to the promise to Abraham in 13.1417 just
aer his split from Lot. On the formulation of these promises, see 12.13n. 15: This portion of the divine promise
relates specically to Jacobs journey and anticipates both his vow (vv. 2022) and later references to this event
(35.3; cf. 31.13). It may be the earliest layer of the promise speech. 1617: Some scholars have seen a doubled
response here by Jacob, a response to Gods appearance and speech in v. 16 and a (possibly earlier) response
to the vision of the stairway in v. 17 (see v. 12n.). Verse 17 explains the name Bethel (house of El) as house of
God. Gate of heaven suggests the ancient view that a sanctuary was a place where the god came to earth, like
Babel (gate of god, 11.19). 18: Ancient Israelite local sanctuaries featured sacred pillars, perhaps signifying
male powers of fertility (see v. 22; 31.13,4554; 35.14,20). For feminine tree imagery, see 2.89n. 19: Bethel, see
vv. 1617n. 2022: This text looks toward both Jacobs immediate trip to Haran and the longer range future of
the sanctuary at Bethel (see 28.1011n.). 22: One-tenth, see 14.20n.
29.130: Jacobs marriages to Labans daughters. 212: Wells oen serve as meeting places for men and
women in the cultures of the Near East. The Bible describes several such well scenes (e.g., 24.1027; Ex 2.1522).
50 | hebrew bible
genesis 29
and three ocks of sheep lying there beside
it; for out of that well the ocks were watered.
The stone on the wells mouth was large,
and when all the ocks were gathered there,
the shepherds would roll the stone from the
mouth of the well, and water the sheep, and
put the stone back in its place on the mouth
of the well.
Jacob said to them, My brothers, where
do you come from? They said, We are from
Haran. He said to them, Do you know Laban son of Nahor? They said, We do. He
said to them, Is it well with him? Yes, they
replied, and here is his daughter Rachel,
coming with the sheep. He said, Look, it
is still broad daylight; it is not time for the
animals to be gathered together. Water the
sheep, and go, pasture them. But they said,
We cannot until all the ocks are gathered
together, and the stone is rolled from the
mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.
While he was still speaking with them,
Rachel came with her fathers sheep; for she
kept them. Now when Jacob saw Rachel,
the daughter of his mothers brother Laban,
and the sheep of his mothers brother Laban,
Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the
wells mouth, and watered the ock of his
mothers brother Laban. Then Jacob kissed
Rachel, and wept aloud. And Jacob told
Rachel that he was her fathers kinsman, and
that he was Rebekahs son; and she ran and
told her father.
When Laban heard the news about his
sisters son Jacob, he ran to meet him; he
embraced him and kissed him, and brought
him to his house. Jacoba told Laban all these
things, and Laban said to him, Surely you
are my bone and my esh! And he stayed
with him a month.
Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you
are my kinsman, should you therefore serve
me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your
wages be? Now Laban had two daughters;
the name of the elder was Leah, and the

name of the younger was Rachel. Leahs
eyes were lovely,b and Rachel was graceful
and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel; so he
said, I will serve you seven years for your
younger daughter Rachel. Laban said, It is
better that I give her to you than that I should
give her to any other man; stay with me.
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and
they seemed to him but a few days because of
the love he had for her.
Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my
wife that I may go in to her, for my time is
completed. So Laban gathered together
all the people of the place, and made a feast.
But in the evening he took his daughter
Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went
in to her. (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to
his daughter Leah to be her maid.) When
morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said
to Laban, What is this you have done to me?
Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why
then have you deceived me? Laban said,
This is not done in our countrygiving
the younger before the rstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give
you the other also in return for serving me
another seven years. Jacob did so, and
completed her week; then Laban gave him his
daughter Rachel as a wife. (Laban gave his
maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her
maid.) So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and
he loved Rachel more than Leah. He served
Labanc for another seven years.
When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb; but Rachel was
barren. Leah conceived and bore a son, and
she named him Reuben;d for she said, Because
the Lord has looked on my aiction; surely
a
b
c
d
Heb He
Heb him
That is See, a son
4-5: See 24.10n.; 26.43. 10: Jacob, the folk hero, has superhuman strength (see v. 3). 18: Jacob asks for Rachel
as a reward for service (cf. Josh 15.1617; 1 Sam 17.25; 18.17) instead of paying the usual marriage price (34.12; Ex
22.1617; Deut 22.29). 2325: Here Jacob the trickster (see 27.145n.) is tricked; this motif will continue throughout the Jacob story. The exchange could be made because the bride was brought veiled to the bridegroom
(24.65). 27: The week refers to the week of marriage festivity (Judg 14.12).
29.3130.24: The birth of eleven of Jacobs sons and Dinah (for Benjamins birth, see 35.1618). This birth of
children and the later birth of ocks (30.2543) stand at the heart of the Jacob story. The pathos of the conict
hebrew bible | 51
genesis 30
ABRAHAM
Keturah
Sarah
Hagar
6 sons
ISAAC
Rebekah
ishmael
12 sons
esau
JACOB
5 sons
Leah
Rachel
reuben
simeon
levi
judah
issachar
zebulun
Dinah
joseph
benjamin
Asenath
Zilpah
gad
asher
Bilhah
dan
naphtali
manasseh
ephraim
Chs 1250: The genealogy of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Dashed lines show wives or concubines; solid lines
show descendants.
now my husband will love me. She conceived again and bore a son, and said, Because
the Lord has hearda that I am hated, he has
given me this son also; and she named him
Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son,
and said, Now this time my husband will be
joinedb to me, because I have borne him three
sons; therefore he was named Levi. She
conceived again and bore a son, and said, This
time I will praisec the Lord; therefore she
named him Judah; then she ceased bearing.
When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob
no children, she envied her sister; and
she said to Jacob, Give me children, or I shall
die! Jacob became very angry with Rachel
and said, Am I in the place of God, who has
withheld from you the fruit of the womb?
Then she said, Here is my maid Bilhah; go in
to her, that she may bear upon my knees and
that I too may have children through her. So
she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife; and
30
Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived

and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, God
has judged me, and has also heard my voice
and given me a son; therefore she named him
Dan.d Rachels maid Bilhah conceived again
and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel
said, With mighty wrestlings I have wrestlede
with my sister, and have prevailed; so she
named him Naphtali.
When Leah saw that she had ceased
bearing children, she took her maid Zilpah
and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Then Leahs
maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. And Leah
said, Good fortune! so she named him Gad.f
a
b
c
d
e
f
Heb shama
Heb lawah
Heb hodah
That is He judged
Heb niphtal
That is Fortune
between women is expressed through folk-explanations of the names (see NRSV text notes). 30.3,9: Like Sarah,
Rachel and Leah give their servants to Jacob as surrogate wives; see 16.2n. 14: Mandrakes, roots of a potato-like
52 | hebrew bible
genesis 30
Leahs maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second
son. And Leah said, Happy am I! For the
women will call me happy; so she named
him Asher.a
In the days of wheat harvest Reuben
went and found mandrakes in the eld, and
brought them to his mother Leah. Then
Rachel said to Leah, Please give me some
of your sons mandrakes. But she said to
her, Is it a small matter that you have taken
away my husband? Would you take away my
sons mandrakes also? Rachel said, Then
he may lie with you tonight for your sons
mandrakes. When Jacob came from the
eld in the evening, Leah went out to meet
him, and said, You must come in to me; for I
have hired you with my sons mandrakes. So
he lay with her that night. And God heeded
Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fth
son. Leah said, God has given me my hireb
because I gave my maid to my husband; so
she named him Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son.
Then Leah said, God has endowed me with
a good dowry; now my husband will honorc
me, because I have borne him six sons; so
she named him Zebulun. Afterwards she
bore a daughter, and named her Dinah.
Then God remembered Rachel, and God
heeded her and opened her womb. She
conceived and bore a son, and said, God has
taken away my reproach; and she named
him Joseph,d saying, May the Lord add to me
another son!
When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob
said to Laban, Send me away, that I may
go to my own home and country. Give me
my wives and my children for whom I have
served you, and let me go; for you know
very well the service I have given you. But
Laban said to him, If you will allow me to
say so, I have learned by divination that the
Lord has blessed me because of you; name
your wages, and I will give it. Jacob said to
him, You yourself know how I have served
you, and how your cattle have fared with

me. For you had little before I came, and it
has increased abundantly; and the Lord has
blessed you wherever I turned. But now when
shall I provide for my own household also?
He said, What shall I give you? Jacob said,
You shall not give me anything; if you will
do this for me, I will again feed your ock and
keep it: let me pass through all your ock
today, removing from it every speckled and
spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the
spotted and speckled among the goats; and
such shall be my wages. So my honesty
will answer for me later, when you come to
look into my wages with you. Every one that
is not speckled and spotted among the goats
and black among the lambs, if found with
me, shall be counted stolen. Laban said,
Good! Let it be as you have said. But that
day Laban removed the male goats that were
striped and spotted, and all the female goats
that were speckled and spotted, every one
that had white on it, and every lamb that was
black, and put them in charge of his sons;
and he set a distance of three days journey
between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was
pasturing the rest of Labans ock.
Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and
almond and plane, and peeled white streaks
in them, exposing the white of the rods. He
set the rods that he had peeled in front of the
ocks in the troughs, that is, the watering
places, where the ocks came to drink. And
since they bred when they came to drink,
the ocks bred in front of the rods, and so
the ocks produced young that were striped,
speckled, and spotted. Jacob separated
the lambs, and set the faces of the ocks
toward the striped and the completely black
animals in the ock of Laban; and he put his
a
b
c
d
That is Happy
Heb sakar
Heb zabal
That is He adds
plant, were thought to have aphrodisiac properties. 21: The note about the birth of Dinah is inserted (without a
story or explanation of the name) to anticipate the story about her in ch 34.
30.2543: The birth of Jacobs ocks. Since striped or speckled coloration was unusual, Laban seemingly
had nothing to lose. 3740: Ancient breeders believed that the female, at the time of conception, was inuenced by visual impressions that aect the color of the ospring. Jacob produced striped animals by puing
striped sticks before the females eyes while they were breeding.
hebrew bible | 53
genesis 31
own droves apart, and did not put them with
Labans ock. Whenever the stronger of the
ock were breeding, Jacob laid the rods in the
troughs before the eyes of the ock, that they
might breed among the rods, but for the
feebler of the ock he did not lay them there;
so the feebler were Labans, and the stronger
Jacobs. Thus the man grew exceedingly
rich, and had large ocks, and male and
female slaves, and camels and donkeys.
Now Jacob heard that the sons of
Laban were saying, Jacob has taken
all that was our fathers; he has gained all this
wealth from what belonged to our father.
And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him
as favorably as he did before. Then the Lord
said to Jacob, Return to the land of your ancestors and to your kindred, and I will be with
you. So Jacob sent and called Rachel and
Leah into the eld where his ock was, and
said to them, I see that your father does not
regard me as favorably as he did before. But
the God of my father has been with me. You
know that I have served your father with all
my strength; yet your father has cheated me
and changed my wages ten times, but God
did not permit him to harm me. If he said,
The speckled shall be your wages, then all
the ock bore speckled; and if he said, The
striped shall be your wages, then all the ock
bore striped. Thus God has taken away the
livestock of your father, and given them to
me.
During the mating of the ock I once
had a dream in which I looked up and saw
that the male goats that leaped upon the
ock were striped, speckled, and mottled.
Then the angel of God said to me in the
dream, Jacob, and I said, Here I am! And
he said, Look up and see that all the goats
that leap on the ock are striped, speckled,
and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban is
doing to you. I am the God of Bethel,a where
31
you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me.

Now leave this land at once and return to
the land of your birth. Then Rachel and
Leah answered him, Is there any portion or
inheritance left to us in our fathers house?
Are we not regarded by him as foreigners?
For he has sold us, and he has been using up
the money given for us. All the property
that God has taken away from our father
belongs to us and to our children; now then,
do whatever God has said to you.
So Jacob arose, and set his children and
his wives on camels; and he drove away
all his livestock, all the property that he had
gained, the livestock in his possession that
he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his
father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep,
and Rachel stole her fathers household gods.
And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean, in
that he did not tell him that he intended to
ee. So he ed with all that he had; starting
out he crossed the Euphrates,b and set his
face toward the hill country of Gilead.
On the third day Laban was told that
Jacob had ed. So he took his kinsfolk with
him and pursued him for seven days until
he caught up with him in the hill country of
Gilead. But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night, and said to him,
Take heed that you say not a word to Jacob,
either good or bad.
Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had
pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban
with his kinsfolk camped in the hill country
of Gilead. Laban said to Jacob, What have
you done? You have deceived me, and carried
away my daughters like captives of the sword.
Why did you ee secretly and deceive me
and not tell me? I would have sent you away
a Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Heb the river
31.155: Jacobs departure from Labans family. 416: This speech by Jacob and reply by his wives is oen
assigned by scholars to a dierent author than the surrounding verses, generally identied as J. In it Jacob
presents to his wives a particular perspective on the previously narrated events (cf. 30.2543). 13: Where Jerusalem Zion traditions claimed that the Lord dwells in Zion (Pss 9.12; 135.21), God claims in this text to be the god
of Bethel (see 28.1011n.). This probably reects the particular perspective of this originally northern Jacob
story in comparison with Jerusalem-oriented traditions that predominate in the Bible. 1935: The household
gods (see 1 Sam 19.1317) may have been gures representing ancestral deities. Possession of them ensured
leadership of the family and legitimated property claims. Here Jacobs favored wife, Rachel, is the trickster (see
54 | hebrew bible
genesis 31
with mirth and songs, with tambourine and
lyre. And why did you not permit me to kiss
my sons and my daughters farewell? What
you have done is foolish. It is in my power
to do you harm; but the God of your father
spoke to me last night, saying, Take heed
that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.
Even though you had to go because you
longed greatly for your fathers house, why
did you steal my gods? Jacob answered
Laban, Because I was afraid, for I thought
that you would take your daughters from me
by force. But anyone with whom you nd
your gods shall not live. In the presence of
our kinsfolk, point out what I have that is
yours, and take it. Now Jacob did not know
that Rachel had stolen the gods.a
So Laban went into Jacobs tent, and
into Leahs tent, and into the tent of the two
maids, but he did not nd them. And he
went out of Leahs tent, and entered Rachels.
Now Rachel had taken the household gods
and put them in the camels saddle, and sat
on them. Laban felt all about in the tent, but
did not nd them. And she said to her father, Let not my lord be angry that I cannot
rise before you, for the way of women is upon
me. So he searched, but did not nd the
household gods.
Then Jacob became angry, and upbraided Laban. Jacob said to Laban, What is my
oense? What is my sin, that you have hotly
pursued me? Although you have felt about
through all my goods, what have you found of
all your household goods? Set it here before
my kinsfolk and your kinsfolk, so that they
may decide between us two. These twenty
years I have been with you; your ewes and
your female goats have not miscarried, and
I have not eaten the rams of your ocks.
That which was torn by wild beasts I did
not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself;
of my hand you required it, whether stolen
by day or stolen by night. It was like this
with me: by day the heat consumed me, and

the cold by night, and my sleep ed from my
eyes. These twenty years I have been in
your house; I served you fourteen years for
your two daughters, and six years for your
ock, and you have changed my wages ten
times. If the God of my father, the God of
Abraham and the Fearb of Isaac, had not been
on my side, surely now you would have sent
me away empty-handed. God saw my aiction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked
you last night.
Then Laban answered and said to
Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, the
children are my children, the ocks are my
ocks, and all that you see is mine. But what
can I do today about these daughters of mine,
or about their children whom they have
borne? Come now, let us make a covenant,
you and I; and let it be a witness between you
and me. So Jacob took a stone, and set it
up as a pillar. And Jacob said to his kinsfolk, Gather stones, and they took stones,
and made a heap; and they ate there by the
heap. Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha:c but
Jacob called it Galeed.d Laban said, This
heap is a witness between you and me today.
Therefore he called it Galeed, and the pillare Mizpah,f for he said, The Lord watch
between you and me, when we are absent
one from the other. If you ill-treat my
daughters, or if you take wives in addition to
my daughters, though no one else is with us,
remember that God is witness between you
and me.
Then Laban said to Jacob, See this heap
and see the pillar, which I have set between
a
b
c
d
e
f
Heb them
In Aramaic The heap of witness
In Hebrew The heap of witness
Compare Sam: MT lacks the pillar
That is Watchpost
27.145n.). 35: The way of women, menstruation. 42: The Hebrew word rendered as Fear in Fear of Isaac, is dierent from the Hebrew word usually used for fear of the Lord. The same word clearly means terror or dread
elsewhere, as in the terror of the Lord refrain in Isa 2.10,19,21. Some scholars, however, have proposed alternative understandings of the word in this context, such as refuge of Isaac. 4354: The story is built around an
older tradition regarding a boundary covenant between Arameans and Israelites (vv. 44,52), both of whom laid
claim to the region of Gilead in northern Transjordan (see map on p. 252). On the pillar, see 28.18n. 47: The stone
heap is given two names (see notes c and d), one in Labans language (Aramaic) and one in Jacobs (Hebrew).
hebrew bible | 55
genesis 32
you and me. This heap is a witness, and
the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass
beyond this heap to you, and you will not
pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me,
for harm. May the God of Abraham and the
God of Nahorthe God of their father
judge between us. So Jacob swore by the
Feara of his father Isaac, and Jacob oered a
sacrice on the height and called his kinsfolk
to eat bread; and they ate bread and tarried
all night in the hill country.
bEarly in the morning Laban rose up, and
kissed his grandchildren and his daughters
and blessed them; then he departed and
returned home.
Jacob went on his way and the angels
of God met him; and when Jacob saw
them he said, This is Gods camp! So he
called that place Mahanaim.c
Jacob sent messengers before him to his
brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country
of Edom, instructing them, Thus you shall
say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant
Jacob, I have lived with Laban as an alien,
and stayed until now; and I have oxen,
donkeys, ocks, male and female slaves; and
I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may
nd favor in your sight.
The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to your brother Esau, and he is
coming to meet you, and four hundred men
are with him. Then Jacob was greatly afraid
and distressed; and he divided the people
that were with him, and the ocks and herds
and camels, into two companies, thinking, If Esau comes to the one company and
destroys it, then the company that is left will
escape.
And Jacob said, OGod of my father
Abraham and God of my father Isaac, OLord
who said to me, Return to your country and
to your kindred, and I will do you good, I
am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast
love and all the faithfulness that you have
32
shown to your servant, for with only my sta

I crossed this Jordan; and now I have become
two companies. Deliver me, please, from
the hand of my brother, from the hand of
Esau, for I am afraid of him; he may come
and kill us all, the mothers with the children.
Yet you have said, I will surely do you good,
and make your ospring as the sand of the
sea, which cannot be counted because of
their number.
So he spent that night there, and from
what he had with him he took a present for
his brother Esau, two hundred female goats
and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes
and twenty rams, thirty milch camels and
their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty
female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
These he delivered into the hand of his
servants, every drove by itself, and said to
his servants, Pass on ahead of me, and put
a space between drove and drove. He
instructed the foremost, When Esau my
brother meets you, and asks you, To whom
do you belong? Where are you going? And
whose are these ahead of you? then you
shall say, They belong to your servant Jacob;
they are a present sent to my lord Esau; and
moreover he is behind us. He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who
followed the droves, You shall say the same
thing to Esau when you meet him, and you
shall say, Moreover your servant Jacob is
behind us. For he thought, I may appease
him with the present that goes ahead of me,
and afterwards I shall see his face; perhaps he
will accept me. So the present passed on
ahead of him; and he himself spent that night
in the camp.
The same night he got up and took his
two wives, his two maids, and his eleven chila Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Ch 32.1 in Heb
c Here taken to mean Two camps
53: Nahor, Labans father, and Abraham, Jacobs father, were brothers (11.27).
32.132: Journey toward Esau. 12: The Transjordanian town of Mahanaim (see map on p. 252) may have
been a capital of the Northern Kingdom during the brief reign of Ishbaal, Sauls heir (2 Sam 2.89); was a site to
which David ed during Absaloms rebellion (17.2429) and was an administrative center in the time of Solomon
(1 Kings 4.14). Angels, see 28.12n. 321: The ever-clever Jacob develops multiple strategies to appease his brother: dividing his camp (vv. 68), praying for divine help (vv. 912), and then sending several waves of livestock as
a gi to Esau (vv. 1321). 2232: Abraham unknowingly hosted divine visitors (18.115); now Jacob unknowingly
56 | hebrew bible
genesis 33
dren, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He
took them and sent them across the stream,
and likewise everything that he had. Jacob
was left alone; and a man wrestled with him
until daybreak. When the man saw that he
did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him
on the hip socket; and Jacobs hip was put
out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then
he said, Let me go, for the day is breaking.
But Jacob said, I will not let you go, unless
you bless me. So he said to him, What is
your name? And he said, Jacob. Then
the mana said, You shall no longer be called
Jacob, but Israel,b for you have striven with
God and with humans,c and have prevailed.
Then Jacob asked him, Please tell me your
name. But he said, Why is it that you ask
my name? And there he blessed him. So
Jacob called the place Peniel,d saying, For I
have seen God face to face, and yet my life is
preserved. The sun rose upon him as he
passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
Therefore to this day the Israelites do not
eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket,
because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at
the thigh muscle.
Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau
coming, and four hundred men with
him. So he divided the children among Leah
and Rachel and the two maids. He put the
maids with their children in front, then Leah
with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last
of all. He himself went on ahead of them,
bowing himself to the ground seven times,
until he came near his brother.
33
But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced

him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and
they wept. When Esau looked up and saw
the women and children, he said, Who are
these with you? Jacob said, The children
whom God has graciously given your servant. Then the maids drew near, they and
their children, and bowed down; Leah
likewise and her children drew near and
bowed down; and nally Joseph and Rachel
drew near, and they bowed down. Esau said,
What do you mean by all this company that
I met? Jacob answered, To nd favor with
my lord. But Esau said, I have enough, my
brother; keep what you have for yourself.
Jacob said, No, please; if I nd favor with
you, then accept my present from my hand;
for truly to see your face is like seeing the
face of Godsince you have received me
with such favor. Please accept my gift that
is brought to you, because God has dealt
graciously with me, and because I have everything I want. So he urged him, and he took it.
Then Esau said, Let us journey on our
way, and I will go alongside you. But Jacob
said to him, My lord knows that the children
are frail and that the ocks and herds, which
are nursing, are a care to me; and if they are
overdriven for one day, all the ocks will die.
Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant,
a
b
c
d
Heb he
That is The one who strives with God or God strives
Or with divine and human beings
That is The face of God
ghts with God (cf. Ex 4.2426). The narrative includes a complicated wordplay on the names of Jacob (Heb
yaaqob), the river Jabbok (yabboq; modern Nahr ez-Zerqa), and wrestled (wayyeabeq; v. 24). 25: Jacob is
so strong (29.10) that he is winning the contest until his divine opponent pulls Jacobs hip out of joint. 26: The
divine being had to vanish before sunrisea mark of the antiquity of the tradition on which this story is based.
28: Jacobs new name reects a new self: no longer was he the supplanter (25.26; 27.36), but Israel (35.10),
which probably originally meant El rules (the god El was the head of the Northwest Semitic pantheon). Here,
however, it is interpreted to mean the one who strives with God (cf. Hos 12.34). And with humans refers to
Jacobs strife with Esau and Laban. In this way, the community of Israel, as descendants of this god-wrestler, is
depicted as a group that successfully strives with God and humans. 29: The divine being refuses lest Jacob, by
possessing the name, gain power over him. 30: Jacob had feared to see Esaus face (v. 20), but instead saw God
face to face and lived (see 16.13n.). 3031: The story is located at Penuel/Peniel (face of El), one of the rst capitals of the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 12.25). 32: An Israelite prohibition against eating the thigh muscle of an
animal is cited as testimony to the truth of the story. This prohibition is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.
33.117: Partial reunion with Esau. 10: Like seeing the face of God, who at Penuel (or Peniel) also proved to
be gracious (32.3031). 1217: Esau proposes to stay with Jacob, but Jacob sends him ahead, promising to join
with him (v. 14). Jacob does not join him, however (v. 17), perhaps noting that Esau had always planned to wait
hebrew bible | 57
genesis 34
and I will lead on slowly, according to the
pace of the cattle that are before me and
according to the pace of the children, until I
come to my lord in Seir.
So Esau said, Let me leave with you
some of the people who are with me. But
he said, Why should my lord be so kind to
me? So Esau returned that day on his way
to Seir. But Jacob journeyed to Succoth,a
and built himself a house, and made booths
for his cattle; therefore the place is called
Succoth.
Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem,
which is in the land of Canaan, on his way
from Paddan-aram; and he camped before
the city. And from the sons of Hamor,
Shechems father, he bought for one hundred
pieces of moneyb the plot of land on which he
had pitched his tent. There he erected an
altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.c
Now Dinah the daughter of Leah,
whom she had borne to Jacob, went
out to visit the women of the region. When
Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, prince
of the region, saw her, he seized her and lay
with her by force. And his soul was drawn
to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the girl,
and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem
spoke to his father Hamor, saying, Get me
this girl to be my wife.
Now Jacob heard that Shechemd had
deled his daughter Dinah; but his sons
were with his cattle in the eld, so Jacob held
his peace until they came. And Hamor the
father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak
with him, just as the sons of Jacob came in
from the eld. When they heard of it, the
men were indignant and very angry, because
34
he had committed an outrage in Israel by

lying with Jacobs daughter, for such a thing
ought not to be done.
But Hamor spoke with them, saying,
The heart of my son Shechem longs for your
daughter; please give her to him in marriage.
Make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. You shall live with us; and the land
shall be open to you; live and trade in it, and
get property in it. Shechem also said to her
father and to her brothers, Let me nd favor
with you, and whatever you say to me I will
give. Put the marriage present and gift as
high as you like, and I will give whatever you
ask me; only give me the girl to be my wife.
The sons of Jacob answered Shechem
and his father Hamor deceitfully, because
he had deled their sister Dinah. They
said to them, We cannot do this thing, to
give our sister to one who is uncircumcised,
for that would be a disgrace to us. Only on
this condition will we consent to you: that
you will become as we are and every male
among you be circumcised. Then we will
give our daughters to you, and we will take
your daughters for ourselves, and we will live
among you and become one people. But if
you will not listen to us and be circumcised,
then we will take our daughter and be gone.
Their words pleased Hamor and Hamors
son Shechem. And the young man did
not delay to do the thing, because he was
a
b
c
d
That is Booths
Heb one hundred qesitah
That is God, the God of Israel
Heb he
to kill him until their father died (27.41; cf. 35.29). 17: Succoth means booths. Its precise location is uncertain.
33.1835.5: The stay in Shechem and the rape of Dinah. 33.18: Shechem, see 12.68n., was an important town
in early Israel and one of the rst capitals of the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 12.25). 19: Here and in ch 34 Shechem
is a personal name. As elsewhere in Genesis, the story portrays, in the guise of individuals, relations between
Israel and non-Israelite groups. 20: The name of the altar (El is the God of Israel) may be another reection
of the worship of El in early Israel (see 28.1617n.; 32.28,3132n.). 34.131: In its broader context, this story explains why Simeon and Levi, two of Jacobs elder sons, did not receive his highest blessing; see 49.128n. 2: See
33.19n. Lay with her by force, raped her, though some scholars interpret the Hebrew verbs as suggesting illicit
sexual intercourse rather than rape. 7: Commied an outrage in Israel is an old expression for ultimate oenses,
such as violations of the sexual honor of the tribal group (here), the ban on booty in holy war (Josh 7.15), and
the sanctity of hospitality (Judg 19.2324; 20.6,10). 812: Israelite law stipulates that a man who has sex with
an unbetrothed woman must retroactively marry her by paying her father a high marriage price (Ex 22.1617;
Deut 22.2829). This narrative either does not recognize this law, or assumes that it does not apply outside the
58 | hebrew bible
genesis 35
delighted with Jacobs daughter. Now he
was the most honored of all his family. So
Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate
of their city and spoke to the men of their
city, saying, These people are friendly with
us; let them live in the land and trade in it, for
the land is large enough for them; let us take
their daughters in marriage, and let us give
them our daughters. Only on this condition
will they agree to live among us, to become
one people: that every male among us be
circumcised as they are circumcised. Will
not their livestock, their property, and all
their animals be ours? Only let us agree with
them, and they will live among us. And all
who went out of the city gate heeded Hamor
and his son Shechem; and every male was
circumcised, all who went out of the gate of
his city.
On the third day, when they were still in
pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and
Levi, Dinahs brothers, took their swords and
came against the city unawares, and killed all
the males. They killed Hamor and his son
Shechem with the sword, and took Dinah out
of Shechems house, and went away. And
the other sons of Jacob came upon the slain,
and plundered the city, because their sister
had been deled. They took their ocks
and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever
was in the city and in the eld. All their
wealth, all their little ones and their wives,
all that was in the houses, they captured and
made their prey. Then Jacob said to Simeon
and Levi, You have brought trouble on me by
making me odious to the inhabitants of the
land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites; my

numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be
destroyed, both I and my household. But
they said, Should our sister be treated like a
whore?
God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to
Bethel, and settle there. Make an altar
there to the God who appeared to you when
you ed from your brother Esau. So Jacob
said to his household and to all who were
with him, Put away the foreign gods that
are among you, and purify yourselves, and
change your clothes; then come, let us go
up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there
to the God who answered me in the day of
my distress and has been with me wherever
I have gone. So they gave to Jacob all the
foreign gods that they had, and the rings that
were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under
the oak that was near Shechem.
As they journeyed, a terror from God fell
upon the cities all around them, so that no
one pursued them. Jacob came to Luz (that
is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan,
he and all the people who were with him,
and there he built an altar and called the
place El-bethel,a because it was there that
God had revealed himself to him when
he ed from his brother. And Deborah,
Rebekahs nurse, died, and she was buried
under an oak below Bethel. So it was called
Allon-bacuth.b
35
a That is God of Bethel

b That is Oak of weeping
people of Israel. 1317: Jacobs sons now are the tricksters (see 27.145n.). On circumcision see 17.914n. 2123:
In contrast to Hamors proposal to the Israelites of intermarriage and acquisition of land (vv. 810), his speech
to his countrymen here betrays an interest in impoverishing the Israelites through assimilating them. On concern about intermarriage, see 24.3n. 2526: Simeon and Levi lead the killing and recapture of Dinah because, as
older full brothers of Dinah (29.3334; 30.21), they were responsible for avenging the violation of the familys
honor through her. 2729: In a reversal of what the Shechemites had planned for them (vv. 2123), the Israelites
take all the Shechemites possessions. 3031: Jacob is depicted here as less concerned about family honor than
about good relations with the Canaanites (see 35.5). His sons question is le unanswered at the end of the
story (cf. Jon 4.11), but is ultimately addressed in 49.57. 35.14: The present narrative reects a later judgment
on non-Yahwistic ritual objects. Like its parallels (Josh 24.23; Judg 10.16; 1 Sam 7.3), it may presuppose, however,
a more ancient practice of burial of divine images in sacred places, i.e., by a sacred tree (see 12.68n.). 5: Jacobs
fears (see 34.30) prove to be unfounded.
35.615: Jacobs return to Bethel (cf. 28.1022). 67: In the ancient world deities had local manifestations
(e.g., on two ancient inscriptions we nd Yahweh of Samaria). Jacob honors the local manifestation of El at
Bethel by calling the sanctuary there El of Bethel. 8: Once again a tree is associated with a revered sanctuary
hebrew bible | 59
genesis 36
God appeared to Jacob again when he
came from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him.
God said to him, Your name is Jacob; no
longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel
shall be your name. So he was called Israel.
God said to him, I am God Almighty:a be
fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company
of nations shall come from you, and kings
shall spring from you. The land that I gave
to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I
will give the land to your ospring after you.
Then God went up from him at the place
where he had spoken with him. Jacob set up
a pillar in the place where he had spoken with
him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a
drink oering on it, and poured oil on it. So
Jacob called the place where God had spoken
with him Bethel.
Then they journeyed from Bethel; and
when they were still some distance from
Ephrath, Rachel was in childbirth, and she
had hard labor. When she was in her hard
labor, the midwife said to her, Do not be
afraid; for now you will have another son.
As her soul was departing (for she died),
she named him Ben-oni;b but his father called
him Benjamin.c So Rachel died, and she was
buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar at her grave;
it is the pillar of Rachels tomb, which is there
to this day. Israel journeyed on, and pitched

his tent beyond the tower of Eder.
While Israel lived in that land, Reuben
went and lay with Bilhah his fathers concubine; and Israel heard of it.
Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. The
sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacobs rstborn),
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
The sons of Bilhah, Rachels maid: Dan and
Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah, Leahs maid:
Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob
who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre,
or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had resided as aliens. Now
the days of Isaac were one hundred eighty
years. And Isaac breathed his last; he died
and was gathered to his people, old and full of
days; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
These are the descendants of Esau
(that is, Edom). Esau took his
wives from the Canaanites: Adah daughter
of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter
of Anah sond of Zibeon the Hivite, and
36
a
b
c
d

That is Son of my sorrow
That is Son of the right hand or Son of the South
Sam Gk Syr: Heb daughter
(see 12.68n.). 915: A Priestly parallel to the non-Priestly renaming tradition in 32.28 and the Bethel tradition in
28.1022. 10: Cf. 32.28. 1112: Cf. non-P, 28.1315. The divine fulllment of Isaacs wish (28.34) that God bestow
Abrahams blessing (17.18) on Jacob. 11: God Almighty, see 17.1n. 13: P stresses that God is not bound to Bethel in
the way asserted in the non-Priestly Bethel narratives (28.1022; 32.67). God merely spoke there and le. 14: In
a P doublet of 28.1819, Jacob sets up a pillar at Bethel (see 28.18n.) and (re)names the place.
35.1621: The birth of Benjamin and death of Rachel. 18: Dying in childbirth, Rachel gives an ominous name
(son of my sorrow) to the baby. In this instance (cf. 29.3130.24) the father overrules his wifes naming and
gives him a more propitious one. Benjamin (see note c) refers either to the right hand as a symbol of power or to
the tribes position south (right) of Ephraim. 19: Here and in 48.7 the tomb of Rachel is located near Bethlehem (south of Jerusalem). Compare 1 Sam 10.2 and Jer 31.15. 20: On pillars, see 28.18n. 21: From this point on the
name Israel is oen used to refer to Jacob (32.28).
35.2229: Concluding materials on Jacobs sons and Isaacs death and burial. 22a: This aside describes how
Reuben violated his fathers honor by sleeping with Jacobs concubine, the servant of recently deceased Rachel,
Bilhah (29.29; 30.38). Later he will be cursed for this act (see 49.34n.). This is a part of a series of texts added
to the early Jacob and Joseph narratives that explain Jacobs preference for Judah (see 49.128n.), and thus Judean kingship under David and his successors. 22b29: A Priestly listing of Jacobs sons and the death and
burial notice of Isaac.
36.143: Overview of the descendants of Esau and prior inhabitants of Edom/Seir. Cf. 25.1218. Before the
narrative goes into detail on the descendants of Jacob (37.250.26), it gives an overview (largely Priestly) of
the descendants of Esau, the rstborn son of Isaac. 23: Though this note agrees with other Priestly material
in stressing his intermarriage with foreigners, the names or parentage of Esaus wives are dierent here (cf.
60 | hebrew bible
genesis 36
Basemath, Ishmaels daughter, sister of
Nebaioth. Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau;
Basemath bore Reuel; and Oholibamah
bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the
sons of Esau who were born to him in the
land of Canaan.
Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his
daughters, and all the members of his household, his cattle, all his livestock, and all the
property he had acquired in the land of Canaan; and he moved to a land some distance
from his brother Jacob. For their possessions
were too great for them to live together;
the land where they were staying could not
support them because of their livestock. So
Esau settled in the hill country of Seir; Esau
is Edom.
These are the descendants of Esau,
ancestor of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir. These are the names of Esaus
sons: Eliphaz son of Adah the wife of Esau;
Reuel, the son of Esaus wife Basemath.
The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar,
Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. (Timna was a
concubine of Eliphaz, Esaus son; she bore
Amalek to Eliphaz.) These were the sons of
Adah, Esaus wife. These were the sons
of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and
Mizzah. These were the sons of Esaus wife,
Basemath. These were the sons of Esaus
wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah sona of
Zibeon: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and
Korah.
These are the clansb of the sons of Esau.
The sons of Eliphaz the rstborn of Esau:
the clansb Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,
Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the
clansb of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; they
are the sons of Adah. These are the sons of
Esaus son Reuel: the clansb Nahath, Zerah,
Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the clansb
of Reuel in the land of Edom; they are the
sons of Esaus wife Basemath. These are
the sons of Esaus wife Oholibamah: the
clansb Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are
the clansb born of Esaus wife Oholibamah,

the daughter of Anah. These are the sons
of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their
clans.b
These are the sons of Seir the Horite,
the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal,
Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan;
these are the clansb of the Horites, the sons
of Seir in the land of Edom. The sons of
Lotan were Hori and Heman; and Lotans
sister was Timna. These are the sons of
Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and
Onam. These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah
and Anah; he is the Anah who found the
springsc in the wilderness, as he pastured the
donkeys of his father Zibeon. These are the
children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah
daughter of Anah. These are the sons
of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and
Cheran. These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan,
Zaavan, and Akan. These are the sons of
Dishan: Uz and Aran. These are the clansb
of the Horites: the clansb Lotan, Shobal,
Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan;
these are the clansb of the Horites, clan by
cland in the land of Seir.
These are the kings who reigned in the
land of Edom, before any king reigned over
the Israelites. Bela son of Beor reigned in
Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah.
Bela died, and Jobab son of Zerah of
Bozrah succeeded him as king. Jobab died,
and Husham of the land of the Temanites
succeeded him as king. Husham died, and
Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him
as king, the name of his city being Avith.
a
b
c
d
Gk Syr: Heb daughter

Or chiefs
Or chief by chief
26.3435; 28.89). 68: Echoes the (non-Priestly) story of Abrahams split from Lot (13.213). 914: A list of
Esaus descendants organized by the mother (cf. 35.2326). 9: The repeated introduction (cf. 36.1) may indicate
that an earlier Priestly overview of Esaus descendants began here. 1519: A list of clans of the sons of Esau
that diverges slightly from vv. 914 in its list of ospring of Eliphaz (cf. 36.11 and 1516). 2030: A list of clans
of Horite inhabitants of Seir (see 14.6), which may have been originally understood as a region in Transjordan
dierent from Edom. In Deut 2.12,22 Esau (Edom) is described as having expelled the Horites from Seir. 3139: A
hebrew bible | 61
genesis 37
Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah
succeeded him as king. Samlah died,
and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates
succeeded him as king. Shaul died, and
Baal-hanan son of Achbor succeeded him as
king. Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, and
Hadar succeeded him as king, the name of
his city being Pau; his wifes name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter
of Me-zahab.
These are the names of the clansa of
Esau, according to their families and their
localities by their names: the clansa Timna,
Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,
Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and
Iram; these are the clansa of Edom (that
is, Esau, the father of Edom), according
to their settlements in the land that they
held.
Jacob settled in the land where his father
had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. This is the story of the family of Jacob.
37
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was

shepherding the ock with his brothers;
he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and
Zilpah, his fathers wives; and Joseph brought
a bad report of them to their father. Now
Israel loved Joseph more than any other of
his children, because he was the son of his
old age; and he had made him a long robe
with sleeves.b But when his brothers saw
that their father loved him more than all
his brothers, they hated him, and could not
speak peaceably to him.
Once Joseph had a dream, and when
he told it to his brothers, they hated him
even more. He said to them, Listen to this
dream that I dreamed. There we were, binding sheaves in the eld. Suddenly my sheaf
rose and stood upright; then your sheaves
a Or chiefs
b Traditional rendering (compare Gk): a coat of many
colors; meaning of Heb uncertain
list of early kings of Edom (see Num 20.14). 4043: A list of a slightly dierent kind of clan group (Heb alup)
in Edom that partially overlaps with names occurring in 36.919.
37.150.26: The story of Joseph and his family. As indicated in the Introduction, this portion of Genesis
features an intricate depiction of Josephs relations with his brothers and father. Starting with a pair of dreams
(37.511), the narrative follows a trajectory from his brothers murderous hatred of Joseph to Josephs eventual
testing of and reunion with them (chs 4245; 50). Like the Jacob story, this narrative has Northern connections,
especially with the addition of the story in 48.814 of Josephs special blessing on his son, Ephraim. The rst
king of the Northern Kingdom, Jeroboam, was a member of the tribe of Ephraim (1 Kings 11.26), and stories like
these about early Israelite ancestors would have reinforced his claim to rule. Yet over time the story evolved in
signicance, through additions assuming Judahs destiny to rule (see 49.128n.), inserted echoes of the promise
theme rst introduced in the Abraham story (such as 46.14; 48.1516 and 12.13n.), connections leading to the
book of Joshua (50.2425), and a few fragments that may come from the Priestly source (e.g. 37.12; 46.827;
47.2728; 48.36; 49.2933).
37.111: Josephs dreams of power. These narratives open the remarkably cohesive story of Joseph and
his brothers in chs 3750. Source critics have aempted to trace strands of the hypothesized Yahwistic and
Elohistic source documents (see Introduction) through the Joseph story; thus sections focusing on Reuben
and Midianites (e.g., 37.2224,2836) were assigned to E, while sections focusing on Judah and the Ishmaelites (e.g., 37.2528) were assigned to J. Others suggested that an early Joseph story focused on Reuben was
revised by an author who focused on Judah and referred to Jacob as Israel. Despite the presence of some
additions and modications (e.g., 37.2a; 41.46), however, the essential unity of the Joseph story is clear. 2a:
This is the story, despite the dierent translation here in the NRSV, this heading is identical with those in 5.1;
6.9; 10.1; 11.27; 25.12,18; 36.1,9 that refer to the descendants of a given gure. Here it identies what follows
as concerning the descendants of Jacob, that is Joseph and his brothers. 2b4: According to the Priestly
narrative (vv. 12), Joseph taled on his brothers. The non-Priestly narrative (vv. 34) explains his brothers
antagonism toward him as resulting from jealousy about Jacobs love. Joseph is favored as the eldest of the
children of Jacob by his favorite wife, Rachel (30.2224). The long robe with sleeves (v. 3; see note b) is a royal
garment (2 Sam 13.1819) anticipating Josephs future status. At this point in the story neither the reader nor
the brothers know how this will come about. 58: This rst dream report predicts Josephs domination of his
brothers (43.26; 50.18; cf. 42.6). The story may intend to predict the future rule of Jeroboam, a member of the
62 | hebrew bible
genesis 37
gathered around it, and bowed down to my
sheaf. His brothers said to him, Are you
indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to
have dominion over us? So they hated him
even more because of his dreams and his
words.
He had another dream, and told it to his
brothers, saying, Look, I have had another
dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars
were bowing down to me. But when he
told it to his father and to his brothers, his
father rebuked him, and said to him, What
kind of dream is this that you have had?
Shall we indeed come, I and your mother
and your brothers, and bow to the ground
before you? So his brothers were jealous
of him, but his father kept the matter in
mind.
Now his brothers went to pasture their
fathers ock near Shechem. And Israel said
to Joseph, Are not your brothers pasturing
the ock at Shechem? Come, I will send you
to them. He answered, Here I am. So
he said to him, Go now, see if it is well with
your brothers and with the ock; and bring
word back to me. So he sent him from the
valley of Hebron.
He came to Shechem, and a man found
him wandering in the elds; the man asked
him, What are you seeking? I am seeking my brothers, he said; tell me, please,
where they are pasturing the ock. The
man said, They have gone away, for I heard
them say, Let us go to Dothan. So Joseph
went after his brothers, and found them at
Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and
before he came near to them, they conspired
to kill him. They said to one another, Here
comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill

him and throw him into one of the pits; then
we shall say that a wild animal has devoured
him, and we shall see what will become of
his dreams. But when Reuben heard it, he
delivered him out of their hands, saying, Let
us not take his life. Reuben said to them,
Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here
in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him
that he might rescue him out of their hand
and restore him to his father. So when
Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped
him of his robe, the long robe with sleevesa
that he wore; and they took him and threw
him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was
no water in it.
Then they sat down to eat; and looking
up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying
gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry
it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his
brothers, What prot is it if we kill our
brother and conceal his blood? Come,
let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not
lay our hands on him, for he is our brother,
our own esh. And his brothers agreed.
When some Midianite traders passed
by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of
the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for
twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph
to Egypt.
When Reuben returned to the pit and
saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore
his clothes. He returned to his brothers,
and said, The boy is gone; and I, where
can I turn? Then they took Josephs robe,
a See note on 37.3
Joseph tribe of Ephraim, over the other tribes of northern Israel (1 Kings 11.26; 12.114.20). 911: Jacob sees
this dream as predicting that he and Josephs mother, Rachel, will join the brothers in submiing to Joseph.
This episode was probably part of an independent Joseph story that originally did not follow an account of
Rachels death (see 35.1620).
37.1236: Joseph is sold into slavery. 17: Dothan is about 15 mi (24 km) north of Shechem and lay along a
trade route from Syria to Egypt. 20: The pits were cisterns for storing rain water and sometimes used to imprison people (Jer 38.6). 2227: The advice of Reuben and Judah reects the ancient idea that blood cannot be
concealed (v. 26), but cries out for requital (see 4.1011n.). 2536: Most scholars agree that some combination or modication of traditions has occurred here. Though the brothers decide here to sell Joseph (v. 27) and
Joseph later says that they did so (45.45), this narrative describes the Midianites as drawing him out and selling
him to the Ishmaelites (v. 28). Later, both the Midianites (37.36) and the Ishmaelites (39.1; cf. 37.25) are identied as
the ones who sold Joseph to Potiphar. 25: Gilead, in northern Transjordan, was famous for its balm, an aromatic
resin used in healing (see Jer 8.22). 2627: On the role of Judah, see 44.1834n. 3134: Now Jacob is tricked by an
hebrew bible | 63
genesis 38
slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the
blood. They had the long robe with sleevesa
taken to their father, and they said, This
we have found; see now whether it is your
sons robe or not. He recognized it, and
said, It is my sons robe! A wild animal has
devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn
to pieces. Then Jacob tore his garments,
and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned
for his son many days. All his sons and all
his daughters sought to comfort him; but he
refused to be comforted, and said, No, I shall
go down to Sheol to my son, mourning. Thus
his father bewailed him. Meanwhile the
Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar,
one of Pharaohs ocials, the captain of the
guard.
It happened at that time that Judah
went down from his brothers and settled near a certain Adullamite whose name
was Hirah. There Judah saw the daughter of
a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua;
he married her and went in to her. She
conceived and bore a son; and he named
him Er. Again she conceived and bore a son
whom she named Onan. Yet again she bore
a son, and she named him Shelah. Sheb was
in Chezib when she bore him. Judah took a
wife for Er his rstborn; her name was Tamar.
But Er, Judahs rstborn, was wicked in the
sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to
death. Then Judah said to Onan, Go in to
38
your brothers wife and perform the duty of

a brother-in-law to her; raise up ospring for
your brother. But since Onan knew that
the ospring would not be his, he spilled his
semen on the ground whenever he went in to
his brothers wife, so that he would not give
ospring to his brother. What he did was
displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he
put him to death also. Then Judah said to
his daughter-in-law Tamar, Remain a widow
in your fathers house until my son Shelah
grows upfor he feared that he too would
die, like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in
her fathers house.
In course of time the wife of Judah,
Shuas daughter, died; when Judahs time of
mourning was over,c he went up to Timnah
to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah
the Adullamite. When Tamar was told,
Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to
shear his sheep, she put o her widows
garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up,
and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which
is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah
was grown up, yet she had not been given to
him in marriage. When Judah saw her, he
thought her to be a prostitute, for she had
covered her face. He went over to her at
a See note on 37.3
b Gk: Heb He
c Heb when Judah was comforted
article of clothing (contrast 27.15; see 29.2325n.). 35: Sheol, the underworld to which a person went at death
the Hebrew Bible does not recognize a dierentiated heaven and hell. Since this aerlife was at best a shadowy
existence (see Ps 6.5; Eccl 9.10), Jacobs going to his son there was not a comforting expectation. 36: Multiple
traditions testify to some kind of connection between Joseph and an Egyptian Potiphar/ Potiphera. Potiphar is
a form of Potiphera, the name of the Egyptian priest who is Josephs father-in-law in 41.45 and 46.20.
38.130: Judah and Tamar. Though an apparent interlude in the Joseph story, this chapter echoes elements
of ch 37 and anticipates themes from the upcoming Joseph story. Yet this story contrasts with most of this part
of Genesis in its focus on Judah, not Joseph. Moreover, it has striking parallels with later narratives about David
(see 38.12n., 6n.). Both elementsthe focus on Judah and anticipation of Davidlink 38.130 with a sequence
of episodes, starting in 30.21; 34.131; 35.22, that prepare for Jacobs blessing of Judah and prediction of the
Davidic dynasty in 49.812. See 49.128n. and 812n. 12: Adullam, a town where David later built up his mercenary army (1 Sam 22.1; 2 Sam 23.13). The locales in this narrative are appropriately in the territory of the tribe of
Judah. Judahs wife, the daughter of Shua (Heb Bat Shua, v. 12), anticipates the later Bathsheba of the David
and Solomon narratives (2 Sam 11; cf. 1 Chr 3.5). 6: Links to the David and Solomon story continue with mention
of Tamar (see 2 Sam 13). 810: According to the ancient custom of levirate marriage (Deut 25.510), the duty
of a brother-in-law was to father a male descendant for his deceased brother and thus perpetuate his name
and inheritance. Onans death is aributed to his refusal to perform this duty (thus endangering Judahs line),
probably by coitus interruptus (rather than onanism, masturbation). 11: Judah apparently fears that the death
of his sons resulted from Tamars sinister power. 1219: Tamar tricks Judah into playing the role of the brother-
64 | hebrew bible
genesis 39
the roadside, and said, Come, let me come
in to you, for he did not know that she was
his daughter-in-law. She said, What will you
give me, that you may come in to me? He
answered, I will send you a kid from the
ock. And she said, Only if you give me a
pledge, until you send it. He said, What
pledge shall I give you? She replied, Your
signet and your cord, and the sta that is in
your hand. So he gave them to her, and went
in to her, and she conceived by him. Then
she got up and went away, and taking o her
veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.
When Judah sent the kid by his friend
the Adullamite, to recover the pledge from
the woman, he could not nd her. He asked
the townspeople, Where is the temple
prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?
But they said, No prostitute has been here.
So he returned to Judah, and said, I have
not found her; moreover the townspeople
said, No prostitute has been here. Judah
replied, Let her keep the things as her own,
otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I
sent this kid, and you could not nd her.
About three months later Judah was
told, Your daughter-in-law Tamar has
played the whore; moreover she is pregnant
as a result of whoredom. And Judah said,
Bring her out, and let her be burned. As
she was being brought out, she sent word to
her father-in-law, It was the owner of these
who made me pregnant. And she said, Take
note, please, whose these are, the signet
and the cord and the sta. Then Judah
acknowledged them and said, She is more
in the right than I, since I did not give her to
my son Shelah. And he did not lie with her

again.
When the time of her delivery came,
there were twins in her womb. While she
was in labor, one put out a hand; and the
midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson thread, saying, This one came out rst.
But just then he drew back his hand, and
out came his brother; and she said, What a
breach you have made for yourself! Therefore he was named Perez.a Afterward his
brother came out with the crimson thread on
his hand; and he was named Zerah.b
Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt,
and Potiphar, an ocer of Pharaoh,
the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought
him from the Ishmaelites who had brought
him down there. The Lord was with Joseph,
and he became a successful man; he was in
the house of his Egyptian master. His master
saw that the Lord was with him, and that the
Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his
hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and
attended him; he made him overseer of his
house and put him in charge of all that he had.
From the time that he made him overseer in
his house and over all that he had, the Lord
blessed the Egyptians house for Josephs sake;
the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had,
in house and eld. So he left all that he had in
Josephs charge; and, with him there, he had no
concern for anything but the food that he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome and goodlooking. And after a time his masters wife
39
a That is A breach
b That is Brightness; perhaps alluding to the crimson
thread
in-law by dressing as a prostitute and allowing him to hire her to have sex (see 27.145n.). 18: The signet was
a seal, oen suspended from the neck with a cord, used to sign documents. 2022: Though some interpret
the Hebrew here for holy woman (qedeshah) as referring to a temple prostitute (so NRSV), it is unlikely that
there was an institution of sacred prostitution in ancient Israel. Some commentators propose that Judahs Adullamite friend is just delicately referring to the missing prostitute as a similarly unaached holy woman. 24:
Stoning was the usual punishment for adultery (Deut 22.2324; cf. Jn 8.5), although burning was prescribed for
exceptional cases (Lev 21.9). 2526: The presentation of evidence to Judah here echoes the presentation of the
bloody robe to Jacob in 37.3233. 2730: The birth of Judahs twins is depicted in terms similar to that of Jacob
and Esau (25.2426). The nal link of this chapter to the David narrative (see 38.12,6n.) occurs with Perez, the
rstborn and ancestor of David (Ruth 4.1822; see 49.128 and 812n.).
39.123: Josephs success, temptation, and imprisonment. 16: Josephs enjoyment of blessing and
Potiphars recognition of it are an outgrowth of the promise to Abraham in 12.13 (see 12.2n.). 720: A parallel
Egyptian Tale of Two Brothers also tells a tale of how a man rejected the advances of anothers wife, who then
hebrew bible | 65
genesis 40
cast her eyes on Joseph and said, Lie with
me. But he refused and said to his masters
wife, Look, with me here, my master has no
concern about anything in the house, and he
has put everything that he has in my hand.
He is not greater in this house than I am, nor
has he kept back anything from me except
yourself, because you are his wife. How then
could I do this great wickedness, and sin
against God? And although she spoke to
Joseph day after day, he would not consent
to lie beside her or to be with her. One day,
however, when he went into the house to do
his work, and while no one else was in the
house, she caught hold of his garment, saying, Lie with me! But he left his garment in
her hand, and ed and ran outside. When
she saw that he had left his garment in her
hand and had ed outside, she called out
to the members of her household and said to
them, See, my husbanda has brought among
us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to
lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice;
and when he heard me raise my voice and
cry out, he left his garment beside me, and
ed outside. Then she kept his garment by
her until his master came home, and she
told him the same story, saying, The Hebrew
servant, whom you have brought among us,
came in to me to insult me; but as soon as I
raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me, and ed outside.
When his master heard the words that
his wife spoke to him, saying, This is the way
your servant treated me, he became enraged.
And Josephs master took him and put him
into the prison, the place where the kings
prisoners were conned; he remained there
in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and
showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor
in the sight of the chief jailer. The chief
jailer committed to Josephs care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever
was done there, he was the one who did it.
The chief jailer paid no heed to anything
that was in Josephs care, because the Lord
was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord

made it prosper.
Some time after this, the cupbearer
of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. Pharaoh
was angry with his two ocers, the chief
cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put
them in custody in the house of the captain
of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was
conned. The captain of the guard charged
Joseph with them, and he waited on them;
and they continued for some time in custody. One night they both dreamedthe
cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt,
who were conned in the prisoneach his
own dream, and each dream with its own
meaning. When Joseph came to them in the
morning, he saw that they were troubled. So
he asked Pharaohs ocers, who were with
him in custody in his masters house, Why
are your faces downcast today? They said
to him, We have had dreams, and there is no
one to interpret them. And Joseph said to
them, Do not interpretations belong to God?
Please tell them to me.
So the chief cupbearer told his dream to
Joseph, and said to him, In my dream there
was a vine before me, and on the vine there
were three branches. As soon as it budded, its
blossoms came out and the clusters ripened
into grapes. Pharaohs cup was in my hand;
and I took the grapes and pressed them into
Pharaohs cup, and placed the cup in Pharaohs hand. Then Joseph said to him, This
is its interpretation: the three branches are
three days; within three days Pharaoh will
lift up your head and restore you to your ofce; and you shall place Pharaohs cup in his
hand, just as you used to do when you were
his cupbearer. But remember me when it is
well with you; please do me the kindness to
make mention of me to Pharaoh, and so get
me out of this place. For in fact I was stolen
out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also
40
a Heb he
laid false accusations against him and almost brought about his death. 1215: Again (see 37.3133), Josephs
garment is used as misleading evidence. 14: Hebrew, see 14.13n. 2123: Abrahams blessing is again evident here.
40.123: Joseph establishes his expertise as dream interpreter. Doubled dreams are a recurring motif in the
Joseph narrative (see 37.510; 41.17,32; 42.9). 13: Li up your head, i.e., graciously free you from prison (2 Kings
25.27). The same expression is applied ironically to the bakers fate in v. 19. 15: Stolen, 37.28.
66 | hebrew bible
genesis 41
I have done nothing that they should have
put me into the dungeon.
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph,
I also had a dream: there were three cake
baskets on my head, and in the uppermost
basket there were all sorts of baked food for
Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of
the basket on my head. And Joseph answered, This is its interpretation: the three
baskets are three days; within three days
Pharaoh will lift up your headfrom you!
and hang you on a pole; and the birds will eat
the esh from you.
On the third day, which was Pharaohs
birthday, he made a feast for all his servants,
and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer
and the head of the chief baker among his
servants. He restored the chief cupbearer
to his cupbearing, and he placed the cup
in Pharaohs hand; but the chief baker
he hanged, just as Joseph had interpreted
to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not
remember Joseph, but forgot him.
After two whole years, Pharaoh
dreamed that he was standing by the
Nile, and there came up out of the Nile seven sleek and fat cows, and they grazed in the
reed grass. Then seven other cows, ugly and
thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and
stood by the other cows on the bank of the
Nile. The ugly and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. And Pharaoh awoke.
Then he fell asleep and dreamed a second
time; seven ears of grain, plump and good,
were growing on one stalk. Then seven ears,
thin and blighted by the east wind, sprouted
after them. The thin ears swallowed up the
seven plump and full ears. Pharaoh awoke,
and it was a dream. In the morning his spirit
was troubled; so he sent and called for all the
magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no
one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, I remember my faults today. Once
Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and
put me and the chief baker in custody in
the house of the captain of the guard. We
41
dreamed on the same night, he and I, each

having a dream with its own meaning. A
young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of
the captain of the guard. When we told him,
he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an
interpretation to each according to his dream.
As he interpreted to us, so it turned out; I
was restored to my oce, and the baker was
hanged.
Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he
was hurriedly brought out of the dungeon.
When he had shaved himself and changed
his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a
dream, and there is no one who can interpret
it. I have heard it said of you that when you
hear a dream you can interpret it. Joseph
answered Pharaoh, It is not I; God will give
Pharaoh a favorable answer. Then Pharaoh
said to Joseph, In my dream I was standing
on the banks of the Nile; and seven cows,
fat and sleek, came up out of the Nile and fed
in the reed grass. Then seven other cows
came up after them, poor, very ugly, and thin.
Never had I seen such ugly ones in all the
land of Egypt. The thin and ugly cows ate
up the rst seven fat cows, but when they
had eaten them no one would have known
that they had done so, for they were still as
ugly as before. Then I awoke. I fell asleep
a second timea and I saw in my dream seven
ears of grain, full and good, growing on one
stalk, and seven ears, withered, thin, and
blighted by the east wind, sprouting after
them; and the thin ears swallowed up the
seven good ears. But when I told it to the magicians, there was no one who could explain
it to me.
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, Pharaohs dreams are one and the same; God
has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to
do. The seven good cows are seven years,
and the seven good ears are seven years;
the dreams are one. The seven lean and
ugly cows that came up after them are seven
years, as are the seven empty ears blighted
by the east wind. They are seven years of
a Gk Syr Vg: Heb lacks I fell asleep a second time
41.157: Josephs elevation as the result of successful dream interpretation. 8: The narrator intends to demonstrate the superiority of Israels God over Egyptian magic and wisdom (cf. Ex 8.1819; 9.11; Dan 2.219; 5.8,15
hebrew bible | 67
genesis 41
famine. It is as I told Pharaoh; God has
shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do.
There will come seven years of great plenty
throughout all the land of Egypt. After
them there will arise seven years of famine,
and all the plenty will be forgotten in the
land of Egypt; the famine will consume the
land. The plenty will no longer be known
in the land because of the famine that will
follow, for it will be very grievous. And the
doubling of Pharaohs dream means that the
thing is xed by God, and God will shortly
bring it about. Now therefore let Pharaoh
select a man who is discerning and wise, and
set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh
proceed to appoint overseers over the land,
and take one-fth of the produce of the land
of Egypt during the seven plenteous years.
Let them gather all the food of these good
years that are coming, and lay up grain under
the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. That food shall be
a reserve for the land against the seven years
of famine that are to befall the land of Egypt,
so that the land may not perish through the
famine.
The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all
his servants. Pharaoh said to his servants,
Can we nd anyone else like thisone in
whom is the spirit of God? So Pharaoh
said to Joseph, Since God has shown you all
this, there is no one so discerning and wise
as you. You shall be over my house, and
all my people shall order themselves as you
command; only with regard to the throne will
I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to
Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land
of Egypt. Removing his signet ring from
his hand, Pharaoh put it on Josephs hand;
he arrayed him in garments of ne linen,
and put a gold chain around his neck. He
had him ride in the chariot of his second-incommand; and they cried out in front of him,
Bow the knee!a Thus he set him over all
the land of Egypt. Moreover Pharaoh said
to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without your

consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in
all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh gave Joseph
the name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave
him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of
On, as his wife. Thus Joseph gained authority
over the land of Egypt.
Joseph was thirty years old when he
entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
And Joseph went out from the presence of
Pharaoh, and went through all the land of
Egypt. During the seven plenteous years the
earth produced abundantly. He gathered
up all the food of the seven years when there
was plentyb in the land of Egypt, and stored
up food in the cities; he stored up in every
city the food from the elds around it. So
Joseph stored up grain in such abundance
like the sand of the seathat he stopped
measuring it; it was beyond measure.
Before the years of famine came, Joseph
had two sons, whom Asenath daughter
of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.
Joseph named the rstborn Manasseh,c
For, he said, God has made me forget
all my hardship and all my fathers house.
The second he named Ephraim,d For
God has made me fruitful in the land of my
misfortunes.
The seven years of plenty that prevailed
in the land of Egypt came to an end; and
the seven years of famine began to come, just
as Joseph had said. There was famine in every
country, but throughout the land of Egypt
there was bread. When all the land of Egypt
was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for
bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, Go
to Joseph; what he says to you, do. And
since the famine had spread over all the land,
a Abrek, apparently an Egyptian word similar in
sound to the Hebrew word meaning to kneel
b Sam Gk: MT the seven years that were

c That is Making to forget
d From a Hebrew word meaning to be fruitful
28). 16: Joseph denies having any occult art and ascribes his skill solely to God. 42: His signet ring (see 38.18n.)
empowered Joseph to act as Pharaohs representative. 45: The installation rites culminate in the bestowal of an
Egyptian name on Joseph. Josephs adoption into the Egyptian court is further indicated by his marriage into
the priesthood of On or Heliopolis. No judgment is aached to this intermarriage with an Egyptian foreigner
(see Deut 23.89). Potiphera, see 37.36n. 46: This is the rst Priestly notice since the outset of the Joseph story
(37.2). 5052: The birth of Josephs two sons; see 46.20; ch 48.
68 | hebrew bible
genesis 42
Joseph opened all the storehouses,a and sold
to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in
the land of Egypt. Moreover, all the world
came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because
the famine became severe throughout the
world.
When Jacob learned that there was
grain in Egypt, he said to his sons,
Why do you keep looking at one another?
I have heard, he said, that there is grain in
Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there,
that we may live and not die. So ten of
Josephs brothers went down to buy grain
in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Josephs
brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he
feared that harm might come to him. Thus
the sons of Israel were among the other
people who came to buy grain, for the famine
had reached the land of Canaan.
Now Joseph was governor over the land;
it was he who sold to all the people of the
land. And Josephs brothers came and bowed
themselves before him with their faces to the
ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he
recognized them, but he treated them like
strangers and spoke harshly to them. Where
do you come from? he said. They said, From
the land of Canaan, to buy food. Although
Joseph had recognized his brothers, they did
not recognize him. Joseph also remembered
the dreams that he had dreamed about them.
He said to them, You are spies; you have come
to see the nakedness of the land! They
said to him, No, my lord; your servants have
come to buy food. We are all sons of one
man; we are honest men; your servants have
never been spies. But he said to them, No,
you have come to see the nakedness of the
land! They said, We, your servants, are
twelve brothers, the sons of a certain man in
the land of Canaan; the youngest, however,
is now with our father, and one is no more.
But Joseph said to them, It is just as I have
42
said to you; you are spies! Here is how you

shall be tested: as Pharaoh lives, you shall not
leave this place unless your youngest brother
comes here! Let one of you go and bring your
brother, while the rest of you remain in prison,
in order that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you; or else, as Pharaoh
lives, surely you are spies. And he put them
all together in prison for three days.
On the third day Joseph said to them, Do
this and you will live, for I fear God: if you
are honest men, let one of your brothers stay
here where you are imprisoned. The rest of
you shall go and carry grain for the famine of
your households, and bring your youngest
brother to me. Thus your words will be veried, and you shall not die. And they agreed
to do so. They said to one another, Alas, we
are paying the penalty for what we did to our
brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded
with us, but we would not listen. That is why
this anguish has come upon us. Then
Reuben answered them, Did I not tell you not
to wrong the boy? But you would not listen. So
now there comes a reckoning for his blood.
They did not know that Joseph understood
them, since he spoke with them through an
interpreter. He turned away from them and
wept; then he returned and spoke to them.
And he picked out Simeon and had him bound
before their eyes. Joseph then gave orders to
ll their bags with grain, to return every mans
money to his sack, and to give them provisions
for their journey. This was done for them.
They loaded their donkeys with their
grain, and departed. When one of them
opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at
the lodging place, he saw his money at the
top of the sack. He said to his brothers,
My money has been put back; here it is in
a Gk Vg Compare Syr: Heb opened all that was in (or,
among) them
42.138: Josephs brothers rst journey to Egypt. 5: See 12.10; 26.1. 6: Bowed themselves before him, since all
but Benjamin are present, Josephs rst dream (37.58) is almost fullled (cf. 43.26). 914: The charge of spying
is natural, since Egypts frontier, facing Canaan, was vulnerable to aack (Ex 1.10). Nevertheless, the narrator (v.
9) explains Josephs accusation as related to his memory of his dreams (37.511). 1517: Though Joseph claims to
be testing whether his brothers are spies, he actually seems to be testing whether they will betray his full
brother and fathers favorite (v. 4), Benjamin, the way they once betrayed him (see chs 4344). The reader, however, does not yet know this and is le to wonder about Josephs motives for puing his brothers through the
following ordeal. 2123: The brothers expression of guilt at their earlier betrayal of Joseph hints at the change
hebrew bible | 69
genesis 43
my sack! At this they lost heart and turned
trembling to one another, saying, What is
this that God has done to us?
When they came to their father Jacob
in the land of Canaan, they told him all that
had happened to them, saying, The man,
the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us, and
charged us with spying on the land. But we
said to him, We are honest men, we are not
spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our
father; one is no more, and the youngest is
now with our father in the land of Canaan.
Then the man, the lord of the land, said to
us, By this I shall know that you are honest
men: leave one of your brothers with me, take
grain for the famine of your households, and
go your way. Bring your youngest brother to
me, and I shall know that you are not spies but
honest men. Then I will release your brother
to you, and you may trade in the land.
As they were emptying their sacks, there
in each ones sack was his bag of money.
When they and their father saw their bundles
of money, they were dismayed. And their
father Jacob said to them, I am the one you
have bereaved of children: Joseph is no more,
and Simeon is no more, and now you would
take Benjamin. All this has happened to me!
Then Reuben said to his father, You may kill
my two sons if I do not bring him back to you.
Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back
to you. But he said, My son shall not go
down with you, for his brother is dead, and he
alone is left. If harm should come to him on the
journey that you are to make, you would bring
down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.
Now the famine was severe in the
land. And when they had eaten up
the grain that they had brought from Egypt,
their father said to them, Go again, buy us
a little more food. But Judah said to him,
The man solemnly warned us, saying, You
shall not see my face unless your brother is
with you. If you will send our brother with
us, we will go down and buy you food; but if
you will not send him, we will not go down,
for the man said to us, You shall not see my
43
face, unless your brother is with you. Israel

said, Why did you treat me so badly as to
tell the man that you had another brother?
They replied, The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying,
Is your father still alive? Have you another
brother? What we told him was in answer
to these questions. Could we in any way
know that he would say, Bring your brother
down? Then Judah said to his father Israel,
Send the boy with me, and let us be on our
way, so that we may live and not dieyou
and we and also our little ones. I myself will
be surety for him; you can hold me accountable for him. If I do not bring him back to you
and set him before you, then let me bear the
blame forever. If we had not delayed, we
would now have returned twice.
Then their father Israel said to them, If
it must be so, then do this: take some of the
choice fruits of the land in your bags, and
carry them down as a present to the man
a little balm and a little honey, gum, resin,
pistachio nuts, and almonds. Take double
the money with you. Carry back with you the
money that was returned in the top of your
sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. Take
your brother also, and be on your way again
to the man; may God Almightya grant you
mercy before the man, so that he may send
back your other brother and Benjamin. As
for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am
bereaved. So the men took the present,
and they took double the money with them,
as well as Benjamin. Then they went on their
way down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
When Joseph saw Benjamin with them,
he said to the steward of his house, Bring the
men into the house, and slaughter an animal
and make ready, for the men are to dine
with me at noon. The man did as Joseph
said, and brought the men to Josephs house.
Now the men were afraid because they
were brought to Josephs house, and they
said, It is because of the money, replaced in
a Traditional rendering of Heb El Shaddai
of heart for which Joseph is looking. 25: Money, lit., silver. 38: Sheol, see 37.35n.
43.134: Josephs brothers second journey to Egypt. 12: Simeon, le as a hostage in Egypt (vv. 14,23), is
apparently forgoen, for the brothers return only when more grain is needed. 37: Cf. 42.2934. 810: Again
(see 37.2627) Judah is depicted as the hero; see 44.1834n. 11: Balm . . . gum, and resin, echoing 37.25. 14: God
70 | hebrew bible
genesis 44
our sacks the rst time, that we have been
brought in, so that he may have an opportunity to fall upon us, to make slaves of us and
take our donkeys. So they went up to the
steward of Josephs house and spoke with him
at the entrance to the house. They said,
Oh, my lord, we came down the rst time to
buy food; and when we came to the lodging
place we opened our sacks, and there was
each ones money in the top of his sack, our
money in full weight. So we have brought it
back with us. Moreover we have brought
down with us additional money to buy food.
We do not know who put our money in our
sacks. He replied, Rest assured, do not be
afraid; your God and the God of your father
must have put treasure in your sacks for you;
I received your money. Then he brought
Simeon out to them. When the stewarda
had brought the men into Josephs house, and
given them water, and they had washed their
feet, and when he had given their donkeys
fodder, they made the present ready for
Josephs coming at noon, for they had heard
that they would dine there.
When Joseph came home, they brought
him the present that they had carried into the
house, and bowed to the ground before him.
He inquired about their welfare, and said,
Is your father well, the old man of whom you
spoke? Is he still alive? They said, Your
servant our father is well; he is still alive. And
they bowed their heads and did obeisance.
Then he looked up and saw his brother
Benjamin, his mothers son, and said, Is this
your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to
me? God be gracious to you, my son! With
that, Joseph hurried out, because he was overcome with aection for his brother, and he
was about to weep. So he went into a private
room and wept there. Then he washed his

face and came out; and controlling himself
he said, Serve the meal. They served him
by himself, and them by themselves, and the
Egyptians who ate with him by themselves,
because the Egyptians could not eat with the
Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the
Egyptians. When they were seated before
him, the rstborn according to his birthright
and the youngest according to his youth, the
men looked at one another in amazement.
Portions were taken to them from Josephs
table, but Benjamins portion was ve times as
much as any of theirs. So they drank and were
merry with him.
Then he commanded the steward
of his house, Fill the mens sacks
with food, as much as they can carry, and
put each mans money in the top of his sack.
Put my cup, the silver cup, in the top of the
sack of the youngest, with his money for the
grain. And he did as Joseph told him. As
soon as the morning was light, the men were
sent away with their donkeys. When they
had gone only a short distance from the city,
Joseph said to his steward, Go, follow after
the men; and when you overtake them, say
to them, Why have you returned evil for
good? Why have you stolen my silver cup?b
Is it not from this that my lord drinks? Does
he not indeed use it for divination? You have
done wrong in doing this.
When he overtook them, he repeated
these words to them. They said to him, Why
does my lord speak such words as these? Far
be it from your servants that they should
44
a Heb the man

b Gk Compare Vg: Heb lacks Why have you stolen my
silver cup?
Almighty, see 17.1n. 23: The Egyptian steward anticipates the emphasis of the story on divine providence (44.16;
45.58; 50.20). 26: With all eleven brothers now bowing down (cf. v. 15), they unknowingly fulll the rst dream
in 37.58 (see 50.18n.). 2930: Joseph was overcome with aection for Benjamin, his only full brother (through
Rachel). 34: Just as Benjamin (42.4,38; 43.614) and before him Joseph (37.34) was favored by Jacob, so here
through Josephs actionsthe brothers watch a son of Rachel enjoy special privilege in the Egyptian court.
The stage is set for a reprise of their murderous envy once shown toward Joseph in Gen 37 and now potentially
directed at Benjamin.
44.134: Josephs nal test of his brothers. 15: Here the focus is on Josephs cup, a sacred vessel for divination, prediction of the future (cf. 42.2528). The brothers (unknowing) taking of the cup and pronouncement
of a death penalty on the thief (v. 9) echo the earlier story of Rachels stealing of Labans household gods (31.19)
and Jacobs pronouncement of the death penalty on the thief (31.32). In a narrative that parallels those stories,
hebrew bible | 71
genesis 45
do such a thing! Look, the money that we
found at the top of our sacks, we brought back
to you from the land of Canaan; why then
would we steal silver or gold from your lords
house? Should it be found with any one of
your servants, let him die; moreover the rest
of us will become my lords slaves. He said,
Even so; in accordance with your words, let
it be: he with whom it is found shall become
my slave, but the rest of you shall go free.
Then each one quickly lowered his sack to
the ground, and each opened his sack. He
searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was found
in Benjamins sack. At this they tore their
clothes. Then each one loaded his donkey,
and they returned to the city.
Judah and his brothers came to Josephs
house while he was still there; and they fell to
the ground before him. Joseph said to them,
What deed is this that you have done? Do
you not know that one such as I can practice
divination? And Judah said, What can
we say to my lord? What can we speak? How
can we clear ourselves? God has found out
the guilt of your servants; here we are then,
my lords slaves, both we and also the one in
whose possession the cup has been found.
But he said, Far be it from me that I should
do so! Only the one in whose possession the
cup was found shall be my slave; but as for
you, go up in peace to your father.
Then Judah stepped up to him and said,
Omy lord, let your servant please speak a
word in my lords ears, and do not be angry
with your servant; for you are like Pharaoh
himself. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father or a brother? And
we said to my lord, We have a father, an
old man, and a young brother, the child of
his old age. His brother is dead; he alone is
left of his mothers children, and his father

loves him. Then you said to your servants,
Bring him down to me, so that I may set my
eyes on him. We said to my lord, The boy
cannot leave his father, for if he should leave
his father, his father would die. Then you
said to your servants, Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall
see my face no more. When we went back
to your servant my father we told him the
words of my lord. And when our father
said, Go again, buy us a little food, we said,
We cannot go down. Only if our youngest
brother goes with us, will we go down; for we
cannot see the mans face unless our youngest brother is with us. Then your servant
my father said to us, You know that my wife
bore me two sons; one left me, and I said,
Surely he has been torn to pieces; and I have
never seen him since. If you take this one
also from me, and harm comes to him, you
will bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to
Sheol. Now therefore, when I come to your
servant my father and the boy is not with us,
then, as his life is bound up in the boys life,
when he sees that the boy is not with us, he
will die; and your servants will bring down
the gray hairs of your servant our father with
sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became
surety for the boy to my father, saying, If I
do not bring him back to you, then I will bear
the blame in the sight of my father all my life.
Now therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord in place of the boy;
and let the boy go back with his brothers.
For how can I go back to my father if the
boy is not with me? I fear to see the suering
that would come upon my father.
Then Joseph could no longer control
himself before all those who stood by
him, and he cried out, Send everyone away
45
Joseph lays a trap for his brothers. 17: Joseph tests his brothers (see 42.1517) to see whether they will let Benjamin go into slavery as they once did with him (37.2535). In this case, the stakes are higher, since the brothers
now think that they themselves will go into slavery if they do not betray Benjamin. 1834: Judah had secured
Jacobs release of Benjamin through oering himself as collateral (43.810; see v. 32). Now he steps forth to
express a respect for their fathers bond to Rachels son(s) that had not been evident among the brothers before
(cf. 37.1935). This is a prime example of a passage in the Joseph narrative where Judah, rather than the elder
Reuben, plays the role of the most powerful and prominent son (see also 37.2627; ch 38; 43.35,810; 46.28).
Such texts have typically been assigned to a Judah-Israel (or J) layer of the story (see Introduction and 37.111n.),
but may rather reect an aempt in the Joseph story as a whole (perhaps an early Northern text) to show even
Judah, King Davids ancestor, eventually recognizing Josephs right to rule over his brothers.
72 | hebrew bible
genesis 46
from me. So no one stayed with him when
Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians
heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard
it. Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph.
Is my father still alive? But his brothers
could not answer him, so dismayed were they
at his presence.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, Come
closer to me. And they came closer. He said,
I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold
into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or
angry with yourselves, because you sold me
here; for God sent me before you to preserve
life. For the famine has been in the land
these two years; and there are ve more years
in which there will be neither plowing nor
harvest. God sent me before you to preserve
for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive
for you many survivors. So it was not you
who sent me here, but God; he has made me
a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house
and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry
and go up to my father and say to him, Thus
says your son Joseph, God has made me lord
of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.
You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and
you shall be near me, you and your children
and your childrens children, as well as your
ocks, your herds, and all that you have. I
will provide for you theresince there are
ve more years of famine to comeso that
you and your household, and all that you
have, will not come to poverty. And now
your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks
to you. You must tell my father how greatly
I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have
seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.
Then he fell upon his brother Benjamins
neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon
his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and
wept upon them; and after that his brothers
talked with him.
When the report was heard in Pharaohs

house, Josephs brothers have come, Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. Pharaoh
said to Joseph, Say to your brothers, Do this:
load your animals and go back to the land of
Canaan. Take your father and your households and come to me, so that I may give you
the best of the land of Egypt, and you may
enjoy the fat of the land. You are further
charged to say, Do this: take wagons from
the land of Egypt for your little ones and for
your wives, and bring your father, and come.
Give no thought to your possessions, for
the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.
The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave
them wagons according to the instruction of
Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the
journey. To each one of them he gave a set
of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three
hundred pieces of silver and ve sets of garments. To his father he sent the following:
ten donkeys loaded with the good things of
Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with
grain, bread, and provision for his father on
the journey. Then he sent his brothers on
their way, and as they were leaving he said to
them, Do not quarrela along the way.
So they went up out of Egypt and came
to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.
And they told him, Joseph is still alive!
He is even ruler over all the land of Egypt.
He was stunned; he could not believe them.
But when they told him all the words of
Joseph that he had said to them, and when he
saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry
him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.
Israel said, Enough! My son Joseph is still
alive. I must go and see him before I die.
When Israel set out on his journey
with all that he had and came to Beersheba, he oered sacrices to the God of his
father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions
46
a Or be agitated
45.128: Joseph makes himself known to his brothers and father. 13: The brothers initially react with shock
to the knowledge that they face the brother whom they sold into slavery. 413: Joseph reassures his brothers
by telling them that Godnot theysent him into slavery. God sent him there so that he might feed his family
in the famine. 10: The land of Goshen, probably located in the eastern Nile Delta. 1620: Asiatics are frequently
aested as living in Egypt, though no Egyptian records refer specically to the Israelites living there.
46.127: Jacobs migration to Egypt. 14: Jacobs rst stop on the way out of the land is Beer-sheba, where
the same God who told Isaac to stay in the land and not to go to Egypt (26.23) now tells his son, Jacob, to leave
hebrew bible | 73
genesis 46
of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he
said, Here I am. Then he said, I am God,a
the God of your father; do not be afraid to go
down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great
nation there. I myself will go down with you
to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again;
and Josephs own hand shall close your eyes.
Then Jacob set out from Beer-sheba;
and the sons of Israel carried their father
Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the
wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
They also took their livestock and the goods
that they had acquired in the land of Canaan,
and they came into Egypt, Jacob and all his
ospring with him, his sons, and his sons
sons with him, his daughters, and his sons
daughters; all his ospring he brought with
him into Egypt.
Now these are the names of the Israelites,
Jacob and his ospring, who came to Egypt.
Reuben, Jacobs rstborn, and the children
of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
The children of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin,
Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul,b the son of
a Canaanite woman. The children of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The children
of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah
(but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan);
and the children of Perez were Hezron and
Hamul. The children of Issachar: Tola,
Puvah, Jashub,c and Shimron. The children
of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel (these
are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob
in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; in all his sons and his daughters
numbered thirty-three). The children of Gad:
Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and
Areli. The children of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah,
Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. The children of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel (these
are the children of Zilpah, whom Laban gave
to his daughter Leah; and these she bore to
Jacobsixteen persons). The children of
Jacobs wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. To
Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath daughter
of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. The

children of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel,
Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim,
and Ard (these are the children of Rachel,
who were born to Jacobfourteen persons in
all). The children of Dan: Hashum.d The
children of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and
Shillem (these are the children of Bilhah,
whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and
these she bore to Jacobseven persons in all).
All the persons belonging to Jacob who came
into Egypt, who were his own ospring, not
including the wives of his sons, were sixty-six
persons in all. The children of Joseph, who
were born to him in Egypt, were two; all the
persons of the house of Jacob who came into
Egypt were seventy.
Israele sent Judah ahead to Joseph to lead
the way before him into Goshen. When they
came to the land of Goshen, Joseph made
ready his chariot and went up to meet his
father Israel in Goshen. He presented himself
to him, fell on his neck, and wept on his neck
a good while. Israel said to Joseph, I can
die now, having seen for myself that you are
still alive. Joseph said to his brothers and
to his fathers household, I will go up and tell
Pharaoh, and will say to him, My brothers
and my fathers household, who were in the
land of Canaan, have come to me. The men
are shepherds, for they have been keepers of
livestock; and they have brought their ocks,
and their herds, and all that they have.
When Pharaoh calls you, and says, What
is your occupation? you shall say, Your
servants have been keepers of livestock from
our youth even until now, both we and our
ancestorsin order that you may settle in
the land of Goshen, because all shepherds are
abhorrent to the Egyptians.
a
b
c
d
e
Heb the God

Or Saul
Compare Sam Gk Num 26.24; 1Chr 7.1: MT Iob
Gk: Heb Hushim
Heb He
the land for Egypt (see 12.13n.; 28.1315n.). God also expands the earlier promise that Abraham would be a
great nation (see 12.2n.) by saying that God will make Jacob a great nation in Egypt (v. 3; see 47.27; Ex 1.7,9). 827:
A Priestly section listing Jacobs descendants by their mothers, using the traditional number seventy (v. 27; Ex
1.5; Deut 10.22). Most names of the clan leaders are in the Priestly list in Num 26. 12: See ch 38.
46.2847.28: Jacobs family se+les in Egypt. 46.34: All shepherds are abhorrent, there is no nonbiblical evi-
74 | hebrew bible
genesis 47
47
So Joseph went and told Pharaoh, My

father and my brothers, with their
ocks and herds and all that they possess,
have come from the land of Canaan; they are
now in the land of Goshen. From among
his brothers he took ve men and presented
them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers, What is your occupation? And they
said to Pharaoh, Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors were. They said to
Pharaoh, We have come to reside as aliens
in the land; for there is no pasture for your
servants ocks because the famine is severe
in the land of Canaan. Now, we ask you, let
your servants settle in the land of Goshen.
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Your father
and your brothers have come to you. The
land of Egypt is before you; settle your father
and your brothers in the best part of the land;
let them live in the land of Goshen; and if
you know that there are capable men among
them, put them in charge of my livestock.
Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob,
and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob
blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob,
How many are the years of your life? Jacob
said to Pharaoh, The years of my earthly
sojourn are one hundred thirty; few and
hard have been the years of my life. They do
not compare with the years of the life of my
ancestors during their long sojourn. Then
Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from
the presence of Pharaoh. Joseph settled his
father and his brothers, and granted them
a holding in the land of Egypt, in the best
part of the land, in the land of Rameses,
as Pharaoh had instructed. And Joseph
provided his father, his brothers, and all his
fathers household with food, according to
the number of their dependents.
Now there was no food in all the land, for
the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt
and the land of Canaan languished because
of the famine. Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and in the
land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that
they bought; and Joseph brought the money
into Pharaohs house. When the money
from the land of Egypt and from the land of

Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to
Joseph, and said, Give us food! Why should
we die before your eyes? For our money is
gone. And Joseph answered, Give me your
livestock, and I will give you food in exchange
for your livestock, if your money is gone.
So they brought their livestock to Joseph;
and Joseph gave them food in exchange for
the horses, the ocks, the herds, and the donkeys. That year he supplied them with food
in exchange for all their livestock. When
that year was ended, they came to him the
following year, and said to him, We can not
hide from my lord that our money is all spent;
and the herds of cattle are my lords. There
is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our
bodies and our lands. Shall we die before
your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and
our land in exchange for food. We with our
land will become slaves to Pharaoh; just give
us seed, so that we may live and not die, and
that the land may not become desolate.
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt
for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold their
elds, because the famine was severe upon
them; and the land became Pharaohs. As
for the people, he made slaves of thema from
one end of Egypt to the other. Only the
land of the priests he did not buy; for the
priests had a xed allowance from Pharaoh,
and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave
them; therefore they did not sell their land.
Then Joseph said to the people, Now that
I have this day bought you and your land
for Pharaoh, here is seed for you; sow the
land. And at the harvests you shall give
one-fth to Pharaoh, and four-fths shall be
your own, as seed for the eld and as food for
yourselves and your households, and as food
for your little ones. They said, You have
saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will
be slaves to Pharaoh. So Joseph made it a
statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it
stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have
a Sam Gk Compare Vg: MT He removed them to the
cities
dence for this assertion. 47.7,12: According to this Priestly tradition, Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 11: A Priestly notice.
The land of Rameses cannot be identied with certainty. The rst Egyptian pharaoh with that name ruled at the
beginning of the thirteenth century bce. 1326: Josephs clever impoverishment of the Egyptians here contrasts
hebrew bible | 75
genesis 48
the fth. The land of the priests alone did not
become Pharaohs.
Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt,
in the region of Goshen; and they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly. Jacob lived in the land of
Egypt seventeen years; so the days of Jacob,
the years of his life, were one hundred fortyseven years.
When the time of Israels death drew
near, he called his son Joseph and said to him,
If I have found favor with you, put your hand
under my thigh and promise to deal loyally
and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt.
When I lie down with my ancestors, carry
me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial
place. He answered, I will do as you have
said. And he said, Swear to me; and he
swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself on
the head of his bed.
After this Joseph was told, Your father is ill. So he took with him his
two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When
Jacob was told, Your son Joseph has come
to you, hea summoned his strength and
sat up in bed. And Jacob said to Joseph,
God Almightyb appeared to me at Luz in
the land of Canaan, and he blessed me,
and said to me, I am going to make you
fruitful and increase your numbers; I will
make of you a company of peoples, and will
give this land to your offspring after you
for a perpetual holding. Therefore your
two sons, who were born to you in the land
of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are
now mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be
mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are. As
48
for the offspring born to you after them,

they shall be yours. They shall be recorded
under the names of their brothers with
regard to their inheritance. For when I
came from Paddan, Rachel, alas, died in the
land of Canaan on the way, while there was
still some distance to go to Ephrath; and
I buried her there on the way to Ephrath
(that is, Bethlehem).
When Israel saw Josephs sons, he said,
Who are these? Joseph said to his father,
They are my sons, whom God has given me
here. And he said, Bring them to me, please,
that I may bless them. Now the eyes of
Israel were dim with age, and he could not
see well. So Joseph brought them near him;
and he kissed them and embraced them.
Israel said to Joseph, I did not expect to see
your face; and here God has let me see your
children also. Then Joseph removed them
from his fathers knees,c and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. Joseph took
them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward
Israels left, and Manasseh in his left hand
toward Israels right, and brought them near
him. But Israel stretched out his right hand
and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was
the younger, and his left hand on the head of
Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh
was the rstborn. He blessed Joseph, and
said,
The God before whom my ancestors
Abraham and Isaac walked,
a Heb Israel
b Traditional rendering of Heb El Shaddai
c Heb from his knees
with his benecent provision for his own family (see 45.511; 50.2021). 2728: Another fragment from P. Here
the Priestly fertility promise to Abraham (17.2,6; cf. 1.28; 9.1,7) is fullled in Egypt. 27: Goshen, see 45.10n.
47.2949.33: Jacobs preparations for death, including the adoption and blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh.
This section is viewed by many scholars as a series of later insertions into the Joseph story, linking it back to
the Jacob story and forward to the story of the Israelites. 47.29: Put your hand under my thigh, see 24.2n. 3031:
Joseph binds himself by oath to bury Jacob in an ancestral burial place, perhaps in Transjordan (see 50.10n.). This
non-Priestly notice parallels the Priestly notice where Jacob orders his sons to bury him in the cave at Machpelah
(49.2933; see ch 23). 48.36: This Priestly narrative refers to the Priestly Bethel (Luz) account (35.913) in describing Jacobs adoption of his two grandsons by Joseph. The narrative accounts for the division of the house
of Joseph (Josh 17.17; 18.5; Judg 1.23,35) into two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. 7: 35.1620. 814: In having
Jacob favor the younger son, Ephraim, over the older, Manasseh, this non-Priestly narrative echoes the previous
accounts of Jacobs achievement of ascendancy over Esau (25.2234; 27.145). Like the older Joseph story into
which this scene is inserted (see 47.2849.33n.), this section may intend to predict the Ephraimite Jeroboams
ascendancy over the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 11.26; 12.114.20; see 37.58n.). 10: Cf. 27.1. 1516: Jacob passes
76 | hebrew bible
genesis 49
the God who has been my shepherd all my
life to this day,
the angel who has redeemed me from all
harm, bless the boys;
and in them let my name be perpetuated,
and the name of my ancestors
Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude on the
earth.
When Joseph saw that his father laid his
right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took his fathers hand, to
remove it from Ephraims head to Manassehs
head. Joseph said to his father, Not so, my
father! Since this one is the rstborn, put
your right hand on his head. But his father
refused, and said, I know, my son, I know; he
also shall become a people, and he also shall
be great. Nevertheless his younger brother
shall be greater than he, and his ospring
shall become a multitude of nations. So he
blessed them that day, saying,
By youa Israel will invoke blessings,
saying,
God make youa like Ephraim and like
Manasseh.
So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
Then Israel said to Joseph, I am about to
die, but God will be with you and will bring
you again to the land of your ancestors. I
now give to you one portionb more than to
your brothers, the portionb that I took from
the hand of the Amorites with my sword and
with my bow.
49
Then Jacob called his sons, and said:

Gather around, that I may tell you
what will happen to you in days to come.
Assemble and hear, Osons of Jacob;
listen to Israel your father.
Reuben, you are my rstborn,
my might and the rst fruits of my
vigor,
excelling in rank and excelling in
power.
Unstable as water, you shall no longer
excel
because you went up onto your fathers
bed;
then you deled ityouc went up onto
my couch!
Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons of violence are their
swords.
May I never come into their council;
may I not be joined to their
company
for in their anger they killed men,
and at their whim they hamstrung
oxen.
Cursed be their anger, for it is erce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
a you here is singular in Heb
b Or mountain slope (Heb shekem, a play on the
name of the town and district of Shechem)
c Gk Syr Tg: Heb he
onto the Joseph tribes the special blessing of Abraham and Isaac (12.13; 26.25; etc.). 1719: See 814n. 20: This
older version of the blessing on Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. vv. 1516) is an example of people blessing themselves by another (see 12.3n.). 22: In Hebrew one portion (or shoulder, Heb shekem) is a play on the name
Shechem (see 12.6n.). With my sword and with my bow, cf. 33.1934.31. Amorites, see 10.1618a n.
49.128: Jacobs blessing on his twelve sons. Though the poem is depicted as a deathbed blessing by the
text following it (49.28; cf. 27.4 and n.), this poem seems to have been originally designed as a prediction of
the destinies, good and bad, of the tribes of Israel. Many scholars have argued that the poem is ancient on the
basis of its language and resemblance to tribal poems in Deut 33 and Judg 5. Nevertheless, the present form
of the poem appears to have been modied to t the narrative context in which it has been put. Its rst part
follows the birth order of 29.3135 and legitimates rule for Judah andby extensionthe Davidic dynasty. The
author of these changes may be responsible for inserting the whole poem into its present context, as well as
for the addition to the Jacob-Joseph story of the narratives referred to in 49.37 (30.21; 34.131; 35.2122a; cf.
37.3638.30). 34: This section justies Reubens ejection from favor as rstborn by recalling the story of his
sleeping with his fathers concubine (see 35.22n.). 57: Judahs older brothers, Simeon and Levi, fail to take Reubens place because of their role in the despoiling of Shechem (34.2531). 812: With his three older brothers
out of favor (vv. 37), Judah receives the greatest part of his fathers blessing. The narrative of the succession
to David features a similar displacement of older sons: Amnon (2 Sam 13), Absalom (2 Sam 1518), and Adonijah
hebrew bible | 77
genesis 49
I will divide them in Jacob,
and scatter them in Israel.
that bites the horses heels

so that its rider falls backward.
Judah, your brothers shall praise you;

your hand shall be on the neck of your
enemies;
your fathers sons shall bow down
before you.
Judah is a lions whelp;
from the prey, my son, you have gone
up.
He crouches down, he stretches out like a
lion,
like a lionesswho dares rouse him
up?
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the rulers sta from between his
feet,
until tribute comes to him;a
and the obedience of the peoples is his.
Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkeys colt to the choice vine,
he washes his garments in wine
and his robe in the blood of grapes;
his eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
I wait for your salvation, OLord.

Gad shall be raided by raiders,
but he shall raid at their heels.
Ashersb food shall be rich,
and he shall provide royal
delicacies.
Naphtali is a doe let loose
that bears lovely fawns.c
Joseph is a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.d
The archers ercely attacked him;
they shot at him and pressed him
hard.
Yet his bow remained taut,
and his armse were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One
of Jacob,
by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock
of Israel,
by the God of your father, who will help
you,
by the Almightyf who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the
womb.
Zebulun shall settle at the shore of the sea;

he shall be a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between the sheepfolds;
he saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant;
so he bowed his shoulder to the burden,
and became a slave at forced labor.
Dan shall judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,
a Or until Shiloh comes or until he comes to Shiloh or

b
c
d
e
f
(with Syr) until he comes to whom it belongs

Gk Vg Syr: Heb From Asher
Or that gives beautiful words
Heb the arms of his hands
Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
(1 Kings 12). See 38.2730n. 10: The scepter and sta are symbols of sovereignty. The laer part of the verse,
however, is obscure (see note a). It appears to predict rule for Judean royalty until Judahs Davidic descendants
achieve universal dominion (Num 24.17; Pss 2, 110) and is therefore preexilic. 1327: This laer part of the blessing (vv. 1327) diverges from the birth order of 30.124. This section appears to predate placement into its
present context in the story of Jacob and Joseph. 16: The tribal name Dan is derived from the Hebrew verb for
judge (dan). 18: Probably a late scribal addition; cf. Ps 119.166. 2226: The lengthy blessing on Joseph and
its triumphant conclusion (v. 26) suggest that he may have been the original focus of the early blessing (see
49.128n.). 25: The Almighty, see 17.1n. Blessings of heaven, i.e., rain, dew, sun. The deep that lies beneath, an allusion to the subterranean ocean (see 1.6; 2.6). Compare Deut 33.13.
78 | hebrew bible
genesis 50
The blessings of your father
are stronger than the blessings of the
eternal mountains,
the bountiesa of the everlasting hills;
may they be on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of him who was set apart
from his brothers.
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey,
and at evening dividing the spoil.
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,
and this is what their father said to them
when he blessed them, blessing each one of
them with a suitable blessing.
Then he charged them, saying to them,
I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury
me with my ancestorsin the cave in the
eld of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave in
the eld at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the
land of Canaan, in the eld that Abraham
bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial
site. There Abraham and his wife Sarah
were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah
were buried; and there I buried Leah the
eld and the cave that is in it were purchased
from the Hittites. When Jacob ended his
charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into
the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered
to his people.
Then Joseph threw himself on his
fathers face and wept over him and
kissed him. Joseph commanded the physicians in his service to embalm his father. So
the physicians embalmed Israel; they spent
forty days in doing this, for that is the time
required for embalming. And the Egyptians
wept for him seventy days.
When the days of weeping for him were
past, Joseph addressed the household of
Pharaoh, If now I have found favor with
you, please speak to Pharaoh as follows: My
50
father made me swear an oath; he said, I am

about to die. In the tomb that I hewed out
for myself in the land of Canaan, there you
shall bury me. Now therefore let me go up, so
that I may bury my father; then I will return.
Pharaoh answered, Go up, and bury your
father, as he made you swear to do.
So Joseph went up to bury his father.
With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the
elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the
household of Joseph, his brothers, and his
fathers household. Only their children, their
ocks, and their herds were left in the land
of Goshen. Both chariots and charioteers
went up with him. It was a very great company. When they came to the threshing
oor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan,
they held there a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and he observed a time of
mourning for his father seven days. When
the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw
the mourning on the threshing oor of Atad,
they said, This is a grievous mourning on
the part of the Egyptians. Therefore the
place was named Abel-mizraim;b it is beyond
the Jordan. Thus his sons did for him as
he had instructed them. They carried him
to the land of Canaan and buried him in the
cave of the eld at Machpelah, the eld near
Mamre, which Abraham bought as a burial
site from Ephron the Hittite. After he had
buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt
with his brothers and all who had gone up
with him to bury his father.
Realizing that their father was dead,
Josephs brothers said, What if Joseph still
bears a grudge against us and pays us back
in full for all the wrong that we did to him?
a Cn Compare Gk: Heb of my progenitors to the
boundaries
b That is mourning (or meadow) of Egypt
49.2933: This Priestly section includes an order to bury Jacob at Machpelah (see ch 23) that parallels the
earlier non-Priestly burial order (47.2931).
50.126: Burial of Jacob and nal days of Joseph. 1-11: This non-Priestly narrative seems to presuppose that
the burial and mourning occurred in Transjordan, not at the cave at Machpelah (23.1,19). 23: Jacob is provided
with Egyptian honors: embalming and lengthy mourning. 5: This speech by Joseph links to the non-Priestly
order to bury him at an ancestral burial place, here a tomb that Jacob had hewn out for himself (see 47.3031n.).
10: Hebron/Mamre (see v. 13) is much closer to Egypt than this unidentied location in Transjordan. 1213: The
Priestly narrative. 1516: In fear now that their father is dead (cf. 27.41 and 33.1217n.), Josephs brothers aempt
hebrew bible | 79
genesis 50
So they approacheda Joseph, saying, Your
father gave this instruction before he died,
Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime
of your brothers and the wrong they did in
harming you. Now therefore please forgive
the crime of the servants of the God of your
father. Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
Then his brothers also wept,b fell down
before him, and said, We are here as your
slaves. But Joseph said to them, Do not
be afraid! Am I in the place of God? Even
though you intended to do harm to me, God
intended it for good, in order to preserve a
numerous people, as he is doing today. So
have no fear; I myself will provide for you
and your little ones. In this way he reassured
them, speaking kindly to them.
So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his fathers household; and Joseph lived one hundred
ten years. Joseph saw Ephraims children of
the third generation; the children of Machir son
of Manasseh were also born on Josephs knees.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, I am
about to die; but God will surely come to you,
and bring you up out of this land to the land
that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob. So Joseph made the Israelites swear,
saying, When God comes to you, you shall
carry up my bones from here. And Joseph
died, being one hundred ten years old; he was
embalmed and placed in a con in Egypt.
a Gk Syr: Heb they commanded
b Cn: Heb also came
to protect themselves through reporting that Jacob had ordered Joseph to forgive them (vv. 1617). 1821: For
the rst time, the brothers knowingly subject themselves to Joseph (cf. 43.26), fullling Josephs rst dream
(37.57) and thus refuting their challenge of his destiny to rule them (37.8). Since they had just spoken of themselves as Gods slaves (v. 17; translated in the NRSV as servants), their description of themselves here as Josephs
slaves implicitly equates him with God. Echoing his fathers words to Rachel (30.2), Joseph rejects this equation,
aributing his dominion over his brothers as resulting from Gods plan. Later readers could have taken this as
an implicit endorsement of the divine destiny of Josephs descendantssuch as the Ephraimite king Jeroboam
(1 Kings 11.26)to rule over the other tribes. 23: Machir was an early tribal group (Judg 5.14), later viewed as a
clan within Manasseh that laid claim to Gilead (Num 32.3940; Deut 3.15). Born on Josephs knees, see 30.3. 24: A
reference to Gods covenant oath to give the land to Abraham (15.917n.; 22.1518). It closely resembles similar
texts in Deut 1.8; 6.10 and related materials. 25: This request will be fullled in Ex 13.19; Josh 24.2, one of the links
between Genesis and the narrative extending to the end of Joshua.
EXODUS
name
The English name Exodus derives from a Latinized abbreviation of the Greek title exodos aigyptou (exit from
Egypt); this title highlights the storyline of the rst third of the book. In keeping with the ancient practice
of naming books aer their opening words, the Hebrew title is Shemot (names), taken from the beginning
(These are the names).

The second book of the Bible in all canonical traditions, Exodus is not an independent work but rather is an
integral part of the Torah, or Pentateuch. Its opening verses connect it to Gen 46.827; and it closes with the
completion of the tabernacle, the wilderness shrine that pregures the Temple and its endowment with the
divine presence. Details of worship at that shrine dominate the next book, Leviticus; and Numbers and Deuteronomy continue the journey narrative.
authorship
Traditional authorship is ascribed to Moses in part based on passages such as 24.4 and 34.27. Modern biblical
scholarship, however, has noted many problems with the view that Moses wrote the entire Torah, including Exodus. Like the rest of the Pentateuch, Exodus contains contradictions and redundancies. For example, Moses
father-in-law is sometimes called Reuel and sometimes Jethro; and the mountain of revelation is Sinai in some
passages and Horeb in others. The narratives of Moses on the mountain in chs 19 and 24 have many overlapping
and conicting details, as does the account of the nine marvels in 7.810.29. Dierences in vocabulary, style,
and ideas are also discernible. Thus Exodus is best understood as a composite of traditions shaped over many
centuries by an unknown number of anonymous storytellers and writers. Those traditions eventually comprised four major sources (known as J, E, D, and P) that were skillfully combined into the present canonical book
by one or more redactors or editors who felt that all the sources were valid. The redactor(s) or editor(s) can be
credited with the overall interweaving of disparate materialsnarratives, legal texts, priestly records, lists,
and one long poem. Redaction also introduced paerns, such as the repetition of a thematic word or phrase a
symbolic number of times (usually seven or ten) in a literary unit (see, e.g., 4.21n.; 5.1n.; 18.26n.; 40.16n.), and
also the triadic arrangement of the account of the nine marvels (see 7.810.29n.).
historical context
The diverse materials in Exodus are situated within a storyline describing the departure of a group of oppressed
people from Egypt to a sacred mountain in Sinai where they enter into a covenant with the God they believed
rescued them; at Gods direction, they construct a portable shrine for their deity before continuing their journey. The historicity of that story has been questioned, partly because the sources comprising Exodus date from
many centuries aer the events they purport to describe. The events themselves, which involve the escape of
a component of the Pharaohs workforce, the disruption of Egyptian agriculture, and the loss of many Egyptian lives, are not mentioned in Egyptian sources (although the Egyptians would not necessarily record such
events). Similarly, the larger-than-life leader Moses is not mentioned in contemporaneous nonbiblical sources;
and no trace of a large group of people moving across the Sinai Peninsula has been found by archaeological surveys or excavations. Moreover, virtually none of the places mentioned in Exodus, including the holy mountain,
can be identied with sites discovered in Sinai or with names known from other sources (see 12.37n.; 19.1n.).
In addition, features of the story, such as the signs and wonders performed in Egypt and the exceedingly large
number of people said to have le Egypt (see 12.37n.), defy credibility. Finally, the Exodus story culminates in
Joshua, with the conquest of the land of Israel; and here too the archaeological record does not corroborate
the main biblical narrative.
Despite these problems, the basic storyline is supported by evidence from Egyptian and other sources. Foreigners from western Asia, called Asiatics in Egyptian documents, periodically did migrate to Egypt, especially during times of famine (see Gen 12.10; 41.57; 43.12); others were taken to Egypt as military captives or were
hebrew bible | 81
exodus
forcibly sent there as human tribute by Canaanite rulers. Moreover, many of these groups, including those who
had voluntarily entered Egypt, were vulnerable to conscription for state projects. This paern was especially
strong toward the end of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 14001200 bce). And, although virtually all of the foreigners in Egypt were assimilated into local culture, there is at least one documented instance of several workers
escaping into the Sinai wilderness. Thus the overall paern of descent into Egypt followed by servitude and
escape is based on information in ancient documents. In addition, the end of the Late Bronze Age, by which
time the Israelites would have le Egypt, coincides with the date of inscriptional evidencea stele erected
by the pharaoh Merneptah in ca. 1209 bce, which contains the rst mention of Israel outside the Biblefor a
people called Israel in the land of Canaan.
A plausible reconstruction is that a relatively small group of people, descendants of western Asiatics who
had entered Egypt generations before, managed to escape from servitude. So improbable was such an event
that the people, or their leader, aributed it to miraculous divine intervention. This experience bonded them
in their loyalty to that deity and gave them a collective identity. This story was originally oral and developed
like other oral tales. Upon entering Canaan, they told their story and spread word about their unusual saving
God, Yahweh, a name perhaps learned from Midianites with whom they interacted (see 3.15n.). Their stories
about securing freedom are collective memories meant to re-create for others the intense emotional experience of liberation rather than to record accurate details of their ight. As time passed, major features of Israelite culturesuch as the main agricultural festivals (especially passover), the custom of redeeming rstborn
males, the idea of a people in a covenant relationship with God, prophets as the transmiers of Gods word,
the sabbath, the construction of a central shrine as Gods earthly abode, a sacricial system administered by
priestswere assimilated into the core Exodus story, which gives them their emotional power and authority
(see 11.113.16n.). This commemoration of the past makes the experience of a few the collective story, the very
identity, of the community taking shape and expanding in the highlands of Canaan and later struggling to
survive the traumas of division and exile.
literary history
The components of the book of Exodus have been so skillfully woven together that it is no longer possible to
reconstruct the process by which they emerged and were ultimately combined. The overall story comprises elements of both the J source (which may have its origin when the monarchy was established in the tenth century bce
and then circulated in the Southern Kingdom of Judah) and the E source (formed and circulated in the Northern
Kingdom of Israel by the eighth century bce). Deuteronomic elements (D, usually linked to seventh-century developments) can also be identied; it is even possible that all threeJ, E, and Ddrew from a common commemorative tradition but developed it in their own particular ways. A strong P (Priestly) component is present not only in
the passages dealing with the sanctuary, priests, and rituals, but also in several points of the story line, notably in
the accounts of the marvels in Egypt and the deliverance at the sea. The nal redaction reects priestly emphases
of the sixth century bce or later but also preserves ritual and ceremonial practices many centuries older.
structure
The book can be subdivided into thematic and literary units in various ways; this one positions the revelation
at Sinai and the covenant in the center:
Part I: Israel in and out of Egypt (1.115.21): God sees Israelite suering in Egypt (chs 12), Moses becomes
Gods spokesperson (3.17.7), and a series of marvels (7.710.29) and a plague (11.113.16) culminate in the escape
of the people (13.1715.21).
Part II: Sinai and Covenant (15.2224.18): Aer traveling through the wilderness (15.2218.27), the Israelites
arrive at Sinai, where they experience a theophany, a divine appearance (ch 19), and receive the covenant (chs
2024).
Part III: Sanctuary and New Covenant. An episode of apostasy followed by covenant renewal (chs 3234)
separates instructions for building the sanctuary (chs 2531) from the account of its construction (chs 3540).
interpretation
Exodus is arguably the most important book in the Hebrew Bible. It presents an explanation of Gods name
YHWH and central biblical ideas about God, especially that God responds to and saves people who are suer-
82 | hebrew bible
exodus 1
ing or oppressed. Major institutions of ancient Israelsuch as prophecy, covenant, community regulations, a
central shrine, festivals, sacrice, and the sabbathare grounded in the narrative of liberation. Exodus likely
struck a resonant cord for Judeans experiencing defeat and exile in the sixth century bce and later; for them,
maintaining or restoring the institutions set forth in Exodus contributed to their emerging identity and to their
very survival as a dispersed people. A similar dynamic can be posited for subsequent Jewish history. Although
the institutions of Exodus played a lesser role in Christian tradition, the concept of divine self-revelation as
manifest in Jesus Christ is rooted in the prominence of Gods self-revelation in Exodus; and the story of suering leading to redemption shapes key Christian beliefs. For both Jews and Christians, identication with the
suering in Egypt contributes to the moral imperative to alleviate the suering of others. As a story of liberation, Exodus has infused hope into many peoples. Despite its many positive features, however, some aspects of
Exodussuch as the loss of innocent Egyptian lives and the investment of community resources in an elaborate shrinecontinue to trouble readers.
guide to reading
An awareness of literary paerns and the repetition of words and phrases, as pointed out in the notes, can
contribute to the readers awareness of the power of the unfolding drama of the story and an understanding
of important themes.
Carol Meyers
These are the names of the sons of Israel

who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with
his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and
Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. The
total number of people born to Jacob was
seventy. Joseph was already in Egypt. Then
Joseph died, and all his brothers, and that
whole generation. But the Israelites were
fruitful and prolic; they multiplied and grew
exceedingly strong, so that the land was lled

with them.
Now a new king arose over Egypt, who
did not know Joseph. He said to his people,
Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. Come,
let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will
increase and, in the event of war, join our
enemies and ght against us and escape from
the land. Therefore they set taskmasters
1.115.21: Israel in and out of Egypt. The Israelites are oppressed in Egypt; but they escape from Pharaohs
control through the intervention of their God, whose identity is revealed to their heroic leader Moses, who
then carries out Gods directives to secure their release.
1.122: The oppression of the Israelites. The introductory chapter connects Exodus with Genesis and serves
as a prologue to the story of deliverance by describing how the Israelites became oppressed (in fulllment of
Gen 15.13). 17: A brief retelling of the account in Gen 46.827 of Jacobs family relocating in Egypt. 1: Israel here
refers to the patriarch Jacob. 24: The sons of Jacob, the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel, are listed by
groups according to their mothers (see Gen 29.3130.24; 35.1620,2326): the six sons of Leah; Rachels second
son; two each of the handmaids Bilhah and Zilpah; and Rachels rstborn Joseph, the one with a position of
power in the Egyptian court (Gen 41.3745). 5: Because the number seven and its multiples symbolize totality,
the notion of seventy descendants of Jacob signies that all Israel is present in Egypt (cf. Gen 46.27; Deut 10.22).
7: The language of Israelite increase echoes Gods commands at creation (Gen 1.28) and aer the ood (Gen
9.1,7) and also Gods promises to the ancestors (Gen 12.2; 15.5; 17.2; 18.18; 22.17; 26.4; 28.14; 46:3; 48.4), suggesting that the divine promise is now fullled through Israel. 814: The Egyptian ruler considers the increased
Israelite population a threat and aempts to restrict their growth, rst by subjecting them to forced labor. 8:
The new king is oen identied by modern scholars as Rameses II (12791213 bce), but he is not named here (or
anywhere in the Bible). This anonymity perhaps demeans him and gives the narrative an ahistorical character.
10: The possibility of escape is mentioned, foreshadowing what will eventually happen. 11: Forced labor probably does not designate chael slavery but rather corve or compulsory unpaid labor, a typical way to mobilize
labor for state projects in the ancient Near East (e.g., 1 Kings 5.13). Supply cities in border areas served military
hebrew bible | 83
exodus 2
over them to oppress them with forced labor.
They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. But the more they were
oppressed, the more they multiplied and
spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread
the Israelites. The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and
made their lives bitter with hard service in
mortar and brick and in every kind of eld
labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that
they imposed on them.
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and
the other Puah, When you act as midwives
to the Hebrew women, and see them on the
birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a
girl, she shall live. But the midwives feared
God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. So
the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and
said to them, Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live? The midwives said to
Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not
like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous
and give birth before the midwife comes to
them. So God dealt well with the midwives;
and the people multiplied and became very

strong. And because the midwives feared
God, he gave them families. Then Pharaoh
commanded all his people, Every boy that is
born to the Hebrewsa you shall throw into the
Nile, but you shall let every girl live.
Now a man from the house of Levi went
and married a Levite woman. The
woman conceived and bore a son; and when
she saw that he was a ne baby, she hid him
three months. When she could hide him no
longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and
plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put
the child in it and placed it among the reeds
on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a
distance, to see what would happen to him.
The daughter of Pharaoh came down
to bathe at the river, while her attendants
walked beside the river. She saw the basket
among the reeds and sent her maid to bring
it. When she opened it, she saw the child.
He was crying, and she took pity on him.
This must be one of the Hebrews children,
she said. Then his sister said to Pharaohs
a Sam Gk Tg: Heb lacks to the Hebrews
purposes. Pithom and Rameses were probably located in the eastern Nile Delta, protecting the northeastern
frontier of Egypt; aempts to identify them with sites dating to the reign of Rameses II are inconclusive. 1314:
Words using the root to serve appear ve times in these two verses (translated imposing tasks, service, labor,
tasks, and imposed), emphasizing the dicult lives of the Israelites; they are forced to work in state agriculture
as well as construction. 1522: Forced labor apparently has failed to deplete the Israelite population, so another
strategy, selective infanticide, is implemented. 15: The term Hebrew seems to denote the Israelites as a people
rather than a social class, usually when contrasting them with non-Israelites, as in Gen 14.13; Ex 21.2; 1 Sam
29.3. Shiphrah and Puah are the rst two of a series of twelve women featured in the life of Moses, the deliverer of the twelve tribes. Although some interpreters and ancient traditions consider them Egyptians who are
midwives to the Hebrews rather than Hebrew midwives, their Semitic names make it more likely that they are
Hebrew professionals. 16: Birthstool, the two bricks or stones on which a woman in labor was positioned. The
instruction to kill infant boys, and not girls, in order to limit population growth suggests the kings ineptitude
and introduces the violence that will recur as the story of oppression and liberation continues. 22: Every boy . . .
you shall throw into the Nile, the nal strategy for depleting the Israelite population anticipates the appearance
of the baby Moses.
2.125: The emergence of Moses. 110: As in the birth legends of other heroic gures in ancient Near Eastern literature, the miraculous rescue of the doomed infant Moses signies that he is destined for greatness. 1:
Moses parents, both from the priestly tribe of Levi, are named in 6.20. Woman, Moses mother, the third in a
series of twelve women featured in chs 12; see 1.15n. 2: Saw that he was a ne baby, lit., saw that he was good,
echoes the language of creation in Gen 1. 3: The Hebrew word for basket appears elsewhere in the Bible only
as a designation for Noahs ark (Gen 6.14) as the instrument for saving Gods creation. Here it is the means for
rescuing the person who will save the Israelites. Reeds, see 13.18n. 4: Moses sister, elsewhere called Miriam
the fourth woman of the story (see 1.15n.)is not named until 15.20. She appears in four additional books of
the Hebrew Bible (Numbers, Deuteronomy, 1 Chronicles, and Micah), more than any other woman. 5: The royal
daughter is the h woman of chs 12; see 1.15n. 6: Hebrew, see 1.15n. 7: Hiring a wet nurse was usually a practice
84 | hebrew bible
exodus 2
daughter, Shall I go and get you a nurse from
the Hebrew women to nurse the child for
you? Pharaohs daughter said to her, Yes.
So the girl went and called the childs mother.
Pharaohs daughter said to her, Take this
child and nurse it for me, and I will give you
your wages. So the woman took the child
and nursed it. When the child grew up, she
brought him to Pharaohs daughter, and she
took him as her son. She named him Moses,a
because, she said, I drew him outb of the
water.
One day, after Moses had grown up, he
went out to his people and saw their forced
labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew,
one of his kinsfolk. He looked this way and
that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian
and hid him in the sand. When he went out
the next day, he saw two Hebrews ghting;
and he said to the one who was in the wrong,
Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew?
He answered, Who made you a ruler and
judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you
killed the Egyptian? Then Moses was afraid
and thought, Surely the thing is known.
When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill
Moses.
But Moses ed from Pharaoh. He settled
in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well.
The priest of Midian had seven daughters.

They came to draw water, and lled the
troughs to water their fathers ock. But
some shepherds came and drove them away.
Moses got up and came to their defense and
watered their ock. When they returned to
their father Reuel, he said, How is it that you
have come back so soon today? They said,
An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered
the ock. He said to his daughters, Where
is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him
to break bread. Moses agreed to stay with
the man, and he gave Moses his daughter
Zipporah in marriage. She bore a son, and
he named him Gershom; for he said, I have
been an alienc residing in a foreign land.
After a long time the king of Egypt died.
The Israelites groaned under their slavery,
and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry
for help rose up to God. God heard their
groaning, and God remembered his covenant
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looked
upon the Israelites, and God took notice of
them.
a Heb Mosheh
b Heb mashah
c Heb ger
of elites in the ancient Near East. 10: Moses, an Egyptian name meaning give birth and oen part of Egyptian
names joined with the name of a god (e.g., Thutmoses, Ahmoses, Rameses), is given a Hebrew etymology (he
who draws out) in anticipation of Moses role in drawing his people through the sea (14.2129). Such folk
etymologies are common in the Torah. 1115: In the rst two episodes of his adult life, Moses saves one Hebrew
and tries to adjudicate between two others; both roles will recur but will involve all his people. 11: His kinsfolk,
he identies with his people even though he was raised in the royal court. 1415a: Moses is rejected by his own
people, and the pharaoh seeks his life. 14: Ruler, Heb sar; cf. 18.21,25. Judge, one of Moses roles as a ruler or
administrator; see 18.1327n. 15b22: Moses ees to Midian and marries. 15b: Midian, probably in northwest
Arabia. The Midianites, said to be descendants of Abraham and Keturah (Gen 25.2), were caravaneers whose
routes stretched across Sinai to southern Palestine. Moses meets his future wife at a well, a paern appearing
in the stories of Rebekah (Gen 24) and Rachel (Gen 29). 16: Moses future father-in-law is a priest, an important
role in ch 18. 16: Seven daughters, making a total of twelve female gures (see 1.15n.). 17: Saved by the daughter
of a king, Moses now saves the daughters of a priest, one of whom will save him (4.2426); the motif of saving
recurs, anticipating the ultimate deliverance at the sea (13.1715.21). 18: Reuel, elsewhere called Jethro (as 3.1)
or Hobab (Judg 4.11); these may reect dierent ancient sources. 19: Probably because of his manner of dress,
Moses is mistaken for an Egyptian. 21: Gave . . . in marriage, lit., gave . . . as a wife, the usual idiom for marriage
in biblical Hebrew. 2325: A postscript to the marriage episode provides a transition to the account of Moses
becoming deliverer of his people in response to Gods call. God is mentioned in the midwives episode but only
now is said to be aware of the Israelites plight. 23: They cried, the Egyptians eventually will cry louder (11.6), and
the Israelites will cry again at the sea (14.10). Their slavery, that is, their work. 24: Referring to the ancestral
covenant (Heb berit, as in 6.45; cf. 25.16n.) links the book of Exodus with Genesis and anticipates the Sinai
covenant (Ex 1924).
hebrew bible | 85
exodus 3
Moses was keeping the ock of his

father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian;
he led his ock beyond the wilderness, and
came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
ame of re out of a bush; he looked, and the
bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.
Then Moses said, I must turn aside and
look at this great sight, and see why the bush
is not burned up. When the Lord saw that
he had turned aside to see, God called to him
out of the bush, Moses, Moses! And he said,
Here I am. Then he said, Come no closer!
Remove the sandals from your feet, for the
place on which you are standing is holy
ground. He said further, I am the God of
your father, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid
his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord said, I have observed
the misery of my people who are in Egypt;
I have heard their cry on account of their
taskmasters. Indeed, I know their suerings,
and I have come down to deliver them from
the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of
that land to a good and broad land, a land

owing with milk and honey, to the country
of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites,
the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
The cry of the Israelites has now come
to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians
oppress them. So come, I will send you to
Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites,
out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, Who
am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring
the Israelites out of Egypt? He said, I will
be with you; and this shall be the sign for
you that it is I who sent you: when you have
brought the people out of Egypt, you shall
worship God on this mountain.
But Moses said to God, If I come to the
Israelites and say to them, The God of your
ancestors has sent me to you, and they ask
me, What is his name? what shall I say to
them? God said to Moses, I am who I
am.a He said further, Thus you shall say
to the Israelites, I am has sent me to you.
God also said to Moses, Thus you shall say
a Or I am what I am or I will be what I will be
3.14.17: Moses call and mission. The god of the ancestors appears to Moses in Midian, reveals the divine
name, and commissions him to deliver his people. The term prophet is not used for Moses in Exodus, but this
call narrative presents him as one. 3.110: Theophany: divine revelation at the bush. 1: Keeping the ock, the
role of the shepherd signies both human (e.g., 1 Sam 17.15; 2 Sam 5.2; 7.8) and divine (e.g., Pss 23.1; 80.1; 100.3)
kingship. Horeb (or Sinai; see 19.1n.) is called mountain of God, perhaps indicating its sanctity for Midianites. 2:
An angel (lit., messenger) is a manifestation of God who sometimes takes human form. Gods presence also
appears in clouds and especially re (e.g., Gen 15.17; Ex 19.9; 24.1518; 33.9; 40.3438), which are sometimes
depicted as pillars (Ex 13.21; 14.19,24). Bush, (Heb seneh) is an unidentiable but specic type of bush, perhaps
alluding to Sinai (as also Deut 33.16), another place of divine presence and revelation. Gods appearance in a
bush may also reect the role of plants or trees as symbols of fertility and divine presence (see 25.3140n.). 5:
Place (Heb maqom) oen signies holy space (Gen 28.11; Josh 5.15), as does holy ground; both indicate a site
of theophany. 6: Divine presence represents such intense, mysterious, and powerful holiness that it was considered dangerous to humans, hence Moses reluctance to look at Gods manifestation (see 19.1015n.; cf. 24.10;
33.20,23; 34.2935; contrast 33.11). 8: Come down implies that God resides in a heavenly abode (see 25.9n.).
Flowing with milk and honey (and 33.3), a recurrent vision of a fertile land, is a reality only when people obey God
(Deut 28). The honey is probably not bees honey but rather syrup made from cooking dates or grapes. Canaanites . . . Jebusites is one of several lists in the Torah (Pentateuch) of the indigenous inhabitants of the land; the
longest appears in Gen 15.1921; cf. 23.23,28; 33.2; 34.11. 10: Prophets are called and then sent to deliver Gods
message (Isa 6.8; Jer 1.7). 3.114.17. Moses is in dialogue with God about four issues. 3.1112: Moses rst problem
is a sense of unworthiness for the mission; and the sign of divine help will be worship at the mountain, although
it is not clear if present or future worship is implied. 1315: The next problem is not knowing Gods name, for
deities are identied by their proper names (not by generic God) in the polytheistic world of the Israelites.
Moses needs to know which deity is calling him. 14: I am who I am renders the rst name (Heb ehyeh asher
ehyeh) that God provides; a shortened form, I am (ehyeh) renders the second. Because the Hebrew is grammatically problematic, these translations are uncertain. 15: The third name is Lord. In Hebrew the name has four
leers, yhwh (perhaps pronounced Yahweh), and is thus known as the Tetragrammaton. Like the rst two
86 | hebrew bible
exodus 4
to the Israelites, The Lord,a the God of your
ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to
you:
This is my name forever,
and this my title for all generations.
Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and
say to them, The Lord, the God of your
ancestors, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and
of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have
given heed to you and to what has been done
to you in Egypt. I declare that I will bring
you up out of the misery of Egypt, to the land
the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites,
a land owing with milk and honey. They
will listen to your voice; and you and the
elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt
and say to him, The Lord, the God of the
Hebrews, has met with us; let us now go a
three days journey into the wilderness, so
that we may sacrice to the Lord our God.
I know, however, that the king of Egypt will
not let you go unless compelled by a mighty
hand.b So I will stretch out my hand and
strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will
perform in it; after that he will let you go. I
will bring this people into such favor with the
Egyptians that, when you go, you will not go
empty-handed; each woman shall ask her
neighbor and any woman living in the neighbors house for jewelry of silver and of gold,
and clothing, and you shall put them on your
sons and on your daughters; and so you shall
plunder the Egyptians.
Then Moses answered, But suppose they

do not believe me or listen to me, but say,
The Lord did not appear to you. The Lord
said to him, What is that in your hand? He
said, A sta. And he said, Throw it on the
ground. So he threw the sta on the ground,
and it became a snake; and Moses drew back
from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, Reach
out your hand, and seize it by the tailso
he reached out his hand and grasped it, and
it became a sta in his hand so that they
may believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.
Again, the Lord said to him, Put your
hand inside your cloak. He put his hand into
his cloak; and when he took it out, his hand
was leprous,c as white as snow. Then God
said, Put your hand back into your cloakso
he put his hand back into his cloak, and when
he took it out, it was restored like the rest of his
body If they will not believe you or heed
the rst sign, they may believe the second sign.
If they will not believe even these two signs
or heed you, you shall take some water from
the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and
the water that you shall take from the Nile will
become blood on the dry ground.
a The word Lord when spelled with capital letters
stands for the divine name, YHWH, which is here
connected with the verb hayah, to be
b Gk Vg: Heb no, not by a mighty hand
c A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning
uncertain
versions of Gods name, it is from a root meaning to be. Gods name thus has a verbal rather than a noun form,
but its specic meaning is uncertain. Because of the great sanctity of the divine name, early Jewish tradition
avoided pronouncing it and used the Heb word adonay (my lord) as a substitute. Most translations respect
that tradition and use Lord for the deitys proper name. According to Gen 4.26 (see also Gen 13.4) people knew
Gods name early in human history; but this passage along with 6.3 suggests a dierent tradition, that Moses is
the rst to hear it. In contemporaneous nonbiblical sources this divine name is known only from a Late Bronze
Age inscription that mentions the Shasu of ya-h-wa [or yhw]; the Shasu were desert-dwellers, and probably
included Midianites. 1622: A directive to Moses about speaking to his people and Pharaoh comes before the
other two problems. 18: God of the Hebrews, which relates the Lord to a specic people, is used when Moses
is addressing non-Israelites (5.3; 7.16; 9.1; 9.13; 10.3); see 1.15n. Egyptians did allow their state workers time o,
so the request to make a three days journey is reasonable. 19: Mighty hand is an image of divine power in the
ancient Near East (13.9; 15.6). 22: That an Israelite woman can request jewelry (see also 11.23; 12.3536; 32.23)
and clothing from her Egyptian neighbor suggests that they live peacefully together in workers villages; yet
this transfer of goods is called plunder, perhaps in reference to Gen 15.14. 4.19: God responds to Moses third
problem, that the people will not heed him, by providing three supernatural signs: changing a sta (see 4.20n.)
to a snake (4.25), making Moses hand diseased and then restoring it (4.68), and turning water bloody (4.9).
hebrew bible | 87
exodus 4
But Moses said to the Lord, Omy Lord,
I have never been eloquent, neither in the
past nor even now that you have spoken to
your servant; but I am slow of speech and
slow of tongue. Then the Lord said to him,
Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes
them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not
I, the Lord? Now go, and I will be with your
mouth and teach you what you are to speak.
But he said, Omy Lord, please send someone else. Then the anger of the Lord was
kindled against Moses and he said, What of
your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that
he can speak uently; even now he is coming
out to meet you, and when he sees you his
heart will be glad. You shall speak to him
and put the words in his mouth; and I will be
with your mouth and with his mouth, and
will teach you what you shall do. He indeed
shall speak for you to the people; he shall
serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve
as God for him. Take in your hand this sta,
with which you shall perform the signs.
Moses went back to his father-in-law
Jethro and said to him, Please let me go back
to my kindred in Egypt and see whether they
are still living. And Jethro said to Moses, Go
in peace. The Lord said to Moses in Mid-
ian, Go back to Egypt; for all those who were

seeking your life are dead. So Moses took
his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey,
and went back to the land of Egypt; and Moses carried the sta of God in his hand.
And the Lord said to Moses, When you
go back to Egypt, see that you perform before
Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put in your
power; but I will harden his heart, so that he
will not let the people go. Then you shall say
to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord: Israel is my
rstborn son. I said to you, Let my son go
that he may worship me. But you refused to
let him go; now I will kill your rstborn son.
On the way, at a place where they spent
the night, the Lord met him and tried to kill
him. But Zipporah took a int and cut o
her sons foreskin, and touched Mosesa feet
with it, and said, Truly you are a bridegroom
of blood to me! So he let him alone. It was
then she said, A bridegroom of blood by
circumcision.
The Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went; and he
met him at the mountain of God and kissed
him. Moses told Aaron all the words of the
a Heb his
The last sign anticipates the rst of the marvels (7.1425). 10-17: God answers Moses fourth problem that he
cannot speak by assuring him of divine help and then assigning his brother to speak for him. 10: Slow of speech
may indicate a speech impediment (cf. 6.12,30) or perhaps a prophets reluctance to accept a commission from
God (cf. Jer 1.67). 14: The rst mention of Aaron. 1516: As Moses spokesperson, Aaron will be to Moses as
Moses is to God. 17: Sta, see 4.20n.
4.1831: Moses returns to Egypt. 20: Two sons, as in 18.3, although only one is mentioned in 2.22 and 4.25.
20: Moses sta, which he used as a shepherd (see 3.1; 4.2), has now become the sta of God, the instrument
through which he and Aaron exert divine power; see further 17.9n. 21: The motif of the Pharaohs hardened
heart (stubbornness) appears frequently in the narrative of Moses negotiations with the Egyptian ruler, serving
to increase dramatic tension. The number ten plays a role: ten times the Pharaoh hardens his own heart (e.g.,
8.15), although even then it is part of Gods plan (7.3; 11.9); and ten times God hardens it directly (e.g., 9.12). 22:
Based on the formulaic words of heralds bearing messages in the ancient Near East, the biblical expression thus
says the Lord introduces words conveyed by a prophetic messenger of God. The prominent rstborn son motif,
here used for Israel as the child of God (who will live), in v. 23 and in chs 11 and 12 designates the Egyptians
ospring (who will die). Firstborn of animals as well as humans have special statusthey open their mothers
wombs and represent all future progeny (cf. 34.1920). 2426: In this enigmatic episode, God aacks Moses for
reasons that are unclear. 24: Moses again is saved by a woman, his wife Zipporah; see 2.17n. In performing her
sons circumcision, she may be carrying out a female role in Midianite and Israelite culture (1 Macc 1.60; 2 Macc
6.10; 4 Macc 4.25; cf. Gen 17.2327 and Josh 5.27, where men are the circumcisers). 25: Feet, a euphemism for
genitals (see Isa 7.20). Bridegroom of blood may connote an ancient apotropaic function of circumcision as a rite
of passage, for the Heb word for bridegroom (hatan)
in other Semitic languages can mean protect as well
.
as circumcise. Marriage and circumcision are also associated in Gen 34.1424. 2731: Aaron joins Moses and
convinces the people with words and signs that God sees their plight. 27: The mountain of God, 3.1.
88 | hebrew bible
exodus 5
Lord with which he had sent him, and all the
signs with which he had charged him. Then
Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the
elders of the Israelites. Aaron spoke all the
words that the Lord had spoken to Moses,
and performed the signs in the sight of the
people. The people believed; and when they
heard that the Lord had given heed to the
Israelites and that he had seen their misery,
they bowed down and worshiped.
Afterward Moses and Aaron went to
Pharaoh and said, Thus says the Lord,
the God of Israel, Let my people go, so that
they may celebrate a festival to me in the
wilderness. But Pharaoh said, Who is the
Lord, that I should heed him and let Israel
go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let
Israel go. Then they said, The God of the
Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us
go a three days journey into the wilderness
to sacrice to the Lord our God, or he will
fall upon us with pestilence or sword. But
the king of Egypt said to them, Moses and
Aaron, why are you taking the people away
from their work? Get to your labors! Pharaoh continued, Now they are more numerous than the people of the landa and yet you
want them to stop working! That same day
Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the
people, as well as their supervisors, You
shall no longer give the people straw to make
bricks, as before; let them go and gather
straw for themselves. But you shall require
of them the same quantity of bricks as they
have made previously; do not diminish it, for
they are lazy; that is why they cry, Let us go
and oer sacrice to our God. Let heavier
work be laid on them; then they will labor at

it and pay no attention to deceptive words.
So the taskmasters and the supervisors
of the people went out and said to the people,
Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.
Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you
can nd it; but your work will not be lessened in the least. So the people scattered
throughout the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent,
saying, Complete your work, the same daily
assignment as when you were given straw.
And the supervisors of the Israelites, whom
Pharaohs taskmasters had set over them,
were beaten, and were asked, Why did you
not nish the required quantity of bricks
yesterday and today, as you did before?
Then the Israelite supervisors came to
Pharaoh and cried, Why do you treat your
servants like this? No straw is given to your
servants, yet they say to us, Make bricks!
Look how your servants are beaten! You are
unjust to your own people.b He said, You
are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, Let us go
and sacrice to the Lord. Go now, and
work; for no straw shall be given you, but you
shall still deliver the same number of bricks.
The Israelite supervisors saw that they were
in trouble when they were told, You shall
not lessen your daily number of bricks. As
they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses
and Aaron who were waiting to meet them.
They said to them, The Lord look upon
a Sam: Heb The people of the land are now many
b Gk Compare Syr Vg: Heb beaten, and the sin of your
people
5.16.1: Moses and Aaron have their rst encounter with Pharaoh. 5.13: They request only a three-day
leave, not permanent freedom; but Pharaoh refuses as anticipated in 3.19. 1: God of Israel, rather than the usual
God of the Hebrews (see 3.18n.), is used uniquely here to identify the Lord to the Egyptians. The imperative Let my people go appears for the rst time and anticipates its sevenfold use in the account of nine divine
marvels; see 7.16n. 2: Know the Lord, which entails acknowledging the Lords authority, is a recurrent theme
in Exodus; Gods mighty deeds nally convince the Egyptians of Gods reality and power (14.4,18) and cause
the Israelites to arm their belief (16.12; 29.46). Knowing God means experiencing Gods powerful deeds
(1 Kings 20.13). 3: God of the Hebrews, see 3.18n. Fall . . . sword indicates that failure to carry out religious obligations would cause more Israelite suering (and Pharaoh would lose his laborers). 419: Pharaoh again employs
strategies, now also punitive, to deal with the burgeoning Israelite population. 7: Straw, an essential component in brick-making, binds the particles of Nile mud. 9: Deceptive words probably refers to Moses promise of
liberation. 10: Introducing Pharaohs words with Thus says Pharaoh sets him in opposition to the Lord, whose
words are similarly announced (see 4.22n). 5.206.1: The Israelites are disheartened, and Moses turns to God
who promises to take action.
hebrew bible | 89
exodus 6
you and judge! You have brought us into bad
odor with Pharaoh and his ocials, and have
put a sword in their hand to kill us.
Then Moses turned again to the Lord
and said, OLord, why have you mistreated
this people? Why did you ever send me?
Since I rst came to Pharaoh to speak in
your name, he has mistreated this people,
and you have done nothing at all to deliver
your people.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Now
you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh:
Indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go;
by a mighty hand he will drive them out of
his land.
God also spoke to Moses and said to him:
I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty,a but by
my name The Lordb I did not make myself known to them. I also established my
covenant with them, to give them the land
of Canaan, the land in which they resided as
aliens. I have also heard the groaning of the
Israelites whom the Egyptians are holding as
slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
Say therefore to the Israelites, I am the
Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of
the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to
them. I will redeem you with an outstretched
arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will
take you as my people, and I will be your God.
You shall know that I am the Lord your God,
who has freed you from the burdens of the
Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that
I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;
I will give it to you for a possession. I am the
Lord. Moses told this to the Israelites; but
they would not listen to Moses, because of

their broken spirit and their cruel slavery.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, Go
and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land. But Moses spoke
to the Lord, The Israelites have not listened
to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me,
poor speaker that I am?c Thus the Lord
spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them orders regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh king
of Egypt, charging them to free the Israelites
from the land of Egypt.
The following are the heads of their
ancestral houses: the sons of Reuben, the
rstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron,
and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin,
Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul,d the son of
a Canaanite woman; these are the families
of Simeon. The following are the names of
the sons of Levi according to their genealogies: Gershon,e Kohath, and Merari, and the
length of Levis life was one hundred thirtyseven years. The sons of Gershon:e Libni
and Shimei, by their families. The sons of
Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel,
and the length of Kohaths life was one hundred thirty-three years. The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of
the Levites according to their genealogies.
Amram married Jochebed his fathers sister
a
b
c
d
e

Heb YHWH; see note at 3.15
Heb me? I am uncircumcised of lips
Or Saul
Also spelled Gershom; see 2.22
6.27.7: God rearms the mission of Moses and Aaron in the light of the worsened circumstances of the
people. This section from the Priestly source parallels 3.14.17. 6.2: Gods self-identication (also vv. 5 and 6)
emphasizes the connection of Gods identity to the promise. 3: Almighty (Heb shadday), an epithet of God
(Gen 17.1n.; 35.11), probably meaning the one of the mountains. 4: The ancestral covenant promised the land
(Gen 15.721; 17.18; see 2.24n.). 5: Similar to 2.2325. 6-8: Seven dynamic verbs (will free, deliver, redeem, take,
will be, will bring, will give), with God as the rst-person subject, connote the totality of Gods commitment. Two
other verbs in dependent clauses (swore, freed) bring the total up to nine divine actions, anticipating the nine
signs and wonders of the next section. 7: I will take you as my people, and I will be your God is formulaic language
emphasizing the two partners of a covenant (Jer 31.33). Know, see 5.2n. 9: Cruel slavery, or hard work, referring
to their predicament rather than their status. 12: Poor speaker (also v. 30) is another expression of a prophets
reluctance; see 4.10n. 14-25: A genealogy, similar to other genealogies in the Pentateuch (Gen 46.827; Num
3.137; 26), gives authority to Moses, Aaron, and Aarons sons and grandsons by tracing their lineage in the
priestly tribe of Levi. 20: Moses mother Jochebed, whose name probably means Yah [Yahweh] is glory, is the
rst person in the Bible to have a name formed with the name of Israels God. Aaron and Moses but not Miriam;
90 | hebrew bible
exodus 7
and she bore him Aaron and Moses, and
the length of Amrams life was one hundred
thirty-seven years. The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. The sons of Uzziel:
Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and
sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab,
Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. The sons of
Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these
are the families of the Korahites. Aarons
son Eleazar married one of the daughters
of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These
are the heads of the ancestral houses of the
Levites by their families.
It was this same Aaron and Moses to
whom the Lord said, Bring the Israelites out
of the land of Egypt, company by company.
It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of
Egypt to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, the
same Moses and Aaron.
On the day when the Lord spoke to
Moses in the land of Egypt, he said to
him, I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of
Egypt all that I am speaking to you. But
Moses said in the Lords presence, Since
I am a poor speaker,a why would Pharaoh
listen to me?
The Lord said to Moses, See, I have made

you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother
Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak
all that I command you, and your brother
Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites
go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaohs heart, and I will multiply my signs and
wonders in the land of Egypt. When Pharaoh
does not listen to you, I will lay my hand upon
Egypt and bring my people the Israelites, company by company, out of the land of Egypt by
great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall
know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out
my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites
out from among them. Moses and Aaron
did so; they did just as the Lord commanded
them. Moses was eighty years old and Aaron
eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
When Pharaoh says to you, Perform
a wonder, then you shall say to Aaron,
Take your sta and throw it down before
Pharaoh, and it will become a snake. So
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did
as the Lord had commanded; Aaron threw
a Heb am uncircumcised of lips; see 6.12
several women appear in this lineage but only as wives and mothers (vv. 15,23,25). 23: Nadab and Abihu, priestly
leaders with Aaron in the Sinai narrative (24.1). 25: Eleazar . . . Phinehas, the successors of Aaron (not Moses)
conclude the genealogy, revealing its priestly interest; see 28.1. 2630: The narrative resumes with a brief recapitulation of 6.212. 26: Company by company, military language depicts the eeing Israelites (also 12.17;
12.37n.; 13.18). 7.17: Another account of the armation of Moses mission. 1: See 4.1516n. 3: Harden, see 4.21n.
Signs and wonders anticipates the nine marvels of the next section; these acts of God, together with the plague
(slaying of Egyptian rstborn), are the source of knowing God. 5: Know, see 5.2n.
7.810.29: The nine marvels. The designation ten plagues is not used in the Bible. Fewer than ten catastrophes appear in the two psalms that mention them, Pss 78.4451 and 105.2836. The narrative in the book
of Exodus likely draws from several sources to form a three-triad paern, totaling nine marvels: Pharaoh receives a warning, in the morning, for the rst, fourth, and seventh marvels; Pharaoh receives a warning, time
unspecied, for the second, h, and eighth ones; the third, sixth, and ninth happen unannounced. Each triad
has the same sequence, an arrangement suggesting that nine is the appropriate number, with the slaying of
the rstborn coming as a separate, tenth, climactic event. The noun plague appears only for the tenth calamity, the death of rstborn (11.1), except for once at 9.14 (see n.). Signs and wonders (or, marvels) appears to
be the Bibles designation (as in 7.3; cf. 10.12; 11.910; Pss 78.43; 105.27) for the rst nine, which do not t the
meaning of plague as an epidemic of deadly disease understood to be a punitive measure (cf. 32.35; Num 25).
The marvels unfold in a dramatic series of encounters between Gods emissaries, Moses and Aaron, and the
deied Pharaoh and his ocials and magicians; and they result in the Pharaohs acknowledging (knowing)
God. Although each of the rst nine alone might reect a natural occurrence, the intensity and rapid-re timing are not natural; grouped together, they are a vivid expression of Gods extraordinary power, as is the wholly
supernatural tenth event, the slaying of the rstborn.
7.813: Preface to the marvels. The introduction to the marvels, like 4.15, features a sta turning into a
snake in a competition with Egyptian magicians. 9: Aaron, not Moses, has the leading role in this episode and in
hebrew bible | 91
exodus 8
down his sta before Pharaoh and his ocials, and it became a snake. Then Pharaoh
summoned the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt,
did the same by their secret arts. Each
one threw down his sta, and they became
snakes; but Aarons sta swallowed up
theirs. Still Pharaohs heart was hardened,
and he would not listen to them, as the Lord
had said.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Pharaohs
heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people
go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is
going out to the water; stand by at the river
bank to meet him, and take in your hand
the sta that was turned into a snake. Say
to him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews,
sent me to you to say, Let my people go, so
that they may worship me in the wilderness.
But until now you have not listened. Thus
says the Lord, By this you shall know that
I am the Lord. See, with the sta that is in
my hand I will strike the water that is in the
Nile, and it shall be turned to blood. The
sh in the river shall die, the river itself shall
stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to
drink water from the Nile. The Lord said
to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take your sta
and stretch out your hand over the waters
of Egyptover its rivers, its canals, and its
ponds, and all its pools of waterso that
they may become blood; and there shall be
blood throughout the whole land of Egypt,

even in vessels of wood and in vessels of
stone.
Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord
commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and of
his ocials he lifted up the sta and struck
the water in the river, and all the water in
the river was turned into blood, and the
sh in the river died. The river stank so that
the Egyptians could not drink its water, and
there was blood throughout the whole land
of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did
the same by their secret arts; so Pharaohs
heart remained hardened, and he would not
listen to them, as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he
did not take even this to heart. And all the
Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water
to drink, for they could not drink the water of
the river.
Seven days passed after the Lord had
struck the Nile.
a Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to
Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the
Lord: Let my people go, so that they may
worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I
will plague your whole country with frogs.
The river shall swarm with frogs; they shall
come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, and into the houses
a Ch 7.26 in Heb
the rst three marvels. 11: Magicians appear for the rst time; the Hebrew term is derived from an Egyptian word
denoting a priestly ocial. 11: Secret arts refers to spells or incantations that the Egyptians use, whereas Aaron
simply casts his sta down. 13: Hardened, appearing in the preface, anticipates Pharaohs response to every
marvel and to the climactic plague; see 4.21n. As . . . said, noting the veracity of Gods predictions, similarly
anticipates what will be said for most of the marvels.
7.148.19: First three marvels. Aarons sta is the instrument of divine power. 7.1425: First marvel, bloody
waters. This marvel, like some others, combines two traditions: in one, Moses action pollutes the Nile only,
while in the other, Aaron turns all Egyptian water into blood. 15: Water and river bank evoke the image of the
infant Moses in the river (2.3) and anticipate the role of water in the nal water event, when the Red (Reed)
Sea splits and the Egyptian troops drown (14.2129). 1617: The Israelites have heard what God will do (6.68),
as has Moses (7.15); now the Pharaoh is told. 16: God of the Hebrews, see 3.18n. Let my people go appears six
more times in the marvels sequence (8.20,21; 9.1,13; 10.3,4; cf. 5.1); this sevenfold usage emphases the theme
of securing freedom for the Israelites. 17: The entire Nile turns bloody, making this far more extensive than the
bloody-water sign to the Israelites (4.9). 18: The Egyptians (but apparently not the Israelites) will be aected (as
in vv. 21,24, and in the next marvel, 8:34,911). 19: The abundance of water terms, rivers . . . water, stresses the
role of water; see 7.15n. 22: The magicians can duplicate this calamity, but again (as in 7.11) they must use spells.
The text here and elsewhere reects humorthe Egyptian magicians make the calamity even worse! 22: Hardened, see 4.21n. 8.115: Second marvel, frogs. 3: The Pharaoh, his ocials, and the people, that is, all Egyptians,
are aected. These three elements of Egypts hierarchical society are mentioned nine times in the account of
92 | hebrew bible
exodus 8
of your ocials and of your people,a and
into your ovens and your kneading bowls.
The frogs shall come up on you and on your
people and on all your ocials. bAnd the
Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch
out your hand with your sta over the rivers,
the canals, and the pools, and make frogs
come up on the land of Egypt. So Aaron
stretched out his hand over the waters of
Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered
the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the
same by their secret arts, and brought frogs
up on the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron,
and said, Pray to the Lord to take away the
frogs from me and my people, and I will
let the people go to sacrice to the Lord.
Moses said to Pharaoh, Kindly tell me when
I am to pray for you and for your ocials
and for your people, that the frogs may be
removed from you and your houses and be
left only in the Nile. And he said, Tomorrow. Moses said, As you say! So that you
may know that there is no one like the Lord
our God, the frogs shall leave you and your
houses and your ocials and your people;
they shall be left only in the Nile. Then
Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh;
and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning
the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh.c
And the Lord did as Moses requested: the
frogs died in the houses, the courtyards, and
the elds. And they gathered them together
in heaps, and the land stank. But when
Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he
hardened his heart, and would not listen to
them, just as the Lord had said.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out your sta and strike the dust of
the earth, so that it may become gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt. And they did
so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his sta
and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats
came on humans and animals alike; all the
dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout
the whole land of Egypt. The magicians tried
to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they
could not. There were gnats on both humans
and animals. And the magicians said to Pharaoh, This is the nger of God! But Pharaohs
heart was hardened, and he would not listen to
them, just as the Lord had said.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Rise early
in the morning and present yourself before
Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to
him, Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so
that they may worship me. For if you will not
let my people go, I will send swarms of ies on
you, your ocials, and your people, and into
your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians
shall be lled with swarms of ies; so also the
land where they live. But on that day I will
set apart the land of Goshen, where my people
live, so that no swarms of ies shall be there,
that you may know that I the Lord am in this
land. Thus I will make a distinctiond between
my people and your people. This sign shall appear tomorrow. The Lord did so, and great
swarms of ies came into the house of Pharaoh
a
b
c
d
Gk: Heb upon your people

Ch 8.1 in Heb
Or frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh
Gk Vg: Heb will set redemption
the nine marvels and once more in the account of the slaying of the rstborn (12.30). 8: Despite the magicians
replication of this event (v. 7), the Pharaoh momentarily relents and seems to recognize Israels god by asking
Moses and Aaron to pray (lit., plead) on behalf of the Egyptians (cf. 8.2830; 9.28; 10.1718). 10: Tomorrow, a
one-day delay; see 8.23n. Here too Pharaoh is depicted as a buoon, as he does not opt to cease the plague
immediately. 15: Hardened, see 4.21n. 8. 1619: Third marvel, gnats. 16: Dust represents what is countless (Gen
13.16). 1819: Failing this time to replicate the calamity, the magiciansbut not Pharaohrecognize the infestation as an act of Israels god. 19: Hardened, see 4.21n.
8.209.12: Second group of three marvels. Instrumentality shis: God is the direct agent (8.24; 9.6), and
then Moses and Aaron are agents together (9.8). 8.2032: Fourth marvel, ies. The meaning of the Hebrew
term for this marvel is uncertain; some scholars understand it as a plague of mixed animals. 20: Although Aaron
is sometimes mentioned, Moses dominates the accounts of the remaining six marvels. 22: Goshen, unknown in
Egyptian sources, appears here and in 9.26 as the location of the Israelite work camps, probably in the eastern
Nile Delta; see 1.11n. and Gen 45.10. 23: Distinction, now God explicitly excludes the Israelites from the calamities; see 7.18n. Tomorrow introduces a time element; a delay in the onset of the marvel (as also in 9.5,18; 10.4) is
hebrew bible | 93
exodus 9
and into his ocials houses; in all of Egypt the
land was ruined because of the ies.
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and
Aaron, and said, Go, sacrice to your God
within the land. But Moses said, It would
not be right to do so; for the sacrices that we
oer to the Lord our God are oensive to the
Egyptians. If we oer in the sight of the Egyptians sacrices that are oensive to them, will
they not stone us? We must go a three days
journey into the wilderness and sacrice to
the Lord our God as he commands us. So
Pharaoh said, I will let you go to sacrice to
the Lord your God in the wilderness, provided you do not go very far away. Pray for me.
Then Moses said, As soon as I leave you, I
will pray to the Lord that the swarms of ies
may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his
ocials, and from his people; only do not let
Pharaoh again deal falsely by not letting the
people go to sacrice to the Lord.
So Moses went out from Pharaoh and
prayed to the Lord. And the Lord did as
Moses asked: he removed the swarms of ies
from Pharaoh, from his ocials, and from
his people; not one remained. But Pharaoh
hardened his heart this time also, and would
not let the people go.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to
Pharaoh, and say to him, Thus says the
Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people
go, so that they may worship me. For if you
refuse to let them go and still hold them, the
hand of the Lord will strike with a deadly
pestilence your livestock in the eld: the
horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds,
and the ocks. But the Lord will make a
distinction between the livestock of Israel
and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing
shall die of all that belongs to the Israelites.
The Lord set a time, saying, Tomorrow the
Lord will do this thing in the land. And on

the next day the Lord did so; all the livestock
of the Egyptians died, but of the livestock of
the Israelites not one died. Pharaoh inquired
and found that not one of the livestock of the
Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the
people go.
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and
let Moses throw it in the air in the sight of
Pharaoh. It shall become ne dust all over
the land of Egypt, and shall cause festering
boils on humans and animals throughout
the whole land of Egypt. So they took soot
from the kiln, and stood before Pharaoh,
and Moses threw it in the air, and it caused
festering boils on humans and animals. The
magicians could not stand before Moses
because of the boils, for the boils aicted the
magicians as well as all the Egyptians. But
the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and
he would not listen to them, just as the Lord
had spoken to Moses.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Rise up
early in the morning and present yourself
before Pharaoh, and say to him, Thus says
the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my
people go, so that they may worship me. For
this time I will send all my plagues upon you
yourself, and upon your ocials, and upon
your people, so that you may know that there
is no one like me in all the earth. For by
now I could have stretched out my hand and
struck you and your people with pestilence,
and you would have been cut o from the
earth. But this is why I have let you live: to
show you my power, and to make my name
resound through all the earth. You are still
exalting yourself against my people, and will
not let them go. Tomorrow at this time I will
a twist on the delay of Moses wonder-ending prayer (8.10n.). 25: As in 8.8, Pharaoh seems to relent; but in v.
32 he reneges. 26: Oensive, practices of one people are odious to another. 2829: Pray, as in 8.9. 32: Hardened,
see 4.21n. 9.17: Fi%h marvel, pestilence. 1: God of the Hebrews, see 3.18n. 3: Hand, see 3.19n. Pestilence in Deuteronomic and prophetic texts kills humans as well as animals but here only animals. 4: Distinction, see 8.23n. 5:
Tomorrow, see 8.23n. 7: Hardened, see 4.21n. 9.812: Sixth marvel, boils. 11: Magicians cannot compete and are
themselves aicted (cf. 7.11,22; 8.7,1819). 12: Now Pharaohs heart is hardened by God; see 4.21n.
9.1310.29: Third group of three marvels. Moses outstretched hand is now the instrument, and the severity of the calamities escalates. 9.1335: Seventh marvel, hail. 13: God of the Hebrews, see 3.18n. 14: Only here is
plagues used for one of the rst nine calamities, perhaps because, as for the climactic slaying of the rstborn,
there is extensive loss of human as well as animal life; see 7.810.29n. and 11.1n. 18: Tomorrow, see 8.23n. So
94 | hebrew bible
exodus 10
cause the heaviest hail to fall that has ever
fallen in Egypt from the day it was founded
until now. Send, therefore, and have your
livestock and everything that you have in the
open eld brought to a secure place; every
human or animal that is in the open eld and
is not brought under shelter will die when
the hail comes down upon them. Those
ocials of Pharaoh who feared the word of
the Lord hurried their slaves and livestock
o to a secure place. Those who did not
regard the word of the Lord left their slaves
and livestock in the open eld.
The Lord said to Moses, Stretch out
your hand toward heaven so that hail may fall
on the whole land of Egypt, on humans and
animals and all the plants of the eld in the
land of Egypt. Then Moses stretched out
his sta toward heaven, and the Lord sent
thunder and hail, and re came down on the
earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land
of Egypt; there was hail with re ashing
continually in the midst of it, such heavy hail
as had never fallen in all the land of Egypt
since it became a nation. The hail struck
down everything that was in the open eld
throughout all the land of Egypt, both human
and animal; the hail also struck down all the
plants of the eld, and shattered every tree in
the eld. Only in the land of Goshen, where
the Israelites were, there was no hail.
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and
Aaron, and said to them, This time I have
sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my
people are in the wrong. Pray to the Lord!
Enough of Gods thunder and hail! I will let
you go; you need stay no longer. Moses
said to him, As soon as I have gone out of
the city, I will stretch out my hands to the
Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will
be no more hail, so that you may know that
the earth is the Lords. But as for you and
your ocials, I know that you do not yet fear
the Lord God. (Now the ax and the barley

were ruined, for the barley was in the ear
and the ax was in bud. But the wheat and
the spelt were not ruined, for they are late in
coming up.) So Moses left Pharaoh, went
out of the city, and stretched out his hands
to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail
ceased, and the rain no longer poured down
on the earth. But when Pharaoh saw that
the rain and the hail and the thunder had
ceased, he sinned once more and hardened
his heart, he and his ocials. So the heart
of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would
not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had
spoken through Moses.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to
Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart
and the heart of his ocials, in order that I may
show these signs of mine among them, and
that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I have made fools of the Egyptians
and what signs I have done among themso
that you may know that I am the Lord.
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh,
and said to him, Thus says the Lord, the God
of the Hebrews, How long will you refuse to
humble yourself before me? Let my people
go, so that they may worship me. For if
you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I
will bring locusts into your country. They
shall cover the surface of the land, so that no
one will be able to see the land. They shall
devour the last remnant left you after the
hail, and they shall devour every tree of yours
that grows in the eld. They shall ll your
houses, and the houses of all your ocials
and of all the Egyptianssomething that
neither your parents nor your grandparents
have seen, from the day they came on earth
to this day. Then he turned and went out
from Pharaoh.
Pharaohs ocials said to him, How
long shall this fellow be a snare to us? Let
10
severe is the hail that it gures in the next calamity (10.5,15). 19: The severity prompts God, uniquely, to suggest
a protective measure. 24: Fire ashing, probably lightning, along with thunder accompanies the hail (vv. 2324)
to deadly eect, in contrast to the thunder and lightning in the theophany at Sinai (19.16,19). 26: See 8.22n.
and 8.23n. 27: Sinned, an apparently unqualied admission; but Pharaoh continues to sin by reneging again
(v. 34; 8.15,32). 28: Pray, see 8.8n. 35: Hardened, apparently by God; see 4.21n. 10.120: Eighth marvel, locusts.
1: God hardened the hearts of both the Pharaoh and his ocers; see 4.21n. 2: Tell . . . grandchildren heralds the
importance of remembering; see 11.113.16n. 3: God of the Hebrews, see 3.18n. 4: Tomorrow, see 8.23n. Locusts are
extremely damaging; they reect disaster (Joel 1.22.27) and divine judgment (as Amos 4.9). 5: No one . . . see,
hebrew bible | 95
exodus 11
the people go, so that they may worship the
Lord their God; do you not yet understand
that Egypt is ruined? So Moses and Aaron
were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said
to them, Go, worship the Lord your God!
But which ones are to go? Moses said, We
will go with our young and our old; we will
go with our sons and daughters and with
our ocks and herds, because we have the
Lords festival to celebrate. He said to
them, The Lord indeed will be with you,
if ever I let your little ones go with you!
Plainly, you have some evil purpose in mind.
No, never! Your men may go and worship
the Lord, for that is what you are asking.
And they were driven out from Pharaohs
presence.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch
out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that
the locusts may come upon it and eat every
plant in the land, all that the hail has left.
So Moses stretched out his sta over the
land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east
wind upon the land all that day and all that
night; when morning came, the east wind
had brought the locusts. The locusts came
upon all the land of Egypt and settled on the
whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm
of locusts as had never been before, nor ever
shall be again. They covered the surface of
the whole land, so that the land was black;
and they ate all the plants in the land and all
the fruit of the trees that the hail had left;
nothing green was left, no tree, no plant in
the eld, in all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh
hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and
said, I have sinned against the Lord your
God, and against you. Do forgive my sin
just this once, and pray to the Lord your God
that at the least he remove this deadly thing
from me. So he went out from Pharaoh
and prayed to the Lord. The Lord changed

the wind into a very strong west wind, which
lifted the locusts and drove them into the
Red Sea;a not a single locust was left in all the
country of Egypt. But the Lord hardened
Pharaohs heart, and he would not let the
Israelites go.
out your hand toward heaven so that there
may be darkness over the land of Egypt,
a darkness that can be felt. So Moses
stretched out his hand toward heaven, and
there was dense darkness in all the land of
Egypt for three days. People could not see
one another, and for three days they could
not move from where they were; but all the
Israelites had light where they lived. Then
Pharaoh summoned Moses, and said, Go,
worship the Lord. Only your ocks and
your herds shall remain behind. Even your
children may go with you. But Moses said,
You must also let us have sacrices and
burnt oerings to sacrice to the Lord our
God. Our livestock also must go with us;
not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must
choose some of them for the worship of the
Lord our God, and we will not know what
to use to worship the Lord until we arrive
there. But the Lord hardened Pharaohs
heart, and he was unwilling to let them go.
Then Pharaoh said to him, Get away from
me! Take care that you do not see my face
again, for on the day you see my face you
shall die. Moses said, Just as you say! I
will never see your face again.
The Lord said to Moses, I will bring
one more plague upon Pharaoh and
upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go
from here; indeed, when he lets you go, he
11
a Or Sea of Reeds
a result replicated by the ninth wonder (10.23). 13: An east wind, which will also part the Red (Reed) Sea (14.21),
brings the locusts; and a west wind will remove them by casting them into that sea, v. 19. 16: Sinned, see 9.27n.
1718: Pray, see 8.8n. 19: Red Sea, see 13.18n. 20: Hardened by God; see 4.21n. 10:2129: Ninth marvel, darkness.
21: Darkness . . . felt, perhaps reecting the thick air of Near Eastern sandstorms. Darkness anticipates the midnight seing of the climactic death of the rstborn (12.29) and the nighime sea crossing (14.20). 22: Three days
mirrors the requested three-day journey for sacrice (3.18; 5.3; 8.27) and anticipates the three-day duration of
the rst post-Sinai journey (15.22). 27: Hardened by God; see 4.21n. 2829: Rejecting further direct encounters
with Pharaoh, who has divine pretensions, Moses will uniquely meet the Lord directly (33.11; but cf. 33.2023).
11.113.16: Plague, commemorative rituals, and departure. Aer the rstborn plague is announced, detailed
commands for commemorative rituals appear interspersed with accounts of the Egyptian deaths and the Is-
96 | hebrew bible
exodus 12
will drive you away. Tell the people that
every man is to ask his neighbor and every
woman is to ask her neighbor for objects of
silver and gold. The Lord gave the people
favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover,
Moses himself was a man of great importance
in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaohs
ocials and in the sight of the people.
Moses said, Thus says the Lord: About
midnight I will go out through Egypt. Every
rstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from
the rstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his
throne to the rstborn of the female slave
who is behind the handmill, and all the
rstborn of the livestock. Then there will
be a loud cry throughout the whole land of
Egypt, such as has never been or will ever be
again. But not a dog shall growl at any of the
Israelitesnot at people, not at animalsso
that you may know that the Lord makes a
distinction between Egypt and Israel. Then
all these ocials of yours shall come down
to me, and bow low to me, saying, Leave us,
you and all the people who follow you. After
that I will leave. And in hot anger he left

Pharaoh.
The Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh will
not listen to you, in order that my wonders
may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.
Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; but the Lord hardened
Pharaohs heart, and he did not let the people
of Israel go out of his land.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in
the land of Egypt: This month shall
mark for you the beginning of months; it shall
be the rst month of the year for you. Tell
the whole congregation of Israel that on the
tenth of this month they are to take a lamb
for each family, a lamb for each household. If
a household is too small for a whole lamb, it
shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one;
the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the
number of people who eat of it. Your lamb
shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you
may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of
this month; then the whole assembled con-
12
raelite Exodus. Although addressed to the Israelites as they leave Egypt, the directives for various rituals also
mandate future behaviors that will commemorate the radical change from servitude to freedom through Gods
intervention. The miraculous departure from Egypt becomes part of the collective memory of future generations, kept alive through religious practices that enable later generations to recall and relive the experiences of
the Exodus generation. The rituals will contribute to Israelite communal identity and help maintain community
values. Present and future merge in this composite and somewhat redundant account drawing on Priestly and
other sources.
11.110: Announcement of the plague. 1: Plague is now the appropriate term for the horric loss of life that
ensues; see 7.810.29n. and 9.14n. Drive echoes the prediction of 6.1. 2: That Israelite women would acquire
Egyptian goods is announced in 3.22 (also 12.3536; cf. 35.22,29). Here men too will obtain jewelry; but the
clothing of 3.22 is omied, as is the involvement of children. 5: Firstborn, see 4.22n. Pharaoh . . . female slave,
opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum form a merism indicating that all Egyptians will be aected. 6:
The Egyptians unique loud cry surpasses the Israelites cry (see 2.2n.). Uniqueness also features in the seventh
marvel, which similarly involves human and animal death (see 9.18,25 and 9.14n.), and the eighth (10.14). 7:
Distinction between Egypt and Israel, again indicating the selective nature of what will happen (see 8.23n. and
9.4). 10: Hardened by God, see 4.21n.
12.128: Preparations for departure: passover and unleavened bread festivals. Here, in vv. 4349, and in
13.310, God ordains what will become a major Israelite festival (Deut 16.18; Num 9.114; 2 Kings 23.2123; Ezek
45.2124). Agricultural and pastoral components of the Canaanite ritual calendarspringtime birth of lambs,
growth of green herbs, and ripening of grainsare given antecedents in Israels story. Linked to the Exodus,
the heightened emotions of such celebrations help re-create for later generations the exultant experience of
liberation. This historicization of festivals contributes to their enduring nature (see 11.113.16n.). 113: Passover.
2: This month (March-April), called Aviv in 13.4 and 23.15, is later called Nisan (Neh 2.1; Esth 3.7). This spring New
Year (the rst month of the year) probably reects a priestly reckoning (Lev 23.5; Num 9.15) in contrast to an
older tradition of an autumn New Year (23.16; 34.22). 3: Whole congregation of Israel, repeated in v. 47, denotes
gender and probably age inclusiveness (throughout time; vv. 14,17). 4: Household likely indicates an extended
(not a nuclear) familyenough people to consume a lamb in one siing. 5: Without blemish introduces the
hebrew bible | 97
exodus 12
gregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight.
They shall take some of the blood and put
it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the
houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the
lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted
over the re with unleavened bread and bitter
herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in
water, but roasted over the re, with its head,
legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of
it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This
is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your
sandals on your feet, and your sta in your
hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the
passover of the Lord. For I will pass through
the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike
down every rstborn in the land of Egypt,
both human beings and animals; on all the
gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am
the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you
on the houses where you live: when I see the
blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall
destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
This day shall be a day of remembrance
for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to
the Lord; throughout your generations you
shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread;
on the rst day you shall remove leaven from
your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread

from the rst day until the seventh day shall
be cut o from Israel. On the rst day you
shall hold a solemn assembly, and on the seventh day a solemn assembly; no work shall
be done on those days; only what everyone
must eat, that alone may be prepared by you.
You shall observe the festival of unleavened
bread, for on this very day I brought your
companies out of the land of Egypt: you shall
observe this day throughout your generations
as a perpetual ordinance. In the rst month,
from the evening of the fourteenth day until
the evening of the twenty-rst day, you shall
eat unleavened bread. For seven days no
leaven shall be found in your houses; for
whoever eats what is leavened shall be cut o
from the congregation of Israel, whether an
alien or a native of the land. You shall eat
nothing leavened; in all your settlements you
shall eat unleavened bread.
Then Moses called all the elders of Israel
and said to them, Go, select lambs for your
families, and slaughter the passover lamb.
Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood
that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and
the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of
your house until morning. For the Lord will
language of sacrice, for oerings to God are to be perfect (Lev 22.1925; Deut 15.21; 17.1). 7: Blood can have an
apotropaic (evil-averting) quality; see 4.25n. and 12.11n. 8: Unlike other sacrices, this one is roasted. Unleavened
bread appears here without comment, as if it were already known and incorporated into the passover festival;
see 12.15n. Bier herbs, probably a green plant serving as a condiment. 11: The people must be ready to travel
while they consume the lamb. Passover (pesah), is oen understood as passing over, but is more likely from
a word meaning protect (spare, Isa 31.5), which

is in accord with the apotropaic role of the blood smeared
on doorways (12.5n.). Here (and in vv. 27,43) passover refers to the lamb sacrice; eventually, it designates a
longer commemorative festival (Deut 16.18; Ezek 45.21) that includes the seven-day festival of unleavened
bread with which it is associated (12.1420; 13.210). 12: I will strike has God slaying the rstborn, but see 12.23n.
13: Pass over, see 12.11n. 1420: Unleavened bread. 14: This day is the eenth day, aer the passover of the fourteenth of Nisan; see 12.2n. and 12.6. Thus, the nighime passover is followed by a seven-day festival of unleavened bread (see Lev 23.58). Remembrance proclaims the commemorative aspect of the festival, and throughout
. . . perpetual applies it to all future Israelites (see 10.2n. and 11.113.16n.). 15: Unleavened bread (Heb matsah,
spelled matzah or matzo in English), which originated in an ancient spring harvest festival, is given an explanation (vv. 34,39; 23.15; 34.18) connecting it to the hasty departure from Egypt; cf. the similar historicization of the lamb festival with which it is ultimately combined (see 12.11n. and 11.113.16n.). Cut o, the penalty
for many serious violations of priestly law (e.g., 30.33,38; 31.14), probably does not mean excommunication but
rather signies dying without heirs, that is, having ones lineage ended; it would thus be implemented by God,
not humans. 16: No work signies a holy day, as on the sabbath (20.811). 17: Companies, a military term; see
6.26n. 19: Although not obliged to celebrate the passover (v. 48), an alien (non-Israelite) must refrain from eating leavened bread. 2128: Passover again. 22: Hyssop, an aromatic plant used in rituals, including for sprinkling
a liquid (Num 19.18). 23: Pass over, that is protect; see 12.11n. Representing a variant tradition, a divine agent,
98 | hebrew bible
exodus 12
pass through to strike down the Egyptians;
when he sees the blood on the lintel and on
the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over
that door and will not allow the destroyer
to enter your houses to strike you down.
You shall observe this rite as a perpetual
ordinance for you and your children. When
you come to the land that the Lord will give
you, as he has promised, you shall keep this
observance. And when your children ask
you, What do you mean by this observance?
you shall say, It is the passover sacrice to
the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the
Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the
Egyptians but spared our houses. And the
people bowed down and worshiped.
The Israelites went and did just as the
Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
At midnight the Lord struck down all
the rstborn in the land of Egypt, from the
rstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to
the rstborn of the prisoner who was in the
dungeon, and all the rstborn of the livestock.
Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his
ocials and all the Egyptians; and there was
a loud cry in Egypt, for there was not a house
without someone dead. Then he summoned
Moses and Aaron in the night, and said, Rise
up, go away from my people, both you and the
Israelites! Go, worship the Lord, as you said.
Take your ocks and your herds, as you said,
and be gone. And bring a blessing on me too!
The Egyptians urged the people to

hasten their departure from the land, for they
said, We shall all be dead. So the people
took their dough before it was leavened, with
their kneading bowls wrapped up in their
cloaks on their shoulders. The Israelites
had done as Moses told them; they had asked
the Egyptians for jewelry of silver and gold,
and for clothing, and the Lord had given
the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians,
so that they let them have what they asked.
And so they plundered the Egyptians.
The Israelites journeyed from Rameses
to Succoth, about six hundred thousand
men on foot, besides children. A mixed
crowd also went up with them, and livestock
in great numbers, both ocks and herds.
They baked unleavened cakes of the
dough that they had brought out of Egypt; it
was not leavened, because they were driven
out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had
they prepared any provisions for themselves.
The time that the Israelites had lived
in Egypt was four hundred thirty years. At
the end of four hundred thirty years, on that
very day, all the companies of the Lord went
out from the land of Egypt. That was for
the Lord a night of vigil, to bring them out of
the land of Egypt. That same night is a vigil
to be kept for the Lord by all the Israelites
throughout their generations.
the destroyer, rather than God, carries out the mission. 2427: Commands for future observance emphasize the
educational function of the passover (also 10.2; 13.89,1416; cf. Deut 6.67); see 11.113.16n.
12.2952: Plague, departure, and passover. As soon as the rstborn of the Egyptians die, the Israelites leave
Egypt and are reminded to celebrate the passover. 2936: Plague. What God announced in 11.18 is carried out.
29: Firstborn, see 4.22n. Pharaoh . . . prisoner represent the two ends of the Egyptian social continuum; see 11.5n.
30: Cry, see 11.6n. 32: Cf. 10.24. A master who releases servants receives a blessing (Deut 15.18). 33: Urge, perhaps
fullling the notion of driving out the Israelites (6.1; 11.1). 35: Jewelry . . . clothing, rather than plunder (in v.
36; see 3.22n.), may represent the goods given to released servants (Deut 15.1315). 12.3742: Exodus, departing Egypt and beginning the wilderness journey (which continues in Numbers). 37: Each stage of the journey
is marked by formulaic language: traveling from Place A to Place B. Both Rameses (see 1.11n.) and Succoth are
probably in the eastern Nile Delta; like virtually all the stops on the journey, however, they cannot be clearly
identied and may not reect accurate or actual memories. Six hundred thousand (as Num 11.21; cf. 38.26) is
likely hyperbole meant to reect the proliferation of Israelites (1.79,20; 5.5) and the concept of all Israel experiencing the Exodus; cf. 14.7n. Men on foot, or infantry, continues the military imagery; see 6.26n. Children are
mentioned, but not the elderly or women; the laer may be subsumed into the men who are their husbands
(see 20.811n). 38: Mixed crowd suggests that non-Israelites were among those escaping. 39: See 12.15n. 4041:
Four hundred and thirty years is close to the period of four hundred years foreordained in Gen 15.13 (but cf. Gen
15.16); suggested reasons for the additional thirty years are speculative. 41: Companies, see 12.17n. 42: Vigil, from
a root meaning to guard and also to observe, perform (an obligation) appears twice, forming a wordplay
hebrew bible | 99
exodus 13
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This
is the ordinance for the passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, but any slave who has been
purchased may eat of it after he has been
circumcised; no bound or hired servant
may eat of it. It shall be eaten in one house;
you shall not take any of the animal outside
the house, and you shall not break any of its
bones. The whole congregation of Israel
shall celebrate it. If an alien who resides
with you wants to celebrate the passover to
the Lord, all his males shall be circumcised;
then he may draw near to celebrate it; he
shall be regarded as a native of the land.
But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it;
there shall be one law for the native and for
the alien who resides among you.
All the Israelites did just as the Lord had
commanded Moses and Aaron. That very
day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the
land of Egypt, company by company.
The Lord said to Moses: Consecrate
to me all the rstborn; whatever is the
rst to open the womb among the Israelites,
of human beings and animals, is mine.
Moses said to the people, Remember
this day on which you came out of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery, because the
Lord brought you out from there by strength
13
of hand; no leavened bread shall be eaten.

Today, in the month of Abib, you are going
out. When the Lord brings you into the land
the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore
to your ancestors to give you, a land owing
with milk and honey, you shall keep this observance in this month. Seven days you shall
eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day
there shall be a festival to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no
leavened bread shall be seen in your possession, and no leaven shall be seen among you
in all your territory. You shall tell your child
on that day, It is because of what the Lord
did for me when I came out of Egypt. It
shall serve for you as a sign on your hand and
as a reminder on your forehead, so that the
teaching of the Lord may be on your lips; for
with a strong hand the Lord brought you out
of Egypt. You shall keep this ordinance at
its proper time from year to year.
When the Lord has brought you into
the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to
you and your ancestors, and has given it
to you, you shall set apart to the Lord all
that rst opens the womb. All the rstborn
of your livestock that are males shall be the
Lords. But every rstborn donkey you shall
connoting present divine protection and future Israelite commemoration. 4351: Further passover instructions, explicitly for future observances. 43: Ordinance for the passover (also cited in Num 9.12 and probably in Ex
13.10) is likely the title of a priestly document containing rules for passover observance. Foreigner, non-Israelite
living temporarily in the land. 44: A slave who is purchased is circumcised and considered part of the household
(Gen 17.1213). 45: Bound or hired servant denotes a temporary member of a household. 46: In one house, see
12.4n. 47: Whole congregation, see 12.3n. 48: Unlike the foreigner of v. 43, an alien is usually a permanent, nonIsraelite resident and must be circumcised in order to celebrate the passover. Circumcision in this instance is not
a conversion rite. 49: Law (Heb torah) is beer translated instruction or teaching (as 13.9; 18.20) because
the regulations for Israelite communal life are considered divinely revealed instruction. Native, or citizen, that
is Israelite. 5051: These verses resume the narrative of vv. 3741. 51: Company, see 12.17n.
13.116: More commemorative rituals: consecration of the rstborn and unleavened bread festival. 2: The
consecration of the rstborn, which reects the special status of the rst ospring of a woman or animal (see
4.22n.; 13.12n; 22.2930; 34.1920; Num 8.1618), will receive its commemorative connection in vv. 1116. 3: The
charge to remember prescribes commemoration; see 10.2n. and 11.113.16n. House of slavery, parallel to Egypt
(also 13.14; 20.2), suggests that the entire country is the site of forced labor. 4: Abib, meaning new grain, is
an older name for this springtime month; see 12.2n. 5: See 3.8n. 8: See 11.113.16n. and 12.2427n. 9: Sign . . .
forehead (also v. 16; Deut 6.68) probably denotes metaphoric modes of commemoration (as Prov 6.2021;
7.13) but is interpreted literally in postexilic times, giving rise to the Jewish custom of phylacteries. The phrase
teaching (Heb torah) of the Lord appears for the rst time in the Bible; see 12.49n. Hand, see 3.19n. 11: Instructions for the consecration of the rstborn resume. 12: Set apart to the Lord, for the rstborn belong to God;
see 4.22n. Males, specifying for the rst time the gender of the rstborn to be consecrated. 13: Because the
donkey is an impure animal (according to the categories in Lev 11; Deut 14.321), it is redeemed by a pure one, a
100 | hebrew bible
exodus 14
redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem
it, you must break its neck. Every rstborn
male among your children you shall redeem.
When in the future your child asks you,
What does this mean? you shall answer, By
strength of hand the Lord brought us out
of Egypt, from the house of slavery. When
Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the
Lord killed all the rstborn in the land of
Egypt, from human rstborn to the rstborn
of animals. Therefore I sacrice to the Lord
every male that rst opens the womb, but
every rstborn of my sons I redeem. It
shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an
emblema on your forehead that by strength of
hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.
When Pharaoh let the people go, God
did not lead them by way of the land of the
Philistines, although that was nearer; for God
thought, If the people face war, they may
change their minds and return to Egypt. So
God led the people by the roundabout way
of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.b The
Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt
prepared for battle. And Moses took with
him the bones of Joseph who had required
a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, God
will surely take notice of you, and then you
must carry my bones with you from here.
They set out from Succoth, and camped at
Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. The
Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud
by day, to lead them along the way, and in a
pillar of re by night, to give them light, so

that they might travel by day and by night.
Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the
pillar of re by night left its place in front of
the people.
Then the Lord said to Moses: Tell
the Israelites to turn back and camp in
front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the
sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall camp
opposite it, by the sea. Pharaoh will say of
the Israelites, They are wandering aimlessly
in the land; the wilderness has closed in on
them. I will harden Pharaohs heart, and he
will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for
myself over Pharaoh and all his army; and the
Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And
they did so.
When the king of Egypt was told that the
people had ed, the minds of Pharaoh and his
ocials were changed toward the people, and
they said, What have we done, letting Israel
leave our service? So he had his chariot
made ready, and took his army with him; he
took six hundred picked chariots and all the
other chariots of Egypt with ocers over all
of them. The Lord hardened the heart of
Pharaoh king of Egypt and he pursued the
Israelites, who were going out boldly. The
Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaohs horses
and chariots, his chariot drivers and his
14
a Or as a frontlet; meaning of Heb uncertain

b Or Sea of Reeds
sheep; see also 34.20. The procedure for redeeming the human rstborn male is not specied. 1415: Linking the
consecration of the rstborn to the rstborn slain in the plague gives the custom a pedagogical function; see
10.2n. and 11.113.16n. 16: See 13.9n.
13.1715.21: Journey to and through the sea, described in prose and poetry.
13.1714.31: The narrative account, somewhat repetitive and inconsistent, is probably composite. 13.17: Way
of the land of the Philistines, the shortest land route from Egypt to Canaan, runs parallel to the Mediterranean
coast toward southwest Canaan where the Philistines, a people from the Aegean, seled in the late thirteenth
and early twelh centuries bce. 18: Roundabout way of the wilderness, that is, not a specic route. This vague
description ts the ahistorical character of the places along the way; see 12.37n. Red Sea (Heb yam sup), properly Reed Sea, probably designates the reedy marshes of northeastern Egypt; but the miraculous sea-spliing
account (14.2129) does not t the marshland referent and may reect a dierent, perhaps imaginary or mythological, sea tradition. Bale, in keeping with the military language for the journeying Israelites; see 6.26n. 19:
Gen 50.2426. 20: Next stage of the journey; see 12.37n. 21: Pillar of cloud and pillar of re, probably one column
manifesting the divine presence as a shielding cloud by day and a guiding light by night; see 3.2n. 14.1: Moses
acts alone, without Aaron, in the sea-crossing episode. 2: Next stage of the journey; see 12.37n. Sea, see 13.18n.
4: Harden, by God; see 4.21n. Glory, or more likely power and thus authority (also v. 17). Know, see 5.2n. 7: Six
hundred, perhaps a stock military unit (cf. Judg 18.11), provides a 1:1000 ratio with the Israelite infantry (12.37n.).
8: Hardened by God; see 4.21n. 9: Pursued . . . overtook is formulaic language (15.9; Deut 19.6; etc.). 10: Cried, see
hebrew bible | 101
exodus 15
army; they overtook them camped by the sea,
by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites
looked back, and there were the Egyptians
advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites
cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses,
Was it because there were no graves in Egypt
that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing
us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we
told you in Egypt, Let us alone and let us serve
the Egyptians? For it would have been better
for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the
wilderness. But Moses said to the people,
Do not be afraid, stand rm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you
today; for the Egyptians whom you see today
you shall never see again. The Lord will ght
for you, and you have only to keep still.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Why
do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to
go forward. But you lift up your sta, and
stretch out your hand over the sea and divide
it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on
dry ground. Then I will harden the hearts
of the Egyptians so that they will go in after
them; and so I will gain glory for myself over
Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and
his chariot drivers. And the Egyptians shall
know that I am the Lord, when I have gained
glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots,
and his chariot drivers.
The angel of God who was going before
the Israelite army moved and went behind
them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in
front of them and took its place behind them.
It came between the army of Egypt and the
army of Israel. And so the cloud was there
with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one
did not come near the other all night.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over
the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a

strong east wind all night, and turned the sea
into dry land; and the waters were divided.
The Israelites went into the sea on dry
ground, the waters forming a wall for them on
their right and on their left. The Egyptians
pursued, and went into the sea after them, all
of Pharaohs horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the
pillar of re and cloud looked down upon the
Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army
into panic. He cloggeda their chariot wheels
so that they turned with diculty. The Egyptians said, Let us ee from the Israelites, for
the Lord is ghting for them against Egypt.
out your hand over the sea, so that the water
may come back upon the Egyptians, upon
their chariots and chariot drivers. So Moses
stretched out his hand over the sea, and at
dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As
the Egyptians ed before it, the Lord tossed
the Egyptians into the sea. The waters
returned and covered the chariots and the
chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh
that had followed them into the sea; not one of
them remained. But the Israelites walked on
dry ground through the sea, the waters forming
a wall for them on their right and on their left.
Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from
the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians
dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great
work that the Lord did against the Egyptians.
So the people feared the Lord and believed in
the Lord and in his servant Moses.
Then Moses and the Israelites sang
this song to the Lord:
I will sing to the Lord, for he has
triumphed gloriously;
15
a Sam Gk Syr: MT removed
2.23n. 1112: For the rst but not the last time the Israelites complain in a crisis situation, challenging Moses
authority (15.24; 16.23; 17.3; and frequently in Numbers). 14: The Lord will ght introduces the concept of the
Divine Warrior, based on the Canaanite deity Baal who bales watery chaos oen depicted as a sea monster.
The image is used metaphorically in the Bible to represent divine might wielded to save Israel (v. 25; 15.3; Deut
20.4; 1 Sam 17.47; Zech 9.1314.) 15: Cry, see 2.23n. 16: Moses sta (see 4.17n.) is not mentioned in vv. 21,26,27.
17: Harden appears for the last time; see 4.21n. Glory, see 14.4n. 18: Know, see 5.2n. 1920: Angel and pillar, both
manifestations of Gods presence (see 3.2n. and 13.21n.), are used sequentially, perhaps indicating a composite.
21: Wind, dry land, and divided waters, which evoke creation (Gen 1.2,6,9; cf. Gen 8.2), are from a Priestly hand.
24: Pillar, see 3.2n. 31: The Hebrew for believed means to trust in God rather than to arm Gods existence.
15.121: The Song of the Sea is a lyric victory hymn generally considered one of the oldest literary units
102 | hebrew bible
exodus 15
horse and rider he has thrown into the
sea.
The Lord is my strength and my
might,a
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my fathers God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.
Pharaohs chariots and his army he cast
into the sea;
his picked ocers were sunk in the Red
Sea.b
The oods covered them;
they went down into the depths like a
stone.
Your right hand, OLord, glorious in
power
your right hand, OLord, shattered the
enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you
overthrew your adversaries;
you sent out your fury, it consumed
them like stubble.
At the blast of your nostrils the waters
piled up,
the oods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the
sea.
The enemy said, I will pursue, I will

overtake,
I will divide the spoil, my desire shall
have its ll of them.
I will draw my sword, my hand shall
destroy them.
You blew with your wind, the sea
covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty
waters.
Who is like you, OLord, among the
gods?
Who is like you, majestic in
holiness,
awesome in splendor,
doing wonders?
You stretched out your right hand,
the earth swallowed them.
In your steadfast love you led the people
whom you redeemed;
you guided them by your strength to
your holy abode.
The peoples heard, they trembled;
pangs seized the inhabitants of
Philistia.
a Or song
b Or Sea of Reeds
in the Bible, perhaps from the twelh century bce; it probably was an independent composition, not part of
one of the other sources of Exodus. Inuenced by mythic accounts of the Divine Warriors bale with watery
chaos (see 14.14n.), it is rich in metaphors and terms that preclude single explanations and at times even defy
comprehension; its general meaning would be less clear without the prose version, although in some details it
diverges from that version. 1: Although aributed to Moses, female authorship cannot be ruled out (see 15.21n.);
note that I need not be Moses. 2: The Lord . . . salvation, a hymnic bicolon appearing (perhaps as a quotation) in
Isa 12.2 and Ps 118.14. My fathers God, Israels ancestral deity (3.6,13,15; 4.5; 6.24). 3: Warrior, see 14.14n. Name,
see 3.1315n. 4: Red Sea, see 14.18n. 5: Hebrew for oods is the same term used for the watery chaos in Genesis 1
(deep, Gen 1.2) 6: The right hand of God (also v. 12), not Moses hand (as 14.16,21,26), directly vanquishes the
enemy; see 3.19n. 7: Consumed . . . stubble evokes imagery of re, which can be paired with water as elements of
devastation (Isa 43.2,1617). 8: Blast of your nostrils, poetic language for a strong wind (v. 10), usually destructive
(see Job 4.9). 9: Pursue . . . overtake, see 14.9n. 11: Among the gods may be language of Israelite monolatry in which
the existence of other (inferior) gods is not denied (18.11; 20.3; 23.3233) until universal monotheism emerges
in the seventh or sixth century bce. Another possibility is that gods denotes the lesser divine manifestations
or angels in Gods heavenly court (Pss 82.1; 89.58). Either way, the incomparability of Israels god is forcefully
proclaimed by the rhetorical questions of this verse. 12: Right hand, see 15.6n. Earth, seemingly incompatible
with the water imagery, refers to the underworld (Sheol or death), which swallows the living (Num 16.32; Isa
29.4; Prov 1.12). 13: The Hebrew for love (hesed) also connotes kindness and especially faithfulness. Holy
abode most likely refers to Gods heavenlydwelling (as do the terms of v. 17b) or mythical home in the north (Ps
48.12); but it perhaps also alludes to the Promised Land as Gods mountainous possession (v. 17a; Ps 78.5455)
and to the Israelites as Gods sanctuary (Ps 114.12). If this is not a premonarchic poem, it may also refer to the
hebrew bible | 103
exodus 15
Then the chiefs of Edom were
dismayed;
trembling seized the leaders of Moab;
all the inhabitants of Canaan melted
away.
Terror and dread fell upon them;
by the might of your arm, they became
still as a stone
until your people, OLord, passed by,
until the people whom you acquired
passed by.
You brought them in and planted them
on the mountain of your own
possession,
the place, OLord, that you made your
abode,
the sanctuary, OLord, that your hands
have established.
The Lord will reign forever and ever.
When the horses of Pharaoh with his
chariots and his chariot drivers went into
the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of
the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked
through the sea on dry ground.
Then the prophet Miriam, Aarons sister,

took a tambourine in her hand; and all the
women went out after her with tambourines
and with dancing. And Miriam sang to
them:
Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed
gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
Then Moses ordered Israel to set out
from the Red Sea,a and they went into the
wilderness of Shur. They went three days in
the wilderness and found no water. When
they came to Marah, they could not drink the
water of Marah because it was bitter. That is
why it was called Marah.b And the people
complained against Moses, saying, What
shall we drink? He cried out to the Lord;
and the Lord showed him a piece of wood;c
he threw it into the water, and the water
became sweet.
a Or Sea of Reeds
b That is Bitterness
c Or a tree
Jerusalem Temple (v. 17b). 14: Philistia, see 13.17n. 15: The Transjordanian kingdoms of Edom and Moab, as well
as many inhabitants of Canaan, gure among the early enemies of the Israelites. 16: Arm, instead of hand
(see 15.6n.), as in 6.6. 17: This verse contains overlapping and multileveled imagery similar to that of ancient
Canaanite poetry (see 15.13n.). Mountain of your possession can refer to Israels homeland in Canaan, conceptualized as Gods inheritance (see v. 13n.; 34.9); other biblical references to Gods mountain as the Temple mount
(e.g., Isa 2.3) may derive from this verse. The Hebrew for abode, not the same as for abode in v. 13, designates
Gods heavenly throne. Sanctuary, holy place in Hebrew, is never used in 1 Kings for the Jerusalem Temple;
and elsewhere it designates places or objects possessing sanctity, including celestial dwellings of deities (see
25.9n.). Your hands have established, indicates that God made the sanctuary, implying that it is the heavenly one,
not the copy constructed in Jerusalem by humans; or, it could give God credit for building the earthly shrine (cf.
Ps 78.69). Either way, the verb also connotes Gods creative activity (Ps 8.3). 18: Reign introduces the prominent
biblical metaphor of God as king. 1921: A brief narrative with a nal poetic section. 19: A summary of 14.2329.
20: The title prophet is used for Miriam (whose name appears here for the rst time) but not Moses in Exodus.
Tambourine is an anachronistic translation of Hebrew top, a small handheld frame drum (without jingles)
played mainly by women in the ancient Near East. All the women . . . dancing indicate a womans performance
genreusually involving drums, dance, and songfor victory celebrations (1 Sam 18.67; Jer 31.4,13). 21: This
poem, similar to 15.1, may be an abbreviation or title of 15.118, in which case Miriam would be the composer
of the song aributed to Moses (see 15.1n.), a possibility also suggested by the association of women with the
victory song genre (15.20n.).
15.2224.18. Sinai and Covenant. Facing recurrent diculties, the Israelites cross the wilderness to Sinai
(15.2218.27) where they experience a theophany (ch 19) and receive the covenant (chs 2024).
15.2218.27: Crises and reorganization in the wilderness. The journey resumes; four crises foreshadowing
the diculties of life in Canaantwo water shortages, lack of food, and a military threatand a meeting with
Jethro prepare Moses for the Sinai experience.
15.2227: First crisis, lack of water. 2223: Next stage of the journey; see 12.37n. 22: Red Sea, see 13.18n. 24:
Complained, see 14.1112n. 25b: Statute . . . ordinance, necessary because a community cannot exist without regulations; see 21.122.17n. The wilderness crises constitute a test of the Israelites (also 16.4) and of God (17.2,7);
104 | hebrew bible
exodus 16
There the Lorda made for them a statute
and an ordinance and there he put them to
the test. He said, If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and
do what is right in his sight, and give heed to
his commandments and keep all his statutes,
I will not bring upon you any of the diseases
that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am
the Lord who heals you.
Then they came to Elim, where there
were twelve springs of water and seventy
palm trees; and they camped there by the
water.
The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim; and Israel came
to the wilderness of Sin, which is between
Elim and Sinai, on the fteenth day of the
second month after they had departed from
the land of Egypt. The whole congregation
of the Israelites complained against Moses
and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites
said to them, If only we had died by the
hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when
we sat by the eshpots and ate our ll of
bread; for you have brought us out into this
wilderness to kill this whole assembly with
hunger.
Then the Lord said to Moses, I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and
each day the people shall go out and gather
enough for that day. In that way I will test
them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they
prepare what they bring in, it will be twice
as much as they gather on other days. So
Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites,
In the evening you shall know that it was
the Lord who brought you out of the land
of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see
the glory of the Lord, because he has heard
16
your complaining against the Lord. For what

are we, that you complain against us? And
Moses said, When the Lord gives you meat
to eat in the evening and your ll of bread
in the morning, because the Lord has heard
the complaining that you utter against him
what are we? Your complaining is not against
us but against the Lord.
Then Moses said to Aaron, Say to the
whole congregation of the Israelites, Draw
near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining. And as Aaron spoke to the whole
congregation of the Israelites, they looked
toward the wilderness, and the glory of the
Lord appeared in the cloud. The Lord
spoke to Moses and said, I have heard the
complaining of the Israelites; say to them, At
twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your ll of bread; then you
shall know that I am the Lord your God.
In the evening quails came up and
covered the camp; and in the morning there
was a layer of dew around the camp. When
the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface
of the wilderness was a ne aky substance,
as ne as frost on the ground. When the
Israelites saw it, they said to one another,
What is it?b For they did not know what
it was. Moses said to them, It is the bread
that the Lord has given you to eat. This is
what the Lord has commanded: Gather as
much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a
person according to the number of persons,
all providing for those in their own tents.
The Israelites did so, some gathering more,
some less. But when they measured it with
an omer, those who gathered much had notha Heb he
b Or It is manna (Heb man hu, see verse 31)
see Deut 8.13,16. 26: The term diseases, although not used in the marvels episodes (7.810.29), may allude to
them or to general Egyptian maladies or to both. 27: Next stage of the journey; see 12.37n.
16.136: Second crisis, lack of food (cf. Num 11). 1: Next stage of the journey, see 12.37n. Fieenth day . . . second month is a month aer departing Egypt (12.1718). The name Sinai appears for the rst time (see 19.1n.); cf.
Horeb in 3.1. 2: Complained, see 14.1112n. 3: Hand of the Lord, see 9.3n. Fleshpots (referring to meat) and bread,
their food in Egypt, will be matched by quails (v. 13) and bread (v. 4; or manna, vv. 15,31) in the wilderness. 4: This
test (see 15.25n.) may be about obeying Gods instructions (Heb torah; see 12.49n.) as well as about believing
God will provide for them. 6: To know God here (and v. 12) is to recognize that God can miraculously provide sustenance; cf. 5.2n. 7: The phrase glory of the Lord, signifying (the cloud of) divine presence, appears for the rst
time in the Bible (also v. 10; 24.16,17; 40.34,35); see 3.2n. 9: Aaron again speaks for Moses; see 4.1516n. 12: Know,
see 16.6n. 13: Dew, like rain, signies divine favor (e.g., Gen 27.28)both were essential for agriculture in an-
hebrew bible | 105
exodus 17
ing over, and those who gathered little had no
shortage; they gathered as much as each of
them needed. And Moses said to them, Let
no one leave any of it over until morning.
But they did not listen to Moses; some left
part of it until morning, and it bred worms
and became foul. And Moses was angry with
them. Morning by morning they gathered
it, as much as each needed; but when the sun
grew hot, it melted.
On the sixth day they gathered twice as
much food, two omers apiece. When all the
leaders of the congregation came and told
Moses, he said to them, This is what the
Lord has commanded: Tomorrow is a day of
solemn rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord; bake
what you want to bake and boil what you
want to boil, and all that is left over put aside
to be kept until morning. So they put it
aside until morning, as Moses commanded
them; and it did not become foul, and there
were no worms in it. Moses said, Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today
you will not nd it in the eld. Six days you
shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which
is a sabbath, there will be none.
On the seventh day some of the people
went out to gather, and they found none.
The Lord said to Moses, How long will
you refuse to keep my commandments and
instructions? See! The Lord has given you
the sabbath, therefore on the sixth day he
gives you food for two days; each of you stay
where you are; do not leave your place on the
seventh day. So the people rested on the
seventh day.
The house of Israel called it manna;
it was like coriander seed, white, and the
taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

Moses said, This is what the Lord has
commanded: Let an omer of it be kept
throughout your generations, in order that
they may see the food with which I fed you
in the wilderness, when I brought you out
of the land of Egypt. And Moses said to
Aaron, Take a jar, and put an omer of manna
in it, and place it before the Lord, to be kept
throughout your generations. As the Lord
commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before
the covenant,a for safekeeping. The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to
a habitable land; they ate manna, until they
came to the border of the land of Canaan.
An omer is a tenth of an ephah.
From the wilderness of Sin the whole
congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded.
They camped at Rephidim, but there was no
water for the people to drink. The people
quarreled with Moses, and said, Give us
water to drink. Moses said to them, Why
do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the
Lord? But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses
and said, Why did you bring us out of Egypt,
to kill us and our children and livestock with
thirst? So Moses cried out to the Lord,
What shall I do with this people? They are
almost ready to stone me. The Lord said to
Moses, Go on ahead of the people, and take
some of the elders of Israel with you; take in
your hand the sta with which you struck
the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in
front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the
17
a Or treaty or testimony; Heb eduth
cient Israel. 16: Omer, see 16.36n. 19: This will indicate trust in God. 2330: Instructions for the sabbath as a day
of rest on the seventh day (cf. Gen 2.23) are presented as preceding the Decalogues sabbath commandment
(see 20.811n.); observing the sabbath is part of Israels learning to obey God (see 16.4n.); see also 20.811; 23.12;
31.1217; 34.21; 35.13. 31: House of Israel, see 40.34n. Verse 15 provides an etymology for manna, which cannot
be identied and may be a mythic substance (cf. Num 11.79). 32: Kept throughout your generations alludes to an
otherwise unknown commemorative ritual; see 11.113.16n. 34: Covenant, elliptical for the not-yet-announced
ark of the covenant (25.1022), is parallel to Lord (v. 33), indicating that the ark signies Gods presence (see
25.1722n.). 35: Forty years, the rst mention of the length of the wilderness sojourn. 36: Ephah (ca. 21 qts [23
liters]) and omer (2 qts [2.3 liters]) are dry measures, usually for grain.
17.17: Third crisis, lack of water (cf. Num 20.213). 1: Further stages of the journey; see 12.27n. 23: The
people complain again (see 14.1112n.), with the synonym quarrel (Heb rib) providing an etymology for Meribah (v. 7). Similarly, test (Heb nissah) provides an etymology for Massah (v. 7). 6: Water coming from a rock
at the mountain Horeb (see 3.1n.) invokes mythic imagery of the cosmic mountain, source of all water and the
106 | hebrew bible
exodus 18
rock, and water will come out of it, so that the
people may drink. Moses did so, in the sight
of the elders of Israel. He called the place
Massaha and Meribah,b because the Israelites
quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, Is the
Lord among us or not?
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel
at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, Choose
some men for us and go out, ght with Amalek.
Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with
the sta of God in my hand. So Joshua did as
Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while
Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of
the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand,
Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his
hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses hands
grew weary; so they took a stone and put it
under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held
up his hands, one on one side, and the other on
the other side; so his hands were steady until
the sun set. And Joshua defeated Amalek and
his people with the sword.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Write
this as a reminder in a book and recite it in
the hearing of Joshua: I will utterly blot out
the remembrance of Amalek from under
heaven. And Moses built an altar and
called it, The Lord is my banner. He said,
A hand upon the banner of the Lord!c The
Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses
father-in-law, heard of all that God
had done for Moses and for his people Israel,
18
how the Lord had brought Israel out of

Egypt. After Moses had sent away his wife
Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro took her
back, along with her two sons. The name
of the one was Gershom (for he said, I have
been an aliend in a foreign land), and the
name of the other, Eliezere (for he said,
The God of my father was my help, and
delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh).
Jethro, Moses father-in-law, came into the
wilderness where Moses was encamped at
the mountain of God, bringing Moses sons
and wife to him. He sent word to Moses,
I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming
to you, with your wife and her two sons.
Moses went out to meet his father-in-law;
he bowed down and kissed him; each asked
after the others welfare, and they went into
the tent. Then Moses told his father-in-law
all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to
the Egyptians for Israels sake, all the hardship that had beset them on the way, and
how the Lord had delivered them. Jethro
rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had
done to Israel, in delivering them from the
Egyptians.
Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who
has delivered you from the Egyptians and
a
b
c
d
e
That is Test
That is Quarrel
Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
Heb ger
Heb Eli, my God; ezer, help
divine home. 7: Among us, or with you/us, an expression denoting Gods potent presence, which provides
food or water for Israelites and protects them (Judg 8.1213).
17.816. Fourth crisis, military threat. 8: Amalek refers to a seminomadic group and habitual enemy of Israel (v. 16; Deut 25.1719; Judg 6.13; etc.). It is not aested in nonbiblical records. 9: Moses successor Joshua,
whose name appears seven times in Exodus, is rst mentioned here. Moses sta (presumably held in his hand,
vv. 1112) can secure military victory (as also in the sea crossing, 14.16) and produce water (17.56) or make it
undrinkable (7.1519); see 4.20n. 10: Hur, with an Egyptian name and as an associate of Moses and Aaron (also
24.14), is likely a Levite; but he is a Judahite in 31.2. 14: The instruction to write is the rst biblical mention
of Israelite literacy. Reminder, another indication of the commemorative aspects of the Exodus narrative; cf.
11.113.16n. Book, or document. Recite implies oral as well as wrien recollection. 1516: The construction of
an altar may be a third commemorative act.
18.127: Meeting with Jethro, who solves an organizational crisis. 1: Jethro, see 2.18n. Because the Hebrew
for father-in-law (hoten) connotes the concept of marriage as a bond between two families, not just between
frequent and redundant use in ch 18 emphasizes Moses connection with the Midianites.
the conjugal pair, its
2: Sent away may be a mistranslation of dowry (1 Kings 9.16), meaning that Zipporah (2.2122; 4.20) had been
Moses wife since receiving it. 34: Gershoms symbolic name appears in 2.22 but Eliezers only here. 5: Mountain
of God, i.e., Sinai/Horeb (see 3.1n.); compare 19.2, a tradition implying that the Israelites reach the mountain
hebrew bible | 107
exodus 19
from Pharaoh. Now I know that the Lord
is greater than all gods, because he delivered
the people from the Egyptians,a when they
dealt arrogantly with them. And Jethro,
Moses father-in-law, brought a burnt oering and sacrices to God; and Aaron came
with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with
Moses father-in-law in the presence of God.
The next day Moses sat as judge for the
people, while the people stood around him
from morning until evening. When Moses
father-in-law saw all that he was doing for
the people, he said, What is this that you
are doing for the people? Why do you sit
alone, while all the people stand around you
from morning until evening? Moses said
to his father-in-law, Because the people
come to me to inquire of God. When they
have a dispute, they come to me and I decide
between one person and another, and I make
known to them the statutes and instructions
of God. Moses father-in-law said to him,
What you are doing is not good. You will
surely wear yourself out, both you and these
people with you. For the task is too heavy for
you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to
me. I will give you counsel, and God be with
you! You should represent the people before
God, and you should bring their cases before
God; teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they
are to go and the things they are to do. You
should also look for able men among all the
people, men who fear God, are trustworthy,
and hate dishonest gain; set such men over
them as ocers over thousands, hundreds,

fties, and tens. Let them sit as judges for
the people at all times; let them bring every
important case to you, but decide every
minor case themselves. So it will be easier for
you, and they will bear the burden with you.
If you do this, and God so commands you,
then you will be able to endure, and all these
people will go to their home in peace.
So Moses listened to his father-in-law
and did all that he had said. Moses chose
able men from all Israel and appointed
them as heads over the people, as ocers
over thousands, hundreds, fties, and tens.
And they judged the people at all times;
hard cases they brought to Moses, but any
minor case they decided themselves. Then
Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he
went o to his own country.
On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt,
on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They had journeyed from
Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai,
and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped
there in front of the mountain. Then Moses
went up to God; the Lord called to him from
the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to
the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You
have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and
how I bore you on eagles wings and brought
you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my
19
a The clause because . . . Egyptians has been

transposed from verse 10
aer the Jethro episode. 1012: As a priest (v. 1, see 2.16n.) who blesses the Lord, acknowledges the Lord (see
5.2n.) as greater than other deities (see 15.11n.), and sacrices to the Lord, Jethro may reect Midianite familiarity with this deity; see 3.15n. 12: Eat bread denotes a communal sacricial meal binding the Israelites, Jethro,
and God (see 24.5n). 1327 (cf. Deut 1.918): Rendering justice will be the responsibility of a hierarchy of administrative ocials (vv. 13,22; NRSV judges). 20: Statutes, see 15.25b n. Instructions (Heb torot, pl. of torah),
see 12.49n. 26: Case (also, thing, word, maer) translates a Hebrew root (dbr) appearing ten times in ch 18,
anticipating the ten words of the Decalogue; see 20.117n. 27: Depart, cf. Deut 10.2932.
19.125: Revelation at the mountain, Gods second appearance at Sinai/Horeb (cf. ch 3) is a composite of
traditions, at times contradictory or redundant; but at the same time conveying the mystery of this momentous theophany. Sinai/Horeb is depicted as an earthly manifestation of the cosmic mountain (see 17.6n.), the
axis of the mythic connection between the divine and the human realms. 1: The precise location of Sinai (or
Horeb; see 3.1n.) is uncertain. Some passages locate it in southern Jordan (Deut 33.2; Judg 5.4; Hab 3.3,7); the
traditional site in the southern Sinai Peninsula is unlikely. 3: House of Jacob is parallel with sons of Israel (Israelites), the two names of the ancestor of the twelve tribes (Gen 32.28). 4: The reminder of Gods past actions
for the Israelites, as preface to the covenant, is typical of Near Eastern treaties in which an overlord states past
benefactions; also 20.2. Eagles wings, an image of parental protection and nurturance (Deut 32.1113). 5: Obey
108 | hebrew bible
exodus 19
voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my
treasured possession out of all the peoples.
Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you
shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy
nation. These are the words that you shall
speak to the Israelites.
So Moses came, summoned the elders
of the people, and set before them all these
words that the Lord had commanded him.
The people all answered as one: Everything
that the Lord has spoken we will do. Moses
reported the words of the people to the Lord.
Then the Lord said to Moses, I am going to
come to you in a dense cloud, in order that
the people may hear when I speak with you
and so trust you ever after.
When Moses had told the words of the
people to the Lord, the Lord said to Moses:
Go to the people and consecrate them today
and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes
and prepare for the third day, because on
the third day the Lord will come down upon
Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
You shall set limits for the people all
around, saying, Be careful not to go up the
mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who
touch the mountain shall be put to death.
No hand shall touch them, but they shall be
stoned or shot with arrows;a whether animal

or human being, they shall not live. When
the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go
up on the mountain. So Moses went down
from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they washed their
clothes. And he said to the people, Prepare
for the third day; do not go near a woman.
On the morning of the third day there
was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick
cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a
trumpet so loud that all the people who were
in the camp trembled. Moses brought the
people out of the camp to meet God. They
took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke,
because the Lord had descended upon it
in re; the smoke went up like the smoke
of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook
violently. As the blast of the trumpet grew
louder and louder, Moses would speak and
God would answer him in thunder. When
the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, to
the top of the mountain, the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain,
and Moses went up. Then the Lord said
a Heb lacks with arrows
. . . keep signies the peoples responsibilities to the god who saved them, thus anticipating the Sinai covenant,
rst mentioned here (cf. 2.24; 6.45). The concept of a pact between God and Israel is a theologized form of
Near Eastern treaty agreements in which a ruler is the patron of a vassal, who has obligations in return. Unlike
most vassals, Israel will have special status as the treasured possession of its overlord (Deut 7.6; 14.2; 26.18). 6:
Priestly kingdom . . . holy nation poetically expresses the idea that all Israelites are priestly; that is, they will have
privileges of intimacy with God and responsibilities of physical and moral purityboth associated with priests
in the ancient world. 8: This unanimous agreement is rearmed aer the covenant is presented (24.7). 9: Cloud,
see 3.2n. Hear, denoting an auditory theophany; v. 11 implies a visual one. 1015: Gods presence will render the
mountain intensely holy and too dangerous for people and for priests (v. 22; cf. 24.11) to approach (see 3.6n.);
even being at a slight remove requires purication. 10: People, perhaps only men; see v. 15n. Consecrate, that
is, make ritually t to approach divine sanctity (Josh 3.5). Wash as an antidote to ritual impurity (see 29.4). 12:
Limits (and v. 23), the border around dangerous sanctity. Death, because the intense holiness of Gods presence
has a dangerous quality (also v. 21; 20.19); see 24.911n. and Num 4.15. 13: Go up on the mountain, aer the theophany when the mountain is no longer holy, or reecting a dierent tradition in which the people do ascend
the mountain. 14: Consecrated . . . washed, see v. 10n. 15: Go near a woman, that is, have sex, which causes ritual
impurity (Lev 15.18). Addressed to men, this seems to exclude women from experiencing the theophany; but see
20.117n. 1619: Intense natural phenomena of a thunderstorm and a volcano (thunder, lightning, a thick cloud,
dense smoke, violent shaking) in combination connote the extraordinary phenomenon of revelation (Judg 5.45;
Pss 18.715; 68.78; Hab 3.36; cf. 1 Kings 19.1113). A blaring trumpet, otherwise used to herald sovereigns (as
1 Kings 1.34) or signal momentous (as 1 Sam 13.3; Isa 18.3) and sacred events (as Lev 25.9), augments the sensory
images. 2025: Three zones of sanctity are establishedholiest at the top for God and Moses (vv. 20,24); a
middle stage for Aaron (v. 24) and perhaps leaders (v. 22; 24.12,911); least holy at the boom for the people
(vv. 12,17,21,23). These zones correspond to the tabernacles three levels of holiness (see 25.131.17n.).
hebrew bible | 109
exodus 20
to Moses, Go down and warn the people
not to break through to the Lord to look;
otherwise many of them will perish. Even
the priests who approach the Lord must
consecrate themselves or the Lord will break
out against them. Moses said to the Lord,
The people are not permitted to come up
to Mount Sinai; for you yourself warned us,
saying, Set limits around the mountain and
keep it holy. The Lord said to him, Go
down, and come up bringing Aaron with
you; but do not let either the priests or the
people break through to come up to the
Lord; otherwise he will break out against
them. So Moses went down to the people
and told them.
20
Then God spoke all these words:

I am the Lord your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of
the house of slavery; you shall have no other
gods beforea me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol,
whether in the form of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the earth. You
shall not bow down to them or worship them;
for I the Lord your God am a jealous God,
punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of
those who reject me, but showing steadfast
a Or besides
20.124.18: Covenant. The stipulations of the covenantDecalogue (20.117) and Covenant Rules (20.22
23.19)are interspersed with additional Sinai narratives (20.1821; 23.2024.18).
20.117: Decalogue (also Deut 5.621). These ten precepts (see 18.26n.; also called the Ten Commandments) are not titled here but are called ten words or ten sayings in 34.28; Deut 4.13; 10.4. Set forth in
apodictic (absolute) form, they constitute unconditional community policy rather than law. Not numbered in
the Bible, they are counted in diverse ways.
numbering of the ten commandments in exodus 20.117

most jewish tradition
eastern orthodox,
anglican, most protestant churches
roman catholic and

lutheran churches
Ex 20.2
20.3
20.46
20.7
20.811
20.12
20.13
20.14
20.15
20.16
20.17a
10
10
20.17b
10
10
10
The rst several deal with human obligations to God and are accompanied by explanations (called motive
clauses); the others concern social issues and usually do not mention God. Because its pronouns are all secondperson masculine singular, the Decalogue seems to address the adult men responsible for Israelite households
(as v. 17), with its stipulations otherwise applying to all people as appropriate. However, the masculine singular
sometimes represents both members of the conjugal pair (as v. 10; see Gen 2.24). 1: God spoke these words to
the people directly, not through Moses. 2: Divine self-identication and recapitulation of past benefaction
(see 19.4n.). 3: Worship of the Lord alone, without denying other deities; see 15.11n. 46: Imageless worship
of God distinguished Israelite religion from those of their neighbors. 5: To the . . . generation, transgenerational
110 | hebrew bible
exodus 20
love to the thousandth generationa of those
who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not make wrongful use of the
name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will
not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the sabbath day, and keep
it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all
your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath
to the Lord your God; you shall not do any
workyou, your son or your daughter, your
male or female slave, your livestock, or the
alien resident in your towns. For in six days
the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that is in them, but rested the seventh
day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath
day and consecrated it.
Honor your father and your mother, so
that your days may be long in the land that
the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.b
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbors
house; you shall not covet your neighbors
wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or

donkey, or anything that belongs to your
neighbor.
When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet,
and the mountain smoking, they were afraidc
and trembled and stood at a distance, and
said to Moses, You speak to us, and we will
listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we
will die. Moses said to the people, Do not
be afraid; for God has come only to test you
and to put the fear of him upon you so that
you do not sin. Then the people stood at a
distance, while Moses drew near to the thick
darkness where God was.
The Lord said to Moses: Thus you shall
say to the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves that I spoke with you from heaven.
You shall not make gods of silver alongside
me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of
gold. You need make for me only an altar of
earth and sacrice on it your burnt oerings
a Or to thousands
b Or kill
c Sam Gk Syr Vg: MT they saw
guilt (see 34.7; cf. Gen 15.16) is sometimes rejected (Jer 31.2930; Ezek 18). 7: As a metaphor for divine presence
(20.24; Deut 12.5; etc.), Gods name is potent and cannot be misused (as in false oaths, Jer 7.9). 811: The sabbath is to be holy (v. 8; the same Heb word is translated consecrated in v. 11), that is, distinct from other days
(see 16.2330n.), and is directed to God as creator (v. 11, as in the Priestly creation story [Gen 1.12.3; contrast
Deut 5.15]). Wife is omied from the otherwise inclusive list because she is included in you; see 20.117n. 12:
Parental authority, akin to that of God, likewise deserves honor (see 14.4n., where glory is from the same root
as honor, and 21.15,17n). 13: Murder is forbidden, but not killing in war or in capital punishment. 14: Adultery,
sexual intercourse between a man and a married or betrothed woman, is a grave oense (Lev 20.10; Deut 22.22)
because lineages could be compromised by this indelity. 15: The of both persons and property is prohibited;
the Hebrew word for kidnap (21.16) is the same as for steal. 16: Forbidding false witness is indicative of strong
concerns for justice (23.13). 17: Considered two separate words in some traditions, this prohibition addresses
the male head of household; see 20.117n.
20.1821: The Sinai account resumes, with the people insisting that Moses transmit Gods word. In the retelling of this in Deut 18.1522, he becomes the prototype of a true prophet. 18: Thunder . . . lightning . . . trumpet
. . . smoking, see 19.1619n. 19: Die, see 19.13n.
20.2223.33: Community regulations. This collection of legal materials, sometimes called the Book of the
Covenant (24.7) or Covenant Code or Covenant Collection (cf. Josh 24.26, book of the law [Heb torah]), is
diverse in content and form. Introductory instructions (20.2226) and a concluding narrative (23.2033) frame
a two-part enumeration of community rulings (ordinances) and rules (statutes). The rst part (21.122.17) consists mainly of casuistic materialscase laws with aached punishments. The second part (22.1823.19) comprises ethical or religious norms and exhortations typically expressed in apodictic or absolute form. These two
parts may reect the merging of ancient customary regulations with covenant-oriented materials.
20.2226: Introductory instructions are given in the second-person plural. The forbidden statues (see
20.45) made of costly silver and gold are contrasted with the simple, low altars of earth or unhewn stone for
sacricing to God, which (unlike the single place in Deuteronomic tradition; see Deut 12.514; etc.) can take
hebrew bible | 111
exodus 21
and your oerings of well-being, your sheep
and your oxen; in every place where I cause
my name to be remembered I will come to
you and bless you. But if you make for me
an altar of stone, do not build it of hewn
stones; for if you use a chisel upon it you
profane it. You shall not go up by steps to
my altar, so that your nakedness may not be
exposed on it.
These are the ordinances that you shall
set before them:
When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he
shall serve six years, but in the seventh he
shall go out a free person, without debt. If
he comes in single, he shall go out single; if
he comes in married, then his wife shall go
out with him. If his master gives him a wife
and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife
and her children shall be her masters and he
shall go out alone. But if the slave declares,
I love my master, my wife, and my children;
I will not go out a free person, then his
master shall bring him before God.a He shall
be brought to the door or the doorpost; and
his master shall pierce his ear with an awl;
and he shall serve him for life.
When a man sells his daughter as a slave,
she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If
she does not please her master, who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be
redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to
a foreign people, since he has dealt unfairly
with her. If he designates her for his son, he
shall deal with her as with a daughter. If he
21
takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish the food, clothing, or marital rights of
the rst wife.b And if he does not do these
three things for her, she shall go out without
debt, without payment of money.
Whoever strikes a person mortally shall
be put to death. If it was not premeditated,
but came about by an act of God, then I will
appoint for you a place to which the killer
may ee. But if someone willfully attacks
and kills another by treachery, you shall take
the killer from my altar for execution.
Whoever strikes father or mother shall
be put to death.
Whoever kidnaps a person, whether that
person has been sold or is still held in possession, shall be put to death.
Whoever curses father or mother shall
be put to death.
When individuals quarrel and one
strikes the other with a stone or st so
that the injured party, though not dead, is
conned to bed, but recovers and walks
around outside with the help of a sta, then
the assailant shall be free of liability, except
to pay for the loss of time, and to arrange for
full recovery.
When a slaveowner strikes a male or
female slave with a rod and the slave dies
immediately, the owner shall be punished.
But if the slave survives a day or two, there
a Or to the judges
b Heb of her
place wherever people invoke Gods name (presence); cf. 27.18. 26: Nakedness may not be exposed, probably
because undergarments were not normally worn; contrast 28.42.
21.122.20: Ordinances (rulings) and statutes (rules). In form and content, this section resembles other
ancient Near Eastern legal collections. It comprises four sections: two groups of rulings (ordinances, v. 1), beginning with when or if, on specic cases (21.111; 21.1822.17), and stringent rules (statutes) beginning with
whoever or you (21.1217; 22.1820).
21.211: Manumission regulations (cf. Deut 15.1218; Lev 25.3955) for indentured Israelite (Hebrew, v. 2;
see 1.15n.) servants, which provide procedures rather than penalties. 2: Buy, beer acquire. Slave, beer servant (and v. 7). Six years limits the duration of service. 56: The servant can irrevocably forego independence;
a physical mark involving lile trauma signies that status (v. 6). 6: Before God, probably either by swearing an
oath in Gods name or by holding this ceremony at a local sanctuary. 711: The rights of an indentured female
who becomes a wife in the household where she serves are established.
21.1232: Violence regulations include absolute rules for capital oenses (vv. 1217) and case rulings concerning assault on people by humans (1827) and animals (2832). 1214: Distinction between deliberate and
accidental homicide. 13: Place to . . . ee because the victims kin would seek revenge (cf. Num 35.12; Deut 4.41
43; 19.113; Josh 20). 15,17: Two rules supporting parental authority, probably over adult children in an extended
family (also Lev 20.9). 16: Kidnap, lit., steal; see 20.15n. 17: Curses had potency and were as serious as physi-
112 | hebrew bible
exodus 22
is no punishment; for the slave is the owners
property.
When people who are ghting injure a
pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the
one responsible shall be ned what the
womans husband demands, paying as much
as the judges determine. If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye
for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot
for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound,
stripe for stripe.
When a slaveowner strikes the eye of a
male or female slave, destroying it, the owner
shall let the slave go, a free person, to compensate for the eye. If the owner knocks out
a tooth of a male or female slave, the slave
shall be let go, a free person, to compensate
for the tooth.
When an ox gores a man or a woman to
death, the ox shall be stoned, and its esh
shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox
shall not be liable. If the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner
has been warned but has not restrained it,
and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall
be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to
death. If a ransom is imposed on the owner,
then the owner shall pay whatever is imposed
for the redemption of the victims life. If it
gores a boy or a girl, the owner shall be dealt
with according to this same rule. If the ox
gores a male or female slave, the owner shall
pay to the slaveowner thirty shekels of silver,
and the ox shall be stoned.
If someone leaves a pit open, or digs a pit
and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey
falls into it, the owner of the pit shall make
restitution, giving money to its owner, but
keeping the dead animal.
If someones ox hurts the ox of another,
so that it dies, then they shall sell the live
ox and divide the price of it; and the dead

animal they shall also divide. But if it was
known that the ox was accustomed to gore in
the past, and its owner has not restrained it,
the owner shall restore ox for ox, but keep the
dead animal.
a When someone steals an ox or a
sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, the
thief shall pay ve oxen for an ox, and four
sheep for a sheep.b The thief shall make restitution, but if unable to do so, shall be sold for
the theft. When the animal, whether ox or
donkey or sheep, is found alive in the thiefs
possession, the thief shall pay double.
c If a thief is found breaking in, and is
beaten to death, no bloodguilt is incurred;
but if it happens after sunrise, bloodguilt is
incurred.
When someone causes a eld or vineyard
to be grazed over, or lets livestock loose to
graze in someone elses eld, restitution shall
be made from the best in the owners eld or
vineyard.
When re breaks out and catches in
thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the eld is consumed, the one who
started the re shall make full restitution.
When someone delivers to a neighbor
money or goods for safekeeping, and they
are stolen from the neighbors house, then
the thief, if caught, shall pay double. If the
thief is not caught, the owner of the house
shall be brought before God,d to determine
whether or not the owner had laid hands on
the neighbors goods.
In any case of disputed ownership involving ox, donkey, sheep, clothing, or any other
22
a
b
c
d
Ch 21.37 in Heb
Verses 2, 3, and 4 rearranged thus: 3b, 4, 2, 3a
Ch 22.1 in Heb
Or before the judges
cal assault. 20: Slave, probably a non-Israelite (cf. vv. 21,32). 2227: Measure-for-measure punishment, or lex
talionis (Lev 24.1920; Deut 19.21) is a principle of fair treatment of assailants rather than a literal prescription
for retaliatory treatment in all cases; note that indemnity and compensation are sometimes acceptable (vv.
22,26,27). 2832: Goring ox cases mandate liability for accidental or negligent homicide. 32: A chael slave (as
in v. 21) rather than an indentured servant (as in vv. 211), because monetary value is assigned. A shekel weighed
about .4 oz (11.4 gm).
21.3322.15: Property and restitution, more case rulings. 21.3336: Compensation for death or injury to
animals because of negligence. 22.14: The of property (cf. 22.16n.). 1: Sold, to secure funds for the ne. 23:
Nighime the is more serious, presumably because the intruders intent is less clear. 56: Restitution for agri-
hebrew bible | 113
exodus 22
loss, of which one party says, This is mine,
the case of both parties shall come before
God;a the one whom God condemnsb shall
pay double to the other.
When someone delivers to another a
donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal for
safekeeping, and it dies or is injured or is carried o, without anyone seeing it, an oath
before the Lord shall decide between the two
of them that the one has not laid hands on the
property of the other; the owner shall accept
the oath, and no restitution shall be made.
But if it was stolen, restitution shall be made
to its owner. If it was mangled by beasts, let
it be brought as evidence; restitution shall not
be made for the mangled remains.
When someone borrows an animal from
another and it is injured or dies, the owner
not being present, full restitution shall be
made. If the owner was present, there shall
be no restitution; if it was hired, only the hiring fee is due.
When a man seduces a virgin who is not
engaged to be married, and lies with her, he
shall give the bride-price for her and make
her his wife. But if her father refuses to give
her to him, he shall pay an amount equal to
the bride-price for virgins.
You shall not permit a female sorcerer to
live.
Whoever lies with an animal shall be put
to death.
Whoever sacrices to any god, other
than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to
destruction.
You shall not wrong or oppress a resident

alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
You shall not abuse any widow or orphan.
If you do abuse them, when they cry out to
me, I will surely heed their cry; my wrath
will burn, and I will kill you with the sword,
and your wives shall become widows and
your children orphans.
If you lend money to my people, to the
poor among you, you shall not deal with them
as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from
them. If you take your neighbors cloak in
pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes
down; for it may be your neighbors only
clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that
person sleep? And if your neighbor cries out
to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate.
You shall not revile God, or curse a
leader of your people.
You shall not delay to make oerings
from the fullness of your harvest and from
the outow of your presses.c
The rstborn of your sons you shall give to
me. You shall do the same with your oxen
and with your sheep: seven days it shall remain with its mother; on the eighth day you
shall give it to me.
You shall be people consecrated to me;
therefore you shall not eat any meat that
is mangled by beasts in the eld; you shall
throw it to the dogs.
a Or before the judges
b Or the judges condemn
c Meaning of Heb uncertain
cultural damages caused by negligence. 715: Restitution for loss of property in anothers care. 911: Two cases
of judicial impasse. Disputes lacking evidence or witnesses are decided using unspecied priestly mechanisms;
cf. Num 5.1131.
22.1620: Social and religious stipulations, including one case ruling (22.1617) and three rules (22.1820).
1617: Consensual premarital sex obligates the man to marry the woman or compensate her father for the
decrease, because of her lost virginity, in the bride-price (beer marital gi) a future husband might pay. 16:
Seduces, not coerces, implying her consent. 1820: Like 21.1217, this second group of absolute rulesprohibiting sorcery (cf. Deut 18.1011), bestiality (cf. Lev 18.23; 20.1516; Deut 27.21), and apostasyare unequivocal and
involve capital punishment. 20: Devoted to destruction (execution) may also entail eradicating the oenders
family and conscating their property (Lev 27.2829).
22.2123.19. Ethical and religious exhortations and norms. The stipulations of the second part of the community regulations (see 20.2223.33n.) are mostly unconditional. Some concern social relationships and justice
(22.2127; 23.112) and the others present obligations to God (22.2831; 23.1319), thus linking humanitarian
and religious maers. 22.2127: Concern for the disadvantaged appears repeatedly in the Pentateuch (e.g.,
23.6,912; Lev 19.3334; 23.22; Deut 1.16; 10.1819; 24.1722). 2831: Several religious maers: prohibitions (vv.
28,31) and prescriptions (vv. 2930). 28: Cf. Lev 24.1516; 1 Kings 21.10,13. 2930: See 13.2.n.; 34.1920; Num
114 | hebrew bible
exodus 23
23
You shall not spread a false report.

You shall not join hands with the
wicked to act as a malicious witness. You
shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing;
when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall
not side with the majority so as to pervert
justice; nor shall you be partial to the poor
in a lawsuit.
When you come upon your enemys ox or
donkey going astray, you shall bring it back.
When you see the donkey of one who
hates you lying under its burden and you
would hold back from setting it free, you
must help to set it free.a
You shall not pervert the justice due to
your poor in their lawsuits. Keep far from
a false charge, and do not kill the innocent
and those in the right, for I will not acquit the
guilty. You shall take no bribe, for a bribe
blinds the ocials, and subverts the cause of
those who are in the right.
You shall not oppress a resident alien;
you know the heart of an alien, for you were
aliens in the land of Egypt.
For six years you shall sow your land and
gather in its yield; but the seventh year you
shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor
of your people may eat; and what they leave
the wild animals may eat. You shall do the
same with your vineyard, and with your olive
orchard.
Six days you shall do your work, but on
the seventh day you shall rest, so that your
ox and your donkey may have relief, and
your homeborn slave and the resident alien
may be refreshed. Be attentive to all that I
have said to you. Do not invoke the names of
other gods; do not let them be heard on your

lips.
Three times in the year you shall hold
a festival for me. You shall observe the
festival of unleavened bread; as I commanded
you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven
days at the appointed time in the month of
Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt.
No one shall appear before me emptyhanded.
You shall observe the festival of harvest,
of the rst fruits of your labor, of what you
sow in the eld. You shall observe the festival
of ingathering at the end of the year, when
you gather in from the eld the fruit of your
labor. Three times in the year all your males
shall appear before the Lord God.
You shall not oer the blood of my sacrice with anything leavened, or let the fat of
my festival remain until the morning.
The choicest of the rst fruits of your
ground you shall bring into the house of the
Lord your God.
You shall not boil a kid in its mothers
milk.
I am going to send an angel in front of
you, to guard you on the way and to bring
you to the place that I have prepared. Be
attentive to him and listen to his voice;
do not rebel against him, for he will not
pardon your transgression; for my name is
in him.
But if you listen attentively to his voice
and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy
to your enemies and a foe to your foes.
18.27. 31: Consecrated (lit., holy), see 19.6n. Elsewhere, to be edible animals must be drained of their blood (Lev
7.24; 17.1315). 23.112: Judicial integrity (vv. 13,68) and the protection of animals and marginal groups (vv.
45,6,912). 13: 20.16; Lev 19.12,15; Deut 19.1519. 45: Cf. Deut 22.14. 69: See 22.2127n. 1012: A seventhyear agricultural hiatus favors the poor; and the seventh-day rest (see 16.2330n.) benets animals, servants,
and foreigners. 1319: Obligations to God. 13: See 15.11n; 20.3. 1419a: The three major agricultural festivals (cf.
34.2223)unleavened bread (linked to passover and the Exodus; see 12.15n.); harvest, or rst fruits, also called
Shavuot or Festival of Weeks (34.22,26; Lev 23.1521; Deut 16.912); ingathering, also called Sukkot or Festival
of Booths (Lev 23.3343; Deut 16.1315). 17: All your males; cf. Deut 31.1112. Before the Lord God, presumably
wherever there is an altar (20.2226n.); cf. Deut 16.2,6,7,11,15,16, which stipulates pilgrimage to one place, presumably Jerusalem. 18: The blood prohibition probably applies to all sacrices, not just festival ones. Until the
morning, cf. 12.8. 19a: House, a general designation for a shrine (Gen 28.22). 19b: Milk, perhaps fat, prohibiting
the slaughter of the kids mother to protect its breeding potential (also 34.26; Deut 14.21).
23.2033: The Sinai narrative resumes with further divine promises and admonitions. 2023: The angel (lit.,
messenger) represents Gods presence (see 3.2n.) as does Gods name. 22: Enemy . . . foes employs Near East-
hebrew bible | 115
exodus 24
When my angel goes in front of you, and
brings you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the
Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and
the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall
not bow down to their gods, or worship them,
or follow their practices, but you shall utterly
demolish them and break their pillars in pieces. You shall worship the Lord your God,
and Ia will bless your bread and your water;
and I will take sickness away from among you.
No one shall miscarry or be barren in your
land; I will fulll the number of your days. I
will send my terror in front of you, and will
throw into confusion all the people against
whom you shall come, and I will make all your
enemies turn their backs to you. And I will
send the pestilenceb in front of you, which
shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites,
and the Hittites from before you. I will not
drive them out from before you in one year, or
the land would become desolate and the wild
animals would multiply against you. Little
by little I will drive them out from before you,
until you have increased and possess the land.
I will set your borders from the Red Seac to
the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates; for I will hand over to
you the inhabitants of the land, and you shall
drive them out before you. You shall make
no covenant with them and their gods. They
shall not live in your land, or they will make
you sin against me; for if you worship their
gods, it will surely be a snare to you.
24
Then he said to Moses, Come up to

the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and
Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
and worship at a distance. Moses alone shall
come near the Lord; but the others shall not
come near, and the people shall not come up
with him.
Moses came and told the people all the
words of the Lord and all the ordinances;
and all the people answered with one voice,
and said, All the words that the Lord has
spoken we will do. And Moses wrote down
all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the
morning, and built an altar at the foot of the
mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. He
sent young men of the people of Israel, who
oered burnt oerings and sacriced oxen as
oerings of well-being to the Lord. Moses
took half of the blood and put it in basins,
and half of the blood he dashed against the
altar. Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people;
and they said, All that the Lord has spoken
we will do, and we will be obedient. Moses
took the blood and dashed it on the people,
and said, See the blood of the covenant that
the Lord has made with you in accordance
with all these words.
a Gk Vg: Heb he
b Or hornets: Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Or Sea of Reeds
ern treaty language. 2333: Cf. 34.1117. 23,28: See 3.8n. 24: Cf. 20.3; 23.13. Pillars, upright stones sometimes
acceptable, when signifying social or political groups (24.4) or embodying Gods presence (Gen 28.1622), but
otherwise considered idolatrous (34.13; Lev 26.1; Deut 12.3, etc.). 2526: Sustenance and progeny are the blessings produced by covenant fealty (Lev 26.310; Deut 28.16). 2730: The indigenous inhabitants of the land are
driven away; using holy war language; other passages say they are to be exterminated (e.g., Deut 7.2; Josh
1011). 31: This territorial delineation is one of several traditions about the extent of the land (e.g., Gen 15.18;
Num 34.112). The sea of the Philistines, the Mediterranean. 3233: Their gods, see 15.11n.
24.118: Theophanies and covenant ceremonies. Repetitive or conicting details again (see 19.125n.) indicate a composite narrative about Gods appearanceto Moses and the leaders (vv. 12,911), and to Moses
alone (vv. 1218). Covenant ratication rituals are known from ancient Near Eastern documents. 12: Several
zones of sanctity are implied; see 19.2025n. 1: Nadab and Abihu, 6.23. 38: Covenant ceremony. 3: Words and
ordinances, referring to the Decalogue (see 20.117n.) and community rulings (see 20.2223.33n.); cf. Josh 24.25.
One voice, unanimous agreement, as in 19.8. 4: Moses wrote, see 24.12n. Pillars, see 23.24n. 5: Burnt oerings
. . . oerings of well-being (cf. 18.12), the former burned entirely with the rising smoke constituting Gods portion (Lev 1) and the laer providing food for the participants (Deut 27.67); a ceremonial feast is implied (cf. v.
11). Celebratory repasts are vehicles for creating relationships between the parties (here, God and the people)
sharing the meal; see also 18.12n. 68: Another ratication ritual draws on the life-death quality of blood (see
22.31n.); throwing half on the people and half on the altar (for God, as 20.24) serves to bind the two parties. 7:
116 | hebrew bible
exodus 25
Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went
up, and they saw the God of Israel. Under
his feet there was something like a pavement
of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for
clearness. Goda did not lay his hand on the
chief men of the people of Israel; also they
beheld God, and they ate and drank.
The Lord said to Moses, Come up to me
on the mountain, and wait there; and I will
give you the tablets of stone, with the law and
the commandment, which I have written for
their instruction. So Moses set out with his
assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the
mountain of God. To the elders he had said,
Wait here for us, until we come to you again;
for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has
a dispute may go to them.
Then Moses went up on the mountain,
and the cloud covered the mountain. The
glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai,

and the cloud covered it for six days; on the
seventh day he called to Moses out of the
cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of
the Lord was like a devouring re on the top
of the mountain in the sight of the people
of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and
went up on the mountain. Moses was on the
mountain for forty days and forty nights.
The Lord said to Moses: Tell the
Israelites to take for me an oering; from all whose hearts prompt them to
give you shall receive the oering for me.
This is the oering that you shall receive
from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue,
purple, and crimson yarns and ne linen,
goats hair, tanned rams skins, ne leather,b
25
a Heb He
Book of the covenant, see 19.8n. 8: On the people, perhaps on the pillars (v. 4) representing them. 911: Partway up
the mountain (continuing from vv. 12), the leaders too partake of a ceremonial meal and, despite the danger
(see 3.6n.), have a visual experience of God. 10: Sapphire, cf. Ezek 1.26. 1218: The theophany to Moses alone
in the holiest zone will resume in the golden calf episode of 31.1834.35. 12: Tablets, probably two (31.18; 32.15);
important documents were thus recorded. I have wrien (also 31.18; 32.16; 34.1; Deut 9.10) has God writing the
document; contrast 24.4; 34.2728. 1314: Joshua and Hur each appear for the second time (17.910). 1517:
Cloud and re, see 3.2n. and 19.1619n. Glory of the Lord, see 16.7n. 15: Covered, see 40.34n. 16: Seled, beer
dwelled, uses the same Heb root as the noun for Gods wilderness dwelling, the tabernacle; see 25.9n.
Chs 2540: Building the tabernacle and receiving a new covenant. The remaining chapters of Exodus have
as their main focus the construction of the tabernacle as an earthly home for God. Directions for building the
portable wilderness shrine (25.127.21; 30.131.18) and for clothing and inaugurating the priests who would be
custodians of the shrine and its rituals (28.129.46) are followed by an account of how the directions are carried
out so that the divine presence can enter (35.140.38). Much of the information in the second section is exactly
the same as in the rst, although the internal order diers. Between the two sections comes the golden calf
episode (chs 3234), which results in a restored covenant.
25.131.18: Instructions for building the tabernacle and inaugurating the priesthood. Unlike religious edices today, which are places for people to enter and worship, temples and shrines in the ancient world were
considered earthly residences for deities (see 25.8) and were o-limits for most humans. They were costly,
well-furnished structures, being their divine occupants. Although a modest tent shrine, perhaps reected
in the designation tent of meeting (see 27.21n.), would have been possible, the elaborate and costly structure
of Exodus likely draws in part from knowledge of the Jerusalem Temple. Like Mount Sinai (and the Jerusalem
Temple), the portable wilderness shrine of the Israelites would have three zones of sanctity; see 19.2025n. Following an introduction (25.19) and instructions for making its sacred furnishings (25.1040), come directions
for making the structure itself (ch 26) and then its courtyard and altar (27.119); an addendum prescribes lamp
oil (27.2021). A concluding section (28.131.18) gives instructions for the priestly vestments (ch 28) and for
consecrating the priests (ch 29), and ends with Gods announcing the two chief artisans and calling for sabbath
observance (ch 31).
25.19: Introduction: the materials (also 35.429). Seven kinds of substances (metals, yarn, skins,
wood, oil, spices, and gemstones) signify the totality of supplies. 2: Offering . . . hearts, indicating that
materials for the shrine will come from donations, not taxes. 3: Three precious metals for components
will be used according to the three zones of sanctity (see 19.2025n.), with gold for those most holy or
hebrew bible | 117
exodus 25
N
W
E
S
100 cubits
Tabernacle/Tent of Meeting
(on frame of boards [gold])
Holy of Holies
15 cubits
Holy Place
10 cu
20 cu
Curtain
Curtain
10 cu.
Table (gold)
50 cubits
20 cubits
Ark
(gold)
Incense
altar
(gold)
Veil
Lampstand
(gold)
Laver
(bronze)
Altar of
Holocausts
(bronze)
15 cubits
Columns (bronze)
Court of the Tabernacle
Chs 2531; 3639: The structure of the Tabernacle as described in the book of Exodus.
acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the

anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,
onyx stones and gems to be set in the ephod
and for the breastpiece. And have them
make me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell
among them. In accordance with all that I
show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and of all its furniture, so you shall
make it.
They shall make an ark of acacia wood;
it shall be two and a half cubits long, a cubit
and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.

You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside
and outside you shall overlay it, and you
shall make a molding of gold upon it all
around. You shall cast four rings of gold for
it and put them on its four feet, two rings on
the one side of it, and two rings on the other
side. You shall make poles of acacia wood,
and overlay them with gold. And you shall
put the poles into the rings on the sides of
the ark, by which to carry the ark. The
closest to the most holy and bronze for the least holy. 8: Sanctuary, see 15.17n. Dwell among them, indicating that the shrine will be Gods earthly residence (see 25.131.17n.). The Hebrew term for dwell denotes a
portable presence rather than one tied to a fixed location. 9: Pattern likely designates the heavenly abode
after which the earthly one is to be modeled (see 3.8n.). Tabernacle is a noun formed from the Hebrew
verb to dwell (see 25.8n.) and suggests Gods indwelling presence. Used fifty-eight times in the book
of Exodus, here it refers to the entire sacred complex; in other passages (e.g., 26.1) it denotes just the
tent structure.
25.1040: Interior furnishings. The most holy item, the gold-covered ark (vv. 1022), will be situated in the
inner sanctum. Three more gold itemstable (vv. 2330), lampstand (vv. 3140), and incense altar (which is not
prescribed in this section; see 30.110)will be near the ark, in the main room of the shrine.
25.1022: The ark and its cover (also 37.19). A gilded chest that will contain the sacred covenant document, the ark has a lid surmounted by winged creatures over which Gods invisible presence rests. In ancient
Israels aniconic tradition, the ark comes closest to a physical symbol of God (see 1 Sam 4.4; 2 Sam 6.2). 10: Its
size (ca. 114 69 69 cm = 45 27 27 in) is similar to that of chests known from ancient Egypt for keeping
valuables. 1215: Rings and poles for transport are also known from ancient Egypt. 16: The Hebrew word for
covenant here (edut; see 2.24n.) is favored by the Priestly writer; perhaps referring to the tablets of 24.12,
118 | hebrew bible
exodus 25
poles shall remain in the rings of the ark;
they shall not be taken from it. You shall
put into the ark the covenanta that I shall
give you.
Then you shall make a mercy seatb of
pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its
length, and a cubit and a half its width. You
shall make two cherubim of gold; you shall
make them of hammered work, at the two
ends of the mercy seat.c Make one cherub
at the one end, and one cherub at the other;
of one piece with the mercy seatc you shall
make the cherubim at its two ends. The
cherubim shall spread out their wings above,
overshadowing the mercy seatc with their
wings. They shall face one to another; the
faces of the cherubim shall be turned toward
the mercy seat.c You shall put the mercy
seatc on the top of the ark; and in the ark you
shall put the covenanta that I shall give you.
There I will meet with you, and from above
the mercy seat,c from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the covenant,a I
will deliver to you all my commands for the
Israelites.
You shall make a table of acacia wood,
two cubits long, one cubit wide, and a cubit
and a half high. You shall overlay it with
pure gold, and make a molding of gold
around it. You shall make around it a rim
a handbreadth wide, and a molding of gold
around the rim. You shall make for it four
rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the
four corners at its four legs. The rings that

hold the poles used for carrying the table
shall be close to the rim. You shall make
the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them
with gold, and the table shall be carried with
these. You shall make its plates and dishes
for incense, and its agons and bowls with
which to pour drink oerings; you shall
make them of pure gold. And you shall set
the bread of the Presence on the table before
me always.
You shall make a lampstand of pure
gold. The base and the shaft of the lampstand shall be made of hammered work;
its cups, its calyxes, and its petals shall be
of one piece with it; and there shall be
six branches going out of its sides, three
branches of the lampstand out of one
side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; three
cups shaped like almond blossoms, each
with calyx and petals, on one branch, and
three cups shaped like almond blossoms,
each with calyx and petals, on the other
branchso for the six branches going out
of the lampstand. On the lampstand itself
a Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth

b Or a cover
c Or the cover
it is similar to the word for meet, thus signifying the role of the ark as a place for oracular revelations (v. 22;
29.4243; 33.710) and alluding to another name for the tabernacle, tent of meeting (see 27.21n.). 1722:
The arks cover (mercy seat) features imaginary composite beings (cherubim) whose wings form the throne,
with the ark as its footstool, on which Gods invisible presence rests (1 Sam 4.4; 1 Chr 28.2; Pss 99.1,5; 132.7);
see 16.34n. Such composite gures as components of thrones are known from ancient Near Eastern art. 22:
Meet, see v. 16n.
25.2330: The table (also 37.1016; cf. 1 Kings 7.48) is the repository for sacred vessels and for the bread offering. A dwelling place for a deity, as for humans, needs a table for food. Bread and libations (and animals) are
among the comestibles brought to God, though elsewhere the Torah makes it clear that the priests, not God
consume the bread (Lev 24.59). 23: Its dimensions (1 .5 m = 36 18 in; height: .75 m = 27 in) are similar to
those of oering tables depicted in ancient Near Eastern art. 2728: Its rings and poles provide portability. 29:
Incense, see 30.3438. 30: Bread of the Presence, or bread [set] before [God], refers to loaves oered to God on
the sabbath.
25.3140: The lampstand (Heb menorah; also 37.1724) will hold oil lamps for illuminating Gods dwelling (cf. the ten lampstands of the Jerusalem Temple, 1 Kings 7.49). No dimensions are provided. The wealth
of botanical terms (branches, calyxes, almond blossoms, petals) suggests that in shape and decoration, it
represented a sacred tree and perhaps even God as source of fertility (see 3.2n.). 31: Base and sha together
denote a cylindrical stand ared at the boom. 37: Seven lamps, perhaps one on each branch; otherwise, a
hebrew bible | 119
exodus 26
there shall be four cups shaped like almond
blossoms, each with its calyxes and petals.
There shall be a calyx of one piece with
it under the first pair of branches, a calyx
of one piece with it under the next pair of
branches, and a calyx of one piece with it
under the last pair of branchesso for the
six branches that go out of the lampstand.
Their calyxes and their branches shall
be of one piece with it, the whole of it one
hammered piece of pure gold. You shall
make the seven lamps for it; and the lamps
shall be set up so as to give light on the
space in front of it. Its snuffers and trays
shall be of pure gold. It, and all these
utensils, shall be made from a talent of
pure gold. And see that you make them
according to the pattern for them, which is
being shown you on the mountain.
Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of ne
twisted linen, and blue, purple, and crimson
yarns; you shall make them with cherubim
skillfully worked into them. The length of
each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits,
and the width of each curtain four cubits; all
the curtains shall be of the same size. Five
curtains shall be joined to one another; and
the other ve curtains shall be joined to
one another. You shall make loops of blue
on the edge of the outermost curtain in the
rst set; and likewise you shall make loops
on the edge of the outermost curtain in the
second set. You shall make fty loops on
the one curtain, and you shall make fty
loops on the edge of the curtain that is in
the second set; the loops shall be opposite
one another. You shall make fty clasps of
gold, and join the curtains to one another
with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may
be one whole.
26
You shall also make curtains of goats hair

for a tent over the tabernacle; you shall make
eleven curtains. The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of
each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains
shall be of the same size. You shall join ve
curtains by themselves, and six curtains by
themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall
double over at the front of the tent. You
shall make fty loops on the edge of the
curtain that is outermost in one set, and fty
loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.
You shall make fty clasps of bronze, and
put the clasps into the loops, and join the tent
together, so that it may be one whole. The
part that remains of the curtains of the tent,
the half curtain that remains, shall hang over
the back of the tabernacle. The cubit on the
one side, and the cubit on the other side, of
what remains in the length of the curtains of
the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and that side, to cover
it. You shall make for the tent a covering of
tanned rams skins and an outer covering of
ne leather.a
You shall make upright frames of acacia
wood for the tabernacle. Ten cubits shall be
the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half
the width of each frame. There shall be two
pegs in each frame to t the frames together;
you shall make these for all the frames of
the tabernacle. You shall make the frames
for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the
south side; and you shall make forty bases
of silver under the twenty frames, two bases
under the rst frame for its two pegs, and two
bases under the next frame for its two pegs;
and for the second side of the tabernacle,
single lamp in the middle (see 27.20n.; Lev 24.2). 39: A talent, or 3,000 shekels, is about 34 kg = 75.5 lb. 40:
Paern, see 25.9n.
26.137: The tabernacle structure (also 36.838). The tent itself consists of coverings (vv. 114), frames (vv.
1530), and textile partitions (3137) that form two interior spaces: the most holy place for the ark, and the holy
place where the furnishings will be placed. 114: Coverings. The tentlike structure will be formed with two fabric layerspanels of linen and tricolored wools decorated with cherubim (see 25.1722n.), and unadorned goat
hair panelscovered with two layers of animal skins (v. 14). 1: Tabernacle, referring to the tent itself; see 25.9n.
Linen renders an Egyptian term for a luxury fabric. Blue, purple, and crimson were the most costly and highly
prized dyes. 1530: Frames. A complex system of wooden boards and bars, with metal fastenings and bases,
will form frames for the hangings. The information is incomplete, with the exact size and manner of assembly
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on the north side twenty frames, and their
forty bases of silver, two bases under the rst
frame, and two bases under the next frame;
and for the rear of the tabernacle westward
you shall make six frames. You shall make
two frames for corners of the tabernacle in
the rear; they shall be separate beneath, but
joined at the top, at the rst ring; it shall be
the same with both of them; they shall form
the two corners. And so there shall be eight
frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen
bases; two bases under the rst frame, and
two bases under the next frame.
You shall make bars of acacia wood, ve
for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, and ve bars for the frames of the
other side of the tabernacle, and ve bars for
the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the
rear westward. The middle bar, halfway up
the frames, shall pass through from end to
end. You shall overlay the frames with gold,
and shall make their rings of gold to hold the
bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold.
Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on
the mountain.
You shall make a curtain of blue, purple,
and crimson yarns, and of ne twisted linen;
it shall be made with cherubim skillfully
worked into it. You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, which have
hooks of gold and rest on four bases of silver.
You shall hang the curtain under the clasps,
and bring the ark of the covenanta in there,
within the curtain; and the curtain shall
separate for you the holy place from the most
holy. You shall put the mercy seatb on the
ark of the covenanta in the most holy place.
You shall set the table outside the curtain,

and the lampstand on the south side of the
tabernacle opposite the table; and you shall
put the table on the north side.
You shall make a screen for the entrance
of the tent, of blue, purple, and crimson
yarns, and of ne twisted linen, embroidered
with needlework. You shall make for the
screen ve pillars of acacia, and overlay them
with gold; their hooks shall be of gold, and
you shall cast ve bases of bronze for them.
You shall make the altar of acacia
wood, ve cubits long and ve cubits
wide; the altar shall be square, and it shall be
three cubits high. You shall make horns for
it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one
piece with it, and you shall overlay it with
bronze. You shall make pots for it to receive
its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks
and repans; you shall make all its utensils of
bronze. You shall also make for it a grating,
a network of bronze; and on the net you shall
make four bronze rings at its four corners.
You shall set it under the ledge of the altar
so that the net shall extend halfway down
the altar. You shall make poles for the altar,
poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with
bronze; the poles shall be put through the
rings, so that the poles shall be on the two
sides of the altar when it is carried. You shall
make it hollow, with boards. They shall be
made just as you were shown on the mountain.
You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have
27

b Or the cover
remaining conjectural. But the tent is clearly rectangular and measures ca. 13.8 4.6 m = 45 15 . 3137: Partitions. A textile curtain with cherubim decorations (see 25.1722n.) will subdivide the interior space into two
zones of holiness (v. 33), and a textile panel will form the entrance; both will be made of linen and tricolored
wool (see 26.114n.). 33: Most holy [place], or inner sanctuary (1 Kings 6.16).
27.119: The courtyard and its altar (also 38.120). Directions for making the courtyard altar (27.18) precede
instructions for making the enclosure wall, ca. 2.3 m. = 7.5 high, forming a courtyard (27.919) measuring ca.
45.7 22.9 m = 150 75 . 18: Altar. The sole courtyard appurtenance in this passage (see 30.1721 for the
courtyard basin) is the large and elaborate altar (ca. 7.5 7.5 4.5 = 2.3 2.3 1.4 m); contrast the earthen
altar of 20.2426. 2: Horns, quarter-round pieces, on the corners (as for the incense altar, 30.2), are aested in
many excavated examples; they are used in the ritual of 29.12. 919: Enclosure. As the least sacred zone, the
courtyard will have unadorned textiles and metal ings and utensils mainly of bronze; the linen panel for the
entrance, however, will be decorated with tricolored wool (see 26.1n.). The location of the tent within the court
is unspecied.
hebrew bible | 121
exodus 28
hangings of ne twisted linen one hundred
cubits long for that side; its twenty pillars
and their twenty bases shall be of bronze,
but the hooks of the pillars and their bands
shall be of silver. Likewise for its length on
the north side there shall be hangings one
hundred cubits long, their pillars twenty and
their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks
of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver.
For the width of the court on the west side
there shall be fty cubits of hangings, with
ten pillars and ten bases. The width of the
court on the front to the east shall be fty
cubits. There shall be fteen cubits of hangings on the one side, with three pillars and
three bases. There shall be fteen cubits of
hangings on the other side, with three pillars
and three bases. For the gate of the court
there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, of
blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of ne
twisted linen, embroidered with needlework;
it shall have four pillars and with them four
bases. All the pillars around the court shall
be banded with silver; their hooks shall be of
silver, and their bases of bronze. The length
of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the
width fty, and the height ve cubits, with
hangings of ne twisted linen and bases of
bronze. All the utensils of the tabernacle for
every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of
the court, shall be of bronze.
You shall further command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of beaten olives
for the light, so that a lamp may be set up
to burn regularly. In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that is before the
covenant,a Aaron and his sons shall tend it
from evening to morning before the Lord. It
shall be a perpetual ordinance to be observed throughout their generations by the
Israelites.
Then bring near to you your brother
Aaron, and his sons with him, from
among the Israelites, to serve me as priests
Aaron and Aarons sons, Nadab and Abihu,
Eleazar and Ithamar. You shall make sacred
vestments for the glorious adornment of your
brother Aaron. And you shall speak to all
who have ability, whom I have endowed with
skill, that they make Aarons vestments to
consecrate him for my priesthood. These are
the vestments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a
turban, and a sash. When they make these
sacred vestments for your brother Aaron and
his sons to serve me as priests, they shall
use gold, blue, purple, and crimson yarns,
and ne linen.
They shall make the ephod of gold, of
28
27.2021: Lamp oil (also 35.8,28). 20: A single lamp may belong to the tradition that uses tent of meeting
for the wilderness shrine; see v. 21n. (cf. 25.37n.). Regularly probably means perpetually; light symbolizing
divine presence will always be there. 21: Tent of meeting, designating the place where the Israelites or their
representatives meet God, is used thirty-four times in the book of Exodus to refer to the tent-shrine (see
25.16n.); it may reect a tradition that is separate from and older than that of texts using tabernacle (see
25.9n). Covenant, perhaps elliptical for ark [or tablets] of the covenant. Aaron appears for the rst time in
the tabernacle texts.
28.143: Vestments for the priests (also 39.131). Aer an introduction (vv. 15), the focus is on Aarons apparel (vv. 639) with less aention to the garb of his sons, who were second-tier priests (vv. 4043). No title is
given for Aaron in the Pentateuch; the titles high priest (as Hag 1.12; Zech 3.1) or chief priest (2 Kings 25.18)
are in non-Torah texts only. 15: Introduction. The priestly lineage is announced, followed by a summary of
the six prescribed vestments for which fabric of linen and tricolored wool is to be used. 1: See the genealogy
of 6.1625, especially v. 23. Aaron has appeared frequently, but the term priest is rst used here. 2: Sacred, better holy, because they are worn in and correspond to the holy space of the shrine. 3: All . . . ability, including
women; see 35.429n. 5: Sumptuous fabrics, like those of the holy space of the shrine; see 26.1n. 639: Aarons
garments. The rst twoephod (vv. 614) and breastpiece (vv. 1530)and possibly the fourth (turban) have
ritual functions; the othersrobe (vv. 3135), turban (vv. 3638), tunic (v. 39), and sash (v. 39)are opulent
garments like those clothing royalty and statues of the gods in Near Eastern shrines. 614: The somewhat
enigmatic ephod (contrast other biblical uses, e.g., Judg 8.27; 1 Sam 2.18; 14.3) is a ceremonial garment like a bib
or apron, adorned with engraved stones (vv. 912) representing the Israelite tribes. Oracles from God to the
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twisted linen, skillfully worked. It shall
have two shoulder-pieces attached to its
two edges, so that it may be joined together.
The decorated band on it shall be of the
same workmanship and materials, of gold,
of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of
ne twisted linen. You shall take two onyx
stones, and engrave on them the names of
the sons of Israel, six of their names on the
one stone, and the names of the remaining
six on the other stone, in the order of their
birth. As a gem-cutter engraves signets, so
you shall engrave the two stones with the
names of the sons of Israel; you shall mount
them in settings of gold ligree. You shall
set the two stones on the shoulder-pieces
of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for
the sons of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their
names before the Lord on his two shoulders
for remembrance. You shall make settings
of gold ligree, and two chains of pure gold,
twisted like cords; and you shall attach the
corded chains to the settings.
You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work; you shall make it in
the style of the ephod; of gold, of blue and
purple and crimson yarns, and of ne twisted
linen you shall make it. It shall be square
and doubled, a span in length and a span in
width. You shall set in it four rows of stones.
A row of carnelian,a chrysolite, and emerald
shall be the rst row; and the second row
a turquoise, a sapphire,b and a moonstone;
and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and
an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, an
onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold
ligree. There shall be twelve stones with
names corresponding to the names of the
sons of Israel; they shall be like signets, each
engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.
You shall make for the breastpiece chains
of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you
shall make for the breastpiece two rings of

gold, and put the two rings on the two edges
of the breastpiece. You shall put the two
cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of
the breastpiece; the two ends of the two
cords you shall attach to the two settings, and
so attach it in front to the shoulder-pieces
of the ephod. You shall make two rings of
gold, and put them at the two ends of the
breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the
ephod. You shall make two rings of gold,
and attach them in front to the lower part
of the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod, at
its joining above the decorated band of the
ephod. The breastpiece shall be bound by
its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue
cord, so that it may lie on the decorated band
of the ephod, and so that the breastpiece
shall not come loose from the ephod. So
Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of
Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his
heart when he goes into the holy place, for a
continual remembrance before the Lord. In
the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the
Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be
on Aarons heart when he goes in before the
Lord; thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of
the Israelites on his heart before the Lord
continually.
You shall make the robe of the ephod
all of blue. It shall have an opening for the
head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a
coat of mail,c so that it may not be torn. On
its lower hem you shall make pomegranates
of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, all around
the lower hem, with bells of gold between
them all around a golden bell and a
a The identity of several of these stones is uncertain
b Or lapis lazuli
priest (v. 30) would thus be given to all Israelites. 1530: Just as enigmatic in design, despite or because of its
detailed presentation, is the breastpiece of judgment. Like the ephod to which it is aached, it has gemstones
(twelve of them) representing the Israelite tribes (vv. 1721). Also, it has a pouch for the Urim and Thummim (v.
30), whose exact meaning and mode of functioning are uncertain. They are specially marked pebbles or rocks
cast or thrown to secure divine decisions, a form of divination. Set close to its wearers heart, the site of intellect and wisdom, the breastpiece was to be used in seeking divine judgment on maers brought to God by the
chief priestly ocial. 3135: The robe is adorned at its hem with tricolor woolen pomegranates, like the tassels
appearing in iconographic representations of the clothing of deities and royalty in the ancient Near East. The
golden bells at the hem bring the auditory sense into the shrine; the jingling was perhaps apotropaic as the
hebrew bible | 123
exodus 29
pomegranate alternating all around the lower
hem of the robe. Aaron shall wear it when
he ministers, and its sound shall be heard
when he goes into the holy place before the
Lord, and when he comes out, so that he may
not die.
You shall make a rosette of pure gold,
and engrave on it, like the engraving of a
signet, Holy to the Lord. You shall fasten
it on the turban with a blue cord; it shall be
on the front of the turban. It shall be on
Aarons forehead, and Aaron shall take on
himself any guilt incurred in the holy oering
that the Israelites consecrate as their sacred
donations; it shall always be on his forehead,
in order that they may nd favor before the
Lord.
You shall make the checkered tunic of
ne linen, and you shall make a turban of
ne linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.
For Aarons sons you shall make tunics
and sashes and headdresses; you shall make
them for their glorious adornment. You
shall put them on your brother Aaron, and
on his sons with him, and shall anoint them
and ordain them and consecrate them, so
that they may serve me as priests. You
shall make for them linen undergarments
to cover their naked esh; they shall reach
from the hips to the thighs; Aaron and his
sons shall wear them when they go into the
tent of meeting, or when they come near the
altar to minister in the holy place; or they will

bring guilt on themselves and die. This shall
be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his
descendants after him.
Now this is what you shall do to them
to consecrate them, so that they may
serve me as priests. Take one young bull and
two rams without blemish, and unleavened
bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and
unleavened wafers spread with oil. You shall
make them of choice wheat our. You shall
put them in one basket and bring them in the
basket, and bring the bull and the two rams.
You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the
entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash
them with water. Then you shall take the
vestments, and put on Aaron the tunic and
the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the
breastpiece, and gird him with the decorated
band of the ephod; and you shall set the
turban on his head, and put the holy diadem
on the turban. You shall take the anointing
oil, and pour it on his head and anoint him.
Then you shall bring his sons, and put tunics on them, and you shall gird them with
sashesa and tie headdresses on them; and
the priesthood shall be theirs by a perpetual
ordinance. You shall then ordain Aaron and
his sons.
You shall bring the bull in front of the
tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons shall lay
29
a Gk: Heb sashes, Aaron and his sons
priest approached the dangerous, most holy zone (v. 35; see 3.6n.; 19.13n.; 30.7n.). 3638: The headpiece was to
be a turban (also v. 39) notable for its golden rosee (and also a crown; see diadem, 29.6). The rosees engraved
words were perhaps part of a ritual purifying the priest and thus protecting him as he approached the perfect
(and dangerous) purity of Gods presence; see preceding note. 39: An embroidered sash and a checkered (more
likely, fringed) tunic complete the vestments for Aaron. 4043: Vestments for other priests, less elaborate
and costly than those for Aaron. 42: Undergarments, see 20.26n. 43: Perpetual . . . descendants, that is, the hereditary priestly lineage.
29.146: Consecration of the priests. The authority of priests derives from the installation rites they undergo as well as from the symbolic garments they wear. The rites are set forth (vv. 137), followed by instructions
for a regular sacrice (vv. 3843) and then a nal summation (vv. 4446). 137: Installation procedures (also Lev
8), which will last seven days and are performed by Moses acting as priest, comprise three rites and the sacrice of three animals for expiatory and puricatory purposes. 19: Three riteswashing, dressing, anointing.
1: Consecrate (to make holy) appears seven times in this chapter. 4: Wash, see 19.10n. 7: Anointing Aaron (but
not his sons; contrast 28.41; 30.30) is a symbolic procedure marking transition to a new status (as for royalty,
1 Sam 24.6); here it gives priests the requisite holiness for entering the tabernacles holy space. 5: Vestments, see
notes to ch 28. 9: Ordain, lit., ll the hand, is an idiom alluding to the scepter or sta oen held by an ocer;
it thus indicates taking on the rights and duties of a position. 1037: Animal sacrices. The rst twobull of
purication (vv. 1014; see Lev 4.112) and ram for burnt oering (vv. 1518; see Lev 1)prepare the priests;
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exodus 29
their hands on the head of the bull, and
you shall slaughter the bull before the Lord,
at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and
shall take some of the blood of the bull and
put it on the horns of the altar with your
nger, and all the rest of the blood you shall
pour out at the base of the altar. You shall
take all the fat that covers the entrails, and
the appendage of the liver, and the two
kidneys with the fat that is on them, and turn
them into smoke on the altar. But the esh
of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, you
shall burn with re outside the camp; it is a
sin oering.
Then you shall take one of the rams, and
Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on
the head of the ram, and you shall slaughter
the ram, and shall take its blood and dash
it against all sides of the altar. Then you
shall cut the ram into its parts, and wash its
entrails and its legs, and put them with its
parts and its head, and turn the whole ram
into smoke on the altar; it is a burnt oering
to the Lord; it is a pleasing odor, an oering
by re to the Lord.
You shall take the other ram; and Aaron
and his sons shall lay their hands on the head
of the ram, and you shall slaughter the ram,
and take some of its blood and put it on the
lobe of Aarons right ear and on the lobes of
the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs
of their right hands, and on the big toes of
their right feet, and dash the rest of the blood
against all sides of the altar. Then you shall
take some of the blood that is on the altar,
and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it
on Aaron and his vestments and on his sons
and his sons vestments with him; then he
and his vestments shall be holy, as well as his
sons and his sons vestments.
You shall also take the fat of the ram, the
fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the appendage of the liver, the two kidneys with the
fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for

it is a ram of ordination), and one loaf of
bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and
one wafer, out of the basket of unleavened
bread that is before the Lord; and you shall
place all these on the palms of Aaron and on
the palms of his sons, and raise them as an
elevation oering before the Lord. Then
you shall take them from their hands, and
turn them into smoke on the altar on top of
the burnt oering of pleasing odor before the
Lord; it is an oering by re to the Lord.
You shall take the breast of the ram of
Aarons ordination and raise it as an elevation oering before the Lord; and it shall
be your portion. You shall consecrate the
breast that was raised as an elevation oering
and the thigh that was raised as an elevation
oering from the ram of ordination, from
that which belonged to Aaron and his sons.
These things shall be a perpetual ordinance
for Aaron and his sons from the Israelites, for
this is an oering; and it shall be an oering
by the Israelites from their sacrice of oerings of well-being, their oering to the Lord.
The sacred vestments of Aaron shall be
passed on to his sons after him; they shall
be anointed in them and ordained in them.
The son who is priest in his place shall wear
them seven days, when he comes into the
tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.
You shall take the ram of ordination, and
boil its esh in a holy place; and Aaron and
his sons shall eat the esh of the ram and the
bread that is in the basket, at the entrance of
the tent of meeting. They themselves shall
eat the food by which atonement is made, to
ordain and consecrate them, but no one else
shall eat of them, because they are holy. If
any of the esh for the ordination, or of the
bread, remains until the morning, then you
shall burn the remainder with re; it shall not
be eaten, because it is holy.
the third and most elaborate is the ram for ordination (vv. 1934; see the well-being oering, Lev 3). 12: Horns,
see 27.2n. The altar itself must be puried. 14: The sin oering brings about the moral purication necessary
for approaching Gods total purity. Some scholars understand this as an oering that cleanses sections of the
tabernacle from ritual impurity. 18: Burnt oering, see 24.5n. Pleasing odor, see Gen 8.21. 20: Sprinkling the rams
blood on the priests extremities (lobes . . . thumbs . . . toes), which represent their entire bodies, substitutes
animal blood and death for that of the priests; their symbolic death means they belong to God. 22: Ordination,
see v. 9n. 24: Elevation oering, lied to God. 2634: Without lands or agricultural holdings, priests depended
on a portion of the sacrice for their maintenance (Lev 7.3136; 22.116); the meat and accompanying bread are
hebrew bible | 125
exodus 30
Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons,
just as I have commanded you; through seven
days you shall ordain them. Also every day
you shall oer a bull as a sin oering for atonement. Also you shall oer a sin oering for the
altar, when you make atonement for it, and
shall anoint it, to consecrate it. Seven days
you shall make atonement for the altar, and
consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy;
whatever touches the altar shall become holy.
Now this is what you shall oer on the
altar: two lambs a year old regularly each day.
One lamb you shall oer in the morning,
and the other lamb you shall oer in the
evening; and with the rst lamb one-tenth
of a measure of choice our mixed with onefourth of a hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth
of a hin of wine for a drink oering. And
the other lamb you shall oer in the evening,
and shall oer with it a grain oering and its
drink oering, as in the morning, for a pleasing odor, an oering by re to the Lord. It
shall be a regular burnt oering throughout
your generations at the entrance of the tent
of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet
with you, to speak to you there. I will meet
with the Israelites there, and it shall be sanctied by my glory; I will consecrate the tent
of meeting and the altar; Aaron also and his
sons I will consecrate, to serve me as priests.
I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will
be their God. And they shall know that I am
the Lord their God, who brought them out of
the land of Egypt that I might dwell among
them; I am the Lord their God.
You shall make an altar on which to
oer incense; you shall make it of
acacia wood. It shall be one cubit long, and
30
one cubit wide; it shall be square, and shall

be two cubits high; its horns shall be of one
piece with it. You shall overlay it with pure
gold, its top, and its sides all around and its
horns; and you shall make for it a molding
of gold all around. And you shall make two
golden rings for it; under its molding on two
opposite sides of it you shall make them,
and they shall hold the poles with which to
carry it. You shall make the poles of acacia
wood, and overlay them with gold. You
shall place it in front of the curtain that is
above the ark of the covenant,a in front of
the mercy seatb that is over the covenant,a
where I will meet with you. Aaron shall
oer fragrant incense on it; every morning
when he dresses the lamps he shall oer it,
and when Aaron sets up the lamps in the
evening, he shall oer it, a regular incense
oering before the Lord throughout your
generations. You shall not oer unholy
incense on it, or a burnt oering, or a grain
oering; and you shall not pour a drink
oering on it. Once a year Aaron shall
perform the rite of atonement on its horns.
Throughout your generations he shall perform the atonement for it once a year with
the blood of the atoning sin oering. It is
most holy to the Lord.
The Lord spoke to Moses: When you
take a census of the Israelites to register
them, at registration all of them shall give
a ransom for their lives to the Lord, so that
no plague may come upon them for being
registered. This is what each one who is
b Or the cover
eaten in sacred space, arming their special relationship with God (see 24.5n.). 3537: During the seven-day
installation ceremonies, the altar too must be puried and sanctied (also v. 12). 3842: Regular sacrices. A
daily burnt oering (see 24.5n.) of animals with grain, oil, and wine is prescribed. 40: Hin, a liquid measure (3.8
liters = 4 qts). 4243: Meet, see 25.16n. 4446: Summation, using covenant language (see 6.7n.; 19.4n.; 20.2n.).
4546: Dwell, see 25.8n.
30.131.18. Additional instructions. The divine instructions conclude with information about four more
components of the shrine (incense altar, laver, oil, and incense) and about a census, the artisans, and the sabbath. 30.110: Incense altar (also 37.2528). Smaller (ca. .5 .5 1.0 m = 18 18 36 in) than the horned courtyard altar (see 27.2n.), it is the third golden object to be placed in front of the inner sanctum (see 25.1040n.).
7: Fragrant incense (vv. 3438) involves the olfactory senses; and its smoke would be apotropaic, shielding the
priest from the potent divine presence (Lev 16.13); see 28.3135n. 9: Food is not oered on this altar. 10: See Lev
16.2934; cf. Num 16.46. Sin oering, see 29.14n. 1116: Census. People are counted for taxes or for conscription (Num 1); but ancient peoples believed that counting people could bring disaster (as 2 Sam 24), and the
126 | hebrew bible
exodus 31
registered shall give: half a shekel according
to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is
twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an oering
to the Lord. Each one who is registered,
from twenty years old and upward, shall give
the Lords oering. The rich shall not give
more, and the poor shall not give less, than
the half shekel, when you bring this oering to the Lord to make atonement for your
lives. You shall take the atonement money
from the Israelites and shall designate it for
the service of the tent of meeting; before the
Lord it will be a reminder to the Israelites of
the ransom given for your lives.
The Lord spoke to Moses: You shall
make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for
washing. You shall put it between the tent of
meeting and the altar, and you shall put water
in it; with the watera Aaron and his sons
shall wash their hands and their feet. When
they go into the tent of meeting, or when they
come near the altar to minister, to make an offering by re to the Lord, they shall wash with
water, so that they may not die. They shall
wash their hands and their feet, so that they
may not die: it shall be a perpetual ordinance
for them, for him and for his descendants
The Lord spoke to Moses: Take the nest spices: of liquid myrrh ve hundred shekels,
and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much,
that is, two hundred fty, and two hundred fty of aromatic cane, and ve hundred of cassiameasured by the sanctuary shekeland a
hin of olive oil; and you shall make of these a
sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. With it you
shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of
the covenant,b and the table and all its uten-
sils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and

the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt
oering with all its utensils, and the basin with
its stand; you shall consecrate them, so that
they may be most holy; whatever touches them
will become holy. You shall anoint Aaron and
his sons, and consecrate them, in order that
they may serve me as priests. You shall say to
the Israelites, This shall be my holy anointing
oil throughout your generations. It shall not
be used in any ordinary anointing of the body,
and you shall make no other like it in composition; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.
Whoever compounds any like it or whoever
puts any of it on an unqualied person shall be
cut o from the people.
The Lord said to Moses: Take sweet
spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum,
sweet spices with pure frankincense (an
equal part of each), and make an incense
blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with
salt, pure and holy; and you shall beat some
of it into powder, and put part of it before the
covenantb in the tent of meeting where I shall
meet with you; it shall be for you most holy.
When you make incense according to this
composition, you shall not make it for yourselves; it shall be regarded by you as holy to
the Lord. Whoever makes any like it to use
as perfume shall be cut o from the people.
The Lord spoke to Moses: See, I
have called by name Bezalel son of
Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and
I have lled him with divine spirit,c with
ability, intelligence, and knowledge in every
31
a Heb it
b Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth
c Or with the spirit of God
payment here is to forestall misfortune. 13: Shekel, a weight (ca. .4 oz = 11.4 gm), not a coin. The half-shekel
(Heb beka) of the census is mentioned in the metal inventory (38.26). Shekel of the sanctuary may allude to a
priestly role in maintaining standard weights. 1721: Laver (also 38.8; 40.7,30). Made of bronze, the least holy
metal, the washstand will be in the courtyard, the least sacred zone. Washing is part of the process of purication before approaching the perfect purity of Gods presence (see 19.10n.). 2238: Oil and incense (also 37.29)
are to be made of costly aromatic substances. For the oil (vv. 2225), these include myrrh, a resin, and cassia, a
variety of cinnamon; for the incense, stacte, galbanum, and frankincense, dierent varies of resin, and onycha,
a perfume from a mollusk found in the Red Sea. Anointing will change the status of the shrine, its furnishings, and its personnel from profane to holy; see 29.7n. 2324: Shekels, see 30.13n. Hin, see 29.40n. 36: Tent of
meeting . . . meet, see 27.21n. 31.111: Artisans (also 35.3036.7). Two chief artisans are designated, one from the
southernmost tribe (Judah) and one from the northernmost (Dan). 2: Bezalel, see 1 Chr 2.1820. Hur, see 17.10n.
3: Divine spirit, see v. 11n. Ability (or, wisdom, skill), intelligence, and knowledge constitute artistic genius (cf.
hebrew bible | 127
exodus 32
kind of craft, to devise artistic designs, to
work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting
stones for setting, and in carving wood,
in every kind of craft. Moreover, I have
appointed with him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have given
skill to all the skillful, so that they may make
all that I have commanded you: the tent
of meeting, and the ark of the covenant,a
and the mercy seatb that is on it, and all the
furnishings of the tent, the table and its
utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its
utensils, and the altar of incense, and the
altar of burnt oering with all its utensils,
and the basin with its stand, and the nely
worked vestments, the holy vestments for
the priest Aaron and the vestments of his
sons, for their service as priests, and the
anointing oil and the fragrant incense for
the holy place. They shall do just as I have
commanded you.
The Lord said to Moses: You yourself
are to speak to the Israelites: You shall
keep my sabbaths, for this is a sign between
me and you throughout your generations,
given in order that you may know that I,
the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep
the sabbath, because it is holy for you;
everyone who profanes it shall be put to
death; whoever does any work on it shall be
cut off from among the people. Six days
shall work be done, but the seventh day is
a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord;
whoever does any work on the sabbath day

shall be put to death. Therefore the Israelites shall keep the sabbath, observing the
sabbath throughout their generations, as
a perpetual covenant. It is a sign forever
between me and the people of Israel that in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth,
and on the seventh day he rested, and was
refreshed.
When Godc nished speaking with
Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two
tablets of the covenant,a tablets of stone,
written with the nger of God.
When the people saw that Moses
delayed to come down from the
mountain, the people gathered around
Aaron, and said to him, Come, make gods
for us, who shall go before us; as for this
Moses, the man who brought us up out of
the land of Egypt, we do not know what has
become of him. Aaron said to them, Take
o the gold rings that are on the ears of your
wives, your sons, and your daughters, and
bring them to me. So all the people took o
the gold rings from their ears, and brought
them to Aaron. He took the gold from them,
formed it in a mold,d and cast an image of
32
a
b
c
d
Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth

Or the cover
Heb he
Or fashioned it with a graving tool; Meaning of Heb
uncertain
1 Kings 7.14). 6: Oholiab is otherwise unknown. 11: Do . . . commanded implies that human creativity is subordinated to divine inspiration. 1217: Sabbath (also 35.13), see 16.2330n. Its mention here combines sacred time
with sacred space, and serves as an introduction to the episode of the golden calf, which separates the divine
instructions from the account of their being carried out. 12: The command for the seventh-day observance is
ingly introduced by a phrase (The Lord said/spoke to Moses) used here for the seventh time in this section
(25.1; 30.11,17,22,34; 31.1,12). This directive for holy time (vv. 14,15) is the climax of the directives for holy space.
17: As circumcision is the sign of the covenant with Abraham in Priestly tradition (Gen 17), so the sabbath is the
sign of the covenant with Israel. 18: This verse concludes the divine instructions and resumes the narrative of
the Sinai theophany (24.18). Two tablets . . . wrien, see 24.12n.
32.134.35: Covenant violation and restoration. The golden-calf apostasy interrupts the tabernacle sequence. The people arouse divine wrath by their sins; Moses too is angry but intercedes several times (ch 32).
Aer Moses seeks Gods presence and pleads once more for his people (ch 33), God reestablishes the covenant
(ch 34).
32.135: Sin, divine anger, and several intercessions by Moses. 1: Delayed, for forty days and nights (24.18).
Make gods, that is, provide visible evidence of divine presence. 23: Gold rings (earrings); cf. 3.22; Gen 35.4; Judg
8.24. 4: A calf (beer young bull), like cherubim, could form the pedestal or throne of the invisible deity (see
25.1722n.); or it may itself have been the object of worship, representing bovine strength and fertility associated with the Lord. Gods, a plural form (also vv. 1,8), is probably inuenced by 1 Kings 12.2530; contrast Neh
128 | hebrew bible
exodus 32
a calf; and they said, These are your gods,
OIsrael, who brought you up out of the land
of Egypt! When Aaron saw this, he built an
altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation
and said, Tomorrow shall be a festival to the
Lord. They rose early the next day, and
oered burnt oerings and brought sacrices
of well-being; and the people sat down to eat
and drink, and rose up to revel.
The Lord said to Moses, Go down at
once! Your people, whom you brought up out
of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely;
they have been quick to turn aside from the
way that I commanded them; they have cast
for themselves an image of a calf, and have
worshiped it and sacriced to it, and said,
These are your gods, OIsrael, who brought
you up out of the land of Egypt! The Lord
said to Moses, I have seen this people, how
sti-necked they are. Now let me alone,
so that my wrath may burn hot against them
and I may consume them; and of you I will
make a great nation.
But Moses implored the Lord his God,
and said, OLord, why does your wrath
burn hot against your people, whom you
brought out of the land of Egypt with great
power and with a mighty hand? Why
should the Egyptians say, It was with evil
intent that he brought them out to kill them
in the mountains, and to consume them
from the face of the earth? Turn from your
erce wrath; change your mind and do not
bring disaster on your people. Remember
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants,
how you swore to them by your own self,
saying to them, I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all
this land that I have promised I will give to
your descendants, and they shall inherit it
forever. And the Lord changed his mind
about the disaster that he planned to bring

on his people.
Then Moses turned and went down
from the mountain, carrying the two tablets
of the covenanta in his hands, tablets that
were written on both sides, written on the
front and on the back. The tablets were the
work of God, and the writing was the writing
of God, engraved upon the tablets. When
Joshua heard the noise of the people as they
shouted, he said to Moses, There is a noise
of war in the camp. But he said,
It is not the sound made by victors,
or the sound made by losers;
it is the sound of revelers that I hear.
As soon as he came near the camp and
saw the calf and the dancing, Moses anger
burned hot, and he threw the tablets from
his hands and broke them at the foot of the
mountain. He took the calf that they had
made, burned it with re, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the
Israelites drink it.
Moses said to Aaron, What did this
people do to you that you have brought so
great a sin upon them? And Aaron said,
Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot;
you know the people, that they are bent
on evil. They said to me, Make us gods,
who shall go before us; as for this Moses,
the man who brought us up out of the land
of Egypt, we do not know what has become
of him. So I said to them, Whoever has
gold, take it off; so they gave it to me, and
I threw it into the fire, and out came this
calf!
When Moses saw that the people were
running wild (for Aaron had let them run
wild, to the derision of their enemies), then
9.18; Ps 106.1920. 56: The festival is for the Lord, indicating that the calf is not the image of another deity.
6: Burnt oerings . . . well-being, see 24.5n. 7: Your people, not my people (3.7; 5.1; etc). You, that is, Moses (also
33.1; cf. 20.2; 32.1112, where God secures Israels freedom). 1012: Wrath . . . hot . . . consume, language associated with punitive plagues (Num 11.33; 16.35,46; 25.4,89,11). 11: Mighty hand, see 3.19n. 13: Moses reminds God
that the ancestral covenant (see 2.24n.) is unconditional and irrevocable (Gen 13.1516; etc.). 1516: Tablets . . .
wrien, see 24.12n. 17: Joshua is partway up the mountain (24.914). 19: The Heb term for dancing denotes circle
dancing, usually done by women (as 15.20). 20: Burned . . . ground is idiomatic language for complete demolition
(cf. 2 Kings 23.15). Moses subjects the people to a trial by ordeal (cf. Num 5.1628). Those who suer ill eects
from drinking the water and pulverized metal are considered guilty and die in a plague (v. 35). 2124: Aaron,
however, remains unpunished (cf. Num 12). 2629: The shocking violence of the Levites, perhaps reecting
hebrew bible | 129
exodus 33
Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said,
Who is on the Lords side? Come to me!
And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.
He said to them, Thus says the Lord, the
God of Israel, Put your sword on your side,
each of you! Go back and forth from gate
to gate throughout the camp, and each of
you kill your brother, your friend, and your
neighbor. The sons of Levi did as Moses
commanded, and about three thousand of
the people fell on that day. Moses said,
Today you have ordained yourselvesa for the
service of the Lord, each one at the cost of a
son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day.
On the next day Moses said to the
people, You have sinned a great sin. But
now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can
make atonement for your sin. So Moses
returned to the Lord and said, Alas, this
people has sinned a great sin; they have made
for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you
will only forgive their sinbut if not, blot me
out of the book that you have written. But
the Lord said to Moses, Whoever has sinned
against me I will blot out of my book. But
now go, lead the people to the place about
which I have spoken to you; see, my angel
shall go in front of you. Nevertheless, when
the day comes for punishment, I will punish
them for their sin.
Then the Lord sent a plague on the
people, because they made the calfthe one
that Aaron made.
The Lord said to Moses, Go, leave
this place, you and the people whom
you have brought up out of the land of
Egypt, and go to the land of which I swore
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, To
your descendants I will give it. I will send
an angel before you, and I will drive out the
Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the
Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go
33
up to a land owing with milk and honey;

but I will not go up among you, or I would
consume you on the way, for you are a stinecked people.
When the people heard these harsh
words, they mourned, and no one put on
ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses,
Say to the Israelites, You are a sti-necked
people; if for a single moment I should go up
among you, I would consume you. So now
take o your ornaments, and I will decide
what to do to you. Therefore the Israelites
stripped themselves of their ornaments, from
Mount Horeb onward.
Now Moses used to take the tent and
pitch it outside the camp, far o from the
camp; he called it the tent of meeting. And
everyone who sought the Lord would go out
to the tent of meeting, which was outside
the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the
tent, all the people would rise and stand,
each of them, at the entrance of their tents
and watch Moses until he had gone into the
tent. When Moses entered the tent, the
pillar of cloud would descend and stand at
the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would
speak with Moses. When all the people saw
the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance
of the tent, all the people would rise and bow
down, all of them, at the entrance of their
tent. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses
face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then
he would return to the camp; but his young
assistant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave
the tent.
Moses said to the Lord, See, you have
said to me, Bring up this people; but you
have not let me know whom you will send
with me. Yet you have said, I know you by
name, and you have also found favor in my
sight. Now if I have found favor in your
a Gk Vg Compare Tg: Heb Today ordain yourselves
an ancient power struggle, earns them eternal priesthood. 33: My book, cf. Ps 69.28; Dan 12.1; Mal 3.16. 34: The
people, not my people; see v. 7n. Angel, see 3.2n.; 23.23. 35: The plague is punitive (see 7.810.29n.; 32:1012n.).
33.123. The divine presence is secured through further intercession by Moses. 1: You, see 32.7n. The people,
see 32.34n. 2: Angel, see 3.2n. Canaanites . . . Hivites, see 3.8n. 3: Flowing . . . honey, see 3.8n. Among, see 17.6n.;
the divine presence can be punitive as well as benecial. Consume, see 32.1012n. 7: Tent of meeting, see 25.16n.;
27.21n. Sought the Lord, elliptical for seeking an oracular pronouncement from God, here procured by Moses,
not priests; see 28.614n., 1530n. 910: Pillar of cloud, divine presence; see 3.2n. 11: Face to face, intimacy available only to Moses (see Num 12.78; Deut 34.1012); but cf. 3.6n. 13: Your people is covenant terminology (see
130 | hebrew bible
exodus 34
sight, show me your ways, so that I may know
you and nd favor in your sight. Consider too
that this nation is your people. He said,
My presence will go with you, and I will
give you rest. And he said to him, If your
presence will not go, do not carry us up from
here. For how shall it be known that I have
found favor in your sight, I and your people,
unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be
distinct, I and your people, from every people
on the face of the earth.
The Lord said to Moses, I will do the
very thing that you have asked; for you
have found favor in my sight, and I know
you by name. Moses said, Show me
your glory, I pray. And he said, I will
make all my goodness pass before you, and
will proclaim before you the name, The
Lord;a and I will be gracious to whom I will
be gracious, and will show mercy on whom
I will show mercy. But, he said, you
cannot see my face; for no one shall see me
and live. And the Lord continued, See,
there is a place by me where you shall stand
on the rock; and while my glory passes
by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and
I will cover you with my hand until I have
passed by; then I will take away my hand,
and you shall see my back; but my face
shall not be seen.
The Lord said to Moses, Cut two
tablets of stone like the former ones,
and I will write on the tablets the words that
were on the former tablets, which you broke.
Be ready in the morning, and come up in the
morning to Mount Sinai and present yourself
there to me, on the top of the mountain. No
one shall come up with you, and do not let
anyone be seen throughout all the mountain;
and do not let ocks or herds graze in front of
34
that mountain. So Moses cut two tablets of

stone like the former ones; and he rose early
in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai,
as the Lord had commanded him, and took
in his hand the two tablets of stone. The
Lord descended in the cloud and stood with
him there, and proclaimed the name, The
Lord.a The Lord passed before him, and
proclaimed,
The Lord, the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love for the thousandth
generation,b
forgiving iniquity and transgression and
sin,
yet by no means clearing the guilty,
but visiting the iniquity of the parents
upon the children
and the childrens children,
to the third and the fourth generation.
And Moses quickly bowed his head toward
the earth, and worshiped. He said, If now
I have found favor in your sight, OLord, I
pray, let the Lord go with us. Although this
is a sti-necked people, pardon our iniquity
and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.
He said: I hereby make a covenant.
Before all your people I will perform marvels,
such as have not been performed in all the
earth or in any nation; and all the people
among whom you live shall see the work of
the Lord; for it is an awesome thing that I will
do with you.
a Heb YHWH; see note at 3.15
b Or for thousands
6.7n.); Moses reminds God of this relationship (contrast 32.7; 33.1). 14: My presence will go, beer, I personally
will go. 18: Glory, see 16.7n. 19: Just as God knows Moses name (v. 17), Moses will know Gods (see 3.15n), an
expression of reciprocal intimacy. I will be gracious . . . mercy, see 34.6. 20,23: Face, see 3.6n.; cf. 33.11n. 23: Back
(like arm, hand, and face) refers to God in anthropomorphic, metaphorical terms.
34.135: Covenant restoration and Moses fourth plea to God. 1: Moses is to cut the tablets; contrast 32.16,
where God makes them. Tablets . . . write, see 24.12n. Words, referring to the ten words (sayings) of the covenant
(the Decalogue), v. 28; see 20.17n. 3: As a holy zone, access to the mountain is restricted; cf. 19.13n., 2025n. 5:
Cloud, see 3.2n. 5: Name, see 33.19n. 67: This catalogue of divine qualities, known in Jewish tradition as the
Thirteen Aributes of God, appears fully or in part frequently in the Bible, at times omiing transgenerational
punishment (20.56; Num 14.1819; Deut 7.910; etc.). Generation, see 20.5n. 9: Inheritance, or possession,
that is, the promised land; see 15.17n. 1126: These stipulations concerning religious obligations and festivals
hebrew bible | 131
exodus 34
Observe what I command you today. See, I
will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites,
and the Jebusites. Take care not to make a
covenant with the inhabitants of the land to
which you are going, or it will become a snare
among you. You shall tear down their altars,
break their pillars, and cut down their sacred
polesa (for you shall worship no other god,
because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a
jealous God). You shall not make a covenant
with the inhabitants of the land, for when they
prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrice
to their gods, someone among them will invite
you, and you will eat of the sacrice. And you
will take wives from among their daughters for
your sons, and their daughters who prostitute
themselves to their gods will make your sons
also prostitute themselves to their gods.
You shall not make cast idols.
You shall keep the festival of unleavened
bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened
bread, as I commanded you, at the time
appointed in the month of Abib; for in the
month of Abib you came out from Egypt.
All that rst opens the womb is mine, all
your maleb livestock, the rstborn of cow and
sheep. The rstborn of a donkey you shall
redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem
it you shall break its neck. All the rstborn of
your sons you shall redeem.
No one shall appear before me emptyhanded.
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time
and in harvest time you shall rest. You shall
observe the festival of weeks, the rst fruits
of wheat harvest, and the festival of ingather-
ing at the turn of the year. Three times in

the year all your males shall appear before
the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will
cast out nations before you, and enlarge your
borders; no one shall covet your land when
you go up to appear before the Lord your God
three times in the year.
You shall not oer the blood of my
sacrice with leaven, and the sacrice of the
festival of the passover shall not be left until
the morning.
The best of the rst fruits of your ground
you shall bring to the house of the Lord your
God.
You shall not boil a kid in its mothers milk.
The Lord said to Moses: Write these
words; in accordance with these words I
have made a covenant with you and with
Israel. He was there with the Lord forty
days and forty nights; he neither ate bread
nor drank water. And he wrote on the
tablets the words of the covenant, the ten
commandments.c
Moses came down from Mount Sinai.
As he came down from the mountain with
the two tablets of the covenantd in his hand,
Moses did not know that the skin of his face
shone because he had been talking with
God. When Aaron and all the Israelites
saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining,
and they were afraid to come near him. But
Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the
leaders of the congregation returned to him,
a
b
c
d
Heb Asherim
Gk Theodotion Vg Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
Heb words
Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth
include features of the Decalogue (especially 20.3,4,811) and of the community regulations (especially 23.14
19); because its primary focus is on worship, it is oen called the Ritual Decalogue. 11: Drive, see 23.2730n.
Amorites . . . Jebusites, see 3.8n. 13: Altars and pillars (see 23.24n.) dedicated to the gods of other peoples are
forbidden. Sacred poles probably were symbols of Asherah, a Canaanite goddess associated with the Lord in
several ancient inscriptions. See also Deut 7.5; 12.3. 14: See 20.3n. 1516: Prostitute, sexual metaphors are used
in the Bible to characterize human-deity relationships, both positively and negatively (e.g., Isa 62.45; Jer 2.2;
Ezek 16; 23; Hos 13). 16: Intermarriage with local peoplesbut not with all other peoplesis prohibited only
for men (Gen 24.3; Ezra 9.2; etc.; but cf. Deut 7.3; Josh 23.1213; etc.). 1826: For the three festivals, see 23.1419a n.;
for the sabbath (v. 21), see 16.2330n.; for the kid-cooking regulation, see 23.19bn.; for the rstborn redemption, see 13.2n.,13n. 2728: Moses is to write; see 24.12n. Words, see 34.1n. 28: Forty . . . nights, like the rst time,
24.18. 2935: Moses special status, as mediator between the people and God, is manifest in his radiating countenance, akin to divine luminosity (Ps 104.2; Ezek 1.2728; Hab 3.4) and thus too intense to be routinely visible.
29,35: Shone and shining, beer radiant, for the Hebrew word may denote emanating rays.
132 | hebrew bible
exodus 35
and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all
the Israelites came near, and he gave them in
commandment all that the Lord had spoken
with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had
nished speaking with them, he put a veil
on his face; but whenever Moses went in
before the Lord to speak with him, he would
take the veil o, until he came out; and when
he came out, and told the Israelites what he
had been commanded, the Israelites would
see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face
was shining; and Moses would put the veil on
his face again, until he went in to speak with
him.
Moses assembled all the congregation of the Israelites and said to them:
These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do:
Six days shall work be done, but on the
seventh day you shall have a holy sabbath of
solemn rest to the Lord; whoever does any
work on it shall be put to death. You shall
kindle no re in all your dwellings on the
sabbath day.
Moses said to all the congregation of the
Israelites: This is the thing that the Lord has
commanded: Take from among you an oering to the Lord; let whoever is of a generous
heart bring the Lords oering: gold, silver,
and bronze; blue, purple, and crimson
yarns, and ne linen; goats hair, tanned
rams skins, and ne leather;a acacia wood,
oil for the light, spices for the anointing
oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx
stones and gems to be set in the ephod and
the breastpiece.
All who are skillful among you shall
come and make all that the Lord has commanded: the tabernacle, its tent and its
covering, its clasps and its frames, its bars,
its pillars, and its bases; the ark with its
poles, the mercy seat,b and the curtain for the
35
screen; the table with its poles and all its

utensils, and the bread of the Presence; the
lampstand also for the light, with its utensils
and its lamps, and the oil for the light; and
the altar of incense, with its poles, and the
anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and
the screen for the entrance, the entrance of
the tabernacle; the altar of burnt oering,
with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all
its utensils, the basin with its stand; the
hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases,
and the screen for the gate of the court; the
pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the
court, and their cords; the nely worked
vestments for ministering in the holy place,
the holy vestments for the priest Aaron, and
the vestments of his sons, for their service as
priests.
Then all the congregation of the Israelites withdrew from the presence of Moses.
And they came, everyone whose heart
was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was
willing, and brought the Lords oering to
be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its
service, and for the sacred vestments. So
they came, both men and women; all who
were of a willing heart brought brooches and
earrings and signet rings and pendants, all
sorts of gold objects, everyone bringing an
oering of gold to the Lord. And everyone
who possessed blue or purple or crimson
yarn or ne linen or goats hair or tanned
rams skins or ne leather,a brought them.
Everyone who could make an oering of
silver or bronze brought it as the Lords offering; and everyone who possessed acacia
wood of any use in the work, brought it. All
the skillful women spun with their hands,
and brought what they had spun in blue and
b Or the cover
Chs 3540: The tabernacle is constructed and Gods presence enters it. The tabernacle narrative (which began with the divine instructions of chs 2531) resumes: carrying out preliminary procedures (35.236.7); making
the tabernacle components (36.839.43); erecting the tabernacle and Gods presence lling it (40.138). These
chapters contain nearly verbatim repetitions of many passages of chs 2531, except that they describe action
taken (rather than commanded) and are arranged according to pragmatic construction concerns rather than
according to degree of sanctity.
35.136.7: Preliminary procedures. 35.13: Sabbath instructions concluded the prescriptive texts (31.1217;
see 16.2330n.) and begin the descriptive ones. 1: Things, or words; see 18.26n. 429: Materials (25.19), provided by both women and men (vv. 22,29; see 11.2n.) and including fabrics made by female craspersons (vv.
hebrew bible | 133
exodus 36
purple and crimson yarns and ne linen; all
the women whose hearts moved them to
use their skill spun the goats hair. And the
leaders brought onyx stones and gems to be
set in the ephod and the breastpiece, and
spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. All the
Israelite men and women whose hearts made
them willing to bring anything for the work
that the Lord had commanded by Moses to
be done, brought it as a freewill oering to
the Lord.
Then Moses said to the Israelites: See,
the Lord has called by name Bezalel son of
Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; he has
lled him with divine spirit,a with skill, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft,
to devise artistic designs, to work in gold,
silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for
setting, and in carving wood, in every kind
of craft. And he has inspired him to teach,
both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of
the tribe of Dan. He has lled them with
skill to do every kind of work done by an artisan or by a designer or by an embroiderer in
blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and in ne
linen, or by a weaverby any sort of artisan
or skilled designer.
Bezalel and Oholiab and every skillful
one to whom the Lord has given skill
and understanding to know how to do any
work in the construction of the sanctuary
shall work in accordance with all that the
Lord has commanded.
Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab
and every skillful one to whom the Lord
had given skill, everyone whose heart was
stirred to come to do the work; and they
received from Moses all the freewill oerings that the Israelites had brought for doing
the work on the sanctuary. They still kept
bringing him freewill oerings every morning, so that all the artisans who were doing
every sort of task on the sanctuary came,
36
each from the task being performed, and

said to Moses, The people are bringing
much more than enough for doing the work
that the Lord has commanded us to do.
So Moses gave command, and word was
proclaimed throughout the camp: No man
or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary. So the people were
restrained from bringing; for what they had
already brought was more than enough to
do all the work.
All those with skill among the workers
made the tabernacle with ten curtains; they
were made of ne twisted linen, and blue,
purple, and crimson yarns, with cherubim
skillfully worked into them. The length of
each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and
the width of each curtain four cubits; all the
curtains were of the same size.
He joined ve curtains to one another,
and the other ve curtains he joined to one
another. He made loops of blue on the
edge of the outermost curtain of the rst set;
likewise he made them on the edge of the
outermost curtain of the second set; he
made fty loops on the one curtain, and he
made fty loops on the edge of the curtain
that was in the second set; the loops were
opposite one another. And he made fty
clasps of gold, and joined the curtains one to
the other with clasps; so the tabernacle was
one whole.
He also made curtains of goats hair for
a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven
curtains. The length of each curtain was
thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain
four cubits; the eleven curtains were of
the same size. He joined ve curtains by
themselves, and six curtains by themselves.
He made fty loops on the edge of the
outermost curtain of the one set, and fty
loops on the edge of the other connecting
a Or the spirit of God
2526; cf. 2 Kings 23.7), are donated. 35.3036.7: Artisans (31.111), who have the added role of teachers (v. 34),
receive the materials.
36.839.42: The tabernacle components are made: structure (36.838), interior furnishings (37.129), courtyard and its furnishings (38.120), inserted inventory (38.2131), vestments (39.131). Then the work is completed (39.3242).
36.838: Structure (26.137), consisting of fabrics (vv. 819) over frames (vv. 2034) followed by the internal
fabric divider and entry screen (vv. 3538).
134 | hebrew bible
exodus 37
curtain. He made fty clasps of bronze to
join the tent together so that it might be one
whole. And he made for the tent a covering
of tanned rams skins and an outer covering
of ne leather.a
Then he made the upright frames for the
tabernacle of acacia wood. Ten cubits was
the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half
the width of each frame. Each frame had
two pegs for tting together; he did this for
all the frames of the tabernacle. The frames
for the tabernacle he made in this way:
twenty frames for the south side; and he
made forty bases of silver under the twenty
frames, two bases under the rst frame for
its two pegs, and two bases under the next
frame for its two pegs. For the second side
of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made
twenty frames and their forty bases of silver, two bases under the rst frame and two
bases under the next frame. For the rear of
the tabernacle westward he made six frames.
He made two frames for corners of the
tabernacle in the rear. They were separate
beneath, but joined at the top, at the rst
ring; he made two of them in this way, for the
two corners. There were eight frames with
their bases of silver: sixteen bases, under
every frame two bases.
He made bars of acacia wood, ve for
the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, and ve bars for the frames of the
other side of the tabernacle, and ve bars
for the frames of the tabernacle at the rear
westward. He made the middle bar to
pass through from end to end halfway up
the frames. And he overlaid the frames
with gold, and made rings of gold for them
to hold the bars, and overlaid the bars with
gold.
He made the curtain of blue, purple,
and crimson yarns, and ne twisted linen,
with cherubim skillfully worked into it. For
it he made four pillars of acacia, and overlaid
them with gold; their hooks were of gold,
and he cast for them four bases of silver.
He also made a screen for the entrance to

the tent, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns,
and ne twisted linen, embroidered with
needlework; and its ve pillars with their
hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their
bases with gold, but their ve bases were of
bronze.
Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; it
was two and a half cubits long, a cubit
and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.
He overlaid it with pure gold inside and
outside, and made a molding of gold around
it. He cast for it four rings of gold for its four
feet, two rings on its one side and two rings
on its other side. He made poles of acacia
wood, and overlaid them with gold, and put
the poles into the rings on the sides of the
ark, to carry the ark. He made a mercy seatb
of pure gold; two cubits and a half was its
length, and a cubit and a half its width. He
made two cherubim of hammered gold; at the
two ends of the mercy seatc he made them,
one cherub at the one end, and one cherub
at the other end; of one piece with the mercy
seatc he made the cherubim at its two ends.
The cherubim spread out their wings above,
overshadowing the mercy seatc with their
wings. They faced one another; the faces of
the cherubim were turned toward the mercy
seat.c
He also made the table of acacia wood,
two cubits long, one cubit wide, and a cubit
and a half high. He overlaid it with pure
gold, and made a molding of gold around it.
He made around it a rim a handbreadth
wide, and made a molding of gold around
the rim. He cast for it four rings of gold,
and fastened the rings to the four corners at
its four legs. The rings that held the poles
used for carrying the table were close to the
rim. He made the poles of acacia wood to
carry the table, and overlaid them with gold.
37

b Or a cover
c Or the cover
37.129: Interior furnishings (25.1040; 30.110) and anointing oil and incense (30.2228). The ark for the
holiest space is again rst (vv. 19), followed by all three objects for the holy space: lampstand (vv. 1724), table,
and incense altar (vv. 2528); the incense altar does not come immediately aer the table and the lampstand in
the earlier instructions. This section ends with an account of making the anointing oil and incense (v. 29), much
shorter than in the instructions.
hebrew bible | 135
exodus 38
And he made the vessels of pure gold that
were to be on the table, its plates and dishes
for incense, and its bowls and agons with
which to pour drink oerings.
He also made the lampstand of pure
gold. The base and the shaft of the lampstand
were made of hammered work; its cups, its
calyxes, and its petals were of one piece with
it. There were six branches going out of its
sides, three branches of the lampstand out
of one side of it and three branches of the
lampstand out of the other side of it; three
cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with
calyx and petals, on one branch, and three
calyx and petals, on the other branchso for
the six branches going out of the lampstand.
On the lampstand itself there were four
its calyxes and petals. There was a calyx
of one piece with it under the rst pair of
branches, a calyx of one piece with it under
the next pair of branches, and a calyx of one
piece with it under the last pair of branches.
Their calyxes and their branches were of
one piece with it, the whole of it one hammered piece of pure gold. He made its seven
lamps and its snuers and its trays of pure
gold. He made it and all its utensils of a talent of pure gold.
He made the altar of incense of acacia
wood, one cubit long, and one cubit wide;
it was square, and was two cubits high; its
horns were of one piece with it. He overlaid it with pure gold, its top, and its sides
all around, and its horns; and he made for
it a molding of gold all around, and made
two golden rings for it under its molding,
on two opposite sides of it, to hold the poles
with which to carry it. And he made the
poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them
with gold.
He made the holy anointing oil also, and
the pure fragrant incense, blended as by the
perfumer.
38
He made the altar of burnt oering

also of acacia wood; it was ve cubits
long, and ve cubits wide; it was square, and
three cubits high. He made horns for it on
its four corners; its horns were of one piece
with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. He
made all the utensils of the altar, the pots,
the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the
repans: all its utensils he made of bronze.
He made for the altar a grating, a network
of bronze, under its ledge, extending halfway
down. He cast four rings on the four corners
of the bronze grating to hold the poles; he
made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid
them with bronze. And he put the poles
through the rings on the sides of the altar, to
carry it with them; he made it hollow, with
boards.
He made the basin of bronze with its
stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the
women who served at the entrance to the
tent of meeting.
He made the court; for the south side the
hangings of the court were of ne twisted
linen, one hundred cubits long; its twenty
pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze,
but the hooks of the pillars and their bands
were of silver. For the north side there
were hangings one hundred cubits long; its
twenty pillars and their twenty bases were
of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and
their bands were of silver. For the west side
there were hangings fty cubits long, with
ten pillars and ten bases; the hooks of the
pillars and their bands were of silver. And
for the front to the east, fty cubits. The
hangings for one side of the gate were fteen
cubits, with three pillars and three bases.
And so for the other side; on each side of
the gate of the court were hangings of fteen
cubits, with three pillars and three bases.
All the hangings around the court were of
ne twisted linen. The bases for the pillars
were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars
and their bands were of silver; the overlaying
38.120: Altar (27.18), laver (30.1721), and courtyard (27.919). Unlike in the earlier instructions, the two
ritual itemsaltar (vv. 17) and laver (v. 8)appear sequentially, the laer without the functional details given
earlier but with the added information that its bronze comes from the mirrors of women (also mentioned in
1 Sam 2.22), who were probably low-rank temple servitors. 8: The entrance to the tent of meeting, a highly signicant location as the site of Moses oracular interactions with God (33.910), was not o-limits to women
(see Num 27.12).
136 | hebrew bible
exodus 39
of their capitals was also of silver, and all the
pillars of the court were banded with silver.
The screen for the entrance to the court
was embroidered with needlework in blue,
purple, and crimson yarns and ne twisted
linen. It was twenty cubits long and, along
the width of it, ve cubits high, corresponding to the hangings of the court. There were
four pillars; their four bases were of bronze,
their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of
their capitals and their bands of silver. All
the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court
all around were of bronze.
These are the records of the tabernacle,
the tabernacle of the covenant,a which were
drawn up at the commandment of Moses, the
work of the Levites being under the direction
of Ithamar son of the priest Aaron. Bezalel
son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
made all that the Lord commanded Moses;
and with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, engraver, designer,
and embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson
yarns, and in ne linen.
All the gold that was used for the work,
in all the construction of the sanctuary, the
gold from the oering, was twenty-nine
talents and seven hundred thirty shekels,
measured by the sanctuary shekel. The
silver from those of the congregation who
were counted was one hundred talents and
one thousand seven hundred seventy-ve
shekels, measured by the sanctuary shekel;

a beka a head (that is, half a shekel, measured by the sanctuary shekel), for everyone
who was counted in the census, from twenty
years old and upward, for six hundred three
thousand, ve hundred fty men. The
hundred talents of silver were for casting the
bases of the sanctuary, and the bases of the
curtain; one hundred bases for the hundred
talents, a talent for a base. Of the thousand
seven hundred seventy-ve shekels he made
hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their capitals and made bands for them. The bronze
that was contributed was seventy talents, and
two thousand four hundred shekels; with
it he made the bases for the entrance of the
tent of meeting, the bronze altar and the
bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the
altar, the bases all around the court, and
the bases of the gate of the court, all the pegs
of the tabernacle, and all the pegs around the
court.
Of the blue, purple, and crimson
yarns they made nely worked vestments, for ministering in the holy place; they
made the sacred vestments for Aaron; as the
Lord had commanded Moses.
He made the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of ne twisted
linen. Gold leaf was hammered out and cut
39
38.2131: The inventory of work and metal materials, beginning with the most valuable (gold), has no parallel in the instructions except for the reference in v. 26 to the silver acquired at the census assessment (30.1116),
where it was earmarked for operating, not construction, expenses. 21: Records, tallies of resources about to be
enumerated rather than accounts of work done. Tabernacle of the covenant, meaning that the tabernacle houses
a receptacle (ark) for the covenant document (tablets). The work of the Levites is collecting and accounting; later
it will include maintaining and moving the shrine (Num 4; 7.18). Ithamar, Aarons youngest son (6.23; 28.1), has
a major administrative role. 2223: Bezalel . . . Oholiab, see 31.111n. 24: Talent, see 25.39n. The amount of gold
is slightly less than Hezekiahs tribute to Sennacherib (2 Kings 18.14). Sanctuary shekel, see 30.13n. 2526: For
the collected silver, see 30.1116. The number of men is slightly more than the earlier enumeration; see 12.37n.
2728: Information about the uses of the census (but not the donated) silver is provided; such information is
absent for the gold. 3031: The uses of the bronze (as of the silver but not the gold) are specied; but the lavers
made of womens mirrors (38.8) are omied.
39.131: Vestments (28.143). This section includes some technical details, such as how the ephods golden
threads were made (v. 3), absent in the earlier commands. It also omits some aspects of function: the breastpiece is called breastpiece of judgment three times in ch 28 (vv. 15,29,30; see 28.1530n.) in reference to its
oracular function but not once here; and the Urim and Thummim, used for divination (28.30), are not mentioned. 1: Aaron is named only here and in v. 27, at the beginning and end of this section, whereas he appears
throughout (sixteen times) the earlier instructions on vestments. The name Moses appears seven times here as
part of a formula punctuating the narrative (as the Lord had commanded Moses; vv. 1,5,7,21,26,29,31; cf. 40.16n.).
hebrew bible | 137
exodus 39
into threads to work into the blue, purple,
and crimson yarns and into the ne twisted
linen, in skilled design. They made for the
ephod shoulder-pieces, joined to it at its two
edges. The decorated band on it was of the
same materials and workmanship, of gold, of
twisted linen; as the Lord had commanded
Moses.
The onyx stones were prepared, enclosed
in settings of gold ligree and engraved like
the engravings of a signet, according to the
names of the sons of Israel. He set them
on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be
stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel;
as the Lord had commanded Moses.
He made the breastpiece, in skilled
work, like the work of the ephod, of gold, of
twisted linen. It was square; the breastpiece
was made double, a span in length and a span
in width when doubled. They set in it four
rows of stones. A row of carnelian,a chrysolite, and emerald was the rst row; and the
second row, a turquoise, a sapphire,b and a
moonstone; and the third row, a jacinth,
an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth
row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they were
enclosed in settings of gold ligree. There
were twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they
were like signets, each engraved with its
name, for the twelve tribes. They made on
the breastpiece chains of pure gold, twisted
like cords; and they made two settings of
gold ligree and two gold rings, and put the
two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece;
and they put the two cords of gold in the
two rings at the edges of the breastpiece.
Two ends of the two cords they had attached to the two settings of ligree; in this
way they attached it in front to the shoulderpieces of the ephod. Then they made two
rings of gold, and put them at the two ends
of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to
the ephod. They made two rings of gold,
and attached them in front to the lower part

of the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod, at
its joining above the decorated band of the
ephod. They bound the breastpiece by its
rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue
cord, so that it should lie on the decorated
band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece
should not come loose from the ephod; as the
Lord had commanded Moses.
He also made the robe of the ephod woven
all of blue yarn; and the opening of the robe
in the middle of it was like the opening in a coat
of mail,c with a binding around the opening, so
that it might not be torn. On the lower hem
of the robe they made pomegranates of blue,
purple, and crimson yarns, and of ne twisted
linen. They also made bells of pure gold, and
put the bells between the pomegranates on the
lower hem of the robe all around, between the
pomegranates; a bell and a pomegranate, a
bell and a pomegranate all around on the lower
hem of the robe for ministering; as the Lord
had commanded Moses.
They also made the tunics, woven of ne
linen, for Aaron and his sons, and the turban of ne linen, and the headdresses of ne
linen, and the linen undergarments of ne
twisted linen, and the sash of ne twisted
linen, and of blue, purple, and crimson yarns,
embroidered with needlework; as the Lord
had commanded Moses.
They made the rosette of the holy diadem of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, Holy to
the Lord. They tied to it a blue cord, to
fasten it on the turban above; as the Lord had
commanded Moses.
In this way all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished;
the Israelites had done everything just as
the Lord had commanded Moses. Then
a The identication of several of these stones is
uncertain
b Or lapis lazuli
39.3243: Completing and inspecting the work, listing the components of the tabernacle in the same order
as in chs 3539 (rather than the order of chs 2531). 32: Work . . . nished echoes the Priestly language of Gen 2.2,
as does 40.33; thus the construction of the tabernacle, a microcosm of the cosmos, echoes its creation. Tabernacle of the tent of meeting, used only here and in 40.2,6,29, combines the two designations of the wilderness
shrine and thus its two functions: a place for Gods earthly presence, and a locale for oracular interactions; see
138 | hebrew bible
exodus 40
they brought the tabernacle to Moses,
the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its
frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases;
the covering of tanned rams skins and
the covering of fine leather,a and the curtain for the screen; the ark of the covenantb with its poles and the mercy seat;c
the table with all its utensils, and the
bread of the Presence; the pure lampstand
with its lamps set on it and all its utensils,
and the oil for the light; the golden altar,
the anointing oil and the fragrant incense,
and the screen for the entrance of the tent;
the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze,
its poles, and all its utensils; the basin with
its stand; the hangings of the court, its
pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the
gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs;
and all the utensils for the service of the
tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; the
finely worked vestments for ministering
in the holy place, the sacred vestments for
the priest Aaron, and the vestments of his
sons to serve as priests. The Israelites had
done all of the work just as the Lord had
commanded Moses. When Moses saw that
they had done all the work just as the Lord
had commanded, he blessed them.
The Lord spoke to Moses: On the
rst day of the rst month you shall
set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.
You shall put in it the ark of the covenant,b
and you shall screen the ark with the
curtain. You shall bring in the table, and arrange its setting; and you shall bring in the
lampstand, and set up its lamps. You shall
put the golden altar for incense before the
ark of the covenant,b and set up the screen
for the entrance of the tabernacle. You
shall set the altar of burnt oering before
the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of
meeting, and place the basin between the
40
tent of meeting and the altar, and put water

in it. You shall set up the court all around,
and hang up the screen for the gate of the
court. Then you shall take the anointing
oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is
in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture,
so that it shall become holy. You shall also
anoint the altar of burnt oering and all its
utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that
the altar shall be most holy. You shall also
anoint the basin with its stand, and consecrate it. Then you shall bring Aaron and
his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shall wash them with water, and
put on Aaron the sacred vestments, and you
shall anoint him and consecrate him, so that
he may serve me as priest. You shall bring
his sons also and put tunics on them, and
anoint them, as you anointed their father,
that they may serve me as priests: and their
anointing shall admit them to a perpetual
priesthood throughout all generations to
come.
Moses did everything just as the Lord
had commanded him. In the rst month
in the second year, on the rst day of the
month, the tabernacle was set up. Moses
set up the tabernacle; he laid its bases, and
set up its frames, and put in its poles, and
raised up its pillars; and he spread the tent
over the tabernacle, and put the covering of
the tent over it; as the Lord had commanded
Moses. He took the covenantb and put it
into the ark, and put the poles on the ark,
and set the mercy seatc above the ark; and
he brought the ark into the tabernacle,
and set up the curtain for screening, and

c Or the cover
25.9,16n.; 27.21n. 43: Saw, reminiscent of God seeing the completion of creation (Gen 1.31). Blessed, just as God
oers blessings in the creation account (Gen 1.22,28; 2.3).
40.138: Erection of the tabernacle and Gods presence lling it. Aer the nal instructions for assembling
and anointing Gods earthly abode (vv. 115; cf. 29.49; 30.2630; Lev 8.1013) are carried out (vv. 1633), Gods
presence enters it (vv. 3438). Moses alone assembles and sancties the tabernacles components and consecrates the priests and their vestments. 2: Seing up the tabernacle on the rst day of the rst month (of the
second year aer the Exodus; v. 17), that is, New Years Day, keys it to the beginning of creation, to the new
creation aer the ood (Gen 8.13), and to the beginning of freedom (see 12.2n.). 16: As the Lord had commanded him appears in this introductory command and then seven more times, following seven units of assembly
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exodus 40
screened the ark of the covenant;a as the
Lord had commanded Moses. He put the
table in the tent of meeting, on the north
side of the tabernacle, outside the curtain,
and set the bread in order on it before the
Lord; as the Lord had commanded Moses.
He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of
the tabernacle, and set up the lamps before the Lord; as the Lord had commanded
Moses. He put the golden altar in the tent
of meeting before the curtain, and oered
fragrant incense on it; as the Lord had commanded Moses. He also put in place the
screen for the entrance of the tabernacle.
He set the altar of burnt oering at the
entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of
meeting, and oered on it the burnt oering
and the grain oering as the Lord had commanded Moses. He set the basin between
the tent of meeting and the altar, and put
water in it for washing, with which Moses
and Aaron and his sons washed their hands
and their feet. When they went into the

tent of meeting, and when they approached
the altar, they washed; as the Lord had
commanded Moses. He set up the court
around the tabernacle and the altar, and
put up the screen at the gate of the court. So
Moses nished the work.
Then the cloud covered the tent of
meeting, and the glory of the Lord lled the
tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter
the tent of meeting because the cloud settled
upon it, and the glory of the Lord lled the
tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken
up from the tabernacle, the Israelites would
set out on each stage of their journey; but
if the cloud was not taken up, then they did
not set out until the day that it was taken
up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the
tabernacle by day, and re was in the cloudb
by night, before the eyes of all the house of
b Heb it
(vv. 19,21,23,25,27,29,32), perhaps replicating the seven days of creation (see 39.2n.). 33: Finished the work, see
39.32n. 3438: Cloud, see 3.2n.; 13.21n. Glory of the Lord, see 16.7n. 34: The cloud covered the shrine, just as it
covered the mountain of revelation (24.15). Here the cloud indicates divine satisfaction with the construction
of the tabernacle as a residence for the divine. 38: House of Israel, which designates the Israelites only here and
16.31 in the book of Exodus, may be a wordplay: the Israelites are a house and the Lord now has an earthly house
(cf. 2 Sam 7.11,13,16). The cloud and re of divine presence will guide the people on the remaining stages of their
journey (see 12.37n.; 13.21n.; Num 9.1523; 10.1128).
LEVITICUS
name and location in canon
Leviticus is situated at the center of the Torah, the Pentateuch. It derives its English name from the ancient Greek
translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, where the book is titled Leviticus because its main concern
is worship practices ociated by the high priest Aaron and his descendants, who belong to the tribe of Levi.
Because Levites not belonging to Aarons line are mentioned only briey in Leviticus (25.3233), the early rabbinic
title, The Priests Instruction (torat kohanim), is perhaps more ing. The books Hebrew name, wayyiqra (And
he [the Lord] summoned), follows the custom of titling ancient literary works according to their opening word(s).
authorship and date

Though traditionally aributed to Moses, the book of Leviticus is part of the larger Priestly source in the Pentateuch, which appears primarily in GenesisNumbers and is so named because its content, theological ideas, and
literary style reect priestly perspectives. This Priestly source was penned by several dierent anonymous authors
or groups of authors. The two main compositional strata in Leviticus are known as P (Priestly), which comprises
most of chs 116; and H (Holiness), which includes the Holiness Collection (chs 1726; so named because of its
repeated exhortation to the Israelites to be holy), the addendum on vows, dedications, and tithes in ch 27, and brief
interpolations in chs 116. These two strata are distinguishable on the basis of ideological and stylistic dierences.
Recent scholarship has demonstrated that H was composed to revise, supplement, and complete the earlier
P strata of the Priestly source, even as it agrees with Ps basic historical myth and religious ideology. Many of
Hs innovations over against P are mediating positions between P and non-Priestly Pentateuchal legislation.
For example, in P the only Israelites who are holy are priests. In Deuteronomy, all of Israel is holy. H mediates between these positions by providing a means for lay Israelites to aain holiness by obeying the divine
commandments. H also introduces ethical commandments that parallel non-Priestly Pentateuchal laws but fall
outside the scope of Ps ritual concerns.
Scholars have proposed various methods for dating Leviticus. One of the most promising exploits correspondences between its H portions and laws in the book of Deuteronomy. Strong evidence suggests that at
least the core of Deuteronomy originated in the late seventh century bce. Because H seems to revise this Deuteronomic core, it must postdate Deuteronomy. The P portions of Leviticus, which predate H, exhibit lile or
no correspondence with Deuteronomy and thus may be contemporary with or older than Deuteronomy; at the
very least, they did not know Deuteronomy. Thus, Leviticus, like other books of the Torah, was composed over
a long period: it preserves some preexilic traditions, but its literary form likely originated in the exilic period.
Correlations between Leviticus and the exilic book of Ezekiel also support this view.
contents and structure

Though its content is primarily religious ritual and law, Leviticus is part of the larger Priestly story in the Pentateuch. It recounts the delivery of its divine instructions to Moses at the tent of meeting (1.1; 7.38). The book also
includes two sections of narratives not dominated by divine instruction (8.110.20; 24.1023); yet even these narrative sections serve as historical context and rationale for the laws embedded within them. Situated in Leviticus,
however, the priestly legislation receives powerful validation through its narrative seing. The larger Priestly narrative secures the proper pedigree for these laws: they are divine revelation mediated by Moses in the wilderness.
Set at Mount Sinai, Leviticus begins exactly one year aer the Israelites departure from Egypt, immediately
following Mosess construction of the tent of meeting and its indwelling by the deity at the end of the book of
Exodus (Ex 40.1735). The Priestly sources plot continues in the book of Numbers from the exact moment that
Leviticus ends. The date in Num 1.1 (the rst day of the second month, in the second year) conrms that the
series of divine speeches delivered in Leviticus and the other events recorded in the book ostensibly occurred
over a period of one month.
Leviticus can be divided into ve major sections:
1. Sacrice (chs 17). In the Priestly source, the Israelites present no sacricial oerings prior to receiving these laws. The sacricial laws must precede the consecration of the priests and dedication of the
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leviticus
2.
3.
5.
tabernacle in chs 89 because Moses and the priests must know how to perform the sacrices at these
events. This section is subdivided into two parts: (a) basic prescriptions for presenting sacricial oerings (1.16.7); and (b) elaborations on the preceding instructions (6.87.38), with particular emphasis on
priestly concerns.
The dedication of the tabernacle and priests and the transgression of Aarons sons (chs 810). This unit
is subdivided into two sections: (a) the seven-day consecration of the priests by Moses, including the
dedication of the tabernacle (ch 8); and (b) the inaugural service of the priests on the eighth day, culminating in the revelation of the divine glory, and the subsequent transgression of Aarons sons Nadab and
Abihu (9.110.20).
Ritual purity (chs 1116). This section is subdivided into two parts: (a) the impurity laws (chs 1115); and
(b) the Day of Atonement (ch 16). The impurity laws are enumerated prior to the description of the Day
of Atonement in order to clarify the impurities cleansed in the annual ritual.
The Holiness Collection (chs 1726). This unit (also called the Holiness Code; see 17.126.46n.) has six
subdivisions: (a) laws governing sacrice and meat consumption (ch 17); (b) miscellaneous ethical laws
(chs 1820); (c) priestly and sacricial rules (chs 2122); (d) laws governing calendrical observances
(23.124.9; 25.126.2); (e) the account of the blasphemer, with related measure-for-measure laws, which
interrupt the calendrical observance laws (24.1023); and (f) inducements for Israels obedience, with
summary postscript (26.346).
An addendum concerning vows, dedications, and tithes (ch 27).
interpretation
Leviticus is dicult to understand and appreciate because it is highly technical and regularly assumes knowledge of its ritual system. Its sparse narrative structure is also easily obscured due to the large blocks of laws
that dominate the book. In addition, its authors approaches to the issues they treat and their assumptions
about them are oen far removed from modern Western views.
One aempt by the translators of the NRSV to bridge the gap between the ancient text of Leviticus and
its modern readers is their substitution of gender-neutral language for many of the masculine pronouns and
verbal forms in the book. While the intent motivating this eort is laudable, elimination of male-centered
language has resulted in sometimes confusing alterations to the original Hebrew text. For example, laws expressed with third-person masculine forms (If his oering is from the herd, he shall make it an unblemished
male) are regularly le untranslated or rendered into English with (nongendered) second-person forms (If the
oering is from the herd, you shall oer a male without blemish). Likewise, singular verbs (When any of you
brings an oering) are translated as plurals (When any of you bring an oering) or converted from active (he
shall slaughter the bull) to passive voice (the bull shall be slaughtered). The foregoing examples, drawn from
Lev 1.25, are representative of similar changes elsewhere in the book and are problematic for two reasons.
First, such changes prevent the reader from understanding both individual verses and the larger religious program of the Priestly authors. Second, these alterations obscure the formal characteristics of biblical legislation
and distinguishing features of both smaller, preexisting units assembled by P and, at times, even dierences
between P and H.
In their ancient context, the primary concern of the laws in Leviticus is to establish the requisite circumstances for the deitys habitation among the Israelites. The Priestly authors claim that following the commandments in Leviticus will ensure the tangible benets and protection of the divine presence in the Israelites
midst. Failure to adhere to these laws will result in the deitys departure from the tabernacle and the loss of
divine benefaction.
With the later emergence of Judaism, the laws of Leviticus became a major source for rabbinic Jewish halakhah (law) and remain the basis for many modern Jewish religious practices, such as dietary rules, purity rules,
and holidays. The laws of Leviticus also inform many New Testament texts.
guide to reading
Because the focus of Leviticuss narrative is the law in its divine speeches, the book is most protably read rst
according to legal topic rather than from beginning to end. An initial reading might begin with a sampling of
Leviticuss purity and ethical laws in chs 1112 and 19 and rules for removal of impurity and sin, as found in chs 4
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leviticus 1
and 16. The reader could then turn to other exemplary chapters: chs 8 and 21 on the priesthood, ch 17 on slaughter and meat consumption, ch 23 on festivals, ch 25 on the sabbatical and jubilee years, and ch 26 on divine
inducements for obedience. Further study may focus on a particular chapter or group of thematically related
chapters, as outlined earlier. The distinctiveness of the laws in Leviticus and the theological perspectives they
express can also be appreciated through comparison with topically related laws in Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Ezekiel 4048. The authors of the book of Leviticus created a remarkably coherent system of ritual
and theology, and the dierent parts of the book should be read with an eye toward this larger internal logic.
Jerey Stackert
The Lord summoned Moses and spoke

to him from the tent of meeting, saying:
Speak to the people of Israel and say to
them: When any of you bring an oering of
livestock to the Lord, you shall bring your
oering from the herd or from the ock.
If the oering is a burnt oering from the

herd, you shall oer a male without blemish;
you shall bring it to the entrance of the tent
of meeting, for acceptance in your behalf
before the Lord. You shall lay your hand on
the head of the burnt oering, and it shall be
1.17.38: Sacricial prescriptions. This section comprises two parts: 1.16.7 and 6.87.38. In Priestly thought,
sacrice, a ritualized meal for the deity at times shared with its oerers, is the basic mode of interaction with
God. To be accepted, sacrices must be performed according to the divine instructions.
1.16.7: Basic sacricial instructions. These laws address basic procedures for presenting food gi oerings
(1.13.17) and purication and atonement oerings (4.16.7). These sacrices can also be categorized according
to the quality of each oerings sanctity. The grain, purication, and reparation oerings are each most holy,
a designation that reserves their edible portions for the priests (cf. 6.17; Num 18.810). Well-being oerings,
portions of which are consumed by lay Israelites, are less holy sacrices. Because burnt oerings are not eaten
by humans, their holiness status is undesignated. All oerings in Leviticus share the underlying rationale for
sacrice in Israel and the ancient Near East: sacrice is an enticement to the deity to engender good will or to
mitigate potential threats.
1.13.17: Instructions for gi% oerings of food. The burnt oering, grain oering, and well-being oerings
(thanksgiving, votive, or freewill; cf. 7.1118) presented by Israelite laypersons are impromptu sacrices. Each
is described as an oering by re (e.g., 1.9; 2.2; 3.3), beer translated a gi oering (of food) (cf. 3.11,17).
Presentation of gi oerings provides laypersons a specic means of expressing devotion to the deity and of
favorably disposing God toward the oerer. As gis, sacrices become personal possessions of the deity. Further, God is understood to consume the sacricial portions burned on the altar (cf. 21.6,8), though this view is
partially sublimated in Priestly theology.
1.117: The burnt oering. The burnt oering is completely consumed in re on the altar. Its name literally
means that which goes up (in smoke from the altar; cf. 1.9). Three dierent types of animals for burnt oerings are listed (in descending order of value): a bull (vv. 39), a male sheep or goat (vv. 1013), and turtledoves
or pigeons (vv. 1417). 1: Tent of meeting, see Ex 26; 29.4246; 40.3438. The tent of meeting is situated in the
middle of the Israelite wilderness camp (Num 2.2) and is the dwelling place of the Lord. 2: This is a general
introduction to the burnt oering here and the well-being oering in ch 3. It claries that all animal food gi
oerings must be from domesticated animals (cf. 17.116n.). Omission of birds here suggests that vv. 1417 are
a secondary addition. You shall bring your oering, lit. he shall bring his oering. Throughout this chapter, the
oerer is described in the grammatical third-person masculine singular. 3: Without blemish, cf. Mal 1.614. Burnt
oerings are impromptu sacrices of religious devotion (cf. 22.1820). They are also regularly included in statutory religious observances (Ex 29.3842; Num 2829). Because of the prominence of burnt oerings in sacricial worship, the main altar in the tabernacle courtyard is called the altar of burnt oering (Ex 38.1; 40.6). The
entrance of the tent of meeting is the courtyard area between the altar of burnt oering and the tent (Ex 29.4;
30.1721). 4: Lay your hand, one hand only, to designate ownership of the animal prior to sacrice. And it shall be
acceptable, beer, and it will be accepted (cf. 19.58). The language of acceptance in vv. 34 underscores the
sacrice as a gi eliciting divine favor (cf. Mal 1.614). As atonement for you, beer, as a ransom for him; see
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leviticus 2
acceptable in your behalf as atonement for
you. The bull shall be slaughtered before
the Lord; and Aarons sons the priests shall
oer the blood, dashing the blood against all
sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the
tent of meeting. The burnt oering shall be
ayed and cut up into its parts. The sons of
the priest Aaron shall put re on the altar and
arrange wood on the re. Aarons sons the
priests shall arrange the parts, with the head
and the suet, on the wood that is on the re
on the altar; but its entrails and its legs shall
be washed with water. Then the priest shall
turn the whole into smoke on the altar as a
burnt oering, an oering by re of pleasing
odor to the Lord.
If your gift for a burnt oering is from
the ock, from the sheep or goats, your oering shall be a male without blemish. It shall
be slaughtered on the north side of the altar
before the Lord, and Aarons sons the priests
shall dash its blood against all sides of the
altar. It shall be cut up into its parts, with its
head and its suet, and the priest shall arrange
them on the wood that is on the re on the
altar; but the entrails and the legs shall be
washed with water. Then the priest shall oer
the whole and turn it into smoke on the altar;
it is a burnt oering, an oering by re of

pleasing odor to the Lord.
If your oering to the Lord is a burnt
oering of birds, you shall choose your offering from turtledoves or pigeons. The
priest shall bring it to the altar and wring o
its head, and turn it into smoke on the altar;
and its blood shall be drained out against the
side of the altar. He shall remove its crop
with its contentsa and throw it at the east side
of the altar, in the place for ashes. He shall
tear it open by its wings without severing it.
Then the priest shall turn it into smoke on
the altar, on the wood that is on the re; it is a
burnt oering, an oering by re of pleasing
odor to the Lord.
When anyone presents a grain oering to the Lord, the oering shall be of
choice our; the worshiper shall pour oil on
it, and put frankincense on it, and bring it
to Aarons sons the priests. After taking from
it a handful of the choice our and oil, with
all its frankincense, the priest shall turn this
token portion into smoke on the altar, an
oering by re of pleasing odor to the Lord.
And what is left of the grain oering shall
17.11n. 5: The bull shall be slaughtered, lit. he [the oerer] shall slaughter the bull (contrast Ezek 44.11). Dashing
blood on the altar ransoms the life of the oerer who kills the animal (cf. 17.4,11); it is also found in the cases of
the well-being oering (3.2,8,13), the reparation oering (7.2), and the oering of rstborn animals (Num 18.17);
cf. Ex 24.6. 7: The sons of the priest Aaron, though referring immediately to the male children of Aaron, these
include all subsequent priests from Aarons clan (cf. v. 8). 9: Turn the whole into smoke, emphasizing that God
enjoys the entire sacrice and concretizing the image of the sacrices pleasing odor (cf. Gen 8.21). Though the
Priestly authors view the earthly tabernacle as Gods dwelling place, the imagery of smoke rising from the altar
suggests that the deity is in the heavens. Burning sacricial portions is a ritualized manner of eecting divine
consumption.
2.116: The grain oering. Instructions for the grain oering, whose name literally means gi, tribute (eliciting favor), interrupt the animal food gi oerings in chs 1 and 3 (cf. 1.2). Like the passage on the birds in
1.1417, these instructions are inserted into an earlier unit and were likely added in order to provide a still more
aordable alternative for the burnt oering (cf. 1.117n.; 5.113). The second-person address of vv. 416, which
accurately reects the underlying Hebrew text, further sets these verses apart from vv. 13 and chs 1 and 3, all
of which employ third-person language to describe the oerer (see Introduction). The grain oering is also a
regular accompaniment to the burnt oering presented in statutory religious observances and on other occasions (cf. Ex 29.3842; 40.29; Lev 9.17; Num 15.112; 28.46). Two main types of grain oerings are described:
raw (vv. 13) and cooked (vv. 410). The cooked type is further subdivided according to method of preparation. While the raw variety is accompanied by oil and frankincense, only oil accompanies the cooked varieties,
perhaps to make them more aordable for the poor. The required preparation may compensate for the lack of
frankincense. 1: Frankincense, an aromatic resin from shrubs found in Arabia and East Africa. 23: Token portion, unlike the burnt oering, only a portion of the grain oering is burned. The remainder is designated as
compensation for the priests (cf. Num 18.810). Oering by re, see 1.13.17n. Pleasing odor, see 1.9n. While the
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leviticus 3
be for Aaron and his sons, a most holy part of
the oerings by re to the Lord.
When you present a grain oering baked
in the oven, it shall be of choice our: unleavened cakes mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers spread with oil. If your oering is grain
prepared on a griddle, it shall be of choice
our mixed with oil, unleavened; break it in
pieces, and pour oil on it; it is a grain oering.
If your oering is grain prepared in a pan,
it shall be made of choice our in oil. You
shall bring to the Lord the grain oering that
is prepared in any of these ways; and when it
is presented to the priest, he shall take it to
the altar. The priest shall remove from the
grain oering its token portion and turn this
into smoke on the altar, an oering by re of
pleasing odor to the Lord. And what is left
of the grain oering shall be for Aaron and
his sons; it is a most holy part of the oerings
by re to the Lord.
No grain oering that you bring to the
Lord shall be made with leaven, for you must
not turn any leaven or honey into smoke as
an oering by re to the Lord. You may
bring them to the Lord as an oering of
choice products, but they shall not be oered
on the altar for a pleasing odor. You shall

not omit from your grain oerings the salt
of the covenant with your God; with all your
oerings you shall oer salt.
If you bring a grain oering of rst fruits
to the Lord, you shall bring as the grain oering of your rst fruits coarse new grain from
fresh ears, parched with re. You shall add
oil to it and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain
oering. And the priest shall turn a token
portion of it into smokesome of the coarse
grain and oil with all its frankincense; it is an
oering by re to the Lord.
If the oering is a sacrice of wellbeing, if you oer an animal of the herd,
whether male or female, you shall oer one
without blemish before the Lord. You shall
lay your hand on the head of the oering
and slaughter it at the entrance of the tent of
meeting; and Aarons sons the priests shall
dash the blood against all sides of the altar.
You shall oer from the sacrice of wellbeing, as an oering by re to the Lord, the
fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that
is around the entrails; the two kidneys with
the fat that is on them at the loins, and the
appendage of the liver, which he shall remove
frankincense is aromatic, the pleasing smell to God is not from incense, for the grain oering without frankincense produces the same eect (cf. v. 9). Most holy part, see 1.16.7n. 11: Honey, fruit syrup made from dates
or grapes, not bees honey (cf. 2 Chr 31.5). Leavening agents (including honey, which supports fermentation)
are prohibited from grain oerings, perhaps to expedite their preparation (cf. Ex 12.39; Deut 16.3). 12: Choice
products, rst-processed products, such as oil, wine, grain, and dough (cf. Num 15.2021; 18.1213). Contrast the
rst-harvested grain oering of vv. 1416. 13: NRSV omits the beginning of this verse: You shall season each
of your grain oerings with salt. Salt inhibits fermentation and thus may be a corollary to the prohibitions
against leaven and honey. It is more likely, however, that salt functions as a avor enhancer for the deitys food,
as it does in Mesopotamian food oerings (cf. 1.13.17n.; 1.9n.; Job 6:6). Salt of the covenant, the term covenant
(Heb, berit) here refers to a statutory requirement (cf. Ex 31:16; contrast Lev 24.89, Num 18.19, and Num 25.13,
where covenant refers to a due or allotment). The text is beer translated, You shall not omit from your grain
oering the salt required by your God. 1416: The rst ripe oering may be a form of the oering in 23.1011.
3.117: The well-being oering. There are three subtypes of well-being oerings: thanksgiving, votive, and
freewill (7.1118; 22.21). The meaning of the Hebrew name of the oering, shelamim, is uncertain. Proposals
include gi, payment, communion, covenant, peace, whole, and salvic, among others. Wellbeing is preferable because the oering is motivated by the positive circumstance of its oerer. It is the only
sacrice whose meat may be consumed by laypersons (rather than priests). As such, it is a less holy oering (cf.
1.16.7n.; 7.1921). According to the Priestly authors, all sacriceable animals must be presented as oerings at
the tabernacle if their meat is to be eaten (cf. 17.37)they serve as a communal feast between the Israelites
and God. Both male and female herd (vv. 15) and ock animals (vv. 616) are eligible as well-being sacrices,
for their primary purpose is to provide meat for lay consumption. Portions of the sacrice are burned on the
altar (3.910,1415), and portions are designated for the priests (7.2836), but the main share is retained by the
oerer (7.1521; 19.68). 1: Without blemish, see 22.2130. 2: Lay your hand, see 1.4n. Dash the blood, see 1.5n.
35: The visceral fat and the organs are considered the most desirable portions and are thus reserved for God
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leviticus 4
with the kidneys. Then Aarons sons shall
turn these into smoke on the altar, with the
burnt oering that is on the wood on the re,
as an oering by re of pleasing odor to the
Lord.
If your oering for a sacrice of wellbeing to the Lord is from the ock, male or
female, you shall oer one without blemish.
If you present a sheep as your oering, you
shall bring it before the Lord and lay your
hand on the head of the oering. It shall be
slaughtered before the tent of meeting, and
Aarons sons shall dash its blood against all
sides of the altar. You shall present its fat
from the sacrice of well-being, as an oering by re to the Lord: the whole broad tail,
which shall be removed close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, and all
the fat that is around the entrails; the two
kidneys with the fat that is on them at the
loins, and the appendage of the liver, which
you shall remove with the kidneys. Then
the priest shall turn these into smoke on the
altar as a food oering by re to the Lord.
If your oering is a goat, you shall bring
it before the Lord and lay your hand on its
head; it shall be slaughtered before the tent
of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall dash
its blood against all sides of the altar. You
shall present as your oering from it, as an

oering by re to the Lord, the fat that covers
the entrails, and all the fat that is around the
entrails; the two kidneys with the fat that
is on them at the loins, and the appendage
of the liver, which you shall remove with the
kidneys. Then the priest shall turn these
into smoke on the altar as a food oering by
re for a pleasing odor.
All fat is the Lords. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all
your settlements: you must not eat any fat or
any blood.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak
to the people of Israel, saying: When anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lords
commandments about things not to be done,
and does any one of them:
If it is the anointed priest who sins, thus
bringing guilt on the people, he shall oer
for the sin that he has committed a bull of
the herd without blemish as a sin oering
to the Lord. He shall bring the bull to the
entrance of the tent of meeting before the
Lord and lay his hand on the head of the bull;
the bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord.
The anointed priest shall take some of the
blood of the bull and bring it into the tent
of meeting. The priest shall dip his nger
alone (cf. vv. 1617). In Hebrew, fat oen connotes best. 5: With the burnt oering, referring to the statutory
daily morning oering (Ex 29.3842); pleasing odor, see 1.9n. 9: Broad tail, the predominant species of sheep in
the Levant has a fay area surrounding the tail that can weight up to 33 lb (15 kg). 16b17: See 17.1014n.; Gen
9.4; Ezek 44.7. These verses are an H addition to P.
4.16.7: Instructions for atonement oerings. Unlike gi oerings, which are spontaneous acts of worship,
atonement oerings are required to purge the sanctuary of ritual contamination caused by various sins and impurities. Le unpurged, the accumulation of sin and impurity in the tabernacle threatens the abiding presence
of the deity. If God departs, Israel loses all divine protection and benefaction (cf. Ezek 811).
4.135: The purication oering. Traditionally translated sin oering, this sacrice actually puries the
sanctuary from delement, not the individual from sin; it is thus beer translated purication oering. The
purication oerings blood acts as a ritual detergent, cleansing the tabernacle complex from inadvertent
transgressions of divine prohibitions. Numbers 15.2231 expands the application of the purication oering
to inadvertent transgression of all divine prescriptions, including explicit commandments. Ch 4 considers inadvertent sins of four dierent parties: the high priest (vv. 312), the entire Israelite congregation (vv. 1321),
a chieain (vv. 2226), and an ordinary Israelite (vv. 2735). The severity of the resulting sanctuary pollution
relates to the status of the sinner and is reected by the animal required for the oering and the locations
where its blood is applied. Sins of the high priest and entire community penetrate into the outer room of the
tabernacle (vv. 57,1618), while sins of a chieain or ordinary layperson are less potent, accumulating only on
the outer sacricial altar (vv. 25,30,34). Ch 16 adds a third tier to this gradation: deliberate sins penetrate into
and pollute the holy of holies, the inner sanctum of the deity (16.1117). 2: Unintentionally, lit. in error, referring
to actions done in negligence or ignorance (cf. vv. 1314). 312: Oering of the high priest. 4: Entrance of the tent
of meeting, see 1.3n. Lay his hand, see 1.4n. 6: Curtain, Ex 26.3133. Sprinkling blood purges the outer room of the
146 | hebrew bible
leviticus 4
in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood
seven times before the Lord in front of the
curtain of the sanctuary. The priest shall
put some of the blood on the horns of the
altar of fragrant incense that is in the tent
of meeting before the Lord; and the rest of
the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the
base of the altar of burnt oering, which is
at the entrance of the tent of meeting. He
shall remove all the fat from the bull of sin
oering: the fat that covers the entrails and
all the fat that is around the entrails; the two
kidneys with the fat that is on them at the
loins; and the appendage of the liver, which
he shall remove with the kidneys, just as
these are removed from the ox of the sacrice
of well-being. The priest shall turn them into
smoke upon the altar of burnt oering. But
the skin of the bull and all its esh, as well as
its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung
all the rest of the bullhe shall carry out
to a clean place outside the camp, to the ash
heap, and shall burn it on a wood re; at the
ash heap it shall be burned.
If the whole congregation of Israel errs
unintentionally and the matter escapes the
notice of the assembly, and they do any one
of the things that by the Lords commandments ought not to be done and incur guilt;
when the sin that they have committed
becomes known, the assembly shall oer a
bull of the herd for a sin oering and bring
it before the tent of meeting. The elders
of the congregation shall lay their hands on
the head of the bull before the Lord, and the
bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord.
The anointed priest shall bring some of
the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting, and the priest shall dip his nger in the
blood and sprinkle it seven times before the
Lord, in front of the curtain. He shall put
some of the blood on the horns of the altar
that is before the Lord in the tent of meeting;

and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at
the base of the altar of burnt oering that is
at the entrance of the tent of meeting. He
shall remove all its fat and turn it into smoke
on the altar. He shall do with the bull just
as is done with the bull of sin oering; he
shall do the same with this. The priest shall
make atonement for them, and they shall be
forgiven. He shall carry the bull outside the
camp, and burn it as he burned the rst bull;
it is the sin oering for the assembly.
When a ruler sins, doing unintentionally
any one of all the things that by commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be
done and incurs guilt, once the sin that he
has committed is made known to him, he
shall bring as his oering a male goat without
blemish. He shall lay his hand on the head
of the goat; it shall be slaughtered at the spot
where the burnt oering is slaughtered before the Lord; it is a sin oering. The priest
shall take some of the blood of the sin oering with his nger and put it on the horns
of the altar of burnt oering, and pour out
the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of
burnt oering. All its fat he shall turn into
smoke on the altar, like the fat of the sacrice
of well-being. Thus the priest shall make
atonement on his behalf for his sin, and he
shall be forgiven.
If anyone of the ordinary people among
you sins unintentionally in doing any one of
the things that by the Lords commandments
ought not to be done and incurs guilt, when
the sin that you have committed is made
known to you, you shall bring a female goat
without blemish as your oering, for the sin
that you have committed. You shall lay your
hand on the head of the sin oering; and the
sin oering shall be slaughtered at the place
of the burnt oering. The priest shall take
tent. 7: Horns, see Ex 27.2; 30.23. The altar of fragrant incense is in the outer room of the tabernacle (Ex 30.110);
see plan on p. 118. Daubing blood on the altars horns purges it from sin and pollution. The remainder of the
blood is poured on the ground for disposal (cf. 17.13; Deut 12.16,27). 810: see 3.35. 1112: Unlike purication
oerings from the ock (cf. 6.2429), no meat from the bull purication oering may be eaten (cf. 6.30), for the
priest may not benet from his own transgression. 1321: Oering for the entire congregation. 20: For them,
meaning on their behalf, i.e., in response to their sin. And they shall be forgiven, forgiveness is assured once
the required ritual procedure is accomplished. Though this concluding formula is omied from the high priests
oering, it should be assumed there as well (cf. vv. 26,31,35). 2226: Oering for a chieain. 22: Ruler probably
means chieain or clan leader (see Num 1.16). 2735: Oering for an ordinary Israelite.
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leviticus 5
some of its blood with his nger and put it
on the horns of the altar of burnt oering,
and he shall pour out the rest of its blood at
the base of the altar. He shall remove all its
fat, as the fat is removed from the oering of
well-being, and the priest shall turn it into
smoke on the altar for a pleasing odor to the
Lord. Thus the priest shall make atonement
on your behalf, and you shall be forgiven.
If the oering you bring as a sin offering is a sheep, you shall bring a female
without blemish. You shall lay your hand
on the head of the sin oering; and it shall be
slaughtered as a sin oering at the spot where
the burnt oering is slaughtered. The priest
shall take some of the blood of the sin oering with his nger and put it on the horns of
the altar of burnt oering, and pour out the
rest of its blood at the base of the altar. You
shall remove all its fat, as the fat of the sheep
is removed from the sacrice of well-being,
and the priest shall turn it into smoke on the
altar, with the oerings by re to the Lord.
Thus the priest shall make atonement on
your behalf for the sin that you have committed, and you shall be forgiven.
When any of you sin in that you have
heard a public adjuration to testify and
though able to testify as one who has seen or
learned of the matterdo not speak up, you
are subject to punishment. Or when any of
you touch any unclean thingwhether the

carcass of an unclean beast or the carcass
of unclean livestock or the carcass of an unclean swarming thingand are unaware of
it, you have become unclean, and are guilty.
Or when you touch human uncleanness
any uncleanness by which one can become
uncleanand are unaware of it, when you
come to know it, you shall be guilty. Or
when any of you utter aloud a rash oath for a
bad or a good purpose, whatever people utter
in an oath, and are unaware of it, when you
come to know it, you shall in any of these be
guilty. When you realize your guilt in any of
these, you shall confess the sin that you have
committed. And you shall bring to the Lord,
as your penalty for the sin that you have
committed, a female from the ock, a sheep
or a goat, as a sin oering; and the priest shall
make atonement on your behalf for your sin.
But if you cannot aord a sheep, you shall
bring to the Lord, as your penalty for the sin
that you have committed, two turtledoves or
two pigeons, one for a sin oering and the
other for a burnt oering. You shall bring
them to the priest, who shall oer rst the
one for the sin oering, wringing its head
at the nape without severing it. He shall
sprinkle some of the blood of the sin oering
on the side of the altar, while the rest of the
blood shall be drained out at the base of the
5.113: Purication oerings for specic oenses. This passage extends the scope of ch 4, detailing four
specic sins that require purication oerings. In each case (v. 1, withholding testimony; v. 2, contracting impurity from an animal; v. 3, contracting impurity from a person; v. 4, failure to fulll an oath due to negligence),
the sin or pollution has persisted over a prolonged period (vv. 45). This lapse of time, which in no case diminishes the gravity of sin or pollution but instead exacerbates it, unites the case of withholding testimony, which
is premeditated, with the nal three cases, which involve inadvertent actions. Verses 14 each present the
circumstance of a persons actions and state of mind but do not render a verdict or outline a required response,
which comes only in v. 5. 1: You are subject to punishment, lit. and he bears his sin (cf. 1.2n.). P portrays sin
both as a weight of guilt shouldered by the oender until it is borne away through forgiveness and as a deling
object aracted to the sanctuary like certain metals to a magnet. Le unremedied, such sins will accumulate in
the sanctuary and drive the deity from it (cf. 16.134n.). 23: You have become unclean, and are guilty, emendation yields, but he has realized it and now feels guilt. For impurity contracted by touching animal carcasses,
see 11.8,2440. When you come to know it, you shall be guilty, lit. but he has realized it and now feels guilt. For
impurity contracted by touching a human, see 15.410,1924,2627; Num 19.1113,16. In each of these cases,
had the person who contracted pollution immediately puried him- or herself, no purication oering would
have been required. 4: When you come to know it . . . be guilty, lit. but he has realized it and now feels guilt. In
any of these was inadvertently inserted here from v. 5 because the scribes eye skipped. 56: The ritual procedure for sanctuary purication in these four cases requires confession as well as a purication oering, unlike
the unintentional sins in ch 4. 713: Less costly alternatives for the purication oering. It is not clear whether
these substitutions may be made only in cases of the four sins in vv. 14 or for any purication oering. 7: Two
148 | hebrew bible
leviticus 6
altar; it is a sin oering. And the second
he shall oer for a burnt oering according
to the regulation. Thus the priest shall make
atonement on your behalf for the sin that you
have committed, and you shall be forgiven.
But if you cannot aord two turtledoves
or two pigeons, you shall bring as your offering for the sin that you have committed
one-tenth of an ephah of choice our for
a sin oering; you shall not put oil on it or
lay frankincense on it, for it is a sin oering. You shall bring it to the priest, and the
priest shall scoop up a handful of it as its
memorial portion, and turn this into smoke
on the altar, with the oerings by re to the
Lord; it is a sin oering. Thus the priest
shall make atonement on your behalf for
whichever of these sins you have committed,
and you shall be forgiven. Like the grain offering, the rest shall be for the priest.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: When
any of you commit a trespass and sin unintentionally in any of the holy things of the
Lord, you shall bring, as your guilt oering
to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the
ock, convertible into silver by the sanctuary
shekel; it is a guilt oering. And you shall
make restitution for the holy thing in which
you were remiss, and shall add one-fth to it
and give it to the priest. The priest shall make
atonement on your behalf with the ram of the
guilt oering, and you shall be forgiven.
If any of you sin without knowing it, doing any of the things that by the Lords com-
mandments ought not to be done, you have

incurred guilt, and are subject to punishment.
You shall bring to the priest a ram without
blemish from the ock, or the equivalent,
as a guilt oering; and the priest shall make
atonement on your behalf for the error that
you committed unintentionally, and you shall
be forgiven. It is a guilt oering; you have
incurred guilt before the Lord.
a The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
When any of you sin and commit a trespass against the Lord by deceiving a neighbor in a matter of a deposit or a pledge, or by
robbery, or if you have defrauded a neighbor,
or have found something lost and lied about
itif you swear falsely regarding any of
the various things that one may do and sin
thereby when you have sinned and realize
your guilt, and would restore what you took
by robbery or by fraud or the deposit that was
committed to you, or the lost thing that you
found, or anything else about which you
have sworn falsely, you shall repay the principal amount and shall add one-fth to it.
You shall pay it to its owner when you realize
your guilt. And you shall bring to the priest,
as your guilt oering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the ock, or its equivalent,
for a guilt oering. The priest shall make
atonement on your behalf before the Lord,
and you shall be forgiven for any of the things
that one may do and incur guilt thereby.
a Ch 5.20 in Heb
birds are necessary, one for the purifying blood, and the other for the fat pieces to be burned on the altar. 10:
According to the regulation, see 1.1417. 1113: The substitution of a grain oering is a noteworthy accommodation because it includes no blood, the essential component of the purication oering. Because this grain
oering is presented in response to wrongdoing, frankincense and oil, symbols of joy, are excluded from it. 11:
Ephah, about 21 qts (23 l).
5.146.7: The reparation oering. Traditionally translated guilt oering, this sacrice actually serves as
compensation for sacrilege against the sacred items (vv. 1416), an unknown sin (vv. 1719; the unknown sin
is a common motif in Near Eastern texts), or fraud arising from a false oath (presumably spoken in the name
of the Lord and thus sacrilege; 6.17). The cases of sacrilege require the oering and restitution plus damages
(cf. 22.14). This sacrice is thus beer understood as a reparation oering. The ritual procedure for this most
holy sacrice is found in 7.16. 1416: Inadvertent trespass against sacred items. 15: Holy things, the most holy
sacricial portions, the altar, and the tabernacle and its furnishings belong to and exist in close proximity to
the deity. They are thus sacred. 5.15,18; 6.6: Convertible into silver, a person may bring the equivalent value of the
oering in silver. 5.16,18; 6.7: Make atonement, appease the deity on behalf of the sinner (cf. 7.16n.). 1719: Unknown sin. Though ambiguous, this case may dier from those addressed by the purication oering because
here the person senses that he or she sinned, but the act itself is unknown. 6.17: See Num 5.510 and contrast
damages in Ex 22.715.
hebrew bible | 149
leviticus 6
aThe Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Command Aaron and his sons, saying: This is the
ritual of the burnt oering. The burnt oering itself shall remain on the hearth upon the
altar all night until the morning, while the
re on the altar shall be kept burning. The
priest shall put on his linen vestments after
putting on his linen undergarments next to
his body; and he shall take up the ashes to
which the re has reduced the burnt oering
on the altar, and place them beside the altar.
Then he shall take o his vestments and put
on other garments, and carry the ashes out to
a clean place outside the camp. The re on
the altar shall be kept burning; it shall not go
out. Every morning the priest shall add wood
to it, lay out the burnt oering on it, and turn
into smoke the fat pieces of the oerings of
well-being. A perpetual re shall be kept
burning on the altar; it shall not go out.
This is the ritual of the grain oering:
The sons of Aaron shall oer it before the
Lord, in front of the altar. They shall take
from it a handful of the choice our and oil
of the grain oering, with all the frankincense that is on the oering, and they shall
turn its memorial portion into smoke on the
altar as a pleasing odor to the Lord. Aaron
and his sons shall eat what is left of it; it

shall be eaten as unleavened cakes in a holy
place; in the court of the tent of meeting
they shall eat it. It shall not be baked with
leaven. I have given it as their portion of
my oerings by re; it is most holy, like the
sin oering and the guilt oering. Every
male among the descendants of Aaron shall
eat of it, as their perpetual due throughout
your generations, from the Lords oerings
by re; anything that touches them shall
become holy.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: This
is the oering that Aaron and his sons shall
oer to the Lord on the day when he is
anointed: one-tenth of an ephah of choice
our as a regular oering, half of it in the
morning and half in the evening. It shall be
made with oil on a griddle; you shall bring
it well soaked, as a grain oering of bakedb
pieces, and you shall present it as a pleasing odor to the Lord. And so the priest,
anointed from among Aarons descendants as
a successor, shall prepare it; it is the Lords
a perpetual dueto be turned entirely into
a Ch 6.1 in Heb
6.87.38: Elaborations on the sacricial instructions. This section, which contains ve divine speeches, offers further instructions for each of the oerings detailed in 1.16.7 and focuses especially upon ritual performance, distribution of sacricial pieces, and disposal procedures. The rst three are ostensibly directed to the
priests alone (6.97.21), although the instructions in 7.1121 are pertinent to both priests and laypersons. The
nal two speeches are directed to all of the Israelites (7.2236), and 7.3738 serves as a subscript to this section.
6.813: The burnt oering. Cf. 1.313. Alternatively, this may refer to the statutory daily burnt oerings (cf.
Ex 29.3842; Num 28.38). 1011: The priestly garb is described in Ex 28.3943. The linen garments must be
worn in approaching the sacred altar, while nonsacral garb is worn for ash disposal outside the camp. 12: This
verse may be punctuated dierently: lay out the burnt oering on it may actually be a new sentence, viz., He
shall arrange the burnt oering upon it and turn into smoke the fat pieces of the well-being oering. If so, this
burnt oering is likely not the daily statutory oering (cf. 3.5). 1213: The perpetual re maintains a direct link
to the divine re that ignites the altar in 9.24. It is God who consumes all sacricial pieces burned on the altar.
6.1423: The grain oerings. 1418: These verses provide instructions for the grain oering described in
2.113. 15: Frankincense, see 2.1n. Pleasing odor, see 1.9n. 16: Holy place, the priests portions of most holy offerings must be consumed within the sanctuary complex in order to ensure their sanctity and to avoid communicating holiness (cf. v. 18). Court, see Ex 27.919. 17: Oerings by re, see 1.13.17n. 18: Shall eat, beer, may
eat. All males of Aarons line are priests and thus may share in most holy sacricial portions (cf. 21.22). Women
belonging to priestly families may partake of lesser holy sacricial portions assigned to the priests (22.1013).
Become holy, holiness is conceptualized as an invisible divine essence that is communicable through physical
contact (cf. v. 27; Ex 29.37; 30.29; Ezek 44.19). 1923: These verses provide instructions for the statutory grain
oerings that the high priest must present daily. 20: On the day when he is anointed, beer, once he has been
anointed. Aaron, the rst high priest, is not anointed until ch 8. This statute is also applicable to all future high
priests (cf. v. 22).
150 | hebrew bible
leviticus 7
smoke. Every grain oering of a priest shall
be wholly burned; it shall not be eaten.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is
the ritual of the sin oering. The sin oering
shall be slaughtered before the Lord at the
spot where the burnt oering is slaughtered;
it is most holy. The priest who oers it as
a sin oering shall eat of it; it shall be eaten
in a holy place, in the court of the tent of
meeting. Whatever touches its esh shall
become holy; and when any of its blood is
spattered on a garment, you shall wash the
bespattered part in a holy place. An earthen
vessel in which it was boiled shall be broken;
but if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, that shall
be scoured and rinsed in water. Every male
among the priests shall eat of it; it is most
holy. But no sin oering shall be eaten from
which any blood is brought into the tent of
meeting for atonement in the holy place; it
shall be burned with re.
This is the ritual of the guilt oering. It is
most holy; at the spot where the burnt
oering is slaughtered, they shall slaughter the guilt oering, and its blood shall be
dashed against all sides of the altar. All its
fat shall be oered: the broad tail, the fat that
covers the entrails, the two kidneys with the
fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which shall be removed
with the kidneys. The priest shall turn them
into smoke on the altar as an oering by re
to the Lord; it is a guilt oering. Every male
among the priests shall eat of it; it shall be
eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.

The guilt oering is like the sin oering,
there is the same ritual for them; the priest
who makes atonement with it shall have it.
So, too, the priest who oers anyones burnt
oering shall keep the skin of the burnt offering that he has oered. And every grain
oering baked in the oven, and all that is
prepared in a pan or on a griddle, shall belong
to the priest who oers it. But every other
grain oering, mixed with oil or dry, shall
belong to all the sons of Aaron equally.
This is the ritual of the sacrice of the offering of well-being that one may oer to the
Lord. If you oer it for thanksgiving, you
shall oer with the thank oering unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers
spread with oil, and cakes of choice our
well soaked in oil. With your thanksgiving
sacrice of well-being you shall bring your
oering with cakes of leavened bread. From
this you shall oer one cake from each oering, as a gift to the Lord; it shall belong to the
priest who dashes the blood of the oering of
well-being. And the esh of your thanksgiving sacrice of well-being shall be eaten
on the day it is oered; you shall not leave
any of it until morning. But if the sacrice
you oer is a votive oering or a freewill
oering, it shall be eaten on the day that you
oer your sacrice, and what is left of it shall
be eaten the next day; but what is left of
the esh of the sacrice shall be burned up
on the third day. If any of the esh of your
sacrice of well-being is eaten on the third
6.2430: The purication oering. 2429: These verses provide instructions for purication oerings
whose blood is applied to the outer altar (cf. 4.2235). Portions of these most holy oerings may be eaten by
the priests (see 1.16.7n.). 25: Sin oering, see 4.135n. 26: Holy place, see 6.16n. Court, see Ex 27.919. 2728:
Become holy, see 6.18n. The blood of the oering seems to decontaminate by absorbing impurities, which explains how it contaminates garments and vessels. 29: Shall eat, beer, may eat (cf. 6.18n.). 30: This verse
refers to the purication oering for more virulent contamination and any purication oering of a priest (cf.
Ex 29.14; Lev 4.121; 6.23; 8.17; 9.11; 16.27).
7.110: The reparation oering. Cf. 5.146.7. 1: Guilt oering, see 5.146.7n. 2: Its blood shall be dashed, see
1.5n. 6: Shall eat, beer, may eat (cf. 6.18n.). 7: Ritual, beer, instruction. 710: These verses summarize some
of the compensation given to the priests for their ritual activities (cf. Num 18.820).
7.1138: The well-being oerings. Cf. 3.117; 22.2123. This unit provides instructions for three dierent
types of well-being oerings: thanksgiving, votive, and freewill. The thanksgiving oering is more complex
than the votive and freewill oerings, requiring accompanying grain oerings (cf. 2.410) and leavened bread
(contrast 2.1112). In addition, the thanksgiving oering may be eaten only on the day it is presented, while
other well-being sacrices may be consumed for two days. 13: Lit. The foregoing he shall oer with loaves of
leavened bread, together with his well-being oering of thanksgiving. 18: Acceptable, lit. accepted (cf. 1.4n.;
hebrew bible | 151
leviticus 8
day, it shall not be acceptable, nor shall it be
credited to the one who oers it; it shall be an
abomination, and the one who eats of it shall
incur guilt.
Flesh that touches any unclean thing
shall not be eaten; it shall be burned up. As
for other esh, all who are clean may eat such
esh. But those who eat esh from the
Lords sacrice of well-being while in a state
of uncleanness shall be cut o from their kin.
When any one of you touches any unclean
thinghuman uncleanness or an unclean
animal or any unclean creatureand then
eats esh from the Lords sacrice of wellbeing, you shall be cut o from your kin.
Speak to the people of Israel, saying: You
shall eat no fat of ox or sheep or goat. The
fat of an animal that died or was torn by wild
animals may be put to any other use, but you
must not eat it. If any one of you eats the
fat from an animal of which an oering by
re may be made to the Lord, you who eat
it shall be cut o from your kin. You must
not eat any blood whatever, either of bird or
of animal, in any of your settlements. Any
one of you who eats any blood shall be cut o
from your kin.
Speak to the people of Israel, saying: Any
one of you who would oer to the Lord your
sacrice of well-being must yourself bring
to the Lord your oering from your sacrice
of well-being. Your own hands shall bring
the Lords oering by re; you shall bring
the fat with the breast, so that the breast
may be raised as an elevation oering before

the Lord. The priest shall turn the fat
into smoke on the altar, but the breast shall
belong to Aaron and his sons. And the right
thigh from your sacrices of well-being you
shall give to the priest as an oering; the
one among the sons of Aaron who oers the
blood and fat of the oering of well-being
shall have the right thigh for a portion. For
I have taken the breast of the elevation offering, and the thigh that is oered, from
the people of Israel, from their sacrices of
well-being, and have given them to Aaron
the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due
from the people of Israel. This is the portion allotted to Aaron and to his sons from
the oerings made by re to the Lord, once
they have been brought forward to serve the
Lord as priests; these the Lord commanded to be given them, when he anointed them,
as a perpetual due from the people of Israel
This is the ritual of the burnt oering,
the grain oering, the sin oering, the guilt
oering, the oering of ordination, and the
sacrice of well-being, which the Lord
commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, when
he commanded the people of Israel to bring
their oerings to the Lord, in the wilderness
of Sinai.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take
Aaron and his sons with him, the vestments, the anointing oil, the bull of sin
oering, the two rams, and the basket of
unleavened bread; and assemble the whole
congregation at the entrance of the tent
19.58; 22.1730). Incur guilt, cf. 5.1n. 1921: Sacricial portions are to be kept from impurity because, as holy
food, they belong to God, whose presence is threatened by impurity (cf. 4.135n.; 11.116.34n.; 19.8). Cut o,
this penalty is applied by the Priestly authors to several oenses against God and likely refers to the complete
destruction of the oenders lineage. 2227: These commands develop further the prohibition against fat and
blood in 3.17. 23: Ox or sheep or goat, i.e., sacriceable animals. 25,27: Cut o, see 7.1921n. 2836: The priests
portion of the well-being oering. 30: Elevation, a ritual act dedicating the oering to the deity. 3133: The
breast belongs to all of the priests, while the thigh is designated for the priest who ociates over the sacrice.
3738: A summarizing postscript to 6.87.36. The inclusion of the ordination oering here may be due to its
similarity to the well-being oering (cf. 8.2232n.). 38: On Mount Sinai, beer, at Mount Sinai, namely at the
tabernacle erected at the foot of the mountain aer Mosess descent (Ex 34.29).
8.110.20: The dedication of the tabernacle and priests and the transgression of Aarons sons. Chs 810
narrate the consecration of the tabernacle complex, the seven-day ordination of the priests, the inaugural
priestly service on the eighth day that culminates in the revelation of the divine presence through re, and the
subsequent illicit ritual of Aarons sons, Nadab and Abihu.
8.136: The dedication of the tabernacle and priests. A fulllment of the consecration rituals as instructed
152 | hebrew bible
leviticus 8
of meeting. And Moses did as the Lord
commanded him. When the congregation
was assembled at the entrance of the tent of
meeting, Moses said to the congregation,
This is what the Lord has commanded to be
done.
Then Moses brought Aaron and his
sons forward, and washed them with water.
He put the tunic on him, fastened the sash
around him, clothed him with the robe,
and put the ephod on him. He then put the
decorated band of the ephod around him,
tying the ephod to him with it. He placed the
breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he
put the Urim and the Thummim. And he set
the turban on his head, and on the turban, in
front, he set the golden ornament, the holy
crown, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Then Moses took the anointing oil and
anointed the tabernacle and all that was in
it, and consecrated them. He sprinkled
some of it on the altar seven times, and
anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the
basin and its base, to consecrate them. He
poured some of the anointing oil on Aarons
head and anointed him, to consecrate him.
And Moses brought forward Aarons sons,
and clothed them with tunics, and fastened
sashes around them, and tied headdresses on
them, as the Lord commanded Moses.
He led forward the bull of sin oering;
and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon
the head of the bull of sin oering, and
it was slaughtered. Moses took the blood
and with his nger put some on each of the
horns of the altar, purifying the altar; then
he poured out the blood at the base of the
altar. Thus he consecrated it, to make atonement for it. Moses took all the fat that was
around the entrails, and the appendage of the

liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and
turned them into smoke on the altar. But
the bull itself, its skin and esh and its dung,
he burned with re outside the camp, as the
Lord commanded Moses.
Then he brought forward the ram of
burnt oering. Aaron and his sons laid their
hands on the head of the ram, and it was
slaughtered. Moses dashed the blood against
all sides of the altar. The ram was cut into
its parts, and Moses turned into smoke the
head and the parts and the suet. And after
the entrails and the legs were washed with
water, Moses turned into smoke the whole
ram on the altar; it was a burnt oering for a
pleasing odor, an oering by re to the Lord,
as the Lord commanded Moses.
Then he brought forward the second
ram, the ram of ordination. Aaron and his
sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,
and it was slaughtered. Moses took some
of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aarons
right ear and on the thumb of his right hand
and on the big toe of his right foot. After
Aarons sons were brought forward, Moses
put some of the blood on the lobes of their
right ears and on the thumbs of their right
hands and on the big toes of their right feet;
and Moses dashed the rest of the blood
against all sides of the altar. He took the
fatthe broad tail, all the fat that was around
the entrails, the appendage of the liver, and
the two kidneys with their fatand the right
thigh. From the basket of unleavened bread
that was before the Lord, he took one cake
of unleavened bread, one cake of bread with
oil, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat
and on the right thigh. He placed all these
by God (cf. vv. 5,9,13,17,21,29,31,34) to Moses in Ex 2829; 30.2630; 40.915. 2: Anointing oil, Ex 30.2233;
37.29. Bull of sin oering, see Lev 4.3. For the oerings listed here, see Ex 29.13. 5: What the Lord has commanded, i.e., Ex 29. 79,13: For descriptions of the priestly vestments, see Ex 28.143; 39.131. The high
priests clothing is intended for his honor and beauty (Ex 28.2) and distinguishes him from the other priests,
whose ritual aire is simpler. 1012,30: Anointing infuses the tabernacle, its furnishings, and the priests with
ritual holiness, seing them apart as the personal possessions of the deity and his ceremonial servants. Anointing with oil was a common transition rite for persons and objects in the ancient Near East (cf. 14.1518,26
29), and was therefore also used in Israel to change the status of a commoner to king (e.g., 1 Sam 10.1;
16.13). 1417: 4.112. 1821: 1.1013. 2232: Ram of ordination, cf. Ex 29.2228,3134. The ordination oering
is similar (but not identical) to the well-being oering. It inaugurates the system for priestly compensation,
as indicated by its name: ordination, literally, lling (the hand), refers to the assignment of part of the offerings to the priests. 2324: Ear . . . thumb . . . big toe, treating the bodily extremities symbolizes application
hebrew bible | 153
leviticus 9
on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of
his sons, and raised them as an elevation
oering before the Lord. Then Moses took
them from their hands and turned them into
smoke on the altar with the burnt oering.
This was an ordination oering for a pleasing
odor, an oering by re to the Lord. Moses
took the breast and raised it as an elevation oering before the Lord; it was Moses
portion of the ram of ordination, as the Lord
commanded Moses.
Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on
the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and
his vestments, and also on his sons and their
vestments. Thus he consecrated Aaron and
his vestments, and also his sons and their
vestments.
And Moses said to Aaron and his sons,
Boil the esh at the entrance of the tent of
meeting, and eat it there with the bread that
is in the basket of ordination oerings, as I
was commanded, Aaron and his sons shall
eat it; and what remains of the esh and
the bread you shall burn with re. You shall
not go outside the entrance of the tent of
meeting for seven days, until the day when
your period of ordination is completed. For
it will take seven days to ordain you; as has
been done today, the Lord has commanded
to be done to make atonement for you. You
shall remain at the entrance of the tent of
meeting day and night for seven days, keeping the Lords charge so that you do not die;
for so I am commanded. Aaron and his
sons did all the things that the Lord commanded through Moses.
On the eighth day Moses summoned
Aaron and his sons and the elders of
Israel. He said to Aaron, Take a bull calf for
a sin oering and a ram for a burnt oering,
without blemish, and oer them before the
Lord. And say to the people of Israel, Take
a male goat for a sin oering; a calf and a
lamb, yearlings without blemish, for a burnt
oering; and an ox and a ram for an oering
of well-being to sacrice before the Lord;
and a grain oering mixed with oil. For today
the Lord will appear to you. They brought
what Moses commanded to the front of the
tent of meeting; and the whole congregation
drew near and stood before the Lord. And
Moses said, This is the thing that the Lord
commanded you to do, so that the glory of
the Lord may appear to you. Then Moses
said to Aaron, Draw near to the altar and
sacrice your sin oering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and
for the people; and sacrice the oering of
the people, and make atonement for them; as
the Lord has commanded.
Aaron drew near to the altar, and slaughtered the calf of the sin oering, which was
for himself. The sons of Aaron presented
the blood to him, and he dipped his nger in
the blood and put it on the horns of the altar;
and the rest of the blood he poured out at the
base of the altar. But the fat, the kidneys,
and the appendage of the liver from the sin
oering he turned into smoke on the altar, as
to the entire person. 31: Once the ordination process has begun, the priests may partake of the sacred oering portions. 33: It will take seven days to ordain you, beer, He (i.e., God) will ll your hand for seven days.
Sacrices are the possession of the deity, who shares a portion with the priests. 3335: The purication and
ordination ritual is to be repeated for seven days (cf. Ex 29.3537), during which the priests must remain in the
sanctuary complex to preserve their purity. 36: This verse covers the time period of the six remaining days of
the priestly ordination. Priestly literature oen describes the fulllment of complex instructions through short
report statements (cf. 16.34b).
9.110.20: The inauguration of priestly service and the transgression of Nadab and Abihu. Chs 910 narrate
the events of the eighth day, i.e., the day aer the consecration of the priests is completed. The priests perform
their rst sacrices, and the glory of the Lord appears to the people with re, conrming the deitys presence
and approval of the priests ritual activities. Immediately following this joyous occasion, however, Aarons sons,
Nadab and Abihu, commit sacrilege by making an unauthorized incense oering, which prompts the divine re
to emerge once more to consume them. The deaths of Nadab and Abihu occasion further instructions for the
priests.
9.124: The inauguration of priestly service. 4,6: The deitys appearance is the re that emerges from the
tabernacle (vv. 2324; cf. Ex 40.38). 621: While Moses performed the sacricial ritual in lieu of the priests in
154 | hebrew bible
leviticus 10
the Lord commanded Moses; and the esh
and the skin he burned with re outside the
camp.
Then he slaughtered the burnt oering.
Aarons sons brought him the blood, and he
dashed it against all sides of the altar. And
they brought him the burnt oering piece
by piece, and the head, which he turned into
smoke on the altar. He washed the entrails
and the legs and, with the burnt oering,
turned them into smoke on the altar.
Next he presented the peoples oering.
He took the goat of the sin oering that was
for the people, and slaughtered it, and presented it as a sin oering like the rst one. He
presented the burnt oering, and sacriced
it according to regulation. He presented the
grain oering, and, taking a handful of it, he
turned it into smoke on the altar, in addition
to the burnt oering of the morning.
He slaughtered the ox and the ram as a
sacrice of well-being for the people. Aarons
sons brought him the blood, which he dashed
against all sides of the altar, and the fat of
the ox and of the ramthe broad tail, the fat
that covers the entrails, the two kidneys and
the fat on them,a and the appendage of the
liver. They rst laid the fat on the breasts,
and the fat was turned into smoke on the
altar; and the breasts and the right thigh
Aaron raised as an elevation oering before
the Lord, as Moses had commanded.
Aaron lifted his hands toward the people
and blessed them; and he came down after
sacricing the sin oering, the burnt oering,
and the oering of well-being. Moses and
Aaron entered the tent of meeting, and then
came out and blessed the people; and the

glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.
Fire came out from the Lord and consumed
the burnt oering and the fat on the altar;
and when all the people saw it, they shouted
and fell on their faces.
Now Aarons sons, Nadab and Abihu,
each took his censer, put re in it, and
laid incense on it; and they oered unholy
re before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them. And re came out from the
presence of the Lord and consumed them,
and they died before the Lord. Then Moses
said to Aaron, This is what the Lord meant
when he said,
Through those who are near me
I will show myself holy,
and before all the people
I will be gloried.
And Aaron was silent.
Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan,
sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said
to them, Come forward, and carry your
kinsmen away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp. They came
forward and carried them by their tunics out
of the camp, as Moses had ordered. And
Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar
and Ithamar, Do not dishevel your hair, and
do not tear your vestments, or you will die
and wrath will strike all the congregation;
but your kindred, the whole house of Israel,
may mourn the burning that the Lord has
sent. You shall not go outside the entrance
10
a Gk: Heb the broad tail, and that which covers, and
the kidneys
ch 8, here the priests, having been fully ordained, perform the sacrices as described in chs 15. 2223: Lied
his hands, a ritual action accompanying the blessing. The people receive two blessingsone from Aaron and
one from Moses and Aaron together. For a priestly blessing, see Num 6.2227. 22: Came down, an anachronistic
reference to the altar of burnt oering in the Temple, which was elevated (cf. 2 Kings 16.1013; Ezek 43.1317).
The tabernacles altar was portable and had no steps (Ex 27.1). 2324: Gods ery glory is also manifested in the
cloud and re pillar that led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness, and that rested over the
tent of meeting (Ex 13.21; 40.38; Num 9.1523); see also Ex 24.17; Ezek 1.2728. 24: They shouted, for joy, not out
of fear. Prostration is a ritual act of submission.
10.120: The transgression of Nadab and Abihu. 1: Unholy re, lit. strange re, referring to the unauthorized incense oering. 2: Fire, because God had not instructed the priests to present incense oerings, the re
that would consume the oerings instead consumed Nadab and Abihu. The Korah rebellion ends similarly with
divine re consuming the oerers of illicit incense (Num 16.35). For God viewed as a consuming re in P, see
Ex 24.17. 3: When he said, perhaps referring to Ex 29.4344, but more likely referencing a text that is now lost.
47: Because of their ritual holiness, the priests are not allowed to contact a corpse or to mourn for the dead
hebrew bible | 155
leviticus 11
of the tent of meeting, or you will die; for the
anointing oil of the Lord is on you. And they
did as Moses had ordered.
And the Lord spoke to Aaron: Drink no
wine or strong drink, neither you nor your
sons, when you enter the tent of meeting,
that you may not die; it is a statute forever
throughout your generations. You are to
distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean;
and you are to teach the people of Israel all
the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them
through Moses.
Moses spoke to Aaron and to his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar: Take the grain
oering that is left from the Lords oerings
by re, and eat it unleavened beside the altar,
for it is most holy; you shall eat it in a holy
place, because it is your due and your sons
due, from the oerings by re to the Lord;
for so I am commanded. But the breast that
is elevated and the thigh that is raised, you
and your sons and daughters as well may
eat in any clean place; for they have been
assigned to you and your children from the
sacrices of the oerings of well-being of the
people of Israel. The thigh that is raised and
the breast that is elevated they shall bring,
together with the oerings by re of the fat,
to raise for an elevation oering before the
Lord; they are to be your due and that of

your children forever, as the Lord has commanded.
Then Moses made inquiry about the
goat of the sin oering, andit had already
been burned! He was angry with Eleazar and
Ithamar, Aarons remaining sons, and said,
Why did you not eat the sin oering in the
sacred area? For it is most holy, and Goda has
given it to you that you may remove the guilt
of the congregation, to make atonement on
their behalf before the Lord. Its blood was
not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You should certainly have eaten it in the
sanctuary, as I commanded. And Aaron
spoke to Moses, See, today they oered their
sin oering and their burnt oering before
the Lord; and yet such things as these have
befallen me! If I had eaten the sin oering
today, would it have been agreeable to the
Lord? And when Moses heard that, he
agreed.
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron,
saying to them: Speak to the people of
Israel, saying:
From among all the land animals, these
are the creatures that you may eat. Any
animal that has divided hoofs and is cleft-
11
a Heb he
(cf. 21.16,1012). 811: These verses, the only instance in Leviticus of God speaking to Aaron alone, are likely
an H insertion into P. The stated mourning restrictions motivate the introduction of further priestly responsibilities. 10: The holy and the common . . . the unclean and the clean, the two fundamental binary distinctions in
Priestly literature. All persons, objects, and places are characterized by one quality of each pair: holy and clean
(e.g., the properly functioning sanctuary, including its priests); common and clean (the default status of lay
Israelites not suering from impurities such as found in chs 1115 and Num 19); common and impure (e.g., lay
Israelites suering from impurity); and, less frequently, holy and impure (such as holy ritual items that become
impure during the course of purication rituals, e.g., purication oering carcasses, cf. 6.2728; 16.2628). 11:
To teach . . . all the statutes, beer, to give rulings regarding all the statutes. The priests do not actively instruct
the people in the law (cf. Hag 2.1113). 1215: Cf. 7.1114,2836. Aaron and his remaining sons must complete
the rituals as prescribed, even aer the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. 1620: A somewhat enigmatic section, in
which Moses is upset that the priests did not consume the peoples purication oering, although he never
explicitly commanded them to do so in ch 9. Verse 17 suggests that the priestly consumption of the oering
itself is expiatory (cf. 6.2430, although these verses imply that eating the purication oering is a privilege,
not a requirement). Aarons response is unclear, yet Moses accepts it, perhaps because of the unique circumstance of the eighth day.
11.116.34: Ritual impurity and purication. Chs 1116 narrate divine instructions concerning impurity and
various processes for purication. In Priestly literature, impurity is a real, though invisible, lm that adheres
to persons and objects and is aracted to the tabernacle as some metals are aracted to a magnet. However,
impurity is fundamentally dierent from sin: impurity is contracted in the course of normal, daily activities and
carries no moral stigma (see further 10.10n.). Yet because impurity is contagious and threatens the continued
156 | hebrew bible
leviticus 11
footed and chews the cudsuch you may
eat. But among those that chew the cud
or have divided hoofs, you shall not eat
the following: the camel, for even though
it chews the cud, it does not have divided
hoofs; it is unclean for you. The rock
badger, for even though it chews the cud, it
does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean
for you. The hare, for even though it chews
the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is
unclean for you. The pig, for even though
it has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed, it
does not chew the cud; it is unclean for
you. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and
their carcasses you shall not touch; they are
unclean for you.
These you may eat, of all that are in the
waters. Everything in the waters that has
ns and scales, whether in the seas or in the
streamssuch you may eat. But anything
in the seas or the streams that does not have
ns and scales, of the swarming creatures
in the waters and among all the other living
creatures that are in the watersthey are
detestable to you and detestable they shall
remain. Of their esh you shall not eat, and
their carcasses you shall regard as detestable.
Everything in the waters that does not have

ns and scales is detestable to you.
These you shall regard as detestable
among the birds. They shall not be eaten;
they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, the buzzard, the kite of any
kind; every raven of any kind; the ostrich,
the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any
kind; the little owl, the cormorant, the great
owl, the water hen, the desert owl,a the
carrion vulture, the stork, the heron of any
kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.b
All winged insects that walk upon all
fours are detestable to you. But among the
winged insects that walk on all fours you may
eat those that have jointed legs above their
feet, with which to leap on the ground. Of
them you may eat: the locust according to its
kind, the bald locust according to its kind, the
cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind. But all other
winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.
a Or pelican
b Identication of several of the birds in verses 13-19
is uncertain
presence of the deity in the sanctuary, its disposal must be accomplished fastidiously. Failure to purify is sinful
and carries dire consequences (cf. 15.31). The sources of impurity are human and animal corpses (ch 11; Num
19), normal and abnormal genital discharges (chs 12; 15), and a disease, surface aiction, oen mistranslated
as leprosy (chs 1314). The common denominator among these sources of impurity is their association with
death or at least a loss of life force. In cases of minor impurity, purication is accomplished through some
combination of bathing, laundering, and the passage of time. In addition to these rites, major impurities also
require presentation of a purication oering to cleanse the altar, for major impurities penetrate into the tabernacle complex. Because of their regular contact with the sanctuary and the threat of its contamination, priests
are required to avoid virtually all impurity (cf. 21.115).
11.147: Dietary laws. The dietary laws provide a bridge between the sacricial instructions that precede
them and the following purity rules. In their concern for meat consumption, the instructions in ch 11 correlate
strongly with the sacricial laws, which themselves outline the foods that the deity eats and restrict meat consumption according to its sanctity. A comparison of the sacricial and dietary laws reveals that the Israelite God
has the most restrictive diet, followed by the priests, the Israelite laypersons, and nally non-Israelites. By following the dietary rules, the Israelites observe the order of creation and are separated from the other nations.
Such separateness is a fundamental component of holiness (vv. 4445). Ch 11 also looks forward to the issues of
impurity and its disposal in chs 1216, for animals deemed unsuitable for consumption are termed impure, and
contact with their corpses explicitly deles. 2b23: Cf. Deut 14.321. 2b8: Permied large land animals must
have split hooves and chew their cud. The examples of prohibited animals suggests that undomesticated animals are the special focus of this chapter (see 1.2n.; 17.116n.). 912: Permied sea creatures must have ns and
scales. 1319: Rather than providing dual characteristics, as with large land animals and sea creatures, a list of
prohibited birds is provided. 2023: Winged insects are generally forbidden. The only exceptions are those with
jumping legs, which are specically enumerated. 2440: Laws concerning impurity contracted through contact
with animal corpses. Generally speaking, more intense contact (e.g., carrying or eating vs. touching) requires
hebrew bible | 157
leviticus 12
By these you shall become unclean;
whoever touches the carcass of any of them
shall be unclean until the evening, and
whoever carries any part of the carcass of
any of them shall wash his clothes and be
unclean until the evening. Every animal
that has divided hoofs but is not cleft-footed
or does not chew the cud is unclean for you;
everyone who touches one of them shall
be unclean. All that walk on their paws,
among the animals that walk on all fours,
are unclean for you; whoever touches the
carcass of any of them shall be unclean until
the evening, and the one who carries the
carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean
until the evening; they are unclean for you.
These are unclean for you among the
creatures that swarm upon the earth: the
weasel, the mouse, the great lizard according
to its kind, the gecko, the land crocodile,
the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. These are unclean for you among all
that swarm; whoever touches one of them
when they are dead shall be unclean until
the evening. And anything upon which
any of them falls when they are dead shall be
unclean, whether an article of wood or cloth
or skin or sacking, any article that is used for
any purpose; it shall be dipped into water,
and it shall be unclean until the evening, and
then it shall be clean. And if any of them
falls into any earthen vessel, all that is in it
shall be unclean, and you shall break the vessel. Any food that could be eaten shall be
unclean if water from any such vessel comes
upon it; and any liquid that could be drunk
shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel.
Everything on which any part of the carcass
falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or
stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are
unclean, and shall remain unclean for you.
But a spring or a cistern holding water

shall be clean, while whatever touches the
carcass in it shall be unclean. If any part of
their carcass falls upon any seed set aside for
sowing, it is clean; but if water is put on the
seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it
is unclean for you.
If an animal of which you may eat dies,
anyone who touches its carcass shall be
unclean until the evening. Those who eat
of its carcass shall wash their clothes and be
unclean until the evening; and those who
carry the carcass shall wash their clothes and
be unclean until the evening.
All creatures that swarm upon the
earth are detestable; they shall not be eaten.
Whatever moves on its belly, and whatever
moves on all fours, or whatever has many
feet, all the creatures that swarm upon the
earth, you shall not eat; for they are detestable. You shall not make yourselves detestable with any creature that swarms; you shall
not dele yourselves with them, and so become unclean. For I am the Lord your God;
sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for
I am holy. You shall not dele yourselves with
any swarming creature that moves on the
earth. For I am the Lord who brought you
up from the land of Egypt, to be your God;
you shall be holy, for I am holy.
This is the law pertaining to land animal
and bird and every living creature that moves
through the waters and every creature that
swarms upon the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and
between the living creature that may be eaten
and the living creature that may not be eaten.
Speak to the people of Israel, saying:
If a woman conceives and bears a male
child, she shall be ceremonially unclean
12
more complex purication rites. 4145: Small land animals are forbidden. Be holy, for I am holy, see 11.147n.,
19.2n. 43,44: Dele yourselves, see 18.20n. 4647: A typical Priestly summary postscript.
12.18: Childbirth. Childbirth produces impurity because of the mothers postpartum ow of blood, which
is viewed as analogous to menstruation (cf. vv. 2,5). The period of impurity diers according to the sex of the
child and is divided into a shorter, major phase (seven or fourteen days) and a longer, minor phase (thirty-three
or sixty-six days). In each case, the entire period of impurity is a multiple of forty, a common biblical number
representing completion. 25: As at the time of her menstruation, see 15.1924. Because this reference anticipates ch 15, it is possible that the purity laws were once ordered dierently, with ch 12 following ch 15. During
the initial, major phase, the parturient can contaminate the sanctuary as well as common objects and persons
through physical contact. During the subsequent, minor phase, her impurity only threatens the sanctuary. 3:
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leviticus 13
seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. On the eighth
day the esh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Her time of blood purication shall
be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any
holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until
the days of her purication are completed. If
she bears a female child, she shall be unclean
two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time
of blood purication shall be sixty-six days.
When the days of her purication
are completed, whether for a son or for a
daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the
entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its
rst year for a burnt oering, and a pigeon
or a turtledove for a sin oering. He shall
oer it before the Lord, and make atonement
on her behalf; then she shall be clean from
her ow of blood. This is the law for her who
bears a child, male or female. If she cannot
aord a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves
or two pigeons, one for a burnt oering and
the other for a sin oering; and the priest
shall make atonement on her behalf, and she
shall be clean.
saying:
When a person has on the skin of his body
a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns
into a leprousa disease on the skin of his body,
he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to
one of his sons the priests. The priest shall
13
examine the disease on the skin of his body,

and if the hair in the diseased area has turned
white and the disease appears to be deeper
than the skin of his body, it is a leprousa
disease; after the priest has examined him he
shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean.
But if the spot is white in the skin of his body,
and appears no deeper than the skin, and the
hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall
conne the diseased person for seven days.
The priest shall examine him on the seventh
day, and if he sees that the disease is checked
and the disease has not spread in the skin,
then the priest shall conne him seven days
more. The priest shall examine him again on
the seventh day, and if the disease has abated
and the disease has not spread in the skin, the
priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an
eruption; and he shall wash his clothes, and
be clean. But if the eruption spreads in the
skin after he has shown himself to the priest
for his cleansing, he shall appear again before
the priest. The priest shall make an examination, and if the eruption has spread in the skin,
the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a
leprousa disease.
When a person contracts a leprousa
disease, he shall be brought to the priest.
The priest shall make an examination, and
a A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning
uncertain
Circumcision is unrelated to impurity or purication. It is mentioned here because it is performed on the eighth
day aer birth and thus immediately follows the initial seven-day period of impurity. 68: Sin oering, lit. purication oering. The new mother has commied no sin. She must present a purication oering because her
impurity polluted the altar (see 4.135n.). Verse 8 is an addendum that follows the original ending of the law in
v. 7b, providing a more aordable sacricial option for a poor mother.
13.114.57: Surface aictions. Though consolidated under a single term (Heb tsaraat) traditionally translated leprosy, the surface aictions described in these chapters are not modern leprosy (Hansens disease),
which was unknown in the ancient Near East when these texts were wrien. The inclusion of conditions affecting fabrics and houses alongside human disease also rules out modern leprosy, as do the symptoms of the
human diseases described. The Priestly authors do not view disease in general as causing impurity; surface
aiction causes impurity because it is associated with death (cf. Num 12.12).
13.146: Surface aiction on humans. Various symptoms are enumerated for determining whether a condition is surface aiction. In each case, the priest must give a ruling regarding the skin disease, dierentiating between clean and unclean (cf. 10.10). The skin conditions most consistent with the various symptoms
described include eczema, psoriasis, and vitiligo. 2: He shall be brought, or perhaps, It shall be reported. In
either case, others in the community have an interest in diagnosing surface aiction not because the disease is
contagious but because the impurity it produces threatens the sanctuary. 3: Examine, without touching the affected skin, for the impurity of surface aiction is communicable. His body, or her body: the law applies to both
men and women (cf. vv. 2,29). 4: The priest shall conne, in order to determine whether the skin disease produces
hebrew bible | 159
leviticus 13
if there is a white swelling in the skin that
has turned the hair white, and there is quick
raw esh in the swelling, it is a chronic
leprousa disease in the skin of his body. The
priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall
not conne him, for he is unclean. But if
the disease breaks out in the skin, so that
it covers all the skin of the diseased person
from head to foot, so far as the priest can see,
then the priest shall make an examination,
and if the disease has covered all his body,
he shall pronounce him clean of the disease;
since it has all turned white, he is clean. But
if raw esh ever appears on him, he shall be
unclean; the priest shall examine the raw
esh and pronounce him unclean. Raw esh
is unclean, for it is a leprousa disease. But if
the raw esh again turns white, he shall come
to the priest; the priest shall examine him,
and if the disease has turned white, the priest
shall pronounce the diseased person clean.
He is clean.
When there is on the skin of ones body
a boil that has healed, and in the place
of the boil there appears a white swelling
or a reddish-white spot, it shall be shown
to the priest. The priest shall make an
examination, and if it appears deeper than
the skin and its hair has turned white, the
priest shall pronounce him unclean; this is
a leprousa disease, broken out in the boil.
But if the priest examines it and the hair
on it is not white, nor is it deeper than the
skin but has abated, the priest shall confine
him seven days. If it spreads in the skin,
the priest shall pronounce him unclean;
it is diseased. But if the spot remains in
one place and does not spread, it is the scar
of the boil; the priest shall pronounce him
clean.
Or, when the body has a burn on the
skin and the raw esh of the burn becomes
a spot, reddish-white or white, the priest
shall examine it. If the hair in the spot has
turned white and it appears deeper than
the skin, it is a leprousa disease; it has
broken out in the burn, and the priest shall
pronounce him unclean. This is a leprousa
disease. But if the priest examines it and
the hair in the spot is not white, and it is
no deeper than the skin but has abated, the
priest shall conne him seven days. The
160 | hebrew bible
priest shall examine him the seventh day;

if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall
pronounce him unclean. This is a leprousa
disease. But if the spot remains in one
place and does not spread in the skin but
has abated, it is a swelling from the burn,
and the priest shall pronounce him clean;
for it is the scar of the burn.
When a man or woman has a disease on
the head or in the beard, the priest shall
examine the disease. If it appears deeper
than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and
thin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an itch, a leprousa disease of the
head or the beard. If the priest examines
the itching disease, and it appears no deeper
than the skin and there is no black hair in
it, the priest shall conne the person with
the itching disease for seven days. On the
seventh day the priest shall examine the
itch; if the itch has not spread, and there
is no yellow hair in it, and the itch appears
to be no deeper than the skin, he shall
shave, but the itch he shall not shave. The
priest shall conne the person with the itch
for seven days more. On the seventh day
the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch
has not spread in the skin and it appears
to be no deeper than the skin, the priest
shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash
his clothes and be clean. But if the itch
spreads in the skin after he was pronounced
clean, the priest shall examine him. If the
itch has spread in the skin, the priest need
not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean.
But if in his eyes the itch is checked, and
black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed,
he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce
him clean.
When a man or a woman has spots on
the skin of the body, white spots, the priest
shall make an examination, and if the spots
on the skin of the body are of a dull white, it
is a rash that has broken out on the skin; he
is clean.
If anyone loses the hair from his head,
he is bald but he is clean. If he loses the
hair from his forehead and temples, he has
baldness of the forehead but he is clean.
uncertain
leviticus 14
But if there is on the bald head or the
bald forehead a reddish-white diseased
spot, it is a leprousa disease breaking out on
his bald head or his bald forehead. The
priest shall examine him; if the diseased
swelling is reddish-white on his bald head
or on his bald forehead, which resembles a
leprousa disease in the skin of the body, he
is leprous,a he is unclean. The priest shall
pronounce him unclean; the disease is on
his head.
The person who has the leprousa
disease shall wear torn clothes and let the
hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall
cover his upper lip and cry out, Unclean,
unclean. He shall remain unclean as long
as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall
live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the
camp.
Concerning clothing: when a leprousa
disease appears in it, in woolen or linen
cloth, in warp or woof of linen or wool, or
in a skin or in anything made of skin, if the
disease shows greenish or reddish in the garment, whether in warp or woof or in skin or
in anything made of skin, it is a leprousa disease and shall be shown to the priest. The
priest shall examine the disease, and put the
diseased article aside for seven days. He
shall examine the disease on the seventh
day. If the disease has spread in the cloth, in
warp or woof, or in the skin, whatever be the
use of the skin, this is a spreading leprousa
disease; it is unclean. He shall burn the
clothing, whether diseased in warp or woof,
woolen or linen, or anything of skin, for it
is a spreading leprousa disease; it shall be
burned in re.
If the priest makes an examination,
and the disease has not spread in the
clothing, in warp or woof or in anything

of skin, the priest shall command them
to wash the article in which the disease
appears, and he shall put it aside seven
days more. The priest shall examine the
diseased article after it has been washed.
If the diseased spot has not changed color,
though the disease has not spread, it is
unclean; you shall burn it in fire, whether
the leprousa spot is on the inside or on the
outside.
If the priest makes an examination, and the disease has abated after it is
washed, he shall tear the spot out of the
cloth, in warp or woof, or out of skin. If
it appears again in the garment, in warp or
woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading;
you shall burn with fire that in which the
disease appears. But the cloth, warp or
woof, or anything of skin from which the
disease disappears when you have washed
it, shall then be washed a second time, and
it shall be clean.
This is the ritual for a leprousa disease
in a cloth of wool or linen, either in warp
or woof, or in anything of skin, to decide
whether it is clean or unclean.
This shall be the ritual for the leprousa person at the time of his cleansing:
He shall be brought to the priest; the
priest shall go out of the camp, and the
priest shall make an examination. If the
disease is healed in the leprousa person,
the priest shall command that two living
clean birds and cedarwood and crimson
yarn and hyssop be brought for the one
14

uncertain
impurity and to limit exposure to impurity in the event that it is surface aiction. 3844: These verses consider
dicult cases and supplement vv. 237 by focusing upon skin conditions that do not cause impurity. 4546:
The aicted person dresses as a mourner (cf. 10.6; Ezek 24.17,22) because of the association between surface
aiction and death. He shall live alone . . . outside the camp, cf. 2 Kings 7.38; 15.5; 2 Chr 26.21; Lk 17.12. Separation
from the camp limits the spread of impurity, but impurity still contaminates the sanctuary (cf. 14.132).
13.4759: Surface aiction on cloth. Illustrating the systematization of Priestly thought, the instructions
for fabrics are similar in structure and detail to the preceding instructions for skin diseases. The surface aiction includes various forms of mold, fungus, and mildew. 51: Spreading, meaning uncertain. Unlike a person
with surface aiction, an aicted fabric, like the twice-aicted house (14.45), cannot be cleansed. 59: Summary postscript for vv. 4759, which interrupts 13.146 and 14.132.
14.132: Purication a%er surface aiction. The ritual here does not heal surface aiction; it only puries
hebrew bible | 161
leviticus 14
who is to be cleansed. The priest shall
command that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in an earthen vessel.
He shall take the living bird with the
cedarwood and the crimson yarn and the
hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in
the blood of the bird that was slaughtered
over the fresh water. He shall sprinkle
it seven times upon the one who is to be
cleansed of the leprousa disease; then he
shall pronounce him clean, and he shall
let the living bird go into the open field.
The one who is to be cleansed shall wash
his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and
bathe himself in water, and he shall be
clean. After that he shall come into the
camp, but shall live outside his tent seven
days. On the seventh day he shall shave all
his hair: of head, beard, eyebrows; he shall
shave all his hair. Then he shall wash his
clothes, and bathe his body in water, and
he shall be clean.
On the eighth day he shall take two
male lambs without blemish, and one ewe
lamb in its first year without blemish, and
a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah
of choice flour mixed with oil, and one logb
of oil. The priest who cleanses shall set
the person to be cleansed, along with these
things, before the Lord, at the entrance of
the tent of meeting. The priest shall take
one of the lambs, and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the logb of oil, and raise
them as an elevation offering before the
Lord. He shall slaughter the lamb in the
place where the sin offering and the burnt
offering are slaughtered in the holy place;
for the guilt offering, like the sin offering,
belongs to the priest: it is most holy. The
priest shall take some of the blood of the

guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the
right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on
the thumb of the right hand, and on the
big toe of the right foot. The priest shall
take some of the logb of oil and pour it into
the palm of his own left hand, and dip
his right finger in the oil that is in his left
hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger
seven times before the Lord. Some of the
oil that remains in his hand the priest shall
put on the lobe of the right ear of the one to
be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right
hand, and on the big toe of the right foot,
on top of the blood of the guilt offering.
The rest of the oil that is in the priests
hand he shall put on the head of the one
to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make
atonement on his behalf before the Lord:
the priest shall offer the sin offering, to
make atonement for the one to be cleansed
from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall
slaughter the burnt offering; and the
priest shall offer the burnt offering and the
grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest
shall make atonement on his behalf and he
shall be clean.
But if he is poor and cannot aord so
much, he shall take one male lamb for a guilt
oering to be elevated, to make atonement
on his behalf, and one-tenth of an ephah of
choice our mixed with oil for a grain oer-

uncertain
b A liquid measure
a person. Note that the priest only performs the rites aer conrming the persons recovery (v. 3). 2: He shall
be brought, beer, It shall be reported, cf. v. 3. 47: The same rite is found in vv. 4953 for purifying houses.
4: Many of the materials in this verse probably have symbolic signicance and are well aested in biblical and
other ancient Near Eastern rituals (cf. Ex 12.22; Num 19.6; Job 9.19; Ps 51.7). 67: The persons impurity is purged
by the sprinkling of blood and transferred to the living bird, which carries it away (cf. the goat in 16.2122). 89:
The staged transition constitutes a rite of passage from impure to pure and underscores the severity of impurity
caused by surface aiction. 1020: The eighth-day sacrices purge the tabernacle of impurity (cf. 4.16.7).
10: Ephah, about 21 qts (23 liters). Log, about 11 oz (.32 l). 12: Guilt oering, beer, reparation oering; see
5.146.7n. Elevation oering, see 7.30n. 14,17,25,28: For smearing of blood and oil and the signicance of the ear,
thumb, and toe, see 8.1012,30n.; 8.2324n. 20: And he shall be clean, a summary statement for the foregoing
purication rituals. The sacrices purify the tabernacle, not the person. 2132: More aordable provisions for
purication (cf. 2.116n.; 5.713n.; 12.68n.).
162 | hebrew bible
leviticus 14
ing and a loga of oil; also two turtledoves or
two pigeons, such as he can aord, one for a
sin oering and the other for a burnt oering.
On the eighth day he shall bring them for
his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of
the tent of meeting, before the Lord; and
the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the loga of oil, and the priest shall
raise them as an elevation oering before the
Lord. The priest shall slaughter the lamb of
the guilt oering and shall take some of the
blood of the guilt oering, and put it on the
lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed,
and on the thumb of the right hand, and
on the big toe of the right foot. The priest
shall pour some of the oil into the palm of
his own left hand, and shall sprinkle with
his right nger some of the oil that is in his
left hand seven times before the Lord. The
priest shall put some of the oil that is in his
hand on the lobe of the right ear of the one
to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right
hand, and the big toe of the right foot, where
the blood of the guilt oering was placed.
The rest of the oil that is in the priests
hand he shall put on the head of the one to be
cleansed, to make atonement on his behalf
before the Lord. And he shall oer, of the
turtledoves or pigeons such as he can aord,
oneb for a sin oering and the other for a
burnt oering, along with a grain oering;
and the priest shall make atonement before
the Lord on behalf of the one being cleansed.
This is the ritual for the one who has a leprousc disease, who cannot aord the oerings
for his cleansing.
saying:
When you come into the land of Canaan,
which I give you for a possession, and I put a
leprousc disease in a house in the land of your
possession, the owner of the house shall
come and tell the priest, saying, There seems
to me to be some sort of disease in my house.

The priest shall command that they empty
the house before the priest goes to examine
the disease, or all that is in the house will become unclean; and afterward the priest shall
go in to inspect the house. He shall examine
the disease; if the disease is in the walls of
the house with greenish or reddish spots, and
if it appears to be deeper than the surface,
the priest shall go outside to the door of
the house and shut up the house seven days.
The priest shall come again on the seventh
day and make an inspection; if the disease
has spread in the walls of the house, the
priest shall command that the stones in which
the disease appears be taken out and thrown
into an unclean place outside the city. He
shall have the inside of the house scraped
thoroughly, and the plaster that is scraped o
shall be dumped in an unclean place outside
the city. They shall take other stones and
put them in the place of those stones, and
take other plaster and plaster the house.
If the disease breaks out again in the
house, after he has taken out the stones
and scraped the house and plastered it,
the priest shall go and make inspection;
if the disease has spread in the house, it is
a spreading leprousc disease in the house;
it is unclean. He shall have the house
torn down, its stones and timber and all
the plaster of the house, and taken outside
the city to an unclean place. All who
a A liquid measure
b Gk Syr: Heb aord, 31such as he can aord, one
c A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning
uncertain
14.3353: Surface aiction in houses. 34: When you come into the land, in the narrative, the Israelites are
living in the wilderness camp; they therefore do not currently live in houses. I put, surface aiction is viewed
as divine punishment (Num 12.10; Deut 28.27,35; 2 Sam 3.29; 2 Kings 5.2627; 2 Chr 26.1621). 35: The owner,
though it is potentially inconvenient and even a potentially signicant nancial loss (cf. vv. 4345), the homeowner is expected to report possible surface aiction because of the threat of contamination and its eect on
the entire community. 36: The impurity caused by surface aiction will contaminate other objects and persons
in the house (cf. vv. 4647), but an allowance is made for removing objects before the priest ocially diagnoses
surface aiction. 4041,45: Disposal outside the city parallels the exclusion of surface-aicted persons out-
hebrew bible | 163
leviticus 15
enter the house while it is shut up shall be
unclean until the evening; and all who
sleep in the house shall wash their clothes;
and all who eat in the house shall wash
their clothes.
If the priest comes and makes an
inspection, and the disease has not spread
in the house after the house was plastered,
the priest shall pronounce the house clean;
the disease is healed. For the cleansing
of the house he shall take two birds, with
cedarwood and crimson yarn and hyssop,
and shall slaughter one of the birds over
fresh water in an earthen vessel, and shall
take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the
crimson yarn, along with the living bird, and
dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird
and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house
seven times. Thus he shall cleanse the
house with the blood of the bird, and with
the fresh water, and with the living bird, and
with the cedarwood and hyssop and crimson
yarn; and he shall let the living bird go out
of the city into the open eld; so he shall
make atonement for the house, and it shall
be clean.
This is the ritual for any leprousa disease: for an itch, for leprousa diseases in
clothing and houses, and for a swelling or
an eruption or a spot, to determine when
it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the
ritual for leprousa diseases.
saying: Speak to the people of Israel
and say to them:
When any man has a discharge from his
member,b his discharge makes him ceremonially unclean. The uncleanness of
his discharge is this: whether his memberb
flows with his discharge, or his memberb

is stopped from discharging, it is uncleanness for him. Every bed on which the one
with the discharge lies shall be unclean;
and everything on which he sits shall be
unclean. Anyone who touches his bed
shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water,
and be unclean until the evening. All who
sit on anything on which the one with the
discharge has sat shall wash their clothes,
and bathe in water, and be unclean until
the evening. All who touch the body of
the one with the discharge shall wash their
clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean
until the evening. If the one with the discharge spits on persons who are clean, then
they shall wash their clothes, and bathe in
water, and be unclean until the evening.
Any saddle on which the one with the
discharge rides shall be unclean. All who
touch anything that was under him shall
be unclean until the evening, and all who
carry such a thing shall wash their clothes,
and bathe in water, and be unclean until
the evening. All those whom the one with
the discharge touches without his having
rinsed his hands in water shall wash their
clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean
until the evening. Any earthen vessel that
the one with the discharge touches shall be
broken; and every vessel of wood shall be
rinsed in water.
15

uncertain
b Heb esh
side the camp (13.46). 4647: See 11.2440n. 5457: A typical Priestly conclusion formula for chs 1314, though
the items in the summary are ordered dierently in the chapters.
15.133: Sexual discharges. This chapter outlines impurities caused by regular and irregular discharges from
the genitals. As with other causes of contamination, sexual ows generate impurity because of the perceived
loss of life that accompanies them. The chapter exhibits a chiastic structure of impurity sources: A: Abnormal
male discharge (vv. 215); B: Normal male discharge (seminal emission; vv. 1617); C: Seminal discharge during sexual intercourse, aecting both men and women (v. 18); B': Normal female discharge (menstruation; vv.
1924); A': Abnormal female discharge (vv. 2530). None of these sexual discharges is considered sinful; rather,
the contamination caused by them threatens the presence of the deity and thus requires careful measures for
containment and purication (cf. 11.116.34n.). 3: Flows . . . stopped, likely due to one of several infections of the
urethra, including gonorrhea. 412: Impurity is contagious through physical contact with the impure person or
objects contaminated by him. 1315: See 14.89n.; 14.1020n. Sin oering, lit. purication oering. 18: Normal
164 | hebrew bible
leviticus 15
When the one with a discharge is
cleansed of his discharge, he shall count
seven days for his cleansing; he shall wash
his clothes and bathe his body in fresh
water, and he shall be clean. On the eighth
day he shall take two turtledoves or two
pigeons and come before the Lord to the
entrance of the tent of meeting and give
them to the priest. The priest shall oer
them, one for a sin oering and the other for
a burnt oering; and the priest shall make
atonement on his behalf before the Lord for
his discharge.
If a man has an emission of semen, he
shall bathe his whole body in water, and be
unclean until the evening. Everything made
of cloth or of skin on which the semen falls
shall be washed with water, and be unclean
until the evening. If a man lies with a
woman and has an emission of semen, both
of them shall bathe in water, and be unclean
until the evening.
When a woman has a discharge of blood
that is her regular discharge from her body,
she shall be in her impurity for seven days,
and whoever touches her shall be unclean
until the evening. Everything upon which
she lies during her impurity shall be unclean;
everything also upon which she sits shall be
unclean. Whoever touches her bed shall
wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and
be unclean until the evening. Whoever
touches anything upon which she sits shall
wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be
unclean until the evening; whether it is the
bed or anything upon which she sits, when
he touches it he shall be unclean until the
evening. If any man lies with her, and her
impurity falls on him, he shall be unclean

seven days; and every bed on which he lies
shall be unclean.
If a woman has a discharge of blood for
many days, not at the time of her impurity,
or if she has a discharge beyond the time of
her impurity, all the days of the discharge
she shall continue in uncleanness; as in the
days of her impurity, she shall be unclean.
Every bed on which she lies during all
the days of her discharge shall be treated
as the bed of her impurity; and everything
on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the
uncleanness of her impurity. Whoever
touches these things shall be unclean, and
shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water,
and be unclean until the evening. If she is
cleansed of her discharge, she shall count
seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
On the eighth day she shall take two
turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them
to the priest at the entrance of the tent of
meeting. The priest shall oer one for a
sin oering and the other for a burnt oering; and the priest shall make atonement on
her behalf before the Lord for her unclean
discharge.
Thus you shall keep the people of Israel
separate from their uncleanness, so that they
do not die in their uncleanness by deling my
tabernacle that is in their midst.
This is the ritual for those who have
a discharge: for him who has an emission
of semen, becoming unclean thereby, for
her who is in the inrmity of her period, for
anyone, male or female, who has a discharge,
and for the man who lies with a woman who
is unclean.
sexual relations cause impurity, yet according to the Priestly authors, God commands humans to be fruitful
and multiply (e.g., Gen 1.28; 9.1,7). It is thus clear that sources of impurity are generally unrelated to sin. 1924:
Menstrual impurity persists for seven days, presumably approximating the longest duration of regular menstruation. The strength of the impurity communicated by the menstruant is related to the intensity of contact
with her (cf. 11.2440n.). No rules for purication are given; presumably the woman bathes and launders on the
seventh day, and waits until evening (2 Sam 11.2,4; cf. Num 19.19). 24: If any man lies with her, and her impurity
falls on him, lit., If any man lies with her, with the result that her impurity falls on him. Although it communicates impurity, intercourse with a menstruant is permied by P (contrast 18.19 and 20.18, which are H). 2530:
Irregular female blood ow, like irregular male discharge, produces impurity until the ow stops and requires
a seven-day waiting period and sacricial blood for sanctuary purication (cf. vv. 1315). 31: The rationale for
proper disposal of impurity: impurity is aracted to the sanctuary, where it will accumulate and threaten the
divine presence (cf. 4.16.7n.; 11.116.34n.). 3233: A typical Priestly summary postscript (cf. 7.3738; 11.4647;
13.59; 14.5457).
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leviticus 16
16
The Lord spoke to Moses after the

death of the two sons of Aaron, when
they drew near before the Lord and died.
The Lord said to Moses:
Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at
any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain
before the mercy seata that is upon the ark, or
he will die; for I appear in the cloud upon the
mercy seat.a Thus shall Aaron come into the
holy place: with a young bull for a sin oering
and a ram for a burnt oering. He shall put
on the holy linen tunic, and shall have the
linen undergarments next to his body, fasten
the linen sash, and wear the linen turban;
these are the holy vestments. He shall bathe
his body in water, and then put them on. He
shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin oering,
and one ram for a burnt oering.
Aaron shall oer the bull as a sin oering for himself, and shall make atonement
for himself and for his house. He shall
take the two goats and set them before the
Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting;
and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats,
one lot for the Lord and the other lot for
Azazel.b Aaron shall present the goat on
which the lot fell for the Lord, and oer it
as a sin oering; but the goat on which the
lot fell for Azazelb shall be presented alive

before the Lord to make atonement over it,
that it may be sent away into the wilderness
to Azazel.b
Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement
for himself and for his house; he shall slaughter the bull as a sin oering for himself. He
shall take a censer full of coals of re from
the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls
of crushed sweet incense, and he shall bring
it inside the curtain and put the incense
on the re before the Lord, that the cloud of
the incense may cover the mercy seata that
is upon the covenant,c or he will die. He
shall take some of the blood of the bull, and
sprinkle it with his nger on the front of the
mercy seat,a and before the mercy seata he
shall sprinkle the blood with his nger seven
times.
He shall slaughter the goat of the sin
offering that is for the people and bring its
blood inside the curtain, and do with its
blood as he did with the blood of the bull,
a Or the cover
b Traditionally rendered a scapegoat
c Or treaty, or testament; Heb eduth
16.134: The Day of Atonement. This chapter describes the annual purication of the entire tabernacle
complex, including the purgation (Heb kippur) of the inner sanctum of the deity, the holy of holies. According
to v. 29, yom hakkippurim (the day of purications, cf. 23.2632; 25.9)in later Judaism, Yom Kippur (oen
mistranslated as the Day of Atonement)is the tenth day of the seventh month. Though the sanctuary complex is regularly purged by the blood of purication oerings, further purication ensures thorough cleansing.
Moreover, routine purication does not purge the contamination of intentional sins, which penetrates all the
way into the holy of holies and is therefore especially threatening to the deity (cf. 4.135n.). This system creates the remarkable circumstance that the holy of holies, purged only once each year, could become the most
polluted area in the tabernacle complex. This potential aw in the Priestly system of purication reveals the
fundamental optimism of its authors: in their view, once Israel knows the commandments of God, they will
carefully obey them. Intentional sin is expected to be a rare occurrence; unintentional sin and impurities, by
contrast, are unavoidable and thus greater concerns. 1: Aer the death of the two sons of Aaron, some interpreters have argued that ch 16 originally followed ch 10 and that its purication ritual was intended to purge the
tabernacle of corpse contamination aer the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, and aer other emergencies, rather
than once a year on Yom Kippur. Alternatively, this reference simply situates ch 16 in the chronology of the
overall narrative, perhaps indicating that chs 1115 were not actually narrated immediately aer the events of
ch 10 (cf. 16.34b n.). 2: Mercy seat, the cover of the ark upon which the cherubim are set (cf. Ex 25.1722). 3: See
4.3. Sin oering, lit. purication oering (cf. 4.135n.) 4: See 8.69. 622: Aaron applies the sacricial blood
to the sanctuary and its furnishings, eecting their purication. In later Judaism, aer the Temple is destroyed,
the focus of the Day of Atonement shis to the repentance and forgiveness of individuals. 7: Tent of meeting,
see 1.1n. 8: Azazel, probably, angry or erce god, a demonic gure (cf. 17.7), in contrast to the Israelite deity.
Rabbinic interpreters understood Azazel as the goat that goes away, i.e., the scapegoat. 13: When he enters
166 | hebrew bible
leviticus 16
sprinkling it upon the mercy seata and before the mercy seat.a Thus he shall make
atonement for the sanctuary, because of
the uncleannesses of the people of Israel,
and because of their transgressions, all
their sins; and so he shall do for the tent
of meeting, which remains with them in
the midst of their uncleannesses. No one
shall be in the tent of meeting from the
time he enters to make atonement in the
sanctuary until he comes out and has made
atonement for himself and for his house
and for all the assembly of Israel. Then he
shall go out to the altar that is before the
Lord and make atonement on its behalf,
and shall take some of the blood of the bull
and of the blood of the goat, and put it on
each of the horns of the altar. He shall
sprinkle some of the blood on it with his
finger seven times, and cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the people
of Israel.
When he has nished atoning for the
holy place and the tent of meeting and the
altar, he shall present the live goat. Then
Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head
of the live goat, and confess over it all the
iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their
transgressions, all their sins, putting them
on the head of the goat, and sending it away
into the wilderness by means of someone
designated for the task.b The goat shall bear
on itself all their iniquities to a barren region;
and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness.
Then Aaron shall enter the tent of meeting, and shall take o the linen vestments
that he put on when he went into the holy

place, and shall leave them there. He shall
bathe his body in water in a holy place, and
put on his vestments; then he shall come out
and oer his burnt oering and the burnt
oering of the people, making atonement for
himself and for the people. The fat of the
sin oering he shall turn into smoke on the
altar. The one who sets the goat free for
Azazelc shall wash his clothes and bathe his
body in water, and afterward may come into
the camp. The bull of the sin oering and
the goat of the sin oering, whose blood was
brought in to make atonement in the holy
place, shall be taken outside the camp; their
skin and their esh and their dung shall be
consumed in re. The one who burns them
shall wash his clothes and bathe his body
in water, and afterward may come into the
camp.
This shall be a statute to you forever: In
the seventh month, on the tenth day of the
month, you shall deny yourselves,d and shall
do no work, neither the citizen nor the alien
who resides among you. For on this day
atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse
you; from all your sins you shall be clean
before the Lord. It is a sabbath of complete
rest to you, and you shall deny yourselves;d
it is a statute forever. The priest who is
anointed and consecrated as priest in his
a
b
c
d
Or the cover
Traditionally rendered a scapegoat
Or shall fast
the holy of holies, Aaron must burn incense to conceal the deity from his sight (cf. v. 2). 16: The beginning of the
verse is beer translated, He shall purify the sanctuary from the Israelites impurities and, of all their sins, from
their rebellious acts. Impurity and intentional sins are hereby both purged from the inner sanctum. And so he
shall do for the tent of meeting, referring to the cleansing of the outer room of the tabernacle (cf. 4.57,1618; Ex
30.10). Remains, beer, dwells. 1819: Working out from the inner and outer rooms of the tabernacle, Aaron is
to purify the altar of burnt oerings in the courtyard. 2122: Aaron slaughtered one of the peoples goats as a
purication oering (v. 15). The other carries away their sins, which Aaron loads onto it by reciting them while
placing both his hands on its head (contrast 1.4). Wilderness, a region viewed in the ancient Near East as the
domain of demons. 2934a: An H addition to vv. 128+34b, which are P. H expands the ritual to include fasting
and work cessation and thereby provides the laity a role in the Day of Atonement. 31: Sabbath of complete rest,
lit. sabbath of sabbaths, emphasizing the requirement for a complete cessation of work. This term is also applied to the sabbath day (Ex 31.15; 35.2; Lev 23.3,32) and to the sabbath year (Lev 25.4). 34b: Moses delivers the
divine commands to Aaron, but Aaron does not perform them immediately because the Day of Atonement is
six months away (see Introduction).
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leviticus 17
fathers place shall make atonement, wearing the linen vestments, the holy vestments.
He shall make atonement for the sanctuary,
and he shall make atonement for the tent of
meeting and for the altar, and he shall make
atonement for the priests and for all the
people of the assembly. This shall be an
everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the people of Israel once in the year
for all their sins. And Moses did as the Lord
had commanded him.
The Lord spoke to Moses:
Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all
the people of Israel and say to them: This is
what the Lord has commanded. If anyone
of the house of Israel slaughters an ox or a
lamb or a goat in the camp, or slaughters
it outside the camp, and does not bring it
to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to
present it as an oering to the Lord before
the tabernacle of the Lord, he shall be held
guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood, and
he shall be cut o from the people. This is in
order that the people of Israel may bring their
17
sacrices that they oer in the open eld,

that they may bring them to the Lord, to the
priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting,
and oer them as sacrices of well-being to
the Lord. The priest shall dash the blood
against the altar of the Lord at the entrance
of the tent of meeting, and turn the fat into
smoke as a pleasing odor to the Lord, so
that they may no longer oer their sacrices
for goat-demons, to whom they prostitute
themselves. This shall be a statute forever to
them throughout their generations.
And say to them further: Anyone of the
house of Israel or of the aliens who reside
among them who oers a burnt oering or
sacrice, and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to sacrice it to
the Lord, shall be cut o from the people.
If anyone of the house of Israel or of
the aliens who reside among them eats any
blood, I will set my face against that person
who eats blood, and will cut that person o
from the people. For the life of the esh is in
the blood; and I have given it to you for mak-
17.126.46: The Holiness Collection. Most scholars agree that chs 1726 (H) comprise a compositional stratum in the book of Leviticus separate from chs 116 (P). Chs 1726 are especially concerned with holiness and
extend the potential for holiness to the Israelite laity. For this reason, chs 1726 are titled the Holiness Collection (see Introduction). Many scholars call this the Holiness Code, but like other ancient Near Eastern law
collections, it is not a code: it has redundancies and contradictions, is not organized for use by judges, and is
not complete. Though initially believed to be older than chs 116, recent scholarship has demonstrated that
chs 1726, as well as ch 27, are later additions to the preceding chapters meant to revise and supplement them.
It is likely that H supplements P in part by borrowing and revising non-Priestly laws from the books of Exodus
and Deuteronomy.
17.116: Slaughter. In light of the sacricial laws in chs 17, H here provides a new set of regulations concerning eating meat. Most notably, H requires that the Israelites present as oerings at the sanctuary all sacriceable animals that are slaughtered (vv. 37). This command supplements the P rules in Gen 9.34, which
permit nonsacricial slaughter of animals for meat, provided that no blood is consumed. Having received the
sacricial laws, Israel is obligated to treat every slaughter of a domesticated animal as a sacrice. The Priestly
source thus divides culinary history into three epochs: (1) Creation to Flood (vegetarianism, Gen 1.2931); (2)
Post-Flood to Sinai (nonsacricial slaughter, Gen 9.34); (3) Aer Sinai (sacricial slaughter of all domesticated
animals, Lev 17; 17.37). Lev 17 contrasts markedly with Deut 12.1527, which expressly permit profane slaughter of sacriceable animals. 34: All slaughtered sacriceable animals must be presented as oerings. Such
sacrices, intended to provide meat for eating, are undoubtedly well-being oerings (cf. 3.117; 7.1134). Within
its wilderness seing, H envisions a single sanctuary, making adherence to this command possible. 4: Nonsacricial slaughter is tantamount to murder (cf. 1.4; 17.11), a view that enforces sanctuary slaughter. 5,7: With
the introduction of sacrice, what was once nonsacricial slaughter is perceived as sacricial. Any slaughter
of sacriceable animals outside of the sanctuary is viewed as sacrice to other deities or to demons. Prostitution is a frequent metaphor for worshiping other gods. Goat demons, cf. 16.8n.; 2 Chr 11.15; Isa 13.21; 34.14. 89:
Foreigners residing among the Israelites presumably may slaughter domesticated animals nonsacricially, but
neither Israelites nor foreigners may oer sacrices to any deity but the Lord. 1014: Consumption of blood
from both wild and domesticated animals is prohibited (cf. Gen 9.4; Lev 3.17; Deut 12.2325). Once the blood
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leviticus 18
ing atonement for your lives on the altar; for,
as life, it is the blood that makes atonement.
Therefore I have said to the people of Israel:
No person among you shall eat blood, nor
shall any alien who resides among you eat
blood. And anyone of the people of Israel,
or of the aliens who reside among them, who
hunts down an animal or bird that may be
eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it
with earth.
For the life of every creatureits blood
is its life; therefore I have said to the people of
Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood;
whoever eats it shall be cut o. All persons,
citizens or aliens, who eat what dies of itself
or what has been torn by wild animals, shall
wash their clothes, and bathe themselves in
water, and be unclean until the evening; then
they shall be clean. But if they do not wash
themselves or bathe their body, they shall
bear their guilt.
Speak to the people of Israel and say
to them: I am the Lord your God. You shall
not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where
you lived, and you shall not do as they do in
the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing
you. You shall not follow their statutes. My
ordinances you shall observe and my statutes
you shall keep, following them: I am the Lord
your God. You shall keep my statutes and my
ordinances; by doing so one shall live: I am
the Lord.
None of you shall approach anyone
near of kin to uncover nakedness: I am the
18
Lord. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness
of your mother; she is your mother, you
shall not uncover her nakedness. You shall
not uncover the nakedness of your fathers
wife; it is the nakedness of your father.
You shall not uncover the nakedness of
your sister, your fathers daughter or your
mothers daughter, whether born at home
or born abroad. You shall not uncover the
nakedness of your sons daughter or of your
daughters daughter, for their nakedness
is your own nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your fathers wifes
daughter, begotten by your father, since she
is your sister. You shall not uncover the
nakedness of your fathers sister; she is your
fathers esh. You shall not uncover the
nakedness of your mothers sister, for she is
your mothers esh. You shall not uncover
the nakedness of your fathers brother, that
is, you shall not approach his wife; she is
your aunt. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law: she is your
sons wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness
of your brothers wife; it is your brothers
nakedness. You shall not uncover the
nakedness of a woman and her daughter,
and you shall not takea her sons daughter
or her daughters daughter to uncover her
nakedness; they are yourb esh; it is depravity. And you shall not takea a woman as a
a Or marry
b Gk: Heb lacks your
is drained, the meat may be eaten. 11: For making atonement for your lives, beer, as a ransom for your lives.
According to H, sacricial blood on the altar not only puries but also ransoms (Heb kipper) the oerer from
shedding the animals blood (cf. 1.4; 17.4). Compare the payment of a ransom in Ex 30.1116 and Num 31.4850 to
appease divine wrath. 1516: Laypersons (but not priests; cf. 22.8) may eat an animal that died naturally or was
killed by other animals, but they must purify aerwards (cf. 11.40; contrast Ex 22.30; Deut 14.21). Later Judaism
prohibits such eating, following Deut 14.21.
18.130: Foreign abominations. The prohibitions in this chapter are primarily sexual in nature, though child
sacrice to Molech is also included. These sins are associated with foreigners and especially the Canaanites,
whom God will remove from their land so that Israel may dwell in it. There is no evidence that the Canaanites
actually engaged in these practices. 15: A general prohibition against following the statutes of the Egyptians
and Canaanites, and adjuration instead to obey the Lords commands, which follow in vv. 623. 2,4: I am the
Lord your God, a characteristic H expression, underscoring that because the Israelites belong to the Lord, they
must be distinct from other nations and follow the rules of their god alone. 620,2223: Sexual prohibitions,
with special focus on various forms of incest. 20.1021 enumerates punishments for sexual sins; cf. Deut 27.20
23. 6: Uncover nakedness, nakedness is a euphemism for the genitals, and the entire phrase refers to intercourse.
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leviticus 19
rival to her sister, uncovering her nakedness
while her sister is still alive.
You shall not approach a woman to
uncover her nakedness while she is in her
menstrual uncleanness. You shall not have
sexual relations with your kinsmans wife,
and dele yourself with her. You shall not
give any of your ospring to sacrice thema
to Molech, and so profane the name of your
God: I am the Lord. You shall not lie with a
male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
You shall not have sexual relations with any
animal and dele yourself with it, nor shall
any woman give herself to an animal to have
sexual relations with it: it is perversion.
Do not dele yourselves in any of these
ways, for by all these practices the nations
I am casting out before you have deled
themselves. Thus the land became deled;
and I punished it for its iniquity, and the
land vomited out its inhabitants. But you
shall keep my statutes and my ordinances
and commit none of these abominations,
either the citizen or the alien who resides
among you (for the inhabitants of the land,
who were before you, committed all of these
abominations, and the land became deled);
otherwise the land will vomit you out for
deling it, as it vomited out the nation that
was before you. For whoever commits any
of these abominations shall be cut o from
their people. So keep my charge not to

commit any of these abominations that were
done before you, and not to dele yourselves
by them: I am the Lord your God.
Speak to all the congregation of the
people of Israel and say to them: You shall be
holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. You
shall each revere your mother and father, and
you shall keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord
your God. Do not turn to idols or make cast
images for yourselves: I am the Lord your
God.
When you oer a sacrice of well-being
to the Lord, oer it in such a way that it is
acceptable in your behalf. It shall be eaten
on the same day you oer it, or on the next
day; and anything left over until the third
day shall be consumed in re. If it is eaten
at all on the third day, it is an abomination;
it will not be acceptable. All who eat it shall
be subject to punishment, because they have
profaned what is holy to the Lord; and any
such person shall be cut o from the people.
When you reap the harvest of your land,
you shall not reap to the very edges of your
eld, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or
gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you
19
a Heb to pass them over
17: Depravity, a term of opprobrium employed by H for sexual sins. 19: Contrast 15.24, which allows intercourse
with a menstruant. 20: Dele yourself, referring to moral impurity, which is prohibited by H. Ritual impurity,
by contrast, is permied (cf. 15.18n.). 21: Molech, a Canaanite deity associated with child sacrice; see 20.25.
Profane the name, to deny the Israelite God the honor and fame due him or to dishonor him directly. It also
seems to connote diminishing the deitys holiness. 2430: God avenged the land for the delement caused by
its inhabitants, whom the land in turn expelled. Such will be the fate of the Israelites if they too commit the sins
prohibited in vv. 623. Punishment for prohibited moral impurity is oen exile or other destruction (Isa 64.411;
Ezek 20.38; 22.216; 39.2324; cf. Lev 26.3339). 25: For crimes and sins polluting the land, see Num 35.3334;
Isa 24.57; Ezek 22.24; Ezra 9.11. 29: Cut o, see 7.1921n.
19.137: Holiness of Israelite laypersons. This chapter is a miscellany of ethical and ritual laws introduced
by the command for all Israelites to be holy (v. 2), an imperative fullled through careful observance of all the
statutes presented by the Priestly authors. 2: Lay holiness expresses the separateness of Israel from the other
peoples (cf. vv. 3637; 25.38,55): Israelites worship the Lord and express their delity through obedience to the
Lords commands (cf. 11.4445; 20.78,2426; Num 15.4041). Cf. Ex 19.6; Deut 14.2,21; 26.19; 28.6. 34,1113:
These verses have close correspondence with the Decalogue (cf. Ex 20.217; Deut 5.621). 58: Cf. 7.1518. The
grammatical formulation here diers in part from 7.1518 (here, genuine second-person plural construction;
in ch 7, third-person singular). Note too that 7.1518 is addressed to the priests alone (6.24) while this chapter
is addressed to the Israelite laity (v. 2). Verse 8 also claries the nature of the penalty for one who eats the
well-being oering on the third day: as in the case of consuming the sacrice in an impure state, eating on the
third day leads to complete destruction of the oenders lineage (cf. 7.1921). 910: Cf. Ex 23.1011; Lev 23.22;
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leviticus 19
shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I
am the Lord your God.
You shall not steal; you shall not deal
falsely; and you shall not lie to one another.
And you shall not swear falsely by my
name, profaning the name of your God: I am
the Lord.
You shall not defraud your neighbor;
you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for
yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. You shall not revile the deaf or put a
stumbling block before the blind; you shall
fear your God: I am the Lord.
You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or
defer to the great: with justice you shall judge
your neighbor. You shall not go around as a
slanderera among your people, and you shall
not prot by the bloodb of your neighbor: I
am the Lord.
You shall not hate in your heart anyone
of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor,
or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall
not take vengeance or bear a grudge against
any of your people, but you shall love your
neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
You shall keep my statutes. You shall not
let your animals breed with a dierent kind;
you shall not sow your eld with two kinds of
seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of
two dierent materials.
If a man has sexual relations with
a woman who is a slave, designated for
another man but not ransomed or given
her freedom, an inquiry shall be held.
They shall not be put to death, since she
has not been freed; but he shall bring a
guilt offering for himself to the Lord, at the
entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram as
guilt offering. And the priest shall make
atonement for him with the ram of guilt
offering before the Lord for his sin that he
committed; and the sin he committed shall

be forgiven him.
When you come into the land and plant
all kinds of trees for food, then you shall
regard their fruit as forbidden;c three years
it shall be forbiddend to you, it must not be
eaten. In the fourth year all their fruit shall
be set apart for rejoicing in the Lord. But in
the fth year you may eat of their fruit, that
their yield may be increased for you: I am the
Lord your God.
You shall not eat anything with its blood.
You shall not practice augury or witchcraft.
You shall not round o the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. You shall
not make any gashes in your esh for the dead
or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
Do not profane your daughter by making
her a prostitute, that the land not become
prostituted and full of depravity. You shall
keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do
not seek them out, to be deled by them: I am
the Lord your God.
You shall rise before the aged, and defer
to the old; and you shall fear your God: I am
the Lord.
When an alien resides with you in your
land, you shall not oppress the alien. The
alien who resides with you shall be to you
as the citizen among you; you shall love the
alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the
land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
You shall not cheat in measuring length,
weight, or quantity. You shall have honest
balances, honest weights, an honest ephah,
a
b
c
d

Heb stand against the blood
Heb as their uncircumcision
Heb uncircumcision
25.27; Deut 24.1922; Ruth 2.110. 15: Cf. Ex 22.23; Deut 1.17; 16.1820. 1718: For aitudes and actions toward
foreigners, see 17.89; 19.3334; 25.3946. 18b: This verse, along with Deut 6.5, is quoted in Mt 22.3740 (cf.
Mk 12.2833; Lk 10.27; Rom 13.9; Gal 5.14). The neighbor here is a fellow Israelite (cf. vv. 17,34). 19: One reason
mixtures are prohibited is to remind the people to keep themselves distinct, i.e., holy (cf. Deut 22.911). The
mixture of wool and linen is reserved for the priestly vestments (Ex 28.6; 39.29) and fringes to be worn (Num
15.3741). 2022: Contrast the case of the free, betrothed woman in 20.10; cf. Ex 22.1617; Deut 22.2327. 26:
Blood, cf. 3.17n.; 17.1014n. For prohibitions against various forms of divination, see also v. 31; Ex 22.18; Deut
18.914. 2728: Cf. 21.5n. 3536: Cf. Deut 25.1316; Am 8.5; Mic 6.11. An ephah was a dry measure equivalent to
ca. 21 qts (23 liters); a hin was a liquid measure equivalent to ca. 1 gal (3.8 liters).
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leviticus 20
and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
You shall keep all my statutes and all my
ordinances, and observe them: I am the Lord.
Say further to the people of Israel:
Any of the people of Israel, or of the aliens
who reside in Israel, who give any of their
ospring to Molech shall be put to death; the
people of the land shall stone them to death.
I myself will set my face against them, and
will cut them o from the people, because
they have given of their ospring to Molech,
deling my sanctuary and profaning my holy
name. And if the people of the land should
ever close their eyes to them, when they
give of their ospring to Molech, and do not
put them to death, I myself will set my face
against them and against their family, and
will cut them o from among their people,
them and all who follow them in prostituting
themselves to Molech.
If any turn to mediums and wizards, prostituting themselves to them, I will set my face
against them, and will cut them o from the
people. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and
be holy; for I am the Lord your God. Keep my
statutes, and observe them; I am the Lord; I
sanctify you. All who curse father or mother
shall be put to death; having cursed father or
mother, their blood is upon them.
If a man commits adultery with the wife
ofa his neighbor, both the adulterer and the
adulteress shall be put to death. The man
who lies with his fathers wife has uncovered
his fathers nakedness; both of them shall be
put to death; their blood is upon them. If
a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of
them shall be put to death; they have committed perversion, their blood is upon them.
If a man lies with a male as with a woman,
both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood
20
is upon them. If a man takes a wife and

her mother also, it is depravity; they shall be
burned to death, both he and they, that there
may be no depravity among you. If a man
has sexual relations with an animal, he shall
be put to death; and you shall kill the animal.
If a woman approaches any animal and
has sexual relations with it, you shall kill the
woman and the animal; they shall be put to
death, their blood is upon them.
If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his
father or a daughter of his mother, and sees
her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it
is a disgrace, and they shall be cut o in the
sight of their people; he has uncovered his
sisters nakedness, he shall be subject to punishment. If a man lies with a woman having
her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he
has laid bare her ow and she has laid bare
her ow of blood; both of them shall be cut
o from their people. You shall not uncover
the nakedness of your mothers sister or of
your fathers sister, for that is to lay bare ones
own esh; they shall be subject to punishment. If a man lies with his uncles wife, he
has uncovered his uncles nakedness; they
shall be subject to punishment; they shall die
childless. If a man takes his brothers wife,
it is impurity; he has uncovered his brothers
nakedness; they shall be childless.
You shall keep all my statutes and all
my ordinances, and observe them, so that
the land to which I bring you to settle in may
not vomit you out. You shall not follow the
practices of the nation that I am driving out
before you. Because they did all these things,
I abhorred them. But I have said to you:
You shall inherit their land, and I will give it
to you to possess, a land owing with milk
and honey. I am the Lord your God; I have
a Heb repeats if a man commits adultery with the
wife of
20.127: Various prohibitions. Some of the laws in chs 1819 are repeated here, although many are in a
dierent legal form (some of the absolute prohibitions [apodictic laws] of ch 18 are here formulated as legal
cases [casuistic laws] with stated penalties). Other laws are also added. The signicant overlap between the
two chapters suggests that they are independent reections of a common tradition subsequently compiled
by H. 2: Molech, see 18.21n. 5: Cut them o, see 7.1921n. 56: Prostituting, cf. 17.5,7n. 78: Consecrate yourselves,
i.e., separate from foreign worship practices by following the Lords commands (cf. vv. 2426). 9: Cf. Ex 21.17.
1021: Cf. 18.620,2223. 18: Sickness, i.e., her menstrual period (cf. 15.33). Contrast 15.24. 2021: Die childless,
perhaps a variant of the cut o formula (cf. 7.1921n.). 2226: A concluding exhortation similar to 18.2430;
172 | hebrew bible
leviticus 21
separated you from the peoples. You shall
therefore make a distinction between the
clean animal and the unclean, and between
the unclean bird and the clean; you shall not
bring abomination on yourselves by animal
or by bird or by anything with which the
ground teems, which I have set apart for you
to hold unclean. You shall be holy to me; for
I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you
from the other peoples to be mine.
A man or a woman who is a medium or
a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be
stoned to death, their blood is upon them.
The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the
priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to
them:
No one shall dele himself for a dead
person among his relatives, except for his
nearest kin: his mother, his father, his son,
his daughter, his brother; likewise, for a virgin sister, close to him because she has had
no husband, he may dele himself for her.
But he shall not dele himself as a husband
among his people and so profane himself.
They shall not make bald spots upon their
heads, or shave o the edges of their beards,
or make any gashes in their esh. They
shall be holy to their God, and not profane
the name of their God; for they oer the
Lords oerings by re, the food of their God;
therefore they shall be holy. They shall not
marry a prostitute or a woman who has been
deled; neither shall they marry a woman
divorced from her husband. For they are holy
to their God, and you shall treat them as
holy, since they oer the food of your God;
they shall be holy to you, for I the Lord, I who
sanctify you, am holy. When the daughter
21
of a priest profanes herself through prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be
burned to death.
The priest who is exalted above his fellows, on whose head the anointing oil has
been poured and who has been consecrated
to wear the vestments, shall not dishevel his
hair, nor tear his vestments. He shall not
go where there is a dead body; he shall not
dele himself even for his father or mother.
He shall not go outside the sanctuary and
thus profane the sanctuary of his God; for the
consecration of the anointing oil of his God
is upon him: I am the Lord. He shall marry
only a woman who is a virgin. A widow, or a
divorced woman, or a woman who has been
deled, a prostitute, these he shall not marry.
He shall marry a virgin of his own kin, that
he may not profane his ospring among his
kin; for I am the Lord; I sanctify him.
Speak to Aaron and say: No one of your
ospring throughout their generations who
has a blemish may approach to oer the food
of his God. For no one who has a blemish
shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or
one who has a mutilated face or a limb too
long, or one who has a broken foot or a
broken hand, or a hunchback, or a dwarf,
or a man with a blemish in his eyes or an
itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.
No descendant of Aaron the priest who has
a blemish shall come near to oer the Lords
oerings by re; since he has a blemish, he
shall not come near to oer the food of his
God. He may eat the food of his God, of
the most holy as well as of the holy. But he
shall not come near the curtain or approach
cf. 20.78n. 24: Milk and honey, a typical biblical description of the land of Canaan (e.g., Ex 3.8; Deut 6.3). 27:
Because it follows the concluding paragraph, this verse is likely a later insertion; cf. v. 6; 19.31.
21.122.33: Priestly restrictions and sacricial rules. These chapters are directed primarily to the priests
(21.1,17; 22.2; cf. 21.24; 22.18) and are especially concerned with maintaining their ritual holiness, which was
granted to them through ordination (ch 8), as well as the holiness of the sacrices.
21.115: Because of their regular contact with the sanctuary, priests must avoid impurities otherwise tolerated for lay Israelites. The high priest must observe greater restrictions (vv. 1015) because of his closer contact
with the sacred. 1: Dele himself, through corpse contamination (cf. 10.47n.; Num 19). 5: Apparently mourning
rituals, also prohibited to nonpriests (19.2728); cf. Deut 14.12; Isa 22.12; Jer 16.6. 6: Profane the name, cf. 18.21n.
Oerings by re, see 1.13.17n. Food of their God, cf. 1.13.17n.; 1.9n. 8: Though vv. 1b15 are ostensibly directed to
the priests and not the Israelite laity, this verse addresses all Israelites. 1015: Stricter regulations for the high
priest. 10: See 8.1012,30n. 1623: Bodily defects disqualify priests from altar service, for they undermine the
wholeness of the priest (cf. 22.1725). However, such defects do not render them impure. Such priests may still
hebrew bible | 173
leviticus 22
the altar, because he has a blemish, that he
may not profane my sanctuaries; for I am the
Lord; I sanctify them. Thus Moses spoke to
Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of
Israel.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Direct Aaron and his sons to deal carefully with the sacred donations of the people
of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that
they may not profane my holy name; I am the
Lord. Say to them: If anyone among all your
ospring throughout your generations comes
near the sacred donations, which the people
of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he is in
a state of uncleanness, that person shall be
cut o from my presence: I am the Lord. No
one of Aarons ospring who has a leprousa
disease or suers a discharge may eat of the
sacred donations until he is clean. Whoever
touches anything made unclean by a corpse
or a man who has had an emission of semen,
and whoever touches any swarming thing
by which he may be made unclean or any
human being by whom he may be made uncleanwhatever his uncleanness may be
the person who touches any such shall be
unclean until evening and shall not eat of the
sacred donations unless he has washed his
body in water. When the sun sets he shall be
clean; and afterward he may eat of the sacred
donations, for they are his food. That which
died or was torn by wild animals he shall not
eat, becoming unclean by it: I am the Lord.
They shall keep my charge, so that they may
not incur guilt and die in the sanctuaryb for
having profaned it: I am the Lord; I sanctify
them.
No lay person shall eat of the sacred
donations. No bound or hired servant of the
priest shall eat of the sacred donations; but if
a priest acquires anyone by purchase, the person may eat of them; and those that are born
22
in his house may eat of his food. If a priests

daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat
of the oering of the sacred donations; but
if a priests daughter is widowed or divorced,
without ospring, and returns to her fathers
house, as in her youth, she may eat of her
fathers food. No lay person shall eat of it. If a
man eats of the sacred donation unintentionally, he shall add one-fth of its value to it, and
give the sacred donation to the priest. No
one shall profane the sacred donations of the
people of Israel, which they oer to the Lord,
causing them to bear guilt requiring a guilt
oering, by eating their sacred donations: for I
am the Lord; I sanctify them.
Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the
people of Israel and say to them: When anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens residing in Israel presents an oering, whether
in payment of a vow or as a freewill oering
that is oered to the Lord as a burnt oering, to be acceptable in your behalf it shall
be a male without blemish, of the cattle or
the sheep or the goats. You shall not oer
anything that has a blemish, for it will not be
acceptable in your behalf.
When anyone oers a sacrice of wellbeing to the Lord, in fulllment of a vow or
as a freewill oering, from the herd or from
the ock, to be acceptable it must be perfect;
there shall be no blemish in it. Anything
blind, or injured, or maimed, or having a
discharge or an itch or scabsthese you
shall not oer to the Lord or put any of them
on the altar as oerings by re to the Lord.
An ox or a lamb that has a limb too long
or too short you may present for a freewill
uncertain
b Vg: Heb incur guilt for it and die in it
eat of the oering portions designated for the priests (cf. Num 18.810). 22.116: Rules for avoiding delement
of oerings. Verses 19 focus on priests and their impurity (cf. 11.116.34n.), while vv. 1016 focus on laypersons.
2: Direct Aaron . . . sacred donations, beer, Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they will keep themselves from
the sacred donations, referring to times when priests who have contracted impurity are therefore barred from
eating holy oering portions (cf. 7.2021). 7: For they are his food, oering portions are the priests primary remuneration (Num 18.810). 8: Unlike laypersons (cf. 11.3940; 17.1516), priests are prohibited from eating such
animals. 9: Death is the assumed penalty for trespass upon the sacred (cf. 10.2; 16.2). 1416: Cf. 5.1416. 1730:
Animals not accepted as well-being oerings. 1725: The topic of physical defect or impurity-causing disease
connects these verses to 21.1622.9. Anything or anyone contacting the altar must be without defect; cf. Mal
174 | hebrew bible
leviticus 23
oering; but it will not be accepted for a vow.
Any animal that has its testicles bruised or
crushed or torn or cut, you shall not oer to
the Lord; such you shall not do within your
land, nor shall you accept any such animals
from a foreigner to oer as food to your God;
since they are mutilated, with a blemish in
them, they shall not be accepted in your
behalf.
When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born,
it shall remain seven days with its mother,
and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as the Lords offering by fire. But
you shall not slaughter, from the herd or the
flock, an animal with its young on the same
day. When you sacrifice a thanksgiving
offering to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it
so that it may be acceptable in your behalf.
It shall be eaten on the same day; you
shall not leave any of it until morning: I am
the Lord.
Thus you shall keep my commandments
and observe them: I am the Lord. You shall
not profane my holy name, that I may be
sanctied among the people of Israel: I am
the Lord; I sanctify you, I who brought you
out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am
the Lord.
to them: These are the appointed festivals
of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy
convocations, my appointed festivals.
23
Six days shall work be done; but the

seventh day is a sabbath of complete rest, a
holy convocation; you shall do no work: it is
a sabbath to the Lord throughout your settlements.
These are the appointed festivals of the
Lord, the holy convocations, which you shall
celebrate at the time appointed for them. In
the rst month, on the fourteenth day of the
month, at twilight,a there shall be a passover
oering to the Lord, and on the fteenth day
of the same month is the festival of unleavened bread to the Lord; seven days you shall
eat unleavened bread. On the rst day you
shall have a holy convocation; you shall not
work at your occupations. For seven days you
shall present the Lords oerings by re; on
the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation: you shall not work at your occupations.
The Lord spoke to Moses: Speak to the
people of Israel and say to them: When you
enter the land that I am giving you and you
reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of
the rst fruits of your harvest to the priest.
He shall raise the sheaf before the Lord,
that you may nd acceptance; on the day
after the sabbath the priest shall raise it.
On the day when you raise the sheaf, you
shall oer a lamb a year old, without blemish, as a burnt oering to the Lord. And
the grain oering with it shall be two-tenths
of an ephah of choice our mixed with oil,
a Heb between the two evenings
1.614. 1921: Acceptable, lit. accepted. See 1.4n.; cf. 22.25. 23: This verse asserts dierentiation and hierarchical valuation among freewill oerings (cf. 7.1516). 30: Cf. 7.1518; 19.58. 3133: The Israelites adherence to
the commandments brings honor to the deity and assures his presence among the people. Failure to follow the
commandments profanes that aspect of the holy God that is directly accessible to the people, his name, i.e.,
his reputation (cf. 19.2,37; 20.78,2426).
23.144: Calendar of sacred occasions. Alongside Num 2829, which focus on the oerings required for each
sacred occasion, this chapter outlines the Priestly calendar of religious holidays. For non-Priestly calendars, see
Ex 23.1017; 34.1824; Deut 16. 2: Convocations, beer, occasions. 2b3: An interpolation that elevates the
sabbath to the level of the other sacred festivals. Note the nearly identical formulation of v. 2b and v. 4, which
originally followed v. 2a. The equation of sabbath and sacred festivals may have led to the prohibition of work
on the festivals, which is not aested in the non-Priestly calendars. Sabbath of complete rest, referring to the
prohibition of all work (cf. v. 28; Num 29.7; Lev 16.31n.). On other holy occasions, regular occupational work is
prohibited but not light work such as food preparation (23.78,21,25,3536; Num 28.18,2526; 29.1,12,35). 58:
The combined observance of Passover and the immediately following pilgrimage festival of unleavened bread
is the rst sacred occasion of the year. It coincides with the barley harvest. For further Priestly prescriptions
concerning Passover and the festival of unleavened bread, see Ex 12.120,4349; Num 9.114; 28.1625. 5: First
month, MarchApril. 914: The rst-fruits oering from the barley harvest; cf. 19.2325. 13: Ephah . . . hin, see
hebrew bible | 175
leviticus 23
an oering by re of pleasing odor to the
Lord; and the drink oering with it shall be
of wine, one-fourth of a hin. You shall eat
no bread or parched grain or fresh ears until
that very day, until you have brought the
oering of your God: it is a statute forever
throughout your generations in all your settlements.
And from the day after the sabbath,
from the day on which you bring the sheaf
of the elevation oering, you shall count o
seven weeks; they shall be complete. You
shall count until the day after the seventh
sabbath, fty days; then you shall present an
oering of new grain to the Lord. You shall
bring from your settlements two loaves of bread
as an elevation oering, each made of twotenths of an ephah; they shall be of choice
our, baked with leaven, as rst fruits to
the Lord. You shall present with the bread
seven lambs a year old without blemish, one
young bull, and two rams; they shall be a
burnt oering to the Lord, along with their
grain oering and their drink oerings, an
oering by re of pleasing odor to the Lord.
You shall also oer one male goat for a sin
oering, and two male lambs a year old as
a sacrice of well-being. The priest shall
raise them with the bread of the rst fruits
as an elevation oering before the Lord,
together with the two lambs; they shall be
holy to the Lord for the priest. On that
same day you shall make proclamation; you
shall hold a holy convocation; you shall not
work at your occupations. This is a statute
forever in all your settlements throughout
your generations.
When you reap the harvest of your land,
you shall not reap to the very edges of your
eld, or gather the gleanings of your harvest;
you shall leave them for the poor and for the
alien: I am the Lord your God.
Speak to the people of Israel, saying: In
the seventh month, on the rst day of the

month, you shall observe a day of complete
rest, a holy convocation commemorated with
trumpet blasts. You shall not work at your
occupations; and you shall present the Lords
oering by re.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Now,
the tenth day of this seventh month is the
day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you: you shall deny yourselvesa and
present the Lords oering by re; and
you shall do no work during that entire day;
for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your
God. For anyone who does not practice
self-denialb during that entire day shall be
cut o from the people. And anyone who
does any work during that entire day, such
a one I will destroy from the midst of the
people. You shall do no work: it is a statute
forever throughout your generations in all
your settlements. It shall be to you a sabbath of complete rest, and you shall deny
yourselves;a on the ninth day of the month at
evening, from evening to evening you shall
keep your sabbath.
Speak to the people of Israel, saying: On
the fteenth day of this seventh month, and
lasting seven days, there shall be the festival
of boothsc to the Lord. The rst day shall
be a holy convocation; you shall not work
at your occupations. Seven days you shall
present the Lords oerings by re; on the
eighth day you shall observe a holy convocation and present the Lords oerings by re;
it is a solemn assembly; you shall not work at
your occupations.
These are the appointed festivals of the
Lord, which you shall celebrate as times of
a Or shall fast
b Or does not fast
c Or tabernacles: Heb succoth
19.3536n. 14: Statute forever . . . all your selements, hallmark H language (cf. vv. 21,31,41). 1521: Though this
observance coincides with the pilgrimage festival of weeks elsewhere (Ex 34.22; Deut 16.10,16; cf. Ex 23.16),
H leaves it unnamed and does not require any pilgrimage for it, perhaps because the community was occupied
with the wheat harvest. 22: See 19.910n. 2325: The beginning of the agricultural calendar. In later Jewish tradition, this calendar became preeminent, and thus the rst day of the seventh month became the new year. 24:
The trumpet blasts (or, alternatively, shouts) are intended to remind God of his people (cf. Num 10.10). 2632:
Cf. ch 16. These verses correspond especially with 16.2934a (H). 3336: The festival of booths, celebrating the
176 | hebrew bible
leviticus 24
holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord
oerings by reburnt oerings and grain
oerings, sacrices and drink oerings, each
on its proper day apart from the sabbaths
of the Lord, and apart from your gifts, and
apart from all your votive oerings, and apart
from all your freewill oerings, which you
give to the Lord.
Now, the fteenth day of the seventh
month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep the festival
of the Lord, lasting seven days; a complete
rest on the rst day, and a complete rest on
the eighth day. On the rst day you shall
take the fruit of majestica trees, branches of
palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows
of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the
Lord your God for seven days. You shall
keep it as a festival to the Lord seven days
in the year; you shall keep it in the seventh
month as a statute forever throughout your
generations. You shall live in booths for
seven days; all that are citizens in Israel shall
live in booths, so that your generations may
know that I made the people of Israel live in
booths when I brought them out of the land
of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Thus Moses declared to the people of
Israel the appointed festivals of the Lord.
Command the people of Israel
to bring you pure oil of beaten olives for
24
the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly. Aaron shall set it up in the
tent of meeting, outside the curtain of the
covenant,b to burn from evening to morning
before the Lord regularly; it shall be a statute
forever throughout your generations. He
shall set up the lamps on the lampstand of
pure goldc before the Lord regularly.
You shall take choice our, and bake
twelve loaves of it; two-tenths of an ephah
shall be in each loaf. You shall place them
in two rows, six in a row, on the table of pure
gold.d You shall put pure frankincense with
each row, to be a token oering for the bread,
as an oering by re to the Lord. Every sabbath day Aaron shall set them in order before
the Lord regularly as a commitment of the
people of Israel, as a covenant forever. They
shall be for Aaron and his descendants, who
shall eat them in a holy place, for they are
most holy portions for him from the oerings
by re to the Lord, a perpetual due.
A man whose mother was an Israelite
and whose father was an Egyptian came out
among the people of Israel; and the Israelite
womans son and a certain Israelite began
ghting in the camp. The Israelite womans
a
b
c
d

Or treaty, or testament; Heb eduth
Heb pure lampstand
Heb pure table
fruit harvest (cf. Ex 23.16; 34.22; Deut 16.13; 1 Kings 8.65). 3738: An earlier conclusion to the chapter. 3942:
Further instructions for the festival of booths. 40: In Neh 8.1417, these branches are used to construct booths.
43: Only here is the festival of booths historicized. There is no mention of the Israelites living in booths in the
stories of the Exodus and wilderness period. This claim may originate by analogy to the deitys wilderness tent
sanctuary.
24.19: Ritual lamps and bread. These two regular rites (lighting lamps and displaying bread) performed by
the high priest eect the perpetual worship of God in his sanctuary. As such, they are an appropriate sequel to
the ritual calendar in ch 23. 14: The lampstand and its maintenance; cf. Ex 27.2021. 2: Lamp, cf. Ex 25.3140;
26.35; 27.2021; 30.78; 37.1724; 40.2425; Num 8.14. 59: On this bread and its table, see Ex 25.2330; 26.35;
37.1016; 40.2223. 8: This verse is beer translated, Every sabbath day in perpetuity he shall arrange it before
the Lord; it is required from the Israelites until the end of time. Cf. 2.13n. 9: The bread is not eaten by the deity,
but is given to the priests as remuneration for their ritual service. It must be eaten in the sanctuary complex
because of its absorption of holiness by close and prolonged proximity to the deity.
24.1023: The case of the blasphemer and laws arising from it. The incident of the blasphemer unexpectedly interrupts the divine revelation of law, as in the case of Nadab and Abihu (cf. 9.110.20n.). Because no
law had yet been given to address such a case of blasphemy (v. 12), God intervenes to resolve the issue and
gives further legislation prompted by this case (cf. Num 9.614; 15.3236; 27.111). 10: The incident involves
a half-Israelite of matrilineal descent, which prompts the question of his culpability. Verse 16 claries this
issue. 11: Blasphemed, likely referring to uering a curse against the Lord (cf. v. 15), not simply pronouncing
hebrew bible | 177
leviticus 25
son blasphemed the Name in a curse. And
they brought him to Mosesnow his mothers name was Shelomith, daughter of Dibri,
of the tribe of Dan and they put him in
custody, until the decision of the Lord should
be made clear to them.
The Lord said to Moses, saying: Take
the blasphemer outside the camp; and let all
who were within hearing lay their hands on
his head, and let the whole congregation stone
him. And speak to the people of Israel, saying: Anyone who curses God shall bear the sin.
One who blasphemes the name of the Lord
shall be put to death; the whole congregation
shall stone the blasphemer. Aliens as well as
citizens, when they blaspheme the Name,
shall be put to death. Anyone who kills a human being shall be put to death. Anyone who
kills an animal shall make restitution for it, life
for life. Anyone who maims another shall
suer the same injury in return: fracture for
fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; the injury
inicted is the injury to be suered. One who
kills an animal shall make restitution for it;
but one who kills a human being shall be put
to death. You shall have one law for the alien
and for the citizen: for I am the Lord your God.
Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel; and
they took the blasphemer outside the camp,
and stoned him to death. The people of Israel
did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount
Sinai, saying: Speak to the people
of Israel and say to them: When you enter
25
the land that I am giving you, the land shall

observe a sabbath for the Lord. Six years
you shall sow your field, and six years you
shall prune your vineyard, and gather in
their yield; but in the seventh year there
shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the
land, a sabbath for the Lord: you shall not
sow your field or prune your vineyard.
You shall not reap the aftergrowth of
your harvest or gather the grapes of your
unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. You may eat what
the land yields during its sabbathyou,
your male and female slaves, your hired
and your bound laborers who live with you;
for your livestock also, and for the wild
animals in your land all its yield shall be
for food.
You shall count o seven weeksa of years,
seven times seven years, so that the period of
seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years.
Then you shall have the trumpet sounded
loud; on the tenth day of the seventh
monthon the day of atonementyou shall
have the trumpet sounded throughout all
your land. And you shall hallow the ftieth
year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be
a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one
of you, to your property and every one of you
to your family. That ftieth year shall be a
jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the
a Or sabbaths
his Name (a circumlocution for the divine proper name, Yahweh). The name is holybelonging to Godbut
is accessible to all and thus particularly vulnerable to trespass. 14: Lay their hands, ritually placing guilt upon
the blasphemer (cf. 1.4n.; 16.2122n.). 1722: Further laws arising from the blasphemers case, each of which
exhibits the measure-for-measure (talion) principle (cf. Ex 21.2335; Deut 19.21). 23b: The enactment of the
divine command in v. 14.
25.126.2: The sabbatical and jubilee years. This unit institutes a xed seventh-year and ieth-year rest
for the land that is likely based on the seventh-year laws in Ex 23.1011 and Deut 15.118. It also ties manumission of Hebrew slaves (called hired servants) to the ieth year, termed the jubilee. The sabbatical and
jubilee years are coordinated numerically, and each is part of the larger system of social welfare legislated here.
These laws are motivated by the conviction that the land and the Israelites each belong to God (vv. 23,42,55).
27: In every seventh year all agricultural work must cease so that the land may observe a sabbath of complete
rest (see 16.31n.); cf. Ex 23.1012. 56: The aergrowth of the seventh year may be eaten, but it must not be
harvested for use as in the preceding six years. 817: The jubilee (from Heb yobel, meaning rams horn,
blown to signal the holy day) is to begin on the Day of Atonement in the ieth year, counted according to the
sabbatical years. All agricultural work must cease, debts and indentured servants are released, and ancestral
property that was sold reverts to its original owners. Contrast Ex 21.26; Deut 15.13,1218; Jer 34.822, where
the seventh year serves some of these purposes. There is no evidence for the practice of the jubilee in the bibli-
178 | hebrew bible
leviticus 25
aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines.
For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you: you
shall eat only what the eld itself produces.
In this year of jubilee you shall return,
every one of you, to your property. When
you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from
your neighbor, you shall not cheat one another. When you buy from your neighbor, you
shall pay only for the number of years since
the jubilee; the seller shall charge you only
for the remaining crop years. If the years
are more, you shall increase the price, and
if the years are fewer, you shall diminish the
price; for it is a certain number of harvests
that are being sold to you. You shall not
cheat one another, but you shall fear your
God; for I am the Lord your God.
You shall observe my statutes and faithfully keep my ordinances, so that you may
live on the land securely. The land will yield
its fruit, and you will eat your ll and live on
it securely. Should you ask, What shall we
eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or
gather in our crop? I will order my blessing
for you in the sixth year, so that it will yield a
crop for three years. When you sow in the
eighth year, you will be eating from the old
crop; until the ninth year, when its produce
comes in, you shall eat the old. The land
shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is
mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.
Throughout the land that you hold, you
shall provide for the redemption of the land.
If anyone of your kin falls into diculty and sells a piece of property, then the
next of kin shall come and redeem what the
relative has sold. If the person has no one
to redeem it, but then prospers and nds
sucient means to do so, the years since
its sale shall be computed and the dierence
shall be refunded to the person to whom it
was sold, and the property shall be returned.
But if there are not sucient means to
recover it, what was sold shall remain with

the purchaser until the year of jubilee; in the
jubilee it shall be released, and the property
shall be returned.
If anyone sells a dwelling house in
a walled city, it may be redeemed until a
year has elapsed since its sale; the right of
redemption shall be one year. If it is not
redeemed before a full year has elapsed, a
house that is in a walled city shall pass in
perpetuity to the purchaser, throughout the
generations; it shall not be released in the
jubilee. But houses in villages that have no
walls around them shall be classed as open
country; they may be redeemed, and they
shall be released in the jubilee. As for the
cities of the Levites, the Levites shall forever
have the right of redemption of the houses in
the cities belonging to them. Such property
as may be redeemed from the Leviteshouses sold in a city belonging to themshall be
released in the jubilee; because the houses in
the cities of the Levites are their possession
among the people of Israel. But the open
land around their cities may not be sold; for
that is their possession for all time.
If any of your kin fall into diculty
and become dependent on you,a you shall
support them; they shall live with you as
though resident aliens. Do not take interest
in advance or otherwise make a prot from
them, but fear your God; let them live with
you. You shall not lend them your money
at interest taken in advance, or provide them
food at a prot. I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to
give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.
If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve
as slaves. They shall remain with you as
cal period. 1317: Because nonancestral property cannot be held in perpetuity, land sales are leases calculated
according to the jubilee calendar. 1822: God will provide a miraculous bumper crop in the sixth year so that no
one will suer by observing the sabbatical or jubilee years. The sabbatical year thus should not be viewed as
land fallowing, which would presume the least agricultural fertility in the sixth year. 2355: Successively greater
levels of poverty are considered: property sale and redemption (vv. 2534); dependence upon fellow Israelites
support (loans) (vv. 3538); hired service (enslavement) to a fellow Israelite (vv. 3943; vv. 4446 address
permanent enslavement of foreigners); hired service (enslavement) to a resident alien (vv. 4755). 32: Cities
of the Levites, see Num 35.18; Josh 21.142. This is the only mention of Levites in the book. 3637: Cf. Ex 22.24;
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leviticus 26
hired or bound laborers. They shall serve
with you until the year of the jubilee. Then
they and their children with them shall be
free from your authority; they shall go back
to their own family and return to their ancestral property. For they are my servants,
whom I brought out of the land of Egypt;
they shall not be sold as slaves are sold. You
shall not rule over them with harshness, but
shall fear your God. As for the male and
female slaves whom you may have, it is from
the nations around you that you may acquire
male and female slaves. You may also
acquire them from among the aliens residing with you, and from their families that are
with you, who have been born in your land;
and they may be your property. You may
keep them as a possession for your children
after you, for them to inherit as property.
These you may treat as slaves, but as for your
fellow Israelites, no one shall rule over the
other with harshness.
If resident aliens among you prosper,
and if any of your kin fall into diculty with
one of them and sell themselves to an alien,
or to a branch of the aliens family, after
they have sold themselves they shall have
the right of redemption; one of their brothers
may redeem them, or their uncle or their
uncles son may redeem them, or anyone of
their family who is of their own esh may
redeem them; or if they prosper they may
redeem themselves. They shall compute
with the purchaser the total from the year
when they sold themselves to the alien until
the jubilee year; the price of the sale shall
be applied to the number of years: the time
they were with the owner shall be rated as
the time of a hired laborer. If many years
remain, they shall pay for their redemption

in proportion to the purchase price; and if
few years remain until the jubilee year, they
shall compute thus: according to the years
involved they shall make payment for their
redemption. As a laborer hired by the year
they shall be under the aliens authority, who
shall not, however, rule with harshness over
them in your sight. And if they have not
been redeemed in any of these ways, they and
their children with them shall go free in the
jubilee year. For to me the people of Israel
are servants; they are my servants whom I
brought out from the land of Egypt: I am the
Lord your God.
You shall make for yourselves no idols
and erect no carved images or pillars,
and you shall not place gured stones in your
land, to worship at them; for I am the Lord
your God. You shall keep my sabbaths and
reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
If you follow my statutes and keep my
commandments and observe them faithfully,
I will give you your rains in their season,
and the land shall yield its produce, and the
trees of the eld shall yield their fruit. Your
threshing shall overtake the vintage, and the
vintage shall overtake the sowing; you shall
eat your bread to the full, and live securely
in your land. And I will grant peace in the
land, and you shall lie down, and no one shall
make you afraid; I will remove dangerous
animals from the land, and no sword shall go
through your land. You shall give chase to
your enemies, and they shall fall before you
by the sword. Five of you shall give chase to
a hundred, and a hundred of you shall give
chase to ten thousand; your enemies shall
fall before you by the sword. I will look with
26
Deut 23.21. 42,55: Israelites may not be enslaved because they are already enslaved to God (cf. 26.13). Contrast
Ex 21.211; Deut 15.1218. 26.12: These verses conclude the H legislation and thus belong with the preceding
(cf. ch 19), not with the rest of ch 26, which moves from legislation to inducements for obeying Gods laws.
26.346: Inducements for obedience. This unit is the conclusion to chs 1726, the Holiness Collection (ch
27 is a later addition). Although similar in structure and content to the blessings and curses in Deut 28 and in
ancient Near Eastern political treaties, these verses never use that terminology. Moreover, unlike the curse
sections of Deut 28 and Near Eastern treaties, the threatened punishments in vv. 1439 proceed incrementally
and are explicitly aimed at compelling obedience (cf. vv. 18,21,2324,2728). For H, Israels disobedience does
not abrogate Gods commitment (covenant) to his people. Because he owns them as slaves (cf. 25.42,55), God
will punish his people, but in so doing he never gives up ownership of them. The prominent use of covenant
language and strong ties to Deut 28 suggest that H here may have borrowed from and revised D. 313: Rewards
for obedience. 9: Covenant, for P and H, this is the divine promise of land and progeny (Gen 17.18; 28.34;
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leviticus 26
favor upon you and make you fruitful and
multiply you; and I will maintain my covenant with you. You shall eat old grain long
stored, and you shall have to clear out the
old to make way for the new. I will place my
dwelling in your midst, and I shall not abhor
you. And I will walk among you, and will be
your God, and you shall be my people. I am
the Lord your God who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, to be their slaves no more;
I have broken the bars of your yoke and made
you walk erect.
But if you will not obey me, and do not
observe all these commandments, if you
spurn my statutes, and abhor my ordinances,
so that you will not observe all my commandments, and you break my covenant, I
in turn will do this to you: I will bring terror
on you; consumption and fever that waste
the eyes and cause life to pine away. You shall
sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall
eat it. I will set my face against you, and
you shall be struck down by your enemies;
your foes shall rule over you, and you shall
ee though no one pursues you. And if
in spite of this you will not obey me, I will
continue to punish you sevenfold for your
sins. I will break your proud glory, and I
will make your sky like iron and your earth
like copper. Your strength shall be spent
to no purpose: your land shall not yield its
produce, and the trees of the land shall not
yield their fruit.
If you continue hostile to me, and will
not obey me, I will continue to plague you
sevenfold for your sins. I will let loose wild
animals against you, and they shall bereave
you of your children and destroy your livestock; they shall make you few in number,
and your roads shall be deserted.
If in spite of these punishments you
have not turned back to me, but continue
hostile to me, then I too will continue hostile to you: I myself will strike you sevenfold
for your sins. I will bring the sword against
you, executing vengeance for the covenant;

and if you withdraw within your cities, I will
send pestilence among you, and you shall be
delivered into enemy hands. When I break
your sta of bread, ten women shall bake
your bread in a single oven, and they shall
dole out your bread by weight; and though
you eat, you shall not be satised.
But if, despite this, you disobey me, and
continue hostile to me, I will continue hostile to you in fury; I in turn will punish you
myself sevenfold for your sins. You shall eat
the esh of your sons, and you shall eat the
esh of your daughters. I will destroy your
high places and cut down your incense altars;
I will heap your carcasses on the carcasses
of your idols. I will abhor you. I will lay
your cities waste, will make your sanctuaries
desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing
odors. I will devastate the land, so that your
enemies who come to settle in it shall be
appalled at it. And you I will scatter among
the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword
against you; your land shall be a desolation,
and your cities a waste.
Then the land shall enjoya its sabbath
years as long as it lies desolate, while you are
in the land of your enemies; then the land
shall rest, and enjoya its sabbath years. As
long as it lies desolate, it shall have the rest it
did not have on your sabbaths when you were
living on it. And as for those of you who
survive, I will send faintness into their hearts
in the lands of their enemies; the sound of
a driven leaf shall put them to ight, and
they shall ee as one ees from the sword,
and they shall fall though no one pursues.
They shall stumble over one another, as if
to escape a sword, though no one pursues;
and you shall have no power to stand against
your enemies. You shall perish among the
nations, and the land of your enemies shall
devour you. And those of you who survive
a Or make up for
35.1112; Ex 6.28). 11: The ultimate reward for obedience is the divine presence in Israel; cf. Ex 6.7; Jer 7.23;
30.22. 1439: Threats of successive punishments intended to ensure Israels compliance. The punishments address the reverse topics mentioned in the rewards section. As in Deut 28 and Near Eastern treaties, rhetorical
impact is heightened by focusing more on punishments than rewards. 31: Sanctuaries, multiple sanctuaries are
not endorsed but presented as evidence of disobedience (cf. v. 30; 17.34n.). 3345: These verses address exile,
indicating that this chapter may have been wrien or edited aer Babylonian conquest of Judah in 586 bce. 34:
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leviticus 27
shall languish in the land of your enemies
because of their iniquities; also they shall
languish because of the iniquities of their
ancestors.
But if they confess their iniquity and the
iniquity of their ancestors, in that they committed treachery against me and, moreover,
that they continued hostile to me so
that I, in turn, continued hostile to them and
brought them into the land of their enemies;
if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled
and they make amends for their iniquity,
then will I remember my covenant with
Jacob; I will remember also my covenant with
Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham,
and I will remember the land. For the
land shall be deserted by them, and enjoya
its sabbath years by lying desolate without
them, while they shall make amends for their
iniquity, because they dared to spurn my
ordinances, and they abhorred my statutes.
Yet for all that, when they are in the land of
their enemies, I will not spurn them, or abhor
them so as to destroy them utterly and break
my covenant with them; for I am the Lord
their God; but I will remember in their favor the covenant with their ancestors whom
I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight
of the nations, to be their God: I am the Lord.
These are the statutes and ordinances
and laws that the Lord established between
himself and the people of Israel on Mount
Sinai through Moses.
to them: When a person makes an explicit
vow to the Lord concerning the equivalent
for a human being, the equivalent for a
male shall be: from twenty to sixty years of
age the equivalent shall be fty shekels of
27
silver by the sanctuary shekel. If the person

is a female, the equivalent is thirty shekels.
If the age is from ve to twenty years of age,
the equivalent is twenty shekels for a male
and ten shekels for a female. If the age is
from one month to ve years, the equivalent
for a male is ve shekels of silver, and for
a female the equivalent is three shekels of
silver. And if the person is sixty years old or
over, then the equivalent for a male is fteen
shekels, and for a female ten shekels. If any
cannot aord the equivalent, they shall be
brought before the priest and the priest shall
assess them; the priest shall assess them according to what each one making a vow can
aord.
If it concerns an animal that may be
brought as an oering to the Lord, any such
that may be given to the Lord shall be holy.
Another shall not be exchanged or substituted for it, either good for bad or bad for
good; and if one animal is substituted for
another, both that one and its substitute
shall be holy. If it concerns any unclean
animal that may not be brought as an oering
to the Lord, the animal shall be presented
before the priest. The priest shall assess it:
whether good or bad, according to the assessment of the priest, so it shall be. But if it is
to be redeemed, one-fth must be added to
the assessment.
If a person consecrates a house to the
Lord, the priest shall assess it: whether good
or bad, as the priest assesses it, so it shall
stand. And if the one who consecrates the
house wishes to redeem it, one-fth shall be
added to its assessed value, and it shall revert
to the original owner.
a Or make up for
Sabbath years, cf. 25.27; 2 Chr 36.21. 4045: Those who remain and repent will be restored, for Gods commitment to Israel is unmoved. This was likely a particularly meaningful promise to the exiles. 46: Concluding
summary to chs 126 (cf. 27.34). On Mount Sinai, beer, at Mount Sinai (see 7.38n.).
27.134: Vows, dedications, and tithes. This chapter is a later addition to Leviticus, inserted as an appendix.
Its author(s) aempted to integrate it into the book by repeating the concluding summary from 26.46 in 27.34.
213: Procedures for vows of persons and animals; cf. Num 30.116. Vows are promised gis to God in exchange
for divine favor. In the case of vows of humans (oneself or another), an equivalent monetary gi is presented
in lieu of human sacrice. Calculations are made according to the vowed persons socioeconomic worth. 3:
A shekel weighed about .4 oz (11.4 gr). 910: Sacriceable animals oered as vows are viewed as the deitys
food and are thus holy. 1112: Nonsacriceable animals vowed to God are intended to be sold by the sanctuary
according to their valuation. 13: One-h, cf. 5.16; 6.5. 1424: Dedications of houses, ancestral land, and non-
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leviticus 27
If a person consecrates to the Lord any
inherited landholding, its assessment shall be
in accordance with its seed requirements: fty
shekels of silver to a homer of barley seed. If
the person consecrates the eld as of the year
of jubilee, that assessment shall stand; but
if the eld is consecrated after the jubilee, the
priest shall compute the price for it according
to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and the assessment shall be reduced. And
if the one who consecrates the eld wishes to
redeem it, then one-fth shall be added to its
assessed value, and it shall revert to the original owner; but if the eld is not redeemed,
or if it has been sold to someone else, it shall
no longer be redeemable. But when the eld
is released in the jubilee, it shall be holy to the
Lord as a devoted eld; it becomes the priests
holding. If someone consecrates to the Lord
a eld that has been purchased, which is not
a part of the inherited landholding, the
priest shall compute for it the proportionate
assessment up to the year of jubilee, and the
assessment shall be paid as of that day, a sacred
donation to the Lord. In the year of jubilee
the eld shall return to the one from whom it
was bought, whose holding the land is. All
assessments shall be by the sanctuary shekel:
twenty gerahs shall make a shekel.
A rstling of animals, however, which

as a rstling belongs to the Lord, cannot be
consecrated by anyone; whether ox or sheep,
it is the Lords. If it is an unclean animal,
it shall be ransomed at its assessment, with
one-fth added; if it is not redeemed, it shall
be sold at its assessment.
Nothing that a person owns that has
been devoted to destruction for the Lord, be
it human or animal, or inherited landholding, may be sold or redeemed; every devoted
thing is most holy to the Lord. No human
beings who have been devoted to destruction
can be ransomed; they shall be put to death.
All tithes from the land, whether the
seed from the ground or the fruit from the
tree, are the Lords; they are holy to the
Lord. If persons wish to redeem any of
their tithes, they must add one-fth to them.
All tithes of herd and ock, every tenth one
that passes under the shepherds sta, shall
be holy to the Lord. Let no one inquire
whether it is good or bad, or make substitution for it; if one makes substitution for it,
then both it and the substitute shall be holy
and cannot be redeemed.
These are the commandments that the
Lord gave to Moses for the people of Israel on
Mount Sinai.
ancestral land. Valuations of land are accounted according to the jubilee calendar (cf. 25.1317n.). 16: A homer
was about 6.5 bushels (230 l). 2627: Firstborn animals already belong to God (Ex 13.12,12; 22.2930; 34.19;
Num 3.4051; 18.17; Deut 15.1920) and therefore cannot be dedicated or vowed. It shall be ransomed, beer, It
may be ransomed; cf. Num 18.15. 28: Devoted to destruction, a type of dedication found mostly in biblical war
texts (e.g., Num 21.2; Deut 2.34; 3.6; 7.2; Josh 6.1721; 8.26; 10.1,28; 1 Sam 15) and in the Moabite Mesha Inscription. Here, such dedication (Heb herem) is applied to ones own property. 3033: Tithes (cf. Num 18.2032;
occurrence of an animal tithe in Pentateuchal law, but see Gen 14.20;
Deut 14.2229; 26.12). This is the only
28.22; 1 Sam 8.1517; 2 Chr 31.56. 34: A variation on the conclusion in 26.46.
NUMBERS
Numbers is the fourth of the ve books of the Pentateuch. Its narrative tells the story of Israels journey from
the nal stages of the stay at Mount Sinai through the wilderness to the eastern border of the promised land
of Canaan. The English title, Numbers, derived from the Greek (Arithmoi) and Latin (Numeri) translations, is
based on its census lists (chs 1; 26). In early Jewish tradition, it is called The Fih of the Census, based on its
opening theme; later, it was known by its rst signicant Hebrew word, bemidbar, In the wilderness (of).
authorship, dates of composition, and literary history

The issue of authorship is part of the larger question pertaining to the Pentateuch (see pp. 36). Moses was
traditionally considered its author. Biblical scholars have now come to view the Pentateuch as a work of many
authors and editors from various periods of Israels history.
The origin of Numbers is disputed and dicult to discern. The book itself speaks of sources: the Book
of the Wars of the Lord (21.14) and popular songs (21.1718,2730). The tradition most identiable is the
Priestly (P) writing, with its interest in maers of worship and the priesthood of Aaron and his descendants;
it is most aested in chs 110; 2636. Other sources, such as J and E (esp. in chs 1125), are more dicult to
discern; scholars oen speak simply of combined JE or a non-Priestly stratum. Earlier scholars called this an
epic tradition, even though it is not certain that it originally had the form of a poetic epic. The association
of texts with three primary locales (Sinai: 1.110.10; Kadesh: chs 1320; Moab: chs 2236) could reect a way in
which traditions were gathered over time. Editorial activity, combining these disparate materials, is unusually
frequent.
Scholars have also studied individual traditions and their development, such as the Balaam cycle, the murmuring stories, the censuses, the wilderness encampment, the Transjordan conquest, the cities of refuge, land
apportionment, and the priesthood. This research shows that various Israelite interests from dierent seings
underlie the present text. These traditions have been brought together, most likely during and aer the exile to
Babylon in the early sixth century bce, to form a single composition.

The complex character of Numbers is evident in the genres it includes: lists, itineraries, statutes, ritual and
priestly prescriptions, poetic oracles, songs, wilderness stories, and even a well-known benediction (6.2227).
The interweaving of law and narrative characteristic of the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy is most
evident in Numbers; statutes regularly emerge from specic situations, revealing a dynamic relationship of
law and life.
Moreover, several texts border on the bizarre, with talking donkeys, curses from a non-Israelite diviner
turned into blessings with messianic implications, the earth swallowing up people, copper snakes with healing
powers, an almond-producing rod, an execution for picking up sticks on the sabbath, Miriam turning leprous,
and anomalous procedures for discerning a wifes faithlessness. Might these unusual goings-on have been
constructed to match the incredible character of Israels response to God? Moreover, God is oen depicted in
ways that challenge traditional understandings.
The structure of Numbers is best seen from two angles:
1. The census lists. The books overarching structure is laid out in terms of two census lists (chs 1; 26). The
rst registers the generation of the Exodus and Sinai prepared to move toward the promised land. When
faced with dangers, however, they do not trust the promise; they experience Gods judgment (14.3233)
and nally, in the wake of apostasy, die o in a plague (25.9). Even Moses and Aaron mistrust God and
are prohibited from entering the land (20.12); only the faithful scouts, Caleb and Joshua, and the young
(14.29) are allowed to do so. The oracles of Balaam (chs 2224) provide a positive sign, as God blesses the
insiders through this outsider.
The second census (ch 26) lists the members of the new generation. They signal Gods continuing
faithfulness to ancestral promises and to those who will enter the land. The following texts (chs 2736)
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numbers
deal with issues regarding that future. No deaths, murmurings, or rebellions against the leadership are
narrated, while hopeful signs are presented.
2. The geography of a journey toward the promised land, with all the problems encountered along the way
in spite of careful preparations. The itinerary of 33.249, toward the books conclusion, oers a detailed
itinerary of that journey.
A. Numbers begins with the people preparing to leave Sinai (1.110.10). That includes the camps organization and various statutes, especially regarding the sanctuary and its leadership. An idealized
picture emerges: a community ordered in all ways appropriate to Gods dwelling in the center of the
camp and the precise obedience to every divine command (e.g., 1.1719,54). The reader may wonder
how anything could go wrong.
B. In episodic fashion, Israel moves through the wilderness from Sinai to Transjordan (10.1125.18). The
disjunction of the opening and closing chapters of this section is remarkable: obedience turns to
rebellion; trust becomes mistrust; the holy is profaned; order becomes disorder; the future of Gods
people is threatened. Continuities with the wilderness stories in Ex 15.2219.1 are seen in the gis
of quail and manna, the ongoing complaints, and military victory; but discontinuities are also sharp,
evident especially in sin and judgment. Integrated with the journey reports are various statutes (15;
18; 19), focused on purication and leadership support, the need for which grows out of these experiences.
C. The journey concludes in the plains of Moab (26.136.13), an entirely positive stage. Conicts are
resolved through negotiation and compromise and land begins to be seled. Various statutes anticipate a future in the land; the community is to order its life so that this dwelling place of both God and
people is not ritually polluted.
These three stages may also be characterized in terms of Israels changing relationship with God, moving from delity to unfaithfulness and back. Through all these developments, God remains faithful to
the unconditional ancestral promises. Though Israels journey involves judgment, that judgment nally
serves Gods objectives of blessing.
interpretation
Such portrayals of a journey mirror the situation of the implied readers, especially if this book was compiled
in the Babylonian exile. Israels apostasy and experience of judgment lie in their recent past; signs of a hopeful
future are articulated in both law and promise. The paradigm of old generation and new generation would be
pertinent both for the years of exile as well as for the uncertainties of the postexilic period. Certain themes
provide compass points for navigating the journey through Numbers:
1. A wilderness book. The entire book is set in the wilderness. This seing presents problems and possibilities for shaping a community identity for the newly redeemed people of God. As a long-oppressed community, Israel has a deeply ingrained identity as slaves. It does not have the resources to move quickly
to a slaves no more (Lev 26.13) mentality; God must be at work to enable them to walk erect once
again. For the purpose of forming such a new identity, the period of wandering is a necessary buer
between liberation from Egypt and residence in the new land. Such a process does not unfold easily for
Israel or for God; even the most meticulous preparations do not make things go right.
Israels time in the wilderness is shaped by Gods extraordinary patience and mercy, and the divine
will to stay with Israel in this time of adolescence. If God wants a mature child, deance must be risked.
It soon becomes clear that the maturation process will take longer than a single generation.
2. Ancestral promises. God is commied to the ancestral promise of the gi of the land. As Israel moves
out from Sinai, the goal is the land God is giving (10.29, and oen). Conditions regarding the promise
of the land are expressed (14.8), but they aect the future of individualseven an entire generation
not Israel as such. Beyond that, Balaams oracles ironically gather the clearest references to promises in
Numbers; no Israelite, including Moses, has standing enough le to bring them to expression.
The middle section (chs 1125) reveals the complexities and the problems in the movement toward
fulllment; the wilderness is a time of endangered promises. Again and again the people trust the
deceptive securities of the past more than Gods promised future (11.5; 21.5). Hence, they experience
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disasters of various kinds that threaten progress toward the goal, including plagues (11.33; 16.49), abortive conquest (chs 1314), and snake infestation (21.6).
The nal section (chs 2636), with the new generation in place, expresses condence in the promise
with the apportionment of lands and the specication of boundaries. Initial selements in Transjordan
initiate the fulllment of the promise. Moreover, various laws dealing with emerging issues constitute a
hopeful sign in the midst of much failure and grief: a community will exist to obey them.
3. Divine presence and guidance. God, not Moses, has birthed this people (11.12) and chosen to stay with
them and to dwell in the heart of their camp (5.3). From this womblike center blessings ow out into
the encircled community. This intense kind of presence is promised for Israels future in the land as well
(35.34), as even Balaam testies (23.2122).
Because of the presence of God in Israels midst in the tabernacle, it was to be protected from casual
contact. The tribe of Levi was consecrated for tabernacle service and made responsible for guarding
this holy place (1.5053). Sharp warnings about intrusion are issued (1.5153; 3.10,38), even for Levites
(4.1720). Strikingly, encroachment is not a serious problem in the subsequent narratives (see ch 16). The
more problematic issue is mistrust and rebellion with respect to God and Gods chosen leaders. These
forms of sinfulness pervade chs 1125, deeply aecting the character of the journey and the shape of
Israels future.
Israels God not only dwells in the midst of Israel, but also goes before them. The accompanying
presence of God is marked by the pillar of cloud and re (9.1523). This symbol is linked to the ark of the
covenant, representing Gods presence (10.3536). Gods ongoing presence is the decisive factor in Israels journey, but various texts witness also to the import of human leaders (e.g., 10.2932). God works
in and through what is available, even characters like Balaam.
4. Divine revelation and human leadership. Revelation is not conned to Sinai; it occurs throughout Israels
journey. Statutes and other divine words newly enjoin Israel all along the way. Gods word is a dynamic reality, intersecting with life and all of its contingencies. This is demonstrated in the very form of
this material, interweaving law and narrative. Gods word is usually mediated through Moses, but not
uniquely so. This becomes an issue during the journey. Challenges to Moses (and Aarons) leadership
that began before Sinai are intensied and other leaders take up the argument.
This issue is voiced most sharply by Miriam and Aaron: Has God spoken only through Moses? (12.2).
The response is negative. Gods spirit even rests upon the outsider Balaam who mediates remarkably
clear words of God (24.24,1516). Yet Moses does have a special relationship with God and challenges
to his role are not countenanced.
God oen communicates to and through Moses; indeed, 7.89 speaks of Moses contact with God as
routine. In 12.8 Moses actually beholds the form of the Lord and lives to report it. One facet of this relationship is especially remarkable: the genuine give-and-take between them as they engage issues confronting the wandering community. This interaction says something about both Moses and God. Moses
leadership credentials are considerable, including a capacity to tolerate threats to his authority (11.29) and
to persevere with God (chs 11; 14; 16), calling forth the strong statement regarding his unique devotion
(12.3). God also is remarkably open to such discourse and honors Moses insights. Indeed, God may shape
a dierent future in view of the encounter (14.1320; 16.2022). But such divine openness to change will
always be in the service of Gods unchanging goals for Israel and the creation (Balaams point in 23.19).
Some disputes are focused on Aaron (and his sons) and their priestly leadership (chs 16; 17). Actual
tests are carried out, which substantiate their unique role with respect to the sanctuary. Members of
this family also assume an intercessory function; they stand between the dead and the living and a
plague is averted (16.4750; see 25.713). This correlates with their mediating role in various rituals (chs
5; 15). Interest in the proper succession of leaders (Eleazar: 20.2229; Joshua: 27.1223) demonstrates
their importance for the stability of the community. Rebellion against God-chosen leaders is subversive
of Gods intentions for the community and risks death. But the leaders themselves are not exempt from
strict standards (20.1012).
5. Holy people and holy priests. The call in Leviticus for the people to be holy is continued here (15.40). What
constitutes a holy life, or is inimical to it, is central. Various uncleannesseswhether moral or ritual
are incompatible with holiness (chs 5; 6).
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numbers 1
A case for more democratic forms of priestly leadership is pursued by Korah on the basis of the holiness of all (16.3). Moses reply assumes gradations of holiness; even if all are holy, God chooses certain
persons to exercise priestly leadership, and this status constitutes a holiness that sets them apart from
other holy ones. The disaster experienced by Korah and his company (16.2335) demonstrates the special status of Aarons family (16.40), as does the test with stas (ch 17).
Gradations of holiness are also evident within the members of the tribe of Levi. The Levites are set
aside to care for the tabernacle, symbolized by their encampment between tabernacle and people.
Among the Levites the family of Aaron is set aside for priestly duties (16.40; 17; 18.711,19). Indeed, a
covenant of perpetual priesthood is made with this family because of the mediating actions of Phinehas (25.1013). Specic groups of Aarons descendants are dierentiated based on their roles of caring
for the tabernacle; for example, the family of Kohath alone is responsible for the the most holy things
(4.120).
guide to reading
When rst reading the book, one might begin with the main narrative (chs 1; 1014; 1617; 2027; 3133). The
legal sections may best be read according to dierent topics: the Levites (chs 34; 78; 18; 35); priestly and levitical duties (chs 34; 1617; 18; 35); the arrangement of the camp (chs 23; 10); laws pertaining to women (ch 5;
27.111; 30; 36); holy days (9.114; 15.3236; 2829); impurity and holiness (5.14; 6; 1617; 19; 35); sacrices and
oerings (chs 7; 15; 2829); and distribution of the land (27.111; 32; 3436). Numbers also contains poetic passages (6.2426; 10.3536; 20.1415,1718, 2730; 23.710,1824; 24.39,1524), which might be studied together
and in connection with the style of the Psalms.
Terence E. Fretheim
The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on
the first day of the second month, in the
second year after they had come out of the
land of Egypt, saying: Take a census of the
whole congregation of Israelites, in their
clans, by ancestral houses, according to
the number of names, every male individually; from twenty years old and upward,
everyone in Israel able to go to war. You
and Aaron shall enroll them, company by
company. A man from each tribe shall be
with you, each man the head of his ancestral house. These are the names of the men
who shall assist you:
From Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur.
From Simeon, Shelumiel son of

Zurishaddai.
From Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab.
From Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar.
From Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon.
From the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
From Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni.
From Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
From Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran.
From Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel.
From Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.
These were the ones chosen from the
congregation, the leaders of their ancestral
tribes, the heads of the divisions of Israel.
1.110.10: Israel prepares to leave Sinai for the promised land. This task includes the organization of the
camp and various statutes, especially regarding the sanctuary and its leadership.
1.154: The rst census of the tribes. Moses is commanded to conduct a census of each tribe. 1: The census
(see Ex 38.26) occurs one month aer the completion of the tabernacle, here called the tent of meeting (Ex 40.17;
compare Ex 33.711), shortly before the departure from Sinai (10.11), where Israel had been for almost a year (Ex
19.1). 23: The census is of males twenty years and older; and seeks to determine those able to go to war. Each
tribe was divided into clans, which included several ancestral houses (family groups). 416: God names a man
from each tribe, . . . head of his ancestral house, to assist Moses. Most of the individuals named do not occur elsewhere in the Bible outside of the book of Numbers (see also chs 2; 7; 10). The tribe of Levi is omied, and the
tribe of Joseph is subdivided into Ephraim and Manasseh (see Gen 48), thus keeping the number of the tribes at
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Moses and Aaron took these men who
had been designated by name, and on the
rst day of the second month they assembled the whole congregation together. They
registered themselves in their clans, by their
ancestral houses, according to the number
of names from twenty years old and upward,
individually, as the Lord commanded
Moses. So he enrolled them in the wilderness
of Sinai.
The descendants of Reuben, Israels
rstborn, their lineage, in their clans, by their
ancestral houses, according to the number of
names, individually, every male from twenty
years old and upward, everyone able to go to
war: those enrolled of the tribe of Reuben
were forty-six thousand ve hundred.
The descendants of Simeon, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses,
those of them that were numbered, according
to the number of names, individually, every
male from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: those enrolled of
the tribe of Simeon were fty-nine thousand
three hundred.
The descendants of Gad, their lineage, in
their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty
war: those enrolled of the tribe of Gad were
forty-ve thousand six hundred fty.
The descendants of Judah, their lineage,
in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty
years old and upward, everyone able to go
to war: those enrolled of the tribe of Judah
were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
The descendants of Issachar, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses,
according to the number of names, from
twenty years old and upward, everyone able
to go to war: those enrolled of the tribe
of Issachar were fty-four thousand four
hundred.
The descendants of Zebulun, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses,
according to the number of names, from
twenty years old and upward, everyone able
to go to war: those enrolled of the tribe
of Zebulun were fty-seven thousand four

hundred.
The descendants of Joseph, namely,
the descendants of Ephraim, their lineage,
war: those enrolled of the tribe of Ephraim
were forty thousand ve hundred.
The descendants of Manasseh, their
lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral
houses, according to the number of names,
from twenty years old and upward, everyone
able to go to war: those enrolled of the tribe
of Manasseh were thirty-two thousand two
hundred.
The descendants of Benjamin, their
lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral
houses, according to the number of names,
from twenty years old and upward, everyone
able to go to war: those enrolled of the tribe
of Benjamin were thirty-ve thousand four
hundred.
The descendants of Dan, their lineage,
war: those enrolled of the tribe of Dan were
sixty-two thousand seven hundred.
The descendants of Asher, their lineage,
years old and upward, everyone able to go
to war: those enrolled of the tribe of Asher
were forty-one thousand ve hundred.
The descendants of Naphtali, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses,
according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to
war: those enrolled of the tribe of Naphtali
were fty-three thousand four hundred.
These are those who were enrolled,
whom Moses and Aaron enrolled with the
help of the leaders of Israel, twelve men,
each representing his ancestral house. So
the whole number of the Israelites, by their
ancestral houses, from twenty years old
and upward, everyone able to go to war in
Israel their whole number was six hun-
twelve. Having a name on this list assured each tribal group of their present identity. 1746: The census. 27: The
largest tribe is Judah, probably because of its importance to the author. 46: The results of the census: 603,550
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numbers 2
dred three thousand ve hundred fty. The
Levites, however, were not numbered by their
ancestral tribe along with them.
The Lord had said to Moses: Only
the tribe of Levi you shall not enroll, and
you shall not take a census of them with
the other Israelites. Rather you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the
covenant,a and over all its equipment, and
over all that belongs to it; they are to carry
the tabernacle and all its equipment, and
they shall tend it, and shall camp around
the tabernacle. When the tabernacle is
to set out, the Levites shall take it down;
and when the tabernacle is to be pitched,
the Levites shall set it up. And any outsider
who comes near shall be put to death. The
other Israelites shall camp in their respective
regimental camps, by companies; but the
Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of
the covenant,a that there may be no wrath
on the congregation of the Israelites; and the
Levites shall perform the guard duty of the
tabernacle of the covenant.a The Israelites
did so; they did just as the Lord commanded
Moses.
saying: The Israelites shall camp each in
their respective regiments, under ensigns by
their ancestral houses; they shall camp facing
the tent of meeting on every side. Those
to camp on the east side toward the sunrise

shall be of the regimental encampment of
Judah by companies. The leader of the people
of Judah shall be Nahshon son of Amminadab, with a company as enrolled of seventyfour thousand six hundred. Those to camp
next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar. The
leader of the Issacharites shall be Nethanel
son of Zuar, with a company as enrolled of
fty-four thousand four hundred. Then the
tribe of Zebulun: The leader of the Zebulunites shall be Eliab son of Helon, with a
company as enrolled of fty-seven thousand
four hundred. The total enrollment of the
camp of Judah, by companies, is one hundred
eighty-six thousand four hundred. They shall
set out rst on the march.
On the south side shall be the regimental
encampment of Reuben by companies. The
leader of the Reubenites shall be Elizur son
of Shedeur, with a company as enrolled of
forty-six thousand ve hundred. And those
to camp next to him shall be the tribe of
Simeon. The leader of the Simeonites shall be
Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, with a company as enrolled of fty-nine thousand three
hundred. Then the tribe of Gad: The leader
of the Gadites shall be Eliasaph son of Reuel,
with a company as enrolled of forty-ve
males (see 11.21; Ex 12.37); the second census yields 601,730 (26.51). When women, children, and Levites are
added, the total is well over two million. This impossibly high number testies to Gods blessing this people,
keeping promises. At the same time, this generation will prove unfaithful and will die o in the wilderness (see
14.2230; 26.65). 4754: The Levites, who do not bear arms and are not registered here, are given duties regarding the tabernacle (chs 34). They are charged to encamp around it, protect it from casual contact, maintain it,
carry it during the journey, and pitch it at each stop. The rare phrase, tabernacle of the covenant (vv. 50,53; 10.11;
Ex 38.21), extends the designation for its major sacred object, the ark of the covenant. 51: The outsider refers
to non-Levites, Israelite or alien (see 16.40). The sense of comes near is encroach; the encroacher is executed
on the spot by levitical guards (see 18.7). 53: This action is in the interests of the community, so that it not
experience the wrath of God, which may cause death, oen through a plague (16.4650; 31.16). These strict
measures are instituted to preserve a proper relationship between God and the people. 54: Throughout chs
19, the Israelites are reported to have done exactly as God commanded. Later failures cannot be blamed on
faulty preparations.
2.134: The tribal arrangement around the tabernacle. With the tent of meeting (the tabernacle) centered
in the camp, and the Levites camped immediately around it (2.17; see ch 3), God commands that the tribes be
precisely ordered around the perimeter. They are to be ordered as companies (or regiments, 2.17,34), specifying
military readiness. Three tribes are to be positioned at each side of the tent, under their distinctive banners;
each triad named for the dominant tribe of the three from the perspective of Israels later history, which is
anked by the other two tribes in each casethe regimental encampment of Judah (v. 3; the most dominant;
see 1.27n.) to the east; Reuben to the south; Ephraim to the west; Dan to the north. This order of the tribes is
190 | hebrew bible
numbers 3
thousand six hundred fty. The total enrollment of the camp of Reuben, by companies,
is one hundred fty-one thousand four hundred fty. They shall set out second.
The tent of meeting, with the camp of
the Levites, shall set out in the center of the
camps; they shall set out just as they camp,
each in position, by their regiments.
On the west side shall be the regimental encampment of Ephraim by companies.
The leader of the people of Ephraim shall be
Elishama son of Ammihud, with a company
as enrolled of forty thousand ve hundred.
Next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh.
The leader of the people of Manasseh shall be
Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, with a company as enrolled of thirty-two thousand two
hundred. Then the tribe of Benjamin: The
leader of the Benjaminites shall be Abidan
son of Gideoni, with a company as enrolled
of thirty-ve thousand four hundred. The
total enrollment of the camp of Ephraim, by
companies, is one hundred eight thousand
one hundred. They shall set out third on the
march.
On the north side shall be the regimental encampment of Dan by companies.
The leader of the Danites shall be Ahiezer
son of Ammishaddai, with a company as
enrolled of sixty-two thousand seven hundred. Those to camp next to him shall be
the tribe of Asher. The leader of the Asherites shall be Pagiel son of Ochran, with a
company as enrolled of forty-one thousand
ve hundred. Then the tribe of Naphtali:
The leader of the Naphtalites shall be Ahira
son of Enan, with a company as enrolled
of fty-three thousand four hundred. The
total enrollment of the camp of Dan is one
hundred fty-seven thousand six hundred.
They shall set out last, by companies.a
This was the enrollment of the Israelites
by their ancestral houses; the total enroll-
ment in the camps by their companies was

six hundred three thousand ve hundred
fty. Just as the Lord had commanded
Moses, the Levites were not enrolled among
the other Israelites.
The Israelites did just as the Lord had
commanded Moses: They camped by regiments, and they set out the same way, everyone by clans, according to ancestral houses.
This is the lineage of Aaron and Moses
at the time when the Lord spoke with
Moses on Mount Sinai. These are the names
of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the rstborn,
and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar; these are
the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed
priests, whom he ordained to minister as
priests. Nadab and Abihu died before the
Lord when they oered unholy re before
the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they
had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar served
as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them
before Aaron the priest, so that they may
assist him. They shall perform duties for
him and for the whole congregation in front
of the tent of meeting, doing service at the
tabernacle; they shall be in charge of all the
furnishings of the tent of meeting, and attend to the duties for the Israelites as they do
service at the tabernacle. You shall give the
Levites to Aaron and his descendants; they
are unreservedly given to him from among
the Israelites. But you shall make a register
of Aaron and his descendants; it is they who
shall attend to the priesthood, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.
I hereby accept the Levites from among the
Israelites as substitutes for all the rstborn
that open the womb among the Israelites.
a Compare verses 9, 16, 24: Heb by their regiments
the order for the march, beginning with Judah (see 10.1428). 17: The tent, transported by Levites, is to move
between the camps of Reuben and Ephraim. 34: Gods commands are again followed.
3.14.49: The Levites are set apart; organization and responsibilities. 3.1: The formula links Moses and
Aaron with the genealogies in Genesis (the last is Gen 37.2; see Ex 6.2325). 34: Moses (he) ordains the two remaining sons of Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar (Lev 8.30). On Nadab and Abihu, see Lev 10.120. 510: A distinction
is made within the tribe of Levi between descendants of Aaron, who aend to priestly duties, and other Levites,
who assist the priests, with responsibilities for service at the tabernacle (see 1.5053). 1113: Restated in 8.1618,
recalls the sparing of Israels rstborn (Ex 13.12,1115), in remembrance of which God had consecrated them;
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numbers 3
The Levites shall be mine, for all the rstborn are mine; when I killed all the rstborn
in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my
own all the rstborn in Israel, both human
and animal; they shall be mine. I am the
Lord.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the
wilderness of Sinai, saying: Enroll the
Levites by ancestral houses and by clans. You
shall enroll every male from a month old and
upward. So Moses enrolled them according
to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. The following were the sons of Levi, by
their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. The
sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar,
Hebron, and Uzziel. The sons of Merari
by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are
the clans of the Levites, by their ancestral
houses.
To Gershon belonged the clan of the
Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these
were the clans of the Gershonites. Their
enrollment, counting all the males from a
month old and upward, was seven thousand
ve hundred. The clans of the Gershonites
were to camp behind the tabernacle on the
west, with Eliasaph son of Lael as head of
the ancestral house of the Gershonites. The
responsibility of the sons of Gershon in the
tent of meeting was to be the tabernacle,
the tent with its covering, the screen for the
entrance of the tent of meeting, the hangings of the court, the screen for the entrance
of the court that is around the tabernacle
and the altar, and its cordsall the service
pertaining to these.
To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites, the clan of the Izharites, the clan of
the Hebronites, and the clan of the Uzzielites;
these are the clans of the Kohathites.
Counting all the males, from a month
old and upward, there were eight thousand

six hundred, attending to the duties of the
sanctuary. The clans of the Kohathites were
to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,
with Elizaphan son of Uzziel as head
of the ancestral house of the clans of the
Kohathites. Their responsibility was to be
the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars,
the vessels of the sanctuary with which the
priests minister, and the screenall the
service pertaining to these. Eleazar son
of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the
leaders of the Levites, and to have oversight
of those who had charge of the sanctuary.
To Merari belonged the clan of the
Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these
are the clans of Merari. Their enrollment,
counting all the males from a month old
and upward, was six thousand two hundred.
The head of the ancestral house of the
clans of Merari was Zuriel son of Abihail;
they were to camp on the north side of the
tabernacle. The responsibility assigned to
the sons of Merari was to be the frames of the
tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases,
and all their accessoriesall the service
pertaining to these; also the pillars of the
court all around, with their bases and pegs
and cords.
Those who were to camp in front of the
tabernacle on the eastin front of the tent
of meeting toward the eastwere Moses and
Aaron and Aarons sons, having charge of the
rites within the sanctuary, whatever had to
be done for the Israelites; and any outsider
who came near was to be put to death. The
total enrollment of the Levites whom Moses
and Aaron enrolled at the commandment of
the Lord, by their clans, all the males from
a month old and upward, was twenty-two
thousand.
Then the Lord said to Moses: Enroll all
the rstborn males of the Israelites, from
the Levites serve in their stead as representatives of all Israel. 1439: Continues the narrative from 2.34, describing a census of the non-Aaronide Levites (actual total: 22,300; see 3.39), their encampment positions, and their
nonmilitary responsibilities (see 1.4749). Their camp is ordered in terms of Levis sons; their clans encamp on
three sides of the tabernacle and have varying duties with respect to its transit. 2537: The Kohathites (Moses
and Aaron are descendants of Kohath; Ex 6.1820) are responsible for the most sacred objects, the Gershonites
for the fabrics, and the Merarites for the supporting structures (detailed in 4.133; for the objects, see Ex 25
30). 38: Aaron and his sons are preeminent, encamping on the entrance (eastern) side of the tabernacle. Aarons
son, Eleazar, is in charge of the leaders of the three clans (3.32) and has general oversight of the tabernacle
192 | hebrew bible
numbers 4
a month old and upward, and count their
names. But you shall accept the Levites
for meI am the Lordas substitutes for
all the rstborn among the Israelites, and
the livestock of the Levites as substitutes
for all the rstborn among the livestock of
the Israelites. So Moses enrolled all the
rstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord
commanded him. The total enrollment,
all the rstborn males from a month old and
upward, counting the number of names, was
twenty-two thousand two hundred seventythree.
Accept the Levites as substitutes for all
the rstborn among the Israelites, and the
livestock of the Levites as substitutes for
their livestock; and the Levites shall be mine.
I am the Lord. As the price of redemption
of the two hundred seventy-three of the
rstborn of the Israelites, over and above
the number of the Levites, you shall accept
ve shekels apiece, reckoning by the shekel
of the sanctuary, a shekel of twenty gerahs.
Give to Aaron and his sons the money by
which the excess number of them is redeemed. So Moses took the redemption
money from those who were over and above
those redeemed by the Levites; from the
rstborn of the Israelites he took the money,
one thousand three hundred sixty-ve shekels, reckoned by the shekel of the sanctuary;
and Moses gave the redemption money to
Aaron and his sons, according to the word
of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded
Moses.
saying: Take a census of the Kohathites
separate from the other Levites, by their
clans and their ancestral houses, from thirty
years old up to fty years old, all who qualify

to do work relating to the tent of meeting.
The service of the Kohathites relating to
the tent of meeting concerns the most holy
things.
When the camp is to set out, Aaron
and his sons shall go in and take down the
screening curtain, and cover the ark of the
covenanta with it; then they shall put on
it a covering of ne leather,b and spread
over that a cloth all of blue, and shall put its
poles in place. Over the table of the bread
of the Presence they shall spread a blue
cloth, and put on it the plates, the dishes
for incense, the bowls, and the agons for
the drink oering; the regular bread also
shall be on it; then they shall spread over
them a crimson cloth, and cover it with a
covering of ne leather,b and shall put its
poles in place. They shall take a blue cloth,
and cover the lampstand for the light, with
its lamps, its snuers, its trays, and all the
vessels for oil with which it is supplied;
and they shall put it with all its utensils in
a covering of ne leather,b and put it on the
carrying frame. Over the golden altar they
shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with
a covering of ne leather,b and shall put its
poles in place; and they shall take all the
utensils of the service that are used in the
sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and
cover them with a covering of ne leather,b
and put them on the carrying frame. They
shall take away the ashes from the altar, and
spread a purple cloth over it; and they shall

(4.16), his brother Ithamar over the work of the Gershonites and Merarites (4.28,33). 4051: The rstborn males
of Israel are numbered; see 3.1113. 4348: The total of 22,273 seems much too low in view of the census (1.32);
no satisfactory explanation is available. Given the one-to-one ransom of Levites for rstborn males, the 273
persons over 22,000 are redeemed by ve shekels apiece (cf. Lev 27.6). I am the Lord, see Lev 19. 4951: The ransom, reckoned by the shekel of the sanctuary (Ex 30.13), is paid by the rstborn to Moses and given to the priests;
a shekel weighed about .4 oz (11.4 gr). 4.149: The second levitical census (compare 3.15), taken to determine
those Levites (ages thirty to y) who are to perform the duties detailed in 4.433; the diering ages in 8.2426
(compare Ezra 3.8) may reect expanding community needs. The responsibilities for certain sanctuary items
are commanded in detail, so that each item is accounted for. 220: The Kohathites are distinguished by their
responsibility for the most holy things, with dierent colors of cloth marking gradations of holiness. 515: Aaron
and his sons are responsible for packing and unpacking the most holy things; only they are allowed to see and
hebrew bible | 193
numbers 4
put on it all the utensils of the altar, which
are used for the service there, the repans,
the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the
utensils of the altar; and they shall spread
on it a covering of ne leather,a and shall
put its poles in place. When Aaron and his
sons have nished covering the sanctuary
and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as
the camp sets out, after that the Kohathites
shall come to carry these, but they must not
touch the holy things, or they will die. These
are the things of the tent of meeting that the
Kohathites are to carry.
Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall
have charge of the oil for the light, the
fragrant incense, the regular grain oering,
and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the
tabernacle and all that is in it, in the sanctuary and in its utensils.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses and
Aaron, saying: You must not let the tribe
of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed
from among the Levites. This is how you
must deal with them in order that they may
live and not die when they come near to the
most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall
go in and assign each to a particular task or
burden. But the Kohathitesb must not go in
to look on the holy things even for a moment;
otherwise they will die.
Take a census of the Gershonites also, by
their ancestral houses and by their clans;
from thirty years old up to fty years old
you shall enroll them, all who qualify to do
work in the tent of meeting. This is the
service of the clans of the Gershonites, in
serving and bearing burdens: They shall
carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the
tent of meeting with its covering, and the
outer covering of ne leathera that is on top
of it, and the screen for the entrance of the
tent of meeting, and the hangings of the
court, and the screen for the entrance of the
gate of the court that is around the tabernacle
and the altar, and their cords, and all the
equipment for their service; and they shall
do all that needs to be done with regard to

them. All the service of the Gershonites
shall be at the command of Aaron and his
sons, in all that they are to carry, and in all
that they have to do; and you shall assign to
their charge all that they are to carry. This
is the service of the clans of the Gershonites
relating to the tent of meeting, and their
responsibilities are to be under the oversight
of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
As for the Merarites, you shall enroll
them by their clans and their ancestral
houses; from thirty years old up to fifty
years old you shall enroll them, everyone
who qualifies to do the work of the tent of
meeting. This is what they are charged to
carry, as the whole of their service in the
tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, and
the pillars of the court all around with their
bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their related service; and you
shall assign by name the objects that they
are required to carry. This is the service
of the clans of the Merarites, the whole of
their service relating to the tent of meeting,
under the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the
priest.
So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of
the congregation enrolled the Kohathites, by
their clans and their ancestral houses, from
thirty years old up to fty years old, everyone
who qualied for work relating to the tent of
meeting; and their enrollment by clans was
two thousand seven hundred fty. This was
the enrollment of the clans of the Kohathites,
all who served at the tent of meeting, whom
Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the
commandment of the Lord by Moses.
The enrollment of the Gershonites, by
their clans and their ancestral houses, from
thirty years old up to fty years old, everyone
who qualied for work relating to the tent of
meeting their enrollment by their clans
b Heb they
touch them. 1516: The (other) Kohathites carry the items prepared by Aaron and his sons; they are supervised
by Eleazar. Oil for the light, Ex 27.20; incense, Ex 30.7; grain oering, Lev 6.1418; anointing oil, Ex 30.2234. 1720:
God takes the greater risk of the Kohathites into account and species precautionary procedures. 2128: The
service of the Gershonites; see 3.2526. 2933: The service of the Merarites; see 3.3637. 3445: The implemen-
194 | hebrew bible
numbers 5
and their ancestral houses was two thousand
six hundred thirty. This was the enrollment of the clans of the Gershonites, all who
served at the tent of meeting, whom Moses
and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord.
The enrollment of the clans of the
Merarites, by their clans and their ancestral
houses, from thirty years old up to fty
years old, everyone who qualied for work
relating to the tent of meeting their
enrollment by their clans was three thousand
two hundred. This is the enrollment of
the clans of the Merarites, whom Moses and
Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.
All those who were enrolled of the
Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the
leaders of Israel enrolled, by their clans and
their ancestral houses, from thirty years old
up to fty years old, everyone who qualied
to do the work of service and the work of
bearing burdens relating to the tent of meeting, their enrollment was eight thousand
ve hundred eighty. According to the
commandment of the Lord through Moses
they were appointed to their several tasks of
serving or carrying; thus they were enrolled
by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Command the Israelites to put out of the
camp everyone who is leprous,a or has a discharge, and everyone who is unclean through
contact with a corpse; you shall put out both
male and female, putting them outside the
camp; they must not dele their camp, where
I dwell among them. The Israelites did so,

putting them outside the camp; as the Lord
had spoken to Moses, so the Israelites did.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak
to the Israelites: When a man or a woman
wrongs another, breaking faith with the Lord,
that person incurs guilt and shall confess the
sin that has been committed. The person shall
make full restitution for the wrong, adding
one-fth to it, and giving it to the one who
was wronged. If the injured party has no
next of kin to whom restitution may be made
for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall
go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to
the ram of atonement with which atonement
is made for the guilty party. Among all the
sacred donations of the Israelites, every gift
that they bring to the priest shall be his. The
sacred donations of all are their own; whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.
Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If
any mans wife goes astray and is unfaithful
to him, if a man has had intercourse with
her but it is hidden from her husband, so
that she is undetected though she has deled
herself, and there is no witness against her
since she was not caught in the act; if a
spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is
jealous of his wife who has deled herself; or
if a spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is
jealous of his wife, though she has not deled
herself; then the man shall bring his wife
uncertain
tation of the divine commands. 4649: Summary. The reason for the dierence in the number of Levites from
3.39 is not clear. The encampment is now fully prepared for the journey.
5.16.21: Purication of the camp. Maers needing aention for the journey to come.
5.14: Persons who are ritually and communicably impure for various reasons are to be put outside the
camp, so as not to contaminate the community or dele the tabernacle (see Lev 13.4546; 15.3133; 21.13,11).
510: This case law extends Lev 6.17: when the wronged party dies without next of kin, priests receive the
appropriate restitution. The public confession of this deliberate sin (see Lev 5.5) is also new. 1131: This case
law regarding a woman suspected of adultery has many diculties. Though oen called a trial by ordeal, the
coalescence of verdict and sanction, eected by God not the community, suggests a dramatized oath. 1214:
The focus is a wife, possibly pregnant, whose husband suspects (a spirit of jealousy) her of adultery but has no
evidence, whether she has actually done so (5.1214a) or is only suspected (5.14b). In the former case, this text
soens the penalty prescribed for an adulteress in Lev 20.10, probably because there was no evidence. In the
laer case, a woman unjustly accused could be vindicated; the jealous husband (or the community) could not
arbitrarily decide her fate. 15: In either case, the man brings his wife (who is under [his] authority, vv.19,20,29) to
the priest with a simple grain oering, without the usual oil and frankincense (Lev 2.110; 5.11). One-tenth of an
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numbers 5
to the priest. And he shall bring the oering
required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of
barley our. He shall pour no oil on it and put
no frankincense on it, for it is a grain oering
of jealousy, a grain oering of remembrance,
bringing iniquity to remembrance.
Then the priest shall bring her near, and
set her before the Lord; the priest shall
take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take
some of the dust that is on the oor of the
tabernacle and put it into the water. The
priest shall set the woman before the Lord,
dishevel the womans hair, and place in her
hands the grain oering of remembrance,
which is the grain oering of jealousy. In his
own hand the priest shall have the water of
bitterness that brings the curse. Then the
priest shall make her take an oath, saying,
If no man has lain with you, if you have not
turned aside to uncleanness while under
your husbands authority, be immune to this
water of bitterness that brings the curse.
But if you have gone astray while under
your husbands authority, if you have deled
yourself and some man other than your husband has had intercourse with you, let
the priest make the woman take the oath of
the curse and say to the womanthe Lord
make you an execration and an oath among
your people, when the Lord makes your
uterus drop, your womb discharge; now

may this water that brings the curse enter
your bowels and make your womb discharge,
your uterus drop! And the woman shall say,
Amen. Amen.
Then the priest shall put these curses
in writing, and wash them o into the water
of bitterness. He shall make the woman
drink the water of bitterness that brings the
curse, and the water that brings the curse
shall enter her and cause bitter pain. The
priest shall take the grain oering of jealousy
out of the womans hand, and shall elevate
the grain oering before the Lord and bring
it to the altar; and the priest shall take a
handful of the grain oering, as its memorial
portion, and turn it into smoke on the altar,
and afterward shall make the woman drink
the water. When he has made her drink the
water, then, if she has deled herself and has
been unfaithful to her husband, the water
that brings the curse shall enter into her and
cause bitter pain, and her womb shall discharge, her uterus drop, and the woman shall
become an execration among her people.
But if the woman has not deled herself
and is clean, then she shall be immune and
be able to conceive children.
This is the law in cases of jealousy, when
a wife, while under her husbands authority,
ephah, ca. 2 qts (2.3 liters). Frankincense is an aromatic resin from shrubs in Arabia and East Africa. Such oerings
bring the (potential) iniquity to remembrance before God. 1628: The procedure: the priest prepares a mixture
of holy water (see Ex 30.1721) and tabernacle oor dust, potent because of its contact with holy things, in an
earthen vessel (which could be broken aer use; see Lev 11.33). The priest then brings the woman before the
Lord (the altar), loosens her hair (a sign of humiliation or [potential] uncleanness; Lev 13.45), and puts the grain
oering in her hands. 1922: She takes an oath regarding the suspicions registered: if she has been faithful, she
will be immune from the water; if unfaithful, the water will cause her sexual organs to be aected adversely in
some way (correlated with the crime) and she will be ostracized among the people and precluded from having
children. If the woman is pregnant, the eect may have been a miscarriage. The eect of the water upon the
woman is considered a sign as to whether the woman has told the truth. 22:Amen. Amen expresses willingness
to accept either result (see Deut 27.1526). Unlike her husband, she is given no other voice in the ritual. 2328:
5.24 anticipates 5.26b, as 5.16a does 5.18a. The priest writes the curses on a surface from which the ink could be
washed o into the water the woman is to drink; the imbibed water is thought to contain the curses power (Ex
32.20,35). The priest takes the oering from her and burns a portion on the altar, aer which she drinks the water. If the woman has been unfaithful, she will experience distress (no time frame is specied), hence the phrase
water of bierness. The potion has no bier taste nor brings pain, but this would be the eect if God adjudged
the woman guilty (5.21; see Zech 5.14; Jer 8.14; 9.15). 26: Memorial portion, see Lev 2.23. 28: The eect for
the guiltless woman is that she will conceive children. 2931: A summary of the two cases for which this ordeal
would be applied. The man is freed from responsibility for a false accusation. If the woman is guilty, she bears
the consequences by divine agency. The ritual could not certainly verify suspicions; but, as with sacrices, God
is believed to eect the proper result. In this polygynous society, where men could have many sexual partners,
196 | hebrew bible
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goes astray and deles herself, or when
a spirit of jealousy comes on a man and he
is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the
woman before the Lord, and the priest shall
apply this entire law to her. The man shall
be free from iniquity, but the woman shall
bear her iniquity.
Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
When either men or women make a special
vow, the vow of a nazirite,a to separate
themselves to the Lord, they shall separate
themselves from wine and strong drink;
they shall drink no wine vinegar or other
vinegar, and shall not drink any grape juice
or eat grapes, fresh or dried. All their days
as naziritesb they shall eat nothing that is
produced by the grapevine, not even the
seeds or the skins.
All the days of their nazirite vow no
razor shall come upon the head; until the
time is completed for which they separate
themselves to the Lord, they shall be holy;
they shall let the locks of the head grow
long.
All the days that they separate themselves to the Lord they shall not go near
a corpse. Even if their father or mother,
brother or sister, should die, they may not
dele themselves; because their consecration
to God is upon the head. All their days as
naziritesb they are holy to the Lord.
If someone dies very suddenly nearby,
deling the consecrated head, then they
shall shave the head on the day of their
cleansing; on the seventh day they shall
shave it. On the eighth day they shall bring
two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the
priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and the priest shall oer one as a sin
oering and the other as a burnt oering,

and make atonement for them, because they
incurred guilt by reason of the corpse. They
shall sanctify the head that same day, and
separate themselves to the Lord for their
days as nazirites,b and bring a male lamb a
year old as a guilt oering. The former time
shall be void, because the consecrated head
was deled.
This is the law for the naziritesb when
the time of their consecration has been completed: they shall be brought to the entrance
of the tent of meeting, and they shall oer
their gift to the Lord, one male lamb a year
old without blemish as a burnt oering, one
ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a
sin oering, one ram without blemish as an
oering of well-being, and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of choice our mixed
with oil and unleavened wafers spread with
oil, with their grain oering and their drink
oerings. The priest shall present them before the Lord and oer their sin oering and
burnt oering, and shall oer the ram as a
sacrice of well-being to the Lord, with the
basket of unleavened bread; the priest also
shall make the accompanying grain oering
and drink oering. Then the naziritesb shall
shave the consecrated head at the entrance
of the tent of meeting, and shall take the
hair from the consecrated head and put it
on the re under the sacrice of well-being.
The priest shall take the shoulder of the
ram, when it is boiled, and one unleavened
cake out of the basket, and one unleavened
wafer, and shall put them in the palms of the
a That is one separated or one consecrated

b That is those separated or those consecrated
but women could have only one, women lived under the threat of this ritual.
6.121: A temporary, voluntary nazirite vow. 2: Nazirites were male or female individuals who took a vow
of consecration for a special vocation to separate themselves to the Lord. The precise purpose for becoming a
nazirite remains elusive; they function as temporary priests in some fashion. Other texts describe both lifetime
and temporary nazirites (Judg 13.5; 1 Sam 1.11; Am 2.1112). 35: The nazirite vow entailed separation from products of the vineyard (and other intoxicants), haircuts, and corpses; their return to secular life was signied by
cuing the hair. Highly visible members of the community, they were public signs of total dedication to God,
similar to the Rechabites (2 Kings 10.15; Jer 35). 612: Nazirites were not to come into contact with (or even
within sight of) a corpse; accidental contact deled the consecrated head (long hair) and required rites of purication (19.122; Lev 21.112). Upon being puried, they were to sanctify the head, i.e., be reconsecrated. 1320:
The law for terminating the vow. For the range of oerings see Lev 17. The ritual includes the shaving of the
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numbers 7
nazirites,a after they have shaved the consecrated head. Then the priest shall elevate
them as an elevation oering before the
Lord; they are a holy portion for the priest,
together with the breast that is elevated and
the thigh that is oered. After that the naziritesa may drink wine.
This is the law for the naziritesa who take
a vow. Their oering to the Lord must be in
accordance with the naziriteb vow, apart from
what else they can aord. In accordance with
whatever vow they take, so they shall do, following the law for their consecration.
Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus
you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to
them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon
you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon
you, and give you peace.
So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.
On the day when Moses had nished setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed
and consecrated it with all its furnishings,
and had anointed and consecrated the altar
with all its utensils, the leaders of Israel,
heads of their ancestral houses, the leaders
of the tribes, who were over those who were
enrolled, made oerings. They brought

their oerings before the Lord, six covered
wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every
two of the leaders, and for each one an ox;
they presented them before the tabernacle.
Then the Lord said to Moses: Accept
these from them, that they may be used in
doing the service of the tent of meeting, and
give them to the Levites, to each according
to his service. So Moses took the wagons
and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites.
Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the
Gershonites, according to their service; and
four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the
Merarites, according to their service, under
the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the
priest. But to the Kohathites he gave none,
because they were charged with the care of
the holy things that had to be carried on the
shoulders.
The leaders also presented oerings for
the dedication of the altar at the time when
it was anointed; the leaders presented their
oering before the altar. The Lord said to
Moses: They shall present their oerings, one
leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.
The one who presented his oering the
rst day was Nahshon son of Amminadab,
a That is those separated or those consecrated
b That is one separated or one consecrated
head and the burning of the hair (because it was holy). 20: Elevation oering, see Lev 7.2736. 21: A summary.
6.2227: The priestly blessing. Almost identical forms of this blessing were found on two small silver
plaques in a tomb near Jerusalem, dating to the late seventh or early sixth century BCE. 2426: Each line, with
God as subject, is progressively longer (three, ve, seven Hebrew words). Perhaps the second verb in each case
denes the rst more specically; together the six verbs cover Gods benevolent activity from various angles
and state Gods gracious will for Israel. To bless signies any divine gi that serves the life and well-being of
individuals and communities. To keep is a specic blessing to those with safety concerns, focusing on Gods
protection from all forms of evil (cf. Ps 121.78). The shining face of God (contrast the hiding face) signies Gods
benevolent disposition (cf. Ps 67.1). Li up his countenance signies a favorable movement toward the other in
granting peace, that is, wholeness and fullness of life. 27: To put my name on the Israelites emphasizes that the
priests are representativesonly God can bless.
7.18.26: Final preparations for tabernacle worship. 7.188: The consecration of the tabernacle with oerings made by the tribal leaders. 1: A ashback occurs (through 10.10), one month earlier than 1.1, coinciding with
the day Moses set up the tabernacle (Ex 40); it returns the reader to Gods descent to dwell among the people
and their response. 29: One oering: six wagons and twelve oxen to carry the tabernacle and its furnishings.
The Merarites receive two-thirds of the wagons and oxen because they carry the supporting structure; the
Kohathites carry the holy things by hand, reecting the importance of these items (4.115). 10: Refers to the
oerings presented in both 7.19 and 7.1288. 1183: Another oering: necessities for the public altar sacrices and the priesthood, to be oered at the altar whenever needed. The tribal leaders (see 2.331) each give
the same oerings on twelve successive days of the celebration; the names are the same as in 1.515, but the
198 | hebrew bible
numbers 7
of the tribe of Judah; his oering was one
silver plate weighing one hundred thirty
shekels, one silver basin weighing seventy
shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of choice our mixed
with oil for a grain oering; one golden dish
weighing ten shekels, full of incense; one
young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year
old, for a burnt oering; one male goat for
a sin oering; and for the sacrice of wellbeing, two oxen, ve rams, ve male goats,
and ve male lambs a year old. This was the
oering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.
On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar,
the leader of Issachar, presented an oering; he presented for his oering one silver
plate weighing one hundred thirty shekels,
one silver basin weighing seventy shekels,
according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both
of them full of choice our mixed with oil for
a grain oering; one golden dish weighing
ten shekels, full of incense; one young bull,
one ram, one male lamb a year old, as a burnt
oering; one male goat as a sin oering;
and for the sacrice of well-being, two
oxen, ve rams, ve male goats, and ve male
lambs a year old. This was the oering of
Nethanel son of Zuar.
On the third day Eliab son of Helon, the
leader of the Zebulunites: his oering was
one silver plate weighing one hundred thirty
shekels, one silver basin weighing seventy
shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of choice our mixed
with oil for a grain oering; one golden dish
weighing ten shekels, full of incense; one
young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year
old, for a burnt oering; one male goat for
a sin oering; and for the sacrice of wellbeing, two oxen, ve rams, ve male goats,
and ve male lambs a year old. This was the
oering of Eliab son of Helon.
On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur,
the leader of the Reubenites: his oering
was one silver plate weighing one hundred
thirty shekels, one silver basin weighing
seventy shekels, according to the shekel of
the sanctuary, both of them full of choice
our mixed with oil for a grain oering;
one golden dish weighing ten shekels, full
of incense; one young bull, one ram, one
male lamb a year old, for a burnt oering;
one male goat for a sin oering; and for

the sacrice of well-being, two oxen, ve
rams, ve male goats, and ve male lambs a
year old. This was the oering of Elizur son
of Shedeur.
On the fth day Shelumiel son of
Zurishaddai, the leader of the Simeonites:
his oering was one silver plate weighing
one hundred thirty shekels, one silver basin
weighing seventy shekels, according to the
shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of
choice our mixed with oil for a grain oering; one golden dish weighing ten shekels,
full of incense; one young bull, one ram,
one male lamb a year old, for a burnt oering;
year old. This was the oering of Shelumiel
son of Zurishaddai.
On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel,
the leader of the Gadites: his oering
our mixed with oil for a grain oering;
one golden dish weighing ten shekels, full
of incense; one young bull, one ram, one
male lamb a year old, for a burnt oering;
rams, ve male goats, and ve male lambs
a year old. This was the oering of Eliasaph
son of Deuel.
On the seventh day Elishama son of
Ammihud, the leader of the Ephraimites:
year old. This was the oering of Elishama
son of Ammihud.
On the eighth day Gamaliel son of
Pedahzur, the leader of the Manassites:
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numbers 7
year old. This was the oering of Gamaliel
son of Pedahzur.
On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni,
the leader of the Benjaminites: his oering
our mixed with oil for a grain oering; one
golden dish weighing ten shekels, full of
incense; one young bull, one ram, one male
lamb a year old, for a burnt oering; one
male goat for a sin oering; and for the
sacrice of well-being, two oxen, ve rams,
ve male goats, and ve male lambs a year
old. This was the oering of Abidan son of
Gideoni.
On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, the leader of the Danites: his
oering was one silver plate weighing one
hundred thirty shekels, one silver basin
year old. This was the oering of Ahiezer son
of Ammishaddai.
On the eleventh day Pagiel son of
Ochran, the leader of the Asherites: his offering was one silver plate weighing one hundred thirty shekels, one silver basin weighing
seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the
sanctuary, both of them full of choice our

mixed with oil for a grain oering; one golden dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense;
one young bull, one ram, one male lamb
a year old, for a burnt oering; one male
goat for a sin oering; and for the sacrice
of well-being, two oxen, ve rams, ve male
goats, and ve male lambs a year old. This was
the oering of Pagiel son of Ochran.
On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan,
the leader of the Naphtalites: his oering
thirty shekels, one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the
sanctuary, both of them full of choice our
mixed with oil for a grain oering; one
golden dish weighing ten shekels, full of
incense; one young bull, one ram, one male
lamb a year old, for a burnt oering; one
male goat for a sin oering; and for the sacrice of well-being, two oxen, ve rams, ve
male goats, and ve male lambs a year old.
This was the oering of Ahira son of Enan.
This was the dedication oering for the
altar, at the time when it was anointed, from
the leaders of Israel: twelve silver plates,
twelve silver basins, twelve golden dishes,
each silver plate weighing one hundred
thirty shekels and each basin seventy, all
the silver of the vessels two thousand four
hundred shekels according to the shekel of
the sanctuary, the twelve golden dishes,
full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece
according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all
the gold of the dishes being one hundred
twenty shekels; all the livestock for the
burnt oering twelve bulls, twelve rams,
twelve male lambs a year old, with their grain
oering; and twelve male goats for a sin oering; and all the livestock for the sacrice of
well-being twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty,
the male goats sixty, the male lambs a year
old sixty. This was the dedication oering for
the altar, after it was anointed.
When Moses went into the tent of
meeting to speak with the Lord,a he would
a Heb him
order of tribes is dierent, with Judah rst. 13: Shekel, see 3.4951n. 8488: Summary and total. The repetition
underlines the unity and equality of the tribal groups and their support for the tabernacle. 89: Gods ongoing
commitment to Israel (to dwell among them; to speak to Moses) matches the peoples obedient response. The
200 | hebrew bible
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hear the voice speaking to him from above
the mercy seata that was on the ark of the
covenantb from between the two cherubim;
thus it spoke to him.
to Aaron and say to him: When you set up
the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in
front of the lampstand. Aaron did so; he set
up its lamps to give light in front of the lampstand, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Now this was how the lampstand was made,
out of hammered work of gold. From its base
to its owers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern that the Lord had shown
Moses, so he made the lampstand.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take
the Levites from among the Israelites and
cleanse them. Thus you shall do to them, to
cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purication on them, have them shave their whole
body with a razor and wash their clothes,
and so cleanse themselves. Then let them
take a young bull and its grain oering of
choice our mixed with oil, and you shall
take another young bull for a sin oering.
You shall bring the Levites before the tent of
meeting, and assemble the whole congregation of the Israelites. When you bring the
Levites before the Lord, the Israelites shall lay
their hands on the Levites, and Aaron shall
present the Levites before the Lord as an elevation oering from the Israelites, that they
may do the service of the Lord. The Levites
shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls,
and he shall oer the one for a sin oering

and the other for a burnt oering to the Lord,
to make atonement for the Levites. Then
you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron
and his sons, and you shall present them as an
elevation oering to the Lord.
Thus you shall separate the Levites from
among the other Israelites, and the Levites
shall be mine. Thereafter the Levites may
go in to do service at the tent of meeting,
once you have cleansed them and presented
them as an elevation oering. For they are
unreservedly given to me from among the
Israelites; I have taken them for myself, in
place of all that open the womb, the rstborn
of all the Israelites. For all the rstborn
among the Israelites are mine, both human
and animal. On the day that I struck down all
the rstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, but I have taken the
Levites in place of all the rstborn among
the Israelites. Moreover, I have given the
Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from
among the Israelites, to do the service for the
Israelites at the tent of meeting, and to make
atonement for the Israelites, in order that
there may be no plague among the Israelites
for coming too close to the sanctuary.
Moses and Aaron and the whole
congregation of the Israelites did with the
Levites accordingly; the Israelites did with
a Or the cover
mercy seat is the cover of the ark of the covenant, upon which were xed two cherubim, sphinxlike creatures,
shaped to form a throne for the invisible God (1 Sam 4.4; 2 Sam 6.2); the ark functioned as Gods footstool
(1 Chr 28.2; Ex 25.1721), where God speaks to Moses when he enters the tabernacle, fullling Gods promise
in Ex 25.22 (see Num 11.1630). 8.126: Consecration of the Levites. 14: Lighting directions for the tabernacle
lamps (Ex 25.37), with a reminder of the paern of their construction (Ex 25.9). The seven branches and owery design may have symbolized the tree of life (see 1 Kings 7.49; Zech 4.114); the branched lampstand (Heb
menorah) remains an important symbol of light. 526: The Levites are consecrated to do service at the tent of
meeting (v. 15; see Lev 8; the priests are sanctied; the Levites are puried). 58: This entails participation in a
purication rite (see Lev 14.89) so they can perform this service without endangering themselves or the community. 918: The Levites are presented before the tent of meeting and before Aaron and his sons. The people lay
their hands on them, symbolizing the Levites as a living sacrice dedicated to the service of God instead of their
rstborn (vv. 1617; see 3.1113,4051). The Levites in turn lay their hands on the bullssacriced to make atonement for sins commied (v. 12b; see Lev 1; 4). God claims that the Levites are mine . . . unreservedly given to me
from among the Israelites (vv.1416; 3.9); God in turn gives them to the Aaronides for service at the tabernacle.
19: This action is to make atonement for Israelites to prevent any plague resulting from too close contact with
the holy things. 2026: The divine commands are obeyed: a summary of the cleansing, age requirements (see
4.47), and a clarication that they assist the Aaronides.
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numbers 9
the Levites just as the Lord had commanded
Moses concerning them. The Levites puried themselves from sin and washed their
clothes; then Aaron presented them as an
elevation oering before the Lord, and Aaron
made atonement for them to cleanse them.
Thereafter the Levites went in to do their
service in the tent of meeting in attendance
on Aaron and his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so
they did with them.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: This
applies to the Levites: from twenty-ve years
old and upward they shall begin to do duty
in the service of the tent of meeting; and
from the age of fty years they shall retire
from the duty of the service and serve no
more. They may assist their brothers in the
tent of meeting in carrying out their duties,
but they shall perform no service. Thus you
shall do with the Levites in assigning their
duties.
The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the
second year after they had come out of the
land of Egypt, saying: Let the Israelites
keep the passover at its appointed time.
On the fourteenth day of this month, at
twilight,a you shall keep it at its appointed
time; according to all its statutes and all its
regulations you shall keep it. So Moses
told the Israelites that they should keep the
passover. They kept the passover in the
first month, on the fourteenth day of the
month, at twilight,a in the wilderness of
Sinai. Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did. Now there were
certain people who were unclean through
touching a corpse, so that they could not

keep the passover on that day. They came
before Moses and Aaron on that day, and
said to him, Although we are unclean
through touching a corpse, why must we be
kept from presenting the Lords offering at
its appointed time among the Israelites?
Moses spoke to them, Wait, so that I may
hear what the Lord will command concerning you.
Speak to the Israelites, saying: Anyone
of you or your descendants who is unclean
through touching a corpse, or is away on
a journey, shall still keep the passover to
the Lord. In the second month on the
fourteenth day, at twilight,a they shall keep
it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread
and bitter herbs. They shall leave none
of it until morning, nor break a bone of it;
according to all the statute for the passover
they shall keep it. But anyone who is clean
and is not on a journey, and yet refrains
from keeping the passover, shall be cut
o from the people for not presenting the
Lords oering at its appointed time; such a
one shall bear the consequences for the sin.
Any alien residing among you who wishes
to keep the passover to the Lord shall do so
according to the statute of the passover and
according to its regulation; you shall have
one statute for both the resident alien and
the native.
On the day the tabernacle was set up, the
cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the
9.114: The passover at Sinai. The ashback begun at 7.1 continues. 15: A second celebration of passover
(see Ex 12.24). 614: A question to Moses regarding passover celebration upon touching a corpse (5.14; 19.11
20) results in new legislation from the Lord: such persons shall keep the same regulations one month later (see
Ex 12). The case of persons away on a journey is another adjustment. 12: Not break a bone of the passover lamb:
see Ex 12.46; Jn 19.36. 13: Those not on a journey that refrain from passover shall be cut o from the people, that
is, bear the consequences for the sin, most likely extermination of the family line. 14: A permissive rubric for the
resident alien, a non-Israelite residing permanently in the land.
9.1523: Divine guidance in the wilderness. A supplement to Ex 40.3438, anticipating 10.1113. The (single) pillar of cloud and re (Ex 13.2122; 14.24; 40.38) in which God was present was an ongoing feature of the
wilderness journey. Linked to the tabernacle (and the ark, 10.3336), the pillars liing and resting scheduled
the stages of Israels journey. The cloud would rest on the tabernacle and, while the tabernacle remained in
the middle of the marching people, the cloud would proceed to the front of the procession (9.17; 14.14). Israels
obedience to these signs is stressed.
202 | hebrew bible
numbers 10
covenant;a and from evening until morning
it was over the tabernacle, having the appearance of re. It was always so: the cloud
covered it by dayb and the appearance of re
by night. Whenever the cloud lifted from
over the tent, then the Israelites would set
out; and in the place where the cloud settled
down, there the Israelites would camp. At
the command of the Lord the Israelites would
set out, and at the command of the Lord they
would camp. As long as the cloud rested over
the tabernacle, they would remain in camp.
Even when the cloud continued over the
tabernacle many days, the Israelites would
keep the charge of the Lord, and would not set
out. Sometimes the cloud would remain a
few days over the tabernacle, and according to
the command of the Lord they would remain
in camp; then according to the command of
the Lord they would set out. Sometimes
the cloud would remain from evening until
morning; and when the cloud lifted in the
morning, they would set out, or if it continued
for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted
they would set out. Whether it was two days,
or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud
continued over the tabernacle, resting upon it,
the Israelites would remain in camp and would
not set out; but when it lifted they would set
out. At the command of the Lord they would
camp, and at the command of the Lord they
would set out. They kept the charge of the
Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.
Make two silver trumpets; you shall
make them of hammered work; and you
shall use them for summoning the congregation, and for breaking camp. When both
10
are blown, the whole congregation shall

assemble before you at the entrance of the
tent of meeting. But if only one is blown,
then the leaders, the heads of the tribes of
Israel, shall assemble before you. When
you blow an alarm, the camps on the east
side shall set out; when you blow a second
alarm, the camps on the south side shall
set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever
they are to set out. But when the assembly is to be gathered, you shall blow, but
you shall not sound an alarm. The sons of
Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets;
this shall be a perpetual institution for you
throughout your generations. When you
go to war in your land against the adversary
who oppresses you, you shall sound an
alarm with the trumpets, so that you may be
remembered before the Lord your God and
be saved from your enemies. Also on your
days of rejoicing, at your appointed festivals,
and at the beginnings of your months, you
shall blow the trumpets over your burnt
oerings and over your sacrices of wellbeing; they shall serve as a reminder on
your behalf before the Lord your God: I am
the Lord your God.
In the second year, in the second month,
on the twentieth day of the month, the
cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the
covenant.a Then the Israelites set out by
stages from the wilderness of Sinai, and
the cloud settled down in the wilderness
of Paran. They set out for the rst time at
the command of the Lord by Moses. The
b Gk Syr Vg: Heb lacks by day
10.110: Two silver trumpets. God commands Moses to make two trumpets of hammered silver to be blown
by priests on various occasions. 7: Blow, one long blast; alarm, a series of short blasts. 910: The rationale: to
bring Israels situation before God, who is called to act on their behalf, either in bale (salvation from enemies)
or in and through the oerings (forgiveness and well-being).
10.1125.18: The wilderness journey, from Sinai to the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan River, the border
of the promised land. Israels obedience to this point stands in sharp contrast to what follows. Warnings of divine judgment go unheeded, with disastrous results (1.53; 8.19). Many of these narratives mirror Ex 15.2218.27:
manna, rocks producing water, bales with desert tribes, and nonstop complaints, and may be from dierent
sources than the accounts of these events in the book of Exodus. But Numbers is dierent: the people are
sharply identied as rebellious, against both God and Moses and Aaron.
10.1128: Departure from Sinai. 11: Nineteen days aer the census (1.1) and eleven months aer arrival at
Sinai (Ex 19.1). The time of departure is set by divine command, signaled by the cloud (9.1523). 12: By stages,
see ch 33. The end of the rst stage is signaled by the cloud seling in the wilderness of Paran, the arid region
hebrew bible | 203
numbers 11
standard of the camp of Judah set out rst,
company by company, and over the whole
company was Nahshon son of Amminadab.
Over the company of the tribe of Issachar
was Nethanel son of Zuar; and over the
company of the tribe of Zebulun was Eliab
son of Helon.
Then the tabernacle was taken down,
and the Gershonites and the Merarites, who
carried the tabernacle, set out. Next the
standard of the camp of Reuben set out,
company by company; and over the whole
company was Elizur son of Shedeur. Over
the company of the tribe of Simeon was
Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, and over the
company of the tribe of Gad was Eliasaph son
of Deuel.
Then the Kohathites, who carried the
holy things, set out; and the tabernacle
was set up before their arrival. Next the
standard of the Ephraimite camp set out,
company by company, and over the whole
company was Elishama son of Ammihud.
Over the company of the tribe of Manasseh
was Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, and over the
company of the tribe of Benjamin was Abidan
son of Gideoni.
Then the standard of the camp of Dan,
acting as the rear guard of all the camps,
set out, company by company, and over the
whole company was Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. Over the company of the tribe
of Asher was Pagiel son of Ochran, and
over the company of the tribe of Naphtali was
Ahira son of Enan. This was the order of
march of the Israelites, company by company,

when they set out.
Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the
Midianite, Moses father-in-law, We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said,
I will give it to you; come with us, and we
will treat you well; for the Lord has promised
good to Israel. But he said to him, I will
not go, but I will go back to my own land and
to my kindred. He said, Do not leave us,
for you know where we should camp in the
wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us.
Moreover, if you go with us, whatever good
the Lord does for us, the same we will do for
you.
So they set out from the mount of the
Lord three days journey with the ark of the
covenant of the Lord going before them three
days journey, to seek out a resting place for
them, the cloud of the Lord being over
them by day when they set out from the
camp.
Whenever the ark set out, Moses would
say,
Arise, OLord, let your enemies be
scattered,
and your foes ee before you.
And whenever it came to rest, he would say,
Return, OLord of the ten thousand
thousands of Israel.a
Now when the people complained in
the hearing of the Lord about their
misfortunes, the Lord heard it and his
11
south of Canaan. 1428: The marching order and levitical responsibilities follow the arrangement in chs 23.
10.2936: Human and divine guidance. 29: The name of Moses father-in-law varies: Hobab (here and Judg
4.11); Jethro (Ex 3.1; 18.1); Reuel (here and Ex 2.18). Hobab was leader of the Kenites (Judg 1.16), a desert tribe;
they would know the wilderness. Moses invitation shows that the clouds guidance is not deemed sucient:
both divine and human activities are necessary for the people to nd their way. 3336: The ark with the cloud
precedes the community. 33: The second three days journey is probably an erroneous scribal repetition. 3536:
Moses directives to the Lord, at the departure and arrival of the ark, are old poetic pieces, portraying the march
as a liturgical procession. God was intensely present with the ark (7.89; see Ps 68.1; 132.78). God, the Lord
of Hosts (the ten thousand thousands of Israel), leads Israel in bale against its enemies (1 Sam 4.17.2). That
Moses invites God to become active on Israels behalf again demonstrates the integration of human activity
and divine.
11.13: A paradigm of rebellion. Provides a paern in both form and content for several episodes that follow:
murmuring; judgment; cry (of repentance); intercession; deliverance.
The peoples complaints of unidentied misfortunes are not specically directed to God, but God hears
them. The divine anger is provoked by the peoples complaining; the re of the Lord, perhaps lightning (see Ex
9.2324), consumes outlying areas of the camp. Moses intercedes and the storm stops.
204 | hebrew bible
numbers 11
anger was kindled. Then the re of the Lord
burned against them, and consumed some
outlying parts of the camp. But the people
cried out to Moses; and Moses prayed to the
Lord, and the re abated. So that place was
called Taberah,a because the re of the Lord
burned against them.
The rabble among them had a strong
craving; and the Israelites also wept again,
and said, If only we had meat to eat! We
remember the sh we used to eat in Egypt
for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the
leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now
our strength is dried up, and there is nothing
at all but this manna to look at.
Now the manna was like coriander seed,
and its color was like the color of gum resin.
The people went around and gathered it,
ground it in mills or beat it in mortars, then
boiled it in pots and made cakes of it; and
the taste of it was like the taste of cakes
baked with oil. When the dew fell on the
camp in the night, the manna would fall
with it.
Moses heard the people weeping
throughout their families, all at the entrances of their tents. Then the Lord became
very angry, and Moses was displeased. So
Moses said to the Lord, Why have you
treated your servant so badly? Why have I
not found favor in your sight, that you lay
the burden of all this people on me? Did
I conceive all this people? Did I give birth
to them, that you should say to me, Carry
them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a
sucking child, to the land that you promised
on oath to their ancestors? Where am I
to get meat to give to all this people? For
they come weeping to me and say, Give us
meat to eat! I am not able to carry all this

people alone, for they are too heavy for me.
If this is the way you are going to treat me,
put me to death at onceif I have found
favor in your sightand do not let me see
my misery.
So the Lord said to Moses, Gather for
me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom
you know to be the elders of the people and
officers over them; bring them to the tent
of meeting, and have them take their place
there with you. I will come down and talk
with you there; and I will take some of the
spirit that is on you and put it on them; and
they shall bear the burden of the people
along with you so that you will not bear
it all by yourself. And say to the people:
Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and
you shall eat meat; for you have wailed in
the hearing of the Lord, saying, If only we
had meat to eat! Surely it was better for us
in Egypt. Therefore the Lord will give you
meat, and you shall eat. You shall eat not
only one day, or two days, or five days, or
ten days, or twenty days, but for a whole
monthuntil it comes out of your nostrils
and becomes loathsome to youbecause
you have rejected the Lord who is among
you, and have wailed before him, saying,
Why did we ever leave Egypt? But Moses
said, The people I am with number six
hundred thousand on foot; and you say, I
will give them meat, that they may eat for
a whole month! Are there enough flocks
and herds to slaughter for them? Are there
enough fish in the sea to catch for them?
The Lord said to Moses, Is the Lords
a That is Burning
11.435: Rebellion and leadership. The coherence is dicult and likely reects dierent interwoven traditions about food and Moses leadership. On the provision of food, see 20.113. 415: The rabble (non-Israelites,
Ex 12.38), along with the Israelites, despise Gods gis of food (and deliverance, v. 20). Nostalgic for Egyptian
food, they consider the manna (see Ex 16.1421) insucient. In response to Gods anger, Moses complains that
given what the people have become, God has mistreated him, placing too heavy a leadership burden on him
(see Ex 18.18) and not providing sucient resources. Moses uses maternal imagery for God: God has conceived
and birthed this people (Deut 32.18) and should assume the responsibilities of a wet nurse. Moses should not
have to carry this burden alone, implying that God is negligent. Feeling caught in the middle, Moses asks for
either relief or death. 1620: Gods reply: God will share the spirit given to Moses with others, who will share
the burden (vv. 2430), and God will provide the asked-for meat (vv. 3135). Repeating the complaints, God
declares that they are to prepare for an encounter with God; they will indeed get meat, but too much! 2122:
Moses wonders about the numbers to feed. 23: Gods response: Gods hand is not too short (see textual note
hebrew bible | 205
numbers 12
power limited?a Now you shall see whether
my word will come true for you or not.
So Moses went out and told the people
the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy
elders of the people, and placed them all around
the tent. Then the Lord came down in the
cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the
spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy
elders; and when the spirit rested upon them,
they prophesied. But they did not do so again.
Two men remained in the camp, one
named Eldad, and the other named Medad,
and the spirit rested on them; they were among
those registered, but they had not gone out to
the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp.
And a young man ran and told Moses, Eldad
and Medad are prophesying in the camp.
And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of
Moses, one of his chosen men,b said, My lord
Moses, stop them! But Moses said to him,
Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the
Lords people were prophets, and that the Lord
would put his spirit on them! And Moses
and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
Then a wind went out from the Lord,
and it brought quails from the sea and let
them fall beside the camp, about a days journey on this side and a days journey on the
other side, all around the camp, about two
cubits deep on the ground. So the people
worked all that day and night and all the next
day, gathering the quails; the least anyone

gathered was ten homers; and they spread
them out for themselves all around the camp.
But while the meat was still between their
teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of
the Lord was kindled against the people, and
the Lord struck the people with a very great
plague. So that place was called Kibrothhattaavah,c because there they buried the
people who had the craving. From Kibrothhattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth.
While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam
and Aaron spoke against Moses
because of the Cushite woman whom he
had married (for he had indeed married a
Cushite woman); and they said, Has the
Lord spoken only through Moses? Has he not
spoken through us also? And the Lord heard
it. Now the man Moses was very humble,d
more so than anyone else on the face of the
earth. Suddenly the Lord said to Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam, Come out, you three,
to the tent of meeting. So the three of them
came out. Then the Lord came down in a
pillar of cloud, and stood at the entrance of
the tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and
12
a
b
c
d
Heb Lords hand too short?

Or of Moses from his youth
That is Graves of craving
Or devout
a) to provide this food. God will show that his word is eective. 2430: As for burden-sharing, Moses gathers
seventy elders; God shares Moses spirit with them, and they prophesied. Such a charisma was given to various
leaders (24.2; 27.18; 1 Sam 10.510) and was transferable (2 Kings 2.9). Unlike Moses, they prophesy only once.
Even two elders who remained in the camp (Eldad and Medad) receive a share of Gods spirit. Despite eorts
by Joshua, Moses refuses restriction of Gods word to himself only; indeed, he wishes that all the Lords people
could receive this charisma. 3135: Food provision (see vv.1823) comes in the form of quails (see Ex 16.13; Ps
78.2631), carried into the camp on a wind from the sea, the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat. They cover the ground for miles
to a depth of two cubits (ca. 3 [.9 m]); the least gathered was ten homers (65 bu [230 liters])! Before they had
nished eating, Gods anger was provoked and a plague swept the camp.
12.116: Familial challenge to Moses leadership. 12: Moses status as a unique spokesperson for God is
challenged by Miriam (see Ex 15.1921) and Aaron. Although some sources identify Miriam as Moses sister (see
Num 26.59), in Ex 15.20 she is called the sister of Aaron, and underlying the challenge may be rivalry between
two families. The stated basis for the challenge is that Moses had married a Cushite woman. Cush may refer
to Ethiopia or to an area in Midian (see Hab 3.7) and hence the woman may be Zipporah (10.29; Ex 2.1522), in
which case Aaron and Miriam may be complaining of Zipporahs leadership role or inuence with Moses (see Ex
4.2426; 18.2). 38: Challenges to Moses unique relationship with God are not countenanced, stated generally
(v. 3) and by God to Aaron and Miriam in Moses presence. God customarily speaks to prophets in visions and
dreams, but Moses is dierent for two reasons: he is uniquely entrusted with the house of Israel (Ex 40.38); God
speaks to him directly (Ex 33.11; Deut 34.10) and he sees the form of the Lord, a human form that God assumes
(see 14.14; Ex 24.911). The issue pertains both to what is heard (clarity) and what is seen (God). God assumes
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Lebo-hamath
Great Sea
((M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a)
Damascus
Sea of
H i l l
C
Hebron
R i v e r
Dead S
ea
Jerusalem
C o u
n t
r y
J o r d a n
Genn
nn a ret
nnesa
N e g e b
W i l d e r n e s s
o f
Z i n
0
Kadesh
Spies route
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
The route of the spies in chapter 13.
hebrew bible | 207
numbers 13
they both came forward. And he said, Hear
my words:
When there are prophets among you,
I the Lord make myself known to them
in visions;
I speak to them in dreams.
Not so with my servant Moses;
he is entrusted with all my house.
With him I speak face to face clearly,
not in riddles;
and he beholds the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid to speak
against my servant Moses? And the anger
of the Lord was kindled against them, and he
departed.
When the cloud went away from over the
tent, Miriam had become leprous,a as white
as snow. And Aaron turned towards Miriam
and saw that she was leprous. Then Aaron
said to Moses, Oh, my lord, do not punish usb
for a sin that we have so foolishly committed.
Do not let her be like one stillborn, whose
esh is half consumed when it comes out of
its mothers womb. And Moses cried to the
Lord, OGod, please heal her. But the Lord
said to Moses, If her father had but spit in
her face, would she not bear her shame for
seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp
for seven days, and after that she may be
brought in again. So Miriam was shut out
of the camp for seven days; and the people
did not set out on the march until Miriam had
been brought in again. After that the people
set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the
wilderness of Paran.
The Lord said to Moses, Send men
to spy out the land of Canaan, which I
am giving to the Israelites; from each of their
13
ancestral tribes you shall send a man, every

one a leader among them. So Moses sent
them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them
leading men among the Israelites. These
were their names: From the tribe of Reuben,
Shammua son of Zaccur; from the tribe of
Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; from the tribe
of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; from the
tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; from the
tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; from
the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of
Sodi; from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from
the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi son of Susi;
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of
Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi
son of Vophsi; from the tribe of Gad, Geuel
son of Machi. These were the names of the
men whom Moses sent to spy out the land.
And Moses changed the name of Hoshea son
of Nun to Joshua.
Moses sent them to spy out the land of
Canaan, and said to them, Go up there into
the Negeb, and go up into the hill country,
and see what the land is like, and whether
the people who live in it are strong or weak,
whether they are few or many, and whether
the land they live in is good or bad, and
whether the towns that they live in are unwalled or fortied, and whether the land is
rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it
or not. Be bold, and bring some of the fruit of
uncertain
b Heb do not lay sin upon us
that Miriam and Aaron were aware of this and is angry (11.33). 1016: Miriam becomes leprous (an unidentied
skin disease); Aaron interprets it as a consequence of their foolish sin and pleads ironically that my lord Moses
spare them. 1112: Do not lay sin upon us (see textual note b) is preferable; the eect is intrinsic to the deed. The
whiteness of Miriams skin occasions the stillborn analogy. Why Aaron does not suer the same eects is unknown; cf. Ex 32.2124n. 1315: Moses prays on Miriams behalf; God responds with banishment from the camp
for seven days, either an external sign of shame, or the period required for purication aer skin disease (see Lev
13.4; 14.8). The people honor her by delaying the march until she returns, apparently healed.
13.114.45: The spy mission and decision to a+ack. The seing for chs 1320 is Kadesh(-barnea), 13.26,
about 50 mi (80 km) south of Beersheba in the wilderness of Paran (or Zin, 20.1). This rebellion is decisive for Israels future. Two sources are combined here: in one, only Caleb is righteous, while in the other, both Joshua and
Caleb are righteous. 13.133: Twelve scouts, one from each tribe, are chosen to spy on Canaan at Gods command (see 32.613; Deut 1.2245); most of those named do not occur elsewhere. 1720: Moses gives instructions regarding destination and observations to be made. 17: The Negeb is the semidesert region in southern
208 | hebrew bible
numbers 14
the land. Now it was the season of the rst
ripe grapes.
So they went up and spied out the land
from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near
Lebo-hamath. They went up into the
Negeb, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman,
Sheshai, and Talmai, the Anakites, were
there. (Hebron was built seven years before
Zoan in Egypt.) And they came to the Wadi
Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch
with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them. They
also brought some pomegranates and gs.
That place was called the Wadi Eshcol,a
because of the cluster that the Israelites cut
down from there.
At the end of forty days they returned
from spying out the land. And they came to
Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation
of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran, at
Kadesh; they brought back word to them and
to all the congregation, and showed them the
fruit of the land. And they told him, We
came to the land to which you sent us; it ows
with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet
the people who live in the land are strong, and
the towns are fortied and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
The Amalekites live in the land of the Negeb;
the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites
live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live
by the sea, and along the Jordan.
But Caleb quieted the people before
Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.
Then the men who had gone up with him
said, We are not able to go up against this
people, for they are stronger than we. So
they brought to the Israelites an unfavorable

report of the land that they had spied out,
saying, The land that we have gone through
as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants;
and all the people that we saw in it are of
great size. There we saw the Nephilim (the
Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to
ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and
so we seemed to them.
Then all the congregation raised a
loud cry, and the people wept that
night. And all the Israelites complained
against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, Would that we had
died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we
had died in this wilderness! Why is the
Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the
sword? Our wives and our little ones will
become booty; would it not be better for us
to go back to Egypt? So they said to one
another, Let us choose a captain, and go
back to Egypt.
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces
before all the assembly of the congregation
of the Israelites. And Joshua son of Nun and
Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among
those who had spied out the land, tore their
clothes and said to all the congregation
of the Israelites, The land that we went
through as spies is an exceedingly good land.
If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring
us into this land and give it to us, a land that
ows with milk and honey. Only, do not
rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the
people of the land, for they are no more than
bread for us; their protection is removed from
14
a That is Cluster
Israel. 20: Season of the rst ripe grapes, late summer. 2124: They scout the length of the country, to Rehob, near
Lebo-hamath in the far north (see 34.79n.), though vv. 2224 report only on the Negeb and Judah, from which
they bring back fruit; especially noted is a cluster of grapes (hence the name Eshcol, near Hebron; see translators note a). 22: The Anakites, see v. 33n. 2533: Aer forty days the scouts bring back a mixed report. The initial
report is realistic (vv. 2829); the land is bountiful but lled with strong people and fortied cities. The identity
and placement of indigenous peoples is not always clear (compare 13.29 with 14.25,45; Gen 15.1921), reecting
dierent traditions. 28: Anak, see v. 33n. 29: The Amalekites, a perennial enemy of Israel (Ex 17.816). 3033: A
division occurs among the scouts; Caleb expresses condence, while others give an unfavorable report, voicing alarm at the size of its inhabitants. This report is exaggerated for eect; it succeeds. 33: The Anakites (vv.
22,28,33), a people giant in stature and associated with the Nephilim (see Gen 6.4; Josh 15.14). 14.145: Seduced
by the negative report, the people despise Gods promise of land and complain against Moses and Aaron for
fear of their lives and the fate of their dependents (see 31.1318). 4: They plot to choose a new leader and reverse
the Exodus. 510a: They persist in spite of the leaders urgent pleas (fell on their faces; 16.4,22), expressions of
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numbers 14
them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear
them. But the whole congregation threatened to stone them.
Then the glory of the Lord appeared at
the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. And
the Lord said to Moses, How long will this
people despise me? And how long will they
refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the
signs that I have done among them? I will
strike them with pestilence and disinherit
them, and I will make of you a nation greater
and mightier than they.
But Moses said to the Lord, Then the
Egyptians will hear of it, for in your might
you brought up this people from among
them, and they will tell the inhabitants of
this land. They have heard that you, OLord,
are in the midst of this people; for you,
OLord, are seen face to face, and your cloud
stands over them and you go in front of them,
in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of
re by night. Now if you kill this people
all at one time, then the nations who have
heard about you will say, It is because the
Lord was not able to bring this people into
the land he swore to give them that he has
slaughtered them in the wilderness. And
now, therefore, let the power of the Lord be
great in the way that you promised when you
spoke, saying,
The Lord is slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love,
forgiving iniquity and transgression,
but by no means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the parents
upon the children

to the third and the fourth generation.
Forgive the iniquity of this people according
to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as
you have pardoned this people, from Egypt
even until now.
Then the Lord said, I do forgive, just
as you have asked; neverthelessas I live,
and as all the earth shall be lled with the
glory of the Lord none of the people
who have seen my glory and the signs that I
did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet
have tested me these ten times and have not
obeyed my voice, shall see the land that
I swore to give to their ancestors; none of
those who despised me shall see it. But
my servant Caleb, because he has a dierent
spirit and has followed me wholeheartedly, I
will bring into the land into which he went,
and his descendants shall possess it. Now,
since the Amalekites and the Canaanites live
in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for
the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.a
And the Lord spoke to Moses and to
Aaron, saying: How long shall this wicked
congregation complain against me? I have
heard the complaints of the Israelites, which
they complain against me. Say to them,
As I live, says the Lord, I will do to you
the very things I heard you say: your dead
bodies shall fall in this very wilderness; and
of all your number, included in the census,
from twenty years old and upward, who have
a Or Sea of Reeds
distress (tore their clothes; Gen 37.34), and assurances that the indigenous peoples are but bread to eat (compare
13.32; Ps 14.4) and their gods will provide no protection, . . . the Lord is with us. Rather than rejoice in the report
of an exceedingly good land and trust that God will see to the promise, the people rebel against the Lord and
threaten the leaders with death. 10b38: To these developments God responds (glory is the divine manifestation in a ery cloud; see 9.1523n.). This response has several dimensions. 1112: God voices a lament (repeated
in v. 26), echoing those of the people and Moses (11.1114). God announces a disastrous judgment (cf. Ex 9.15);
God will disown Israel and start over with Moses (cf. Ex 32.910). This announcement is preliminary, a point
for debate with Moses (see 16.2021). 1338: God engages Moses in conversation. Moses argues (compare Ex
32.1114) that Gods reputation among the nations is at stake; they will conclude that God failed them. Their
opinion should count with God. Moses also appeals to Gods promise (see Ex 34.67), pleading for God to act
according to his steadfast love: forgiving the people as God had done ten times (v. 22; cf. Gen 31.7). God forgives
Israel (v. 20), but forgiveness does not cut o all consequences; the old generation will die in the wilderness
and their children suer for the adults indelity (vv. 2735; 26.6465; 32.1012). I will do to you the very things
I heard you say (v. 28). In eect: your will, not mine, is granted. Judgment is intrinsic to the deed (you shall bear
your iniquity, v. 34; 32.23). Yet, the consequences are soened: the children and the clans of Caleb and Joshua
(vv. 24,30,38; see Josh 14.614) will enter the land. But the rest of the people must continue their wandering for
210 | hebrew bible
numbers 15
complained against me, not one of you
shall come into the land in which I swore
to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. But your little
ones, who you said would become booty, I
will bring in, and they shall know the land
that you have despised. But as for you,
your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.
And your children shall be shepherds in the
wilderness for forty years, and shall suer
for your faithlessness, until the last of your
dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you
spied out the land, forty days, for every day a
year, you shall bear your iniquity, forty years,
and you shall know my displeasure. I the
Lord have spoken; surely I will do thus to all
this wicked congregation gathered together
against me: in this wilderness they shall come
to a full end, and there they shall die.
And the men whom Moses sent to spy
out the land, who returned and made all the
congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report about the land the men
who brought an unfavorable report about the
land died by a plague before the Lord. But
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh alone remained alive, of those men who
went to spy out the land.
When Moses told these words to all
the Israelites, the people mourned greatly.
They rose early in the morning and went
up to the heights of the hill country, saying,
Here we are. We will go up to the place that
the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.
But Moses said, Why do you continue to
transgress the command of the Lord? That
will not succeed. Do not go up, for the
Lord is not with you; do not let yourselves be
struck down before your enemies. For the
Amalekites and the Canaanites will confront
you there, and you shall fall by the sword;
because you have turned back from follow-
ing the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.

But they presumed to go up to the heights
of the hill country, even though the ark of the
covenant of the Lord, and Moses, had not left
the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came
down and defeated them, pursuing them as
far as Hormah.
Speak to the Israelites and say to
them: When you come into the land you are
to inhabit, which I am giving you, and you
make an oering by re to the Lord from
the herd or from the ockwhether a burnt
oering or a sacrice, to fulll a vow or as a
freewill oering or at your appointed festivalsto make a pleasing odor for the Lord,
then whoever presents such an oering to
the Lord shall present also a grain oering,
one-tenth of an ephah of choice our, mixed
with one-fourth of a hin of oil. Moreover,
you shall oer one-fourth of a hin of wine
as a drink oering with the burnt oering or
the sacrice, for each lamb. For a ram, you
shall oer a grain oering, two-tenths of an
ephah of choice our mixed with one-third of
a hin of oil; and as a drink oering you shall
oer one-third of a hin of wine, a pleasing
odor to the Lord. When you oer a bull as
a burnt oering or a sacrice, to fulll a vow
or as an oering of well-being to the Lord,
then you shall present with the bull a grain
oering, three-tenths of an ephah of choice
our, mixed with half a hin of oil, and you
shall present as a drink oering half a hin of
wine, as an oering by re, a pleasing odor to
the Lord.
Thus it shall be done for each ox or ram,
or for each of the male lambs or the kids.
According to the number that you oer,
so you shall do with each and every one.
Every native Israelite shall do these things
in this way, in presenting an oering by re,
15
a generation until they die. 3945: The people mourn over the loss, confess their sin, and seek to make things
right by taking the land on their own; but they are defeated, for neither God (in the ark) nor Moses goes with
them. 45: Hormah, a city near Beersheba (see 21.23).
15.141: Statutes for life in the land. The narrative is interrupted by a series of statutes for when you come
into the land (15.2,18); God still intends a future for them. The statutes also apply to outsiders, who have equal
status before God concerning many issues relating to the land: you and the alien shall be alike before the Lord (v.
15). 116: A grain oering (our mixed with oil) and a drink oering (wine)agricultural productsshall accompany each oering by re listed in 15.3, rather than selective instances (see Lev 17). 3: Pleasing odor, see Gen
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numbers 15
a pleasing odor to the Lord. An alien who
lives with you, or who takes up permanent
residence among you, and wishes to oer an
oering by re, a pleasing odor to the Lord,
shall do as you do. As for the assembly,
there shall be for both you and the resident
alien a single statute, a perpetual statute
throughout your generations; you and the
alien shall be alike before the Lord. You and
the alien who resides with you shall have the
same law and the same ordinance.
Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
After you come into the land to which I am
bringing you, whenever you eat of the
bread of the land, you shall present a donation to the Lord. From your rst batch of
dough you shall present a loaf as a donation;
you shall present it just as you present a donation from the threshing oor. Throughout your generations you shall give to the
Lord a donation from the rst of your batch
of dough.
But if you unintentionally fail to observe
all these commandments that the Lord has
spoken to Moses everything that the
Lord has commanded you by Moses, from
the day the Lord gave commandment and
thereafter, throughout your generations
then if it was done unintentionally without
the knowledge of the congregation, the whole
congregation shall oer one young bull for a
burnt oering, a pleasing odor to the Lord,
together with its grain oering and its drink
oering, according to the ordinance, and one
male goat for a sin oering. The priest shall
make atonement for all the congregation of
the Israelites, and they shall be forgiven; it
was unintentional, and they have brought

their oering, an oering by re to the Lord,
and their sin oering before the Lord, for
their error. All the congregation of the Israelites shall be forgiven, as well as the aliens
residing among them, because the whole
people was involved in the error.
An individual who sins unintentionally shall present a female goat a year old for
a sin oering. And the priest shall make
atonement before the Lord for the one who
commits an error, when it is unintentional,
to make atonement for the person, who
then shall be forgiven. For both the native
among the Israelites and the alien residing
among themyou shall have the same law
for anyone who acts in error. But whoever
acts high-handedly, whether a native or an
alien, aronts the Lord, and shall be cut o
from among the people. Because of having
despised the word of the Lord and broken his
commandment, such a person shall be utterly
cut o and bear the guilt.
When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks
on the sabbath day. Those who found
him gathering sticks brought him to Moses, Aaron, and to the whole congregation.
They put him in custody, because it was not
clear what should be done to him. Then the
Lord said to Moses, The man shall be put to
death; all the congregation shall stone him
outside the camp. The whole congregation
brought him outside the camp and stoned
him to death, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the
Israelites, and tell them to make fringes on
8.21; Ex 29.18; Lev 1.9; etc. 4: One-tenth of an ephah, ca. 2 qts (2.3 liters). Hin, ca. 1 gal (3.8 liters). 1721: Prescribes
a donation of one loaf from the rst batch of dough to acknowledge that all such gis come from God. Broadens earlier statutes regarding rst fruits to include that produced by humans (see Lev 23.914; Num 18.1318).
2236: Sacrices for atonement for unintentional sins (Lev 4.1321), for the whole people (vv. 2226) and for
the individual (vv. 2729), and penalties for individuals who act high-handedly, i.e., who are unrepentant (vv.
3031). In 5.58 (Lev 6.7) intentional sins can be atoned for, apparently because the persons are repentant. Sacrices are a God-given means through which to obtain forgiveness. 3031: Cut o, see 9.13n. 3236: Intentional
sabbath-breaking illustrates such deance. The mans labor carried the death penalty (Ex 31.1415; 35.23); yet
it was not clear how to proceedperhaps some thought that this was too minor a violation, or it was unclear
if the penalty should be enforced by the community or by God. Lev 24.1023 and Num 9.614 narrate other
cases requiring a divine oracle to clarify a laws applicability. 3741: Pertains to clothing (see Deut 22.12). Tassels, worn in the ancient Near East by royalty, are to be aached to each corner of everyones garments, with a
blue(-purple) cord on each, a public sign of Israels status as a holy people and a reminder of what that entailed.
212 | hebrew bible
numbers 16
the corners of their garments throughout
their generations and to put a blue cord on the
fringe at each corner. You have the fringe so
that, when you see it, you will remember all
the commandments of the Lord and do them,
and not follow the lust of your own heart and
your own eyes. So you shall remember and
do all my commandments, and you shall be
holy to your God. I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to
be your God: I am the Lord your God.
Now Korah son of Izhar son of Kohath
son of Levi, along with Dathan and
Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth
descendants of Reubentook two hundred
fty Israelite men, leaders of the congregation,
chosen from the assembly, well-known men,a
and they confronted Moses. They assembled
against Moses and against Aaron, and said to
them, You have gone too far! All the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the
Lord is among them. So why then do you exalt
yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?
When Moses heard it, he fell on his face.
Then he said to Korah and all his company,
In the morning the Lord will make known
who is his, and who is holy, and who will be
allowed to approach him; the one whom he
will choose he will allow to approach him. Do
this: take censers, Korah and all yourb company, and tomorrow put re in them, and lay
16
incense on them before the Lord; and the man

whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one.
You Levites have gone too far! Then Moses
said to Korah, Hear now, you Levites! Is it
too little for you that the God of Israel has
separated you from the congregation of Israel,
to allow you to approach him in order to perform the duties of the Lords tabernacle, and
to stand before the congregation and serve
them? He has allowed you to approach him,
and all your brother Levites with you; yet you
seek the priesthood as well! Therefore you
and all your company have gathered together
against the Lord. What is Aaron that you rail
against him?
Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram sons
of Eliab; but they said, We will not come! Is
it too little that you have brought us up out of
a land owing with milk and honey to kill us
in the wilderness, that you must also lord it
over us? It is clear you have not brought us
into a land owing with milk and honey, or
given us an inheritance of elds and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these
men? We will not come!
Moses was very angry and said to the
Lord, Pay no attention to their oering. I
a Cn: Heb and they confronted Moses, and two
hundred fty men . . . well-known men
b Heb his
The call to be holy (v. 40; Lev 19.2) is a call to be true to the relationship in which they already stand.
16.150: The rebellions of Korah and others. Numbers 1618 focus on issues relating to legitimacy of leadership, especially service in the tabernacle. Two rebellions are reported, one by Korah and others (vv. 140); a second by the whole congregation in response to their deaths (vv. 4150). Conict between Levites and Aaronides
may reect later controversies among rival priestly groups (see 12.116; 17.113). The rst rebellion is composite,
combining separate rebellions by Korah and his band, and of Dathan and Abiram and their followers. 121:
Korah belonged to the Levite clan responsible for the tabernacles most holy things (4.4). 23: He is joined by
other Levites, the Reubenites Dathan, Abiram, and On, along with two hundred y other leaders; they challenge Moses and Aaron: You have gone too far . . . you exalt yourselves (see v. 13). Their claim that every one is holy
is correct (15.40; Deut 7.6); the problem is the implication that Aaron and Moses are not more holy than they.
The issue is not simply priestly status for all Levites (so Moses, v. 10), though this is primary. The presence of
the group from Reuben reveals another interest: extending secular leadership prerogatives to representatives
from all twelve tribes. 421: Aer he fell on his face (14.5), Moses proposes a test. The antagonists are to bring
censers (metal trays on which incense is burned, Lev 10.12) to the tabernacle and prepare them for oering
incense. If God accepts their oerings, priestly status would be recognized. 57: And who is holy assumes gradations of holiness. God will decide the identity of the holy one who is to approach him (i.e., the altar); this entails
a holiness that sets him apart from other holy ones. 811: The Levites challenge to Aarons leadership is a move
against the Lord, elevating privilege above service. 1214: Speaking to challenges to his own leadership, Moses
sends for Dathan and Abiram. They twice refuse, and ironically even call Egypt a land of milk and honey. 1521:
Reverting to the Korah story of vv. 811, Moses tells God to ignore their oerings and repeats his instructions
hebrew bible | 213
numbers 16
have not taken one donkey from them, and
I have not harmed any one of them. And
Moses said to Korah, As for you and all your
company, be present tomorrow before the
Lord, you and they and Aaron; and let each
one of you take his censer, and put incense
on it, and each one of you present his censer
before the Lord, two hundred fty censers;
you also, and Aaron, each his censer. So
each man took his censer, and they put re
in the censers and laid incense on them,
and they stood at the entrance of the tent
of meeting with Moses and Aaron. Then
Korah assembled the whole congregation
against them at the entrance of the tent of
meeting. And the glory of the Lord appeared
to the whole congregation.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to
Aaron, saying: Separate yourselves from
this congregation, so that I may consume
them in a moment. They fell on their faces,
and said, OGod, the God of the spirits of all
esh, shall one person sin and you become
angry with the whole congregation?
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Say to the congregation: Get away from the
dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. So
Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram; the elders of Israel followed him. He
said to the congregation, Turn away from
the tents of these wicked men, and touch
nothing of theirs, or you will be swept away
for all their sins. So they got away from
the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram;
and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood
at the entrance of their tents, together with
their wives, their children, and their little
ones. And Moses said, This is how you
shall know that the Lord has sent me to do
all these works; it has not been of my own
accord: If these people die a natural death,

or if a natural fate comes on them, then the
Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens
its mouth and swallows them up, with all that
belongs to them, and they go down alive into
Sheol, then you shall know that these men
have despised the Lord.
As soon as he nished speaking all
these words, the ground under them was
split apart. The earth opened its mouth
and swallowed them up, along with their
householdseveryone who belonged to
Korah and all their goods. So they with all
that belonged to them went down alive into
Sheol; the earth closed over them, and they
perished from the midst of the assembly.
All Israel around them ed at their outcry,
for they said, The earth will swallow us
too! And re came out from the Lord and
consumed the two hundred fty men oering
the incense.
aThen the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to take
the censers out of the blaze; then scatter the
re far and wide. For the censers of these
sinners have become holy at the cost of their
lives. Make them into hammered plates as
a covering for the altar, for they presented
them before the Lord and they became holy.
Thus they shall be a sign to the Israelites.
So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that had been presented by those who
were burned; and they were hammered out as
a covering for the altar a reminder to the
Israelites that no outsider, who is not of the
descendants of Aaron, shall approach to oer
incense before the Lord, so as not to become
a Ch 17.1 in Heb
to Korah, adding that Aaron is also to appear. Each man stands before the Lord at the tent with their censers
prepared. Korah assembles the entire congregation, apparently sympathetic. The glory of the Lord appears (cf.
9.1516); God determines to destroy the congregation. 2234: Moses and Aaron intercede; not all should bear
the consequences for one person. The phrase the God of the spirits of all esh (see 27.16) appeals to God as creator,
who gives breath to all. God responds positively, separating the congregation from the rebels and their families.
Moses sets up a test to demonstrate that this is Gods decision. 2930: If these people die a natural death, then
he is wrong; if God creates something new (a creation for this moment) and the ground opens up and swallows
them, and they descend alive to Sheol (the abode of the dead), then they have despised the Lord. 3234: The latter happens immediately to everyone who belonged to Korah (see 26.910; Deut 11.6; Ps 106.17). 3540: Upon the
killing of the two hundred y men, aention is given to their censers, which became holy because of the use
to which they were put. Gathered from the re by Eleazar, Aarons son (see Lev 21.11), they are hammered into
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numbers 17
like Korah and his companyjust as the
Lord had said to him through Moses.
On the next day, however, the whole
congregation of the Israelites rebelled
against Moses and against Aaron, saying,
You have killed the people of the Lord.
And when the congregation had assembled
against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting; the cloud had covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared.
Then Moses and Aaron came to the front
of the tent of meeting, and the Lord spoke
to Moses, saying, Get away from this
congregation, so that I may consume them
in a moment. And they fell on their faces.
Moses said to Aaron, Take your censer,
put re on it from the altar and lay incense
on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation
and make atonement for them. For wrath
has gone out from the Lord; the plague has
begun. So Aaron took it as Moses had
ordered, and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague had already begun
among the people. He put on the incense,
and made atonement for the people. He
stood between the dead and the living; and
the plague was stopped. Those who died
by the plague were fourteen thousand seven
hundred, besides those who died in the aair
of Korah. When the plague was stopped,
Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of
the tent of meeting.
aThe Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Speak to the Israelites, and get twelve
stas from them, one for each ancestral
house, from all the leaders of their ancestral
17
houses. Write each mans name on his sta,

and write Aarons name on the sta of Levi.
For there shall be one sta for the head of
each ancestral house. Place them in the
tent of meeting before the covenant,b where
I meet with you. And the sta of the man
whom I choose shall sprout; thus I will put a
stop to the complaints of the Israelites that
they continually make against you. Moses
spoke to the Israelites; and all their leaders
gave him stas, one for each leader, according to their ancestral houses, twelve stas;
and the sta of Aaron was among theirs. So
Moses placed the stas before the Lord in the
tent of the covenant.b
When Moses went into the tent of the
covenantb on the next day, the staff of
Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted.
It put forth buds, produced blossoms, and
bore ripe almonds. Then Moses brought
out all the staffs from before the Lord to
all the Israelites; and they looked, and each
man took his staff. And the Lord said to
Moses, Put back the staff of Aaron before
the covenant,b to be kept as a warning to
rebels, so that you may make an end of their
complaints against me, or else they will
die. Moses did so; just as the Lord commanded him, so he did.
The Israelites said to Moses, We are
perishing; we are lost, all of us are lost! Everyone who approaches the tabernacle of the
Lord will die. Are we all to perish?
a Ch 17.16 in Heb
an altar covering, to serve as a reminder that only Aaronides can approach the Lord. 4150: The congregation
blames Moses and Aaron, threatening them. The glory of the Lord appears and God threatens to annihilate
them (see 16.1922). Moses and Aaron intercede and act to atone for the intentional sins of the people. 48: They
stood between the dead and the living, because a plague had already broken out. The action stops the plague,
but not before 14,700 died.
17.113: Aarons blossoming sta. God again demonstrates the priestly status of Aaron. Like the bronze covering for the altar (16.38), Aarons sta serves as an ongoing visual sign of Gods choice of Aaron. This story is best
designated a legend, with parallels in many cultures. Gods eort on Aarons behalf is seled by another ordeal.
47: Moses places twelve stas, each inscribed with a leaders name, before the covenant, i.e., the ark (10.3336;
Ex 16.3334; 25.16,21). Aarons sta, (of the house of Levi) the powers of which have been demonstrated (Ex
7.812,19; 8.1617), was added to them. God set the terms: the sta that sprouts indicates the leader God had
chosen for priestly prerogatives. 813: The following morning only Aarons sta had owered and it bore ripe
almonds (symbolic of life-enhancing capacities of priests). Showing the evidence to the people, Moses puts the
sta before the ark, to be kept as a warning (sign) to the rebels. God had performed such a sign to put a stop to the
complaints . . . against you (pl.; v. 5) and me (v. 10). For prophetic usage of this image, see Isa 11.12.
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numbers 18
18
The Lord said to Aaron: You and your

sons and your ancestral house with
you shall bear responsibility for oenses
connected with the sanctuary, while you
and your sons alone shall bear responsibility
for oenses connected with the priesthood.
So bring with you also your brothers of the
tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, in order
that they may be joined to you, and serve
you while you and your sons with you are in
front of the tent of the covenant.a They shall
perform duties for you and for the whole
tent. But they must not approach either the
utensils of the sanctuary or the altar, otherwise both they and you will die. They are
attached to you in order to perform the duties
of the tent of meeting, for all the service of
the tent; no outsider shall approach you.
You yourselves shall perform the duties of
the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, so
that wrath may never again come upon the
Israelites. It is I who now take your brother
Levites from among the Israelites; they are
now yours as a gift, dedicated to the Lord,
to perform the service of the tent of meeting. But you and your sons with you shall
diligently perform your priestly duties in all
that concerns the altar and the area behind
the curtain. I give your priesthood as a gift; b
any outsider who approaches shall be put to
death.
The Lord spoke to Aaron: I have given
you charge of the oerings made to me, all
the holy gifts of the Israelites; I have given
them to you and your sons as a priestly portion due you in perpetuity. This shall be
yours from the most holy things, reserved
from the re: every oering of theirs that
they render to me as a most holy thing,
whether grain oering, sin oering, or guilt

oering, shall belong to you and your sons.
As a most holy thing you shall eat it; every
male may eat it; it shall be holy to you. This
also is yours: I have given to you, together
with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual
due, whatever is set aside from the gifts of
all the elevation oerings of the Israelites;
everyone who is clean in your house may
eat them. All the best of the oil and all the
best of the wine and of the grain, the choice
produce that they give to the Lord, I have
given to you. The rst fruits of all that is
in their land, which they bring to the Lord,
shall be yours; everyone who is clean in your
house may eat of it. Every devoted thing in
Israel shall be yours. The rst issue of the
womb of all creatures, human and animal,
which is oered to the Lord, shall be yours;
but the rstborn of human beings you shall
redeem, and the rstborn of unclean animals
you shall redeem. Their redemption price,
reckoned from one month of age, you shall
x at ve shekels of silver, according to
the shekel of the sanctuary (that is, twenty
gerahs). But the rstborn of a cow, or the
rstborn of a sheep, or the rstborn of a goat,
you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall
dash their blood on the altar, and shall turn
their fat into smoke as an oering by re
for a pleasing odor to the Lord; but their
esh shall be yours, just as the breast that is
elevated and as the right thigh are yours. All
the holy oerings that the Israelites present
to the Lord I have given to you, together with
your sons and daughters, as a perpetual due;
b Heb as a service of gift
18.132: Rights and responsibilities of priests and Levites. In response to the peoples lament of 17.13, ch 18
is a recapitulation and redenition of the responsibilities of priests and Levites along with their means of support. 17: Gathers previous material (see 1.5053; 3.510,1439; 4.133; 8.1419) and delineates the relationship
among the various groups regarding their duties at the tent of meeting. The protection of the community (i.e.,
outsiders, including Levites; vv. 4,7) from wrath (v. 5; see 1.53) is a prime concern (18.1,45,7,22). Priesthood is
a gi from God as is the sanctuary service of their brother Levites (vv. 2, 6; see 8.19). 832: A review (from Lev
67; 27) of the God-commanded portion due the Aaronides from the people (vv. 820), and from the Levites (vv.
2532, a new provision), and that due to the Levites (18.2124), in perpetuity (vv. 8,11,19,23). 820: The portion
due to the Aaronides consists of those holy gis the people give to God, who in turn gives it to the priests and
Levites for their support and for the sanctuary. 910: The most holy things are oerings for the priests (parts
reserved from the re, not burned). 1119: Species the holy oerings; they are a covenant of salt forever before
the Lord (v. 19). Salt, a preservative presented with all oerings, becomes a symbol for an everlasting covenant
216 | hebrew bible
numbers 19
it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord
for you and your descendants as well. Then
the Lord said to Aaron: You shall have no allotment in their land, nor shall you have any
share among them; I am your share and your
possession among the Israelites.
To the Levites I have given every tithe
in Israel for a possession in return for the
service that they perform, the service in the
tent of meeting. From now on the Israelites shall no longer approach the tent of
meeting, or else they will incur guilt and die.
But the Levites shall perform the service
of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear
responsibility for their own oenses; it shall
be a perpetual statute throughout your generations. But among the Israelites they shall
have no allotment, because I have given to
the Levites as their portion the tithe of the
Israelites, which they set apart as an oering
to the Lord. Therefore I have said of them
that they shall have no allotment among the
Israelites.
You shall speak to the Levites, saying:
When you receive from the Israelites the
tithe that I have given you from them for
your portion, you shall set apart an offering
from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe. It
shall be reckoned to you as your gift, the
same as the grain of the threshing floor and
the fullness of the wine press. Thus you
also shall set apart an offering to the Lord
from all the tithes that you receive from the
Israelites; and from them you shall give the
Lords offering to the priest Aaron. Out of

all the gifts to you, you shall set apart every
offering due to the Lord; the best of all of
them is the part to be consecrated. Say
also to them: When you have set apart the
best of it, then the rest shall be reckoned
to the Levites as produce of the threshing
floor, and as produce of the wine press.
You may eat it in any place, you and your
households; for it is your payment for your
service in the tent of meeting. You shall
incur no guilt by reason of it, when you
have offered the best of it. But you shall not
profane the holy gifts of the Israelites, on
pain of death.
saying: This is a statute of the law that
the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites
to bring you a red heifer without defect, in
which there is no blemish and on which no
yoke has been laid. You shall give it to the
priest Eleazar, and it shall be taken outside
the camp and slaughtered in his presence.
The priest Eleazar shall take some of its
blood with his nger and sprinkle it seven
times towards the front of the tent of meeting. Then the heifer shall be burned in his
sight; its skin, its esh, and its blood, with its
dung, shall be burned. The priest shall take
cedarwood, hyssop, and crimson material,
and throw them into the re in which the
heifer is burning. Then the priest shall wash
his clothes and bathe his body in water, and
afterwards he may come into the camp; but
the priest shall remain unclean until evening.
19
(Lev 2.13; 2 Chr 13.5). Firstborn, see Ex 13.1113. 20: Gods commitment to the Aaronides in perpetuity, for they
have no allotment, that is, property. I am your share; they are dependent for life and health upon the gis of God,
mediated through human beings. 2124: The Levites portion is the Israelites tithe of agricultural produce. The
tithe (one-tenth) belongs to God (v. 24) but is given to the Levites. They also have no tribal territory, but are
given forty-eight cities with pasture land (see 35.18). 2532: The Levites are to give a tithe of the tithe they have
received (the best of it) to the Aaronides, reecting the highest status of that group. The other nine-tenths is no
longer holy and becomes their ownas your payment for your service. But, if they do not give their tithe, that
will profane the holy gis, and they shall die.
19.122: Ritual of the red heifer. Provisions for rituals of purication upon contact with a corpse (expanding
5.14). 110: Species the procedure by which a cleansing agent was prepared under the supervision of the
priest. Eleazar is charged with this duty (Aaron dies at 20.28); he and his assistants must be ritually clean, but
they become unclean upon contact with the holy and short-term decontamination rituals are prescribed for
each. The unblemished (brown-) red heifer (more precisely, cow) perhaps symbolized blood/life. The burning
of the animal (including its blood/life, v. 5, uniquely here) may have concentrated life in the ashes, which, when
mixed with water and applied to the unclean person or thing, would counteract the contagious impurity of
death. The placement of cedarwood, hyssop, and crimson yarn (probably symbolizing blood), during the burning
hebrew bible | 217
Great Sea
Sea off
Gennesaret
nnesar
H
A
bok
di Jab
Wa
Ki
ng
R i v e r
s
Hi
gh
wa
J o r d a n
Edrei
Jericho
Dead S
ea
Mt. Pisgah
Mt. Nebo
Heshbon
Medeba
Dibon
Wa d i
Arno
M O A B
N e g e b
Wa d i
Ze re d
E D O M
W i l d e r n e s s
o f
Z i n
0
Kadesh
Conicts in the Negreb and Transjordan.
218 | hebrew bible
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
numbers 20
The one who burns the heifera shall wash
his clothes in water and bathe his body in
water; he shall remain unclean until evening.
Then someone who is clean shall gather up
the ashes of the heifer, and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall
be kept for the congregation of the Israelites
for the water for cleansing. It is a purication
oering. The one who gathers the ashes
of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be
unclean until evening.
This shall be a perpetual statute for the
Israelites and for the alien residing among
them. Those who touch the dead body of
any human being shall be unclean seven
days. They shall purify themselves with the
water on the third day and on the seventh
day, and so be clean; but if they do not purify
themselves on the third day and on the
seventh day, they will not become clean. All
who touch a corpse, the body of a human
being who has died, and do not purify themselves, dele the tabernacle of the Lord; such
persons shall be cut o from Israel. Since
water for cleansing was not dashed on them,
they remain unclean; their uncleanness is
still on them.
This is the law when someone dies in a
tent: everyone who comes into the tent, and
everyone who is in the tent, shall be unclean
seven days. And every open vessel with no
cover fastened on it is unclean. Whoever
in the open eld touches one who has been
killed by a sword, or who has died naturally,b
or a human bone, or a grave, shall be unclean
seven days. For the unclean they shall take
some ashes of the burnt purication oering,
and running water shall be added in a vessel;
then a clean person shall take hyssop, dip
it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on
all the furnishings, on the persons who were

there, and on whoever touched the bone, the
slain, the corpse, or the grave. The clean
person shall sprinkle the unclean ones on the
third day and on the seventh day, thus purifying them on the seventh day. Then they shall
wash their clothes and bathe themselves in
water, and at evening they shall be clean.
Any who are unclean but do not purify
themselves, those persons shall be cut o
from the assembly, for they have deled the
sanctuary of the Lord. Since the water for
cleansing has not been dashed on them, they
are unclean.
It shall be a perpetual statute for them.
The one who sprinkles the water for cleansing
shall wash his clothes, and whoever touches
the water for cleansing shall be unclean until
evening. Whatever the unclean person
touches shall be unclean, and anyone who
touches it shall be unclean until evening.
The Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin
in the rst month, and the people stayed in
Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried
there.
Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses
and against Aaron. The people quarreled
with Moses and said, Would that we had
died when our kindred died before the Lord!
Why have you brought the assembly of the
Lord into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? Why have you brought us
up out of Egypt, to bring us to this wretched
place? It is no place for grain, or gs, or vines,
or pomegranates; and there is no water to
20
a Heb it
b Heb lacks naturally
intensied the ashes purifying quality. 1122: Verses 1113, detailed in vv. 1422, specify the use to which the
ashes and running water are put for persons and things that have had contact with death. As in other cases (see
Lev 12.2) they are unclean for seven days; to become clean, they must twice be sprinkled with this mixture by a
clean person (vv. 1719; 19.9; 5.34). Otherwise, they dele the tabernacle where God dwells (5.3) and shall be cut
o from Israel (vv. 13,20; see 9.13) for the sake of the communitys wholeness.
20.129: The disobedience of Moses and Aaron. Explains why Israels key leaders did not enter Canaan,
marked especially by the rebellion of Moses and Aaron (compare Ex 17.17, also at Meribah, quarrel). 1: Kadesh,
see 13.26. Gods command to journey back toward Egypt (14.25) was carried out and so they arrive again in
Kadesh (seing out again in 20.22). 213: The people again complain about wilderness conditions, this time
that there was no water (vv. 2,5; compare 14.24). Moses and Aaron fall on their faces and turn toward God (14.5;
16.4); again the glory of the Lord appears (9.1516). The reader expects judgment, but God recognizes that the
hebrew bible | 219
numbers 20
drink. Then Moses and Aaron went away
from the assembly to the entrance of the tent
of meeting; they fell on their faces, and the
glory of the Lord appeared to them. The
Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take the sta,
and assemble the congregation, you and your
brother Aaron, and command the rock before
their eyes to yield its water. Thus you shall
bring water out of the rock for them; thus you
shall provide drink for the congregation and
their livestock.
So Moses took the sta from before the
Lord, as he had commanded him. Moses
and Aaron gathered the assembly together
before the rock, and he said to them, Listen,
you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of
this rock? Then Moses lifted up his hand
and struck the rock twice with his sta; water
came out abundantly, and the congregation
and their livestock drank. But the Lord
said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did
not trust in me, to show my holiness before
the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall
not bring this assembly into the land that I
have given them. These are the waters of
Meribah,a where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and by which he showed
his holiness.
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to
the king of Edom, Thus says your brother
Israel: You know all the adversity that has
befallen us: how our ancestors went down
to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time;
and the Egyptians oppressed us and our
ancestors; and when we cried to the Lord,
he heard our voice, and sent an angel and

brought us out of Egypt; and here we are in
Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. Now let us pass through your land.
We will not pass through eld or vineyard, or
drink water from any well; we will go along
the Kings Highway, not turning aside to the
right hand or to the left until we have passed
through your territory.
But Edom said to him, You shall not
pass through, or we will come out with the
sword against you. The Israelites said to
him, We will stay on the highway; and if we
drink of your water, we and our livestock,
then we will pay for it. It is only a small matter; just let us pass through on foot. But
he said, You shall not pass through. And
Edom came out against them with a large
force, heavily armed. Thus Edom refused to
give Israel passage through their territory; so
Israel turned away from them.
They set out from Kadesh, and the
Israelites, the whole congregation, came to
Mount Hor. Then the Lord said to Moses
and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of
the land of Edom, Let Aaron be gathered to his people. For he shall not enter
the land that I have given to the Israelites,
because you rebelled against my command
at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and
his son Eleazar, and bring them up Mount
Hor; strip Aaron of his vestments, and put
them on his son Eleazar. But Aaron shall be
a That is Quarrel
need for water is real. 89: God commands Moses to take the sta . . . from before the Lord (in the tent, 17.1011)
and command [i.e., speak to] the rock before their eyes to yield its water. 1013: Moses asks the people: Shall we
bring water for you out of the rock? With this self-reference rather than God, he strikes (rather than commands)
the rock twice with his sta, and water ows. Gods response is negative: Moses and Aaron did not trust in God
(Deut 32.51, broke faith) to show my holiness before the people (but see v. 13) and hence they will not lead the
people into the land. They rebelled against my command or word (20.24; 27.14); Deut 1.37; 3.26; 4.21; Ps 106.3233
qualify Moses fault. The text is unclear about the precise oense, and the judgment seems not to match the
action, but the point seems to be that they compromised Gods holiness before the eyes of the Israelites. The end
result (here, water to drink) is not the only thing that counts as a witness to God, but also the means by which
it is achieved. Water does not materialize out of thin air but courses through rock formations. God works in
and through the natural to provide (see ch 11). 1421: Request to pass through Edom, to enter Canaan from the
east (compare 14.3945). 14: King of Edom, Gen 36.3139. Your brother, Gen 25.2426. Edom refuses. 16: Angel,
Ex 14.19; 23.2023; 33.2. 17: The Kings Highway is the major north-south route through Transjordan. A show of
military force convinces Israel to go around Edom (see Judg 11.1718; Deut 2.48). 2229: Death of Aaron and
installation of Eleazar (see v. 12). 22: Mount Hors location is unknown. 2628: Aarons vestments (Ex 28) are
transferred to Eleazar before the whole congregation, signifying continuity (Deut 32.50). Aaron dies (gathered [to
220 | hebrew bible
numbers 21
gathered to his people,a and shall die there.
Moses did as the Lord had commanded;
they went up Mount Hor in the sight of the
whole congregation. Moses stripped Aaron
of his vestments, and put them on his son
Eleazar; and Aaron died there on the top of
the mountain. Moses and Eleazar came down
from the mountain. When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of
Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.
When the Canaanite, the king of Arad,
who lived in the Negeb, heard that
Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he
fought against Israel and took some of them
captive. Then Israel made a vow to the Lord
and said, If you will indeed give this people
into our hands, then we will utterly destroy
their towns. The Lord listened to the voice
of Israel, and handed over the Canaanites;
and they utterly destroyed them and their
towns; so the place was called Hormah.b
From Mount Hor they set out by the way
to the Red Sea,c to go around the land of
Edom; but the people became impatient on
the way. The people spoke against God and
against Moses, Why have you brought us
up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For
there is no food and no water, and we detest
this miserable food. Then the Lord sent
poisonousd serpents among the people, and
they bit the people, so that many Israelites
died. The people came to Moses and said,
We have sinned by speaking against the
Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to
take away the serpents from us. So Moses
21
prayed for the people. And the Lord said

to Moses, Make a poisonouse serpent, and
set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten
shall look at it and live. So Moses made a
serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and
whenever a serpent bit someone, that person
would look at the serpent of bronze and live.
The Israelites set out, and camped
in Oboth. They set out from Oboth, and
camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness bordering Moab toward the sunrise. From there
they set out, and camped in the Wadi Zered.
From there they set out, and camped on the
other side of the Arnon, inf the wilderness
that extends from the boundary of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the boundary of Moab,
between Moab and the Amorites. Wherefore
it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
Waheb in Suphah and the wadis.
The Arnon and the slopes of the wadis
that extend to the seat of Ar,
and lie along the border of Moab.g
From there they continued to Beer;h that
is the well of which the Lord said to Moses,
Gather the people together, and I will give
them water. Then Israel sang this song:
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Heb lacks to his people

Heb Destruction
Or Sea of Reeds
Or ery; Heb seraphim
Or ery; Heb seraph
Gk: Heb which is in
That is Well
his people], see Gen 25.8) and is mourned for thirty days (see Deut 34.8) rather than the usual seven.
21.135: Victory, complaint, and healing. Positive signs become more frequent. 13: This text functions
paradigmatically for other texts concerning the conquest, called holy war texts (compare 11.13). Israel makes
a vow to wage war against Hormah (see 14.45), if God would give victory. Israels victory at Arad (east of Beersheba) reverses the failure at Hormah earlier. Atharim, unknown. Israel fullls the vow, destroying people and
towns. Such problematic texts (compare ch 31) in which the Canaanite population is killed and dedicated to
God are grounded in a concern about danger to Israels future (Deut 20.1618). 49: This nal complaint is directed for the rst time against both God and Moses (see 14.23; Ex 16.3); the people confess their sin, and the
segment ends on a healing note. 6: The judgment for the complaining is an infestation of poisonous serpents
(or ery, because of the burning) resulting in many deaths. 7: Though the people repent (and are presumably
forgiven), the snakes are not removed. The eects of sin may continue beyond forgiveness. 89: God responds
to those eects by commanding a means of healing (serpent of bronze, a homeopathic Egyptian technique to
heal snakebite); those who look to the bronze serpent are healed. According to 2 Kings 18.4, the serpent, placed
in the Temple in Jerusalem, was destroyed by the reforming king Hezekiah. 1020: Travel in Transjordan, around
Edom and Moab (see map on p. 218); several sites are unidentied (see 33.4149). 13: Amorites, see 13.29. 1418:
Water is provided at Gods initiative and the people sing songs of appreciation (see vv. 2730). The Book of the
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numbers 22
Spring up, Owell!Sing to it!
the well that the leaders sank,
that the nobles of the people dug,
with the scepter, with the sta.
From the wilderness to Mattanah, from
Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to
Bamoth, and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah
that overlooks the wasteland.a
Then Israel sent messengers to King
Sihon of the Amorites, saying, Let me pass
through your land; we will not turn aside
into eld or vineyard; we will not drink the
water of any well; we will go by the Kings
Highway until we have passed through your
territory. But Sihon would not allow Israel
to pass through his territory. Sihon gathered
all his people together, and went out against
Israel to the wilderness; he came to Jahaz, and
fought against Israel. Israel put him to the
sword, and took possession of his land from
the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites; for the boundary of the Ammonites
was strong. Israel took all these towns, and
Israel settled in all the towns of the Amorites,
in Heshbon, and in all its villages. For Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king
of Moab and captured all his land as far as the
Arnon. Therefore the ballad singers say,
Come to Heshbon, let it be built;
let the city of Sihon be established.
For re came out from Heshbon,
ame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured Ar of Moab,
and swallowed upb the heights of the

Arnon.
Woe to you, OMoab!
You are undone, Opeople of Chemosh!
He has made his sons fugitives,
and his daughters captives,
to an Amorite king, Sihon.
So their posterity perished
from Heshbonc to Dibon,
and we laid waste until re spread to
Medeba.d
Thus Israel settled in the land of the
Amorites. Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and
they captured its villages, and dispossessed
the Amorites who were there.
Then they turned and went up the road
to Bashan; and King Og of Bashan came out
against them, he and all his people, to battle
at Edrei. But the Lord said to Moses, Do
not be afraid of him; for I have given him into
your hand, with all his people, and all his
land. You shall do to him as you did to King
Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon. So they killed him, his sons, and all
his people, until there was no survivor left;
and they took possession of his land.
The Israelites set out, and camped in
the plains of Moab across the Jordan
from Jericho. Now Balak son of Zippor saw
22
a Or Jeshimon
b Gk: Heb and the lords of
c Gk: Heb we have shot at them; Heshbon has
perished
d Compare Sam Gk: Meaning of MT uncertain
Wars of the Lord was apparently an early collection of poems about Israels conquests (Josh 10.13). 20: Pisgah, a
ridge across the Jordan from Jericho (22.1; Deut 34.1). 2135: Victories over the Amorites, north of Moab (compare Deut 2.243.7). The location of several sites is uncertain. 2126: A request of King Sihon for safe passage is
denied; Sihon pursues Israel, but Israel defeats him and possesses his lands. 22: Kings Highway, see 20.17n. 25:
Heshbon, probably Tel Hisban, ca. 20 km (12 mi) south of Amman. 2730: These include former Moabite lands,
and the taunt song praises the victory of the Amorites over the Moabites and their god Chemosh and the capture of their lands (see ch. 32). 30: Dibon, modern Dhiban, ca. 34 mi (55 km) south of Amman. Medeba, between
Heshbon (v. 25) and Dibon. 3335: The victory over Ogs lands (north of Sihons land and across from Galilee)
secures the Transjordan for tribal selement (32.33); it mirrors 21.13 with its stress upon total destruction. 33:
Edrei, modern Dera, ca. 65 mi (105 km) south of Damascus.
22.124.25: The story of Balaam. Balaam is a traveling professional seer whom God uses to bring blessing to Israel (some traditions assess him negatively; see 31.18; Josh 13.22; Rev 2.14). This material also functions ironically; a
non-Israelite with less than sterling credentials voices Gods promises clearly. Coherence issues, the various divine
names, and the admixture of prose and poetry may reect a long history of transmission. An Aramaic inscription
from the eighth century BCE, found at Tell Deir Alla in Jordan, ascribes its contents to a seer of the gods named
Balaam, son of Beor. This text and chs 2224 probably have common roots in Transjordanian traditions.
222 | hebrew bible
numbers 22
all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
Moab was in great dread of the people,
because they were so numerous; Moab was
overcome with fear of the people of Israel.
And Moab said to the elders of Midian, This
horde will now lick up all that is around us,
as an ox licks up the grass of the eld. Now
Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that
time. He sent messengers to Balaam son of
Beor at Pethor, which is on the Euphrates, in
the land of Amaw,a to summon him, saying,
A people has come out of Egypt; they have
spread over the face of the earth, and they
have settled next to me. Come now, curse
this people for me, since they are stronger
than I; perhaps I shall be able to defeat them
and drive them from the land; for I know that
whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.
So the elders of Moab and the elders of
Midian departed with the fees for divination
in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and
gave him Balaks message. He said to them,
Stay here tonight, and I will bring back
word to you, just as the Lord speaks to me;
so the ocials of Moab stayed with Balaam.
God came to Balaam and said, Who are
these men with you? Balaam said to God,
King Balak son of Zippor of Moab, has sent
me this message: A people has come out
of Egypt and has spread over the face of
the earth; now come, curse them for me;
perhaps I shall be able to ght against them
and drive them out. God said to Balaam,

You shall not go with them; you shall not
curse the people, for they are blessed. So
Balaam rose in the morning, and said to the
ocials of Balak, Go to your own land, for
the Lord has refused to let me go with you.
So the ocials of Moab rose and went to
Balak, and said, Balaam refuses to come
with us.
Once again Balak sent ocials, more
numerous and more distinguished than
these. They came to Balaam and said to
him, Thus says Balak son of Zippor: Do not
let anything hinder you from coming to me;
for I will surely do you great honor, and
whatever you say to me I will do; come, curse
this people for me. But Balaam replied
to the servants of Balak, Although Balak
were to give me his house full of silver and
gold, I could not go beyond the command of
the Lord my God, to do less or more. You
remain here, as the others did, so that I may
learn what more the Lord may say to me.
That night God came to Balaam and said to
him, If the men have come to summon you,
get up and go with them; but do only what
I tell you to do. So Balaam got up in the
morning, saddled his donkey, and went with
the ocials of Moab.
Gods anger was kindled because he was
going, and the angel of the Lord took his
a Or land of his kinsfolk
22.140: Balaams three encounters with God. 16: Balak, king of Moab, fearful of Israel, hires Balaam,
a famous mercenary diviner from Syria (Pethor, uncertain location; cf. Aram, 23.7), to curse this people to
insure their defeat. 721: Divination (see 23.23; Deut 18.914) was a widely practiced art in that world. Asking
for a delay to consult with the Lord, Balaam has his rst encounter with God. That Balaam refers to the Lord
(YHWH), that he calls the Lord my God, and that the Lord converses with Balaam, is remarkable. God prohibits Balaam from cursing Israel, for they are blessed. 1317: Balaam recounts the divine refusal to ocials who
report back to Balak. Balak makes a more aractive oera great honor. 1821: Balaam again consults with
the Lord my God and tells ocials he is subject exactly (not less or more) to the divine command. In view of
Balaams faithfulness, God changes the strategy and commands him to go and do only what I tell you to do.
Balaam goes. 2235: What follows contains disjunctions with what has preceded, and may be from another
tradition. The reader (but not Balaam) is told of Gods anger because he departed; indeed, God has become
Balaams adversary. The narrator delays the rationale until v. 32. Gods command to Balaam in v. 35 remains
essentially as it was in v. 20. To get to that repeated command, the narrator uses fable motifs regarding a
talking donkey (see Judg 9.715), which God uses in what amounts to a test of Balaam. The angel (lit., messenger) of the Lord (see 9.1523), with drawn sword (cf. Josh 5.13; 1 Chr 21.16), confronts Balaam and his
donkey three times in increasingly restrictive circumstances. The donkey alone sees the angel and seeks to
avoid him; Balaam strikes the animal repeatedly, which signals his perverse ways (v. 32; contrast v. 20). With
Gods aid, the donkey questions Balaam, who thinks he has been made a fool and threatens the donkey (vv.
hebrew bible | 223
numbers 22
stand in the road as his adversary. Now he
was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. The donkey saw the
angel of the Lord standing in the road, with
a drawn sword in his hand; so the donkey
turned o the road, and went into the eld;
and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn it back
onto the road. Then the angel of the Lord
stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. When the
donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped
against the wall, and scraped Balaams foot
against the wall; so he struck it again. Then
the angel of the Lord went ahead, and stood
in a narrow place, where there was no way to
turn either to the right or to the left. When
the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay
down under Balaam; and Balaams anger was
kindled, and he struck the donkey with his
sta. Then the Lord opened the mouth of
the donkey, and it said to Balaam, What have
I done to you, that you have struck me these
three times? Balaam said to the donkey,
Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I
had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right
now! But the donkey said to Balaam, Am
I not your donkey, which you have ridden all
your life to this day? Have I been in the habit
of treating you this way? And he said, No.
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his
hand; and he bowed down, falling on his face.
The angel of the Lord said to him, Why

have you struck your donkey these three
times? I have come out as an adversary, because your way is perversea before me. The
donkey saw me, and turned away from me
these three times. If it had not turned away
from me, surely just now I would have killed
you and let it live. Then Balaam said to the
angel of the Lord, I have sinned, for I did not
know that you were standing in the road to
oppose me. Now therefore, if it is displeasing
to you, I will return home. The angel of
the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men;
but speak only what I tell you to speak. So
Balaam went on with the ocials of Balak.
When Balak heard that Balaam had come,
he went out to meet him at Ir-moab, on the
boundary formed by the Arnon, at the farthest
point of the boundary. Balak said to Balaam,
Did I not send to summon you? Why did you
not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?
Balaam said to Balak, I have come to you
now, but do I have power to say just anything?
The word God puts in my mouth, that is what
I must say. Then Balaam went with Balak,
and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. Balak
sacriced oxen and sheep, and sent them to
Balaam and to the ocials who were with him.
On the next day Balak took Balaam and
brought him up to Bamoth-baal; and from
there he could see part of the people of
2829). The donkeys appeal to their long history together stops the threat. God opens Balaams eyes to see
as the donkey sees. Balaam responds that, though he did not know of Gods opposition, he has sinned. God
renews the commission and Balaam proceeds. Through the use of irony and humor, God uses the donkey
as Balaams teacher. 3640: Having arrived at the boundary of Moab, Balaam is greeted by a chiding Balak.
Balaam responds: what God puts in my mouth, as with the prophets (Jer 1.9; Ezek 2.83.3; 1 Kings 22.14), is
what I must say (compare Jer 20.79).
22.4124.13: Balaams rst three oracles. These mirror the three episodes of Balaam with his donkey. The
rst two oracles follow a paern (22.4123.11; 23.1325), while the third breaks the paern in some ways (23.27
24.13): (a) Balak brings Balaam to a high point overlooking Israels camp; (b) Balak builds seven altars and oers
bulls and rams. Sacrices were typical in the diviners art, perhaps to look for omens in the entrails; (c) Balaam
twice turns to consult with the Lord; the third time he does not as at other times . . . look for omens (24.1), so
consulting with the Lord is diviners language. Divination is seen to be a bankrupt means of revelation (23.23);.
(d) God twice puts a word in Balaams mouth and commands him to speak that word. In the third case (24.2), the
spirit of God comes upon him (see 11.17,2526); (e) Balaam speaks Gods blessings on Israel rather than curses
(23.710; 23.1824; 24.39); (f) Balaks reactions are increasingly negative, issuing nally in dismissal (24.1011);
(g) Balaams response to Balak is testimony to Gods word. That he must take care to say (23.12) what God puts in
his mouth indicates that he has other options. That Balaam falls down, but with eyes uncovered (is alert; 24.4,16)
may refer to a qualied ecstatic reception of Gods word. Balaam sees Israels history, moving from past to
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numbers 23
23
Israel.a Then Balaam said to Balak,

Build me seven altars here, and
prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.
Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and
Balaam oered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Then Balaam said to Balak, Stay here beside
your burnt oerings while I go aside. Perhaps
the Lord will come to meet me. Whatever he
shows me I will tell you. And he went to a
bare height.
Then God met Balaam; and Balaam said
to him, I have arranged the seven altars, and
have oered a bull and a ram on each altar.
The Lord put a word in Balaams mouth,
and said, Return to Balak, and this is what
you must say. So he returned to Balak,b
who was standing beside his burnt oerings
with all the ocials of Moab. Then Balaamc
uttered his oracle, saying:
Balak has brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern
mountains:
Come, curse Jacob for me;
Come, denounce Israel!
How can I curse whom God has not
cursed?
How can I denounce those whom the
Lord has not denounced?
For from the top of the crags I see him,
from the hills I behold him.
Here is a people living alone,
and not reckoning itself among the
nations!
Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or number the dust-cloudd of
Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
and let my end be like his!
Then Balak said to Balaam, What have
you done to me? I brought you to curse my
enemies, but now you have done nothing
but bless them. He answered, Must I not
take care to say what the Lord puts into my

mouth?
So Balak said to him, Come with me
to another place from which you may see
them; you shall see only part of them, and
shall not see them all; then curse them for me
from there. So he took him to the eld of
Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built seven
altars, and oered a bull and a ram on each
altar. Balaam said to Balak, Stand here
beside your burnt oerings, while I meet the
Lord over there. The Lord met Balaam,
put a word into his mouth, and said, Return
to Balak, and this is what you shall say.
When he came to him, he was standing
beside his burnt oerings with the ocials
of Moab. Balak said to him, What has the
Lord said? Then Balaam uttered his oracle,
saying:
Rise, Balak, and hear;
listen to me, Oson of Zippor:
God is not a human being, that he should
lie,
or a mortal, that he should change his
mind.
Has he promised, and will he not do it?
Has he spoken, and will he not fulll it?
See, I received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob;
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
acclaimed as a king among them.
God, who brings them out of Egypt,
is like the horns of a wild ox for them.
Surely there is no enchantment against
Jacob,
a
b
c
d
Heb lacks of Israel

Heb him
Heb he
Or fourth part
present to a more and more specic future: election among the nations (23.9); promise (and fulllment) of many
descendants, like a dust-cloud (23.10; see Gen 13.16); blessing (24.9; see Gen 12.3); Exodus (23.22; 24.8); Gods
presence and care in the wilderness (23.21; see 24.56). He anticipates a successful conquest (23.24; 24.69)
and the rise of the monarchy (24.7,1719). The overall scene for Balaam is a blessed people, condent and ourishing. In Balaams words (23.10): let my end be like his! The oracles are highly poetic and oen obscure in their
current form. 23.14: Pisgah, see 21.20n. 1922: Balaam also sees some of Israels basic convictions about God.
God is not a human being, not deceptive, blesses Israel, reveals his word, and makes and keeps promises. That
God will not change his mind refers to promises and is not a generalization about divine immutability (see Ex
32.14) or prophecy (see Jer 18.710). God chooses to dwell among them, is acclaimed as a king, and is a deliverer,
hebrew bible | 225
numbers 24
no divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
See what God has done!
Look, a people rising up like a lioness,
and rousing itself like a lion!
It does not lie down until it has eaten the
prey
and drunk the blood of the slain.
Then Balak said to Balaam, Do not
curse them at all, and do not bless them at
all. But Balaam answered Balak, Did I
not tell you, Whatever the Lord says, that is
what I must do?
So Balak said to Balaam, Come now, I
will take you to another place; perhaps it will
please God that you may curse them for me
from there. So Balak took Balaam to the
top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.a
Balaam said to Balak, Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven
rams for me. So Balak did as Balaam had
said, and oered a bull and a ram on each
altar.
Now Balaam saw that it pleased the
Lord to bless Israel, so he did not
go, as at other times, to look for omens, but
set his face toward the wilderness. Balaam
looked up and saw Israel camping tribe by
tribe. Then the spirit of God came upon him,
and he uttered his oracle, saying:
The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of the man whose eye is
clear,b
the oracle of one who hears the words of
God,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,c
who falls down, but with eyes
uncovered:
how fair are your tents, OJacob,
your encampments, OIsrael!
Like palm groves that stretch
far away,
like gardens beside a river,
24
like aloes that the Lord has planted,

like cedar trees beside the waters.
Water shall ow from his buckets,
and his seed shall have abundant
water,
his king shall be higher than Agag,
and his kingdom shall be exalted.
God who brings him out of Egypt,
is like the horns of a wild ox for him;
he shall devour the nations that are his
foes
and break their bones.
He shall strike with his arrows.d
He crouched, he lay down like a lion,
and like a lioness; who will rouse him
up?
Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
and cursed is everyone who curses
you.
Then Balaks anger was kindled against
Balaam, and he struck his hands together.
Balak said to Balaam, I summoned you to
curse my enemies, but instead you have
blessed them these three times. Now be
o with you! Go home! I said, I will reward
you richly, but the Lord has denied you any
reward. And Balaam said to Balak, Did I
not tell your messengers whom you sent to
me, If Balak should give me his house full
of silver and gold, I would not be able to go
beyond the word of the Lord, to do either
good or bad of my own will; what the Lord
says, that is what I will say? So now, I am
going to my people; let me advise you what
this people will do to your people in days to
come.
So he uttered his oracle, saying:
The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
a
b
c
d
Or overlooks Jeshimon
Or closed or open
depicted as strong animals that will defeat Israels enemies (23.22; 24.89; see Gen 49.9). 28: Peor, cf. Baal-peor,
25.3; 31.16.
24.1425: Balaams fourth oracle. 7: Agag, the name of a king of Amalek (see 24.20; 13.29) in 1 Sam 15.8.
1519: His eye is clear, he himself has the knowledge of the Most High and can see the future (see him, but not
now . . . not near). Israel will bring Moab, Edom, and other peoples in the region under their aegis and its God
will be exalted among the nations. How this will occur is stated in 24.17 (see 24.7); God will raise up a star and
scepter (24.17a; royal images, Gen 49.10) from the tribe of Judah (lion imagery is used in 23.24; 24.9; see Gen
49.9) and Israel will be established among the nations (24.1724). These images are usually associated with the
226 | hebrew bible
numbers 25
the oracle of the man whose eye is
clear,a
the oracle of one who hears the words
of God,
and knows the knowledge of the Most
High,b
who sees the vision of the Almighty,c
who falls down, but with his eyes
uncovered:
I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near
a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the borderlandsd of Moab,
and the territorye of all the
Shethites.
Edom will become a possession,
Seir a possession of its enemies,f
while Israel does valiantly.
One out of Jacob shall rule,
and destroy the survivors of Ir.
Then he looked on Amalek, and uttered
his oracle, saying:
First among the nations was Amalek,
but its end is to perish forever.
Then he looked on the Kenite, and uttered his oracle, saying:
Enduring is your dwelling place,
and your nest is set in the rock;
yet Kain is destined for burning.
How long shall Asshur take you away
captive?
Again he uttered his oracle, saying:
Alas, who shall live when God does this?

But ships shall come from Kittim
and shall aict Asshur and Eber;
and he also shall perish forever.
Then Balaam got up and went back to
his place, and Balak also went his way.
While Israel was staying at Shittim,
the people began to have sexual
relations with the women of Moab. These
invited the people to the sacrices of their
gods, and the people ate and bowed down
to their gods. Thus Israel yoked itself to the
Baal of Peor, and the Lords anger was kindled against Israel. The Lord said to Moses,
Take all the chiefs of the people, and impale
them in the sun before the Lord, in order that
the erce anger of the Lord may turn away
from Israel. And Moses said to the judges
of Israel, Each of you shall kill any of your
people who have yoked themselves to the
Baal of Peor.
Just then one of the Israelites came and
brought a Midianite woman into his family,
in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the
whole congregation of the Israelites, while
they were weeping at the entrance of the tent
25
a
b
c
d
e
f
Or closed or open
Or of Elyon
Or forehead
Some Mss read skull
Heb Seir, its enemies, a possession
Davidic dynasty and its victories over Moab and Edom (Seir) (2 Sam 8.2,1214) and have been messianically
interpreted. Shethites; uncertain; Ir is Moab (22.36). 2025: Obscure brief oracles against the nations, with God
acting (24.23): Amalek, see v. 7n.; Kain, the Kenites, a subgroup of the Midianites (see 22.4); Asshur (Assyria, or
an obscure tribal group, Gen 25.3); Eber (perhaps Mesopotamia, see Gen 10.25); and the Philistines or other sea
people (Kiim; see Gen 10.4).
25.118: The nal rebellion. Two stories about Israelite men and foreign women (vv. 15; 616) have been
interwoven, with the second now providing an illustration of the rst (the conclusion assumes both, vv. 1618;
see Ps 106.2831). The focus is idolatry (vv. 23). The old generation will nally die o. 15: Shiim (see Josh 2.1;
3.1). The rst story (see Deut 4.34) involves Moabite women who, through illicit sexual activity, invite Israelite
males into idolatrous practices associated with Baal, the Canaanite god of Peor (see 31.16). God tells Moses to
impale the chiefs of Israel to turn the erce anger of the Lord away (see 1.53). Moses issues another command:
kill any idolaters. Because the wrath of God is not turned away by following Gods command to execute a few, a
plague follows (see 25.89; compare 25.18; 31.816). 615: Describes a relationship between a Midianite woman
and a Simeonite (vv.1415 specify their status and may link the man with v. 4). Into his family (v. 6) beer reads
to his brothers; the tabernacle seing suggests something more sinister as does trickery in v.18. He did this
in the sight of Moses and all Israelites as they were weeping (probably over the plague). The wrong commied is
unclear: marriage to a non-Israelite was not permied, and according to some scholars the parading before the
people near the tabernacle may imply ritual prostitution. Because Moses had married a Midianite (Ex 2.1522)
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numbers 26
of meeting. When Phinehas son of Eleazar,
son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up and
left the congregation. Taking a spear in his
hand, he went after the Israelite man into
the tent, and pierced the two of them, the
Israelite and the woman, through the belly.
So the plague was stopped among the people
of Israel. Nevertheless those that died by the
plague were twenty-four thousand.
Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the
priest, has turned back my wrath from the
Israelites by manifesting such zeal among
them on my behalf that in my jealousy I did
not consume the Israelites. Therefore say, I
hereby grant him my covenant of peace. It
shall be for him and for his descendants after
him a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made
atonement for the Israelites.
The name of the slain Israelite man, who
was killed with the Midianite woman, was
Zimri son of Salu, head of an ancestral house
belonging to the Simeonites. The name of
the Midianite woman who was killed was
Cozbi daughter of Zur, who was the head of a
clan, an ancestral house in Midian.
The Lord said to Moses, Harass the
Midianites, and defeat them; for they have
harassed you by the trickery with which
they deceived you in the aair of Peor, and

in the aair of Cozbi, the daughter of a
leader of Midian, their sister; she was killed
on the day of the plague that resulted from
Peor.
After the plague the Lord said to
Moses and to Eleazar son of Aaron the
priest, Take a census of the whole congregation of the Israelites, from twenty years
old and upward, by their ancestral houses,
everyone in Israel able to go to war. Moses
and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the
plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, Take a census of the people,a
from twenty years old and upward, as the
Lord commanded Moses.
The Israelites, who came out of the land of
Egypt, were:
Reuben, the rstborn of Israel. The descendants of Reuben: of Hanoch, the clan of
the Hanochites; of Pallu, the clan of the Palluites; of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites;
of Carmi, the clan of the Carmites. These
are the clans of the Reubenites; the number
of those enrolled was forty-three thousand
seven hundred thirty. And the descendants
of Pallu: Eliab. The descendants of Eliab:
26
a Heb lacks take a census of the people: Compare

verse 2
perhaps he had diculty responding, but the deed called for decisive action. 713: Phinehas, grandson of Aaron,
does not hesitate. He enters the tent (a rare word, occurring only here in the Bible, perhaps implying some ritual
function) and pierces them through, apparently in a single thrust, suggesting that they were engaged in sexual
intercourse. The eect of his action, called for by God in v. 4, is that he made atonement for the Israelites (cf.
16.4648). God interprets this act as zeal exercised on behalf of the divine jealousy (the related words show that
Gods zeal became Phinehass; see Ex 34.1416; Hos 9.10). Phinehass action is the basis for Gods establishing
with the Aaronides a covenant of peace (see Isa 54.10; Ezek 34.25), interpreted to mean a covenant of perpetual
priesthood (see Jer 33.1722; Mal 2.48). However, Aaron had already received this commitment (Ex 29.9; 40.15),
so this may reect a dierent tradition, or formalization of the prior commitment. 1618: Gods command to
harass (be an enemy to) the Midianites corresponds to they have harassed you. The consequence grows out of
the sin (see ch 31 for fulllment). This text may reect priestly rivalries. Phinehas is elevated over Moses and
Aarons other son Ithamar (see 1 Kings 2.2627) and Gods commitment to Phinehas (see 1 Chr 6.410; Ezek
44.15), is eternal.
26.136.13: The new generation on the plains of Moab. The balance of Numbers contains lile narrative,
though enough to provide a framework for the legal material. Various statutes and lists are presented that prepare Israel for life in the land. Balaams oracles have made clear that God keeps promises and the assumptions
of land ownership and allocation in chs 2736 have a promissory force. Yet, this does not lessen the call to be
faithful, and chs 2736 assist Israel in its faithfulness by new orderings of its life. New experience is drawn into
the orbit of the law in the service of the life of the ourishing of community.
26.165: Census of the new generation. It begins with military service in mind, Eleazar replacing his father
Aaron, and land allotment issues paramount (compare 1.23). The twelve-tribe structure remains intact. The
228 | hebrew bible
numbers 26
Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the
same Dathan and Abiram, chosen from the
congregation, who rebelled against Moses
and Aaron in the company of Korah, when
they rebelled against the Lord, and the
earth opened its mouth and swallowed them
up along with Korah, when that company
died, when the re devoured two hundred
fty men; and they became a warning. Notwithstanding, the sons of Korah did not die.
The descendants of Simeon by their
clans: of Nemuel, the clan of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the clan of the Jaminites; of
Jachin, the clan of the Jachinites; of Zerah,
the clan of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the clan
of the Shaulites.a These are the clans of
the Simeonites, twenty-two thousand two
hundred.
The children of Gad by their clans: of
Zephon, the clan of the Zephonites; of Haggi,
the clan of the Haggites; of Shuni, the clan
of the Shunites; of Ozni, the clan of the
Oznites; of Eri, the clan of the Erites; of
Arod, the clan of the Arodites; of Areli, the
clan of the Arelites. These are the clans of
the Gadites: the number of those enrolled
was forty thousand ve hundred.
The sons of Judah: Er and Onan; Er
and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The
descendants of Judah by their clans were: of
Shelah, the clan of the Shelanites; of Perez,
the clan of the Perezites; of Zerah, the clan
of the Zerahites. The descendants of Perez
were: of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites;
of Hamul, the clan of the Hamulites. These
are the clans of Judah: the number of those
enrolled was seventy-six thousand ve
hundred.
The descendants of Issachar by their
clans: of Tola, the clan of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the clan of the Punites; of Jashub, the
clan of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the clan
of the Shimronites. These are the clans of
Issachar: sixty-four thousand three hundred
enrolled.
The descendants of Zebulun by their
clans: of Sered, the clan of the Seredites; of
Elon, the clan of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the
clan of the Jahleelites. These are the clans
of the Zebulunites; the number of those enrolled was sixty thousand ve hundred.
The sons of Joseph by their clans: Manasseh and Ephraim. The descendants of
Manasseh: of Machir, the clan of the Machirites; and Machir was the father of Gilead; of
Gilead, the clan of the Gileadites. These are
the descendants of Gilead: of Iezer, the clan of
the Iezerites; of Helek, the clan of the Helekites; and of Asriel, the clan of the Asrielites;
and of Shechem, the clan of the Shechemites;
and of Shemida, the clan of the Shemidaites;
and of Hepher, the clan of the Hepherites.
Now Zelophehad son of Hepher had no
sons, but daughters: and the names of the
daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah,
Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. These are the
clans of Manasseh; the number of those enrolled was fty-two thousand seven hundred.
These are the descendants of Ephraim
according to their clans: of Shuthelah, the
clan of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the clan
of the Becherites; of Tahan, the clan of the
Tahanites. And these are the descendants
of Shuthelah: of Eran, the clan of the Eranites. These are the clans of the Ephraimites:
the number of those enrolled was thirty-two
thousand ve hundred. These are the descendants of Joseph by their clans.
The descendants of Benjamin by their
clans: of Bela, the clan of the Belaites; of
Ashbel, the clan of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram,
the clan of the Ahiramites; of Shephupham,
the clan of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the
clan of the Huphamites. And the sons of
Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the clan
of the Ardites; of Naaman, the clan of the
Naamites. These are the descendants of
Benjamin by their clans; the number of those
enrolled was forty-ve thousand six hundred.
These are the descendants of Dan
by their clans: of Shuham, the clan of the
Shuhamites. These are the clans of Dan by
their clans. All the clans of the Shuhamites:
sixty-four thousand four hundred enrolled.
The descendants of Asher by their
families: of Imnah, the clan of the Imnites; of
a Or Saul . . . Saulites
listing focuses on clans rather than individuals (for land allotment); the totals are given for each tribe. 9: Dathan
and Abiram . . . Korah, see ch 16. 19: Er and Onan, see Gen 38.110. 33: On the daughters of Zelophehad, see 27.111;
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numbers 27
Ishvi, the clan of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the
clan of the Beriites. Of the descendants of
Beriah: of Heber, the clan of the Heberites; of
Malchiel, the clan of the Malchielites. And
the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.
These are the clans of the Asherites: the
number of those enrolled was fty-three
thousand four hundred.
The descendants of Naphtali by their
clans: of Jahzeel, the clan of the Jahzeelites;
of Guni, the clan of the Gunites; of Jezer,
the clan of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the clan
of the Shillemites. These are the Naphtalitesa by their clans: the number of those enrolled was forty-ve thousand four hundred.
This was the number of the Israelites enrolled: six hundred and one thousand seven
hundred thirty.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: To
these the land shall be apportioned for inheritance according to the number of names.
To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a
small inheritance; every tribe shall be given
its inheritance according to its enrollment.
But the land shall be apportioned by lot; according to the names of their ancestral tribes
they shall inherit. Their inheritance shall
be apportioned according to lot between the
larger and the smaller.
This is the enrollment of the Levites
by their clans: of Gershon, the clan of the
Gershonites; of Kohath, the clan of the Kohathites; of Merari, the clan of the Merarites.
These are the clans of Levi: the clan of the
Libnites, the clan of the Hebronites, the clan
of the Mahlites, the clan of the Mushites, the
clan of the Korahites. Now Kohath was the father of Amram. The name of Amrams wife
was Jochebed daughter of Levi, who was born
to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram:
Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam. To

Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and
Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died when
they oered unholy re before the Lord.
The number of those enrolled was twentythree thousand, every male one month old
and upward; for they were not enrolled
among the Israelites because there was no allotment given to them among the Israelites.
These were those enrolled by Moses and
Eleazar the priest, who enrolled the Israelites
in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite
Jericho. Among these there was not one
of those enrolled by Moses and Aaron the
priest, who had enrolled the Israelites in the
wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said
of them, They shall die in the wilderness.
Not one of them was left, except Caleb son of
Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
Then the daughters of Zelophehad
came forward. Zelophehad was son
of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son
of Manasseh son of Joseph, a member of the
Manassite clans. The names of his daughters
were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and
Tirzah. They stood before Moses, Eleazar
the priest, the leaders, and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and they said, Our father died in the
wilderness; he was not among the company
of those who gathered themselves together
against the Lord in the company of Korah,
but died for his own sin; and he had no sons.
Why should the name of our father be taken
away from his clan because he had no son?
Give to us a possession among our fathers
brothers.
Moses brought their case before the
Lord. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
27
a Heb clans of Naphtali
36.112. 51: The grand total is 601,730 compared to 603,550 in 1.46. 5256: A new reason for the census is given
in 26.5256: land apportionment is to be based on tribal size aer the conquest is complete; the location of
land will be determined by lot, a means of eliminating human bias. 5762: The Levites are newly and separately
enrolled (see 3.1439, an increase of 1,000), with no tribal allotment (18.2324). 65: See 14.2035.
27.111: The daughters of Zelophehad. Because ancestral lands are to be kept within the tribe (see Lev
25.2534; 1 Kings 21.14), a way to pass on the inheritance must be found if a man has no sons. In such cases
daughters may inherit, here given Moses blessing (see Josh 17.36). A restriction is added in 36.12, providing
an inclusio for chs 2736. 34: The daughters take the initiative with Moses in pursuing inheritance rights inasmuch as their father had no sons (26.33). The allusion to their father not in the company of Korah likely refers
to the two hundred y leaders of 16.2; his own sin may reference the old generation (26.6465). Their fathers
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numbers 28
The daughters of Zelophehad are right in
what they are saying; you shall indeed let
them possess an inheritance among their
fathers brothers and pass the inheritance of
their father on to them. You shall also say to
the Israelites, If a man dies, and has no son,
then you shall pass his inheritance on to his
daughter. If he has no daughter, then you
shall give his inheritance to his brothers. If
he has no brothers, then you shall give his
inheritance to his fathers brothers. And if
his father has no brothers, then you shall give
his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his
clan, and he shall possess it. It shall be for the
Israelites a statute and ordinance, as the Lord
commanded Moses.
The Lord said to Moses, Go up this
mountain of the Abarim range, and see
the land that I have given to the Israelites.
When you have seen it, you also shall be
gathered to your people, as your brother
Aaron was, because you rebelled against
my word in the wilderness of Zin when
the congregation quarreled with me.a You
did not show my holiness before their eyes
at the waters. (These are the waters of
Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, Let
the Lord, the God of the spirits of all esh,
appoint someone over the congregation

who shall go out before them and come
in before them, who shall lead them out
and bring them in, so that the congregation
of the Lord may not be like sheep without
a shepherd. So the Lord said to Moses,
Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom
is the spirit, and lay your hand upon him;
have him stand before Eleazar the priest
and all the congregation, and commission
him in their sight. You shall give him some
of your authority, so that all the congregation of the Israelites may obey. But he shall
stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall
inquire for him by the decision of the Urim
before the Lord; at his word they shall go
out, and at his word they shall come in, both
he and all the Israelites with him, the whole
congregation. So Moses did as the Lord
commanded him. He took Joshua and had
him stand before Eleazar the priest and the
whole congregation; he laid his hands on
him and commissioned himas the Lord
had directed through Moses.
Command the Israelites, and say to
them: My oering, the food for my oerings
28
a Heb lacks with me
name would still be associated with this land, for their sons would pass on the name (Ezra 2.61). 611: God
agrees with the daughters and decrees other ways in which the inheritance can be transmied in the absence
of sons, with preference given to direct lineage both to ensure the endurance of the family name and to safeguard a just distribution of land among the tribes.
27.1223: From Moses to Joshua. Authority is transferred to Joshua, one of the good spies in chs 1314, from
Moses, whose earlier rebellion is recalled (see 20.12). Moses is given a glimpse of the promised land from the
Abarim range (Mount Nebo, Deut 32.49). 1617: Moses initiates the issue of succession, appealing to God as
Creator, the God of the spirits of all esh (see 16.22; Gen 2.7). This God, who gives breath to all, has given Joshua
the spirit, a specic charisma for leadership and prophecy (v.18; see 11.17,26; Deut 34.9). Joshua has been Moses
assistant since the Exodus (11.28; Ex 24.13; 33.11). Here his responsibilities are especially associated with military
leadership (see Ex 17.814), the basic sense of go out before them and come in before them (27.17,21; Josh 14.11). Yet,
the image of sheep without a shepherd suggests a more comprehensive, almost royal leadership role, as Moses
had (see 2 Sam 5.2). 1821: God commands Moses to commission Joshua by laying his hand upon him, a symbolic
act signifying the transfer of authority (cf. 8.1011). The investiture is public, before all the congregation, so it is
clear that the people are to obey this one. The act is also to take place before Eleazar the priest (see 20.2229),
to whom Joshua is responsible with respect to the discernment of the will of God (especially regarding bale)
through the use of Urim (and Thummim; see Ex 28.2930; Lev 8.8). The laer responsibility explains why only
some of his authority was given to Joshua (see Moses role in 12.68; Deut 34.10; Josh 1.78).
28.129.40: Oerings for life in the land, for various occasions. Building upon other Pentateuchal texts
regarding these maers (see Lev 23; Deut 16.117), these texts focus on sacricial oerings through which Israel places itself in tune with Gods temporal order in creation. In and through these oerings God acted for
the sake of the life and well-being of the community. The totals: thirty days of the year, besides the daily and
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numbers 28
by re, my pleasing odor, you shall take care
to oer to me at its appointed time. And
you shall say to them, This is the oering
by re that you shall oer to the Lord: two
male lambs a year old without blemish, daily,
as a regular oering. One lamb you shall
oer in the morning, and the other lamb you
shall oer at twilight;a also one-tenth of an
ephah of choice our for a grain oering,
mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil.
It is a regular burnt oering, ordained at
Mount Sinai for a pleasing odor, an oering
by re to the Lord. Its drink oering shall
be one-fourth of a hin for each lamb; in the
sanctuary you shall pour out a drink oering
of strong drink to the Lord. The other lamb
you shall oer at twilighta with a grain oering and a drink oering like the one in the
morning; you shall oer it as an oering by
re, a pleasing odor to the Lord.
On the sabbath day: two male lambs a
year old without blemish, and two-tenths of
an ephah of choice our for a grain oering,
mixed with oil, and its drink oering this
is the burnt oering for every sabbath, in
addition to the regular burnt oering and its
drink oering.
At the beginnings of your months you
shall oer a burnt oering to the Lord: two
young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs
a year old without blemish; also threetenths of an ephah of choice our for a grain
oering, mixed with oil, for each bull; and
two-tenths of choice our for a grain oering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; and
one-tenth of choice our mixed with oil as a
grain oering for every lamba burnt oering of pleasing odor, an oering by re to the
Lord. Their drink oerings shall be half a
hin of wine for a bull, one-third of a hin for
a ram, and one-fourth of a hin for a lamb.
This is the burnt oering of every month

throughout the months of the year. And
there shall be one male goat for a sin oering
to the Lord; it shall be oered in addition
to the regular burnt oering and its drink
oering.
On the fourteenth day of the rst month
there shall be a passover oering to the Lord.
And on the fteenth day of this month is a
festival; seven days shall unleavened bread
be eaten. On the rst day there shall be a
holy convocation. You shall not work at your
occupations. You shall oer an oering
by re, a burnt oering to the Lord: two
young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs
a year old; see that they are without blemish. Their grain oering shall be of choice
our mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah
shall you oer for a bull, and two-tenths for
a ram; one-tenth shall you oer for each
of the seven lambs; also one male goat for
a sin oering, to make atonement for you.
You shall oer these in addition to the
burnt oering of the morning, which belongs
to the regular burnt oering. In the same
way you shall oer daily, for seven days, the
food of an oering by re, a pleasing odor to
the Lord; it shall be oered in addition to the
regular burnt oering and its drink oering.
And on the seventh day you shall have a
holy convocation; you shall not work at your
occupations.
On the day of the rst fruits, when you
oer a grain oering of new grain to the Lord
at your festival of weeks, you shall have a
holy convocation; you shall not work at your
occupations. You shall oer a burnt oering, a pleasing odor to the Lord: two young
bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old.
sabbath oerings. The rst three oerings mark the basic temporal frame of days, weeks, and months. The
others mark out the festival year: the rst month (March-April; Passover and Unleavened Bread), y days later
(Weeks) , and the seventh month (Rosh Hashanah, Day of Atonement, and Booths). These festivals are timed to
Israels harvests; later they are associated with key events of Israels history (Exodus; giving of the law; wilderness wanderings). 28.2: Introduces the oerings (brought by the people) that belong wholly to God (whole
burnt oerings; purication or sin oerings; each with meal and drink oerings, see 15.216) for the various
times. Pleasing odor, see 15.3. 38: Daily burnt oering, oered at dawn and dusk (see Ex 29.3842; Lev 6.913).
910: Sabbath oerings relate to the hallowed seventh day of creation. 1115: Monthly (new moon) oerings
(see 1 Sam 20.5; Isa 1.13; Am 8.5). 1625: Passover and, on the seven days following, Unleavened Bread (see
9.114; Lev 23.28; Ex 12.127; 13.310; Deut 16.18). 2631: Festival of First Fruits (Weeks; Harvest; Pentecost;
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numbers 29
Their grain oering shall be of choice our
mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah for
each bull, two-tenths for one ram, onetenth for each of the seven lambs; with one
male goat, to make atonement for you. In
addition to the regular burnt oering with
its grain oering, you shall oer them and
their drink oering. They shall be without
blemish.
On the rst day of the seventh month
you shall have a holy convocation; you
shall not work at your occupations. It is a day
for you to blow the trumpets, and you shall
oer a burnt oering, a pleasing odor to the
Lord: one young bull, one ram, seven male
lambs a year old without blemish. Their
grain oering shall be of choice our mixed
with oil, three-tenths of one ephah for the
bull, two-tenths for the ram, and one-tenth
for each of the seven lambs; with one male
goat for a sin oering, to make atonement for
you. These are in addition to the burnt offering of the new moon and its grain oering,
and the regular burnt oering and its grain
oering, and their drink oerings, according
to the ordinance for them, a pleasing odor, an
oering by re to the Lord.
On the tenth day of this seventh month
you shall have a holy convocation, and deny
yourselves;a you shall do no work. You shall
oer a burnt oering to the Lord, a pleasing odor: one young bull, one ram, seven
male lambs a year old. They shall be without
blemish. Their grain oering shall be of
choice our mixed with oil, three-tenths of
an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one
ram, one-tenth for each of the seven lambs;
with one male goat for a sin oering, in
addition to the sin oering of atonement, and
the regular burnt oering and its grain oering, and their drink oerings.
On the fteenth day of the seventh
month you shall have a holy convocation; you
shall not work at your occupations. You shall
celebrate a festival to the Lord seven days.
You shall oer a burnt oering, an oering
29
by re, a pleasing odor to the Lord: thirteen

young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs
a year old. They shall be without blemish.
Their grain oering shall be of choice our
mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah for
each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each
of the two rams, and one-tenth for each
of the fourteen lambs; also one male goat
for a sin oering, in addition to the regular
burnt oering, its grain oering and its drink
oering.
On the second day: twelve young bulls,
two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old
without blemish, with the grain oering
and the drink oerings for the bulls, for the
rams, and for the lambs, as prescribed in
accordance with their number; also one
male goat for a sin oering, in addition to the
regular burnt oering and its grain oering,
and their drink oerings.
On the third day: eleven bulls, two rams,
fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, with the grain oering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the
lambs, as prescribed in accordance with their
number; also one male goat for a sin oering, in addition to the regular burnt oering
and its grain oering and its drink oering.
On the fourth day: ten bulls, two rams,
fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, with the grain oering and the drink
oerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for
the lambs, as prescribed in accordance with
their number; also one male goat for a sin
oering, in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain oering and its drink oering.
On the fth day: nine bulls, two rams,
fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, with the grain oering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the
lambs, as prescribed in accordance with their
number; also one male goat for a sin oering, in addition to the regular burnt oering
and its grain oering and its drink oering.
a Or and fast
see Lev 23.1521; Deut 16.912). 29.16: The rst day of the seventh month (see Lev 23.2325), later called Rosh
Hashanah (New Years Day). 711: Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), tenth day of the seventh month (Lev 16.134;
23.2632). 1238: Tabernacles (Booths, Sukkot, Ingathering), the autumn harvest festival, from the eenth
day of the month for seven or eight days (Lev 23.3336,3943; Deut 16.1315). The extensive list of produce and
animals anticipates abundance in the promised land.
hebrew bible | 233
numbers 30
On the sixth day: eight bulls, two rams,
fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, with the grain oering and the drink
oerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for
the lambs, as prescribed in accordance with
their number; also one male goat for a sin
oering, in addition to the regular burnt
oering, its grain oering, and its drink offerings.
On the seventh day: seven bulls, two
rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, with the grain oering and
the drink oerings for the bulls, for the rams,
and for the lambs, as prescribed in accordance with their number; also one male
goat for a sin oering, besides the regular
burnt oering, its grain oering, and its
drink oering.
On the eighth day you shall have a
solemn assembly; you shall not work at your
occupations. You shall oer a burnt oering, an oering by re, a pleasing odor to the
Lord: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs
a year old without blemish, and the grain
oering and the drink oerings for the bull,
for the ram, and for the lambs, as prescribed
in accordance with their number; also one
male goat for a sin oering, in addition to the
regular burnt oering and its grain oering
and its drink oering.
These you shall oer to the Lord at
your appointed festivals, in addition to your
votive oerings and your freewill oerings,
as your burnt oerings, your grain oerings,
your drink oerings, and your oerings of
well-being.
aSo Moses told the Israelites everything
just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30
Then Moses said to the heads of the

tribes of the Israelites: This is what
the Lord has commanded. When a man
makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to
bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break
his word; he shall do according to all that
proceeds out of his mouth.
When a woman makes a vow to the Lord,
or binds herself by a pledge, while within her
fathers house, in her youth, and her father
hears of her vow or her pledge by which she
has bound herself, and says nothing to her;
then all her vows shall stand, and any pledge by
which she has bound herself shall stand. But
if her father expresses disapproval to her at the
time that he hears of it, no vow of hers, and no
pledge by which she has bound herself, shall
stand; and the Lord will forgive her, because
her father had expressed to her his disapproval.
If she marries, while obligated by her
vows or any thoughtless utterance of her
lips by which she has bound herself, and
her husband hears of it and says nothing to
her at the time that he hears, then her vows
shall stand, and her pledges by which she has
bound herself shall stand. But if, at the time
that her husband hears of it, he expresses disapproval to her, then he shall nullify the vow
by which she was obligated, or the thoughtless utterance of her lips, by which she bound
herself; and the Lord will forgive her. (But
every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall be
binding upon her.) And if she made a vow
in her husbands house, or bound herself by a
pledge with an oath, and her husband heard
a Ch 30.1 in Heb
30.116: Vows and their limits. These statutes concern vows or pledges made by men (30.2) and by women
(30.315) and the lines of responsibility. Vows are (sworn) promises to the Lord, related to service (Nazirite, 6.2)
or the (potential) fulllment of a request, oen in crisis (see 21.23). The basic concern is to bind persons to
their word, though women are bound within limits placed by the actions of father or husband (except widows
and divorcees, who are independent, v. 9). Failed promises adversely aect the relationship to God and disrupt
the stability of a community. A single case concerning men is followed by three cases concerning women: those
still in their fathers house and under his authority (vv. 35); those under vows at the time they are married (vv.
68); those who are married and under their husbands authority (vv. 1015). Essentially the same patriarchal
principles are operative. If the father or husband disapproves, the vow is annulled; the Lord will forgive her (vv.
5,8,12) and she is to suer no consequences. If a father or husband disapproves, he must speak up at the time
he hears (of) the vow or the vow stands; then if it is broken, he (not she) will be guilty (3.1415). These statutes
protect both men (from responsibility to fulll a womans vow) and, to a lesser extent, women (whose vows
remain intact unless there is immediate male response).
234 | hebrew bible
numbers 31
it and said nothing to her, and did not express
disapproval to her, then all her vows shall
stand, and any pledge by which she bound
herself shall stand. But if her husband nullies them at the time that he hears them, then
whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning
her vows, or concerning her pledge of herself,
shall not stand. Her husband has nullied
them, and the Lord will forgive her. Any
vow or any binding oath to deny herself,a her
husband may allow to stand, or her husband
may nullify. But if her husband says nothing
to her from day to day,b then he validates all
her vows, or all her pledges, by which she is
obligated; he has validated them, because he
said nothing to her at the time that he heard
of them. But if he nullies them some time
after he has heard of them, then he shall bear
her guilt.
These are the statutes that the Lord
commanded Moses concerning a husband
and his wife, and a father and his daughter
while she is still young and in her fathers
house.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
Avenge the Israelites on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your
people. So Moses said to the people, Arm
some of your number for the war, so that
they may go against Midian, to execute the
Lords vengeance on Midian. You shall send
a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to
the war. So out of the thousands of Israel, a
thousand from each tribe were conscripted,
31
twelve thousand armed for battle. Moses

sent them to the war, a thousand from each
tribe, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar
the priest,c with the vessels of the sanctuary
and the trumpets for sounding the alarm in
his hand. They did battle against Midian, as
the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed
every male. They killed the kings of Midian:
Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the ve kings
of Midian, in addition to others who were
slain by them; and they also killed Balaam
son of Beor with the sword. The Israelites
took the women of Midian and their little
ones captive; and they took all their cattle,
their ocks, and all their goods as booty.
All their towns where they had settled, and
all their encampments, they burned, but
they took all the spoil and all the booty, both
people and animals. Then they brought
the captives and the booty and the spoil to
Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the Israelites, at the camp on the
plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the
leaders of the congregation went to meet
them outside the camp. Moses became
angry with the ocers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders
of hundreds, who had come from service
in the war. Moses said to them, Have
a Or to fast
b Or from that day to the next
c Gk: Heb adds to the war
31.154: War against the Midianites. This narrative (with ch 32) focuses on traditions associated with Israels
conquests and selement in Transjordan. The story is idealized (no Israelite is lost in bale, v. 49), enhancing the portrayal of the new generation. 12: Continuing from 25.1718, God commands Israel to aack the
Midianites in response to their aacks on Israel; v. 16 interprets this in terms of women seducing Israelites into
idolatry, urged on by Balaam. 311: Israels military response to Gods command is interpreted as executing the
Lords vengeance; but the sense of vindication (of the honor of God and Israel) is preferable. This bale has
the earmarks of a holy war (see 21.13,2135), with the presence of the priest (see Deut 20.24; Phinehas rather
than Eleazar, see 27.21; Lev 21.1112) and the sanctuary vessels (probably including the ark; see 10.3536), and
the sounding of alarm (10.110). Only a thousand men from each tribe are engaged, a small percentage of those
available (26.51; see Judg 7.28). Every male (including Balaam) is killed and their towns destroyed (see Josh
13.2122). 1218: In contrast to ch 21, the women and children (and animals) are not killed but taken captive and
(with other booty) brought before Moses, Eleazar, and the congregation. This may reect the practice of holy
war outlined in Deut 20.1318, where a distinction is made between Canaanites and others more distant (e.g.,
Midianites). Moses is angry that captives have been taken, or at least that all the women have. He isolates these
women here (perhaps because they are assumed to be involved in the Peor apostasy in ch 25, or may lead the
men astray) and commands that every woman who has known a man and all male children be killed. But all female virgins can be preserved alive for yourselves, as wives or slaves. The text informs the reader only indirectly
hebrew bible | 235
numbers 31
you allowed all the women to live? These
women here, on Balaams advice, made the
Israelites act treacherously against the Lord
in the aair of Peor, so that the plague came
among the congregation of the Lord. Now
therefore, kill every male among the little
ones, and kill every woman who has known a
man by sleeping with him. But all the young
girls who have not known a man by sleeping
with him, keep alive for yourselves. Camp
outside the camp seven days; whoever of you
has killed any person or touched a corpse,
purify yourselves and your captives on the
third and on the seventh day. You shall
purify every garment, every article of skin,
everything made of goats hair, and every
article of wood.
Eleazar the priest said to the troops who
had gone to battle: This is the statute of the
law that the Lord has commanded Moses:
gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead
everything that can withstand re, shall
be passed through re, and it shall be clean.
Nevertheless it shall also be puried with the
water for purication; and whatever cannot
withstand re, shall be passed through the
water. You must wash your clothes on the
seventh day, and you shall be clean; afterward you may come into the camp.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, You
and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the
ancestral houses of the congregation make
an inventory of the booty captured, both human and animal. Divide the booty into two
parts, between the warriors who went out to
battle and all the congregation. From the
share of the warriors who went out to battle,
set aside as tribute for the Lord, one item
out of every ve hundred, whether persons,
oxen, donkeys, sheep, or goats. Take it from
their half and give it to Eleazar the priest
as an oering to the Lord. But from the
Israelites half you shall take one out of every
fty, whether persons, oxen, donkeys, sheep,
or goatsall the animalsand give them to
the Levites who have charge of the tabernacle

of the Lord.
Then Moses and Eleazar the priest did as
the Lord had commanded Moses:
The booty remaining from the spoil that
the troops had taken totaled six hundred
seventy-ve thousand sheep, seventytwo thousand oxen, sixty-one thousand
donkeys, and thirty-two thousand persons
in all, women who had not known a man by
sleeping with him.
The half-share, the portion of those who
had gone out to war, was in number three
hundred thirty-seven thousand ve hundred
sheep and goats, and the Lords tribute of
sheep and goats was six hundred seventyve. The oxen were thirty-six thousand, of
which the Lords tribute was seventy-two.
The donkeys were thirty thousand ve
hundred, of which the Lords tribute was
sixty-one. The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lords tribute was thirtytwo persons. Moses gave the tribute, the
oering for the Lord, to Eleazar the priest, as
the Lord had commanded Moses.
As for the Israelites half, which Moses
separated from that of the troops, the congregations half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand ve hundred sheep and goats,
thirty-six thousand oxen, thirty thousand ve hundred donkeys, and sixteen
thousand persons. From the Israelites half
Moses took one of every fty, both of persons
and of animals, and gave them to the Levites
who had charge of the tabernacle of the
Lord; as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Then the ocers who were over the
thousands of the army, the commanders of
thousands and the commanders of hundreds,
approached Moses, and said to Moses,
Your servants have counted the warriors
who are under our command, and not one
of us is missing. And we have brought
the Lords oering, what each of us found,
articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet
that these commands of Moses were carried out (31.35). 1924: See 19.122, with new distinctions between
ammable and nonammable (metal) items. 2547: God issues commands regarding the disposition of captives and booty. They are to be divided evenly between the warriors and the rest of the congregation (see 1 Sam
30.24). One in ve hundred of the warriors items is to be given to the priests as tribute for the Lord; one in y
of the congregations items to the Levites (see 18.832). This command is carried out (v. 31) and details follow
regarding disposition and quantity of the spoil; the totaljust of the ocersis immense and surely exagger-
236 | hebrew bible
numbers 32
B
A
AN
AS
SEH
G I L E A
D
R i v e r
H-JAIR
OT
J o r d a n
V
AV
Wa d i J a b b o k
A
Jogbehah
Jazer
D
Elealeh
Heshbon
Dead S
ea
32
Sea off
Gennesaret
nnesar
rings, earrings, and pendants, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord. Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold
from them, all in the form of crafted articles.
And all the gold of the oering that they
oered to the Lord, from the commanders of
thousands and the commanders of hundreds,
was sixteen thousand seven hundred fty
shekels. (The troops had all taken plunder
for themselves.) So Moses and Eleazar
the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds,
and brought it into the tent of meeting as a
memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.
Now the Reubenites and the Gadites
owned a very great number of cattle.
When they saw that the land of Jazer and the
land of Gilead was a good place for cattle,
the Gadites and the Reubenites came and
spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and
to the leaders of the congregation, saying,
Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon,
Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon the land
that the Lord subdued before the congregation of Israelis a land for cattle; and your
servants have cattle. They continued, If we
have found favor in your sight, let this land
be given to your servants for a possession; do
not make us cross the Jordan.
But Moses said to the Gadites and to the
Reubenites, Shall your brothers go to war
while you sit here? Why will you discourage the hearts of the Israelites from going
over into the land that the Lord has given
them? Your fathers did this, when I sent
them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
When they went up to the Wadi Eshcol and
Kiriathaim
Baal-meon
n (Beon)
R E U B E N
Ataroth
Dibon
Aroer
Wa d i
Arno
0
0
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
The territory of of the Transjordan tribes.
ated: 808,000 animals, 32,000 young women, and 16,750 shekels of gold (v. 52). 52: A shekel, about .5 oz (11.4
gr). 4854: Nonliving booty. The ocers approach Moses with their gi to God of the precious metals each
soldier had taken. These valuables are brought to make atonement for themselves (perhaps because of the taking of human life) and as a memorial . . . before the Lordthrough tabernacle furnishings made from the metals.
32.142: Early land se+lement issues. The focus is on tribes who seled east of the JordanReuben, Gad,
and the half-tribe of Manasseh (see Gen 15.18; Deut 1.78; 3.1220; Josh 13.832; 22.134). A crisis arises among
these members of the new generation, and its resolution by means of compromise stands in sharp contrast to
earlier experiences. 35: The cities listed are east of the Jordan, between the Arnon and Jabbok rivers (see vv.
3338). The land that the Lord subdued, see 21.2135. These areas with their pasture lands were now available
and aracted the aention of the cale-rich tribes of Reuben and Gad (later joined by the half-tribe of Manasseh, vv. 3342). 615: But their words, Do not make us cross the Jordan, trigger Moses memories of past
disasters associated with reluctance to enter the land (Canaan; see chs 1314). Moses questions their motives;
indeed, he considers them a brood of sinners who repeat the unfaithfulness of the old generation, the eects
of which he rehearses. This could trigger the Lords erce anger (see 1.53) with even more disastrous conse-
hebrew bible | 237
numbers 32
saw the land, they discouraged the hearts of
the Israelites from going into the land that
the Lord had given them. The Lords anger
was kindled on that day and he swore, saying,
Surely none of the people who came up out
of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward,
shall see the land that I swore to give to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they
have not unreservedly followed me none
except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite
and Joshua son of Nun, for they have unreservedly followed the Lord. And the Lords
anger was kindled against Israel, and he made
them wander in the wilderness for forty
years, until all the generation that had done
evil in the sight of the Lord had disappeared.
And now you, a brood of sinners, have risen
in place of your fathers, to increase the Lords
erce anger against Israel! If you turn away
from following him, he will again abandon
them in the wilderness; and you will destroy
all this people.
Then they came up to him and said, We
will build sheepfolds here for our ocks, and
towns for our little ones, but we will take
up arms as a vanguarda before the Israelites,
until we have brought them to their place.
Meanwhile our little ones will stay in the fortied towns because of the inhabitants of the
land. We will not return to our homes until
all the Israelites have obtained their inheritance. We will not inherit with them on the
other side of the Jordan and beyond, because
our inheritance has come to us on this side of
the Jordan to the east.
So Moses said to them, If you do this
if you take up arms to go before the Lord for
the war, and all those of you who bear arms
cross the Jordan before the Lord, until he
has driven out his enemies from before him
and the land is subdued before the Lord
then after that you may return and be free

of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and
this land shall be your possession before the
Lord. But if you do not do this, you have
sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin
will nd you out. Build towns for your little
ones, and folds for your ocks; but do what
you have promised.
Then the Gadites and the Reubenites
said to Moses, Your servants will do as my
lord commands. Our little ones, our wives,
our ocks, and all our livestock shall remain
there in the towns of Gilead; but your
servants will cross over, everyone armed for
war, to do battle for the Lord, just as my lord
orders.
So Moses gave command concerning
them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son
of Nun, and to the heads of the ancestral
houses of the Israelite tribes. And Moses
said to them, If the Gadites and the Reubenites, everyone armed for battle before the
Lord, will cross over the Jordan with you and
the land shall be subdued before you, then
you shall give them the land of Gilead for a
possession; but if they will not cross over
with you armed, they shall have possessions
among you in the land of Canaan. The
Gadites and the Reubenites answered, As
the Lord has spoken to your servants, so we
will do. We will cross over armed before the
Lord into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us
on this side ofb the Jordan.
Moses gave to themto the Gadites
and to the Reubenites and to the half-tribe
of Manasseh son of Josephthe kingdom of
King Sihon of the Amorites and the kingdom
a Cn: Heb hurrying
b Heb beyond
quences. 1619: These tribes propose a compromise: they will sele in the Transjordan, leave their families
and animals behind, and proceed to ght as a vanguard before the Israelites, in the front line of the assault against
Canaan (compare 34.1012). They will not return to their homes until all the Israelites are secure and they will not
inherit those lands. 2024: Moses responds positively, if cautiously; references to God are especially prominent.
They are to go before the Lord, that is, before the ark (see Josh 4.1213; 6.78). If they follow through, they are free
of obligation to the Lord, that is, regarding this maer (see Josh 22.9). If they do not, your sin will nd you out: the
eects of sin have an intrinsic relationship to the deed. 2532: Gad and Reuben deferentially (your servants . . . my
lord) agree with those terms. Eleazar, Joshua, and tribal heads publicly agree to witness this agreement. If these
tribes fail, they must move to lands west of the Jordan. They agree, as the Lord has spoken: Moses word seems to
be as good as Gods. 3338: Moses gives the lands to these tribes, who rebuild Amorite cities and rename some
238 | hebrew bible
numbers 33
of King Og of Bashan, the land and its towns,
with the territories of the surrounding towns.
And the Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth,
Aroer, Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,
Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fortied cities, and folds for sheep. And the Reubenites
rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, Nebo,
and Baal-meon (some names being changed),
and Sibmah; and they gave names to the
towns that they rebuilt. The descendants of
Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who
were there; so Moses gave Gilead to Machir
son of Manasseh, and he settled there. Jair
son of Manasseh went and captured their
villages, and renamed them Havvoth-jair.a
And Nobah went and captured Kenath
and its villages, and renamed it Nobah after
himself.
These are the stages by which the
Israelites went out of the land of Egypt
in military formation under the leadership
of Moses and Aaron. Moses wrote down
their starting points, stage by stage, by command of the Lord; and these are their stages
according to their starting places. They set
out from Rameses in the rst month, on the
fteenth day of the rst month; on the day
after the passover the Israelites went out
boldly in the sight of all the Egyptians, while
the Egyptians were burying all their rstborn,
whom the Lord had struck down among
them. The Lord executed judgments even
against their gods.
So the Israelites set out from Rameses,
and camped at Succoth. They set out from
33
Succoth, and camped at Etham, which is

on the edge of the wilderness. They set
out from Etham, and turned back to Pihahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon; and they
camped before Migdol. They set out from
Pi-hahiroth, passed through the sea into
the wilderness, went a three days journey
in the wilderness of Etham, and camped at
Marah. They set out from Marah and came
to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs
of water and seventy palm trees, and they
camped there. They set out from Elim and
camped by the Red Sea.b They set out from
the Red Seab and camped in the wilderness
of Sin. They set out from the wilderness of
Sin and camped at Dophkah. They set out
from Dophkah and camped at Alush. They
set out from Alush and camped at Rephidim,
where there was no water for the people to
drink. They set out from Rephidim and
camped in the wilderness of Sinai. They
set out from the wilderness of Sinai and
camped at Kibroth-hattaavah. They set
out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped
at Hazeroth. They set out from Hazeroth
and camped at Rithmah. They set out
from Rithmah and camped at Rimmonperez. They set out from Rimmon-perez
and camped at Libnah. They set out from
Libnah and camped at Rissah. They set
out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
They set out from Kehelathah and camped
at Mount Shepher. They set out from
a That is the villages of Jair
b Or Sea of Reeds
(see Josh 13.832 for land allotments; for Sihon and Og, see ch 21). 3942: The integration of the half-tribe of
Manasseh; their land holdings, on both sides of the Jordan, lie north of Gads. They oust more Amorites for their
lands. The land for two and one-half tribes is thus already in place before the Jordan is crossed.
33.149: The wilderness journey remembered. A recollection of the forty-two stages of Israels journey
through the wilderness, from Egypt to their present situation across the Jordan. Its placement recognizes the
transition from wilderness journey to land selement. Represented as Moses writing at Gods command (v. 2),
its origin may lie in one or more ancient itineraries circulating in Israel (for another summary, Deut 1.13.28).
Many sites are not mentioned elsewhere (33.13,1829); most are not geographically identiable. The itinerary
is surprisingly secular; Gods activity is mentioned only at v. 4 and at Aarons death (v. 38), accentuating the
importance of human activity. The reader can recognize two uneven segments, up to and following the death
of Aaron (vv. 3839; see 20.2329), perhaps betraying priestly interests. Only v. 8 speaks of the travel time. The
bare bones character of the description highlights the journey in and of itself. 337: The rst segment. 34:
Passover is considered a bale among the gods (see v. 52; Ex 12.12; 15.11), while Sinai and the sea crossing are
mentioned only in passing. Rameses, see Ex 12.37. 56: See Ex 13.20. 7: See Ex 14.2. 8: See Ex 15.2223. 9: See Ex
15.27. 10: See Ex 15.22. 11: See Ex 16.1. 14: See Ex 17.1. 15: See Ex 19.12. 1617: See 11.3435. 3034: Cf. Deut 10.67.
hebrew bible | 239
Hazar-enan
Lebo-hamath
Great Sea
Br
Dead S
ea
R i v
SSea
ea of
Gennesaret
nesa
oo
k Be
sor
ad
io
fE
gy
Ascent of
Akrabbim
pt
Kadesh-barnea
nea
Border of Land of Canaan

The boundaries of the promised land.
240 | hebrew bible
20
20
40 Miles
40 Kilometers
numbers 34
Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
They set out from Haradah and camped at
Makheloth. They set out from Makheloth
and camped at Tahath. They set out from
Tahath and camped at Terah. They set
out from Terah and camped at Mithkah.
They set out from Mithkah and camped at
Hashmonah. They set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. They set
out from Moseroth and camped at Benejaakan. They set out from Bene-jaakan and
camped at Hor-haggidgad. They set out
from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah. They set out from Jotbathah and
camped at Abronah. They set out from
Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. They
set out from Ezion-geber and camped in the
wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh). They
set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount
Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.
Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at
the command of the Lord and died there in
the fortieth year after the Israelites had come
out of the land of Egypt, on the rst day of
the fth month. Aaron was one hundred
twenty-three years old when he died on
Mount Hor.
The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who
lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan,
heard of the coming of the Israelites.
They set out from Mount Hor and
camped at Zalmonah. They set out from
Zalmonah and camped at Punon. They
set out from Punon and camped at Oboth.
They set out from Oboth and camped at
Iye-abarim, in the territory of Moab. They
set out from Iyim and camped at Dibongad. They set out from Dibon-gad and
camped at Almon-diblathaim. They set out
from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the
mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. They
set out from the mountains of Abarim and
camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan
at Jericho; they camped by the Jordan from
Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the
plains of Moab.
In the plains of Moab by the Jordan at
Jericho, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Speak to the Israelites, and say to them:
When you cross over the Jordan into the
land of Canaan, you shall drive out all the
inhabitants of the land from before you,
destroy all their gured stones, destroy all
their cast images, and demolish all their high
places. You shall take possession of the land
and settle in it, for I have given you the land
to possess. You shall apportion the land
by lot according to your clans; to a large one
you shall give a large inheritance, and to a
small one you shall give a small inheritance;
the inheritance shall belong to the person on
whom the lot falls; according to your ancestral tribes you shall inherit. But if you do
not drive out the inhabitants of the land from
before you, then those whom you let remain
shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in
your sides; they shall trouble you in the land
where you are settling. And I will do to you
as I thought to do to them.
Command the Israelites, and say to
them: When you enter the land of Canaan
34
36: Cf. 13.26; 20.1. 37: Mount Hor, see 20.22; Edom, see 20.1421. 3839: See 20.2329. 40: See 20.13. 4149:
The second segment (compare 21.122.1) moves quickly to the present situation (a passing reference to Mount
Nebo, the site of Moses death and burial). 43: 21.1011. 45: Dibon-gad, cf. 32.34; 21.30n. 48: See 22.1. 49: Cf. 25.1.
33.5056: Directions for conquest of Canaan. These hortatory instructions from God to Moses specify the
nature of the possession of the land and its allotment. Israel is to drive out (not exterminate; contrast Ex 23.23;
Deut 7.16) the present inhabitants, destroy their images and sanctuaries (high places are open-air sanctuaries;
see Lev 26.30), and apportion the land by lot according to the size of the clans (see 26.5455). If they do not
drive out the inhabitants (which actually happens; see Judg 1.12.5; 1 Kings 9.21), those le shall be as barbs in
your eyes and thorns in your sides, which is what they prove to be over the years (Josh 23.13; see Ex 23.2333;
34.1116; Deut 7.16; 12.24; Judg 2.113.6).
34.129: The apportionment of the land. 115: The boundaries of the promised land are idealized; they do
not correspond to the boundaries known from other biblical sources (such as Josh 1319; Ezek 47.1320), yet
the boundaries correspond well to Canaan as described in Egyptian sources prior to the Israelite selement
and a few other texts (see Josh 1319; Ezek 47.1320). Many sites are unknown and so the boundaries cannot be
determined with precision. 26: The southern border moves from the southern end of the Dead Sea south and
hebrew bible | 241
numbers 35
(this is the land that shall fall to you for an
inheritance, the land of Canaan, dened
by its boundaries), your south sector shall
extend from the wilderness of Zin along the
side of Edom. Your southern boundary shall
begin from the end of the Dead Seaa on the
east; your boundary shall turn south of the
ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its
outer limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea;
then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and cross
to Azmon; the boundary shall turn from
Azmon to the Wadi of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the Sea.
For the western boundary, you shall have
the Great Sea and itsb coast; this shall be your
western boundary.
This shall be your northern boundary:
from the Great Sea you shall mark out your
line to Mount Hor; from Mount Hor you
shall mark it out to Lebo-hamath, and the
outer limit of the boundary shall be at Zedad;
then the boundary shall extend to Ziphron,
and its end shall be at Hazar-enan; this shall
be your northern boundary.
You shall mark out your eastern boundary from Hazar-enan to Shepham; and the
boundary shall continue down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; and
the boundary shall go down, and reach the
eastern slope of the sea of Chinnereth; and
the boundary shall go down to the Jordan, and
its end shall be at the Dead Sea.a This shall be
your land with its boundaries all around.
Moses commanded the Israelites, saying:
This is the land that you shall inherit by lot,
which the Lord has commanded to give to
the nine tribes and to the half-tribe; for
the tribe of the Reubenites by their ancestral

houses and the tribe of the Gadites by their
ancestral houses have taken their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh;
the two tribes and the half-tribe have taken
their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho
eastward, toward the sunrise.
These are the names of the men who shall
apportion the land to you for inheritance: the
priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun. You
shall take one leader of every tribe to apportion the land for inheritance. These are
the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah,
Caleb son of Jephunneh. Of the tribe of the
Simeonites, Shemuel son of Ammihud. Of
the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Chislon.
Of the tribe of the Danites a leader, Bukki
son of Jogli. Of the Josephites: of the tribe
of the Manassites a leader, Hanniel son of
Ephod, and of the tribe of the Ephraimites a
leader, Kemuel son of Shiphtan. Of the tribe
of the Zebulunites a leader, Eli-zaphan son
of Parnach. Of the tribe of the Issacharites
a leader, Paltiel son of Azzan. And of the
tribe of the Asherites a leader, Ahihud son
of Shelomi. Of the tribe of the Naphtalites
a leader, Pedahel son of Ammihud. These
were the ones whom the Lord commanded to
apportion the inheritance for the Israelites in
the land of Canaan.
In the plains of Moab by the Jordan
at Jericho, the Lord spoke to Moses,
saying: Command the Israelites to give, from
35
a Heb Salt Sea

b Syr: Heb lacks its
west across the wilderness of Zin to south of Kadesh to the Wadi of Egypt to the Mediterranean (Great Sea), the
western boundary. 79: The northern border is less clear, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Hor (not
the southern mountain of 20.22) into southern Syria (Lebo-hamath). 1012: The eastern boundary moves from
a line north of the eastern slope of the sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) down the Jordan to the Dead Sea. 1415: See
ch 32. 1629: Ten tribal leaders (not Reuben and Gad) are appointed to apportion the land, generally listed from
south to north; they are the new generation, dierent from those listed in 13.215 (except for Caleb). Eleazar
and Joshua are chosen to supervise the work.
35.134: Special cities and renements in the law. These stipulations are given by God to Moses for the
enhancement of life for various persons in the new land. The taking of human life puts the land in special danger. 18: Cities for the Levites (see Lev 25.3234; for lists, see Josh 21.142; 1 Chr 6.5481). Stipulations for land
distribution are continued, with provision for the Levites, who have no territorial rights (see 18.2124; 26.62).
Inasmuch as they will be active throughout the land (unspecied functions beyond care for the tabernacle),
they are to be alloed forty-eight cities (six of which are cities of refuge, vv. 915). These cities provide for their
housing and for grazing lands for their livestock, though not as permanent possessions (and others would
242 | hebrew bible
numbers 35
the inheritance that they possess, towns for
the Levites to live in; you shall also give to the
Levites pasture lands surrounding the towns.
The towns shall be theirs to live in, and
their pasture lands shall be for their cattle,
for their livestock, and for all their animals.
The pasture lands of the towns, which you
shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the
wall of the town outward a thousand cubits
all around. You shall measure, outside the
town, for the east side two thousand cubits,
for the south side two thousand cubits, for
the west side two thousand cubits, and for
the north side two thousand cubits, with the
town in the middle; this shall belong to them
as pasture land for their towns.
The towns that you give to the Levites
shall include the six cities of refuge, where
you shall permit a slayer to ee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two towns.
The towns that you give to the Levites shall
total forty-eight, with their pasture lands.
And as for the towns that you shall give
from the possession of the Israelites, from the
larger tribes you shall take many, and from
the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in
proportion to the inheritance that it obtains,
shall give of its towns to the Levites.
to the Israelites, and say to them: When you
cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
then you shall select cities to be cities of
refuge for you, so that a slayer who kills a person without intent may ee there. The cit-
ies shall be for you a refuge from the avenger,

so that the slayer may not die until there is a
trial before the congregation.
The cities that you designate shall be six
cities of refuge for you: you shall designate
three cities beyond the Jordan, and three
cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of
refuge. These six cities shall serve as refuge
for the Israelites, for the resident or transient
alien among them, so that anyone who kills a
person without intent may ee there.
But anyone who strikes another with an
iron object, and death ensues, is a murderer;
the murderer shall be put to death. Or anyone who strikes another with a stone in hand
that could cause death, and death ensues,
is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to
death. Or anyone who strikes another with
a weapon of wood in hand that could cause
death, and death ensues, is a murderer; the
murderer shall be put to death. The avenger
of blood is the one who shall put the murderer to death; when they meet, the avenger of
blood shall execute the sentence. Likewise,
if someone pushes another from hatred, or
hurls something at another, lying in wait, and
death ensues, or in enmity strikes another
with the hand, and death ensues, then the
one who struck the blow shall be put to
death; that person is a murderer; the avenger
of blood shall put the murderer to death,
when they meet.
But if someone pushes another suddenly
without enmity, or hurls any object without
live there). 45: A thousand cubits (ca. 433 m [1,457 ]). The various tribes will contribute cities according to
their size. 915: Cities of refuge (cf. Deut 4.4143; 19.113; for a list, see Josh 20.19). Six well-distributed cities
of refuge were set aside as places of asylum for persons (Israelite or alien) who killed someone without intent
until their case could be properly tried. Their purpose was to prevent blood feuds. 12: As long as such persons
remained within one of these cities they were secure from the avenger (or redeemer; see Lev 25.25,4749), the
relative of the deceased charged to ensure proper retribution for the sake of the land (see v. 33). 1634: Distinctions in the homicide laws, between murder and unpremeditated killing (on intentional/unintentional distinction, see 15.2231; Ex 21.1314). The burden of proof is on the slayer. 1621: Those who murder another with
intent, regardless of means or motivation (six examples are given), are to be put to death by the avenger, aer a
trial (see supplement, vv. 3032). The avengers action is necessary for the sake of the future of the land. 2229:
In the case of killing without intent and hostility, a trial is to be held, outside the city of refuge, with national
judges representing the congregation to decide whether the killing was truly unintentional (see Josh 20.6). If so
decided, the slayer was returned to the city where he originally took refuge, where he remained until the death
of the high priest. The cities of refuge were a kind of exile. Because they only masked the polluting eects of
the murder, expiation was still necessary. This was accomplished through the (natural) death of the high priest,
which had expiatory signicance, issuing in a kind of general amnesty. Only then was release possible. If the
slayer le the city before this occurred, he was not protected from the avenger, whose actions would not incur
hebrew bible | 243
numbers 36
lying in wait, or, while handling any stone
that could cause death, unintentionallya
drops it on another and death ensues, though
they were not enemies, and no harm was
intended, then the congregation shall judge
between the slayer and the avenger of blood,
in accordance with these ordinances; and
the congregation shall rescue the slayer from
the avenger of blood. Then the congregation
shall send the slayer back to the original city
of refuge. The slayer shall live in it until the
death of the high priest who was anointed
with the holy oil. But if the slayer shall
at any time go outside the bounds of the
original city of refuge, and is found by the
avenger of blood outside the bounds of the
city of refuge, and is killed by the avenger, no
bloodguilt shall be incurred. For the slayer
must remain in the city of refuge until the
death of the high priest; but after the death of
the high priest the slayer may return home.
These things shall be a statute and ordinance for you throughout your generations
wherever you live.
If anyone kills another, the murderer
shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses; but no one shall be put to death on
the testimony of a single witness. Moreover
you shall accept no ransom for the life of a
murderer who is subject to the death penalty;
a murderer must be put to death. Nor shall
you accept ransom for one who has ed to a
city of refuge, enabling the fugitive to return
to live in the land before the death of the
high priest. You shall not pollute the land
in which you live; for blood pollutes the land,
and no expiation can be made for the land,
for the blood that is shed in it, except by the

blood of the one who shed it. You shall not
dele the land in which you live, in which I
also dwell; for I the Lord dwell among the
Israelites.
The heads of the ancestral houses
of the clans of the descendants of
Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, of the
Josephite clans, came forward and spoke in
the presence of Moses and the leaders, the
heads of the ancestral houses of the Israelites; they said, The Lord commanded my
lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to
the Israelites; and my lord was commanded
by the Lord to give the inheritance of our
brother Zelophehad to his daughters. But if
they are married into another Israelite tribe,
then their inheritance will be taken from the
inheritance of our ancestors and added to
the inheritance of the tribe into which they
marry; so it will be taken away from the allotted portion of our inheritance. And when
the jubilee of the Israelites comes, then their
inheritance will be added to the inheritance
of the tribe into which they have married;
and their inheritance will be taken from the
inheritance of our ancestral tribe.
Then Moses commanded the Israelites
according to the word of the Lord, saying,
The descendants of the tribe of Joseph are
right in what they are saying. This is what
the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, Let them marry whom
they think best; only it must be into a clan
of their fathers tribe that they are married,
36
a Heb without seeing
guilt. 3032: A supplement stating that evidence of more than one witness is needed (see Deut 19.1521) and no
monetary ransom is possible. 3334: Murder is not simply a maer between two familiesit pollutes the land
and its wholeness, threatening the divine presence among Israel; only the blood of the killer can make expiation
for the land (remove the impurity the murder has let loose; compare Deut 21.19).
36.113: Once again: the daughters of Zelophehad. Issues raised concerning the eects of the decision
earlier rendered to the daughters of Zelophehad (27.111). They based their case on the continuance of their
fathers name and his property in their clan (27.4). 14: Members of their tribe Manasseh come to Moses and
ask for an interpretation in view of the fact that upon marriage any property held by the wife became that of
her husband. Hence, if a daughter were to marry outside of her tribe, the property would transfer to that tribe
and Manasseh (in this case) would lose its full original allotment. Even the property transfer in the jubilee year
(every ieth year) would not return it to the family, because only sold, not inherited, property is so returned
(see Lev 25.1334; 27.1625). 59: Moses agrees and apparently receives a word of the Lord on the maer (it may
be his interpretation more generally; see Ex 18.23). The daughters may marry within their own tribe (as was
common in patrilineal systems) so that the original tribal allotment remains intact. 1012: The ve daughters of
244 | hebrew bible
numbers 36
so that no inheritance of the Israelites shall
be transferred from one tribe to another; for
all Israelites shall retain the inheritance of
their ancestral tribes. Every daughter who
possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the
Israelites shall marry one from the clan of
her fathers tribe, so that all Israelites may
continue to possess their ancestral inheritance. No inheritance shall be transferred
from one tribe to another; for each of the
tribes of the Israelites shall retain its own
inheritance.
The daughters of Zelophehad did as

the Lord had commanded Moses. Mahlah,
Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the
daughters of Zelophehad, married sons of
their fathers brothers. They were married
into the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance
remained in the tribe of their fathers clan.
These are the commandments and
the ordinances that the Lord commanded
through Moses to the Israelites in the plains
of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
Zelophehad actually do marry rst cousins within their clan. 13: The nal verse speaks of Gods commandments
given through Moses since 22.1, when Israel arrived by the Jordan. These commandments have been essentially
forward-looking, anticipating Israels future life in the land.
DEUTERONOMY
name
The English name of the book comes from the ancient Greek translation, the Septuagint, and means second
law (see 17.18n.). That title reects the early Jewish perspective that Deuteronomy is Moses rehearsal of the
earlier legal sections of the Torah. The Hebrew name of the book is Debarim (words), and comes from the
books opening: These are the words (1.1).
authorship, date, and historical context

Deuteronomy directly addresses the problem of the historical distance between past and present, between
tradition and the needs of the contemporary generation, between revelation and interpretation. In that way, it
is a remarkably modern text that instructs its audience how to become more thoughtful readers of scripture.
In narrative terms, Deuteronomy comes just as the Israelites, encamped on the plains of Moab, nally stand
poised to enter the promised land. This entry into Canaan would provide the long-awaited climax of the story
that had begun with the promises to the ancestors in Genesis, and whose fulllment had been delayed by the
enslavement in Egypt and the wandering in the wilderness. Now, on the eve both of his death and of the nations entry into the land without him, Moses, as Deuteronomys speaker, arrests the narrative action in order to
deliver a series of three speeches, grouped together as a long farewell address. He reviews the nations history,
expounds upon their laws, and instructs them about the importance of loyalty to God. He also requires that the
nation swear upon oath to uphold this combination of law and theological instruction as a covenant upon the
plains of Moab, one that supplements the prior covenant of Horeb (Deuteronomys name for Sinai; 28.69). Only
aer the conclusion of these discourses and a following appendix (chs 3134) does the overall narrative line
resume with the account of the nations entry into Canaan in the books of Joshua and Judges.
Despite this perspective and the texts own self-presentation, however, Deuteronomy is likely not from Moses
himself but originates in the seventh century bce. It has long been recognized that there are striking similarities
between the distinctive religious and legal requirements of Deuteronomy and the account of the major religious
reform carried out by Josiah, the king of Judah, in 622 bce (2 Kings 2223). That reform had been inspired by the
discovery in the Temple of a scroll of the Torah (2 Kings 22.8; NRSV book of the law). Josiahs reform restricted
all sacricial worship of God to Jerusalem and removed foreign elements from the system of worship; it culminated in the celebration of the rst nationally centralized Passover at the Temple in Jerusalem (2 Kings 23.2123). So
strongly do these royal initiatives correspond to the distinctive requirements of Deuteronomy that scholars, both
traditional and critical, have long identied the scroll of the Torah discovered in Josiahs Temple as Deuteronomy.
Josiahs reform, with Deuteronomy as its catalyst, was much more a revolution than a simple return to older
forms of worship. Previously, it was entirely legitimate to sacrice to God throughout the land, as did Abraham
at Shechem and near Bethel (Gen 12.78); Jacob at Bethel (Gen 35.17); Samuel at Mizpah, Ramah, Gilgal, and
Bethlehem (1 Sam 7.9,17; 9.1114; 10.8; 16.15); and Elijah upon Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18.2046). Indeed, earlier
biblical law stipulated that God would grant blessing in every place where I cause my name to be remembered (Ex 20.24). Deuteronomy challenged that older norm, prohibiting sacrice at any place (lit. in every
place) and restricting it to a single site, implicitly Jerusalem (Deut 12.1314). In this way, Deuteronomys selfpresentation as a rehearsal or explication of prior law (1.15) or as a simple supplement to the prior covenant
(29.1) obscures the extent to which Deuteronomy actually challenges and revises earlier law in support of its
new religious vision.
A century of Assyrian imperial domination serves as the historical background of Josiahs reforms. The
Northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen to the Assyrians in 722 bce (2 Kings 17). Continuing Assyrian incursions
down the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean had all but reduced Judah to a rump-state (2 Kings 18.13). In
a desperate bid to preserve the nations autonomy, King Hezekiah of Judah made a pact with Assyria (2 Kings
18.1318), as had his predecessor Ahaz (2 Kings 16.78). The resulting military allegiances led to religious syncretism, as foreign forms of worship were introduced into the Temple (2 Kings 16.1020; 21.16).
By the last quarter of the seventh century bce, however, Assyrias might was in decline. In this context, Josiahs
religious reforms represented an important bid for Judean cultural, political, and religious autonomy. The monarch
hebrew bible | 247
deuteronomy
extended his reforms into the area of the former Northern Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 23.1520), territory formerly
under Assyrian control. Deuteronomy, apparently wrien sometime during this historical crisis, likewise reects the
desire to preserve Judean cultural and religious integrity. Its authors were convinced that older conventions of worship and social organization were no longer viable. If the religion of the Lord was to survive the crisis, renewal and adaptation were necessary. The collection of laws that form the core of Deuteronomy (chs 1226) provides a remarkably
comprehensive program for cultural renewal. The laws deal with worship; the festival calendar; the major institutions
of public life (justice, kingship, priesthood, prophecy); criminal, family, and civil law; and ethics. These laws are presented as the requirements of a covenant between God and the nation, which the people take an oath to uphold,
upon penalty of sanctions, while maintaining unconditional loyalty to their God. That covenant structure closely corresponds to Neo-Assyrian state treaties that have been recovered from this period, the most famous of which is the
Vassal Treaty of Esarhaddon (672 bce). At a number of points, the authors of Deuteronomy seem consciously to have
paerned their covenant aer such treaties, treaties that had been repeatedly imposed upon Judah in the late eighth
and seventh centuries bce. From this perspective, Deuteronomy is a countertreaty: Its authors turned the weapon of
imperialism into a bid for freedom, shiing its oath of loyalty from the Assyrian overlord to their divine sovereign.
The authors of Deuteronomy were thus tutored in international treaty conventions, and elsewhere reveal
their knowledge of the literary traditions of ancient Near Eastern law (see 15.118n.; 17.813n.,1420n.; 22.13
30n.) and wisdom literature (1.13n.; 4.2n.). The authors of Deuteronomy made use of another common ancient
Near Eastern convention as well. They did not directly aach their names to their compositions or write in
their own voices; instead, they aributed their composition to a prestigious gure from the past. By employing
Moses as their spokesperson, they established a link with tradition at precisely the time when tradition, for the
sake of survival, had to be transformed. This convention of ascribing a text to an ancient personage, technically called pseudepigraphy, is particularly well known in the later literature of the Second Temple period;
examples include Jubilees, 4 Ezra, the Testament of Abraham, and (among the Dead Sea Scrolls) the Temple Scroll.
literary history
It is important to note that Deuteronomy has its own internal literary history as well, preserving several layers
of tradition within itselfthe structure of three dierent speeches given by Moses, with an appendix, already
suggests a process of literary growth. That growth is closely connected to the gradual formation of the Hebrew
Bible. To appreciate what is involved, it helps imaginatively to turn the clock back to the time before the Bible
achieved its present form.
When Deuteronomy was rst promulgated, it would not have been part of any larger whole. Instead, it would
have been complete by itself as a scroll of the Torah (book of the law). It would have consisted of most of the
laws of chs 1226, framed by a relatively simple introduction and conclusion. This form of Deuteronomy presented itself as a treaty concluded between the nation and its God in a formal ceremony whereby each citizen took
an oath of under penalty of strict sanctions (28.146). This was very likely the preexilic form of Deuteronomy.
At a later stage, presumably sometime during the exile in the mid-sixth century bce, Deuteronomy would
have been incorporated into the Deuteronomistic History (the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) to
serve as its introduction. At this point, the Deuteronomistic editors would have given the book its literary frame
(1.14.40; chs 3134), while also adding to the collection of laws, selectively tying its promises or expectations
to the later historical material. Expansions in Deuteronomy that reect the Babylonian exile may derive from
this stage (see 4.2531; 28.4756; 30.110).
At a still later point, in the exilic or postexilic period, Priestly editors appended Deuteronomy to the newly
formed Pentateuch, to serve as its conclusion. Ironically, the decision to conclude the Pentateuch with Deuteronomy separated the overall narrative plan of Genesis through Numbers from its logical fulllment in an
account of the conquest of the land. This narrative climax was delayed to the books of Joshua and Judges.
In the nal chapters of Deuteronomy, these three viewpoints operate simultaneously, creating a complex
interplay of perspectives. The legal section is brought to its conclusion with a formal ratication ceremony involving the swearing of an oath to assume the penalties for transgressing the covenant (chs 2931). At the same
time, other editors worked to embed Deuteronomy in the Deuteronomistic History. Still other editors tied the
book to Genesis-Numbers and thus make the creation of Torahno longer the occupation of the landthe
climax of the newly created Pentateuch. The three perspectives operate concurrently, spinning like Ezekiels
vision of a wheel within a wheel (Ezek 1.16).
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deuteronomy
1.14.43
1.15
1.63.29
4.140
4.4143
4.4428.68
4.4449
5.133
6.111.32
12.126.15
26.1619
27.126
28.168
29.130.20
I. The rst discourse of Moses

A. Editorial heading
B. Historical review
C. Exhortation to obey the teaching of Moses
D. Appendix: Cities of refuge in Transjordan
II. The second discourse of Moses
A. Introduction
B. The revelation of the Decalogue at Sinai/Horeb
C. Preamble to the laws: the requirement of loyalty to God
D. The legal corpus: Deuteronomys transformation of Israelite religion
E. Formal conclusion: the reciprocity of the covenant
F. Ceremonies at Shechem upon entry into the land
G. The consequences of obedience or disobedience: blessing or curse
III. The third discourse of Moses: the ratication ceremony for the covenant on the plains
of Moab
29.1
A. Editorial heading: the relation between Moab and Horeb
29.29
B. Didactic review of Israels history
29.1029
C. Imprecation to ensure loyalty to the covenant
30.110
D. Reassurance of restoration
30.1114
E. The accessibility of Moses teaching
30.1520
F. The necessity of choice
31.134.12
IV. The death of Moses and the formation of the Torah
31.129
A. Moses makes arrangements for his death
31.3032.43
B. The Song of Moses
32.4447
C. Double conclusion to the Song
32.4852
D. Moses commanded to die
33.129
E. The Blessing of Moses
34.112
F. The death of Moses
guide to reading
Part of the continuing relevance of Deuteronomy is that it does not permit itself to be read literally or passively.
It challenges its readers actively to confront the problem of the relation between revelation and interpretation,
and breaks down conventional boundaries between scripture and tradition. It makes paradox central to its
structure: The book distinctively narrates the process of its own formation (31.112) while also anticipating its
existence and completion (17.18; 28.58; 30.10). Interpretation is directly and indirectly a theme of Deuteronomy
(see 1.5). At many points, the authors of Deuteronomy reinterpret earlier narratives (see 6.1n.) and laws (particularly from the Covenant Collection or Covenant Code in Ex 2023). Moreover, the process of the books editing
intentionally preserves conicting perspectives on a full range of issues central to Israelite religion: on whether
the revelation of the Decalogue at Mount Horeb (Deuteronomys name for Mount Sinai) was direct or required
the mediation of Moses (5.5n.); on the stature of Moses relative to other prophets (34.10n.); on the nature of
divine punishment for sin (5.910n.; 7.10n.); on whether God rules as head of a pantheon or is the only God who
exists (4.78n., 1531n., 35n.; 32.8n.); and even on Deuteronomys own seing in time and place (1.1n.; 2.12n.;
3.11n.). These mutually exclusive positions preserve an ongoing ancient debate about fundamental religious
assumptions. The editors of Deuteronomy opted against closure: They preserved these dierent schools of
thought in their full integrity. Accordingly, there is in Deuteronomy no access to God in the covenant without
entering into this debate. The modern reader of Deuteronomy must become, like the authors of Deuteronomy,
an interpreter.
Bernard M. Levinson
hebrew bible | 249
deuteronomy 1
These are the words that Moses spoke to

all Israel beyond the Jordanin the wilderness, on the plain opposite Suph, between
Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and
Di-zahab. (By the way of Mount Seir it takes
eleven days to reach Kadesh-barnea from
Horeb.) In the fortieth year, on the rst day
of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the
Israelites just as the Lord had commanded
him to speak to them. This was after he had
defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who
reigned in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan,
who reigned in Ashtaroth anda in Edrei. Beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses
undertook to expound this law as follows:
The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb,
saying, You have stayed long enough at this
mountain. Resume your journey, and go into
the hill country of the Amorites as well as

into the neighboring regionsthe Arabah,
the hill country, the Shephelah, the Negeb,
and the seacoastthe land of the Canaanites
and the Lebanon, as far as the great river,
the river Euphrates. See, I have set the land
before you; go in and take possession of the
land that Ib swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them
and to their descendants after them.
At that time I said to you, I am unable
by myself to bear you. The Lord your God
has multiplied you, so that today you are as
numerous as the stars of heaven. May the
Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you
a Gk Syr Vg Compare Josh 12.4: Heb lacks and
b Sam Gk: MT the Lord
1.14.43: The rst discourse of Moses has two subsections: a historical retrospective (1.63.29) and a sermon on the importance of obeying the teaching of Moses (4.140). An editorial heading (1.15) and an appendix
(4.4143) frame the discourse. 1.15: Editorial heading. 1: Beyond the Jordan, the land east of the Jordan river
(Transjordan), the land of Moab (v. 5), where the Israelites have stopped, awaiting entry into the land. The
reference places the editor west of the Jordan, in Canaan. According to the narrative line, however, the Israelites
have not yet reached the promised land, and Moses never does. From this and similar anachronisms, medieval
Jewish commentators already recognized that not all of the Pentateuch could be aributed to Moses (see also
2.12; 3.11n.; 20.15; 34.5; Gen 12.6). The plain (lit. the Arabah), the Ri Valley that includes the Jordan River and
stretches south from the Dead Sea through Eilat and the Red Sea into Africa. The places mentioned cannot be
identied with certainty. 2: Eleven days implies a scathing indictment of the nation. As a result of their rebellion
in the desert (Num 1314), it actually took them thirty-eight years, eight months, and twenty days to reach this
point aer they rst broke camp (Num 10.11). Kadesh-barnea, see Num 13.26n. Horeb (Ex 3.1; 17.6; 33.6) is Deuteronomys term for the mount of revelation. (Mount) Sinai, in contrast, is the more standard term used by the
Yahwistic and Priestly writers (see Ex 19.11; 34.29); it occurs in Deuteronomy only at 33.1, where it refers more
generally to a mountainous region in the south. 4: Num 21.2135. 5: Expound seems intentionally ambiguous
about whether Moses here proclaims new religious teachings or simply explicates material already proclaimed.
This law, beer, this teaching (Heb torah, 4.8,44; 27.3,8,26; 28.58,61; 29.20,28; 30.10; 31.9,1112; 32.46). The
word designates not only the combination of ritual, civil, family, and ethical law found in chs 1226, but also
the religious instruction of chs 511. For later editors, as here, the same word seems to refer to the entire book
of Deuteronomy.
1.63.29: Historical review. Moses rehearses the Exodus, the revelation at Horeb/Sinai, and the rebellion in
the desert for the generation who arose aer these events, so that they may understand what brought them
to the present moment. At a number of points, this narrative diverges from that of Exodus-Numbers. 1.6: The
original of the divine command quoted has not been preserved (cf. Num 10). 7: Amorites, as at Gen 15.16, seems
to be used generically for the family of nations who are the original inhabitants of Canaan, rather than technically to designate one of those nations (contrast Gen 15.1921; Ex 3.8,17). The Shephelah is the region of foothills
between the hill country on the east and the seacoast on the west. The Negeb is the semi-arid region south of
the hill country. Great river, the ideal borders of the Israelite empire extended to the Euphrates (Gen 15.18), the
northern limit of Davids conquests (2 Sam 8.3). 8: See . . . set the land before you, God symbolically displays the
land and transfers its legal title to Israel (similarly, Gen 13.1415). 918: This account combines and reinterprets
two previous accounts of the creation of a military-judicial system to share the burden of leadership (compare
vv. 912 with Num 11.1417 and vv. 1317 with Ex 18.1327), placing the institutionalization of leadership aer
the departure from Sinai rather than before it and omiing the advisory role of Jethro, the non-Israelite (con-
250 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 1
a thousand times more and bless you, as he
has promised you! But how can I bear the
heavy burden of your disputes all by myself?
Choose for each of your tribes individuals
who are wise, discerning, and reputable to be
your leaders. You answered me, The plan
you have proposed is a good one. So I took
the leaders of your tribes, wise and reputable
individuals, and installed them as leaders
over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fties,
commanders of tens, and ocials, throughout your tribes. I charged your judges
at that time: Give the members of your
community a fair hearing, and judge rightly
between one person and another, whether
citizen or resident alien. You must not be
partial in judging: hear out the small and the
great alike; you shall not be intimidated by
anyone, for the judgment is Gods. Any case
that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will
hear it. So I charged you at that time with
all the things that you should do.
Then, just as the Lord our God had
ordered us, we set out from Horeb and went
through all that great and terrible wilderness
that you saw, on the way to the hill country
of the Amorites, until we reached Kadeshbarnea. I said to you, You have reached
the hill country of the Amorites, which the
Lord our God is giving us. See, the Lord
your God has given the land to you; go up,
take possession, as the Lord, the God of your
ancestors, has promised you; do not fear or
be dismayed.
All of you came to me and said, Let us
send men ahead of us to explore the land for
us and bring back a report to us regarding
the route by which we should go up and the
cities we will come to. The plan seemed

good to me, and I selected twelve of you, one
from each tribe. They set out and went up
into the hill country, and when they reached
the Valley of Eshcol they spied it out and
gathered some of the lands produce, which
they brought down to us. They brought back
a report to us, and said, It is a good land that
the Lord our God is giving us.
But you were unwilling to go up. You
rebelled against the command of the Lord
your God; you grumbled in your tents and
said, It is because the Lord hates us that he
has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to
hand us over to the Amorites to destroy us.
Where are we headed? Our kindred have
made our hearts melt by reporting, The people are stronger and taller than we; the cities
are large and fortied up to heaven! We actually saw there the ospring of the Anakim!
I said to you, Have no dread or fear of
them. The Lord your God, who goes before
you, is the one who will ght for you, just as
he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes,
and in the wilderness, where you saw how
the Lord your God carried you, just as one
carries a child, all the way that you traveled
until you reached this place. But in spite of
this, you have no trust in the Lord your God,
who goes before you on the way to seek out
a place for you to camp, in re by night, and
in the cloud by day, to show you the route
you should take.
When the Lord heard your words,
he was wrathful and swore: Not one of
thesenot one of this evil generationshall
see the good land that I swore to give to your
ancestors, except Caleb son of Jephunneh.
He shall see it, and to him and to his descen-
trast Ex 18). 10: Stars of heaven, fullling the promises made to the ancestors (Gen 15.5; 22.17; 26.4; Ex 32.13). 11:
God of your ancestors, Deuteronomys normal phrase is the Lord your/our God (i.e., vv. 6,10). This departure
from that formula ties this new generation to its past by recalling Gods earlier promises (Gen 26.24; 32.9; Ex
3.6). 13: Wise (contrast Ex 18.21), an aribute regularly stressed by Deuteronomy (4.6; 16.19; 32.29), suggesting
the inuence of wisdom literature upon its authors. Reputable (lit. knowing), continuing the emphasis upon
wisdom as a criterion for leadership. 16: Resident alien, the non-Israelite who lives in the community without
title to land and who is therefore economically vulnerable; Deuteronomy insists upon a single law that applies
to Israelite and non-Israelite alike (5.14; 10.1819; 14.29; 16.11; 24.14,17,1921). 17: Similarly, 16.1820.
1.1946: From Horeb to Kadesh. A retelling, with signicant variations, of the spies reconnaissance of the
land (Num 13), the peoples complaining of Gods inability to fulll the promises made to Israels ancestors (Num
14.138), and the abortive aempt to penetrate Canaan from the south despite the divine command not to do
so (Num 14.3945; cf. 21.13). 28: Anakim, see Num 13.22,33n. 30: Ex 14.14. 33: Fire . . . cloud, see Ex 13.2122n.
hebrew bible | 251
on
erm
.H
Mt
B
A
Sea off
Chinnereth
inne e
innere
Ashtaroth
hta
H
N
G I L E A
D
M
AN
AS
SEH
R i v e r J o r d a n
T h
e
A r a b a h
abbok
Wa d i J
A
A
D
Heshbon
(T h e D e a d
S e a)
Sea of the
Araba
Mt. Pisgah
R E U B E N
Aroer
Wa d i
rnon
M O A B
Wa d i
Ze re d
E D O M
The circuit via Transjordan.
0
0
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
deuteronomy 2
dants I will give the land on which he set
foot, because of his complete delity to the
Lord. Even with me the Lord was angry
on your account, saying, You also shall not
enter there. Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, shall enter there; encourage him, for he
is the one who will secure Israels possession
of it. And as for your little ones, who you
thought would become booty, your children,
who today do not yet know right from wrong,
they shall enter there; to them I will give it,
and they shall take possession of it. But as
for you, journey back into the wilderness, in
the direction of the Red Sea.a
You answered me, We have sinned
against the Lord! We are ready to go up and
ght, just as the Lord our God commanded
us. So all of you strapped on your battle
gear, and thought it easy to go up into the
hill country. The Lord said to me, Say to
them, Do not go up and do not ght, for I am
not in the midst of you; otherwise you will
be defeated by your enemies. Although I
told you, you would not listen. You rebelled
against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country.
The Amorites who lived in that hill country
then came out against you and chased you as
bees do. They beat you down in Seir as far as
Hormah. When you returned and wept before the Lord, the Lord would neither heed
your voice nor pay you any attention.
After you had stayed at Kadesh as many
days as you did, we journeyed back
into the wilderness, in the direction of
the Red Sea,a as the Lord had told me and
skirted Mount Seir for many days. Then the
Lord said to me: You have been skirting
this hill country long enough. Head north,
and charge the people as follows: You are

about to pass through the territory of your
kindred, the descendants of Esau, who live
in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so, be very
careful not to engage in battle with them,
for I will not give you even so much as a
foots length of their land, since I have given
Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. You
shall purchase food from them for money,
so that you may eat; and you shall also buy
water from them for money, so that you may
drink. Surely the Lord your God has blessed
you in all your undertakings; he knows your
going through this great wilderness. These
forty years the Lord your God has been
with you; you have lacked nothing. So we
passed by our kin, the descendants of Esau
who live in Seir, leaving behind the route of
the Arabah, and leaving behind Elath and
Ezion-geber.
When we had headed out along the route
of the wilderness of Moab, the Lord said to
me: Do not harass Moab or engage them in
battle, for I will not give you any of its land
as a possession, since I have given Ar as a
possession to the descendants of Lot. (The
Emima large and numerous people, as tall
as the Anakimhad formerly inhabited it.
Like the Anakim, they are usually reckoned
as Rephaim, though the Moabites call them
Emim. Moreover, the Horim had formerly
inhabited Seir, but the descendants of Esau
dispossessed them, destroying them and
settling in their place, as Israel has done in
the land that the Lord gave them as a possession.) Now then, proceed to cross over the
Wadi Zered.
a Or Sea of Reeds
3438: See Num 14.2830. 37: Here Moses is not punished for his own sin (contrast 32.51; Num 20.1013; 27.12
23). Instead, the narrator presents Moses as innocent and as vicariously bearing the punishment due Israel for
its sin (see 3.2428; 4.21).
2.13.29: The circuit via Transjordan. 18a: Num 20.1421. From Kadesh, Israel turned south through the
Arabah to the Gulf of Aqaba in order to go around Seir (Edom; Num 21.4; cf. 33.4749). 4: Descendants of Esau,
see Gen 36.1. 6: Money, silver or gold that was weighed out. 8a: Elath, see 1 Kings 9.26. Ezion-geber, see Num
33.35. 8b25: Num 21.420, signicantly revised. Turning along the brook Zered (modern Wadi el-Hasa), which
formed Edoms southern boundary, Israel detoured through the wilderness of Moab toward the Amorite kingdom of Sihon. 9: Moab and Ammon (v. 19) were traditionally related through Lot (Gen 19.3638). 1012: NRSV
aempts to mitigate the anachronistic post-conquest perspective by conning it to parentheses (see v. 12n.).
1011: Emim . . . Rephaim (cf. v. 20; 3.1113), names reecting the legendary view that the aboriginal inhabitants
of the land were fearsome giants. 12: Horim, see Gen 36.2030n. As Israel has done . . . possession, the conquest is
hebrew bible | 253
deuteronomy 3
So we crossed over the Wadi Zered. And
the length of time we had traveled from
Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Wadi
Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire
generation of warriors had perished from
the camp, as the Lord had sworn concerning them. Indeed, the Lords own hand
was against them, to root them out from the
camp, until all had perished.
Just as soon as all the warriors had died
o from among the people, the Lord spoke
to me, saying, Today you are going to cross
the boundary of Moab at Ar. When you
approach the frontier of the Ammonites, do
not harass them or engage them in battle, for
I will not give the land of the Ammonites to
you as a possession, because I have given it to
the descendants of Lot. (It also is usually
reckoned as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim
formerly inhabited it, though the Ammonites call them Zamzummim, a strong and
numerous people, as tall as the Anakim. But
the Lord destroyed them from before the
Ammonites so that they could dispossess
them and settle in their place. He did the
same for the descendants of Esau, who live
in Seir, by destroying the Horim before them
so that they could dispossess them and settle
in their place even to this day. As for the
Avvim, who had lived in settlements in the
vicinity of Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came
from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in
their place.) Proceed on your journey and
cross the Wadi Arnon. See, I have handed
over to you King Sihon the Amorite of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession
by engaging him in battle. This day I will
begin to put the dread and fear of you upon
the peoples everywhere under heaven; when
they hear report of you, they will tremble and
be in anguish because of you.
So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to King Sihon of Heshbon
with the following terms of peace: If you

let me pass through your land, I will travel
only along the road; I will turn aside neither
to the right nor to the left. You shall sell me
food for money, so that I may eat, and supply
me water for money, so that I may drink. Only
allow me to pass through on foot just
as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir
have done for me and likewise the Moabites
who live in Aruntil I cross the Jordan into
the land that the Lord our God is giving us.
But King Sihon of Heshbon was not willing
to let us pass through, for the Lord your God
had hardened his spirit and made his heart
deant in order to hand him over to you, as
he has now done.
The Lord said to me, See, I have begun
to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin
now to take possession of his land. So
when Sihon came out against us, he and all
his people for battle at Jahaz, the Lord our
God gave him over to us; and we struck him
down, along with his ospring and all his
people. At that time we captured all his
towns, and in each town we utterly destroyed
men, women, and children. We left not a
single survivor. Only the livestock we kept
as spoil for ourselves, as well as the plunder
of the towns that we had captured. From
Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon (including the town that is in the wadi itself) as far
as Gilead, there was no citadel too high for
us. The Lord our God gave everything to us.
You did not encroach, however, on the land
of the Ammonites, avoiding the whole upper region of the Wadi Jabbok as well as the
towns of the hill country, just asa the Lord
our God had charged.
When we headed up the road to Bashan,
King Og of Bashan came out against
us, he and all his people, for battle at Edrei.
a Gk Tg: Heb and all
represented anachronistically as already having been completed (see 1.1n.; 3.11n.). 13: Wadi, a seasonal stream.
14: Fullling Gods angry oath (1.3435; Num 14.2830). Without the death of the generation of the Exodus,
here marked as accomplished, there can be no entry into the promised land. 15: Lords own hand, they did not
die of natural causes. The imagery reverses the standard idea of holy war: God had turned against Israel rather
than ghting on its behalf (see 3.22; 7.15; 12.2931; 20.120). 20: Cf. vv. 1012n.; Gen 14.5. 23: Caphtor, Crete,
referring to the conquest of the coastal plain by Sea Peoples such as Philistines shortly aer 1200 bce (see Gen
10.25,14; Am 9.7). 24: Arnon, see Num 21.1213. 2637: The victory over Sihon, whose capital was at Heshbon.
The earlier source in Num 21.2132 is here supplemented and revised. 30: See Ex 4.21n. 34: Uerly destroyed, see
254 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 3
The Lord said to me, Do not fear him, for I
have handed him over to you, along with his
people and his land. Do to him as you did to
King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in
Heshbon. So the Lord our God also handed
over to us King Og of Bashan and all his people. We struck him down until not a single
survivor was left. At that time we captured
all his towns; there was no citadel that we
did not take from themsixty towns, the
whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in
Bashan. All these were fortress towns with
high walls, double gates, and bars, besides a
great many villages. And we utterly destroyed them, as we had done to King Sihon
of Heshbon, in each city utterly destroying
men, women, and children. But all the livestock and the plunder of the towns we kept
as spoil for ourselves.
So at that time we took from the two
kings of the Amorites the land beyond the
Jordan, from the Wadi Arnon to Mount
Hermon (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion,
while the Amorites call it Senir), all the
towns of the tableland, the whole of Gilead,
and all of Bashan, as far as Salecah and
Edrei, towns of Ogs kingdom in Bashan.
(Now only King Og of Bashan was left of the
remnant of the Rephaim. In fact his bed, an
iron bed, can still be seen in Rabbah of the
Ammonites. By the common cubit it is nine
cubits long and four cubits wide.) As for the
land that we took possession of at that time, I
gave to the Reubenites and Gadites the territory north of Aroer,a that is on the edge of the
Wadi Arnon, as well as half the hill country
of Gilead with its towns, and I gave to the
half-tribe of Manasseh the rest of Gilead
and all of Bashan, Ogs kingdom. (The whole
region of Argob: all that portion of Bashan
used to be called a land of Rephaim; Jair
the Manassite acquired the whole region of

Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites
and the Maacathites, and he named them
that is, Bashanafter himself, Havvoth-jair,b
as it is to this day.) To Machir I gave Gilead.
And to the Reubenites and the Gadites I
gave the territory from Gilead as far as the
Wadi Arnon, with the middle of the wadi as
a boundary, and up to the Jabbok, the wadi
being boundary of the Ammonites; the Arabah also, with the Jordan and its banks, from
Chinnereth down to the sea of the Arabah,
the Dead Sea,c with the lower slopes of Pisgah
on the east.
At that time, I charged you as follows:
Although the Lord your God has given you
this land to occupy, all your troops shall
cross over armed as the vanguard of your Israelite kin. Only your wives, your children,
and your livestockI know that you have
much livestockshall stay behind in the
towns that I have given to you. When the
Lord gives rest to your kindred, as to you,
and they too have occupied the land that the
Lord your God is giving them beyond the
Jordan, then each of you may return to the
property that I have given to you. And I
charged Joshua as well at that time, saying:
Your own eyes have seen everything that
the Lord your God has done to these two
kings; so the Lord will do to all the kingdoms
into which you are about to cross. Do not
fear them, for it is the Lord your God who
ghts for you.
At that time, too, I entreated the Lord,
saying: OLord God, you have only begun
to show your servant your greatness and your
a Heb territory from Aroer
b That is Settlement of Jair
c Heb Salt Sea
7.2n. 37: The river Jabbok makes a wide bend south and thus forms the western border of Ammon (3.16). 3.111:
The victory over Bashan (Num 21.3335). 1: Edrei, on the extreme south border of Bashan; see Num 21.3335n.
11: The oversized bed of Og, one of the legendary Rephaim (2.1011), was a museum piece in Rabbah, a city
on the Ammonite border. The emphasis that this bed can still be seen there places the historical perspective
of the narrator, and thus of Deuteronomys composition, long aer the events here recounted (1.1n.; 2.12n.). A
cubit was about 44 cm (17.5 in). 1222: The allotment of tribal territories in Transjordan (Num 32; Josh 13). 14:
Num 32.41. 17: The territory included the eastern part of the Jordan Valley or Arabah. 22: The whole story of the
Exodus, wilderness journey, and invasion of Canaan is governed by the convictions of holy war, whereby God
is a divine warrior who engages in bale on behalf of Israel. 2329: Num 27.1223. 24: What god . . . can perform,
the assertion of Gods superior power, relative to other gods in heaven, assumes the existence of other gods
hebrew bible | 255
deuteronomy 4
might; what god in heaven or on earth can
perform deeds and mighty acts like yours!
Let me cross over to see the good land
beyond the Jordan, that good hill country
and the Lebanon. But the Lord was angry
with me on your account and would not heed
me. The Lord said to me, Enough from you!
Never speak to me of this matter again! Go
up to the top of Pisgah and look around you
to the west, to the north, to the south, and
to the east. Look well, for you shall not cross
over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, because it is he
who shall cross over at the head of this people and who shall secure their possession of
the land that you will see. So we remained
in the valley opposite Beth-peor.
So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes
and ordinances that I am teaching you
to observe, so that you may live to enter
and occupy the land that the Lord, the God
of your ancestors, is giving you. You must
neither add anything to what I command you
nor take away anything from it, but keep the
commandments of the Lord your God with

which I am charging you. You have seen for
yourselves what the Lord did with regard to
the Baal of Peorhow the Lord your God
destroyed from among you everyone who
followed the Baal of Peor, while those of you
who held fast to the Lord your God are all
alive today.
See, just as the Lord my God has charged
me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances
for you to observe in the land that you are
about to enter and occupy. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your
wisdom and discernment to the peoples,
who, when they hear all these statutes, will
say, Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people! For what other great nation
has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is
whenever we call to him? And what other
great nation has statutes and ordinances as
just as this entire law that I am setting before
you today?
But take care and watch yourselves closely,
so as neither to forget the things that your eyes
(5.7n.; 6.4n.; 32.8n.; Ex 15.11; Ps 89.58). For the later perspective of monotheism, see 4.35n. 26: See 1.37n. 27:
Mount Pisgah, see 34.1n.
4.140: Exhortation to obey the teachings of Moses. While preceding the Decalogue (5.621), this unit provides a later theological reection upon it, focusing on the second commandment and broadening its signicance. Admonitions to obedience (vv. 1,40) frame the unit, which systematically contrasts obedience (vv. 524)/
disobedience (vv. 2531); remembering/forgeing (vv. 9,23); the Lord/other gods (vv. 7,34); Israels revealed
Torah/the laws of other nations (vv. 8,28); and God/idols (vv. 1220). The correct worship of God is aniconic: Images (whether of God or of natural phenomena) should play no role in Israelite religion. This becomes so strong
a theme that idolatry by itself is asserted to be the cause of the nations exile from its land (vv. 2531). The
explicit reference to exile suggests that the unit is a late theological explanation for the Babylonian exile in the
early sixth century bce. The focus on idolatry as the basis for the divine punishment diverges signicantly from
the perspective elsewhere that views failure to heed all his [Gods] commandments and decrees as the cause
of exile (28.15; cf. 28.1,45,5859). 14: The incident at Peor (Num 25.19) is recalled to emphasize the importance
of delity to God and the dire consequences of worshiping other gods. 2: This admonition not to alter the
teaching of Moses, whether by addition or subtraction (cf. 12.32), parallels similar admonitions in wisdom literature (Prov 30.6; Eccl 3.14; 12.1213; Sir 42.21; cf. Rev 22.1819) and in ancient Near Eastern legal traditions. 58:
The author here challenges the prevailing Near Eastern idea that wisdom was a royal prerogative. Whereas, for
example, the ancient Babylonian Laws of Hammurabi (ca. 1755 bce) praised the just decisions of its wise king
(cols 47.1; 4.7), here it is the nation Israel who will be internationally renowned as wise for its just laws (vv.
6,8). See also 29.29n.; 30.1114n. 78: Israel is distinguished both by its God and by its law: The two ideas are interlocked. God is near, both in having entered history on behalf of Israel and in revealing his will as Torah (30.14).
The laws are just (beer, righteous), not only in their morality but also as embodying the will of God. 914:
The revelation at Sinai/Horeb (Ex 1920; Deut 5) is recalled in order to instruct this generation, who did not experience it. 9: The paired injunctions not to forget the powerful experience of Gods actions and to educate your
children, so that the past becomes present also to them, represent a prominent aim of Deuteronomy: to overcome the distance of the past and maintain it as a source of identity (vv. 23,25; 6.2,7,2025; 8.11; 9.7; 31.13; 32.18).
Your eyes have seen, as well as the following how you once stood (v. 10), are highly paradoxical assertions. Nei-
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have seen nor to let them slip from your mind
all the days of your life; make them known to
your children and your childrens children
how you once stood before the Lord your
God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me, Assemble the people for me, and I will let them
hear my words, so that they may learn to fear
me as long as they live on the earth, and may
teach their children so; you approached and
stood at the foot of the mountain while the
mountain was blazing up to the very heavens,
shrouded in dark clouds. Then the Lord
spoke to you out of the re. You heard the
sound of words but saw no form; there was
only a voice. He declared to you his covenant, which he charged you to observe, that is,
the ten commandments;a and he wrote them
on two stone tablets. And the Lord charged
me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you
are about to cross into and occupy.
Since you saw no form when the Lord
spoke to you at Horeb out of the re, take
care and watch yourselves closely, so that

you do not act corruptly by making an idol
for yourselves, in the form of any gurethe
likeness of male or female, the likeness of
any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that ies in the air,
the likeness of anything that creeps on the
ground, the likeness of any sh that is in the
water under the earth. And when you look
up to the heavens and see the sun, the moon,
and the stars, all the host of heaven, do not
be led astray and bow down to them and
serve them, things that the Lord your God
has allotted to all the peoples everywhere
under heaven. But the Lord has taken you
and brought you out of the iron-smelter, out
of Egypt, to become a people of his very own
possession, as you are now.
The Lord was angry with me because of
you, and he vowed that I should not cross the
Jordan and that I should not enter the good
a Heb the ten words
ther is literally true: The actual generation of the Exodus had died o (2.1415n.). This paradoxical structure of
thought, whereby Moses addresses those who had not witnessed the events as if they had, while insisting that
they inculcate the events to posterity, is central to Deuteronomys theology of history (5.34,23; 11.7; 29.1415).
10: My words, the Decalogue (ten commandments; v. 13; 5.22; 9.10; 10.2,4). Elsewhere, however, the phrase
refers comprehensively to the legal corpus of chs 1226 (12.28). Fear, respectful reverence, not intimidation (see
Job 28.28; Prov 1.7). 11: The manifestation of a god (theophany) was oen associated with disturbances of
nature in Ugaritic (Canaanite) literature. This motif was taken over by Israelite writers and applied to God (Ex
19.1619; 20.21; Ps 18.715; 29.39). 12: Form (also vv. 1516,23,25), directly alluding to the second commandment of the Decalogue (5.8 = Ex 20.4). 13: A subtle reinterpretation of Sinai: The specication of that event as
one where God proclaimed ten commandments occurs only here, at 10.4, and at Ex 34.28. There is no special
number of or name for the commandments (lit. words) in Ex 1920 or Deut 5. The rationale for two stone
tablets (as at 5.22) derives from ancient Near Eastern treaties, whereby both sovereign and vassal would retain
a separate complete copy of the treaty. 1531: Reinterpretation of the second commandment. The Decalogue
concedes the existence of other gods, while prohibiting Israel from worshiping them (5.7; cf. 32.8; Ex 15.11; Ps
82.1). It then separately prohibits the making of images (5.8). The distinction between those two commandments is dissolved here. The existence of other gods is no longer conceivable; the sole focus is the prohibition
against idols. Here and elsewhere (see v. 19n.) key ideas in Deuteronomy are reinterpreted from a later theological perspective; such passages therefore represent a later textual layer that dates to the exilic period. 16b19a:
This catalogue follows the order of creation in Gen 1 in reverse order, consistent with ancient scribal practice
when quoting an earlier text. 18: Water under the earth, seas, rivers, and lakes. Ancient cosmology conceived
the earth to be a disk oating on such waters (cf. Gen 1.9). 19: Sun . . . host of heaven may reect images derived
from the Neo-Assyrian pantheon brought into the Jerusalem Temple by Manasseh but removed by Josiah (2
Kings 21.5; 23.45; Jer 8.2). The idea of idols or of celestial phenomena literally being worshiped sharply distorts
ancient Near Eastern religion, which regarded such phenomena as visible manifestations or emblems of a deity, not as themselves divine. This polemic, with the idea that God alloed the celestial phenomena to other
nations while reserving Israel as his very own possession (v. 20; cf. 7.6n.; 32.89), reinterprets the earlier idea
that God, as head of the pantheon, assigned other nations to the supervision of lesser gods but retained Israel
as his alloed share (lit. his very own possession; 32.89). The author deanimates those gods, reducing
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deuteronomy 4
land that the Lord your God is giving for your
possession. For I am going to die in this land
without crossing over the Jordan, but you are
going to cross over to take possession of that
good land. So be careful not to forget the
covenant that the Lord your God made with
you, and not to make for yourselves an idol in
the form of anything that the Lord your God
has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is
a devouring re, a jealous God.
When you have had children and childrens children, and become complacent in
the land, if you act corruptly by making an
idol in the form of anything, thus doing what
is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, and
provoking him to anger, I call heaven and
earth to witness against you today that you
will soon utterly perish from the land that
you are crossing the Jordan to occupy; you
will not live long on it, but will be utterly
destroyed. The Lord will scatter you among
the peoples; only a few of you will be left
among the nations where the Lord will lead
you. There you will serve other gods made
by human hands, objects of wood and stone
that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
From there you will seek the Lord your
God, and you will nd him if you search after
him with all your heart and soul. In your
distress, when all these things have happened
to you in time to come, you will return to
the Lord your God and heed him. Because
the Lord your God is a merciful God, he will
neither abandon you nor destroy you; he will
not forget the covenant with your ancestors
that he swore to them.
For ask now about former ages, long
before your own, ever since the day that God
created human beings on the earth; ask from

one end of heaven to the other: has anything
so great as this ever happened or has its like
ever been heard of? Has any people ever
heard the voice of a god speaking out of a
re, as you have heard, and lived? Or has
any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another
nation, by trials, by signs and wonders, by
war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched
arm, and by terrifying displays of power,
as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt
before your very eyes? To you it was shown
so that you would acknowledge that the
Lord is God; there is no other besides him.
From heaven he made you hear his voice to
discipline you. On earth he showed you his
great re, while you heard his words coming
out of the re. And because he loved your
ancestors, he chose their descendants after
them. He brought you out of Egypt with his
own presence, by his great power, driving
out before you nations greater and mightier
than yourselves, to bring you in, giving you
their land for a possession, as it is still today.
So acknowledge today and take to heart
that the Lord is God in heaven above and on
the earth beneath; there is no other. Keep
his statutes and his commandments, which
I am commanding you today for your own
well-being and that of your descendants
after you, so that you may long remain in the
land that the Lord your God is giving you for
all time.
Then Moses set apart on the east side of
the Jordan three cities to which a homicide
could ee, someone who unintentionally
kills another person, the two not having been
them to lifeless celestial objects. 21: See 1.37n. 26: Heaven . . . witness, similarly, 30.19; 31.28; 32.1; Isa 1.2; 44.23; Ps
69.34; 96.11. 2728: These verses allude to the exile of conquered populations, a policy used eectively by the
Assyrians and the Babylonians. 3240: Continuation of the double focus on the uniqueness of Gods revelation
to Israel and of the covenant he made with the nation. Several passages t best in the historical context of the
Babylonian exile (see v. 35n.). 33: Alludes to the normal expectation that no human can look directly upon God
and survive (Gen 16.13; 32.30; Ex 3.6; 19.21; 33.20). 34: Aempted, beer, ventured (as at 28.56). Trials . . . wonders refers to the signs performed by Moses and Aaron in Egypt, including the plagues, to persuade Pharaoh to
release Israel (Ex 7.3; 8.23; 10.12; 11.910). 35: There is no other, this armation of full monotheism (contrast v. 7;
5.7) corresponds to the thought of the exilic Second Isaiah (Isa 43.1013; 44.68; 45.67,22).
4.4143: An appendix. The cities of refuge to be established in Transjordan. Since the law concerned with
these cities (ch 19) does not refer to this passage, these verses are most likely an editorial appendix composed
aer the completion of ch 19 (cf. Num 35.915; Josh 20.8). Similar disconnected appendixes oen appear in the
Bible at the conclusion of longer literary units (e.g., Lev 27).
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deuteronomy 5
at enmity before; the homicide could ee to
one of these cities and live: Bezer in the
wilderness on the tableland belonging to the
Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to
the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan belonging
to the Manassites.
This is the law that Moses set before the
Israelites. These are the decrees and the
statutes and ordinances that Moses spoke
to the Israelites when they had come out
of Egypt, beyond the Jordan in the valley
opposite Beth-peor, in the land of King Sihon
of the Amorites, who reigned at Heshbon,
whom Moses and the Israelites defeated
when they came out of Egypt. They occupied his land and the land of King Og of
Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites on
the eastern side of the Jordan: from Aroer,
which is on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, as
far as Mount Siriona (that is, Hermon), together with all the Arabah on the east side
of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah,
under the slopes of Pisgah.
Moses convened all Israel, and said to them:

Hear, OIsrael, the statutes and ordinances that I am addressing to you today; you
shall learn them and observe them diligently.
The Lord our God made a covenant with
us at Horeb. Not with our ancestors did
the Lord make this covenant, but with us,
who are all of us here alive today. The Lord
spoke with you face to face at the mountain,
out of the re. (At that time I was standing
between the Lord and you to declare to you
the words b of the Lord; for you were afraid
because of the re and did not go up the
mountain.) And he said:
I am the Lord your God, who brought
you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house
of slavery; you shall have no other gods
beforec me.
You shall not make for yourself an
idol, whether in the form of anything that
a Syr: Heb Sion
b Q Mss Sam Gk Syr Vg Tg: MT word
c Or besides
4.4428.68: The second discourse of Moses.

4.4449: Introduction. Cf. 1.15. 49: Sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea.
5.133: The revelation at Sinai/Horeb. Ostensibly a retelling of Ex 1920, this version introduces signicant
changes in both detail and theology. The central idea is that God publicly reveals the law to the entire nation
across boundaries of gender, race, and class, including non-Israelites (Ex 12.38). Near Eastern legal collections,
in contrast, were aributed to a human monarch and were concerned to preserve class distinctions. Moreover,
a deity disclosing himself to an entire nation was unprecedented. The Decalogue has God address each Israelite
individually as a grammatically masculine singular you, rather than the expected plural. In contrast to Near
Eastern law, the prohibitions are universal and absolute: The aim of the law is to transform society by creating
a moral community in which murder, the, etc. will no longer exist. Obedience to Gods will (vv. 616) demands
active respect for the integrity of the neighbor (vv. 1721). The editing drives home the point that there is no
access to God or revelation without mediation and interpretation (vv. 5,2832), preserving two mutually independent viewpoints about whether God spoke directly to the people (v. 4) or only through the mediation
of Moses (v. 5n.). Similarly, the editing retains a debate about the terror involved in hearing directly the divine
voice (vv. 2425).
5.15: Making the past present. 3: Not with our ancestors . . . but with us, inconsistent with the earlier emphasis that the generation who experienced these events has now died o (2.1415). The aim is to overcome the
limits of historical time and place through participation in the covenant, which makes revelation present (see
4.9n.; 11.2; 29.1415n.). Our ancestors may refer either to the Exodus generation (2.1415n.) or to the patriarchs
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (1.11n.). 5: NRSV suggests that the rst sentence intends merely to clarify v. 4. More
likely, it presents an independent view that challenges the assumption of v. 4. I was standing between . . . you,
contrast face to face (v. 4). You . . . did not go up the mountain, contradicting v. 4, with you . . . at the mountain
(Heb). And he said, in Hebrew, the original transition from the end of v. 4 directly to the Decalogue.
5.621: The Decalogue. This version diers at several points from that in Ex 20.217. 710: See 4.1531n. 9:
Punishment for sins against God extends across three generations. This principle of vicarious punishment contrasts sharply with the Israelite norm for civil and criminal law, which restricts punishment to the agent alone
(24.16). Later layers of tradition challenged this theological principle of divine justice (see 7.10n.; Jer 31.2930;
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deuteronomy 5
The Numbering of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5.6-18

Command
Jewish Tradition
Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and

Most Protestant Churches
Roman Catholic and

Lutheran Churches
Self-identication of God
as separate command (v. 6)
Other Gods & Idols (vv. 7-10)
False Oath (v. 11)
Other Gods (vv. 6-7)
Other Gods & Idols (vv. 6-10)

False Oath (v. 11)
Sabbath (vv. 12-15)

Parents (v. 16)
Murder (v. 17)
Adultery (v. 17)
The (v. 17)
Idols (vv. 8-10)

False Oath (v. 11)
Sabbath (vv. 12-15)
Parents (v. 16)
Murder (v. 17)
Adultery (v. 17)
The (v. 17)
False Witness (v. 17)

Coveting (v. 18)

Coveting (v. 18)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
is in heaven above, or that is on the earth

beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth. You shall not bow down to them or
worship them; for I the Lord your God am
a jealous God, punishing children for the
iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth
generation of those who reject me, but
showing steadfast love to the thousandth
generationa of those who love me and keep
my commandments.
You shall not make wrongful use of the
name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will
not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Observe the sabbath day and keep it
holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
Six days you shall labor and do all your
work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to
the Lord your God; you shall not do any
workyou, or your son or your daughter,
or your male or female slave, or your ox or
Sabbath (vv. 12-15)

Parents (v. 16)
Murder (v. 17)
Adultery (v. 17)
The (v. 17)
Coveting Wife (v. 18)
Coveting Property (v. 18)
your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the

resident alien in your towns, so that your
male and female slave may rest as well as you.
Remember that you were a slave in the land
of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you
out from there with a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your
God commanded you to keep the sabbath
day.
Honor your father and your mother, as
the Lord your God commanded you, so that
your days may be long and that it may go well
with you in the land that the Lord your God
is giving you.
You shall not murder.b
Neither shall you commit adultery.
Neither shall you steal.
a Or to thousands
b Or kill
Ezek 18). 10: Steadfast love or grace, loyalty of action as an expectation of the covenant (2 Sam 7.15; Hos 6.6).
Who love me, technical language of Near Eastern treaties, whereby love refers to the loyalty of action that the
vassal owes the sovereign. 11: The intent is to prohibit careless use of the divine name in the context of swearing an oath (May God do X to me unless I do Y); such oaths were viewed as legally binding (see Judg 11.2940).
12: Observe, contrast Ex 20.8. 14: The law equally benets slaves and non-Israelites (1.16n.; 15.15; 16.11; 24.17).
15: Contrast the rationale provided for the sabbath at Ex 20.11. Deuteronomy here, as elsewhere, emphasizes
the Exodus as a central motivation for religious and social practices. 16: As . . . commanded you, the ostensible
precise repetition of the Decalogue here diverges from the original (Ex 20.12) by shiing to the perspective of
Moses as speaker, whose annotation is now included in the revelation. 17: Murder is correct; text note b is an inaccurate translation (kill, as a global prohibition). 18: The absolute prohibition of adultery transforms it from
the breach of the contractual rights of the womans husband into an oense against both God and the larger
community. Near Eastern law normally granted the husband the sole right of deciding whether to execute or
otherwise punish the wife for adultery (see Laws of Hammurabi 129). Biblical law here removes the wife from
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deuteronomy 6
Neither shall you bear false witness
against your neighbor.
Neither shall you covet your neighbors
wife.
Neither shall you desire your neighbors
house, or eld, or male or female slave, or ox,
or donkey, or anything that belongs to your
neighbor.
These words the Lord spoke with a loud
voice to your whole assembly at the mountain, out of the re, the cloud, and the thick
darkness, and he added no more. He wrote
them on two stone tablets, and gave them to
me. When you heard the voice out of the
darkness, while the mountain was burning
with re, you approached me, all the heads of
your tribes and your elders; and you said,
Look, the Lord our God has shown us his
glory and greatness, and we have heard his
voice out of the re. Today we have seen that
God may speak to someone and the person
may still live. So now why should we die?
For this great re will consume us; if we hear
the voice of the Lord our God any longer, we
shall die. For who is there of all esh that
has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of re, as we have, and remained
alive? Go near, you yourself, and hear all
that the Lord our God will say. Then tell us
everything that the Lord our God tells you,
and we will listen and do it.
The Lord heard your words when you
spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: I have
heard the words of this people, which they
have spoken to you; they are right in all that

they have spoken. If only they had such
a mind as this, to fear me and to keep all
my commandments always, so that it might
go well with them and with their children
forever! Go say to them, Return to your
tents. But you, stand here by me, and I
will tell you all the commandments, the
statutes and the ordinances, that you shall
teach them, so that they may do them in the
land that I am giving them to possess. You
must therefore be careful to do as the Lord
your God has commanded you; you shall not
turn to the right or to the left. You must
follow exactly the path that the Lord your
God has commanded you, so that you may
live, and that it may go well with you, and
that you may live long in the land that you
are to possess.
Now this is the commandmentthe statutes and the ordinancesthat the Lord
your God charged me to teach you to observe
in the land that you are about to cross into
and occupy, so that you and your children
and your childrens children may fear the
Lord your God all the days of your life, and
keep all his decrees and his commandments
that I am commanding you, so that your days
may be long. Hear therefore, OIsrael, and
observe them diligently, so that it may go
well with you, and so that you may multiply
greatly in a land owing with milk and honey,
as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has
promised you.
the disposal of the husband and grants her the status of legal person (see 22.22n.). 21: Wife . . . house, contrast
the sequence of Ex 20.17. 22: Two . . . tablets, see 4.12n.
5.2233: Moses as mediator. While the Decalogue was given directly to the people (v. 4; 4.1013), the rest of
the laws were mediated to the people by Moses, at their plea (v. 27; 4.14). 2327: 4.33; cf. Ex 20.1821. 2425: An
awkward juxtaposition; v. 24 may be an insertion reecting 4.33. The anxiety explains the request that Moses
serve as mediator. 2831: The idea that Moses mediates between God and the people will be used in two ways:
to justify the laws that Moses subsequently propounds as revelation (chs 1226), and to justify the institution
of prophecy (18.1522).
6.111.32: The requirement of loyalty to God. A sermonic preamble to the laws of chs 1226. 6.13: Introduction, stressing the rewards of obedience to the covenant. 1: The commandment . . . occupy, the Hebrew is nearly
identical to 5.31. The precise repetition of terminology legitimates the entire second discourseboth the commandment (chs 611) and the statutes and the ordinances (the legal corpus of chs 1226; see 12.1)as originating
in direct divine revelation from God on Horeb (5.31). The Book of the Covenant Collection (Ex 2123), with its ordinances (Ex 21.1), and the statutes and the ordinances of Deuteronomic law (6.1; 12.1), now in implicit tension,
are independently presented as Gods words to Moses on the mountain immediately following the Decalogue
(Ex 20.21; 24.3,12). 2: Fear, beer, revere (see 4.10n.). 425: A sermon on the rst commandment of the Decalogue, incorporating direct allusions to it: vv. 4 and 14 refer to 5.7; vv. 12,21,23 refer to 5.6; v. 15 (jealous God)
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deuteronomy 6
Hear, OIsrael: The Lord is our God, the
Lord alone.a You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your might. Keep these words
that I am commanding you today in your
heart. Recite them to your children and talk
about them when you are at home and when
you are away, when you lie down and when
you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand,
x them as an emblemb on your forehead,
and write them on the doorposts of your
house and on your gates.
When the Lord your God has brought
you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give
youa land with ne, large cities that you did
not build, houses lled with all sorts of goods
that you did not ll, hewn cisterns that you did
not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you
did not plantand when you have eaten your
ll, take care that you do not forget the Lord,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out
of the house of slavery. The Lord your God
you shall fear; him you shall serve, and by his
name alone you shall swear. Do not follow
other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who
are all around you, because the Lord your
God, who is present with you, is a jealous God.
The anger of the Lord your God would be
kindled against you and he would destroy you

from the face of the earth.
Do not put the Lord your God to the test,
as you tested him at Massah. You must diligently keep the commandments of the Lord
your God, and his decrees, and his statutes
that he has commanded you. Do what is
right and good in the sight of the Lord, so
that it may go well with you, and so that you
may go in and occupy the good land that the
Lord swore to your ancestors to give you,
thrusting out all your enemies from before
you, as the Lord has promised.
When your children ask you in time to
come, What is the meaning of the decrees
and the statutes and the ordinances that the
Lord our God has commanded you? then
you shall say to your children, We were Pharaohs slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us
out of Egypt with a mighty hand. The Lord
displayed before our eyes great and awesome
signs and wonders against Egypt, against
Pharaoh and all his household. He brought
us out from there in order to bring us in, to
a Or The Lord our God is one Lord, or The Lord our
God, the Lord is one, or The Lord is our God, the
Lord is one
b Or as a frontlet
refers to 5.9; vv. 5,17 refer to 5.10. 49: In Jewish tradition these verses begin the important prayer known as the
Shema (Hear!). 45: This rst commandment (Mk 12.2930) restates the rst Decalogue commandment in
positive form. Hear, O Israel (5.1; 9.1; 20.3; 27.9), an imperative modeled on a wisdom teachers call for aention
(Prov 1.8; 4.1,10; 5.7; 7.24; 23.19). The Lord . . . alone, as text note a indicates, the Hebrew is dicult; the translation
selected makes most sense historically. The focus is not on Gods nature in the abstract but on the quality of Israels relationship to God. The proclamation, like 5.7, does not deny the existence of other gods but is concerned
with the exclusivity of Israels loyalty to God (as in ch 13). This vision is universalized in later prophecy (Zech 14.9).
5: Love, see 5.10n. The paradox of commanding a feeling (as in Lev 19.1718) is resolved with the recognition that
covenantal love is not private emotion but loyalty of action toward both deity and neighbor (see 5.133n.). 7: At
home . . . away, using paired opposites as a merism (28.36n.) to indicate totality: One should always talk about
the commandments. 8: Bind them, based on the wisdom teachers symbolically urging his students to focus on
the lesson (Prov 3.3; 6.21; 7.3). This law, literally interpreted, provides the basis for the Jewish convention of binding phylacteries, containing selected texts from the Torah, upon the arm and forehead. 9: Doorposts, important transitional spaces in which religious-legal ceremonies were performed and where divine images might be
stored (see Ex 12.7,2123; 21.6; Isa 57.8). Perhaps partially reacting against a formerly magical background, this
law devotes that space to the teaching of Moses. The law provides the basis for the Jewish convention of placing a small box containing this and related texts upon the upper portion of the right doorpost (Heb mezuzah).
1011: The list, land . . . houses . . . cisterns . . . olive groves (cf. Josh 24.13; Neh 9.2425), denes the elements of an
established civilization, which Israel is about to both inherit and become. 12: The threat of forgeing and the
risk of apostasy are repeatedly stressed (4.914n.; 8.1120; 32.18; cf. 5.29; Hos 2.513). 16: Test . . . Massah, for the
incident and the Hebrew pun, see Ex 17.27; see also Mt 4.7. 20: The Jewish Passover text (Haggadah) includes
this and similar didactic questions (Ex 12.2127; 13.110,1116). 22: See 4.34n.
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deuteronomy 7
give us the land that he promised on oath to
our ancestors. Then the Lord commanded
us to observe all these statutes, to fear the
Lord our God, for our lasting good, so as
to keep us alive, as is now the case. If we
diligently observe this entire commandment
before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in the right.
When the Lord your God brings you into
the land that you are about to enter and
occupy, and he clears away many nations
before youthe Hittites, the Girgashites,
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites,
the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations
mightier and more numerous than you
and when the Lord your God gives them
over to you and you defeat them, then you
must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant

with them and show them no mercy. Do not
intermarry with them, giving your daughters
to their sons or taking their daughters for your
sons, for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods.
Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled
against you, and he would destroy you quickly.
But this is how you must deal with them:
break down their altars, smash their pillars,
hew down their sacred poles,a and burn their
idols with re. For you are a people holy to
the Lord your God; the Lord your God has
chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to
be his people, his treasured possession.
a Heb Asherim
7.110.11: Risks to covenantal faith upon entry to the land. The rst issue is that Israel enters an already
inhabited land, whose greater population and worship apparatus it must confront (ch 7). Thereaer, successful
habitation carries its own risks: complacency and loss of historical memory (ch 8).
7.126: The war of conquest. Two topics are treated: the command to destroy the original occupants of
Canaan (vv. 13,6,1724); and the command not to worship their gods (vv. 45,715,2526). The editors join
the two themes at v. 16. 1: An aer-the-fact literary compilation more than a historical portrayal: The peoples included in the table of nations vary considerably (Gen 15.1921; Ex 3.8,17; 13.5; 23.23; 33.2; 34.11; Deut
20.17; Josh 3.10; 9.1; 11.3; 12.8; 24.11; Judg 3.5; 1 Kings 9.20; Ezra 9.1; Neh 9.8; 2 Chr 8.7). Hiites (Gen 23.10; 25.9;
49.2930; 50.13; Num 13.29, etc.), the Hiite Empire (ca. 17001200 bce) in fact ourished not in Canaan but
in Anatolia, in central Turkey. The Jebusites, the pre-Israelite inhabitants of Jerusalem, retained control of the
city until conquered by David several centuries aer the conquest (2 Sam 5.67). The laer narrative implies
the nonimplementation of this law. The ideal number seven, which signies completion or totality (28.7; Gen
1; the plague list of Ps 78.4451 and 105.2836 in contrast to Ex 712), suggests that the enumeration may
be articial. 2: This requirement for destruction is anomalous: Earlier sources contemplate only expulsion (Ex
23.2333; cf. 34.11). The denition and requirements of the ban vary considerably throughout the Bible: total
destruction of people and property (here; 13.1517; 20.1617; 1 Sam 15.3); sparing of property (2.3435; 3.67);
sparing of women, children, and property (20.1014). Finally, other narratives more realistically speak of the
failure of conquest except in limited areas and the use of conquered populations for labor (Josh 1517; Judg 1;
3.16). These factors suggest that the law of the ban is an anachronistic literary formulation. It rst arose centuries aer the selement; it was never implemented because there was no population extant against whom it
could be implemented. Its polemic is directed at internal issues of religious purity in postexilic Judah. Oen the
authors of Deuteronomy stigmatize as Canaanite older forms of Israelite religion that they no longer accept
(see v. 5n.; 16.22n.; 18.914n.). Uerly destroy, or place under the ban, or devote. That which is devoted
is set aside for divine use and denied to humans. The war of conquest, as a holy war, should not be one where
the individual prots through plunder (see 12.2931n.; 13.15n.; 20.120n.; Josh 7). The law addresses apostasy as
opposed to ethnicity; it is directed against apostate Israelites in 8.20; 13.1517. 3: This prohibition against intermarriage does not t easily aer v. 2, suggesting several layers of editing. It is also inconsistent with 21.1014,
which seems more likely to reect the original policy. 5: See Ex 34.13. Pillars, stone monuments that marked
places where God appeared and were thus originally legitimate in worship (Gen 35.14; Ex 24.4; Hos 3.4). Only
subsequently were they prohibited as alien (Ex 23.24; 34.13; Lev 26.1; Deut 12.3; 16.22; 2 Kings 18.4). Sacred poles,
or, with text note a, Asherim. The singular, Asherah, preserves the name of an important Canaanite goddess
(1 Kings 18.19) known from Ugarit; here the word designates merely the wooden pole, tree, or image that represented her (16.21; Judg 6.2526,28). 616: The meaning of Israels covenantal relationship to God. 6: For suggests that the verse (also 14.2) originally continued v. 3, since it provides the rationale for total separation from
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deuteronomy 7
It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord
set his heart on you and chose youfor
you were the fewest of all peoples. It was
because the Lord loved you and kept the
oath that he swore to your ancestors, that
the Lord has brought you out with a mighty
hand, and redeemed you from the house of
slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of
Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your
God is God, the faithful God who maintains
covenant loyalty with those who love him
and keep his commandments, to a thousand
generations, and who repays in their own
person those who reject him. He does not delay but repays in their own person those who
reject him. Therefore, observe diligently the
commandmentthe statutes and the ordinancesthat I am commanding you today.
If you heed these ordinances, by diligently observing them, the Lord your God
will maintain with you the covenant loyalty
that he swore to your ancestors; he will love
you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless
the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your
ground, your grain and your wine and your
oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue
of your ock, in the land that he swore to
your ancestors to give you. You shall be the
most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility
nor barrenness among you or your livestock.
The Lord will turn away from you every illness; all the dread diseases of Egypt that you
experienced, he will not inict on you, but he
will lay them on all who hate you. You shall
devour all the peoples that the Lord your
God is giving over to you, showing them no
pity; you shall not serve their gods, for that

would be a snare to you.
If you say to yourself, These nations are
more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them? do not be afraid of them. Just
remember what the Lord your God did to
Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials
that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders,
the mighty hand and the outstretched arm
by which the Lord your God brought you
out. The Lord your God will do the same
to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
Moreover, the Lord your God will send
the pestilencea against them, until even the
survivors and the fugitives are destroyed.
Have no dread of them, for the Lord your
God, who is present with you, is a great and
awesome God. The Lord your God will
clear away these nations before you little by
little; you will not be able to make a quick
end of them, otherwise the wild animals
would become too numerous for you. But
the Lord your God will give them over to
you, and throw them into great panic, until
they are destroyed. He will hand their kings
over to you and you shall blot out their name
from under heaven; no one will be able to
stand against you, until you have destroyed
them. The images of their gods you shall
burn with re. Do not covet the silver or the
gold that is on them and take it for yourself,
because you could be ensnared by it; for it
is abhorrent to the Lord your God. Do not
bring an abhorrent thing into your house, or
you will be set apart for destruction like it.
a Or hornets: Meaning of Heb uncertain
the Canaanites, not for the destruction of their cult sites. This verse summarizes Deuteronomys view of Israels
relation to God. Holy, lit. set aside as separate, as is clear here. Chosen, the precondition of Israels elected status. His treasured possession (14.2; 26.18; Ex 19.5; Ps 135.4; Mal 3.17), designating Israel as the exclusive property
of God; cf. 4.20n., where a dierent Heb word is used. Just as the monarch is entitled to private treasure not in
the public domain (1 Chr 29.3), so does God single Israel out for a special relationship. 911: A discourse on the
second commandment that radically revises its meaning. The reuse of key phrases and inversion of the order
of punishment and blessing in 5.910 mark the citation. 9: Covenant loyalty, NRSV translates the same word
as steadfast love at 5.10 (see note). 10: In their own person, individually or personally. The repetition of the
phrase, bracketing the key idea that God does not delay, highlights the rejection of vicarious punishment (5.9n.;
Ex 34.7). Instead, the sermon argues for individual retribution, as in criminal law (24.16), while deleting any reference to the transmission of punishment across generations. 1214: Natural fertility is here made contingent
upon obedience to the covenant. 1726: Israel need not fear nations more powerful than it since, according
to the idea of the holy war, God is present with you in bale (v. 21; 6.15; cf. 20.14). These verses echo ideas
found in Ex 23.2033. 20: Pestilence, see Ex 23.2728n.; Josh 24.12. 22: Abbreviating Ex 23.2930; contrast 9.3.
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deuteronomy 8
You must utterly detest and abhor it, for it is
set apart for destruction.
This entire commandment that I command you today you must diligently
observe, so that you may live and increase,
and go in and occupy the land that the
Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.
Remember the long way that the Lord
your God has led you these forty years in
the wilderness, in order to humble you,
testing you to know what was in your heart,
whether or not you would keep his commandments. He humbled you by letting
you hunger, then by feeding you with
manna, with which neither you nor your
ancestors were acquainted, in order to make
you understand that one does not live by
bread alone, but by every word that comes
from the mouth of the Lord.a The clothes
on your back did not wear out and your feet
did not swell these forty years. Know then
in your heart that as a parent disciplines a
child so the Lord your God disciplines you.
Therefore keep the commandments of the
Lord your God, by walking in his ways and
by fearing him. For the Lord your God is
bringing you into a good land, a land with
flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and
hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines
and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of
olive trees and honey, a land where you
may eat bread without scarcity, where you
will lack nothing, a land whose stones are
iron and from whose hills you may mine
copper. You shall eat your fill and bless
the Lord your God for the good land that he

has given you.
Take care that you do not forget the Lord
your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes,
which I am commanding you today. When
you have eaten your ll and have built ne
houses and live in them, and when your
herds and ocks have multiplied, and your
silver and gold is multiplied, and all that
you have is multiplied, then do not exalt
yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of
the house of slavery, who led you through
the great and terrible wilderness, an arid
wasteland with poisonousb snakes and scorpions. He made water ow for you from int
rock, and fed you in the wilderness with
manna that your ancestors did not know, to
humble you and to test you, and in the end
to do you good. Do not say to yourself, My
power and the might of my own hand have
gotten me this wealth. But remember the
Lord your God, for it is he who gives you
power to get wealth, so that he may conrm
his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today. If you do forget
the Lord your God and follow other gods to
serve and worship them, I solemnly warn you
today that you shall surely perish. Like the
nations that the Lord is destroying before
you, so shall you perish, because you would
not obey the voice of the Lord your God.
a Or by anything that the Lord decrees
b Or ery; Heb seraph
8.120: The temptation to pride and self-suciency in the land. Moses warns the people that success in
Canaan will tempt them to forget the wilderness lesson of complete dependence upon God. 110: An appeal
to Israels memory: In the wilderness God sustained the people daily (Ex 12.3717.16; Num 1114). 3: Manna, see
Ex 16; Num 11.78. 5: Suering is here interpreted as discipline, as in a parents correction of a child (Hos 11);
this metaphor reects the inuence of wisdom literature (see Prov 3.1112; cf. 1.13n.; 4.2n.; 4.58n.; 4.10n.; 6.4n.;
11.2).
8.1120: The peril of prosperity. 11: A bold equation between the Lord and the legal corpus (his commandments . . . ordinances . . . statutes . . . today). Disobedience of Deuteronomys laws becomes tantamount to forgeing God and transgressing the rst commandment (see v. 19n.). 15: Poisonous snakes, Num 21.69. Water
. . . from int rock, Ex 17.17; Num 20.213; Ps 114.8. 16: Manna, see v. 3n. 19: Other gods . . . serve . . . worship, citing
the rst and second commandments (5.7,9). Worship, translated bow down to at 5.9. 20: Like the nations, here
Israel is itself placed under the ban if it commits apostasy (see 7.126n.). Destroying . . . perish, in Hebrew, the
same word is used to underscore the precise measure for measure nature of the punishment. Israels election
(7.6n.) grants no exemption from upholding the law. Rightful habitation in the promised land, like its fertility
(7.1214n.), depends upon covenantal obedience, not ethnic identity (7.2n.).
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deuteronomy 9
Hear, OIsrael! You are about to cross

the Jordan today, to go in and dispossess
nations larger and mightier than you, great
cities, fortied to the heavens, a strong and
tall people, the ospring of the Anakim,
whom you know. You have heard it said of
them, Who can stand up to the Anakim?
Know then today that the Lord your God is
the one who crosses over before you as a devouring re; he will defeat them and subdue
them before you, so that you may dispossess
and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has
promised you.
When the Lord your God thrusts them
out before you, do not say to yourself, It is
because of my righteousness that the Lord has
brought me in to occupy this land; it is rather
because of the wickedness of these nations
that the Lord is dispossessing them before you.
It is not because of your righteousness or the
uprightness of your heart that you are going in
to occupy their land; but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is dispossessing them before you, in order to fulll
the promise that the Lord made on oath to your
ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Know, then, that the Lord your God
is not giving you this good land to occupy
because of your righteousness; for you are
a stubborn people. Remember and do not
forget how you provoked the Lord your God
to wrath in the wilderness; you have been
rebellious against the Lord from the day you
came out of the land of Egypt until you came
to this place.
Even at Horeb you provoked the Lord to
wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you
that he was ready to destroy you. When I
went up the mountain to receive the stone
tablets, the tablets of the covenant that
the Lord made with you, I remained on
the mountain forty days and forty nights; I
neither ate bread nor drank water. And the
Lord gave me the two stone tablets written
with the nger of God; on them were all the
words that the Lord had spoken to you at the

mountain out of the re on the day of the
assembly. At the end of forty days and forty
nights the Lord gave me the two stone tablets,
the tablets of the covenant. Then the Lord
said to me, Get up, go down quickly from
here, for your people whom you have brought
from Egypt have acted corruptly. They have
been quick to turn from the way that I commanded them; they have cast an image for
themselves. Furthermore the Lord said to
me, I have seen that this people is indeed a
stubborn people. Let me alone that I may
destroy them and blot out their name from
under heaven; and I will make of you a nation
mightier and more numerous than they.
So I turned and went down from the
mountain, while the mountain was ablaze;
the two tablets of the covenant were in
my two hands. Then I saw that you had
indeed sinned against the Lord your God,
by casting for yourselves an image of a calf;
you had been quick to turn from the way
that the Lord had commanded you. So I
took hold of the two tablets and ung them
from my two hands, smashing them before
your eyes. Then I lay prostrate before the
Lord as before, forty days and forty nights;
I neither ate bread nor drank water, because
of all the sin you had committed, provoking
the Lord by doing what was evil in his sight.
For I was afraid that the anger that the Lord
bore against you was so erce that he would
destroy you. But the Lord listened to me
that time also. The Lord was so angry with
Aaron that he was ready to destroy him, but
I interceded also on behalf of Aaron at that
same time. Then I took the sinful thing you
had made, the calf, and burned it with re
and crushed it, grinding it thoroughly, until it
was reduced to dust; and I threw the dust of it
into the stream that runs down the mountain.
At Taberah also, and at Massah, and at
Kibroth-hattaavah, you provoked the Lord to
wrath. And when the Lord sent you from
9.110.11: The already broken and renewed covenant. God does not give the land to the people as a reward
for righteousness, for in the wilderness they acted rebelliously. 9.2: See 1.28n.; 2.10. 45: Victory will be given
in the holy war because (negatively) Canaan has been irrevocably corrupted by the actions of its present occupants and because (positively) of Gods enduring commitment to the promises made to Israels ancestors. 624:
The historical record shows that Israel has been rebellious since the Exodus (Ezek 20.58; contrast Hos 2.1420;
Jer 2.23). 810: Ex 24.1218; 31.18. 1121: Ex 32, revised. 17: Smashing them, not in simple anger but reecting
266 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 10
Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and occupy
the land that I have given you, you rebelled
against the command of the Lord your God,
neither trusting him nor obeying him. You
have been rebellious against the Lord as long
as he hasa known you.
Throughout the forty days and forty
nights that I lay prostrate before the Lord
when the Lord intended to destroy you, I
prayed to the Lord and said, Lord God, do
not destroy the people who are your very
own possession, whom you redeemed in
your greatness, whom you brought out of
Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember your
servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; pay no
attention to the stubbornness of this people,
their wickedness and their sin, otherwise
the land from which you have brought us
might say, Because the Lord was not able
to bring them into the land that he promised them, and because he hated them, he
has brought them out to let them die in the
wilderness. For they are the people of your
very own possession, whom you brought out
by your great power and by your outstretched
arm.
At that time the Lord said to me,
Carve out two tablets of stone like
the former ones, and come up to me on the
mountain, and make an ark of wood. I will
write on the tablets the words that were on
the former tablets, which you smashed, and
you shall put them in the ark. So I made an
ark of acacia wood, cut two tablets of stone
like the former ones, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. Then
10
he wrote on the tablets the same words as

before, the ten commandmentsb that the
Lord had spoken to you on the mountain out
of the re on the day of the assembly; and the
Lord gave them to me. So I turned and came
down from the mountain, and put the tablets
in the ark that I had made; and there they are,
as the Lord commanded me.
(The Israelites journeyed from Beerothbene-jaakanc to Moserah. There Aaron died,
and there he was buried; his son Eleazar
succeeded him as priest. From there they
journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah
to Jotbathah, a land with owing streams. At
that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi
to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
to stand before the Lord to minister to him,
and to bless in his name, to this day. Therefore Levi has no allotment or inheritance
with his kindred; the Lord is his inheritance,
as the Lord your God promised him.)
I stayed on the mountain forty days and
forty nights, as I had done the rst time. And
once again the Lord listened to me. The Lord
was unwilling to destroy you. The Lord
said to me, Get up, go on your journey at the
head of the people, that they may go in and
occupy the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them.
So now, OIsrael, what does the Lord
your God require of you? Only to fear the
Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love
a Sam Gk: MT I have
b Heb the ten words
c Or the wells of the Bene-jaakan
a legal ceremony to conrm breach of treaty. 22: Num 11.13; Ex 17.17; Num 11.3134. 23: Num 1314. 2529: A
paraphrase of Ex 32.1114. Deuteronomy portrays Moses as the ideal prophet (34.1012); he intercedes for the
people and vicariously suers for them (1.37n.; cf. Isa 53).
10.111: The second ascent of the mountain (cf. Ex 34.14,2728). 13: These verses reect a tradition that
Moses made the ark and put the stone tablets in it (1 Kings 8.9). 69: An editorial insertion; vv. 67 seem to
quote a wilderness itinerary from the Priestly literature (cf. Num 33.3038). 6: Num 20.2229. 8: Ex 32.2529.
The Levites role is to bear the ark (Num 4.415), to minister, i.e., conduct the sacricial services (Num 18), and
to bless the people (Num 6.2227). 9: See 12.12n.; 18.2n.
10.1211.32: Obedience as the condition for prosperity in the land. This section provides the climax and
conclusion of the historical review found in 8.110.11. 10.1213: A striking transformation of the Decalogue.
Earlier, breach of the rst and second commandments, with their focus specically on God, had been redened and equated with failing to keep his commandments . . . ordinances . . . and . . . statutes (8.11n.). Now
obedience to God is similarly redened as compliance with the xed commandments . . . and . . . decrees (v. 13)
of Deuteronomy, i.e., the laws of chs 1226 (see 28.15,45). For a similar catechism that does not extend the
traditional focus upon God to law, see Mic 6.8. And to keep (lit. by keeping) the precise antithesis of 8.11. The
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deuteronomy 11
him, to serve the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul, and to keep
the commandments of the Lord your Goda
and his decrees that I am commanding you
today, for your own well-being. Although
heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to
the Lord your God, the earth with all that is
in it, yet the Lord set his heart in love on
your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples,
as it is today. Circumcise, then, the foreskin
of your heart, and do not be stubborn any
longer. For the Lord your God is God of
gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty
and awesome, who is not partial and takes no
bribe, who executes justice for the orphan
and the widow, and who loves the strangers,
providing them food and clothing. You shall
also love the stranger, for you were strangers
in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord
your God; him alone you shall worship; to
him you shall hold fast, and by his name you
shall swear. He is your praise; he is your
God, who has done for you these great and
awesome things that your own eyes have
seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt
seventy persons; and now the Lord your God
has made you as numerous as the stars in
heaven.
You shall love the Lord your God,
therefore, and keep his charge, his
decrees, his ordinances, and his command-
11
ments always. Remember today that it was

not your children (who have not known or
seen the discipline of the Lord your God),
but it is you who must acknowledge his
greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his deeds that
he did in Egypt to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt,
and to all his land; what he did to the Egyptian army, to their horses and chariots, how
he made the water of the Red Seab ow over
them as they pursued you, so that the Lord
has destroyed them to this day; what he did
to you in the wilderness, until you came to
this place; and what he did to Dathan and
Abiram, sons of Eliab son of Reuben, how
in the midst of all Israel the earth opened
its mouth and swallowed them up, along
with their households, their tents, and every
living being in their company; for it is your
own eyes that have seen every great deed
that the Lord did.
Keep, then, this entire commandment
that I am commanding you today, so that you
may have strength to go in and occupy the
land that you are crossing over to occupy,
and so that you may live long in the land
that the Lord swore to your ancestors to
give them and to their descendants, a land
owing with milk and honey. For the land
a Q Ms Gk Syr: MT lacks your God
b Or Sea of Reeds
sequence love . . . keep . . . commandments cites 5.10. 16: Circumcise . . . the . . . heart means to open oneself to God
(Lev 26.41); no distinction is intended between mind, will, and emotion. The metaphorical formulation, which
challenges any aempt to reduce Deuteronomy to narrow legalism, corresponds to prophetic ideals (cf. Jer
4.4; 31.33). 1718: Integrity in the administration of court justice (v. 17; cf. 1.17; 16.19) and protection of the marginalized (v. 18) are given a theological foundation, making the remarkable argument that human social ethics
amounts to imitatio dei. Responsibility for ensuring justice in court and for defending the marginalized were
conventional royal prerogatives (Laws of Hammurabi prologue; Ps 72.4). Deuteronomy contemplates no such
role for the monarch (17.1420n.). Instead, here it is God who protects the rights of the marginalized, entering
history to do so (cf. Ex 3.710; Phil 2.67). Love of neighbor thus originates in divine action. 1819: Strangers . .
. stranger, beer, the legal term resident alien in both cases. Just as justice must be rendered to Israelite and
alien alike (see 1.16n.), so must love reach across national or ethnic lines (cf. Lev 19.3334). 18: Loves . . . providing, note loves concrete expression in action and service (see 5.10n.; 6.5n.). 19: For you were, see Ex 22.21; 23.9.
22: Seventy persons (Gen 46.27; Ex 1.5) comes rst in the Hebrew, emphasizing Israels miraculous transformation into a nation. Stars in heaven, see 1.10n.
11.132: Loyalty to the covenant provides the condition for life in Canaan. The punishments and rewards
noted in this section are predominantly addressed to a plural you, stressing communal rather than individual
responsibility. 2: The frequent word today in Deuteronomy emphasizes the contemporaneity of the covenant
(see 5.3n.). Discipline, see 8.5n. 4: See Ex 14. 6: The address is based upon the early tradition of the revolt of
Dathan and Abiram (Num 16). There is no mention of Korahs rebellion (Num 16.311), which was very likely
268 | hebrew bible
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that you are about to enter to occupy is not
like the land of Egypt, from which you have
come, where you sow your seed and irrigate
by foot like a vegetable garden. But the land
that you are crossing over to occupy is a land
of hills and valleys, watered by rain from the
sky, a land that the Lord your God looks after. The eyes of the Lord your God are always
on it, from the beginning of the year to the
end of the year.
If you will only heed his every commandmenta that I am commanding you
todayloving the Lord your God, and serving him with all your heart and with all your
soul then heb will give the rain for your
land in its season, the early rain and the later
rain, and you will gather in your grain, your
wine, and your oil; and heb will give grass in
your elds for your livestock, and you will eat
your ll. Take care, or you will be seduced
into turning away, serving other gods and
worshiping them, for then the anger of the
Lord will be kindled against you and he will
shut up the heavens, so that there will be no
rain and the land will yield no fruit; then you
will perish quickly o the good land that the
Lord is giving you.
You shall put these words of mine in
your heart and soul, and you shall bind them
as a sign on your hand, and x them as an
emblemc on your forehead. Teach them to
your children, talking about them when you
are at home and when you are away, when
you lie down and when you rise. Write
them on the doorposts of your house and on
your gates, so that your days and the days of
your children may be multiplied in the land
that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give

them, as long as the heavens are above the
earth.
If you will diligently observe this entire
commandment that I am commanding you,
loving the Lord your God, walking in all his
ways, and holding fast to him, then the
Lord will drive out all these nations before
you, and you will dispossess nations larger
and mightier than yourselves. Every place
on which you set foot shall be yours; your
territory shall extend from the wilderness
to the Lebanon and from the River, the river
Euphrates, to the Western Sea. No one
will be able to stand against you; the Lord
your God will put the fear and dread of you
on all the land on which you set foot, as he
promised you.
See, I am setting before you today a
blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you
obey the commandments of the Lord your
God that I am commanding you today;
and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn
from the way that I am commanding you
today, to follow other gods that you have
not known.
When the Lord your God has brought
you into the land that you are entering to
occupy, you shall set the blessing on Mount
Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. As
you know, they are beyond the Jordan,
some distance to the west, in the land of the
a Compare Gk: Heb my commandments
b Sam Gk Vg: MT I
c Or as a frontlet
added by the Priestly school aer this abstract was made. 1012: The Nile valley must be irrigated through human eort; Canaan depends upon seasonal rainfall. The dierence is mentioned to stress Israels dependence
upon God, who gives and withholds rain (Am 4.78), as well as the fundamental sanctity of the land of Israel.
14: The early rain comes at the end of the summer drought (October-November); the later rain comes in the
spring (March-April). 1617: See 7.1214n. 1821: See 6.69. 24: Every place . . . yours, a legal ritual that eected
transfer of title by pacing out the perimeter of the territory (see 25.9n.; Gen 13.17). The territory is described in
terms of the ideal limits of Davids empire (see 1.7n.). The Western Sea, the Mediterranean. 2632: The two ways
(see ch 28; 30.1520). 26: Curse, the sanctions for violating a treaty, which a vassal assumes in a sworn oath (see
28.1568). 2930: These verses represent an editorial intrusion. Previously, blessing . . . and the curse identify the
benets of covenantal obedience and the sanctions for breach of covenant (vv. 2628; 28.2,15). That theme is
the expected climax of this chapter. Here they are restricted to a series of positive and negative sayings shouted
from mounts Gerizim and . . . Ebal, in anticipation of ch 27. Gerizim, on the south, and Ebal, on the north, ank
the pass guarded by the city of Shechem in the central hill country. This geographic restriction ts poorly in a
chapter otherwise directed to the entire land (vv. 2225,3132). 30: The oak of Moreh, at Shechem (see Gen 12.6).
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deuteronomy 12
Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite
Gilgal, beside the oaka of Moreh.
When you cross the Jordan to go in to
occupy the land that the Lord your God is
giving you, and when you occupy it and live
in it, you must diligently observe all the
statutes and ordinances that I am setting
before you today.
These are the statutes and ordinances
that you must diligently observe in the
land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to occupy all the days that
you live on the earth.
You must demolish completely all the
places where the nations whom you are
about to dispossess served their gods, on the
mountain heights, on the hills, and under
every leafy tree. Break down their altars,
smash their pillars, burn their sacred polesb
with re, and hew down the idols of their
gods, and thus blot out their name from their
places. You shall not worship the Lord your
God in such ways. But you shall seek the
place that the Lord your God will choose out
of all your tribes as his habitation to put his
name there. You shall go there, bringing
there your burnt oerings and your sacrices, your tithes and your donations, your
votive gifts, your freewill oerings, and the
12
rstlings of your herds and ocks. And you

shall eat there in the presence of the Lord
your God, you and your households together,
rejoicing in all the undertakings in which the
Lord your God has blessed you.
You shall not act as we are acting here today, all of us according to our own desires, for
you have not yet come into the rest and the
possession that the Lord your God is giving
you. When you cross over the Jordan and live
in the land that the Lord your God is allotting
to you, and when he gives you rest from your
enemies all around so that you live in safety,
then you shall bring everything that I command you to the place that the Lord your God
will choose as a dwelling for his name: your
burnt oerings and your sacrices, your tithes
and your donations, and all your choice votive
gifts that you vow to the Lord. And you shall
rejoice before the Lord your God, you together
with your sons and your daughters, your male
and female slaves, and the Levites who reside
in your towns (since they have no allotment or
inheritance with you).
Take care that you do not oer your
burnt oerings at any place you happen to
a Gk Syr: Compare Gen 12.6; Heb oaks or terebinths
b Heb Asherim
3132: Transition to the legal corpus. 32: Diligently observe . . . statutes and ordinances, cited in reverse order at
12.1 to eect the transition from the literary frame of Deuteronomy (chs 111) into the laws (chs 1226).
12.126.15: The legal corpus: Deuteronomys transformation of Israelite religion.
12.132: Centralization of worship. Centralization and purication of worship, restriction to a single sanctuary, and removal of foreign inuence distinguish Deuteronomy. Four paragraphs (vv. 27,812,1319,2028)
command centralization; a h (vv. 2931) warns against alien worship. 1: An editorial superscription. Earth,
more accurately, land (of Israel). 27: Israel must reject the Canaanite precedent of multiple sanctuaries. 2:
You, The chapter alternates between plural (vv. 112) and singular (vv. 1331), which, combined with six repetitions of the centralization command (vv. 5,11,14,18,21,26), suggests a long compositional history. Demolish, see
Ex 23.2324; 34.1114; Deut 7.5. Heights . . . leafy tree, Canaanite sanctuaries, high places (1 Kings 3.2; 2 Kings
16.4), but used to worship God as well (1 Kings 3.4). 3: See 7.5n. 5: The place that the Lord . . . will choose, Jerusalem
played no role in Israels history until the period of David. Consequently the city cannot be named explicitly
without undermining the literary form of Deuteronomy as an address by Moses. As his habitation, beer, to
establish it (the divine name), indicating possession and special relationship. Put his name there, Deuteronomy
rejects the idea that a nations God would inhabit the Temple (contrast 1Kings 8.1213). 6: Burnt oerings, in
which all of the esh was burnt on the altar (v. 27; Lev 1.317). Sacrices, other oerings where portions of the
animal were assigned to the priests or shared by worshipers (v. 27; 18.13; Lev 3; 7.2936). 812: That worship at
multiple sanctuaries was to have limited temporal validity diers from Ex 20.24. 8: Our own desires, a negative
judgment, as in Judg 17.6; 21.25. 910: Rest and . . . possession, territorial security (Josh 21.44) would allow centralization. This was fullled with Davids conquest of Jerusalem, which allowed the construction of the Temple
(2 Sam 7.1,11; 1 Kings 8.56). 12: Since the Levites were not assigned land (see Josh 13.14; cf. Ezek 44.28), they had
to depend upon voluntary oerings (see 10.9; 18.12). 1319: The earliest of the chapters ve paragraphs is
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deuteronomy 12
see. But only at the place that the Lord will
choose in one of your tribesthere you shall
oer your burnt oerings and there you shall
do everything I command you.
Yet whenever you desire you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns,
according to the blessing that the Lord your
God has given you; the unclean and the clean
may eat of it, as they would of gazelle or deer.
The blood, however, you must not eat; you
shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Nor may you eat within your towns the
tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil,
the rstlings of your herds and your ocks,
any of your votive gifts that you vow, your
freewill oerings, or your donations; these
you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your
God at the place that the Lord your God will
choose, you together with your son and your
daughter, your male and female slaves, and
the Levites resident in your towns, rejoicing
in the presence of the Lord your God in all
your undertakings. Take care that you do
not neglect the Levite as long as you live in
your land.
When the Lord your God enlarges your
territory, as he has promised you, and you
say, I am going to eat some meat, because
you wish to eat meat, you may eat meat
whenever you have the desire. If the place
where the Lord your God will choose to put
his name is too far from you, and you slaughter as I have commanded you any of your
herd or ock that the Lord has given you,
then you may eat within your towns whenever you desire. Indeed, just as gazelle or
deer is eaten, so you may eat it; the unclean
and the clean alike may eat it. Only be sure
that you do not eat the blood; for the blood is
the life, and you shall not eat the life with the
meat. Do not eat it; you shall pour it out on
the ground like water. Do not eat it, so that
all may go well with you and your children
after you, because you do what is right in the
sight of the Lord. But the sacred donations
that are due from you, and your votive gifts,
you shall bring to the place that the Lord will
choose. You shall present your burnt offerings, both the meat and the blood, on the
altar of the Lord your God; the blood of your
other sacrices shall be poured out besidea
the altar of the Lord your God, but the meat
you may eat.
Be careful to obey all these words that I
command you today,b so that it may go well
with you and with your children after you
forever, because you will be doing what is
good and right in the sight of the Lord your
God.
When the Lord your God has cut o
before you the nations whom you are about
to enter to dispossess them, when you have
dispossessed them and live in their land,
take care that you are not snared into imia Or on
b Gk Sam Syr: MT lacks today
concentrically arranged in a chiasm to structure diverse material in an ABC:CBA paern.

A Take care that (13)
B but only (Heb ki im) + centralization (14)
C yet (raq) + secular slaughter (15)
C but (raq) + secular slaughter (16)
B rather (ki im [untranslated in NRSV]) + centralization (18)
A Take care that (19)
1316: Two important, revolutionary distinctions: First, between sacricial worship at random sites, any place,
rejected as illegitimate, and legitimate sacrice performed at a single sanctuary, the place that the Lord will choose.
This contrasts with previous norms, when altars were common throughout the land (Gen 12.7; 35.17; 1 Sam 3.1;
7.17; 1 Kings 18.2046). Second, between ritual sacrice and secular slaughter of domestic animals for food. Prior
to Deuteronomy, all slaughter, even for food, was sacricial and took place at an altar. With altars throughout
the land, that rule imposed no burden upon Israelites. The prohibition of all local altars, however, created a real
diculty for those without easy access to the central sanctuary. The permission granted here for local, secular
slaughter answers that need. By analogy to the rules for hunting wild game (gazelle or deer), domestic animals may
be slaughtered throughout the land, on condition that their blood is poured out on the ground like water (cf. Lev
17.13). Blood symbolizes life (v. 23; 15.23; Gen 9.45; Lev 17.14; 19.26). 17: Tithe, see 14.2229n. 2028: Permission
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deuteronomy 13
tating them, after they have been destroyed
before you: do not inquire concerning their
gods, saying, How did these nations worship
their gods? I also want to do the same. You
must not do the same for the Lord your God,
because every abhorrent thing that the Lord
hates they have done for their gods. They
would even burn their sons and their daughters in the re to their gods. aYou must
diligently observe everything that I command
you; do not add to it or take anything from it.
b If prophets or those who divine by
dreams appear among you and promise you omens or portents, and the omens or
the portents declared by them take place, and
they say, Let us follow other gods (whom
you have not known) and let us serve them,
you must not heed the words of those
prophets or those who divine by dreams; for
the Lord your God is testing you, to know
whether you indeed love the Lord your God
with all your heart and soul. The Lord your
God you shall follow, him alone you shall
fear, his commandments you shall keep, his
voice you shall obey, him you shall serve,
and to him you shall hold fast. But those
13
prophets or those who divine by dreams shall

be put to death for having spoken treason
against the Lord your Godwho brought
you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed
you from the house of slaveryto turn you
from the way in which the Lord your God
commanded you to walk. So you shall purge
the evil from your midst.
If anyone secretly entices youeven if
it is your brother, your fathers son orc your
mothers son, or your own son or daughter, or
the wife you embrace, or your most intimate
friendsaying, Let us go worship other
gods, whom neither you nor your ancestors
have known, any of the gods of the peoples
that are around you, whether near you or far
away from you, from one end of the earth to
the other, you must not yield to or heed any
such persons. Show them no pity or compassion and do not shield them. But you shall
surely kill them; your own hand shall be rst
against them to execute them, and afterwards
a Ch 13.1 in Heb
b Ch 13.2 in Heb
c Sam Gk Compare Tg: MT lacks your fathers son or
for secular slaughter is now justied by the expansion of Israels boundaries. 30: Elsewhere, the corruption of Israelite religion is presented as resulting from the aractions of marital contract (7.15,25) or political treaty (Ex 23.33;
34.12). 31: Burn their sons and their daughters, the Canaanites are accused of child sacrice (see 2 Kings 3.27; 23.10;
Jer 19.56; ch 31), elsewhere associated with the deity Molech (Lev 18.21; 20.25). 32: An exhortation to preserve
the law unchanged. Diligently observe, the same idiom found at 12.1 (also 11.32) frames the unit with an inclusio.
Do not add to it or take anything from it, an ancient Near Eastern scribal formula oen included in the epilogues of
treaties, inscriptions, and law collections to protect them from being defaced, altered, or wrien over (see 4.2n.).
13.118: Unconditional loyalty to God. Various hypothetical situations involving conict of covenant loyalty
to God, treated analogously to ancient Near Eastern suzerainty treaties, which stipulated absolute loyalty. 15:
A prophet or diviner invites listeners to commit idolatry. While Deuteronomy presents Moses as the founder of
Israelite prophecy, establishing both its standard (18.1522) and its pinnacle (34.1012), Deuteronomy nonetheless regulates prophecy, requiring the execution of the prophet who contravenes Deuteronomys teaching (vv.
15; 18.1922) and subordinating prophecy to covenantal law. No longer is the power to perform signs the test
of a prophets legitimacy (contrast v. 2 with 34.1112; Ex 4.19,21; 1 Kings 18.2040). 1: The religious stature of
prophets makes it dicult to resist their incitement to commit apostasy. Dreams, the two sources of religious
authority correspond to the nearly contemporary Neo-Assyrian Vassal Treaty of Esarhaddon (672 bce), which requires loyalty even in the face of conspiracy from your brothers, your sons, your daughters, or from the mouth
of a prophet, an ecstatic, or an inquirer of oracles ( 10). Omens or portents were used by legitimate prophets to
authenticate their proclamations (34.11; Ex 4.19,21; 7.9; Judg 6.17). 5: Treason, as betrayal of the divine suzerain.
Purge the evil from your midst, a formula emphasizing the obligation to eliminate particularly oensive religious
transgressions (17.7,12; 19.19; 21.21; etc.). 611: Conict between family love, marriage, or friendship and covenantal delity (cf. Lk 14.26). 6: Secretly, i.e., there are no witnesses. Fathers son, this addition of the half-brother
(see text note c) provides a poor reading. The Heb deliberately selects the most intimate of human relations
in this verse; thus the full brother (mothers son). 9: But you shall surely kill them, i.e., summary execution. The
absence of witnesses and a trial conicts with Deuteronomys own requirements elsewhere (17.4,6; 19.15), but
272 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 14
the hand of all the people. Stone them to
death for trying to turn you away from the
Lord your God, who brought you out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Then all Israel shall hear and be afraid, and
never again do any such wickedness.
If you hear it said about one of the towns
that the Lord your God is giving you to live
in, that scoundrels from among you have
gone out and led the inhabitants of the town
astray, saying, Let us go and worship other
gods, whom you have not known, then you
shall inquire and make a thorough investigation. If the charge is established that such an
abhorrent thing has been done among you,
you shall put the inhabitants of that town to
the sword, utterly destroying it and everything in iteven putting its livestock to the
sword. All of its spoil you shall gather into
its public square; then burn the town and all
its spoil with re, as a whole burnt oering to
the Lord your God. It shall remain a perpetual
ruin, never to be rebuilt. Do not let anything
devoted to destruction stick to your hand,
so that the Lord may turn from his erce
anger and show you compassion, and in his
compassion multiply you, as he swore to your
ancestors, if you obey the voice of the Lord
your God by keeping all his commandments
that I am commanding you today, doing what
is right in the sight of the Lord your God.
14
You are children of the Lord your God.

You must not lacerate yourselves or
shave your forelocks for the dead. For you
are a people holy to the Lord your God; it is
you the Lord has chosen out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured
possession.
You shall not eat any abhorrent thing.
These are the animals you may eat: the ox,
the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the
roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope,
and the mountain-sheep. Any animal that
divides the hoof and has the hoof cleft in
two, and chews the cud, among the animals,
you may eat. Yet of those that chew the cud
or have the hoof cleft you shall not eat these:
the camel, the hare, and the rock badger,
because they chew the cud but do not divide
the hoof; they are unclean for you. And the
pig, because it divides the hoof but does not
chew the cud, is unclean for you. You shall
not eat their meat, and you shall not touch
their carcasses.
Of all that live in water you may eat these:
whatever has ns and scales you may eat.
And whatever does not have ns and scales
you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.
You may eat any clean birds. But these
are the ones that you shall not eat: the eagle,
the vulture, the osprey, the buzzard, the
kite of any kind; every raven of any kind;
arises from the grave threat to the covenant (Ex 32.2527; Num 25.69). 10: Stone, the penalty carried out by the
community for violations of its fundamental values or sources of authority: apostasy or treason (see 17.27; Lev
20.2; Josh 7.1026; 1 Kings 21.814), blasphemy (Lev 24.1323), defying parental authority (21.1821; 22.2021),
and betraying marriage (22.2324). Each is prohibited by the Decalogue (5.6,11,16,18). 13: Scoundrels, lit. sons
of worthlessness, or children of Belial (KJV). 1517: The indelity of the Israelite town requires that its entire
population be placed under the same ban as that used for the Canaanites (7.16,2526; 12.2930; 20.1618). 16:
Normally new occupants would rebuild cities aer destruction right on top of the ruin (Heb tel).
14.129: The obligations of holiness. 122: Special status entails special obligations, one of which is dietary.
The armation of holiness (vv. 2,21) therefore frames the list of permied and prohibited foods. 1: Children of
the Lord, the rst of three metaphors to emphasize the special relation between God and Israel. The divine
parent has special custody for the child (Ex 4.2223; Hos 1.10) but, equally, special indignation at wrongdoing
(32.56,1920; Isa 1.2). Lacerate . . . shave . . . dead, laceration and head shaving, common mourning rituals, were
associated with Canaanite customs and perhaps with ancestor worship (Lev 19.2728; 1 Kings 18.28; Jer 16.67;
41.45; 47.5; Am 8.10). 2: Holy, Israel must distinguish itself from other nations by observing special requirements. Treasured possession, see 7.6n. 321: Deuteronomys dietary restrictions dier from the more detailed list
of permied and prohibited foods provided by the Priestly source (Lev 11.223). A binary classication system,
permied vs. forbidden, is systematically applied to each of the three basic divisions of species within creation
(Gen 1.2025; 9.23), which are grouped according to their habitat as creatures of the land (vv. 18), water (vv.
910), or air (vv. 1120). Animals that do not satisfy the dening characteristics for their group are not to be
eaten: the pig (v. 8) and shellsh (v. 10). The terms unclean (v. 8) and clean (v. 11) do not refer to hygiene. Ritu-
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deuteronomy 15
the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull,
the hawk of any kind; the little owl and
the great owl, the water hen and the desert
owl,a the carrion vulture and the cormorant,
the stork, the heron of any kind; the hoopoe
and the bat.b And all winged insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten. You
may eat any clean winged creature.
You shall not eat anything that dies of
itself; you may give it to aliens residing in
your towns for them to eat, or you may sell it
to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the
Lord your God.
You shall not boil a kid in its mothers
milk.
Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your
seed that is brought in yearly from the eld.
In the presence of the Lord your God, in
the place that he will choose as a dwelling for
his name, you shall eat the tithe of your grain,
your wine, and your oil, as well as the rstlings of your herd and ock, so that you may
learn to fear the Lord your God always. But
if, when the Lord your God has blessed you,
the distance is so great that you are unable
to transport it, because the place where the
Lord your God will choose to set his name is
too far away from you, then you may turn it
into money. With the money secure in hand,

go to the place that the Lord your God will
choose; spend the money for whatever you
wishoxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or
whatever you desire. And you shall eat there
in the presence of the Lord your God, you
and your household rejoicing together. As
for the Levites resident in your towns, do not
neglect them, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you.
Every third year you shall bring out the
full tithe of your produce for that year, and
store it within your towns; the Levites,
because they have no allotment or inheritance with you, as well as the resident aliens,
the orphans, and the widows in your towns,
may come and eat their ll so that the Lord
your God may bless you in all the work that
you undertake.
Every seventh year you shall grant a
remission of debts. And this is the
manner of the remission: every creditor
shall remit the claim that is held against a
neighbor, not exacting it of a neighbor who
15
a Or pelican
b Identication of several of the birds in verses 12-18
is uncertain
ally impure and pure convey the idea more clearly. Not all of the species mentioned can be identied. 21:
Anything that dies of itself, carrion (Ex 22.31) or any animal not slaughtered so that the blood can be drained
(12.16,2325). Boil a kid, Deuteronomy extends an older law specically connected to the pilgrimage festival offerings (Ex 23.19; 34.26) into a general dietary rule. Some view it as directed against Canaanite religious rituals;
others view it as concerned to prevent the abuse of animals. 2229: An annual tithe of ten percent of crops and
livestock was a common tax or honorarium paid to a monarch (Gen 14.20; 28.22; 1 Sam 8.15,17). Here the rule
signies that Israel is Gods steward, working but not owning the land; see Lev 25.23. 23: The standard rules of
the tithe (Lev 27.3033; Num 18.2132; cf. Ex 22.30) are revised to direct oerings to the single sanctuary (12.17).
You shall eat, whereas Deuteronomy assigns the tithe to the landholder, Lev 27.30 assigns it to the sanctuary and
Num 18.21 to the Levites. 2425: In light of centralization, the sanctied crops (designated for the sanctuary)
may be converted into money (see 2.6n.), to facilitate the journey. That rstlings (v. 23) may also be sold for
cash is at variance with Lev 27.32. Too far, as in 12.21. 27: Levites, see 12.12n. 2829: One out of every three years
the tithe law is shied away from the central sanctuary to focus on the needs of the disadvantaged and the
marginalized in the local community, to ensure they too may eat their ll.
15.118: Remission of debts (vv. 111) and manumission of slaves (vv. 1218). On accession to the throne,
ancient Near Eastern rulers would sometimes grant one-time cancellation of debts, return land conscated by
the crown, and free indentured slaves. That custom, Akkadian duraru, is reected in the Heb deror, jubilee
or release, of Lev 25.10; Isa 61.1; Jer 34.15,17. Deuteronomys conception of the covenant between Israel and
God entails a similar fresh start as a covenantal obligation that recurs every seven years, adjusting earlier laws
in the Covenant Collection (Ex 2123) to the innovation of centralization of worship. The sequence reects increasingly severe stages of nancial distress: from debt to indentured servitude, an ancient form of bankruptcy
(see Lev 25.1355 for a similar sequence).
15.16: Cancellation of debts. 1: Seventh year, this law presupposes Ex 23.1011, which stipulates that ag-
274 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 15
is a member of the community, because the
Lords remission has been proclaimed. Of
a foreigner you may exact it, but you must
remit your claim on whatever any member of
your community owes you. There will, however, be no one in need among you, because
the Lord is sure to bless you in the land that
the Lord your God is giving you as a possession to occupy, if only you will obey the
Lord your God by diligently observing this
entire commandment that I command you
today. When the Lord your God has blessed
you, as he promised you, you will lend to
many nations, but you will not borrow; you
will rule over many nations, but they will not
rule over you.
If there is among you anyone in need, a
member of your community in any of your
towns within the land that the Lord your
God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted
or tight-sted toward your needy neighbor.
You should rather open your hand, willingly
lending enough to meet the need, whatever it
may be. Be careful that you do not entertain
a mean thought, thinking, The seventh year,
the year of remission, is near, and therefore
view your needy neighbor with hostility and
give nothing; your neighbor might cry to the
Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.
Give liberally and be ungrudging when you
do so, for on this account the Lord your God
will bless you in all your work and in all that
you undertake. Since there will never cease

to be some in need on the earth, I therefore
command you, Open your hand to the poor
and needy neighbor in your land.
If a member of your community,
whether a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman,
is solda to you and works for you six years,
in the seventh year you shall set that person
free. And when you send a male slaveb out
from you a free person, you shall not send
him out empty-handed. Provide liberally
out of your ock, your threshing oor, and
your wine press, thus giving to him some of
the bounty with which the Lord your God
has blessed you. Remember that you were a
slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your
God redeemed you; for this reason I lay this
command upon you today. But if he says
to you, I will not go out from you, because
he loves you and your household, since he
is well o with you, then you shall take an
awl and thrust it through his earlobe into the
door, and he shall be your slavec forever.
You shall do the same with regard to your
female slave.d
Do not consider it a hardship when
you send them out from you free persons,
a
b
c
d
Or sells himself or herself

Heb him
Or bondman
Or bondwoman
ricultural land should be permied to lie fallow each seventh year. 2: Remission, the same verb in Ex 23.11,
lie fallow, now means cancellation of debts. 3: In not canceling debts of foreigners, the legislator makes a
concession to the pragmatic concerns of the creditor. 4: There will . . . be no one in need, or, no poor. Contrast
the pragmatism of v. 7.
15.711: An appeal to conscience, anticipating the problem of implementing and enforcing such a law. 9: Cry
. . . guilt, the law has no judicial penalty or sanction (similarly 24.15; Ex 22.2324).
15.1218: Manumission. This adjusts the older laws regulating male (Ex 21.26) and female (Ex 21.711) slaves
in four ways: (1) A single law applies to both genders, abrogating the older law (contrast v. 17b with Ex 21.7b);
(2) the ceremony where the slave relinquishes freedom is secularized (vv. 1617), so that it now takes place at
the house rather than at a local sanctuary (Ex 21.6); (3) the master must now grant the slave a gi (vv. 1314;
contrast Ex 21.2); (4) by conjoining the Covenant Collections manumission (Ex 21.26) and land sabbatical (Ex
23.1011) laws, Deuteronomy creates a single year of release and transforms manumission, formerly based in
the individual household, into a year of universal liberty. The delay of manumission to the ieth year by the
Holiness Collection may reect the diculty of implementing this idealistic law (Lev 25.3944). 12: Hebrew,
see Ex 21.2n. Is sold or sells himself (see text note a); a court might require a thief, unable to repay a the, to
indenture his labor as compensation (Ex 22.14); or, overcome by debt, a serf might assign his labor to repay a
loan (Lev 25.3944). 1415: The gi provided the manumied slave recalls and reenacts the nations own manumission by God from slavery in Egypt. 18: As in vv. 810, an appeal to conscience that anticipates the diculty
of enforcing a law that lacks judicial sanction.
hebrew bible | 275
deuteronomy 16
because for six years they have given you
services worth the wages of hired laborers;
and the Lord your God will bless you in all
that you do.
Every rstling male born of your herd
and ock you shall consecrate to the Lord
your God; you shall not do work with your
rstling ox nor shear the rstling of your
ock. You shall eat it, you together with
your household, in the presence of the Lord
your God year by year at the place that the
Lord will choose. But if it has any defectany serious defect, such as lameness
or blindnessyou shall not sacrice it to the
Lord your God; within your towns you may
eat it, the unclean and the clean alike, as you
would a gazelle or deer. Its blood, however,
you must not eat; you shall pour it out on the
ground like water.
Observe the montha of Abib by keeping the passover to the Lord your
God, for in the month of Abib the Lord
your God brought you out of Egypt by night.
You shall oer the passover sacrice to the
Lord your God, from the ock and the herd,
16
at the place that the Lord will choose as a

dwelling for his name. You must not eat
with it anything leavened. For seven days
you shall eat unleavened bread with itthe
bread of aictionbecause you came out
of the land of Egypt in great haste, so that
all the days of your life you may remember
the day of your departure from the land of
Egypt. No leaven shall be seen with you in
all your territory for seven days; and none
of the meat of what you slaughter on the
evening of the rst day shall remain until
morning. You are not permitted to oer
the passover sacrice within any of your
towns that the Lord your God is giving you.
But at the place that the Lord your God
will choose as a dwelling for his name, only
there shall you oer the passover sacrice,
in the evening at sunset, the time of day
when you departed from Egypt. You shall
cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord
your God will choose; the next morning you
may go back to your tents. For six days you
a Or new moon
15.1923: Sacrice: Older convention required that each rstborn male domestic animal be oered as a
sacrice to God at one of the local sanctuaries (Ex 13.12,1116; 22.2930; 34.1920). The author now adjusts
that law to the new one stipulating a single sanctuary. 19: Not do work, thereby reserving the animal for God.
20: In the presence of the Lord, at the central sanctuary in Jerusalem. 2123: Blemished rstborn livestock need
not be taken to the central sanctuary. They may be slaughtered locally, following the requirements for secular
slaughter (12.1516,2125).
16.117: The festival calendar. Previously, each male Israelite was commanded to undertake three pilgrimages to appear before the Lord: to make an oering at one of the multiple local sanctuaries (v. 16; Ex 23.1418).
These occasions, which Deuteronomy redirects to the central sanctuary, were called pilgrimage festivals (v.
16; Ex 23.14). The three festivals were unleavened bread (Heb mazzot), harvest, and ingathering (Ex 23.1417;
34.18,23). Deuteronomy renames the laer two weeks (Heb shavuot, v. 10) and booths (Heb sukkoth, v.
13), their current names. 18: Passover was originally a separate, family observance (Ex 12.113,2123), involving
a nighime slaughter of a sheep or goat in the doorway of the house, where the blood was smeared to mark the
house as Israelite. Deuteronomys centralization of worship necessitated the redirection of the paschal slaughter to the central sanctuary (vv. 2,67). The older blood ritual then merges with the festival of unleavened
bread, also celebrated in early spring. In contrast to Deuteronomy, the festivals of passover and unleavened
bread remain distinct in Lev 23.56; Num 28.16,1725. 1: Abib (lit. new ear of grain), in early spring, when ears
of barley, the rst crop, began to ripen (Ex 13.4; 23.15; 34.18). Originally the rst month of the Hebrew calendar
(Ex 12.2), later called Nisan. 2: From the ock and the herd, earlier the oering was restricted to the ock only
(Ex 12.45,21). 3: For seven days, combining the seven-day observance of the festival of unleavened bread (Ex
12.1420; 23.15) and the one-day observance of passover (vv. 13a,4b7). 7: Cook, more accurately, boil, like
other standard sacrices (Ex 29.1; Lev 6.28; 8.31; Num 6.19; Zech 14.21). This provision conicts with the stipulation that the paschal oering be roasted over the re, not boiled in water (Ex 12.89). The two inconsistent
requirements for preparing the Passover are harmonized at 2 Chr 35.13. 8: The Heb reads simply, For six days
you shall eat unleavened bread. The NRSVs addition, continue, results in an eight-day total for the festivals of
passover and unleavened bread, modeled aer the Priestly version of the calendar: 1 day (Passover) + 6 days
276 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 16
shall continue to eat unleavened bread, and
on the seventh day there shall be a solemn
assembly for the Lord your God, when you
shall do no work.
You shall count seven weeks; begin
to count the seven weeks from the time
the sickle is rst put to the standing grain.
Then you shall keep the festival of weeks
to the Lord your God, contributing a freewill
oering in proportion to the blessing that
you have received from the Lord your God.
Rejoice before the Lord your Godyou and
your sons and your daughters, your male and
female slaves, the Levites resident in your
towns, as well as the strangers, the orphans,
and the widows who are among youat the
place that the Lord your God will choose as a
dwelling for his name. Remember that you
were a slave in Egypt, and diligently observe
these statutes.
You shall keep the festival of boothsa for
seven days, when you have gathered in the
produce from your threshing oor and your
wine press. Rejoice during your festival, you
and your sons and your daughters, your male

and female slaves, as well as the Levites, the
strangers, the orphans, and the widows resident in your towns. Seven days you shall
keep the festival to the Lord your God at the
place that the Lord will choose; for the Lord
your God will bless you in all your produce
and in all your undertakings, and you shall
surely celebrate.
Three times a year all your males shall
appear before the Lord your God at the place
that he will choose: at the festival of unleavened bread, at the festival of weeks, and at
the festival of booths.a They shall not appear
before the Lord empty-handed; all shall
give as they are able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given
you.
You shall appoint judges and ocials
throughout your tribes, in all your towns that
the Lord your God is giving you, and they
shall render just decisions for the people.
a Or tabernacles; Heb succoth
(unleavened bread) + 1 day (the solemn assembly); see Lev 23.38. In contrast, Deuteronomy intended to fuse
the two holidays into a single seven-day observance. 912: The festival of weeks (Ex 34.22; Lev 23.1516; Num
28.26), originally a festival of harvest (Ex 23.16) celebrated in June. In postbiblical Judaism, the festival came
to be associated with the revelation at Mount Sinai (Ex 1920); in the New Testament it is called Pentecost
because it begins on the ieth day aer Passover (Acts 2.1; 20.16; 1 Cor 16.8). 9: Begin to count . . . from the time
the sickle is rst put to the standing grain, the seven weeks begin when the grain is ripe, delaying the celebration
until the conclusion of the harvest. The Holiness Collection oers a slightly dierent date for this festival (Lev
23.15). 11: You and your sons and your daughters, the command to rejoice species the inclusion of women (as
v. 14; 12.12,18). Slaves . . . widows, the marginalized and the disadvantaged are also included. Strangers, beer,
resident aliens; see 1.16n. 1315: The festival of booths, originally the fall harvest festival, called ingathering
(Ex 23.16; 34.22; cf. Lev 23.3343). 1617: The formulaic summary (colophon) reuses the conclusion of the
older festival calendar in the Covenant Collection (Ex 23.17). Two elements, however, reect older assumptions
inconsistent with the rest of this chapter: Passover (vv. 18) is not mentioned, and the pilgrimage requirement
is directed to all your males (as Ex 23.17).
16.1818.22: Laws of public ocials. The proposed government has judicial, executive, and religious
branches: local and central courts (16.1817.13), kingship (17.1420), levitical priesthood (18.18), and prophecy
(18.922). Each relates to the others and is subordinated to the authority of the word of God, the teaching of
Deuteronomy. Even institutions that might claim absolute authority, such as king or prophet, are integrated
into a comprehensive vision. The continual concern with centralization of worship connects this section with
the preceding legislation on the sacricial system. The ritual laws (16.2117.1) seem to intrude between two
paragraphs each concerned with justice (16.1820; 17.27), but the repetition provides a transition into the new
section, while establishing the underlying unity of both areas of community life: (A) worship (12.116.17); (B)
justice (16.1820); (A) worship (16.2117.1); (B) justice (17.27,813).
16.1817.13: The organization of justice. 16.1820: Deuteronomy here establishes a professionalized local
judiciary. 18: Towns (lit. gates), the local sphere (12.15,17,21; 16.5), as distinguished from the central sanctuary;
also the traditional place where the village elders dispensed justice (Job 29.7; Ruth 4.1,11; Lam 5.14). By leaving the elders unmentioned, Deuteronomy contracts or eliminates their authority, though they are mentioned
hebrew bible | 277
deuteronomy 17
You must not distort justice; you must not
show partiality; and you must not accept
bribes, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise
and subverts the cause of those who are in
the right. Justice, and only justice, you shall
pursue, so that you may live and occupy the
land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not plant any tree as a sacred
polea beside the altar that you make for the
Lord your God; nor shall you set up a stone
pillarthings that the Lord your God hates.
You must not sacrice to the Lord your
God an ox or a sheep that has a defect,
anything seriously wrong; for that is abhorrent to the Lord your God.
If there is found among you, in one of
your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is
evil in the sight of the Lord your God, and
transgresses his covenant by going to serve
other gods and worshiping themwhether
the sun or the moon or any of the host of
heaven, which I have forbidden and if it
is reported to you or you hear of it, and you
make a thorough inquiry, and the charge is
proved true that such an abhorrent thing
has occurred in Israel, then you shall bring
17
out to your gates that man or that woman

who has committed this crime and you shall
stone the man or woman to death. On the
evidence of two or three witnesses the death
sentence shall be executed; a person must
not be put to death on the evidence of only
one witness. The hands of the witnesses
shall be the rst raised against the person to
execute the death penalty, and afterward the
hands of all the people. So you shall purge
the evil from your midst.
If a judicial decision is too dicult for
you to make between one kind of bloodshed
and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another
any such matters of dispute in your towns
then you shall immediately go up to the place
that the Lord your God will choose, where
you shall consult with the levitical priests
and the judge who is in oce in those days;
they shall announce to you the decision in
the case. Carry out exactly the decision that
they announce to you from the place that the
Lord will choose, diligently observing everything they instruct you. You must carry out
a Heb Asherah
elsewhere in older sections of Deuteronomy (e.g., 19.12; 21.2; 22.15). 19: You must not distort justice, an admonition, quoting Ex 23.6a (where the same verb is translated pervert). For a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, the
older law in Ex 23.8, whose reference to those with sight (NRSVs ocials is not correct) is revised in light of
Deuteronomys stress upon wisdom (see notes on 1.13; 34.9).
16.2117.1: Prohibitions against Canaanite cultic objects (7.5; 12.3; Ex 34.13). 16.21: Sacred pole, see 7.5n. 22:
Stone pillar, see 7.5n. 17.1: See 15.21, here broadened into a general law of sacrice.
17.27: Local justice. This law overlaps with 13.611, but is placed here because it deals with the procedures
and jurisdiction of the local courts. The law grants the local courts maximum autonomy (see 16.8), provided
that a trial is conducted according to rational standards that assure empirical proof. 2: A man or woman, the law
views the woman as a legally responsible individual. The viewpoint in marriage and family law diers, however
(see 22.1329). 3: Contravening the Decalogue (5.89). 6: Two or three witnesses, the condition for establishing
proof. The prohibition against execution on the basis of testimony by one witness is also found at 19.1516; Num
35.30.
17.813: Justice at the central sanctuary. In the pre-Deuteronomic period, legal cases in which there was an
absence of physical evidence or of witnesses were remanded to the local sanctuary, where the parties to the
dispute would swear a judicial oath at the altar (19.17; Ex 22.711; 1 Kings 8.3132; note also Ex 21.6). These two
laws (17.27,813) thus ll the judicial void created by Deuteronomys prohibition of the local sanctuaries (ch
12). Now, any case that requires recourse to the altar is remanded to the central sanctuary; all other cases, even
capital ones, may be tried locally (vv. 27). 8: These cases must be referred to the central sanctuary because,
in the absence of witnesses or evidence, local ocials cannot make a ruling. Between one kind of bloodshed and
another, the legal distinction between murder and manslaughter (Ex 21.1214; Num 35.1623). In each pair, the
distinction is between premeditated or unintentional oenses. 9: The tribunal at the sanctuary includes both
priestly and lay members. The account of Jehoshaphats seing up tribunals throughout Judah composed of lay
and clerical judges reects this law (2 Chr 19.511).
278 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 18
fully the law that they interpret for you or the
ruling that they announce to you; do not turn
aside from the decision that they announce
to you, either to the right or to the left. As
for anyone who presumes to disobey the
priest appointed to minister there to the Lord
your God, or the judge, that person shall die.
So you shall purge the evil from Israel. All
the people will hear and be afraid, and will
not act presumptuously again.
When you have come into the land that
the Lord your God is giving you, and have
taken possession of it and settled in it, and
you say, I will set a king over me, like all the
nations that are around me, you may indeed set over you a king whom the Lord your
God will choose. One of your own community you may set as king over you; you are not
permitted to put a foreigner over you, who
is not of your own community. Even so, he
must not acquire many horses for himself, or
return the people to Egypt in order to acquire
more horses, since the Lord has said to you,
You must never return that way again.
And he must not acquire many wives for
himself, or else his heart will turn away; also
silver and gold he must not acquire in great
quantity for himself. When he has taken
the throne of his kingdom, he shall have a
copy of this law written for him in the presence of the levitical priests. It shall remain
with him and he shall read in it all the days of

his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord
his God, diligently observing all the words of
this law and these statutes, neither exalting
himself above other members of the community nor turning aside from the commandment, either to the right or to the left, so that
he and his descendants may reign long over
his kingdom in Israel.
The levitical priests, the whole tribe
of Levi, shall have no allotment or
inheritance within Israel. They may eat the
sacrices that are the Lords portiona but
they shall have no inheritance among the
other members of the community; the Lord
is their inheritance, as he promised them.
This shall be the priests due from the
people, from those oering a sacrice,
whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to
the priest the shoulder, the two jowls, and the
stomach. The rst fruits of your grain, your
wine, and your oil, as well as the rst of the
eece of your sheep, you shall give him. For
the Lord your God has chosen Levib out of all
your tribes, to stand and minister in the name
of the Lord, him and his sons for all time.
If a Levite leaves any of your towns, from
wherever he has been residing in Israel, and
18

b Heb him
17.1420: The law of the king. Deuteronomy greatly restricts royal authority. Generally Near Eastern monarchs promulgated law; here the monarch is subject to the law and required to read it daily (v. 19). Deuteronomy
even denies the king his typical judicial role as court of last appeal (cf. Ps 72.14; 2 Sam 12.114; 14.124; 1 Kings
3.1628). This law far more emphasizes what the king cannot do than what he may do. 14: Like all the nations,
see 1 Sam 8.1018. 1618: The oenses parallel warnings against royal autocracy outlined at the very founding of the monarchy (1 Sam 8.1018). They likely presuppose Solomons trade in horses (1 Kings 10.2629) and
his wealth (1 Kings 10.1422). The Deuteronomistic Historian believed those marriages led to idolatry (1 Kings
11.913). A copy of this law, the Septuagint reads this repetition of the law (Gk to deuteronomion touto), the
source of the books name. Like later traditional views, it sees Deuteronomy as a reprise of Exodus, Leviticus,
and Numbers, ignoring the extent to which it revises and challenges earlier law.
18.18: The levitical priesthood. Centralization also aected the Israelite priesthood. A job description
(vv. 15) precedes discussion of this impact (vv. 68). 1: Levitical priests, the Deuteronomic conception diers
from that of Priestly literature, which speaks of two distinct groups, the priests and the Levites. The Priestly
source sees a hierarchy within the tribe of Levi between direct descendants of Aaron and the rest. Only the
Aaronide priests ociate at the altar (Num 18.5,7) and receive the priestly share of the oerings (Num 18.820).
The Levites serve the priests, and are prohibited from ociating (Num 18.34,6); they receive tithes and in
turn tithe to the priests (Num 18.2131). Here, in Deuteronomy, all within the tribe are levitical priests and both
serve at the altar and receive sacrices. 2: No inheritance, see 12.12n. The Lord is their inheritance, God grants
them a share of the sacricial oerings, making them dependent upon other Israelites for support. In contrast,
the priest-prophet Ezekiel allocates land to the priests and the Levites in his vision of the future restoration
hebrew bible | 279
deuteronomy 18
comes to the place that the Lord will choose
(and he may come whenever he wishes),
then he may minister in the name of the
Lord his God, like all his fellow-Levites who
stand to minister there before the Lord.
They shall have equal portions to eat, even
though they have income from the sale of
family possessions.a
When you come into the land that the
Lord your God is giving you, you must not
learn to imitate the abhorrent practices
of those nations. No one shall be found
among you who makes a son or daughter
pass through re, or who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a
sorcerer, or one who casts spells, or who
consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks
oracles from the dead. For whoever does
these things is abhorrent to the Lord; it is
because of such abhorrent practices that the
Lord your God is driving them out before
you. You must remain completely loyal
to the Lord your God. Although these
nations that you are about to dispossess do
give heed to soothsayers and diviners, as for
you, the Lord your God does not permit you

to do so.
The Lord your God will raise up for you
a prophetb like me from among your own
people; you shall heed such a prophet.c This
is what you requested of the Lord your God
at Horeb on the day of the assembly when
you said: If I hear the voice of the Lord my
God any more, or ever again see this great
re, I will die. Then the Lord replied to me:
They are right in what they have said. I will
raise up for them a prophetb like you from
among their own people; I will put my words
in the mouth of the prophet,d who shall
speak to them everything that I command.
Anyone who does not heed the words that
the prophete shall speak in my name, I myself
will hold accountable. But any prophet who
speaks in the name of other gods, or who prea
b
c
d
e

Or prophets
Or such prophets
Or mouths of the prophets
Heb he
of Judah (Ezek 48.1014). 5: Stand and minister, ociate at the altar. 68: When the local altars throughout the
land are outlawed (12.812,1315), the Levites serving there would be unemployed and, owning no land, would
become destitute. Accordingly a Levite who leaves any of your towns . . . and comes to the central sanctuary in
Jerusalem must be provided for (contrast 2 Kings 23.9). This emphasis underscores that the countryside altars
were not entirely Canaanite sanctuaries (as 12.24 asserts). 8: Equal portions, the choice meats, grains, and oil
assigned the tribe in vv. 34.
18.922: A prophet like Moses. 914: Just as the legal corpus prohibits sacricial worship it condemns as
Canaanite (12.14,2931; also 7.16,2526; Ex 23.24; 34.1116), it prohibits forms of divination it brands as foreign and abhorrent. In each case it requires its own alternative: here, prophecy rather than divination. However,
divination is not elsewhere typied as foreign (1 Sam 28.325; Isa 8.1922; 28.4). Thus, describing the practice
as foreign may actually cloak a condemnation of Israelite popular religion. 10: Pass through re, child sacrice
(see 12.31n.), joined with divination for condemnation because each is abhorrent (v. 9). Practices divination,
or is a soothsayer, the most comprehensive compilation of such activities in the Bible (Ex 22.18; Lev 19.3031;
20.6,27; Isa 8.19; Ezek 21.21). 11: Who consults ghosts or spirits . . . dead, necromancy or conjuring the dead (1 Sam
28.715; Isa 8.1920; 29.4). Popular religion in antiquity devoted extensive aention to communicating with the
dead, especially with ancestors. 12: Abhorrent, more commonly abomination, as at Lev 26.2627,29. There
is no claim that divination is ineective; it is, however, illegitimate (see 1 Sam 28.725). 1522: Deuteronomy
transforms prophecy, viewing the prophet as the spokesperson of Torah (see 13.15n.) and dening Moses as
the paradigmatic prophet. 15: The Lord . . . will raise up, prophecy by divine election. That God alone appoints
the prophet makes the prophet independent of all institutions and able to challenge them. More than one
prophet is clearly intended. Like me, at Horeb (5.2333), Moses established the model of prophecy as mediating
Gods word to the people. Thus the prophet, like the king (17.15), should be from among your own people. 1617:
See 5.2331; Ex 20.1821. 18: Cf. Jer 1.9; the prophets oracles do not originate from other deities, from dead
spirits, from skilled manipulation of objects, or from the prophets own reections. 2023: Having established
an Israelite model of prophecy, the law provides two criteria to distinguish true from false prophecy. The rst
is that the prophet should speak exclusively on behalf of God, and report only Gods words. The second makes
280 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 19
sumes to speak in my name a word that I have
not commanded the prophet to speakthat
prophet shall die. You may say to yourself,
How can we recognize a word that the Lord
has not spoken? If a prophet speaks in the
name of the Lord but the thing does not take
place or prove true, it is a word that the Lord
has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it
presumptuously; do not be frightened by it.
When the Lord your God has cut o
the nations whose land the Lord your
God is giving you, and you have dispossessed
them and settled in their towns and in their
houses, you shall set apart three cities in the
land that the Lord your God is giving you to
possess. You shall calculate the distancesa
and divide into three regions the land that
the Lord your God gives you as a possession,
so that any homicide can ee to one of them.
Now this is the case of a homicide who
might ee there and live, that is, someone
who has killed another person unintentionally when the two had not been at enmity
before: Suppose someone goes into the forest with another to cut wood, and when one
of them swings the ax to cut down a tree, the
head slips from the handle and strikes the
other person who then dies; the killer may
ee to one of these cities and live. But if the
distance is too great, the avenger of blood
in hot anger might pursue and overtake and
put the killer to death, although a death
19
sentence was not deserved, since the two

had not been at enmity before. Therefore
I command you: You shall set apart three
cities.
If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he swore to your ancestorsand
he will give you all the land that he promised
your ancestors to give you, provided you
diligently observe this entire commandment
that I command you today, by loving the Lord
your God and walking always in his ways
then you shall add three more cities to these
three, so that the blood of an innocent person may not be shed in the land that the Lord
your God is giving you as an inheritance,
thereby bringing bloodguilt upon you.
But if someone at enmity with another
lies in wait and attacks and takes the life of
that person, and ees into one of these cities, then the elders of the killers city shall
send to have the culprit taken from there and
handed over to the avenger of blood to be put
to death. Show no pity; you shall purge the
guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that it
may go well with you.
You must not move your neighbors
boundary marker, set up by former generations, on the property that will be allotted
to you in the land that the Lord your God is
giving you to possess.
a Or prepare roads to them
the fulllment of a prophets oracle the measure of its truth (Jer 28.9). That approach aempts to solve a critical
problem: If two prophets each claim to speak on behalf of God yet make mutually exclusive claims (1 Kings 22.6
versus v. 17; Jer 27.8 versus 28.2), how may one decide which speaks the truth? The solution oered is not free of
diculty. If a false prophet is distinguished by the failure of his oracle to come true, then making a decision in
the present about which prophet to obey becomes impossible. Nor can this criterion easily be reconciled with
13.2, which concedes that the oracles of false prophets might come true.
19.113: Cities of refuge (see 4.4143n.). Sanctuary for those who killed unintentionally shielded them from
revenge killing by the kin of the dead person (vv. 6,12). In light of centralization, Deuteronomy proscribes the
previous site of refuge, the local altar (Ex 21.13), and instead designates three neutral cities. 1: For the formulaic introduction, see 12.29. 4: Who might ee there, more literally, where he might ee (there), an exact
citation of Ex 21.13b, the older law that requires revision. 5: May ee to one of these cities, explicitly amended to
include the city reference. 6: But if the distance is too great, Deuteronomys updating of older law; see 14.24. In
hot anger, if the kinsman kills the slayer in hot pursuit, the law is powerless. 8: Enlarges your territory, a means
for updating older law to address present realities by casting the provision for change as intended from the beginning (see 12.20; Ex 34.20). 10: The blood of an innocent person, killing someone who has unintentionally commied homicide would constitute murder. Bloodguilt, the spilling of innocent blood, which deles the land (see
21.19n.). 12: Revising Ex 21.14. Handed over to the avenger, the law regulates but does not replace the clan-based
system of justice. 14: A transitional verse. The sacrosanct status of a boundary marker was a legal tradition in the
ancient Near East (see 27.17; Isa 5.8; Hos 5.10; Job 24.2; Prov 22.28).
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deuteronomy 20
A single witness shall not suce to convict
a person of any crime or wrongdoing in connection with any oense that may be committed.
Only on the evidence of two or three witnesses
shall a charge be sustained. If a malicious
witness comes forward to accuse someone of
wrongdoing, then both parties to the dispute
shall appear before the Lord, before the priests
and the judges who are in oce in those days,
and the judges shall make a thorough inquiry.
If the witness is a false witness, having testied
falsely against another, then you shall do to
the false witness just as the false witness had
meant to do to the other. So you shall purge the
evil from your midst. The rest shall hear and
be afraid, and a crime such as this shall never
again be committed among you. Show no pity:
life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for
hand, foot for foot.
When you go out to war against your
enemies, and see horses and chariots,
an army larger than your own, you shall not
20
be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is

with you, who brought you up from the land
of Egypt. Before you engage in battle, the
priest shall come forward and speak to the
troops, and shall say to them: Hear, OIsrael! Today you are drawing near to do battle
against your enemies. Do not lose heart, or
be afraid, or panic, or be in dread of them;
for it is the Lord your God who goes with
you, to ght for you against your enemies,
to give you victory. Then the ocials shall
address the troops, saying, Has anyone built
a new house but not dedicated it? He should
go back to his house, or he might die in the
battle and another dedicate it. Has anyone
planted a vineyard but not yet enjoyed its
fruit? He should go back to his house, or he
might die in the battle and another be rst to
enjoy its fruit. Has anyone become engaged
to a woman but not yet married her? He
should go back to his house, or he might die
in the battle and another marry her. The
19.1521: The integrity of the judicial system. A law that requires probity on the part of the newly established judges (16.18) and a law that demands corresponding integrity from witnesses (19.21) form an inclusio
around this large unit by emphasizing the honesty required of all participants in the judicial system. 15: A single
witness, the same Heb phrase as only one witness at 17.6. On the evidence of two or three witnesses shall a charge
be sustained, broadening the focus of 17.6 on capital crimes and prohibiting hearsay or spurious accusation
(one persons word against anothers). 17: Both parties, the accuser and the accused. Before the Lord, testimony
before the altar at the central sanctuary (12.7; 14.23; 17.813). 19: Do to the false witness . . . meant to do to the
other, reciprocal justice, called talion, the technical term for an eye for an eye, elsewhere employed for bodily injury or homicide (Ex 21.2325; Lev 24.1721). It distinguishes crimes against the person (requiring talion)
from property crimes (where alone nancial compensation is permied). By applying it to crimes against the
judicial system, the legislators here seek to ensure the integrity of the law by using the highest sanction available to them.
20.120: Rules for waging holy war. In contrast to other legal collections, which include only brief sections
concerning military engagement (Ex 23.2333; 34.1116; Num 35.5056), Deuteronomy, reecting a literary setting of Israel about to enter the land, concerns itself extensively with the laws of holy war. God as divine warrior
directly confronts the adversary on behalf of the nation, and Gods presence in the camp imposes additional
purity requirements on the people (23.1014). The holy war is fought to extirpate iniquity and to create a covenantal community organized by divine law (Lev 18.2429; 20.2224). Accordingly, seizing the spoils of war,
including human prisoners, is prohibited; all had to be devoted exclusively to God, like the whole burnt oering (13.16). Contemporary inscriptions like the Moabite Stone (ca. 850 bce) establish that similar theologies of
holy war were shared by a number of nations. In Deuteronomy, the conception of the conquest as a holy war
represents a highly schematized idealization, formulated half a millennium aer the selement, at a time when
ethnic Canaanites would already long have assimilated into the Israelite population. 1: Horses and chariots, the
adversary is superior both in numbers and in military equipment (see Ex 14.9; 15.4; Josh 11.4). Army, lit. people.
34: See 9.13; 31.36; cf. Ex 14.14,25; 15.14. 59: A reverse muster, designed to thin the ranks by removing conscripts who have competing priorities because they are in a transitional state. 5: Dedicated (or inaugurated),
although Solomons dedication of the Temple is narrated (1 Kings 8), there are no specic rituals of home dedication recorded in the Bible. The parallel curse employs live (28.30). 6: Enjoyed its fruit, priestly law required
that newly planted fruit trees could only be harvested in the h year (Lev 19.2325). 7: Engaged . . . married, see
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deuteronomy 21
ocials shall continue to address the troops,
saying, Is anyone afraid or disheartened?
He should go back to his house, or he might
cause the heart of his comrades to melt like
his own. When the ocials have nished
addressing the troops, then the commanders
shall take charge of them.
When you draw near to a town to ght
against it, oer it terms of peace. If it accepts your terms of peace and surrenders to
you, then all the people in it shall serve you
at forced labor. If it does not submit to you
peacefully, but makes war against you, then
you shall besiege it; and when the Lord
your God gives it into your hand, you shall
put all its males to the sword. You may,
however, take as your booty the women, the
children, livestock, and everything else in the
town, all its spoil. You may enjoy the spoil
of your enemies, which the Lord your God
has given you. Thus you shall treat all the
towns that are very far from you, which are
not towns of the nations here. But as for the
towns of these peoples that the Lord your
God is giving you as an inheritance, you must
not let anything that breathes remain alive.
You shall annihilate themthe Hittites and
the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Per-
izzites, the Hivites and the Jebusitesjust as

the Lord your God has commanded, so that
they may not teach you to do all the abhorrent things that they do for their gods, and
you thus sin against the Lord your God.
If you besiege a town for a long time,
making war against it in order to take it, you
must not destroy its trees by wielding an ax
against them. Although you may take food
from them, you must not cut them down.
Are trees in the eld human beings that they
should come under siege from you? You
may destroy only the trees that you know do
not produce food; you may cut them down
for use in building siegeworks against the
town that makes war with you, until it falls.
If, in the land that the Lord your
God is giving you to possess, a body
is found lying in open country, and it is not
known who struck the person down, then
your elders and your judges shall come out
to measure the distances to the towns that
are near the body. The elders of the town
nearest the body shall take a heifer that has
never been worked, one that has not pulled
in the yoke; the elders of that town shall
bring the heifer down to a wadi with running
water, which is neither plowed nor sown,
21
22.1330n. 8: Comrades, lit. brothers, to which Deuteronomy frequently, and distinctively, gives the meaning,
fellow citizens (cf. 24.7); NRSV also translates the same word as neighbor (15.7,9,11; 22.14; 24.13; 25.3) and
Israelite (23.1920; 24.14). 11: The use of a defeated people for forced labor was widespread. Israelites so used
the indigenous population of Canaan (Judg 1.2736). Davids cabinet included an ocial responsible for forced
labor (2 Sam 20.24). 1518: Thus you shall treat all the towns that are very far from you, a secondary addition
retroactively restricts the preceding rules of engagement (vv. 1014), which tolerate the taking of captives as
forced labor, so that they apply only to foreign wars. The stipulation that the indigenous population of Canaan should uniformly be exterminated is a literary ction (see v. 11n.; 7.2n.). 15: The nations, the Canaanites.
Here, on the anachronism, see 1.1n.; 2.12n. 16: But as for the towns of these peoples that the Lord . . . is giving you
refers to the inhabitants of the land (v. 17). 17: You shall annihilate them, the Heb phrase is elsewhere translated
as uerly destroy (7.2; 13.15); it refers to killing and sanctifying the dead to a deity. 1920: Wars oen involved
the kind of scorched earth policy prohibited here (2 Kings 3.19,25). 20: Siegeworks were regularly built against
walled cities (1 Sam 20.15; 2Kings 25.1).
21.19: Atonement for an unsolved murder. Since a murder victims blood tainted the land (Gen 4.10; Num
35.3334), it was imperative to purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel (19.13). This law, which has gone
through several stages of reworking, addresses how to do so when the perpetrator cannot be identied. There
are similar ancient Near Eastern laws for corpses discovered outside cities; these emphasize nancial liability
rather than atoning for the spilled blood (Laws of Hammurabi 2324; Hiite Laws 6). The original signicance of the laws rituals is dicult to recover. 1: Open country, beyond the legal jurisdiction of any particular
town (see 22.23,25), and where witnesses are unlikely. 2: Elders . . . judges, see 16.18n. Measure the distances
to establish legal jurisdiction, as in the similar Hiite Laws 6. 3: Never been worked . . . not pulled in the yoke,
symbolizing the human victims innocence (similarly, Num 19.2). 4: Wadi with running water (Am 5.24), lit. with
reliable water, in contrast to unreliable seasonal streams (Jer 15.18). Break the heifers neck, nonsacricial killing;
hebrew bible | 283
deuteronomy 21
and shall break the heifers neck there in the
wadi. Then the priests, the sons of Levi,
shall come forward, for the Lord your God
has chosen them to minister to him and to
pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord,
and by their decision all cases of dispute and
assault shall be settled. All the elders of that
town nearest the body shall wash their hands
over the heifer whose neck was broken in the
wadi, and they shall declare: Our hands did
not shed this blood, nor were we witnesses
to it. Absolve, OLord, your people Israel,
whom you redeemed; do not let the guilt of
innocent blood remain in the midst of your
people Israel. Then they will be absolved of
bloodguilt. So you shall purge the guilt of
innocent blood from your midst, because you
must do what is right in the sight of the Lord.
When you go out to war against your
enemies, and the Lord your God hands them
over to you and you take them captive, suppose you see among the captives a beautiful
woman whom you desire and want to marry,
and so you bring her home to your house:
she shall shave her head, pare her nails,
discard her captives garb, and shall remain

in your house a full month, mourning for her
father and mother; after that you may go in
to her and be her husband, and she shall be
your wife. But if you are not satised with
her, you shall let her go free and not sell her
for money. You must not treat her as a slave,
since you have dishonored her.
If a man has two wives, one of them
loved and the other disliked, and if both the
loved and the disliked have borne him sons,
the rstborn being the son of the one who is
disliked, then on the day when he wills his
possessions to his sons, he is not permitted
to treat the son of the loved as the rstborn
in preference to the son of the disliked, who
is the rstborn. He must acknowledge as
rstborn the son of the one who is disliked,
giving him a double portiona of all that he
has; since he is the rst issue of his virility,
the right of the rstborn is his.
If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father and
a Heb two-thirds
sacrice requires sliing the throat (see Ex 13.13; 34.20). 5: Priests, not mentioned in v. 2, and likely a later addition. All cases contrasts with 17.9, where the levitical priests at the central sanctuary adjudicated only cases that
could not be resolved locally. 6: Wash their hands over the heifer, with no laying on of hands, and thus without
symbolic transfer of culpability to the animal (contrast Lev 16.2122). 7: Our hands . . . witnesses, stronger in Heb:
As for our hands, they did not shed this blood nor did our eyes see, covering both direct action and failure
to avert or report a crime (cf. Lev 5.1). 8: Absolve, O Lord, the ritual of vv. 36 has no intrinsic ecacy; prayer is
the means of absolution. They will be absolved, beer, that they may be absolved, since absolution ultimately
depends upon divine action, not human ritual.
21.1025.19: Miscellaneous civil and family laws. The following laws are concerned with family, civil, and
ethical issues. Laws to extend legal protection to women when they would otherwise be disenfranchised concern female captives (21.1014), property rights of the less-favored wife (21.1517), and false charges of indelity
(22.1319).
21.1014: Legal obligations toward female captives. This procedure most likely originally applied to the
Canaanite population (20.1518n.). Female war captives routinely became concubines. This law accords such
women dignity and protection against enslavement. 1213: The rituals provide both captive and captor means
to eect a transition from one status to another. 13: Full month, full period of mourning, as for Aaron and Moses
(Num 20.29; Deut 34.8). Mourning, it is unclear whether the parents actually died in the war or are lost to her
because of her captivity. The time to grieve implies legal respect for the female captive as a person. Go in to
her, approach her sexually; consummation provides the legal means to become husband, and . . . wife. 14: Cf. Ex
21.78. Money, see 2.6n. Dishonored, violated sexually (22.24,29; Gen 34.2; Judg 19.24; 2 Sam 13.12).
21.1517: Legal protection of the less-favored wife. The law uses the norm of primogeniture (Gen 25.29
34; Laws of Hammurabi 16570) to protect the son of the less-favored wife from disinheritance. 17: Double
portion, as text note a indicates, two-thirds (see Zech 13.8), leaving one-third for the other son. Right of the
rstborn, ironically, the foundation narratives concerning Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph subvert the legal norm here
armed (Gen 17.1522; 21.814; 27.140; 48.822).
21.1821: The rebellious son. The Decalogue requirement to honor the parents (5.16; Ex 20.12) carries no ex-
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deuteronomy 22
mother, who does not heed them when they
discipline him, then his father and his
mother shall take hold of him and bring him
out to the elders of his town at the gate of
that place. They shall say to the elders of
his town, This son of ours is stubborn and
rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton
and a drunkard. Then all the men of the
town shall stone him to death. So you shall
purge the evil from your midst; and all Israel
will hear, and be afraid.
When someone is convicted of a crime
punishable by death and is executed, and you
hang him on a tree, his corpse must not
remain all night upon the tree; you shall bury
him that same day, for anyone hung on a tree
is under Gods curse. You must not dele the
land that the Lord your God is giving you for
possession.
You shall not watch your neighbors ox or sheep straying away and
ignore them; you shall take them back to
their owner. If the owner does not reside
near you or you do not know who the
owner is, you shall bring it to your own
house, and it shall remain with you until
the owner claims it; then you shall return
it. You shall do the same with a neighbors donkey; you shall do the same with a
22
neighbors garment; and you shall do the

same with anything else that your neighbor
loses and you find. You may not withhold
your help.
You shall not see your neighbors donkey
or ox fallen on the road and ignore it; you
shall help to lift it up.
A woman shall not wear a mans apparel,
nor shall a man put on a womans garment;
for whoever does such things is abhorrent to
the Lord your God.
If you come on a birds nest, in any tree or
on the ground, with edglings or eggs, with
the mother sitting on the edglings or on the
eggs, you shall not take the mother with the
young. Let the mother go, taking only the
young for yourself, in order that it may go
well with you and you may live long.
When you build a new house, you shall
make a parapet for your roof; otherwise you
might have bloodguilt on your house, if anyone should fall from it.
You shall not sow your vineyard with
a second kind of seed, or the whole yield
will have to be forfeited, both the crop that
you have sown and the yield of the vineyard
itself.
You shall not plow with an ox and a
donkey yoked together.
plicit sanction; here agrant and sustained disobedience is a capital oense. 19: Elders were judges of family law
and held court at the city gate, a public forum (22.15; 25.7; Job 29.7; Ruth 4.12,11; Lam 5.14). The professionalized
judiciary established at the same site (16.18) may have had jurisdiction specically over religious and criminal
law (17.27). 21: Here, mere parental testimony suces (contrast 13.14; 17.4). Stone him, see 13.10n.
21.2223: Treatment of the executed. Public exposure of the corpse of an executed criminal, which was
not the norm, was a form of reproach directed against enemies of the state (Josh 8.29; 10.26; 1 Sam 31.10; Esth
9.614). Out of respect for the body, to prevent it from serving as carrion (2 Sam 21.10), this law sets stringent
limits to that procedure. 22: Hang . . . on a tree, the Heb word for tree is broader; the law could also refer to
suspension from gallows (Esth 9.13) or a pole (Gen 40.19), or possibly, based upon Neo-Assyrian precedent,
impalement upon a stake.
22.112: Various moral and religious responsibilities of citizenship. The rationale for the sequence and selection of these laws is oen unclear.
22.14: Moral duties toward the neighbor. Two laws (vv. 13,4) that develop two corresponding laws from
the earlier Covenant Collection. 13: The earlier law governing the return of wandering animals (Ex 21.13) is
here revised and extended. 1: Your neighbors ox, in contrast to your enemys ox (Ex 23.4). Neighbor, lit. brother; see 20.8n. 3: Anything else, the earlier law is universalized to apply to any lost property. 4: Reworking Ex 23.5
to emphasize the neighbor, as in v. 1.
22.512: Miscellaneous laws. 5: The prohibition against cross-dressing seeks to maintain gender boundaries; a similar concern for boundaries is evident in vv. 911. 67: Avoiding simultaneous consumption of two
generations of the same creature is also evident in other laws (14.21; Ex 23.19; 34.26; Lev 22.28). 8: The roof was
used as living space (Josh 2.6; Judg 3.2025; 2 Sam 11.2). Bloodguilt, criminal negligence; a capital oense (see
19.10n.). 910: Corresponding to Lev 19.19, these laws aempt to maintain specic boundaries between cat-
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deuteronomy 22
You shall not wear clothes made of wool
and linen woven together.
You shall make tassels on the four
corners of the cloak with which you cover
yourself.
Suppose a man marries a woman, but
after going in to her, he dislikes her and
makes up charges against her, slandering
her by saying, I married this woman; but
when I lay with her, I did not nd evidence
of her virginity. The father of the young
woman and her mother shall then submit the
evidence of the young womans virginity to
the elders of the city at the gate. The father
of the young woman shall say to the elders:
I gave my daughter in marriage to this man
but he dislikes her; now he has made up
charges against her, saying, I did not nd
evidence of your daughters virginity. But
here is the evidence of my daughters virginity. Then they shall spread out the cloth
before the elders of the town. The elders of
that town shall take the man and punish him;
they shall ne him one hundred shekels
of silver (which they shall give to the young
womans father) because he has slandered a
virgin of Israel. She shall remain his wife; he

shall not be permitted to divorce her as long
as he lives.
If, however, this charge is true, that
evidence of the young womans virginity was
not found, then they shall bring the young
woman out to the entrance of her fathers
house and the men of her town shall stone
her to death, because she committed a disgraceful act in Israel by prostituting herself in
her fathers house. So you shall purge the evil
from your midst.
If a man is caught lying with the wife of
another man, both of them shall die, the man
who lay with the woman as well as the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.
If there is a young woman, a virgin already
engaged to be married, and a man meets her
in the town and lies with her, you shall bring
both of them to the gate of that town and stone
them to death, the young woman because she
did not cry for help in the town and the man
because he violated his neighbors wife. So you
shall purge the evil from your midst.
But if the man meets the engaged
woman in the open country, and the man
egories seen as incompatible (as in v. 5; 14.320). 9: Forfeited, not permied for human consumption. 12: Tassels,
this may reect an application of royal garb, seen, for example, in Neo-Assyrian palace reliefs, to the nation as
a whole. Num 15.3740 gives a theological rationale.
22.1330: Violations of marriage law. In the ancient Near East, marriage was a contractual relationship. The
woman could not act independently: She remained in her fathers household until a suitor paid a bride-price
(vv. 2829; Ex 22.1617) to compensate for the reduction of the household. At that point she became formally
engaged, although still residing with her father (v. 21). Later, at the marriage feast, the union was consummated (Gen 29.2225) and the woman took up residence in her husbands house.
22.1321: False accusation of breach of marital contract. 14: Makes up charges against her, possibly for mercenary reasons, since nonfulllment of the marital contract would entail refund of the bride-price and possibly
a payment of a penalty for breach of contract. The evidence, the bloodstained cloth of v. 17. 15: Elders, see 16.18n.;
21.19n. 17: The cloth upon which husband and wife slept upon consummation of the relationship. It was understood that the cloth should have been bloodstained from the couples rst intercourse; there is scant medical
support for this widespread assumption. 19: They shall ne him, the penalty for his slanderous accusation is
nancial, although the penalty for her indelity, if proven true, is capital (vv. 2021); contrast 19.19. One hundred
shekels, about 1.1 kg (2.5 lb), twice the ne for rape (v. 29). 21: Entrance of her fathers house, at the very site of
the oense. Stone her to death, see 13.10n. Disgraceful act in Israel, a violation of basic community sexual and
religious norms (Gen 34.7; Josh 7.15; Judg 19.2334; 20.6,10). Purge the evil, see 13.5n.
22.2230: Adultery and rape. 22: Adultery is a violation of the seventh commandment (5.18) and a capital
oense (Lev 18.20; 20.10). Both of them shall die, a contrast with ancient Near Eastern norms, which required the
males death but le the wifes fate to her husband. The law removes the wife from her husbands authority and
denes her as a legal person accountable for her actions. 2327: Two laws to determine culpability (vv. 2324)
or nonculpability (vv. 2527) in cases of rape. Both laws show detailed points of contact with Middle Assyrian
Laws (M.A.L.; ca. 1076 bce). 23: Engaged to be married, this legal status permits the transition from adultery
to rape: Although the woman still resides with her father, she is contractually bound to her future husband.
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deuteronomy 23
seizes her and lies with her, then only the
man who lay with her shall die. You shall
do nothing to the young woman; the young
woman has not committed an offense
punishable by death, because this case
is like that of someone who attacks and
murders a neighbor. Since he found her in
the open country, the engaged woman may
have cried for help, but there was no one to
rescue her.
If a man meets a virgin who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her, and
they are caught in the act, the man who
lay with her shall give fty shekels of silver
to the young womans father, and she shall
become his wife. Because he violated her he
shall not be permitted to divorce her as long
as he lives.
aA man shall not marry his fathers wife,
thereby violating his fathers rights.b
No one whose testicles are crushed or
whose penis is cut o shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
Those born of an illicit union shall not be
admitted to the assembly of the Lord. Even to
the tenth generation, none of their descen-
23
dants shall be admitted to the assembly of

the Lord.
No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. Even to the
tenth generation, none of their descendants
shall be admitted to the assembly of the
Lord, because they did not meet you with
food and water on your journey out of Egypt,
and because they hired against you Balaam
son of Beor, from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to
curse you. (Yet the Lord your God refused
to heed Balaam; the Lord your God turned
the curse into a blessing for you, because the
Lord your God loved you.) You shall never
promote their welfare or their prosperity as
long as you live.
You shall not abhor any of the Edomites,
for they are your kin. You shall not abhor
any of the Egyptians, because you were an
alien residing in their land. The children of
the third generation that are born to them
may be admitted to the assembly of the
Lord.
a Ch 23.1 in Heb
b Heb uncovering his fathers skirt
In the town, where there are potential witnesses (M.A.L. A 12). 25: The assault in open country, where there
are no likely witnesses, suggests planned malice. 26: Like . . . someone who aacks and murders a neighbor, i.e.,
premeditated (19.1113). Rape is a criminal assault rather than a sex crime. 2829: These conditions correspond
to M.A.L. A 55, which implies forced rape. In contrast, Ex 22.1617 species intercourse with, but not forced
rape of, a virgin who is not engaged. The conation of these two models in this law leaves it unclear whether
or not it refers to consensual intercourse. 28: And lies with her, as in Ex 22.16, placing the woman in a legally
ambiguous position, unavailable to others (v. 14). 29: Fiy shekels, presumably the bride-price. In contrast to Ex
22.17, the fathers consent is not sought. Postbiblical Jewish law granted both father and daughter the right to
refuse. 30: A transition to the next section. Fathers wife, i.e., a widowed stepmother (see Lev 18.78). Violating
his fathers rights, lit. uncovering his fathers skirt (text note b); i.e., even indirect sexual contact with him must
be avoided (Gen 9.2324; 49.4; Lev 18.8; 20.11).
23.18: Restrictions on access to Israels assembly. The assembly of the Lord (v. 1), the national governing
body, or popular legislature, was charged with a broad range of judicial, political, and policy maers (Judg
20.2). 1: Testicles . . . penis, the same physiological qualication that the Holiness Collection requires of the
priesthood (Lev 21.1723), now extended to all Israel (see 14.2n.). 2: Illicit union, incestuous marriages (v. 3; 22.30;
Lev 18.618). Tenth generation, see v. 3n. 38: The restrictions do not entail denial of residence rights, and those
named would retain the protection aorded by the legal status of resident alien (see 1.16; 5.14; Lev 19.10,33
34; 23.22). 36: These laws were reused in the postexilic context to prohibit intermarriage (Ezra 910; Neh
13.13). 3: Ammonite or Moabite, perhaps introduced aer v. 2 because of an older tradition concerning their incestuous origins (Gen 19.3038). Tenth generation, forever, as explicitly stated in the Hebrew. 4: The rationale
varies from the earlier report that Israel detoured around Ammon without requesting assistance and received
food and water from Moab (2.19,29,37). Balaam, see Num 2224. 7: Not abhor . . . Edomites, an extraordinary
inclusion, since the Edomites participated in the destruction of Jerusalem (Ps 137.7; Obadiah). Kin, through Esau
(Gen 25.2426; 36.1). Egyptians, this injunction remarkably overlooks the enslavement (26.6; 28.60,68; Ex 115),
going back to the provision of sanctuary (Gen 12; 3750).
hebrew bible | 287
deuteronomy 23
When you are encamped against your
enemies you shall guard against any impropriety.
If one of you becomes unclean because
of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp; he must not come within the
camp. When evening comes, he shall wash
himself with water, and when the sun has set,
he may come back into the camp.
You shall have a designated area outside
the camp to which you shall go. With your
utensils you shall have a trowel; when you
relieve yourself outside, you shall dig a hole
with it and then cover up your excrement.
Because the Lord your God travels along
with your camp, to save you and to hand over
your enemies to you, therefore your camp
must be holy, so that he may not see anything
indecent among you and turn away from you.
Slaves who have escaped to you from
their owners shall not be given back to them.
They shall reside with you, in your midst,
in any place they choose in any one of your
towns, wherever they please; you shall not
oppress them.
None of the daughters of Israel shall be a
temple prostitute; none of the sons of Israel
shall be a temple prostitute. You shall not

bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a
male prostitutea into the house of the Lord
your God in payment for any vow, for both of
these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.
You shall not charge interest on loans to
another Israelite, interest on money, interest
on provisions, interest on anything that is lent.
On loans to a foreigner you may charge interest, but on loans to another Israelite you may
not charge interest, so that the Lord your God
may bless you in all your undertakings in the
land that you are about to enter and possess.
If you make a vow to the Lord your God,
do not postpone fullling it; for the Lord
your God will surely require it of you, and you
would incur guilt. But if you refrain from
vowing, you will not incur guilt. Whatever
your lips utter you must diligently perform,
just as you have freely vowed to the Lord
your God with your own mouth.
If you go into your neighbors vineyard,
you may eat your ll of grapes, as many
as you wish, but you shall not put any in a
container.
a Heb a dog
23.914: Special rules for the military camp. The theology of holy war assumes Gods direct participation in
the campaign (7.1724; 20.4), creating a demand for heightened purity, like that required of the entire people at
Sinai (Ex 19.10,14). Sexual abstinence seems also to have been required (1 Sam 21.45; 2 Sam 11.811; cf. Ex 19.15).
1011: Cf. Lev 15.1618. 12: Designated area, a latrine. 14: Travels along, see 20.4; 31.6. Anything indecent, as in 24.1.
23.1525.19: The heightened moral responsibilities of the covenant community.
23.1516: Prohibition of the return of escaped slaves. The law rejects the almost universal stipulation within
ancient Near Eastern law that escaped slaves must be returned (Laws of Hammurabi 1620; Hiite Laws
2224). 16: The extraordinary repetition emphasizes that the entire community must be open to them.
23.1718: Restrictions on prostitution. These verses presuppose the inevitability of prostitution, while proscribing it for Israelites and regulating it in such a way as to preserve the Temples sanctity. 17: Temple prostitute
(Heb qedesha), the translation reects belief in the existence of sacred prostitution in Israel and the ancient
Near East, for which there is scant evidence; more likely qedesha is a standard euphemism for the coarser
term for prostitute (v. 18). The same alternation between the two terms appears in Gen 38.15,21. The word might
beer be translated as one set aside. 18: Prostitute, Heb zonah, closer to whore (Hos 1.2). Male prostitute
(lit. dog), in context, the male counterpart to a common female prostitute. To maintain holiness, the law forbids donating income gained from prostitution to the Temple (cf. Hos 4.14; Mic 1.7).
23.1925: Financial ethics, vows, gathering by the needy. 1920: This law builds on Ex 22.25, which claries
that lending served primarily as a means of social support for the poor among you (similarly Lev 25.3637).
Charging interest would amount to proteering from the misfortunes of others. Money, see 2.6n. 20: A foreigner,
as distinct from the resident alien, who fully participated in Israels social welfare system (see 1.16n.); for similar distinctions, see 15.3; Lev 25.4445. 2123: A vow (v. 21) promises payment of something to God (usually a
sacrice at a temple) in exchange for receiving something (see 1 Sam 1.11). This cautious reserve about vows,
understandable in light of Judg 11.2940, closely corresponds to wisdom teachings (Eccl 5.46). For a more positive view, see Ps 50.14. 2425: These rules prohibit exploitation of Deuteronomys extensive support system for
288 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 24
If you go into your neighbors standing
grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand,
but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbors standing grain.
Suppose a man enters into marriage
with a woman, but she does not please
him because he nds something objectionable
about her, and so he writes her a certicate of
divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out
of his house; she then leaves his house and
goes o to become another mans wife. Then
suppose the second man dislikes her, writes
her a bill of divorce, puts it in her hand, and
sends her out of his house (or the second man
who married her dies); her rst husband,
who sent her away, is not permitted to take her
again to be his wife after she has been deled;
for that would be abhorrent to the Lord, and
you shall not bring guilt on the land that the
Lord your God is giving you as a possession.
When a man is newly married, he shall
not go out with the army or be charged with
any related duty. He shall be free at home one
year, to be happy with the wife whom he has
married.
No one shall take a mill or an upper
millstone in pledge, for that would be taking
a life in pledge.
If someone is caught kidnaping another
Israelite, enslaving or selling the Israelite,
24
then that kidnaper shall die. So you shall

purge the evil from your midst.
Guard against an outbreak of a leprousa
skin disease by being very careful; you shall
carefully observe whatever the levitical
priests instruct you, just as I have commanded them. Remember what the Lord
your God did to Miriam on your journey out
of Egypt.
When you make your neighbor a loan
of any kind, you shall not go into the house
to take the pledge. You shall wait outside,
while the person to whom you are making
the loan brings the pledge out to you. If
the person is poor, you shall not sleep in the
garment given you asb the pledge. You shall
give the pledge back by sunset, so that your
neighbor may sleep in the cloak and bless
you; and it will be to your credit before the
Lord your God.
You shall not withhold the wages of poor
and needy laborers, whether other Israelites
or aliens who reside in your land in one of
your towns. You shall pay them their wages
daily before sunset, because they are poor
and their livelihood depends on them; othera A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning
uncertain
b Heb lacks the garment given you as
the needy (14.2829; 24.1922; 25.4). 25: Pluck . . . hand, to address immediate hunger (Lk 6.1; cf. Mt 12.1; Mk 2.23).
Chs 2425: Laws promoting social harmony. 24.122: The chapter, like the previous one, begins with a restriction on marriage and concludes stipulating care for those in need (note 22.30 = 23.1 Heb). 14: This complex law, theologically applied by two prophets (Isa 50.1; Jer 3.1,8), addresses only remarriage aer divorce to
a wife who subsequently married another; it does not prohibit remarriage in general. Biblical law includes no
general laws of either marriage or divorce, only special cases that raise particular ethical or religious issues. 1:
Male-initiated divorce was the norm, though there is some evidence in the Near East and in the Jewish papyri
from Elephantine in Egypt (h century bce) of contracts permiing either party to initiate proceedings. He
nds . . . about her, formula for disloyal action or betrayal of trust (1 Sam 29.3,6,8; 2 Kings 17.4; cf. 1 Sam 12.5).
Objectionable, indecent (23.14). It is unclear from the term used what valid criteria for divorce were. Certicate
of divorce, legally freeing her to remarry. 4: Aer she has been deled, not in general, since she is permied to remarry, but specically as regards relations with her rst husband. 5: Another of the rules for holy war (20.120;
21.1014; 23.914). Newly married, contrast the premarital deferral from service in 20.7. Be happy with, beer,
give happiness to, including conjugal joy. 6: The law prohibits oppression in economic relations (like vv. 10
15). Take . . . in pledge, accept as collateral for a loan. Mill or an upper millstone, like the garment of v. 12, they are
essential to survival, and thus may not be taken. 7: Restricts the application of Ex 21.16 to kidnapers of fellow
Israelites; perhaps also an interpretation of Deut 5.19. 89: Leprous skin disease, not leprosy but an unidentied
inammation; see Lev 13.114.57. Remember . . . Miriam, see Num 12.115. 1013: Expands upon Ex 22.2627 (cf.
Am 2.8; Prov 20.16; 22.27; 27.13; Job 22.6). The Yavneh Yam inscription (late seventh century bce) deals with a
similar case. 1415: See Ex 22.2124; Lev 19.13. Israels ethics are based upon the conviction that God identies
with and vindicates the oppressed. 14: The prohibition against economic exploitation is not contingent upon
hebrew bible | 289
deuteronomy 25
wise they might cry to the Lord against you,
and you would incur guilt.
Parents shall not be put to death for their
children, nor shall children be put to death
for their parents; only for their own crimes
may persons be put to death.
You shall not deprive a resident alien
or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a
widows garment in pledge. Remember that
you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your
God redeemed you from there; therefore I
command you to do this.
When you reap your harvest in your eld
and forget a sheaf in the eld, you shall not
go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien,
the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord
your God may bless you in all your undertakings. When you beat your olive trees, do
not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien,
the orphan, and the widow.
When you gather the grapes of your
vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall
be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.
Remember that you were a slave in the land
of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to
do this.
Suppose two persons have a dispute
and enter into litigation, and the
judges decide between them, declaring one
25
to be in the right and the other to be in the

wrong. If the one in the wrong deserves to
be ogged, the judge shall make that person
lie down and be beaten in his presence with
the number of lashes proportionate to the
oense. Forty lashes may be given but not
more; if more lashes than these are given,
your neighbor will be degraded in your sight.
You shall not muzzle an ox while it is
treading out the grain.
When brothers reside together, and one
of them dies and has no son, the wife of the
deceased shall not be married outside the
family to a stranger. Her husbands brother
shall go in to her, taking her in marriage, and
performing the duty of a husbands brother to
her, and the rstborn whom she bears shall
succeed to the name of the deceased brother,
so that his name may not be blotted out of
Israel. But if the man has no desire to marry
his brothers widow, then his brothers widow
shall go up to the elders at the gate and say,
My husbands brother refuses to perpetuate
his brothers name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husbands brother to me.
Then the elders of his town shall summon
him and speak to him. If he persists, saying, I
have no desire to marry her, then his brothers wife shall go up to him in the presence of
ethnicity or nationality; see 1.16n. 15: See 15.9n. 16: This law restricting punishment to the responsible individual, cited in 2Kings 14.6, applies to both civil and criminal law. Collective responsibility applies to oenses
against God (5.910; Ex 34.7; Num 16.3133; Josh 7.2425; 2 Sam 21.19), a theological principle subsequently
brought into conformity with the law of individual liability (7.10; Jer 31.2930; Ezek 18). 17: You shall not deprive
. . . of justice, in Hebrew, identical to the comprehensive You shall not distort justice (16.19). This law, therefore,
ensures protection of the most vulnerable, the resident alien or the orphan. Take . . . in pledge, beer, seize to
force payment (see Job 24.3). This accords the widow special protection; for day laborers, see vv. 1013. 18: See
15.15. 1922: Lev 19.910; 23.22. The story of Ruth, both a widow and an alien, presupposes such laws, which
assign harvest gleanings to the needy, allowing them to eat without begging for food. 20: Beat, with poles, so
as to harvest the olives (Isa 17.6). 25.13: A double restriction upon judicial ogging, also employed for discipline in nonjudicial contexts (Ex 21.20; Prov 10.13; 26.3; 1 Kings 12.14). 2: In his presence, under the judges direct
supervision, by [his] count (the more likely rendering of NRSV number of lashes). 3: Forty lashes, a denitive
restriction for which there is no parallel in Near Eastern law; the Middle Assyrian Laws stipulate oggings of ve
to one hundred lashes. Your neighbor, the criminal, despite his judicial status, retains human dignity. 4: For similar humane treatment of animals, see 22.67; Prov 12.10. 510: Biblical, Near Eastern, and Roman inheritance
law assigned special responsibilities to the husbands brother (vv. 57), for which Hebrew had a special term
(cf. Latin levir, hence levirate marriage). See Gen 38.8 and Ruth 4.56, which reect variations of this law. 5:
Outside the family, NRSV has added the family; more likely, the frame of reference is the larger clan. The widows
marriage outside of the clan would diminish the landholding of her clan and add it to the new husbands, affecting the original equitable division of land among the tribes (Josh 1321). Her husbands brother shall go in
to her, possibly the brothers death provided an exception to the incest prohibition of marrying a sister-in-law
(Lev 18.16; 20.21); alternatively, the Holiness Collections incest laws might intend to prohibit levirate marriage
290 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 26
the elders, pull his sandal o his foot, spit in
his face, and declare, This is what is done to
the man who does not build up his brothers
house. Throughout Israel his family shall
be known as the house of him whose sandal
was pulled o.
If men get into a ght with one another,
and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her
husband from the grip of his opponent by
reaching out and seizing his genitals, you
shall cut o her hand; show no pity.
You shall not have in your bag two kinds
of weights, large and small. You shall not
have in your house two kinds of measures,
large and small. You shall have only a full
and honest weight; you shall have only a full
and honest measure, so that your days may
be long in the land that the Lord your God
is giving you. For all who do such things,
all who act dishonestly, are abhorrent to the
Lord your God.
Remember what Amalek did to you on
your journey out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way, when you were faint
and weary, and struck down all who lagged
behind you; he did not fear God. Therefore
when the Lord your God has given you rest
from all your enemies on every hand, in the
land that the Lord your God is giving you
as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot

out the remembrance of Amalek from under
heaven; do not forget.
When you have come into the land
that the Lord your God is giving you
as an inheritance to possess, and you possess
it, and settle in it, you shall take some of
the rst of all the fruit of the ground, which
you harvest from the land that the Lord your
God is giving you, and you shall put it in a
basket and go to the place that the Lord your
God will choose as a dwelling for his name.
You shall go to the priest who is in oce at
that time, and say to him, Today I declare to
the Lord your God that I have come into the
land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to
give us. When the priest takes the basket
from your hand and sets it down before the
altar of the Lord your God, you shall make
this response before the Lord your God: A
wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he
went down into Egypt and lived there as an
alien, few in number, and there he became a
great nation, mighty and populous. When
the Egyptians treated us harshly and aicted
us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to
the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord
heard our voice and saw our aiction, our
toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought
26
altogether. 6: Firstborn alone here counts to the brother; cf. Gen 38.8. 9: Legal title was symbolically claimed by
walking over the land (see 11.24n.). Thus, transfer of title entailed passing the sandal (Ruth 4.7), while renunciation of title, as here, was symbolized by removal of the sandal. The intent of the ceremony is public shaming,
since the dereliction of duty makes the brothers wife a widow, abandoning her to the class of the impoverished: the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows (14.29n.). 10: Known as, lit. called by the name of,
thus explicitly applying a form of retributive justice (19.19n.). For refusing to build up the deceaseds name (vv.
67) and house (v. 9), the brothers own house is stigmatized by its new name. 1112: An additional law dealing
with threats to reproduction (cf. Ex 21.2225). Physical mutilation (characteristic in the Middle Assyrian Laws) is
nowhere else prescribed in the Bible, except in the general formula for talion (19.21; Ex 21.2324; Lev 24.1920).
That rationale does not apply here, however, since there is no symmetry between injury and punishment. The
issue may rather be the perceived insult to dignity (cf. Laws of Hammurabi 195). 1316: Cf. Laws of Hammurabi
108; Lev 19.3536; Am 8.5. 14: By fraudulently using two dierent sets of counterweightssmall ones to sell
grain but large ones to purchase ita merchant could turn a tidy prot. 1719: The tradition presupposes Ex
17.816, in which the Amalekites, a erce desert tribe, aacked Israel (cf. Ps 83.48). 18: These details are not
reected in Ex 17.816; they may have been supplied by the Deuteronomic author in order to justify the extirpation of Amalek (v. 19; cf. Ex 17.14; 1 Sam 15.23). 19: Rest, see 3.20; 12.9n.
26.115: Concluding liturgies. Two already prescribed laws (14.2229) are given a historical and theological
foundation (similarly, 16.12, for the festival of weeks). 111: The context is the festival of weeks (16.912), when
the Israelite was to make an annual pilgrimage to the central sanctuary, bringing the rst fruits of the harvest,
to thank God for the lands bounty. 4: When the priest, contrast v. 10. Vv. 34 may be a later addition intended to
emphasize the role of priests in the ceremony. Thus, v. 5 may have originally continued v. 2. 5: Wandering Aramean suggests the Jacob tradition (Gen 25.20). 6: Aicted . . . hard labor, see Ex 1.1114. 89: It is striking that the
hebrew bible | 291
deuteronomy 26
us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm, with a terrifying display
of power, and with signs and wonders; and
he brought us into this place and gave us this
land, a land owing with milk and honey.
So now I bring the rst of the fruit of the
ground that you, OLord, have given me. You
shall set it down before the Lord your God
and bow down before the Lord your God.
Then you, together with the Levites and the
aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate
with all the bounty that the Lord your God
has given to you and to your house.
When you have nished paying all
the tithe of your produce in the third year
(which is the year of the tithe), giving it to
the Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the
widows, so that they may eat their ll within
your towns, then you shall say before the
Lord your God: I have removed the sacred
portion from the house, and I have given it to
the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans,
and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me;
I have neither transgressed nor forgotten any
of your commandments: I have not eaten of
it while in mourning; I have not removed any
of it while I was unclean; and I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the
Lord my God, doing just as you commanded
me. Look down from your holy habitation,
from heaven, and bless your people Israel
and the ground that you have given us, as you
swore to our ancestorsa land owing with
milk and honey.
This very day the Lord your God is commanding you to observe these statutes and
ordinances; so observe them diligently with
all your heart and with all your soul. Today
you have obtained the Lords agreement: to
be your God; and for you to walk in his ways,
to keep his statutes, his commandments, and
his ordinances, and to obey him. Today the
Lord has obtained your agreement: to be his
giving of the law on Horeb is missing here. Perhaps this ancient liturgy did not know of this event. Alternatively,
the giving of the law might not be thematically appropriate to a unit that emphasizes Gods role as liberator.
11: Celebrate, or rejoice (16.11,1415), specically in a festive meal consumed at the central sanctuary (12.7,18),
which must include the Levites and the aliens. The mention of these marginal groups provides a transition to the
following law. 1215: Produce was tithed annually and consumed by the farmer and his household at the central
sanctuary (14.2227); every third year that tithe was used locally to support the poor (14.2829). 12: Aliens . . .
widows, see 1.16n.; 14.29; 23.38,20n. 14: The formula, containing a triple confession of the donors ritual purity, probably originated in donations of produce to God at a sanctuary, where purity would be expected. That
formula has now been reused for the donation of food to the poor within your towns (v. 12). Oered any of it
to the dead, the duty of the living to care for dead ancestors through food oerings at their place of burial was
widely assumed in the ancient Near East (see the Ugaritic Aqhat epic), and continued to be carried out in Second Temple times (Tob 4.17). This practice is not in itself condemned; it is viewed as improper only in relation
to sacred donations, because of the impurity associated with death (Lev 22.24). 15: From your holy habitation,
from heaven, as in 1 Kings 8.30. The double proposition may point to the correction of an older theology in light
of a newer one, following Deuteronomys normal view that only Gods name resides in the Temple (12.11; 16.11;
26.2). For the earlier idea, that God himself inhabits the Temple, see 1 Kings 8.13; cf. Deut 12.5. Bless your people
Israel and the ground, the farmer prays for the blessing of the community and of the land, not directly for fertility
or the abundance of his own crops.
26.1619: Formal conclusion, which presents the legal corpus as a mutually binding relationship between
God and Israel. Having just read the law to the people, Moses presents it to them in a formal ratication ceremony (vv. 1718; cf. 2 Kings 23.13). 16: Statutes and ordinances . . . observe . . . diligently forms an inclusio with
12.1, thus providing the laws of chs 1226 with an elegant frame to mark their conclusion. 1718: Obtained, the
past tense points to a prior action or speech, no record of which survives, in which each party has proclaimed
what is here described. Deuteronomy emphasizes that both Israel and God have explicitly assented to the covenant and have armed the mutuality of the obligations that each undertakes. This reciprocal model contrasts
with the Sinai covenant, which was unilaterally oered by God (Ex 19.36) and unilaterally agreed to by Israel
(Ex 19.8; 24.3,7). Deuteronomy invokes the language of the Sinai covenant as a model while revising it in the
process. 18: His treasured people, see 7.6n. In praise . . . fame and . . . honor, NRSV implies that the accolades will
be given to Israel. The Hebrew also allows for the possibility that the honors will go to God because of his ac-
292 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 27
treasured people, as he promised you, and to
keep his commandments; for him to set you
high above all nations that he has made, in
praise and in fame and in honor; and for you
to be a people holy to the Lord your God, as
he promised.
Then Moses and the elders of Israel
charged all the people as follows: Keep
the entire commandment that I am commanding you today. On the day that you
cross over the Jordan into the land that the
Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up
large stones and cover them with plaster. You
shall write on them all the words of this law
when you have crossed over, to enter the land
that the Lord your God is giving you, a land
owing with milk and honey, as the Lord,
the God of your ancestors, promised you. So
when you have crossed over the Jordan, you
shall set up these stones, about which I am
commanding you today, on Mount Ebal, and
27
you shall cover them with plaster. And you

shall build an altar there to the Lord your
God, an altar of stones on which you have not
used an iron tool. You must build the altar of
the Lord your God of unhewna stones. Then
oer up burnt oerings on it to the Lord your
God, make sacrices of well-being, and eat
them there, rejoicing before the Lord your
God. You shall write on the stones all the
words of this law very clearly.
Then Moses and the levitical priests
spoke to all Israel, saying: Keep silence and
hear, OIsrael! This very day you have become
the people of the Lord your God. Therefore obey the Lord your God, observing his
commandments and his statutes that I am
commanding you today.
The same day Moses charged the people
as follows: When you have crossed over the
a Heb whole
tion on Israels behalf (see Jer 13.11; 33.9). As he promised you, Ex 19.56. 19: High above all nations, see 28.1314n.
That he has made, see Ex 19.5b. A people holy to the Lord continues the reference to Ex 19.56, while substituting
people for nation, which Deuteronomy uses for non-Israelites (12.29).
27.126: The ceremonies at Shechem. The injunctions of 11.2932 are here reiterated and detailed. The laws
of chs 1226 are thus framed with ceremonies that connect entry into the land with obedience to the teaching
of Moses. The chapter joins four separate sections that are only loosely connected to one another and to the
rest of Deuteronomy. A later editor has aligned the sections with one another, while breaking up the continuity of the speech of chs 26 and 28. The resulting digression preserves several competing traditions about how
and where the covenant between God and Israel was concluded: at Sinai; or on the plains of Moab; or at Gilgal
immediately upon entering the land; or at the important northern shrine of Shechem (see 11.29n.). 18: This
section combines two separate requirements: the raising of plastered stones inscribed with the teaching (vv.
14,8) and the construction of a stone altar for sacrice (vv. 57). 1: Moses is here referred to in the third person,
interrupting his rst-person address (chs 526; 28). And the elders, nowhere else in Deuteronomy do they join
Moses in addressing the people; this plural subject does not easily t the following singular I. 2: On the day
. . . large stones, the Deuteronomistic Historian understands this command to have been fullled at Gilgal, just
across the Jordan and less than a mile from Jericho (see Josh 4). Cover them with plaster, to serve as a surface
for inscription. Archaeology aests the use of plaster-covered wall or stele inscriptions. 4: Mount Ebal, at over
1,000 m (3,000 ), the tallest mountain in the region. It lies in central Canaan, adjacent to the city of Shechem.
But that site is inconsistent with v. 2 and the beginning of this verse, which each anticipate that the ceremony
will take place immediately upon crossing the river. It would be impossible to reach Shechem in a day. The most
logical explanation is that Josh 4 points to the original form of these verses, with Gilgal as the site where Israel
complied with this command. That older tradition was then replaced here by the reference to the mountains
around Shechem, the chief town of the northern tribes (Josh 24.1,32). 57: These verses are an insertion that
reinterprets the plastered stones on which the teaching is to be inscribed as an altar of unhewn stones, following Ex 20.25. Such an altar, outside of Jerusalem, conicts with the centralization requirement of ch 12, and
further suggests the antiquity and the independence of this tradition from the rest of Deuteronomy. The fulllment of this law is narrated in Josh 8.3035. 910: This is a new paragraph, independent of what precedes it.
9: And the levitical priests, see v. 1n.; here too the plural subject is continued by I (v. 10). This very day, contrast
statements that dene the bond as previously formed, either at the time of the Exodus (Ex 6.67) or at Sinai
(4.20; Ex 19.56). 1113: A fragment that refers to an ancient covenant ceremony at Shechem, instituted at the
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deuteronomy 28
Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim
for the blessing of the people: Simeon, Levi,
Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And
these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse:
Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and
Naphtali. Then the Levites shall declare in a
loud voice to all the Israelites:
Cursed be anyone who makes an idol
or casts an image, anything abhorrent to the
Lord, the work of an artisan, and sets it up in
secret. All the people shall respond, saying,
Amen!
Cursed be anyone who dishonors father
or mother. All the people shall say, Amen!
Cursed be anyone who moves a neighbors boundary marker. All the people shall
say, Amen!
Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind
person on the road. All the people shall say,
Amen!
Cursed be anyone who deprives the
alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice.
All the people shall say, Amen!
Cursed be anyone who lies with his
fathers wife, because he has violated his
fathers rights.a All the people shall say,

Amen!
Cursed be anyone who lies with any
animal. All the people shall say, Amen!
sister, whether the daughter of his father or
the daughter of his mother. All the people
shall say, Amen!
mother-in-law. All the people shall say,
Amen!
Cursed be anyone who strikes down a
neighbor in secret. All the people shall say,
Amen!
Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to
shed innocent blood. All the people shall
say, Amen!
Cursed be anyone who does not uphold
the words of this law by observing them. All
the people shall say, Amen!
If you will only obey the Lord your
God, by diligently observing all his
commandments that I am commanding you
28
a Heb uncovered his fathers skirt
command of Moses (Josh 8.3035). The antiquity of the tribal list is seen in the facts that Levi is listed as a tribe
(Gen 49.57) and that the division of the house of Joseph into Manasseh and Ephraim has not yet occurred (Gen
49.2226; contrast Deut 33.17). The division of the tribes into two groups of six is aested only here. 11: The
same day, lit. on that day, without further specication. 1213: Mount Gerizim for the blessing . . . Mount Ebal
for the curse, see 11.29n. One group of tribes, on Gerizim, proclaims a set of blessings (see 28.114); the other,
on Ebal, a set of curses (see 28.1568). 1426: Despite the paragraphing in NRSV, v. 14 more likely begins a new
section, with a very dierent conception of the ceremony: The tribe of Levi alone proclaims a set of prohibited
actions and all the peopleacting in unison and not divided into tribesrespond, Amen (see Jer 11.35). There is
no list of blessings (cf. v. 12). Nor is the curse intended by v. 13 (a description of divine punishment for wrongful action, as in 28.1568) provided. The cursed be proclamations here stigmatize a summary list of rejected
actions while making no references to the consequences of the transgressions. 14: Levites, Deuteronomys normal term is levitical priests (v. 9; 18.1). 1526: The twelve curses correspond to the twelve tribes, although this
section makes no reference to the tribal division and the people function as a single entity (v. 14). The resulting
incongruence points to the many editorial revisions that this chapter has undergone. 15: See 4.1531n. 16: See
5.16. 17: See 19.14n.
28.168: The consequences of obedience or disobedience: blessing or curse. The covenant species a series of blessings and curses that follow upon national obedience or disobedience to the law. These are modeled
aer ancient Near Eastern state treaties, in which the consequences of breach of the treaty are spelled out at
its conclusion; this chapter has several close parallels to the Vassal Treaty of Esarhaddon (VTE), a Neo-Assyrian
treaty dating to 672 bce. The disproportion between the sections devoted to blessing (vv. 114) and to curse (vv.
1568) may be a reaction to the Babylonian conquest, deportation, and exile of Judah (597 and 586 bce), here
recast as a prophetic warning. Two appendixes, vv. 4757 and 5868, each seek to make theological sense of
that catastrophe. The two other legal collections of the Pentateuch (the Covenant Collection of Ex 2123; the
Holiness Collection of Lev 1726) similarly end with exhortations to obedience, accompanied by blessings and
curses (Ex 23.2033; Lev 26). Here an inclusio frames and denes the blessings section: if you . . . obey . . . by diligently observing (vv. 1,13). 12: The proem emphasizes the conditionality of the exalted status of Israel, perhaps
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deuteronomy 28
today, the Lord your God will set you high
above all the nations of the earth; all these
blessings shall come upon you and overtake
you, if you obey the Lord your God:
Blessed shall you be in the city, and
blessed shall you be in the eld.
Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb,
the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your
livestock, both the increase of your cattle and
the issue of your ock.
Blessed shall be your basket and your
kneading bowl.
Blessed shall you be when you come in,
and blessed shall you be when you go out.
The Lord will cause your enemies who
rise against you to be defeated before you;
they shall come out against you one way,
and ee before you seven ways. The Lord
will command the blessing upon you in your
barns, and in all that you undertake; he will
bless you in the land that the Lord your
God is giving you. The Lord will establish
you as his holy people, as he has sworn to
you, if you keep the commandments of the
Lord your God and walk in his ways. All
the peoples of the earth shall see that you
are called by the name of the Lord, and
they shall be afraid of you. The Lord will
make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit
of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock,
and in the fruit of your ground in the land
that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give
you. The Lord will open for you his rich

storehouse, the heavens, to give the rain of
your land in its season and to bless all your
undertakings. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. The Lord
will make you the head, and not the tail; you
shall be only at the top, and not at the bottomif you obey the commandments of the
Lord your God, which I am commanding you
today, by diligently observing them, and if
you do not turn aside from any of the words
that I am commanding you today, either to
the right or to the left, following other gods
to serve them.
But if you will not obey the Lord your
God by diligently observing all his commandments and decrees, which I am commanding
you today, then all these curses shall come
upon you and overtake you:
Cursed shall you be in the city, and
cursed shall you be in the eld.
Cursed shall be your basket and your
kneading bowl.
Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb,
the fruit of your ground, the increase of your
cattle and the issue of your ock.
Cursed shall you be when you come in,
and cursed shall you be when you go out.
The Lord will send upon you disaster,
panic, and frustration in everything you
attempt to do, until you are destroyed and
perish quickly, on account of the evil of your
because of the exile. High above all the nations (see also v. 13), a metaphor for the nations election, also applied
to the Davidic dynasty (Ps 89.27). (Contrast 26.19, where this armation is unconditional, fullling Gods past
promises.) 36: The six benedictions have their malediction counterpart at vv. 1619. The two antonym pairs
(vv. 3,6) provide a frame to the unit. The opposites form a merism to stress totality (like night and day); see
6.7n. 3: City and eld, everywhere, urban and rural. 4: Fruit . . . livestock, fecundity is contingent upon obedience to God; see 7.1214n. 7: Military success is conditional upon covenantal obedience, rather than strength of
arms (9.13; Josh 1.68). 9: The Lord will establish . . . if you keep, holiness is conditional upon obedience, a shi
from other passages where Israels holiness is not future but present, and not conditional but unconditional
(7.6; 14.2; cf. 26.19). 10: Called by the name of the Lord, relationship with God includes accountability and corresponding divine oversight. The formula can apply to either the nation (here; 2 Chr 7.14; Isa 63.19; Jer 14.9) or an
individual (Ex 33.12; Jer 15.16). 12: Storehouse, in Israelite and Near Eastern cosmology, primordial waters above
the dome of the sky were released as rain (Gen 1.7; 7.11). Lend . . . borrow, see 15.6.
28.1568: Consequences of disobedience. A broad range of misfortunes, from infertility to military defeat
(vv. 1546), precede a second section (vv. 4768) on foreign invasion, siege, national defeat, and exile, a reversal
of the covenantal promises and of the nations history of salvation: By disobeying the covenant, the nation
undoes its own history. 1546: A chiastic inclusio frames the section: the initial sequence AB (not obey . . . observing . . . curses . . . overtake, v. 15) is repeated at the end as BA (curses . . . overtaking . . . not obey . . . observing,
v. 45). 15: A negation of v. 1. 1619: Negating vv. 36. 20: Corresponding to the tripartite blessing for obedience
(v. 8) stands the triple threat of disaster [beer, curse], panic, and frustration. The threats are spelled out in
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deuteronomy 28
deeds, because you have forsaken me. The
Lord will make the pestilence cling to you
until it has consumed you o the land that
you are entering to possess. The Lord will
aict you with consumption, fever, inammation, with ery heat and drought, and with
blight and mildew; they shall pursue you
until you perish. The sky over your head
shall be bronze, and the earth under you
iron. The Lord will change the rain of your
land into powder, and only dust shall come
down upon you from the sky until you are
destroyed.
The Lord will cause you to be defeated
before your enemies; you shall go out against
them one way and ee before them seven
ways. You shall become an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your
corpses shall be food for every bird of the air
and animal of the earth, and there shall be
no one to frighten them away. The Lord
will aict you with the boils of Egypt, with
ulcers, scurvy, and itch, of which you cannot
be healed. The Lord will aict you with
madness, blindness, and confusion of mind;
you shall grope about at noon as blind
people grope in darkness, but you shall be
unable to nd your way; and you shall be
continually abused and robbed, without
anyone to help. You shall become engaged
to a woman, but another man shall lie with
her. You shall build a house, but not live in
it. You shall plant a vineyard, but not enjoy
its fruit. Your ox shall be butchered before

your eyes, but you shall not eat of it. Your
donkey shall be stolen in front of you, and
shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall
be given to your enemies, without anyone to
help you. Your sons and daughters shall be
given to another people, while you look on;
you will strain your eyes looking for them all
day but be powerless to do anything. A people whom you do not know shall eat up the
fruit of your ground and of all your labors;
you shall be continually abused and crushed,
and driven mad by the sight that your eyes
shall see. The Lord will strike you on the
knees and on the legs with grievous boils of
which you cannot be healed, from the sole
of your foot to the crown of your head. The
Lord will bring you, and the king whom you
set over you, to a nation that neither you nor
your ancestors have known, where you shall
serve other gods, of wood and stone. You
shall become an object of horror, a proverb,
and a byword among all the peoples where
the Lord will lead you.
You shall carry much seed into the eld
but shall gather little in, for the locust shall
consume it. You shall plant vineyards and
dress them, but you shall neither drink the
wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall
eat them. You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint
yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop
o. You shall have sons and daughters, but
vv. 2144. Me, the rst-person reference shis from Moses to God, as at 7.4; 17.3. 2144: This section echoes
treaties that the Neo-Assyrian empire imposed on its vassal states, suggesting that the curse section of these
state treaties, perhaps in Aramaic translation, provided a model for this chapter. Judah was a vassal to the Assyrian empire (2 Kings 18.1318) and both Neo-Assyrian and Judean ocials spoke Aramaic (2 Kings 18.2627).
23: Bronze . . . iron, see VTE 6364: May [the gods] make your ground like iron . . . Just as rain does not fall
from a bronze sky . . . 25: Negates v. 7. 26: Even executed criminals must be buried by sundown, lest the corpse
become carrion (21.2223); abrogation of that law underscores the punishments horror (Jer 7.33). 2735: The
apparently arbitrary sequence of punishments closely resembles VTE 3943, where each curse is associated
with a particular Neo-Assyrian god: the moon god Sin with leprosy; the sun god Shamash, blindness; and Dilipat (the planet Venus), rape, dispossession, and pillage. 27: Boils of Egypt, inversion of 7.15. See Ex 9.911. 2829:
Blindness, Shamash, the Mesopotamian sun god, the god of justice, punishes disobedience by withholding light
and vision; this punishment entails the breakdown of civil order and legal standards. 30: Woman . . . house
. . . vineyard, contrast 20.7, which provides the same conditions for exemption from conscription, in dierent
order. 32: The sale of the children to foreigners as slaves guarantees their non-return (Gen 37.2538). 36: Both
the Neo-Assyrian army (2 Kings 17) and the Neo-Babylonian invaders (2 Kings 2425) practiced deportation.
37: Byword, the opposite idea was central to Gods covenant with Abraham, whose people were to become the
paradigm of divine providence (Gen 12.3). 3842: Futility curses. The frustration of human labor through infertility of the harvest (caused by invasion from insects or other natural enemies) is punishment for infringement
296 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 28
they shall not remain yours, for they shall go
into captivity. All your trees and the fruit
of your ground the cicada shall take over.
Aliens residing among you shall ascend
above you higher and higher, while you shall
descend lower and lower. They shall lend to
you but you shall not lend to them; they shall
be the head and you shall be the tail.
All these curses shall come upon you,
pursuing and overtaking you until you are
destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord
your God, by observing the commandments
and the decrees that he commanded you.
They shall be among you and your descendants as a sign and a portent forever.
Because you did not serve the Lord your
God joyfully and with gladness of heart for
the abundance of everything, therefore
you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord
will send against you, in hunger and thirst,
in nakedness and lack of everything. He will
put an iron yoke on your neck until he has
destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation
from far away, from the end of the earth, to
swoop down on you like an eagle, a nation
whose language you do not understand, a
grim-faced nation showing no respect to the
old or favor to the young. It shall consume
the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of
your ground until you are destroyed, leaving you neither grain, wine, and oil, nor the
increase of your cattle and the issue of your

ock, until it has made you perish. It shall
besiege you in all your towns until your high
and fortied walls, in which you trusted,
come down throughout your land; it shall
besiege you in all your towns throughout the
land that the Lord your God has given you.
In the desperate straits to which the enemy
siege reduces you, you will eat the fruit of
your womb, the esh of your own sons and
daughters whom the Lord your God has
given you. Even the most rened and gentle
of men among you will begrudge food to his
own brother, to the wife whom he embraces,
and to the last of his remaining children,
giving to none of them any of the esh
of his children whom he is eating, because
nothing else remains to him, in the desperate
straits to which the enemy siege will reduce
you in all your towns. She who is the most
rened and gentle among you, so gentle and
rened that she does not venture to set the
sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge
food to the husband whom she embraces, to
her own son, and to her own daughter, begrudging even the afterbirth that comes out
from between her thighs, and the children
that she bears, because she is eating them in
secret for lack of anything else, in the desperate straits to which the enemy siege will
reduce you in your towns.
of the covenant (Lev 26.20; Am 4.712), reversing the blessings of vv. 715. 4344: Reversing vv. 12b13. 46: A
sign and a portent, the normal phrase for miracles God performed on behalf of Israel at the time of the Exodus,
signs and wonders (4.34; 6.22; 7.19; 29.3; 34.11; Ex 7.3; 8.23; 10.12; 11.910), in the singular here designates the
divine punishment of Israel.
28.4757: Scenario of foreign invasion. A later appendix, outside the frame provided by vv. 4546. 47: Because you did not serve, the future curse is based upon wrongdoing in the past, in contrast to the conditional, future formulation of v. 15, which presents disobedience as a future possibility. Abundance, prosperity in the land
will cause Israel to forget its source (see 6.1112; 8.1120; 33.15,18). 48: The punishment corresponds precisely
to the oense: Serve means both sacricial worship of God (13.5) and labor as a servant or slave (5.13; 13.12). Iron
yoke, symbolizing vassal status, as in Jer 2728. 4957: Systematic presentation of foreign conquest, proceeding from invasion (vv. 4850), to the invaders plunder and despoiling of the land (v. 51), to crippling siege (v.
52), and culminating in the horrors of starvation that arise from the siege (vv. 5357). These descriptions of the
invader and of the consequences of the siege are based upon the literary model of the Vassal Treaty of Esarhaddon. 4952: Closely parallels Jer 5.1519. 49: Like an eagle, cf. Ezek 17.3,7; Hab 1.8. 51: Contrast the idealist war
laws of 20.1920, which prohibit occupiers from despoiling the land. 52: It shall besiege you . . . until your . . .
walls . . . come down, the Neo-Assyrian (2 Kings 17.5) and Babylonian armies (2 Kings 24.3; 25.17) employed advanced engineering to mount a siege campaign involving ramparts, baering rams, and catapults. 5357: The
starvation resulting from the siege causes a complete breakdown of the normal social order, as parents become
predators of their children and family members compete for food. For cannibalism under siege conditions, see
Lev 26.29; 2 Kings 6.2832; Jer 19.9; Lam 4.10; Ezek 5.10; and VTE 47,69,71,75.
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deuteronomy 29
If you do not diligently observe all the
words of this law that are written in this
book, fearing this glorious and awesome
name, the Lord your God, then the Lord
will overwhelm both you and your ospring
with severe and lasting aictions and grievous and lasting maladies. He will bring
back upon you all the diseases of Egypt, of
which you were in dread, and they shall cling
to you. Every other malady and aiction,
even though not recorded in the book of this
law, the Lord will inict on you until you
are destroyed. Although once you were as
numerous as the stars in heaven, you shall
be left few in number, because you did not
obey the Lord your God. And just as the
Lord took delight in making you prosperous
and numerous, so the Lord will take delight
in bringing you to ruin and destruction; you
shall be plucked o the land that you are entering to possess. The Lord will scatter you
among all peoples, from one end of the earth
to the other; and there you shall serve other
gods, of wood and stone, which neither you
nor your ancestors have known. Among

those nations you shall nd no ease, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the
Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing
eyes, and a languishing spirit. Your life shall
hang in doubt before you; night and day you
shall be in dread, with no assurance of your
life. In the morning you shall say, If only it
were evening! and at evening you shall say,
If only it were morning!because of the
dread that your heart shall feel and the sights
that your eyes shall see. The Lord will
bring you back in ships to Egypt, by a route
that I promised you would never see again;
and there you shall oer yourselves for sale
to your enemies as male and female slaves,
but there will be no buyer.
a These are the words of the covenant
that the Lord commanded Moses to
make with the Israelites in the land of Moab,
in addition to the covenant that he had made
with them at Horeb.
29
a Ch 28.69 in Heb
28.5868: Undoing the Exodus. This seems to represent a third layer to the chapter. 58: This book, how the
commandments have become transformed from oral proclamation to wrien text is unexplained, since it is not
until 31.9,24 that Moses commands that his teaching be put into writing. Moreover, hitherto the required obedience was to the plural commandments (vv. 1,9,13,15,45). Here, for the rst time in the chapter, Israel must
obey a codied, single law (Heb torah or teaching). This . . . name, NRSV should have capitalized Name to
clarify its distinctive use; it stands directly for God (elsewhere in the Pentateuch only Lev 24.11). 5968: Consistent with the book perspective, the consequences for breach of the wrien teaching have a dierent focus:
a systematic reversal of the national history, covenantal promises, and theology included in that teaching. The
punishment amounts to an anti-Torah that will dissolve the national identity. 5961: Aer the miracle of the
Exodus, God had promised, if the people obeyed, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought
upon the Egyptians (Ex 15.26). 62: Stars . . . heaven, God will cancel the promise made to Abraham that his
people shall be as numerous as the stars of heaven (Gen 15.56). 63: Dispossession and exile (as in 4.26; Lev
26.3339) rescind the covenantal promise of the land, contravening even the unconditional divine promises of
Gen 12.7; 13.17. 64: The double loss of Israels identity: Dispersion of the population dissolves its political identity, and idol worship dissolves its religious identity. 6567: In the absence of the national destiny provided by
the covenant, historical existence has no meaning. 68: Forced return to Egypt, where the former taskmasters
now spurn Israels desperate bid to sell itself back into slavery and thus to undo its own history. For selling
oneself into slavery under nancial hardship to pay o debts or gain support (indenture), see Lev 25.39. Route
. . . never see again (cf. 17.16), reverses the unconditional promise at the time of the Exodus: the Egyptians whom
you see today you shall never see again (Ex 14.13).
29.130.20: Third discourse of Moses. The ratication ceremony for the covenant of the plains of Moab.
Israel is formally adjured to enter the covenant: To swear to obey the laws of chs 1226 under penalty of the
sanctions of ch 28. 29.129: A didactic review of Israels history (vv. 29) precedes an imprecation to ensure
loyal adherence to the covenant (vv. 1029). 1: Editorial heading. The laws, hitherto plural (statutes and ordinances, 5.1; 12.1; cf. 4.45), are now a coherent, single tradition: the covenant. In addition to, presentation of the
laws as a supplement to the Decalogue, in contrast to 4.4445; 12.1, which mention neither the Decalogue nor
the laws supplementary status. This may be an eort to explain addition of the Decalogue to an earlier form
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deuteronomy 29
aMoses summoned all Israel and said to
them: You have seen all that the Lord did
before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land,
the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs,
and those great wonders. But to this day the
Lord has not given you a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear. I have
led you forty years in the wilderness. The
clothes on your back have not worn out, and
the sandals on your feet have not worn out;
you have not eaten bread, and you have not
drunk wine or strong drinkso that you may
know that I am the Lord your God. When
you came to this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against
us for battle, but we defeated them. We took
their land and gave it as an inheritance to the
Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of
Manasseh. Therefore diligently observe the
words of this covenant, in order that you may
succeedb in everything that you do.
You stand assembled today, all of you,
before the Lord your Godthe leaders of
your tribes,c your elders, and your ocials,
all the men of Israel, your children, your
women, and the aliens who are in your camp,
both those who cut your wood and those who
draw your water to enter into the cove-
nant of the Lord your God, sworn by an oath,

which the Lord your God is making with you
today; in order that he may establish you
today as his people, and that he may be your
God, as he promised you and as he swore to
your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob. I am making this covenant, sworn by
an oath, not only with you who stand here
with us today before the Lord our God, but
also with those who are not here with us
today. You know how we lived in the land of
Egypt, and how we came through the midst
of the nations through which you passed.
You have seen their detestable things, the
lthy idols of wood and stone, of silver and
gold, that were among them. It may be that
there is among you a man or woman, or a
family or tribe, whose heart is already turning away from the Lord our God to serve the
gods of those nations. It may be that there is
among you a root sprouting poisonous and
bitter growth. All who hear the words of
this oath and bless themselves, thinking in
their hearts, We are safe even though we
go our own stubborn ways (thus bringing
a Ch 29.1 in Heb
b Or deal wisely
c Gk Syr: Heb your leaders, your tribes
of Deuteronomy. 2: You have seen, as at 5.24, the present generation is in reality one generation removed from
the miraculous events. 3: Signs . . . wonders, see 28.46n. 4: But to this day, more accurately: The Lord has not
given you . . . until today. The admonition creates a tension with the preceding two verses: The addressees
who have seen the miraculous events (v. 2), which their own eyes saw (v. 3), are accused of having lacked
eyes to see. The castigation reects the episodes of rebellion (9.724). 56: The speech reinterprets the wilderness wandering, originally intended as divine punishment of Israel (Num 14.1335), and presents it positively,
in didactic terms. 5: I, see 7.4; 17.3; 28.20,68. Clothes . . . feet, see 8.4. 6: You have not eaten bread . . . not drunk
wine, the sense is, It was not bread that you ate . . . nor wine that you drank. The manna, quails, and water
that Israel consumed were supplied by divine providence (8.25; Ex 16; Num 11.49,3133). Know, not abstract
speculation but the recognition of Gods historical actions on behalf of the nation. I am the Lord your God,
beer, I, Yahweh, am your God (6.4; Ex 20.2). 78: See 1.4; 2.263.22; Num 21.2135. 10: Stand assembled in
formal array for a public legal ceremony (cf. Ps 82.1). Today, transition from historical review (vv. 18) to present
adjuration (similarly, VTE 33). 12: Covenant . . . sworn by an oath, the formula recurs at v. 14, thus framing
the central idea, the binding relationship between God and Israel. Oath, more accurately, its imprecation or
its curse. Neo-Assyrian treaties were validated by means of a concluding imprecation (VTE 3756,58106).
The partner accepts the consequences of noncompliance. The laws of chs 1226 represent the stipulations;
ch 28, the sanctions; and ch 29, the imprecation. 1415: The covenant binds even future generations (as in
VTE 25,33,34,57); consequently, punishment for infraction extends to the third and fourth generation (5.9; Ex
20.5; 34.7). 1727: A stark, two-part warning, showing how the aempt of even a single individual secretly to
withdraw from the covenant (vv. 1719) jeopardizes the entire nation (vv. 2028). 18: Turning away, transferring
loyalty to other gods (13.611; 17.27). Poisonous and bier growth, Hos 10.4; Am 5.7; 6.12. 19: Bless themselves,
rather than proclaim the imprecation, hoping to escape the sanctions of the covenant. Moist and dry, probably
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deuteronomy 30
disaster on moist and dry alike) a
the Lord will be unwilling to pardon them,
for the Lords anger and passion will smoke
against them. All the curses written in this
book will descend on them, and the Lord
will blot out their names from under heaven.
The Lord will single them out from all the
tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance
with all the curses of the covenant written in
this book of the law. The next generation,
your children who rise up after you, as well
as the foreigner who comes from a distant
country, will see the devastation of that land
and the aictions with which the Lord has
aicted it all its soil burned out by sulfur
and salt, nothing planted, nothing sprouting,
unable to support any vegetation, like the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah
and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in
his erce anger they and indeed all the
nations will wonder, Why has the Lord done
thus to this land? What caused this great
display of anger? They will conclude, It
is because they abandoned the covenant of
the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which
he made with them when he brought them
out of the land of Egypt. They turned and
served other gods, worshiping them, gods
whom they had not known and whom he had

not allotted to them; so the anger of the
Lord was kindled against that land, bringing on it every curse written in this book.
The Lord uprooted them from their land in
anger, fury, and great wrath, and cast them
into another land, as is now the case. The
secret things belong to the Lord our God, but
the revealed things belong to us and to our
children forever, to observe all the words of
this law.
When all these things have happened
to you, the blessings and the curses
that I have set before you, if you call them to
mind among all the nations where the Lord
your God has driven you, and return to the
Lord your God, and you and your children
obey him with all your heart and with all
your soul, just as I am commanding you
today, then the Lord your God will restore
your fortunes and have compassion on you,
gathering you again from all the peoples
among whom the Lord your God has scattered you. Even if you are exiled to the ends
of the world,b from there the Lord your God
30

b Heb of heaven
paired antonyms designating totality (see 28.36n.). 20: Passion, Gods zeal to defend the mutual exclusivity of
the covenant relation (5.9; Ex 34.14). Descend on them, more literally, crouch down upon them (cf. Gen 4.7),
an animate image. Blot out, the erasure of a tablet or scroll (Num 5.23), given a theological cast: Following
Mesopotamian models, the divine decree of human fate is recorded in a heavenly book, with erasure symbolizing punishment (9.14; Gen 6.7; Ex 17.14; 32.32; 2 Kings 14.27; Ps 9.6). 2228: The negative instruction. As the
wilderness wandering provided an instructional lesson for the nation (vv. 56), so will Israel, transformed into
a devastation, provide an object lesson. Vv. 2428 provide a reversal of the Israelite childs inquiry about Gods
redemptive acts (4.3238; Ex 12.2527; 13.810). 23: Sulfur and salt were used in antiquity as defoliants by invading armies. Sodom . . . Zeboiim, proverbial wicked cities in the arid area around the Dead Sea (cf. Gen 19.2425;
Isa 1.910). 25: The covenant, conating the covenants of Horeb and Moab (29.1). 26: Gods . . . not alloed to them,
as at 32.89, each nation is allocated its own god, and the Lord is the God of Israel. As at 5.89, the existence of
other deities is here conceded. Contrast 4.19, where it is rather only inanimate stars . . . that God has alloed,
which reinterprets the polytheistic image from the later perspective of monotheism. 28: As is now the case, reference to the present implies that the chapter was composed subsequent to the Babylonian exile of 586 bce. 29:
Secret, concealed acts that God will punish (vv. 1819), or future events. More likely, the antithesis with revealed
rejects religions of esoteric speculation that restrict access to truth to a learned few. This law (Heb torah),
based upon a public revelation (ch 5) and Moses instruction (chs 1226), is accessible to all.
30.110: Reassurance of restoration. This section, with its emphasis on restoration, does not logically follow
ch 29, and is most likely an insertion that serves the religious needs of a community dierent from that of the
books original audience (see v. 5n.). The unit employs the Heb word shub, translated return, repent, or
restore, in seven dierent ways to establish the close bond between human repentance and divine forgiveness:
(v. 1) If you call them to mind . . . (v. 2) and return . . . (v. 3) then the Lord will restore your fortunes . . . and gathering
you again . . . (v. 8) Then you shall again obey . . . (v. 9) For the Lord will again take delight . . . (v. 10) because you
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will gather you, and from there he will bring
you back. The Lord your God will bring you
into the land that your ancestors possessed,
and you will possess it; he will make you
more prosperous and numerous than your
ancestors.
Moreover, the Lord your God will
circumcise your heart and the heart of your
descendants, so that you will love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all
your soul, in order that you may live. The
Lord your God will put all these curses on
your enemies and on the adversaries who
took advantage of you. Then you shall again
obey the Lord, observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, and
the Lord your God will make you abundantly
prosperous in all your undertakings, in
the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your
livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the
Lord will again take delight in prospering
you, just as he delighted in prospering your
ancestors, when you obey the Lord your
God by observing his commandments and
decrees that are written in this book of the
law, because you turn to the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul.
Surely, this commandment that I am
commanding you today is not too hard
for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in

heaven, that you should say, Who will go
up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that
we may hear it and observe it? Neither is
it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who
will cross to the other side of the sea for us,
and get it for us so that we may hear it and
observe it? No, the word is very near to
you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for
you to observe.
See, I have set before you today life and
prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey
the commandments of the Lord your Goda
that I am commanding you today, by loving
the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and
observing his commandments, decrees, and
ordinances, then you shall live and become
numerous, and the Lord your God will bless
you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you
do not hear, but are led astray to bow down
to other gods and serve them, I declare to
you today that you shall perish; you shall not
live long in the land that you are crossing the
Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven
and earth to witness against you today that I
a Gk: Heb lacks If you obey the commandments of the
Lord your God
turn. 1: Call them to mind, lit. take [them] to heart. 4: Cf. Am 9.23. 5: Bring you into the land that your ancestors
possessed, the you explicitly refers to the Judean exiles in Babylon, rather than the desert generation whom
Moses addresses on the plains of Transjordan. More . . . numerous, the covenantal promise (Gen 17.2; 22.17). For
similar claims that the future will repeat the past while also surpassing it, see Isa 42.9; 43.620; 51.911. 6: The
Lord . . . will circumcise your heart, God is the agent; previously Israel itself was to circumcise . . . the foreskin of
your heart (see 10.16n.). The change suggests skepticism about the peoples ability to eect such a change of
heart independently (see Jer 31.3134; Ezek 11.1920; 36.2627). 7: The curses are deected from Israel to the adversary; contrast 28.47,49, where the foreign nation is Gods agent to punish Israel. 9: Fruit, blessings upon return
conforming to those promised upon initial entry (28.4). 10: Obey the Lord . . . by observing . . . this book of the law,
or, more precisely, this book of the teaching. The reference is to the text of Deuteronomy itself, which replaces
the live speech of Moses (12.28,32) or prophetic speech (18.189) as revealer of Gods word.
30.1120: The original continuation of ch 29 is composed of two sections, vv. 1114,1520. 1114: Turning
their own imagery against them, the passage challenges the assumptions of Near Eastern wisdom schools
about the inaccessibility of divine wisdom and the limits of human knowledge (cf. Job 28). 11: The accessibility
of Moses teaching. Surely, beer, because, logically continuing 29.29 and emphasizing the ready accessibility of the divinely given teaching. (The NRSV translation is an accommodation to the insertion of vv. 110.) This
commandment, the teaching as a whole (as at 6.1). 12: See Prov 30.4. That we may hear it, lit. so that he may
proclaim it to us. 14: In your mouth, in antiquity, texts were normally read, taught, and recited aloud (6.7; 31.19,
21; Josh 1.8). 1520: The necessity of choice. Life outside the covenant is death. 16: Loving . . . walking in his ways,
in Near Eastern treaties, love means to act loyally and to honor the commitments of the treaty (6.5n.). 19:
Heaven and earth to witness, see 4.26n.; 32.1n. Choose life, the didactic use of life and death suggests the inuence of wisdom teachings upon the authors (Prov 11.19; 14.27; 18.21; cf. Jer 8.3; 21.8).
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deuteronomy 31
have set before you life and death, blessings
and curses. Choose life so that you and your
descendants may live, loving the Lord your
God, obeying him, and holding fast to him;
for that means life to you and length of days,
so that you may live in the land that the Lord
swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob.
When Moses had nished speaking
alla these words to all Israel, he said to
them: I am now one hundred twenty years
old. I am no longer able to get about, and the
Lord has told me, You shall not cross over
this Jordan. The Lord your God himself will
cross over before you. He will destroy these
nations before you, and you shall dispossess
31
them. Joshua also will cross over before you,

as the Lord promised. The Lord will do to
them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of
the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. The Lord will give them over
to you and you shall deal with them in full
accord with the command that I have given
to you. Be strong and bold; have no fear or
dread of them, because it is the Lord your
God who goes with you; he will not fail you or
forsake you.
Then Moses summoned Joshua and said
to him in the sight of all Israel: Be strong and
bold, for you are the one who will go with this
a Q Ms Gk: MT Moses went and spoke
31.134.14: The death of Moses and the formation of the Torah. With the imprecation of ch 30 concluding the treaty between God and Israel, Deuteronomy now returns to Moses, the mediator of the treaty. His
life is ending, and the question of succession is given a two-fold answer, since Moses was both political and
religious leader of Israel. Joshua will be his political and military successor (31.18,1415,23; 32.44,4852; 34.9)
and a book . . . of this law (31.24) will instruct the nation in religion. Deuteronomy thus ends in paradox:
Moses, ostensibly the books narrator, narrates his own death (ch 34), and the book of the teaching, already
presupposed (29.27), nevertheless provides an account of its own formation (31.913,2429). The conclusion
of Deuteronomy also ends the Pentateuch. In incorporating Deuteronomy into that larger work, editors with
the background of the exile added perspectives on the function of the entire Torah in the peoples life. Finally,
the Pentateuchs literary precedent of a patriarchs death-bed bequest and blessing (Gen 27; 4849) led to the
incorporation of The Song of Moses (32.143) and of The Blessing of Moses (ch 33), each of which may
originally have circulated independently. The resulting text thus blends several viewpoints. Themes like the
appointment of Joshua begin, then begin again from a dierent perspective, and then are continued only aer
an apparent digression, which marks the insertion of new material.
31.129: Moses makes arrangements for his death. Publicly announcing his imminent death, Moses invests
Joshua with leadership and initiates the writing of the book of the teaching, which is to be taught regularly
to the entire people. These two legacies seem independent of each other and suggest that an earlier narrative about leadership has been expanded with an account of the formation of Deuteronomy. Each tradition,
furthermore, is doubled; the chapter thus contains many layers of tradition. First is a double announcement of
Moses imminent death: v. 2 (at his own initiative, citing previous divine commandment, in which he appoints
Joshua directly) and vv. 1415 (with no reference to a previous announcement, and with divine appointment of
Joshua). Second is a double tradition of transfer of leadership: Although Moses begins a public ceremony in
order himself to appoint the new leader (vv. 78), a variant tradition has God commission Joshua directly (vv.
1415,23). Third is a double tradition of Moses writing: one of the book . . . of this law (v. 24) and one of this
song (v. 19). Each is a witness (vv. 21,26). The rst tradition, which refers to Deuteronomy, was supplemented
by the second in order to integrate the following Song of Moses (32.143). Fourth, in the Song tradition,
Israels future apostasy is already a foregone conclusion (vv. 1622,2829); in the covenant-making tradition,
there is yet hope that, by taking the law to heart, Israel might avoid catastrophe (vv. 913,2427). 2: One hundred twenty years old, the Hebrew places the age rst, thus immediately announcing the key issue: Moses has
reached the maximum age for humans (Gen 6.3), making it urgent to assure continuity of leadership. I am no
longer able to get about, lit. to go out and come in, i.e., lead the nation in military campaigns (28.6; Num 27.17;
1 Kings 3.7; cf. 2 Sam 11.1). 23: Resumes 1.3738; 3.2728. The death of a key leader and the transfer of his
authority mark important turning points within the larger context of the Deuteronomistic History and partially follow a common model (cf. Josh 23.2; 1 Sam 12.2; 1 Kings 2.12). 4: The successful military campaigns in
Transjordan provide assurance in the conquest of Canaan; Moses aims to counter Israels intimidation (1.2728;
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people into the land that the Lord has sworn
to their ancestors to give them; and you will
put them in possession of it. It is the Lord
who goes before you. He will be with you; he
will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or
be dismayed.
Then Moses wrote down this law, and
gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who
carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
and to all the elders of Israel. Moses commanded them: Every seventh year, in the
scheduled year of remission, during the
festival of booths,a when all Israel comes to
appear before the Lord your God at the place
that he will choose, you shall read this law
before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble
the peoplemen, women, and children, as
well as the aliens residing in your townsso
that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord
your God and to observe diligently all the
words of this law, and so that their children,
who have not known it, may hear and learn
to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live
in the land that you are crossing over the
Jordan to possess.
The Lord said to Moses, Your time to
die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves
in the tent of meeting, so that I may commission him. So Moses and Joshua went and
presented themselves in the tent of meeting,
and the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud; the pillar of cloud stood at the
entrance to the tent.
The Lord said to Moses, Soon you
will lie down with your ancestors. Then this
people will begin to prostitute themselves to

the foreign gods in their midst, the gods of
the land into which they are going; they will
forsake me, breaking my covenant that I have
made with them. My anger will be kindled against them in that day. I will forsake
them and hide my face from them; they will
become easy prey, and many terrible troubles
will come upon them. In that day they will
say, Have not these troubles come upon us
because our God is not in our midst? On
that day I will surely hide my face on account
of all the evil they have done by turning to
other gods. Now therefore write this song,
and teach it to the Israelites; put it in their
mouths, in order that this song may be a
witness for me against the Israelites. For
when I have brought them into the land owing with milk and honey, which I promised
on oath to their ancestors, and they have
eaten their ll and grown fat, they will turn
to other gods and serve them, despising me
and breaking my covenant. And when many
terrible troubles come upon them, this song
will confront them as a witness, because it
will not be lost from the mouths of their descendants. For I know what they are inclined
to do even now, before I have brought them
into the land that I promised them on oath.
That very day Moses wrote this song and
taught it to the Israelites.
Then the Lord commissioned Joshua
son of Nun and said, Be strong and bold, for
Num 1314). 5: Command, the ban (7.17; 12.2931; 20.1618). 913: The institution of a covenant ceremony to
be held in the sabbatical year (15.111), during the festival of booths (16.1315). 12: Stipulating that the teaching
(NRSV law; Heb torah) is taught to women, minors, and aliens, the law does not restrict the responsibility
to observe the covenant to males (contrast Ex 19.15). 14: Tent of meeting, in the Yahwistic source (J), the site outside camp where God speaks to Moses, with Joshua in aendance (Ex 33.711); contrast the Priestly literatures
tabernacle, located in the center of the Israelite encampment, which houses the ark of the covenant and the
altar (Ex 2627; Num 7.13; 18.17). So that I may commission him, the standard tradition involves direct commission by Moses at Gods command (3.2728; 34.9; Num 27.1823). 15: The double reference to the pillar of cloud,
located both at [or, in] the tent (cf. Ex 30.36; 40.3435; Lev 16.2) and at the entrance to the tent (cf. Ex 33.910;
Num 12.5) blends the traditions associated with each of the two tents (see v. 14n.). 1718: Our God, beer, our
gods: The people will have strayed so far from the covenant that they aribute the resulting divine punishment to other gods, leading to Gods angry response. 2223: The sequence of Moses wrote (v. 22) and . . . commissioned (v. 23) uses the same key terms as When Moses nished writing . . . Moses commanded (vv. 2425).
The repetition of the paired terms provided a means for editors to insert the section on the song (vv. 1622). 23:
The Lord commissioned, lit. he commanded, with no subject identied. NRSV has added the divine reference
to clarify that the verse does not continue v. 22, but directly resumes vv. 1415.
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deuteronomy 32
you shall bring the Israelites into the land
that I promised them; I will be with you.
When Moses had nished writing down
in a book the words of this law to the very end,
Moses commanded the Levites who carried
the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,
Take this book of the law and put it beside
the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God;
let it remain there as a witness against you.
For I know well how rebellious and stubborn
you are. If you already have been so rebellious
toward the Lord while I am still alive among
you, how much more after my death! Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and
your ocials, so that I may recite these words
in their hearing and call heaven and earth to
witness against them. For I know that after
my death you will surely act corruptly, turning
aside from the way that I have commanded
you. In time to come trouble will befall you,
because you will do what is evil in the sight of
the Lord, provoking him to anger through the
work of your hands.
Then Moses recited the words of this
song, to the very end, in the hearing of the
whole assembly of Israel:
Give ear, Oheavens, and I will speak;
let the earth hear the words of my
mouth.
May my teaching drop like the rain,
my speech condense like the dew;
like gentle rain on grass,
like showers on new growth.
For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;

ascribe greatness to our God!
The Rock, his work is perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God, without deceit,
just and upright is he;
yet his degenerate children have dealt
falsely with him,a
a perverse and crooked generation.
Do you thus repay the Lord,
Ofoolish and senseless people?
Is not he your father, who created you,
who made you and established you?
Remember the days of old,
consider the years long past;
ask your father, and he will inform you;
your elders, and they will tell you.
When the Most Highb apportioned the
nations,
when he divided humankind,
he xed the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the gods;c
the Lords own portion was his people,
Jacob his allotted share.
32
He sustainedd him in a desert land,

in a howling wilderness waste;
a
b
c
d

Traditional rendering of Heb Elyon
Q Ms Compare Gk Tg: MT the Israelites
Sam Gk Compare Tg: MT found
31.3032.43: The Song of Moses. The Song is a late insertion that reects upon Israels history, probably
presupposing the exile. In form it is a revised and expanded prophetic lawsuit (cf. Isa 1; Jer 2; Mic 6; Ps 50)
with this structure: introduction and summoning of witnesses (vv. 13); accusation (vv. 46); recital of Gods
loving actions (vv. 714); indictment (vv. 1518); declaration of punishment (vv. 1925). Yet God interrupts his
own judicial sentence to recognize a risk to his honor: Other nations might conclude that Israels God was
weak should they see Israel destroyed (vv. 2627). God reverses himself, cancels the punishment, and decides
instead to punish Israels enemies so as to vindicate Israel (vv. 2842). The Song concludes with a call for the
divine council to praise God for his actions; the call may originate from within the divine council itself (v. 43;
similarly Ps 29.1). A prose frame links the Song to Deuteronomy, identifying Moses, otherwise unmentioned,
as its speaker (31.30; 32.44). 32.2: Teaching, the original prophetic lawsuit has been combined with wisdom
themes (Prov 1.5; 4.2; 17.21). 4: Rock, more accurately, Mountain, a title applied to the high god of ancient
Canaan (see v. 8n.) and to the biblical God (vv. 15,18,3031,37; Isa 44.8; Ps 78.35). 6: Created you, when God
redeemed Israel from Egypt (Ex 15.16, correcting NRSV acquired). 8: Most High, or Elyon (text note b), is the
title of El, the senior god who sat at the head of the divine council in the Ugaritic literature of ancient Canaan.
The Bible applies Els title to Israels God (Gen 14.1822; Num 24.16; Ps 46.4; 47.2; esp. 78.35, where it is parallel
to Rock). Gods, the lesser gods who make up the divine council (Ps 82.1; 89.67), to each of whom Elyon here
assigns a foreign nation. 9: The Lords own portion, NRSV has added own in order to identify Yahweh with Elyon
and avoid the impression that Yahweh is merely a member of the pantheon; see also 4.19n. 10: Sustained, more
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he shielded him, cared for him,
guarded him as the apple of his eye.
As an eagle stirs up its nest,
and hovers over its young;
as it spreads its wings, takes them up,
and bears them aloft on its pinions,
the Lord alone guided him;
no foreign god was with him.
He set him atop the heights of the land,
and fed him witha produce of the eld;
he nursed him with honey from the
crags,
with oil from inty rock;
curds from the herd, and milk from the
ock,
with fat of lambs and rams;
Bashan bulls and goats,
together with the choicest wheat
you drank ne wine from the blood of
grapes.
Jacob ate his ll;b
Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked.
You grew fat, bloated, and gorged!
He abandoned God who made him,
and scoed at the Rock of his salvation.
They made him jealous with strange
gods,
with abhorrent things they provoked
him.
They sacriced to demons, not God,
to deities they had never known,
to new ones recently arrived,
whom your ancestors had not feared.
You were unmindful of the Rock that
bore you;c
you forgot the God who gave you birth.
The Lord saw it, and was jealous;d

he spurnede his sons and
daughters.
He said: I will hide my face from
them,
I will see what their end will be;
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom there is no
faithfulness.
They made me jealous with what is no
god,
provoked me with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with what is
no people,
provoke them with a foolish nation.
For a re is kindled by my anger,
and burns to the depths of Sheol;
it devours the earth and its increase,
and sets on re the foundations of the
mountains.
I will heap disasters upon them,
spend my arrows against them:
wasting hunger,
burning consumption,
bitter pestilence.
The teeth of beasts I will send against
them,
with venom of things crawling in the
dust.
In the street the sword shall bereave,
and in the chambers terror,
a
b
c
d
e
Sam Gk Syr Tg: MT he ate

Q Mss Sam Gk: MT lacks Jacob ate his ll
Or that begot you
Q Mss Gk: MT lacks was jealous
Cn: Heb he spurned because of provocation
likely found (Hos 9.10). Overlooking the Egypt traditions, the Song here traces the beginnings of Israel to the
wilderness period, romanticizing its ideal purity (similarly Hos 2.1415; Jer 2.23; contrast Deut 9.67,2227;
Ezek 20). Apple of his eye, lit. the aperture or pupil of the eye. 11: Israel as Gods edgling; see Ex 19.4. 13: Heights,
see Ex 15.17. 14: Curds, symbolic of extravagant hospitality oered to special guests (Gen 18.8; Judg 5.25). Bashan,
in northern Transjordan, was famous for its cale. 15: Jeshurun, probably meaning upright, is a poetic term
for Israel (33.5,26; Isa 44.2). 17: Demons, beer, protective spirits (also Ps 106.37). Not God, the language is
sarcastic: a non-god (see v. 21). To deities, beer, to gods. 18: God is depicted as a woman; gave you birth
refers specically to labor pain (Isa 51.2; cf. Isa 42.14). 21: Jealous refers to the covenants demand for exclusive
loyalty to God (5.8; 6.15; Num 25.11). Accordingly, the punishment for breach of the covenant metes out precise
retributive justice (see 19.19n.). The Hebrew emphasizes the sarcasm: thus, with what is no god and what is no
people, lit. with a non-god, with a non-people. Their idols, lit. their vapors or their vanities, even their
vapidities (Jer 8.19; 10.15; 16.19; Eccl 1.2). 22: Sheol, the underworld (Gen 37.35; 1 Sam 2.6; Ps 139.8); the abode of
all the dead, not a place of damnation like the later idea of hell. 23: Arrows, divine punishments (v. 42; Ezek 5.16;
Ps 7.13; 18.14; 38.2). 24: Burning consumption, the name of the Ugaritic god of pestilence; thus beer, devoured
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deuteronomy 32
for young man and woman alike,
nursing child and old gray head.
I thought to scatter thema
and blot out the memory of them from
humankind;
but I feared provocation by the enemy,
for their adversaries might
misunderstand
and say, Our hand is triumphant;
it was not the Lord who did all this.
They are a nation void of sense;
there is no understanding in them.
If they were wise, they would
understand this;
they would discern what the end
would be.
How could one have routed a thousand,
and two put a myriad to ight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
the Lord had given them up?
Indeed their rock is not like our Rock;
our enemies are fools.a
Their vine comes from the vinestock of
Sodom,
from the vineyards of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison,
their clusters are bitter;
their wine is the poison of serpents,
the cruel venom of asps.
Is not this laid up in store with me,
sealed up in my treasuries?
Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
for the time when their foot shall slip;
because the day of their calamity is at

hand,
their doom comes swiftly.
Indeed the Lord will vindicate his
people,
have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone,
neither bond nor free remaining.
Then he will say: Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge,
who ate the fat of their sacrices,
and drank the wine of their libations?
Let them rise up and help you,
let them be your protection!
See now that I, even I, am he;
there is no god besides me.
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and no one can deliver from my hand.
For I lift up my hand to heaven,
and swear: As I live forever,
when I whet my ashing sword,
and my hand takes hold on judgment;
I will take vengeance on my adversaries,
and will repay those who hate me.
I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword shall devour esh
with the blood of the slain and the
captives,
from the long-haired enemy.
a Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
by Plague. 25: Woman, beer, young woman, to emphasize the double merism (28.36n.), which symbolizes
the totality of the slaughter. 2627: The Song here pivots from judgment of Israel to her vindication at the
expense of the foreign invaders. 27: I feared, God has feelings and vulnerabilities (as at Gen 6.6). 2833: Gods
soliloquy is interrupted by another voice, who refers to God in the third person and speaks on behalf of Israel
(vv. 3031). 2829: The foreign nation, like Israel, has failed in wisdom, justifying Gods judgment (see v. 6). 30:
Ironically inverts the holy war idea (3.22; 20.1): The enemy is reproached for failing to understand that it owes
its triumph over Israel to God rather than force of arms. God will thus punish Israels conquerors to preserve
his own honor (see 9.2529; Num 14.1316). 32: Sodom . . . Gomorrah, here symbolizing moral corruption more
than ruinous devastation (cf. 29.23n.). 34: This, the punishment of the foreign nation, which is about to be announced (vv. 3542). Laid up . . . sealed up, the formal legal procedures for rolling and then sealing a witnessed
deed or contract with wax, so that the unaltered document can subsequently be introduced into court as evidence (Isa 8.16; Jer 32.915). 35: Vengeance, beer, vindication, since the idea is not revenge but justice. 36:
Their power is gone, neither bond nor free, God will act when no one survives who can take charge or provide
assistance (2 Kings 14.26; cf. 1 Kings 14.10; 21.21; 2 Kings 9.8). 39: Similar to exilic Second Isaiah (Isa 41.4; 43.10,13;
44.6; 45.67,22; 48.12). 41: Takes, lit. returns, in retributive justice. Thus, vengeance gives the wrong idea (see
v. 35n.). Those who hate me, treaty language that refers to disloyal action that violates the covenant; thus beer
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deuteronomy 33
Praise, Oheavens,a his people,
worship him, all you gods!b
For he will avenge the blood of his children,c
and take vengeance on his adversaries;
he will repay those who hate him,b
and cleanse the land for his people.d
Moses came and recited all the words
of this song in the hearing of the people,
he and Joshuae son of Nun. When Moses
had nished reciting all these words to all
Israel, he said to them: Take to heart all
the words that I am giving in witness against
you today; give them as a command to your
children, so that they may diligently observe
all the words of this law. This is no triing
matter for you, but rather your very life;
through it you may live long in the land that
you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.
On that very day the Lord addressed
Moses as follows: Ascend this mountain
of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the
land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view
the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the
Israelites for a possession; you shall die
there on the mountain that you ascend and
shall be gathered to your kin, as your brother

Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered
to his kin; because both of you broke faith
with me among the Israelites at the waters of
Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, by
failing to maintain my holiness among the
Israelites. Although you may view the land
from a distance, you shall not enter itthe
land that I am giving to the Israelites.
This is the blessing with which Moses,
the man of God, blessed the Israelites
before his death. He said:
The Lord came from Sinai,
and dawned from Seir upon us;f
he shone forth from Mount Paran.
With him were myriads of holy ones;g
33
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Q Ms Gk: MT nations
Q Ms Gk: MT lacks this line
Q Ms Gk: MT his servants
Q Ms Sam Gk Vg: MT his land his people
Sam Gk Syr Vg: MT Hoshea
Gk Syr Vg Compare Tg: Heb upon them
Cn Compare Gk Sam Syr Vg: MT He came from
Ribeboth-kodesh,
translated, those who reject me (5.9). 43: The second, fourth, and h lines have been restored in light of the
Dead Sea Scrolls. With heavens and land, the verse forms an inclusio to heavens . . . earth (v. 1), thus framing
the poem and returning the focus to Israels impending entry into the promised land. His people, instead, referring to God: O heavens, rejoice with him! All you gods, the divine council (v. 8n.; Ps 29.1), probably removed
from the received Heb text because of the conict with monotheism (see vv. 89n.). Avenge the blood, God as
divine blood avenger (cf. 19.6), who removes the stain of Israels blood from the land by requiting the aggressor
for having spilled it (19.1113). Cleanse, since the moral stain on the land can only be wiped clean (the words
literal meaning) with the blood of the murderer (Num 35.3334; cf. Deut 21.8): here, the foreign nation. Gods
position is nonetheless morally ambiguous, since it was he who had sanctioned the foreign invasion as punishment for Israels wrongdoing (vv. 1926). His people, instead, referring to God: O heavens, rejoice with him!
32.4447: Double conclusion to the Song. Two originally separate conclusions joined by Deuteronomys
editors. 44: All the words . . . , an inclusio (see 31.30). 4547: A separate section, the original continuation of
31.29 prior to the insertion of the Song. 46: All the words, the laws of Deuteronomy (31.24); now, following the
insertion of the Song, reinterpreted to refer to both.
32.4852: Moses commanded to die. This section repeats the announcement of Moses death (Num
27.1214) and thus joins it to its logical continuation, the narrative of that death (Deut 34). The original connection between these two Priestly sections was broken by Deuteronomys insertion into the Pentateuch. 49:
This mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, as in the Priestly narrative (Num 27.12; 33.47); but, according to the
Deuteronomistic tradition, Pisgah (3.27). The two traditions are joined at 34.1. 50: You shall die, lit. Die . . . ! This
unusual imperative establishes that Moses both lives and dies at Gods command (34.5n.). Gathered to your kin,
burial in a family tomb, where the bones of the generations would be gathered together (2 Kings 8.24; 22.20;
cf. 1 Kings 13.31); here used metaphorically, since Moses burial place is unknown (34.6). Mount Hor, consistent
with the Priestly tradition (Num 20.2229; 33.3739); but, in the Deuteronomistic tradition, Moserah (10.6).
51: You broke faith, see Num 20.113; cf. 1.37n.; 4.21.
33.129: The Blessing of Moses. In form a fathers blessing of his progeny when death is imminent (Gen
27.2729; 48.1516; 49.128; cf. 1 Kings 2.14), Moses address to the tribes arrayed before him (29.2,10; 31.7,30)
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deuteronomy 33
at his right, a host of his own.a
Indeed, Ofavorite amongb peoples,
all his holy ones were in your charge;
they marched at your heels,
accepted direction from you.
Moses charged us with the law,
as a possession for the assembly of
Jacob.
There arose a king in Jeshurun,
when the leaders of the people
assembled
the united tribes of Israel.
May Reuben live, and not die out,
even though his numbers are few.
And this he said of Judah:
OLord, give heed to Judah,
and bring him to his people;
strengthen his hands for him,c

and be a help against his adversaries.
And of Levi he said:
Give to Levid your Thummim,
and your Urim to your loyal one,
whom you tested at Massah,
with whom you contended at the waters
of Meribah;
who said of his father and mother,
I regard them not;
he ignored his kin,
and did not acknowledge his
children.
a
b
c
d
Cn Compare Gk: meaning of Heb uncertain

Or Olover of the
Cn: Heb with his hands he contended
Q Ms Gk: MT lacks Give to Levi
treats all Israel as his own progeny, gathered before the deathbed (Gen 48.2; 49.33). Following the model of
other blessings, the speaker addresses the tribes in the singular, as if they were individual sons (contrast v.
19). This poem is clearly an insertion, intruding between Gods command to Moses to ascend Nebo to prepare
for his death (32.4950) and Moses compliance (34.15). The literary model of the patriarchal blessing of the
twelve tribes (vv. 625) has been consciously embedded in a framing poem addressed to a united Israel (vv.
15,2629) that imitates victory hymns to the divine warrior (Judg 5; Ps 18.715; Hab 3; cf. Ex 15). That older
model has been signicantly transformed, however. In vv. 14, the expected climax of the divine theophany in
the military defeat of the enemy has been totally eclipsed (cf. vv. 2629), although it is the logical precondition
for the proclamation of God as king (v. 5). The new climax is instead Moses proclamation of Torah (v. 4n.). The
reference here to Sinai instead of Deuteronomys usual Horeb (see 1.2n.) is an aempt to integrate Deuteronomy with the other literary sources of the Pentateuch (Ex 1920; Lev 25.1; Num 10.12). The editors have used
an inclusio paern to embed the blessing (with its focus upon the individual tribes) into the framing hymn to
the divine warrior (where united Israel is the focus). Thus the word symmetry Lord:Jacob:Jeshurun::Jeshurun
:Jacob:Lord (A:B:C::C:B:A; vv. 2,4,5,26,28,29) brackets the inserted blessing. Older hymns to the divine
warrior sometimes list the tribes contributions to the bale (Judg 5.1418), which facilitates the combination
of the two models. Although it draws upon older textual traditions, the poem in its present form is almost
certainly exilic or postexilic. The combination of two separate literary models and the emphasis of divinely
revealed Torah rather than the divine warriors manifestation in bale suggest the later literary seing. 1: Man
of God, a type of prophet (Josh 14.6; 1 Sam 9.6; 1 Kings 13.132; 17.18,24; 2 Kings 4.741); this term is not used
earlier of Moses in Deuteronomy. 2: The Lord . . . dawned, Gods departure from his distant mountain stronghold, dramatically coming to the rescue of his people, closely follows the model of Judg 5.4; Hab 3.3. Myriads of
holy ones, the divine council who accompany God into bale (32.8n.; Ps 68.17; 89.7). Sinai . . . Seir, the parallelism
locates Sinai near Seir, associated with Edom (Judg 5.4), in southern Transjordan. This tradition diverges from
the one placing the mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, far to the southwest. 3: His holy ones, originally, the divine
council of v. 2, reinterpreted to refer to Israel (7.6; 14.2,21; 26.19; 28.9; Lev 19.2; Num 16.3) to provide a transition to v. 4. 4: Moses charged us, since Moses is himself the speaker (v. 1), this verse is an insertion that presents
the promulgation of the Torah (NRSV law) as the climax of the divine warriors theophany. 5: A king, almost
certainly God as divine king of Israel (Ex 15.18; Num 23.21; Judg 8.2223; 1 Sam 8.7; Isa 33.22; Ps 29.10). Jeshurun,
see 32.15n. 6: Reuben, who once had the leadership of the rstborn (see Gen 49.34), is apparently threatened
with extinction. (Simeon, Jacobs second born, is entirely missing.) 7: Judah, in sore trouble because of an unnamed adversary, should be helped by other tribes. 811: Levi, once a warlike tribe (Gen 49.57), is to receive
the prerogatives of the priesthood: to teach law, or Torah (v. 10), and to ociate at the altar. 8: Thummim and
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deuteronomy 33
For they observed your word,
and kept your covenant.
They teach Jacob your ordinances,
and Israel your law;
they place incense before you,
and whole burnt oerings on your
altar.
Bless, OLord, his substance,
and accept the work of his hands;
crush the loins of his adversaries,
of those that hate him, so that they do
not rise again.
Of Benjamin he said:
The beloved of the Lord rests in
safety
the High Goda surrounds him all day
long
the belovedb rests between his
shoulders.
And of Joseph he said:
Blessed by the Lord be his land,
with the choice gifts of heaven
above,
and of the deep that lies beneath;
with the choice fruits of the sun,
and the rich yield of the months;
with the nest produce of the ancient
mountains,
and the abundance of the everlasting
hills;
with the choice gifts of the earth and its
fullness,
and the favor of the one who dwells on
Sinai.c
Let these come on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince among his
brothers.
A rstbornd bullmajesty is his!
His horns are the horns of a wild ox;
with them he gores the peoples,

driving them toe the ends of the
earth;
such are the myriads of Ephraim,
such the thousands of Manasseh.
And of Zebulun he said:
Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out;
and Issachar, in your tents.
They call peoples to the mountain;
there they oer the right sacrices;
for they suck the auence of the
seas
and the hidden treasures of the
sand.
And of Gad he said:
Blessed be the enlargement of Gad!
Gad lives like a lion;
he tears at arm and scalp.
He chose the best for himself,
for there a commanders allotment was
reserved;
he came at the head of the people,
he executed the justice of the Lord,
and his ordinances for Israel.
And of Dan he said:
Dan is a lions whelp
that leaps forth from Bashan.
a
b
c
d
e
Heb above him

Heb he
Cn: Heb in the bush
Q Ms Gk Syr Vg: MT His rstborn
Cn: Heb the peoples, together
Urim, the priestly divination devices (Ex 28.30; Ezra 2.63). Massah and Meribah, see Ex 17.17; Num 20.213. 9:
On Levis zealous loyalty to the covenant, at the expense of father and mother . . . kin, and . . . his children, thus
complying with 13.7, see Ex 32.2529. 1317: See Gen 49.2526. 1617: By ascribing primacy of rule and the
status of rstborn to Joseph, this blessing conicts with the law arming the norm of primogeniture (21.1517).
16: Who dwells on Sinai refers to Ex 3.16 (see text note c); 19.120.21. Prince, Joseph (the Northern Kingdom,
destroyed in 722 bce) enjoyed greater prestige than Judah (v. 7). 17: Ephraim and Manasseh, the two tribes making up the house of Joseph (Gen 48.1314). 1819: Zebulun and Issachar will enjoy great inuence owing to the
resources of the Mediterranean and Lake Chinnereth, later known as the Sea of Galilee (Gen 49.13). 2021: Gad
occupied the best tableland in Transjordan but aided the other tribes in the occupation of Canaan (Num 32). 22:
Dan, vigorous as a lions whelp, must here already have migrated from its original tribal allotment on the coastal
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deuteronomy 34
And of Naphtali he said:
ONaphtali, sated with favor,
full of the blessing of the Lord,
possess the west and the south.
And of Asher he said:
Most blessed of sons be Asher;
may he be the favorite of his brothers,
and may he dip his foot in oil.
Your bars are iron and bronze;
and as your days, so is your strength.
There is none like God, OJeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your
help,
majestic through the skies.
He subdues the ancient gods,a
shattersb the forces of old;c
he drove out the enemy before you,
and said, Destroy!
So Israel lives in safety,
untroubled is Jacobs aboded
in a land of grain and wine,
where the heavens drop down dew.
Happy are you, OIsrael! Who is like
you,
a people saved by the Lord,
the shield of your help,

and the sword of your triumph!
Your enemies shall come fawning to you,
and you shall tread on their backs.
Then Moses went up from the plains
of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top
of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the
Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as
far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim
and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as
the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain
that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm
treesas far as Zoar. The Lord said to him,
This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, I will
give it to your descendants; I have let you
see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross
over there. Then Moses, the servant of the
Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the
Lords command. He was buried in a valley
in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but
no one knows his burial place to this day.
34
a
b
c
d
Or The eternal God is a dwelling place

Cn: Heb from underneath
Or the everlasting arms
Or fountain
plain to the far north at the base of Mount Hermon (Judg 18). Bashan, see 32.14n. 23: Naphtali, located in the
region of the Sea of Galilee west and south of Dan. 2425: Asher, located below Phoenicia, is to be strong and
prosperous. 2629: The resumption of the hymn to the divine warrior (vv. 25), and a return to the focus upon
Jeshurun (v. 26), meaning all Israel (v. 28). 26: Much like the Canaanite storm god Baal, Israels divine warrior rides
upon the clouds (Ps 18.10; 68.33; Isa 19.1). 27: NRSV justiably reinterprets the Hebrew (see text notes a, b) in
order to continue the mythic imagery of v. 26. 28: As in Ugaritic epic, the theophany of the divine warrior and
his proclamation as king results in the fertility of the land. 29: Tread on their backs, a standard symbol of military
triumph (Josh 10.24; Ps 110.1; also aested in Neo-Assyrian reliefs).
34.112: The death of Moses. This chapter, the original continuation of ch 31 and 32.4852, highlights the
absence of access to Moses; since his burial site is unknown, it cannot become a venerated shrine. The Torah
alone is his enduring bequest. At another level, however, it also continues Num 27, where God had commanded
Moses to go up this mountain to survey the promised land before his death, and to lay your hand upon
Joshua, to transfer the mantle of authority to him (vv. 12,18), bracketing Deuteronomy and suggesting that
editors interrupted the narrative in order to include Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch. 1: Went up, responding
to the command of 32.49; Num 27.12. The verse joins two dierent traditions about the site of Moses death:
Mount Nebo, which is in Transjordan, east of Jericho; and Mount Pisgah, which is slightly to its west, and unmentioned in 32.49. Seeking to preserve both traditions, the editor presents them as if they were the same.
23: The loy vantage point allows Moses to look northward to the Sea of Galilee (area of the tribal allotment
of Dan and Naphtali), to the Western Sea (the Mediterranean), south to the Negeb desert and along the Jordan
ri valley as far south as Zoar (once located at the southern end of the Dead Sea as one of the cities of the
Plain; Gen 14.2,8; 19.29). 5: At the Lords command, see 32.50n. The unusual formulation greatly honors Moses,
who, despite advanced age, does not die of old age nor succumb to physical or intellectual inrmity. 6: He was
buried, the Heb states, He buried him, a clear indication that God himself buried Moses, as he himself sealed
Noah into the ark (Gen 7.16). Instead of Moses progeny assuming the responsibility of caring for the dead, God
310 | hebrew bible
deuteronomy 34
D A N
Sea of
Chinnereth
H T A
L
A P
I
Dan
The
N
A
D
A
SE
H
River Jordan
Sea
Western
(Mediterranean
Sea)
G I
L
E P
H R A I M
Jericho
Mt. Pisgah
The
Plain
Sea of the
Arabah Mt. Nebo

(The Salt Sea)
MOAB
The Negeb
Zoar
10
20 Miles
1 0 20Kilometers
What Moses saw from Mt. Nebo.
Moses was one hundred twenty years old

when he died; his sight was unimpaired and
his vigor had not abated. The Israelites wept
for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days;
then the period of mourning for Moses was
ended.
Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit

of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands
on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing
as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Never since has there arisen a prophet
in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew
undertook it personally. Beth-peor, 3.29; 4.46; Josh 13.20. No one knows his burial place, thus precluding pilgrimages to the site as a shrine. 7: One hundred twenty, see 31.2n. 8: Thirty days, so also for Aaron (Num 20.29),
the full mourning period stipulated for a parent (21.13). 9: Full of the spirit of wisdom, as at 1.13 and 16.1820,
Deuteronomy revises earlier traditions to stress wisdom as the essential qualication of oce, and thus what
Joshua receives from Moses. In Num 27.18, Joshua already possessed an undened spirit (oen associated
with prophecy or possession), while Moses was to transfer his authority to him. Laid his hands on him, as at
Num 27.2223, a means of transfer of aributes (Lev 16.21; Num 8.1013), here used for investiture into oce.
1012: Moses as the greatest exemplar of prophecy both in direct access to divine revelation and in power to
work miracles. The double elevation, which diers from his more human representation elsewhere in the book,
suggests an editors later, idealizing retrospective, with Deuteronomy now worked into the Pentateuch as a
whole. 10: Never since, more correctly, But there never again arose in Israel a prophet like Moses. NRSV obscures the discrepancy between the perspective of this verse and the divine promise to Moses that the line of
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deuteronomy 34
face to face. He was unequaled for all the
signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to
perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh
and all his servants and his entire land, and
for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying

displays of power that Moses performed in
the sight of all Israel.
prophetic succession will continue in the future: I will raise up for them a prophet like you (18.18). Face to face,
rather than through dreams or visions (13.1); similarly, Ex 33.11; Num 12.810. Other traditions reject the concept
that Moses had such direct access to God (Ex 33.2023).
INTRODUCTION
TO THE HISTORICAL BOOKS
the historical books and historiography
The Christian bishop Athanasius, in the fourth century ce, rst used the term histories for this section of the
Bible, which now comprises the books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and
Esther. It is a misleading title, since these books cover a wide range of genres and oen are not historical in
modern senses of the word. Furthermore, there are several books that are similar to some of these historical
books, yet they are found in dierent sections of the Bible.
Large sections of the preceding books of Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers, and much of the opening section
of Deuteronomy, contain narratives about the past. Similarly, there are several psalms that survey the past (e.g.,
Pss 78, 105, 106, 107). Yet, this material is not incorporated into the Historical Books. Thus, this section does
not represent the collection of all works of the same genre, and its development as a canonical division is best
understood in relation to the broader development of the biblical canon. Moreover, in the traditional Jewish
arrangement of the books of the Bible, the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings are called the Former
Prophets, thus beginning the second major division of the Hebrew Bible, the Prophets, which follows the Torah, the rst ve books of the Bible. The books of Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, however, are
found in the third major division, the Writings. Given this somewhat articial nature of the canonical section
the Historical Books, the rest of this introduction examines the nature of biblical historical texts, broadly construed, with a focus on the books Joshua through Esther, which now comprise the section of the Bible called
Historical Books.
The idea that historical writing should capture the events as they really were, that historians should attempt to write an objective account of the events of the past, is a notion that developed in European universities in modern times. Before that, history was typically didactic in nature, teaching the readers how to be good
citizens or how to lead proper religious lives. Sometimes histories were produced in the royal court, in which
case they were apologetic, showing how the king fullled his royal duties; elsewhere they were wrien by
religious ocials who aimed to show that their particular religious practices were correct. Surviving historical documents from the ancient Near East show similar religious and ideological goals. Thus, it should not be
surprising that the biblical writers are not necessarily interested in the accurate recording of real events; rather,
they use narratives about the past to illustrate various issues of signicance to their audience, the ancient
Israelite community.
It is easiest to understand the biblical notion of history by rst focusing on works that are outside this
canonical division. Exodus 13.3 begins: Moses said to the people, Remember this day on which you came
out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. This would seem to suggest the importance of history for its own
sake. However, this unit continues with a set of commandments that directly result from this event: no
leavened bread shall be eaten (v. 3); Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day
there shall be a festival to the Lord (v. 6); no leavened bread shall be seen in your possession, and no leaven
shall be seen among you in all your territory (v. 7); You shall tell your child on that day (v. 8); It shall serve
for you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead (v. 9); you shall set apart to the Lord all
that rst opens the womb. All the rstborn of your livestock that are males shall be the Lords (v. 12). These
laws suggest the Exodus is to be remembered not as a disembodied historical event, as the beginning of v.
3 might suggest; rather, the Exodus is key because it serves as the basis for the observance of a central set
of laws or norms.
The use of historical material in Psalms is even more instructive, since in them traditions about the past are
typically found in a context that explicitly highlights their theological signicance or purpose. For example, in
Psalm 78 a particular set of traditions is chosen and shaped so
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
hebrew bible | 313

and rise up and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
and that they should not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God (vv. 68).
Psalm 106 uses history quite dierently. It tells how God saved Israel time aer time, despite their covenant violations, forming an argument to God that they should be rescued again:
Save us, O Lord our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise (v. 47).
Unfortunately, the Historical Books are usually not as explicit about their purposes as these psalms or Exodus
13; for this reason, the Historical Books need to be subjected to internal analysis, in order to see what motivations and interests shaped them.
organization into books and larger units

In pursuing this task, we must be mindful that the division of some biblical writings into separate books is just
as arbitrary as the designation of a particular set of books as a single canonical unit, such as Historical Books.
The division of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles into two separate books is not original and was rst done in the
Greek Bible (the Septuagint [LXX]) so that each book would be of more reasonable size. In the formation of
the canon, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were originally considered a single work, and it is possible that
the books of Joshua and Judges, which blend together well (see especially Josh 24.2931 and Judg 2.810),
were also perceived as a single work at an earlier period. Even the divisions between these larger works are
not always certain; the rst two chapters of Kings, for example, which narrate events at the end of Davids life,
t the book of Samuel beer than their current place.
In fact, it has been proposed that since the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, along with the
preceding book of Deuteronomy, t so well together, these ve books were edited together as a single work.
This work is typically called the Deuteronomistic History, meaning the history wrien under the inuence of
ideas found in the book of Deuteronomy. This theory has much to commend it: These ve books do read as
a unied whole from a chronological perspective, narrating a continuous history from the end of the life of
Moses through the Babylonian exile in the early sixth century bce, and they share many phrases and ideological
notions, such as an insistence on exclusive worship of God and the tragic consequences of idolatry, a concern
with the centrality of Jerusalem, and a belief in the eternal supremacy of the dynasty founded by King David.
If this theory is correct, the size of the Deuteronomistic History, and the long period that it covers, is quite
remarkable, especially for an ancient historical work.
Many details of this theory remain debated; some scholars suggest that these books are not unied enough
to be the work of a single individual, intellectual school, or movement. For example, the book of Samuel shows
remarkably few contacts with the language of Deuteronomy, and the book of Kings contains narratives in
which the great prophets Elijah and Elisha are legitimately active outside the Jerusalem Temple (see especially
1 Kings 18, concerning Elijah on Mount Carmel). Thus, various theories have been suggested concerning successive editions of the Deuteronomistic History, which many believe was begun in the seventh century under
the Judean King Josiah (640609 bce), but completed only in the Babylonian exile (586538 bce) or later. Some
suggest that the lack of unity is due to non-Deuteronomistic material that has been added at a late stage to an
earlier Deuteronomistic History. There have also been aempts to isolate narratives that might have preceded
the Deuteronomistic History and other sources used by the Deuteronomistic Historians, and to discern their
original purposes before these narratives and sources became integrated into the larger literary work. In the
314 | hebrew bible

last decade, some scholars have felt that the many dierences outweigh the similarities, and the hypothesis
of a Deuteronomistic history should be discarded. All agree that this collection has a long and complicated
history, so it is impossible to speak of a unied purpose or interest in the compilation of the books of Joshua,
Judges, Samuel, and Kings. They reect at the minimum dierent interests at the stages of their development,
pre-Deuteronomic, Deuteronomistic, and postexilic. The interests of each individual book of the Deuteronomistic History are discussed in the Introductions to those particular books.
Scholars have also found many similarities between Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah and have posited that
these works belong to a single large history composed by the Chronicler, which parallels the Deuteronomistic
History. A closer look at Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah, however, shows that they dier from each other in
outlook and vocabulary, and that the general similarities between them are best aributed not to common
authorship, but to the common time in which they were wrien, most likely the fourth century bce.
Chronicles is a retelling with signicant variations of the books of Genesis through Kings. It is likely that
its author had some access to many external sources not found in our canonical Bibles, but the main feature
of Chronicles is the remarkable way in which its author deals with sources, rewriting them to t a particular
notion of historical probability, namely, what really could have happened based on notions of how the
world worked. For example, in the book of Kings, which does not have a clear retribution theory (a theory
concerning punishment and reward), the Judean King Manasseh (698/687642 bce) is depicted as the most
evil king of Judah, who is ultimately responsible for the destruction of the Temple in 586 (2 Kings 21). The
same source, however, indicates that Manasseh reigned for y-ve years, longer than any other king.
For many biblical writers, a long life was a sign of divine favor. The contradiction between the behavior of
Manasseh and his long reign did not bother the Deuteronomistic Historians, who did not believe that each
individual king needed to be punished or rewarded for his behavior. The Chronicler, however, did believe
in this type of retribution theology, and the Deuteronomistic Historians depiction of Manasseh in Kings
was clearly troublesome. For this reason, the Chronicler rewrote the life of Manasseh, adding 2 Chronicles
33.1013:
The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they gave no heed. Therefore the Lord brought
against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh captive in manacles, bound him with feers, and brought him to Babylon. While he was in distress he entreated the
favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. He prayed to him,
and God received his entreaty, heard his plea, and restored him again to Jerusalem and to his kingdom.
Then Manasseh knew that the Lord indeed was God.
Thus, Manasseh ts the paradigms that the author of Chronicles believed to be true: All people need to be
warned before they are punished; repentance is extremely eective; and individuals may succeed only if their
behavior is meritorious. These beliefs forced a revision of the sources account so that Manassehs life could
be properly illustrative. Other examples of this type of revisionism are found throughout Chronicles and are
discussed in the Introductions to 1 and 2 Chronicles; since, in the case of Samuel and Kings, we no longer have
the sources on which they are based, we can only wonder if this type of radical reworking characterizes all the
Historical Books.
smaller works
The books of Ruth and Esther are both short stories, historical ctions, which are quite dierent in nature from
the works discussed above, but very similar to the books of Tobit and Judith in the Apocrypha. They are more
literary than the larger works of the Deuteronomistic Historians and the Chronicler; that is, their authors selfconsciously manipulated their prose for esthetic as well as ideological purposes. For example, part of the structuring of Ruth involves symmetry: an eshet h. ayil (a worthy woman [3.11]), meets and marries a gibbor h. ayil (a
worthy man; NRSV a prominent rich man [2.1]), and they live happily ever aer. The book also opens with an
ironic statement that is only apparent in Hebrew: There is a famine in the house of bread (Bethlehem). Esther
as well is tightly structured, for example, using dinner parties as a major plot device for the books progress.
Despite the literary artistry of these books, however, they are also history in the sense outlined earlierthey
narrate a past in order to convey lessons relevant to the community. The particular characteristics of these two
hebrew bible | 315

very dierent books, each set in a distinct country and time, and each reecting remarkably dierent ideologies, may be found in the Introduction to each.
The book of Ezra diers from these other Historical Books in its use of extensive quotations of ocial Persian documents (e.g., 7.1226), which many scholars believe to be authentic. The book of Nehemiah lacks these
documents but is exceptional in its own way: It is the only book in this collection to narrate history extensively
from a rst-person perspective, as a type of memoir, as in 13.15: In those days I saw in Judah people treading
wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys; and also wine,
grapes, gs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I warned them
at that time against selling food. In general, Ezra-Nehemiah is closer to the events that it narrates than any
other biblical book, and thus it may reect those events with greater accuracy than other biblical works, which
are typically removed by centuries from the events being described. Nevertheless, we must also recognize the
strong biases of this book, which is interested in fostering the importance of the Torah as the central document
for the postexilic community (see especially Neh 89), and in emphasizing the grave dangers of intermarriage
(Ezra 910; Neh 13). Thus, even Ezra-Nehemiah, which contains archival material and rst-person accounts, and
is among the latest of the books in this canonical division, should not be seen as straightforward, representative, and accurate history.
the historical books and historicity

The problematic nature of all of these texts as historical documents does not mean that we have no idea of
the historical periods that they cover, or that they are entirely useless as historical sources. Each text needs
to be weighed individually in terms of its date of composition and its likely goals. Using these criteria, there
are reasons to accept the veracity of, for example, the dry notice in 1 Kings 14.2526 (In the h year of King
Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; he took away the treasures of the house of the
Lord and the treasures of the kings house; he took everything. He also took away all the shields of gold that
Solomon had made), which might even come from an archival source. In contrast, there are good reasons to
be suspicious of the historicity of the long, detailed, and embellished story of David slaying Goliath in 1 Sam 17;
this story uses late biblical Hebrew language, comes from a dierent source than the surrounding material in
Samuel, and is structured like a fairy-tale, in that the poor, short, unexpected hero gets to marry the tall kings
daughter by killing the giant who had vilied God. Additionally, 2 Sam 21.19 reads: Then there was another
bale with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath the Giite,
the sha of whose spear was like a weavers beam. It is much more likely that a short tradition in which Goliath
is killed by a relatively unknown gure (Elhanan) would be the source for the long, elaborate tale aributing the
same event to the well-known David, rather than vice versa. Thus, the modern historian must subject each text
in these Historical Books to the type of internal analysis used on nonbiblical historical texts.
There are a number of cases where we do have external, ancient Near Eastern wrien evidence that deals
with events depicted in these Historical Books. For example, the events surrounding the siege of Jerusalem
by the Assyrian King Sennacherib in 701 bce are narrated in several Assyrian sources and are also depicted in
the palace reliefs of that king. These sources suggest that part of the terse account in 2 Kings 18.1316 is quite
accurate, while the highly developed continuation of the story in chs 19 and 20, especially the note in 19.35,
that the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in a single night, is most likely imaginative. Similarly,
from various Mesopotamian sources, we know of a house of Omri, and Omris name is also mentioned on the
Moabite Mesha Stele. This conrms the existence of the king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel mentioned in
1 Kings 16.2328. However, Kings tells lile of Omris achievements during his twelve years as monarch, other
than his building of Samaria and the notice that: Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did more
evil than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and in the sins that
he caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols (vv. 2526). The external sources, however, suggest that Omri was a powerful king who established a signicant name for himself
through his military activities, information that the Bible lacks. This highlights the extreme selectivity of the
biblical sources.
Archaeological evidence conrms the picture suggested above: There may be some truth (or kernel of truth)
to some of the biblical stories, but in their current form, they lack historical veracity, because that is not their
prime concern. Recent decades, for example, have seen a remarkable re-evaluation of the evidence concerning
316 | hebrew bible

the conquest of the land of Canaan by Joshua. As more sites have been excavated, there is a growing consensus
that the main story of Joshua, that of a speedy and complete conquest (e.g., Josh 11.23: So Joshua took the
whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses), cannot be upheld by the archaeological
record, though there are indications of some destruction and conquest at the appropriate time. Various events
and traditions have been reworked very substantially over time and ultimately included in the Bible in order to
convey a particular picture of God.
In sum, the title Historical Books must not frame the way we read the following texts; if we read them as
we read modern historical accounts, we will misunderstand these texts in the most fundamental way. Many of
these texts do contain raw material for a modern historian researching the history of ancient Israel from the
late second millennium through the fourth century bce, but this material can only be teased out using sophisticated and complex toolsand even then, our reconstructions are oen extremely tentative. This is because
the various biblical historians wrote their accounts, sometimes using sources, to illustrate particular perspectives concerning the relationship between God and Israel. It is these religious and religio-political perspectives
that we must try to appreciate as we study these books.
Marc Breler
JOSHUA
The book is named aer Joshua, depicted as the apprentice and successor to Moses, who was the military commander in the conquest of Canaan and the administrator of the allotment of that land to the Israelite tribes.
According to Num 13.16, Moses renamed Hoshea (Heb hoshea, salvation) Joshua (Heb yehoshua, the Lord is
salvation/help), using a variant form of the divine name Yahweh.
The book of Joshua is the sixth book in both the Jewish and Christian canons, the rst book of the Former
Prophets or the rst book of the so-called Historical Books, respectively (see Introduction to Historical Books,
pp. 313317).
authorship and date of composition

The authorship of the book of Joshua is unknown. Some types of sources for the books composition are
identiable (for example, the border descriptions and city lists in chs 14-19), though their origin and date are
oen disputed. The historiographic materials used in the book of Joshua correspond to those found in the
ancient Near East as a whole. Thus there are traditional stories, etiologies, boundary and town lists, summary
accounts and lists, and accounts paerned aer redundant annalistic documents. These have been woven together with ritual and covenantal materials and other maers of priestly interest to communicate the books
messages.
Connections between the book of Joshua and the preceding books led earlier scholars to posit a Hexateuch (six books), with the book of Joshua completing the rst ve books of the Bible, the Pentateuch
the Hexateuch having as its main theme the promise of the land and its eventual conquest. More recently
scholars have viewed Deuteronomy as the introduction to a larger historical work, the Deuteronomistic
History, from the books of Deuteronomy through 2 Kings. Some scholars now treat Joshua as a middle
book in a still larger composition from Genesis through 2 Kings. The nal date of composition of the book
of Joshua is unknown; it may be dependent upon the dating of the various editions of the Deuteronomistic
History, of which it is now a part. One major edition of the larger work is generally dated to the late seventh
century bce.

The book of Joshua describes a conquest of Canaan and its allotment to the Israelite tribes. Through wellknown traditional stories (e.g., Rahab and the spies, the crossing of the Jordan River, the capture of Jericho)
as well as nonnarrative lists and ritual texts, the book portrays the fulllment of Gods covenantal promise to
Israels ancestors that their descendants would possess the land. Moreover, these stories challenge the books
readers to live in obedience to the Deuteronomic covenant so that they also will receive Gods blessings in the
land.
The book may be outlined as follows:
I. The Conquest
A. Preparation for the conquest
Commission of Joshua
Story of the spies and Rahab
The crossing of the Jordan
Final preparatory events at Gilgal
B. Conquest of the land
Central campaign
Jericho
Achan and Ai
Covenant renewal as land grant: Shechem
318 | hebrew bible
(1.112.24)
(1.15.12)
(1.118)
(2.124)
(3.15.1)
(5.212)
(5.1312.24)
(5.138.35)
(5.136.27)
(7.18.29)
(8.3035)
joshua
The southern and northern campaigns
Introductory statement
Southern campaign
Northern campaign
Summary of total conquest
A selective list of defeated cities kings
II. The allotment of the land
B.' Division of the land
Land remaining
Transjordanian tribal allotment
Cisjordanian tribal allotment
Introduction to the process of allotment
Judah and Joseph allotments
Seven other tribal allotments
Summary of the process of allotment
Allotments to persons of marginal status
Cities of refuge
Levitical cities
Ironic conclusion
A.' Epilogue to the conquest and allotment
Misunderstanding with the Transjordanian tribes
Concluding charges
Appendixes
(9.111.15)
(9.12)
(9.310.43)
(11.115)
(11.1623)
(12.124)
(13.124.33)
(13.121.45)
(13.17)
(13.833)
(14.119.51)
(14.15)
(14.617.18)
(18.119.51)
(19.51)
(20.121.42)
(20.19)
(21.142)
(21.4345)
(22.124.33)
(22.134)
(23.124.28)
(24.2933)
interpretation
The book should not be read as straightforward historyit telescopes and simplies what was a long and complex process of occupation of the land by the Israelite tribes. Some details are lacking (e.g., how the Israelites
came into possession of Shechem, 8.30-35), while the other events narrated in the book are selectively arranged
to heighten the books message. Thus the books presentation of reality does not necessarily reect the course
of events. For example, a main theme of the book is a swi and complete conquest of the land, while most archaeological evidence suggests its gradual selement. Consequently, archaeological excavations, together with
sociological and anthropological analyses, must be used to understand the early history of Israel in the land.
Several literary devices and themes characterize the book. First, the structure of the book (see outline) has
two main divisions: the conquest (1.112.24) and the allotment of the land (13.124.33). Within each main division, there are two subdivisions: A: preparations for the conquest (1.15.12) and B: the conquests campaigns
(5.1312.24); B: the allotment of the conquered land (13.121.45) and A; epilogue to the conquest and allotment
(22.124.33). The body of the book (5.1321.45) is bracketed by specially chosen introductory and concluding
materials (1.15.12; 22.124.33). Each subdivision contains a number of units that contribute to the development
of the plot and message of the book.
Second, the book follows a logical geographic arrangement. An east-to-west crossing into Canaan (chs 2-5)
is followed by military campaigns directed at the center (chs 6-8), south (chs 9-10), and north (ch 11), concluded
by a summary list (ch 12). The division of the land rst covers the Transjordanian tribes (ch 13), then the south and
central tribes (chs 14-17), then the northern and peripheral tribes (chs 18-19), and nally entities of marginal status (chs 20-21). At times, however, the story backtracks or repeats previously narrated details in a type of ashback. This is especially noticeable in chs 3-4 (the crossing of the Jordan) and ch 10 (the conquest of the south).
Third, typology, representing one character or event as an echo or foreshadowing of another, is utilized
to portray Joshua as parallel to Moses. A few examples will illustrate: Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt,
Joshua leads the Israelites into Canaan; Moses leads Israel in a miraculous crossing of the Reed Sea, Joshua
leads Israel in a miraculous crossing of the Jordan River; Moses sends out spies, Joshua sends out spies; Moses
allots land to the tribes east of the Jordan, Joshua allots land to the tribes west of the Jordan. This typology,
which depicts Joshua as a new Moses, assures the legitimacy of Joshua.
hebrew bible | 319
joshua
Fourth, the law or teaching (Heb torah) of Moses plays a normative role in strategic parts of the book, and
Israels obedience or disobedience to the law determines success or failure. This law, especially prominent in
chs 1 and 23, is further specied as the law of Moses and refers to some form of the law or teaching of Moses
extant at the time that the book of Joshua was wrien, especially as found in Deuteronomy.
Fih, ritual concerns dictate some of the narration. For example, the crossing of the Jordan River (chs 3-4),
circumcision and Passover (ch 5), the conquest of Jericho (ch 6), and the implementations of the herem
(chs
.
6-8) all reect ritual concerns that undergird the books land claims.
A subset of these ritual concerns is the concept of the herem,
which plays a signicant role in the book
.
(see 5.136.27; 7.626; 8.129; 10.2839). This noun is usually translated devoted thing (7.1) and the related
verb uerly destroy (10.28). The term is used primarily in contexts of warfare and destruction where the
herem
stories are connected with the notion of obedience or disobedience to the Lord (cf. Deut 7; 20). Its
.
purpose was to drive out or dispossess the Canaanites in order to carry out divine judgment on them, to
protect the Israelites from Canaanite religious inuence, and to fulll the promises concerning the land. This
kind of warfare is part of the political ideology that Israel shared with other nations in the ancient Near East,
in which wars were dedicated to the glorication of the deity and the extension of the deitys land and reign.
While it was considered a ritual category (similar to a concept of interdict or taboo), its use appears to have
been linked to the administration of the distribution of war booty. Understanding the herem
has posed a
.
signicant problem throughout the history of interpretation.
Finally, the book utilizes a number of dierent land ideologies. Some of these may be anchored in historical
geography, others are purely idealistic, and some are a mixture of the two. In the books nal form, these produce an abstract, idealized concept of the land, create tensions, and set the stage for irony. The dominant land
ideology is the territory of the twelve tribes (both west and east of the Jordan) who completely ll up the land
(chs 15-19; cf. Deut 4.45-49). In this view, the two-and-a-half Transjordanian tribes (those seled east of the Jordan) are an integral and vital part of all Israel. A second, contrasting ideology restricts the true land of inheritance to the territory west of the Jordan (Cisjordan, the land of Canaan) (cf. Deut 12.10). It is this image of the
land that lies behind the belief that crossing the Jordan was a step of outstanding signicance (chs 3-4). This
view also creates ironic tensions in 22.10-34, where the two-and-a-half tribes set up an altar in Transjordan. A
third ideology presents the land as claimed but not fully conquered, noting the land that remains (13.2-6);
and a fourth ideology is an expansionistic, utopian Israel, which claims the distant Euphrates as the northern
boundary of Israels inheritance (1.4; cf. Gen 15.18; Deut 1.7; 11.24). These last two notions instill the book with
the avor of unredeemed promise. The text develops two understandings of Israels unfullled expectations.
On the one hand, the incomplete conquest is judged to be the result of Israels disobedience or military inability
(15.63; 16.10; 17.12-13; 19.47); this serves as the basis for future threats to Israels well-being (7.12; 23.12-13). On
the other hand, the last two land ideologies function as hopeful indications of greater land blessings to Israel
in the future (13.6b; 17.18; 23.5).
Thus the book of Joshua plays an important role not only in the story of the early history of Israel in the land,
but also in the development of the theology of the Hebrew Bible. In many ways, it serves as the prologue for the
remainder of the Deuteronomistic Historians account of Israels struggles in the land.
guide to reading
Considering the various literary devices described above, it is clear that reading the book of Joshua demands
close aention to its literary complexity. Recognizing the dierent genres that the book employs is essential to
a proper reading. Perhaps the most dicult section of the book for the modern reader is the allotment section
(chs 1419), where border descriptions and city lists overwhelm the reader with geographic detail. At this point,
paying close aention to the narrative framework (e.g. 13.17; 14.115; 15.1319; 16.14; 17.16; 17.1418; 18.110;
19.4951) is helpful in discerning its message and function in the book. Thus it is evident that the allocation of
the land proceeds even before its total occupation and that a tension develops within the text between the land
conquered and the land promised but not possessed (thus juxtaposing the dierent land ideologies mentioned
earlier). Theologically, the section stresses the Lords faithfulness in contrast to Israels wavering obedience.
This tension and contrast reaches a climax in the nal concluding charges of Joshua (chs 2324).
K. Lawson Younger, Jr.
320 | hebrew bible
joshua 1
After the death of Moses the servant of

the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of
Nun, Moses assistant, saying, My servant
Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the
Jordan, you and all this people, into the land
that I am giving to them, to the Israelites.
Every place that the sole of your foot will
tread upon I have given to you, as I promised
to Moses. From the wilderness and the
Lebanon as far as the great river, the river
Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the
Great Sea in the west shall be your territory.
No one shall be able to stand against you all
the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I
will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake
you. Be strong and courageous; for you shall
put this people in possession of the land that
I swore to their ancestors to give them. Only
be strong and very courageous, being careful
to act in accordance with all the law that my
servant Moses commanded you; do not turn
from it to the right hand or to the left, so
that you may be successful wherever you go.
This book of the law shall not depart out
of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day
and night, so that you may be careful to act
in accordance with all that is written in it. For
then you shall make your way prosperous,
and then you shall be successful. I hereby
command you: Be strong and courageous; do
not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord
your God is with you wherever you go.
Then Joshua commanded the ocers of

the people, Pass through the camp, and command the people: Prepare your provisions; for
in three days you are to cross over the Jordan,
to go in to take possession of the land that the
Lord your God gives you to possess.
To the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the
half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, Remember the word that Moses the servant of
the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord
your God is providing you a place of rest, and
will give you this land. Your wives, your
little ones, and your livestock shall remain
in the land that Moses gave you beyond the
Jordan. But all the warriors among you shall
cross over armed before your kindred and
shall help them, until the Lord gives rest
to your kindred as well as to you, and they
too take possession of the land that the Lord
your God is giving them. Then you shall
return to your own land and take possession
of it, the land that Moses the servant of the
Lord gave you beyond the Jordan to the east.
They answered Joshua: All that you have
commanded us we will do, and wherever you
send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses
in all things, so we will obey you. Only may
the Lord your God be with you, as he was
with Moses! Whoever rebels against your
orders and disobeys your words, whatever
you command, shall be put to death. Only be
strong and courageous.
1.112.24: The Conquest. 1.15.12: Preparation for the conquest. 1.118: The commission of Joshua. 1: Moses death (Deut 34) provides the seing for the commission. God did not allow Moses to enter the land (Deut
13.37n.; 32.4852). 218: The commission contains four speeches (vv. 29, 1011, 1215, 1618). 29: The Lords
speech outlines the means of success for Joshua and the Israelites: obedience to the book of the law (Heb
torah). The Lords speech also anticipates the main themes of the book: the crossing of the Jordan (1.15.12),
the conquest (5.1312.24), the division of the land (13.122.34), and obedience to the law of Moses (23.124.33).
25: The idealized boundaries of the land, given with the assurance of Gods presence, were the Jordan River to
the east, the wilderness or semidesert to the south and east, the Lebanon mountain range to the northwest, the
river Euphrates in the far north, and the Great Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, to the west (cf. Deut 11.2425; Num
34.112). 4: All the land of the Hiites is likely a later gloss, probably referring to northern Syria. The Hiite empire
was no longer in existence at this time. 5: An explicit recognition that Joshua is the new Moses; cf. Ex 3.12. 69:
As currently formulated, the text emphasizes that military success comes from the laws internalization, spoken
of in 1.8 in terms of meditation with consequent obedience (cf. Deut 31.78; Ps 1.23). 11: In three days reects
ritual concerns (cf. Ex 3.18; 19.11). 1215: Joshuas speech to the Transjordanian tribes is suused with vocabulary
that typies Deuteronomy. Since the other tribes had helped Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh
conquer their land, they were to help the other Israelites acquire their land west of the Jordan. The half-tribe of
Manasseh, according to territorial lists (see 13.2931; 17) part of Manasseh occupied land east of the Jordan and
part west. 13: See Deut 3.1220. 1618: The reply of the Transjordanian tribes rounds out the chapter by echoing
the Lords assurances of 1.19 (cf. Deut 910).
hebrew bible | 321
36
Lake
Huleh
Hazor
?Merom
R. Jordan
Misrephoth-maim?
33
Sea of
Chinnereth
(Sea of
Galilee)
?Madon
Achshaph?
Shimron?
ath
-
dor
Mediterranean
Sea
River Jordan
Dor
The Araba h
Na
ph
Mt.
Ebal
Shechem
Mt.
Gerizim
32
Bethel
Ai
Gilgal
Jericho
Upper
Beth-horon
Gilgal
?Makkedah
Azekah
Salt
Salt
Sea
Sea
(Dead
(Dead
Sea)
Sea)
Gibeon
Gezer
Aijalon
Shiim
?Beeroth
Jerusalem
Jarmuth
Libnah
31
Lachish
?Eglon
Salt
Sea
Hebron
(Dead
Sea)
Debir
The conquest of Canaan according to the book of Joshua.
322 | hebrew bible
0
0
5
5
10 Miles
10 Kilometers
joshua 2
Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, Go,
view the land, especially Jericho. So they
went, and entered the house of a prostitute
whose name was Rahab, and spent the night
there. The king of Jericho was told, Some
Israelites have come here tonight to search
out the land. Then the king of Jericho sent
orders to Rahab, Bring out the men who
have come to you, who entered your house,
for they have come only to search out the
whole land. But the woman took the two
men and hid them. Then she said, True, the
men came to me, but I did not know where
they came from. And when it was time to
close the gate at dark, the men went out.
Where the men went I do not know. Pursue
them quickly, for you can overtake them.
She had, however, brought them up to the
roof and hidden them with the stalks of ax
that she had laid out on the roof. So the men
pursued them on the way to the Jordan as
far as the fords. As soon as the pursuers had
gone out, the gate was shut.
Before they went to sleep, she came up
to them on the roof and said to the men: I
know that the Lord has given you the land,
and that dread of you has fallen on us, and
that all the inhabitants of the land melt in
fear before you. For we have heard how
the Lord dried up the water of the Red Seaa
before you when you came out of Egypt,
and what you did to the two kings of the
Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to

Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted,
and there was no courage left in any of us
because of you. The Lord your God is indeed
God in heaven above and on earth below.
Now then, since I have dealt kindly with
you, swear to me by the Lord that you in
turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me
a sign of good faith that you will spare my
father and mother, my brothers and sisters,
and all who belong to them, and deliver our
lives from death. The men said to her,
Our life for yours! If you do not tell this
business of ours, then we will deal kindly
and faithfully with you when the Lord gives
us the land.
Then she let them down by a rope
through the window, for her house was on
the outer side of the city wall and she resided
within the wall itself. She said to them, Go
toward the hill country, so that the pursuers
may not come upon you. Hide yourselves
there three days, until the pursuers have returned; then afterward you may go your way.
The men said to her, We will be released
from this oath that you have made us swear
to you if we invade the land and you do not
tie this crimson cord in the window through
which you let us down, and you do not gather
into your house your father and mother,
a Or Sea of Reeds
2.124: The story of the spies and Rahab. Interrupting the narrative (cf. 1.11 and 3.12), ch 2 functions as a type
of parenthesis introducing important items that will form the background to the stories of the crossing of the
Jordan and the conquest of Jericho. 1: Joshua commissions two unnamed spies to go and investigate the land
(cf. Num 13; Deut 1.2123; Josh 7.23). The spies go to Jericho, west of the Jordan River, but surprisingly enter the
house of a prostitute. While the text does not explicitly state that there was a sexual liaison between the spies
and their hostess, it provides an undercurrent of ambiguous sexual innuendo. Shiim was the site of the Israelite camp, but also was the infamous place where the men of Israel had sexual relations with the women of Moab
(Num 25.1). 213: Rahab is at the center of the narrative. She is the only character with a name, and without her
the spies would have had no success. She protects and delivers the spies and provides them with the information they seek. In Mt 1.5 Rahab is reckoned among the ancestors of Jesus, and in Heb 11.31 Rahab is counted as
one of the heroes of faith. Rahabs confession in vv. 911 anticipates the hearing and fearing expressed in 5.1;
6.1; 9.13; 10.12; 11.15. 6: To the roof, the just harvested (see 3.15n) ax had been laid on the at roof to dry. 10:
Dried up . . . the Red Sea, language used only here and in 4.23; cf. Ex 14.2129. Sihon and Og, see Num 21.2135;
Deut 2.263.11. Uerly destroyed, the rst use of the h.erem terminology (see Introduction, p. 320). 11: The
acknowledgment of the Lord as the God of heaven and earth is relatively unusual in the Hebrew Bible, but here
anticipates the Divine Warriors mighty actions once at the Jordan (chs 34), once at Jericho (ch 6), and twice in
the skies over Gibeon (ch 10). 12: Family, lit., fathers house. 1421: Ironically, Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute,
shows unconditional loyalty toward the spies, risking everything; but the spies show conditioned loyalty to
hebrew bible | 323
joshua 3
your brothers, and all your family. If any
of you go out of the doors of your house into
the street, they shall be responsible for their
own death, and we shall be innocent; but if
a hand is laid upon any who are with you in
the house, we shall bear the responsibility for
their death. But if you tell this business of
ours, then we shall be released from this oath
that you made us swear to you. She said,
According to your words, so be it. She sent
them away and they departed. Then she tied
the crimson cord in the window.
They departed and went into the hill
country and stayed there three days, until
the pursuers returned. The pursuers had
searched all along the way and found nothing. Then the two men came down again
from the hill country. They crossed over,
came to Joshua son of Nun, and told him all
that had happened to them. They said to
Joshua, Truly the Lord has given all the land
into our hands; moreover all the inhabitants
of the land melt in fear before us.
Early in the morning Joshua rose and
set out from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan. They
camped there before crossing over. At the
end of three days the ocers went through
the camp and commanded the people,

When you see the ark of the covenant of the
Lord your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your
place. Follow it, so that you may know the
way you should go, for you have not passed
this way before. Yet there shall be a space
between you and it, a distance of about two
thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to
it. Then Joshua said to the people, Sanctify
yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do
wonders among you. To the priests Joshua
said, Take up the ark of the covenant, and
pass on in front of the people. So they took
up the ark of the covenant and went in front
of the people.
The Lord said to Joshua, This day I will
begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so
that they may know that I will be with you
as I was with Moses. You are the one who
shall command the priests who bear the ark
of the covenant, When you come to the edge
of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand
still in the Jordan. Joshua then said to the
Israelites, Draw near and hear the words of
the Lord your God. Joshua said, By this
you shall know that among you is the living
God who without fail will drive out from be-
Rahab, minimizing their risks. 16: Toward the hill country, to the west. 2224: The report of the spies to Joshua is
based on Rahabs words. In contrast to the spies of Num 13, they did not view the land as they were told (v. 1).
Without Rahab these men would not have returned to give a report on the Canaanite disposition.
3.15.1: The crossing of the Jordan. The crossing of the Jordan is narrated in ve units (3.117; 4.110; 4.1114;
4.1518; 4.195.1) that backtrack and overlap so that a number of events are recounted more than once. The use
of anticipatory statements and resumptive repetitions provides a means of linking the units together (e.g., the
anticipatory statement in 3.12 is tied to the resumptive repetition in 4.2). In this way a redactor has aempted
to meld together dierent sources.
3.117: The initial story of the crossing. This unit notes that the Jordan is in ood (v. 15) because otherwise
it is a relatively narrow river. The Jordan functions primarily as a ritual and ideological symbol representing the
boundary between landlessness and seled peoplehood. It anticipates the importance of all boundaries in the
book, particularly those of the allotments (chs 1321) and the tribal dispute of ch 22. The fact that the procession begins and ends at early Israelite religious centers ([Abel]-Shiim and Gilgal) reinforces the ritual signicance. 2: Resumptive of 1.11. 3: The ark of the covenant was the container for the text of the law; see Deut 31.26.
It also symbolized Gods presence among the tribes; it could be carried only by priests. It could be brought
into bale, assuring the deitys presence among the nation (see 1 Sam 4.67). 4: The people were to keep their
distance because of the presence of God. Two thousand cubits, about 885 m (2,900 ). 5: Sanctify yourselves
reects the ritual background of the story. The Israelites were to purify themselves in preparation for the divine
presence (cf. Ex 19.1015). 10: A stereotypical listing of the pre-Israelite population of Canaan; it is dicult to
identify the individual groups specically. Hiites, apparently a group in the land of Canaan (see Gen 23; Judg
3.5; contrast 1.4n.). The Jebusites are associated with Jerusalem (see 15.63). If the chronological seing for these
events is approximately the thirteenth century bce, the Canaan that the Israelite tribes entered was in a state
of economic, social, and political turmoil, due in large measure to the collapsing of the Egyptian empire and
324 | hebrew bible
joshua 4
fore you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites:
the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all
the earth is going to pass before you into the
Jordan. So now select twelve men from the
tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. When
the soles of the feet of the priests who bear
the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth,
rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of
the Jordan owing from above shall be cut
o; they shall stand in a single heap.
When the people set out from their tents
to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing
the ark of the covenant were in front of the
people. Now the Jordan overows all its
banks throughout the time of harvest. So
when those who bore the ark had come to
the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing
the ark were dipped in the edge of the water,
the waters owing from above stood still,
rising up in a single heap far o at Adam, the
city that is beside Zarethan, while those owing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead
Sea,a were wholly cut o. Then the people
crossed over opposite Jericho. While all
Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the
priests who bore the ark of the covenant of
the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle
of the Jordan, until the entire nation nished
crossing over the Jordan.
When the entire nation had nished
crossing over the Jordan, the Lord said to
Joshua: Select twelve men from the people,
one from each tribe, and command them,
Take twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the
priests feet stood, carry them over with you,
and lay them down in the place where you
camp tonight. Then Joshua summoned the
twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had
appointed, one from each tribe. Joshua said

to them, Pass on before the ark of the Lord
your God into the middle of the Jordan, and
each of you take up a stone on his shoulder,
one for each of the tribes of the Israelites,
so that this may be a sign among you. When
your children ask in time to come, What do
those stones mean to you? then you shall
tell them that the waters of the Jordan were
cut o in front of the ark of the covenant of
the Lord. When it crossed over the Jordan,
the waters of the Jordan were cut o. So these
stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial
forever.
The Israelites did as Joshua commanded.
They took up twelve stones out of the middle
of the Jordan, according to the number of the
tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord told Joshua,
carried them over with them to the place
where they camped, and laid them down there.
(Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of
the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the
priests bearing the ark of the covenant had
stood; and they are there to this day.)
The priests who bore the ark remained
standing in the middle of the Jordan, until
everything was nished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according
to all that Moses had commanded Joshua.
The people crossed over in haste. As soon
as all the people had nished crossing over,
the ark of the Lord, and the priests, crossed
over in front of the people. The Reubenites,
the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh
crossed over armed before the Israelites, as
Moses had ordered them. About forty thousand armed for war crossed over before the
Lord to the plains of Jericho for battle.
a Heb Salt Sea
many Canaanite city-state structures. 12: Anticipates 4.2. 13: Stand, cf. 10.13, where the moon is commanded
to stand still. Heap, a rare word used elsewhere only of the spliing of the Red Sea (Ex 15.8; Ps 78.13). 15:
Harvest, the spring harvest (March-April). 16: Adam, 18 km (12 mi) north of Jericho, is probably Tell ed-Damiyeh.
Zarethan is farther north. 17: The continued presence of the priests with the ark in the midst of the dry riverbed
anticipates 4.10.
4.110: The erecting of the twelve-stone memorial. This unit is repetitive (e.g., cf. vv. 6 and 21), and preserves dierent traditions. 9: Another, perhaps later, tradition that locates a memorial of twelve stones in the
bed of the Jordan itself; v. 8 narrates the removal of stones from the river bed to the shore, where they are part
of the sanctuary of Gilgal (see v. 20). 10: In haste, cf. Ex 12.3334. 1114: The unit backtracks and again narrates
again the crossing, emphasizing the role of the Transjordanian tribes and the exaltation of Joshua. 1213: A
ashback reports that the eastern tribes have done what Moses commanded and Joshua reiterated (1.14; Deut
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joshua 5
On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in
the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe
of him, as they had stood in awe of Moses, all
the days of his life.
The Lord said to Joshua, Command the priests who bear the ark of the
covenant,a to come up out of the Jordan.
Joshua therefore commanded the priests,
Come up out of the Jordan. When the
priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the
Lord came up from the middle of the Jordan,
and the soles of the priests feet touched dry
ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to
their place and overowed all its banks, as
before.
The people came up out of the Jordan
on the tenth day of the rst month, and they
camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
Those twelve stones, which they had taken
out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal,
saying to the Israelites, When your children
ask their parents in time to come, What do
these stones mean? then you shall let your
children know, Israel crossed over the Jordan
here on dry ground. For the Lord your God
dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until
you crossed over, as the Lord your God did to
the Red Sea,b which he dried up for us until
we crossed over, so that all the peoples of
the earth may know that the hand of the Lord
is mighty, and so that you may fear the Lord
your God forever.
When all the kings of the Amorites

beyond the Jordan to the west, and all
the kings of the Canaanites by the sea, heard
that the Lord had dried up the waters of
the Jordan for the Israelites until they had
crossed over, their hearts melted, and there
was no longer any spirit in them, because of
the Israelites.
At that time the Lord said to Joshua,
Make int knives and circumcise the
Israelites a second time. So Joshua made
int knives, and circumcised the Israelites at
Gibeath-haaraloth.c This is the reason why
Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the
people who came out of Egypt, all the warriors, had died during the journey through the
wilderness after they had come out of Egypt.
Although all the people who came out had
been circumcised, yet all the people born on
the journey through the wilderness after they
had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. For the Israelites traveled forty years
in the wilderness, until all the nation, the
warriors who came out of Egypt, perished,
not having listened to the voice of the Lord.
To them the Lord swore that he would not
let them see the land that he had sworn to
their ancestors to give us, a land owing with
b Or Sea of Reeds
c That is the Hill of the Foreskins
3.18). 14: Resumptive repetition stresses again the fulllment of the Lords exaltation of Joshua as with Moses.
1518: This unit backtracks and retells the arks crossing and the unstopping of the river. 18: An item-by-item
reversal of what happened in 3.1516. In fact, the verse backtracks to the middle of the Jordan before reporting
that the priests actually leave the water.
4.195.1: The nal unit emphasizes the instructional value of the memorial through comparison with the
Red Sea crossing. 19: The focus turns from the priests to the people. The rst month was Abib (MarchApril),
later called Nisan. The preparations for the rst Passover began on the tenth day of the rst month (Ex 12.3).
Gilgal, whose precise location is disputed, was an important Israelite shrine. Its name means circle, perhaps
referring to the stone conguration; there are several locations with this name in the Bible. 23: The connection
of this event to the Exodus from Egypt is made explicit. 24: As with the Exodus, both foreigner and Israelite (v.
22) must learn from this event (Ex 10.12). 5.1: Resuming 2.911 and anticipating 9.1; 10.1; 11.1.
5.212: Final preparatory events at Gilgal. Three connected rituals are recounted: circumcision (vv. 29),
Passover (v. 10), and the rst consumption of the produce of the land at Gilgal (vv. 1112). 29: The disobedience
of the older generation (those of the rst circumcision who came out of Egypt and died in the wilderness) is
contrasted to the obedience of the new generation (those participating in this circumcision). Circumcision was
a ritual required of all males who were to celebrate the Passover (Ex 12.48). 2: At one time circumcision was a
fairly common practice in the ancient Near East; it became a sign of Israels relationship with God. A second time,
probably a later addition to mitigate the failure (see v. 5) to observe the obligation of Gen 17.914 or to emphasize Joshua as a parallel to Moses. 6: To give us, an unusual authorial inclusion. The formula a land owing with
326 | hebrew bible
joshua 6
milk and honey. So it was their children,
whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua
circumcised; for they were uncircumcised,
because they had not been circumcised on
the way.
When the circumcising of all the nation
was done, they remained in their places in
the camp until they were healed. The Lord
said to Joshua, Today I have rolled away from
you the disgrace of Egypt. And so that place
is called Gilgala to this day.
While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on
the fourteenth day of the month in the plains
of Jericho. On the day after the passover,
on that very day, they ate the produce of the
land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.
The manna ceased on the day they ate the
produce of the land, and the Israelites no
longer had manna; they ate the crops of the
land of Canaan that year.
Once when Joshua was by Jericho, he
looked up and saw a man standing before
him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua
went to him and said to him, Are you one of
us, or one of our adversaries? He replied,
Neither; but as commander of the army of
the Lord I have now come. And Joshua fell

on his face to the earth and worshiped, and
he said to him, What do you command your
servant, my lord? The commander of the
army of the Lord said to Joshua, Remove the
sandals from your feet, for the place where
you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.
Now Jericho was shut up inside and out
because of the Israelites; no one came
out and no one went in. The Lord said to
Joshua, See, I have handed Jericho over to
you, along with its king and soldiers. You
shall march around the city, all the warriors
circling the city once. Thus you shall do for
six days, with seven priests bearing seven
trumpets of rams horns before the ark. On
the seventh day you shall march around the
city seven times, the priests blowing the
trumpets. When they make a long blast
with the rams horn, as soon as you hear the
sound of the trumpet, then all the people
shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of
the city will fall down at, and all the people
shall charge straight ahead. So Joshua son
of Nun summoned the priests and said to
a Related to Heb galal to roll
milk and honey (see Ex 3.8; Deut 6.3; etc.) anticipates the consumption of the lands produce (vv. 1012). 9: This
is a folk-etymology of Gilgal, the circle (see 4.19n.). The precise nature of the disgrace is unclear; it may refer to
Deut 9.28, demonstrating that the crossing and the circumcision are Gods graciousness toward Israel in spite
of Israels lack of faithfulness in the wilderness. 10: The celebration of the Passover reinforces the portrayal of
Joshua as parallel to Moses (cf. Ex 12). 1112: Land claims are usually presented as a maer of conquests (chs
612) and geographic lists (chs 1321), but here they are set forth in terms of ritual events and diet. The change
from manna to the produce of the land signies Israels relocation from wilderness to land. Unleavened bread
and roasted grain are used in rituals connected to Passover and rst fruits (Lev 23.914).
5.1312.24: Conquest of the land. The conquest of the land is recounted as three major campaigns: central
(5.138.35), southern (9.110.43), and northern (11.115).
5.138.35: Central campaign. The central campaign, which is described in the greatest detail, has three sections: 5.136.27; 7.18.29; and 8.3035.
5.136.27: Jericho: rst application of herem
(see Introduction, p. 320). Jerichos capture is important be.
cause it is the rst implementation of the herem
by the Israelites in the conquest. The interpretation of the
.
archaeological evidence from Tell es-Sultan (ancient Jericho) is disputed, but in the thirteenth century bce there
was at best an unfortied village on the site. Like Moses (see Ex 3.14.17), Joshua receives a theophany followed
by detailed instructions; 6.25 thus continues the scene of 5.1315, with 6.1 being a parenthetical aside. 5.1315:
The appearance of the commander of the army of the Lord is probably a fragment of a fuller tradition. He is not
mentioned in the rest of the book. 14: The commander is not part of a human army, but rather the commander
of the heavenly forces (see Deut 33.2; Judg 5.20; Zech 9.14). 15: A direct quotation from Ex 3.5, again showing
that Joshua was the divinely appointed successor of Moses.
6.627: Jericho is captured by following the Lords instructions. Ritual ceremony plays an important symbolic function, overcoming the walls of Jericho: seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days, seven encirclements
on the seventh day, and a seventh-day climactic victory. The preponderance of sevens may recall the seven
hebrew bible | 327
joshua 6
them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and
have seven priests carry seven trumpets of
rams horns in front of the ark of the Lord.
To the people he said, Go forward and
march around the city; have the armed men
pass on before the ark of the Lord.
As Joshua had commanded the people,
the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams horns before the Lord went
forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark
of the covenant of the Lord following them.
And the armed men went before the priests
who blew the trumpets; the rear guard
came after the ark, while the trumpets blew
continually. To the people Joshua gave this
command: You shall not shout or let your
voice be heard, nor shall you utter a word,
until the day I tell you to shout. Then you
shall shout. So the ark of the Lord went
around the city, circling it once; and they
came into the camp, and spent the night in
the camp.
Then Joshua rose early in the morning,
and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams horns before the ark of the Lord
passed on, blowing the trumpets continually.
The armed men went before them, and the
rear guard came after the ark of the Lord,
while the trumpets blew continually. On
the second day they marched around the city
once and then returned to the camp. They
did this for six days.
On the seventh day they rose early, at
dawn, and marched around the city in the
same manner seven times. It was only on
that day that they marched around the city
seven times. And at the seventh time,
when the priests had blown the trumpets,
Joshua said to the people, Shout! For the
Lord has given you the city. The city and
all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord
for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute
and all who are with her in her house shall

live because she hid the messengers we sent.
As for you, keep away from the things
devoted to destruction, so as not to coveta
and take any of the devoted things and make
the camp of Israel an object for destruction,
bringing trouble upon it. But all silver
and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron,
are sacred to the Lord; they shall go into
the treasury of the Lord. So the people
shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As
soon as the people heard the sound of the
trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the
wall fell down at; so the people charged
straight ahead into the city and captured it.
Then they devoted to destruction by the
edge of the sword all in the city, both men
and women, young and old, oxen, sheep,
and donkeys.
Joshua said to the two men who had
spied out the land, Go into the prostitutes
house, and bring the woman out of it and
all who belong to her, as you swore to her.
So the young men who had been spies
went in and brought Rahab out, along with
her father, her mother, her brothers, and all
who belonged to herthey brought all her
kindred outand set them outside the camp
of Israel. They burned down the city, and
everything in it; only the silver and gold, and
the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into
the treasury of the house of the Lord. But
Rahab the prostitute, with her family and
all who belonged to her, Joshua spared. Her
familyb has lived in Israel ever since. For she
hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy
out Jericho.
Joshua then pronounced this oath, saying,
Cursed before the Lord be anyone who tries
to build this citythis Jericho!
a Gk: Heb devote to destruction Compare 7.21
b Heb She
days of creation (Gen 1), implying the creation of a new order in the land and continuing the ritual land claim
of 3.15.12. This is the rst implementation of the herem,
a ritual act. The Canaanite prostitute Rahab and her
.
family are exempted from the herem
(v. 17, see ch 2). The account of the fall of Jericho is more ritually symbolic
.
than military in its signicance, though as a victory in the rst bale, it pregures success in the campaigns
that will follow. 18: Bringing trouble upon it anticipates the next story (7.25). 1924: Israels faithfulness in the
implementation of the herem
is emphasized and Achans unfaithfulness is anticipated. Jericho represents a
.
paradigm for the entire enterprise of conquest (8.2; 10.1; 24.11). 25: Ever since indicates that the descendants of
Rahab (i.e., Canaanites) survived and lived among the Israelites. 26: The fulllment of this enigmatic curse is
328 | hebrew bible
joshua 7
At the cost of his rstborn he shall lay its
foundation,
and at the cost of his youngest he shall
set up its gates!
So the Lord was with Joshua; and his
fame was in all the land.
But the Israelites broke faith in regard to
the devoted things: Achan son of Carmi
son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of
Judah, took some of the devoted things; and
the anger of the Lord burned against the
Israelites.
Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai,
which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and
said to them, Go up and spy out the land.
And the men went up and spied out Ai.
Then they returned to Joshua and said to
him, Not all the people need go up; about
two or three thousand men should go up and
attack Ai. Since they are so few, do not make
the whole people toil up there. So about
three thousand of the people went up there;
and they ed before the men of Ai. The men
of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing
them from outside the gate as far as Shebarim and killing them on the slope. The hearts
of the people melted and turned to water.
Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to
the ground on his face before the ark of the
Lord until the evening, he and the elders
of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
Joshua said, Ah, Lord God! Why have you
brought this people across the Jordan at
all, to hand us over to the Amorites so as to
destroy us? Would that we had been content
to settle beyond the Jordan! OLord, what
can I say, now that Israel has turned their

backs to their enemies! The Canaanites and
all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it,
and surround us, and cut o our name from
the earth. Then what will you do for your
great name?
The Lord said to Joshua, Stand up! Why
have you fallen upon your face? Israel has
sinned; they have transgressed my covenant
that I imposed on them. They have taken
some of the devoted things; they have stolen,
they have acted deceitfully, and they have put
them among their own belongings. Therefore the Israelites are unable to stand before
their enemies; they turn their backs to their
enemies, because they have become a thing
devoted for destruction themselves. I will
be with you no more, unless you destroy the
devoted things from among you. Proceed to
sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord,
the God of Israel, There are devoted things
among you, OIsrael; you will be unable to
stand before your enemies until you take
away the devoted things from among you.
In the morning therefore you shall come
forward tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord
takes shall come near by clans, the clan that
the Lord takes shall come near by households, and the household that the Lord takes
shall come near one by one. And the one
who is taken as having the devoted things
shall be burned with re, together with all
that he has, for having transgressed the
covenant of the Lord, and for having done an
outrageous thing in Israel.
recorded in 1 Kings 16.34. 27: The climactic conclusion: The Lord was with Joshua (see 1.5) and his fame was in
all the land.
7.18.29: Achan and Ai. 7.15: First ba+le of Ai and Achans sin. In contrast to the climactic conclusion in
which Joshua is exalted (6.27), Achans sin is described. Although only one person was unfaithful, all Israel was
liable because the state of being devoted (herem)
is contagious, and the booty would contaminate Israels
.
camp and put it into a state of devotion (herem).
2: The name Ai (modern et-Tell) means the ruin. The site,
.
3 km (2 mi) east of Bethel, was uninhabited during the Late Bronze Age. 35: The spies believe that Israel is too
strong to worry about such a small fortress (contrast Num 1314). Overcondence spells a lack of consultation
and of dependence on the Lord. The men of Ai thoroughly repulsed the Israelite contingent (cf. Num 14.4245).
7.626: Second application of herem:
Achans execution. 69: Joshuas prayer of intercession recalls
.
prayers of Moses (e.g., Ex 32.1113; Num 11.1115; 14.1319; Deut 9.2629). 6: Tore his clothes . . . dust on their
heads, traditional expressions of grief. 7: Amorites, here a generic designation of the inhabitants of the land
(see 24.15). 1015: Gods answer to Joshua is a rebuke. 1113: There has been a covenant violation: a the of
Gods property, the devoted things (herem)
from Jericho. Only sanctifying themselves and removing the de.
voted things can prevent Israel from being a devoted thing. 14: The Lord takes, by the casting of lots (a device that
hebrew bible | 329
joshua 8
So Joshua rose early in the morning,
and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and
the tribe of Judah was taken. He brought
near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the
Zerahites was taken; and he brought near
the clan of the Zerahites, family by family,a
and Zabdi was taken. And he brought near
his household one by one, and Achan son of
Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe
of Judah, was taken. Then Joshua said to
Achan, My son, give glory to the Lord God
of Israel and make confession to him. Tell
me now what you have done; do not hide it
from me. And Achan answered Joshua, It
is true; I am the one who sinned against the
Lord God of Israel. This is what I did: when
I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from
Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver,
and a bar of gold weighing fty shekels, then
I coveted them and took them. They now lie
hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the
silver underneath.
So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran
to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his
tent with the silver underneath. They took
them out of the tent and brought them to
Joshua and all the Israelites; and they spread
them out before the Lord. Then Joshua and
all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah,
with the silver, the mantle, and the bar of
gold, with his sons and daughters, with his
oxen, donkeys, and sheep, and his tent and
all that he had; and they brought them up to
the Valley of Achor. Joshua said, Why did
you bring trouble on us? The Lord is bringing
trouble on you today. And all Israel stoned
him to death; they burned them with re,

cast stones on them, and raised over him a
great heap of stones that remains to this day.
Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore that place to this day is called
the Valley of Achor.b
Then the Lord said to Joshua, Do not
fear or be dismayed; take all the ghting
men with you, and go up now to Ai. See, I
have handed over to you the king of Ai with
his people, his city, and his land. You shall
do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho
and its king; only its spoil and its livestock
you may take as booty for yourselves. Set an
ambush against the city, behind it.
So Joshua and all the ghting men set out
to go up against Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand warriors and sent them out by night
with the command, You shall lie in ambush
against the city, behind it; do not go very far
from the city, but all of you stay alert. I and
all the people who are with me will approach
the city. When they come out against us, as
before, we shall ee from them. They will
come out after us until we have drawn them
away from the city; for they will say, They are
eeing from us, as before. While we ee from
them, you shall rise up from the ambush
and seize the city; for the Lord your God will
give it into your hand. And when you have
taken the city, you shall set the city on re,
doing as the Lord has ordered; see, I have
commanded you. So Joshua sent them out;
a Mss Syr: MT man by man

b That is Trouble
when thrown yields the proper yes-or-no answer through divine assistance). 1621: The process of selection
successfully narrows down the guilty group, nding the guilty party. It also reinforces Achans guilt. 2021: The
actual herem
objects are listed in Achans admission: a beautiful mantle from Shinar (Babylon), two hundred
.
shekels of silver (about 5 lbs [2.3 kg]), and a y-shekel bar of gold (about 1.24 lbs [570 gm]). 2226: The resolution of the problem is found in the herem
of Achan and his family. 25: This refers to 6.18. Trouble (Heb akar)
.
is removed from Israel and ritually placed on Achan. 26: Valley of Achor, a name derived from a wordplay on
Achans nal state of trouble (akar). The valley is probably the Buqeiah, just west of the northern end of the
Dead Sea; in 15.7 it is on the border between Benjamin and Judah. The outcome for Achan and his family is an
ironic reversal of that for Rahab and her family (6.25).
8.129: Third application of herem:
second ba+le of Ai and Ais destruction. 12: The Lord gives assurance
.
and instructions, making clear that Achans sin has been removed so that God can once again give Israel the
land. Note also the modication of the herem:
They may have the plunder of Ai. 38: Joshua relates the Lords
.
instructions to the Israelites. The repetitions build suspense. 929: Ai is captured and put under the herem.
.
9: Bethel, the modern village of Beitin, is 17 km (11 mi) north of Jerusalem and 3 mi (5 km) northwest of Ai. Later
it became one of the principal shrines of the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 12.2830; Gen 12.8; 28.1122). 1415:
330 | hebrew bible
joshua 8
and they went to the place of ambush, and lay
between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai; but
Joshua spent that night in the camp.a
In the morning Joshua rose early and
mustered the people, and went up, with the
elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. All
the ghting men who were with him went up,
and drew near before the city, and camped on
the north side of Ai, with a ravine between
them and Ai. Taking about ve thousand
men, he set them in ambush between Bethel
and Ai, to the west of the city. So they stationed the forces, the main encampment that
was north of the city and its rear guard west of
the city. But Joshua spent that night in the valley. When the king of Ai saw this, he and all
his people, the inhabitants of the city, hurried
out early in the morning to the meeting place
facing the Arabah to meet Israel in battle; but
he did not know that there was an ambush
against him behind the city. And Joshua
and all Israel made a pretense of being beaten
before them, and ed in the direction of the
wilderness. So all the people who were in
the city were called together to pursue them,
and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn
away from the city. There was not a man left
in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel;
they left the city open, and pursued Israel.
Then the Lord said to Joshua, Stretch
out the sword that is in your hand toward Ai;
for I will give it into your hand. And Joshua
stretched out the sword that was in his hand
toward the city. As soon as he stretched out
his hand, the troops in ambush rose quickly
out of their place and rushed forward. They
entered the city, took it, and at once set the
city on re. So when the men of Ai looked
back, the smoke of the city was rising to the
sky. They had no power to ee this way or

that, for the people who ed to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers.
When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of
the city was rising, then they turned back and
struck down the men of Ai. And the others came out from the city against them; so
they were surrounded by Israelites, some on
one side, and some on the other; and Israel
struck them down until no one was left who
survived or escaped. But the king of Ai was
taken alive and brought to Joshua.
When Israel had nished slaughtering
all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them, and when all
of them to the very last had fallen by the edge
of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai, and
attacked it with the edge of the sword. The
total of those who fell that day, both men
and women, was twelve thousandall the
people of Ai. For Joshua did not draw back
his hand, with which he stretched out the
sword, until he had utterly destroyed all the
inhabitants of Ai. Only the livestock and
the spoil of that city Israel took as their booty,
according to the word of the Lord that he had
issued to Joshua. So Joshua burned Ai, and
made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this
day. And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree
until evening; and at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from
the tree, threw it down at the entrance of the
gate of the city, and raised over it a great heap
of stones, which stands there to this day.
Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an
altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, just as
a Heb among the people
Facing the Arabah . . . in the direction of the wilderness, toward the Ri Valley, to the east. 1829: Joshuas stretching out his sword is similar to Moses actions in Ex 14.1521,2627; 17.912, again suggesting the continuity
between these two leaders, and Joshuas legitimacy. The third implementation of the herem
is the Canaanite
.
city of Ai, which is depicted as a sacricial burnt oering. Ironically, God allowed the Israelites to take some
of the plunder from Ai that was under the herem
(v. 27), perhaps to avoid a repeat of the action of Achan. 28:
.
Forever a heap of ruins, lit. an eternal tell, a devastation, cf. 11.13n.; Deut 13.16. 29: The hanging of the king of Ai
and his stone memorial in the gate of the city are common actions in ancient Near Eastern warfare. This also anticipates the execution of the ve kings in 10.2627 and follows the Deuteronomic injunction (Deut 21.2223).
It also contrasts to 1 Sam 15, where Saul does not put Agag, the Amalekite king, to death, thereby disqualifying
himself from leadership.
8.3035: Covenant renewal as land grant: Shechem. The events narrated in ch 9 are the natural sequel to
the story about the fall of Ai (note that 8.29 ows into 9.3). Hence this account of covenant renewal is par-
hebrew bible | 331
joshua 9
Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites, as it is written in
the book of the law of Moses, an altar of
unhewna stones, on which no iron tool has
been used; and they oered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacriced oerings
of well-being. And there, in the presence of
the Israelites, Joshuab wrote on the stones a
copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. All Israel, alien as well as citizen, with
their elders and ocers and their judges,
stood on opposite sides of the ark in front of
the levitical priests who carried the ark of the
covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of
Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of
Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord
had commanded at the rst, that they should
bless the people of Israel. And afterward he
read all the words of the law, blessings and
curses, according to all that is written in the
book of the law. There was not a word of all
that Moses commanded that Joshua did not
read before all the assembly of Israel, and the
women, and the little ones, and the aliens
who resided among them.
Now when all the kings who were beyond
the Jordan in the hill country and in the
lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea
toward Lebanonthe Hittites, the Amorites,

the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites,
and the Jebusitesheard of this, they gathered together with one accord to ght Joshua
and Israel.
But when the inhabitants of Gibeon
heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and
to Ai, they on their part acted with cunning:
they went and prepared provisions,c and
took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and
wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended,
with worn-out, patched sandals on their
feet, and worn-out clothes; and all their
provisions were dry and moldy. They went
to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, and said to
him and to the Israelites, We have come
from a far country; so now make a treaty with
us. But the Israelites said to the Hivites,
Perhaps you live among us; then how can
we make a treaty with you? They said to
Joshua, We are your servants. And Joshua
said to them, Who are you? And where do
you come from? They said to him, Your
servants have come from a very far country,
a Heb whole
b Heb he
c Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
enthetical to the main action and is connected by many scholars with 24.128. Traveling to Ebal would have
required the tribes to make a trip of about 50 km (30 mi) by road from Ai to Ebal and then to retrace their steps
to encamp at Gilgal (9.6). This narrative serves to portray Joshua as carrying out the command given to Moses
in Deut 27.47 (cf. Deut 11.2930). Joshua, who obeyed, is the foil to Achan, who did not (cf. 6.27 and 7.1). The
connections between this section and Deuteronomy are especially strong. 30: Mount Ebal is one of the two
mountains (Gerizim being the other) that ank the pass of Shechem in central Canaan. 31: Quoting Deut 27.5.
32: On the stones, not the stones of the altar, but those Moses had commanded to be used; see Deut 27.23; cf.
Josh 24.2627. A copy of the law, see Deut 17.18. 34: Blessings and curses, see Deut 27.1113; 28; cf. Lev 26.339. 35:
Paerned aer the ritual of Deut 31.913.
9.111.15: The southern and northern campaigns. The conquests of southern and northern Canaan share
the same geographic paern: center to periphery. However, the account of the southern campaign is a much
more developed narrative than that of the northern campaign, which can be observed in a comparison of the
basic components of 9.310.43 and 11.115. Thus the region that became Judahs tribal allotment receives the
greater emphasis (a paern also found in chs 1319 and Judg 1).
9.12: Introductory statement. The section recalls the motif of the inhabitants hearing and fearing (2.10
and 5.1; see also 10.1; 11.1), but in this case the reaction is not fear, but aggressive hostility. The exception is
Gibeon, narrated rst for contrastive reasons.
9.310.43: Southern campaign. 9.327: Gibeon. Ironically, Israel has just defeated Ai by means of a ruse;
now Israel is the victim of a ruse. The Israelites do not turn to God to discern the Gibeonite strategy. As in the
case of the rst bale of Ai, the Israelites overcondence in their ability to discern the situation leads to a lack
of dependence on the Lord. 315: The Gibeonites are apparently Hivites. Fearing Israel, they pretend to be from
a far country so as to take advantage of the more lenient treatment aorded to such people (Deut 20.15). 3:
Gibeon is the modern el-Jib, about 4 km (7 mi) southwest of Ai (see map on p. 322). 6: Treaty, Heb berit, also
332 | hebrew bible
joshua 10
because of the name of the Lord your God;
for we have heard a report of him, of all that
he did in Egypt, and of all that he did to the
two kings of the Amorites who were beyond
the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon, and King
Og of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth. So our
elders and all the inhabitants of our country
said to us, Take provisions in your hand
for the journey; go to meet them, and say
to them, We are your servants; come now,
make a treaty with us. Here is our bread;
it was still warm when we took it from our
houses as our food for the journey, on the day
we set out to come to you, but now, see, it is
dry and moldy; these wineskins were new
when we lled them, and see, they are burst;
and these garments and sandals of ours are
worn out from the very long journey. So
the leadersa partook of their provisions, and
did not ask direction from the Lord. And
Joshua made peace with them, guaranteeing
their lives by a treaty; and the leaders of the
congregation swore an oath to them.
But when three days had passed after
they had made a treaty with them, they heard
that they were their neighbors and were living among them. So the Israelites set out
and reached their cities on the third day. Now
their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth,
and Kiriath-jearim. But the Israelites did
not attack them, because the leaders of the
congregation had sworn to them by the Lord,
the God of Israel. Then all the congregation
murmured against the leaders. But all the
leaders said to all the congregation, We have
sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel,
and now we must not touch them. This is

what we will do to them: We will let them
live, so that wrath may not come upon us,
because of the oath that we swore to them.
The leaders said to them, Let them live.
So they became hewers of wood and drawers
of water for all the congregation, as the leaders had decided concerning them.
Joshua summoned them, and said to
them, Why did you deceive us, saying, We
are very far from you, while in fact you are
living among us? Now therefore you are
cursed, and some of you shall always be
slaves, hewers of wood and drawers of water
for the house of my God. They answered
Joshua, Because it was told to your servants
for a certainty that the Lord your God had
commanded his servant Moses to give you all
the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants
of the land before you; so we were in great
fear for our lives because of you, and did this
thing. And now we are in your hand: do as
it seems good and right in your sight to do to
us. This is what he did for them: he saved
them from the Israelites; and they did not kill
them. But on that day Joshua made them
hewers of wood and drawers of water for the
congregation and for the altar of the Lord,
to continue to this day, in the place that he
should choose.
When King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem
heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and
had utterly destroyed it, doing to Ai and its
king as he had done to Jericho and its king,
10
a Gk: Heb men
translated covenant. 10: See 2.10n. 14: Although the leaders (lit. the men) of Israel are specically blamed
for not consulting the Lord, Joshua is apparently included. None of Israels leadership was exempt from blame.
1627: Discovery of the ruse and reaction. The Israelites discover the ruse of the Gibeonites, who readily admit
their deception (vv. 2425) because they know that Israel has to honor the pact between them (v. 20). The subservience of the Gibeonites is narrated twice in parallel: The leaders of the people save them and conclude their
slave status, and so does Joshua (vv. 1821 and vv. 2227). 21: Hewers of wood and drawers of water, according to
Deut 29.1013, the covenant was to erase distinctions between such lower class occupations and others. This
designation thus suggests that the Gibeonites are outside the covenantal community. 24: See Deut 20.1618.
Tensions with the Gibeonites persist into the monarchy (2 Sam 21.114). 27: The place that he should choose is
Deuteronomys term for the central place of worship, later identied as Jerusalem (e.g., Deut 12.518).
10.143: The defeat of the Amorite alliance. This passage contains two scenes (vv. 115, vv. 1643), both of
which end with identical statements (vv. 15,43). Both scenes utilize temporal panels that back-track and overlap: Each subsequent panel takes a part of the previous panel and further develops it.
10.115: Scene one contains three panels (vv. 110,11,1215). 110: The initial circumstances of the ba+le.
This panel is composed of two parts: the formation of the Amorite alliance headed by Adoni zedek of Jerusalem
hebrew bible | 333
joshua 10
and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made
peace with Israel and were among them, hea
became greatly frightened, because Gibeon
was a large city, like one of the royal cities,
and was larger than Ai, and all its men were
warriors. So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem
sent a message to King Hoham of Hebron,
to King Piram of Jarmuth, to King Japhia of
Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon, saying,
Come up and help me, and let us attack
Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua
and with the Israelites. Then the ve kings
of the Amoritesthe king of Jerusalem, the
king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king
of Lachish, and the king of Eglongathered
their forces, and went up with all their armies
and camped against Gibeon, and made war
against it.
And the Gibeonites sent to Joshua at
the camp in Gilgal, saying, Do not abandon
your servants; come up to us quickly, and
save us, and help us; for all the kings of the
Amorites who live in the hill country are
gathered against us. So Joshua went up
from Gilgal, he and all the fighting force
with him, all the mighty warriors. The
Lord said to Joshua, Do not fear them,
for I have handed them over to you; not
one of them shall stand before you. So
Joshua came upon them suddenly, having
marched up all night from Gilgal. And
the Lord threw them into a panic before
Israel, who inflicted a great slaughter on

them at Gibeon, chased them by the way of
the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them
down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. As
they fled before Israel, while they were
going down the slope of Beth-horon, the
Lord threw down huge stones from heaven
on them as far as Azekah, and they died;
there were more who died because of the
hailstones than the Israelites killed with the
sword.
On the day when the Lord gave the
Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke
to the Lord; and he said in the sight of Israel,
Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.
And the sun stood still, and the moon
stopped,
until the nation took vengeance on
their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The
sun stopped in midheaven, and did not hurry
to set for about a whole day. There has been
no day like it before or since, when the Lord
heeded a human voice; for the Lord fought
for Israel.
Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with
him, to the camp at Gilgal.
Meanwhile, these ve kings ed and hid
themselves in the cave at Makkedah. And
a Heb they
(vv. 15), and the initial open-eld bale between the Israelites and the Amorite alliance with the slaughter
and pursuit to Azekah (vv. 610). 12: The treaty between Gibeon and Israel incited the kings of ve Amorite
city-states to aack Gibeon. Jerusalem, an important Bronze Age city-state, and later the capital of Judah, is
the driving force in the alliance. 3: See inset in map on p. 322 hb. 10: The reference to Azekah and Makkedah
anticipates the second panel of scene one as well as the rst panel of scene two. Azekah is identied with Tell
Zakariya; Makkedah is perhaps Khirbet el-Qom.
10.11: Divine intervention with hailstones. The second panel of scene one backtracks and overlaps the rst
panel, describing the enemy ight again to Azekah with the further development of the divine intervention
with deadly hailstones (lit. large stones from heaven). Divine interventions are common motifs in ancient war
accounts. These large hailstones (Heb abanim gedolot) anticipate the large stones (Heb abanim gedolot)
that seal the kings in the caves (10.18,27; cf. 7.26).
10.1215: Joshuas request to the Lord and the divine intervention. The third panel of scene one also backtracks and overlaps, describing Joshuas request to the Lord at the beginning of the bale with the further development of the divine intervention concerning the sun and moon (cf. Heb 3.11; Judg 5.20). The exact meaning
of the divine intervention is dicult to ascertain because it is described only in poetry. 13: The Book of Jashar,
no longer extant, appears to have been a collection of poetry that extolled Israels military victories and heroes
(see 2 Sam 1.18). 15: Scene one concludes with Joshua and Israels return to Gilgal, which is repeated at the
chapters conclusion (v. 43) and need not be taken literally.
10.1643: Scene two contains two panels (vv. 1627; 2839) and a summary (vv. 4043). 1627: The capture
334 | hebrew bible
joshua 10
it was told Joshua, The ve kings have been
found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.
Joshua said, Roll large stones against the
mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard
them; but do not stay there yourselves;
pursue your enemies, and attack them from
the rear. Do not let them enter their towns,
for the Lord your God has given them into
your hand. When Joshua and the Israelites
had nished inicting a very great slaughter on them, until they were wiped out, and
when the survivors had entered into the
fortied towns, all the people returned safe
to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah; no one
dared to speaka against any of the Israelites.
Then Joshua said, Open the mouth of
the cave, and bring those ve kings out to me
from the cave. They did so, and brought
the ve kings out to him from the cave, the
king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the
king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and
the king of Eglon. When they brought the
kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the
Israelites, and said to the chiefs of the warriors who had gone with him, Come near, put
your feet on the necks of these kings. Then
they came near and put their feet on their
necks. And Joshua said to them, Do not
be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous; for thus the Lord will do to all the
enemies against whom you ght. Afterward Joshua struck them down and put them
to death, and he hung them on ve trees.
And they hung on the trees until evening.
At sunset Joshua commanded, and they
took them down from the trees and threw
them into the cave where they had hidden
themselves; they set large stones against the

mouth of the cave, which remain to this very
day.
Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and
struck it and its king with the edge of the
sword; he utterly destroyed every person in
it; he left no one remaining. And he did to the
king of Makkedah as he had done to the king
of Jericho.
Then Joshua passed on from Makkedah,
and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought
against Libnah. The Lord gave it also and
its king into the hand of Israel; and he struck
it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left no one remaining in it; and
he did to its king as he had done to the king
of Jericho.
Next Joshua passed on from Libnah,
and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and laid
siege to it, and assaulted it. The Lord gave
Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he took it
on the second day, and struck it with the edge
of the sword, and every person in it, as he had
done to Libnah.
Then King Horam of Gezer came up to
help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his
people, leaving him no survivors.
From Lachish Joshua passed on with
all Israel to Eglon; and they laid siege to it,
and assaulted it; and they took it that day,
and struck it with the edge of the sword; and
every person in it he utterly destroyed that
day, as he had done to Lachish.
Then Joshua went up with all Israel from
Eglon to Hebron; they assaulted it, and took
a Heb moved his tongue
and execution of the kings. The rst panel backtracks and overlaps the pursuit, developing the capture and
execution of the Amorite kings. The mention of Makkedah in v. 16 is resumptive (see v. 10). Ironically, the cave
that the kings choose as their hiding place becomes rst their prison, then their tomb. 24: Feet on their necks,
symbolizing subjugation, as in 1 Kings 5.3; Ps 110.1. 2627: In the ancient world, corpses of vanquished enemies
were displayed for psychological eect; see 8.29n.
10.2839: The capture and herem
of the cities. The second panel backtracks to the pursuit and devel.
ops the capture and herem
of the cities in a stereotyped and redundant manner. (A verbal form of herem
.
.
is translated uerly destroyed in vv. 28,35,37,39,40). This typical ancient Near Eastern war account uses
hyperbole to emphasize the success of Israel and its God. The king of Gezer, at the center of the seven short
episodes, emphasizes that citys importance. While the city is not captured, the defeat of its king and army in
open bale crowns the southern campaign. 3132: Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir) was one of the more important
southern cities. 33: According to other passages, Gezer becomes an Israelite city only in the time of Solomon
(see 1 Kings 9.16). The Ephraimites had failed to capture it (16.10; Judg 1.29). 3435: Eglon may be identied
with Tell Aitun. 3639: Hebron and Debir (probably Khirbet Rabud) fall to all Israel. In 14.615 Caleb is credited
hebrew bible | 335
joshua 11
it, and struck it with the edge of the sword,
and its king and its towns, and every person
in it; he left no one remaining, just as he had
done to Eglon, and utterly destroyed it with
every person in it.
Then Joshua, with all Israel, turned back
to Debir and assaulted it, and he took it
with its king and all its towns; they struck
them with the edge of the sword, and utterly
destroyed every person in it; he left no one
remaining; just as he had done to Hebron,
and, as he had done to Libnah and its king, so
he did to Debir and its king.
So Joshua defeated the whole land, the
hill country and the Negeb and the lowland
and the slopes, and all their kings; he left no
one remaining, but utterly destroyed all that
breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded. And Joshua defeated them from
Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the country
of Goshen, as far as Gibeon. Joshua took
all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.
Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with
him, to the camp at Gilgal.
When King Jabin of Hazor heard of this,
he sent to King Jobab of Madon, to the
king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph,
and to the kings who were in the northern
hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chin-
11
neroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphothdor on the west, to the Canaanites in the
east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites,
the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill
country, and the Hivites under Hermon in
the land of Mizpah. They came out, with all
their troops, a great army, in number like the
sand on the seashore, with very many horses
and chariots. All these kings joined their
forces, and came and camped together at the
waters of Merom, to ght with Israel.
And the Lord said to Joshua, Do not be
afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I
will hand over all of them, slain, to Israel; you
shall hamstring their horses, and burn their
chariots with re. So Joshua came suddenly upon them with all his ghting force,
by the waters of Merom, and fell upon them.
And the Lord handed them over to Israel,
who attacked them and chased them as far
as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and
eastward as far as the valley of Mizpeh. They
struck them down, until they had left no one
remaining. And Joshua did to them as the
Lord commanded him; he hamstrung their
horses, and burned their chariots with re.
Joshua turned back at that time, and
took Hazor, and struck its king down with the
sword. Before that time Hazor was the head
of all those kingdoms. And they put to the
with victory at Hebron (see 15.1314), but Judah in general gets credit in Judg 1.10. In 15.1517 and Judg 1.1113
Othniel is credited with the capture of Debir. These conicting accounts highlight the perspective of chs 112,
a conquest by all Israel.
10.4043: Summary of the southern campaign. Overstatement emphasizes the greatness of the Israelite
victory. Scene two concludes (like scene one) with Joshua and Israel returning to Gilgal (10.43). 40: Negeb, the
semidesert region in the south. 41: Kadesh-barnea, Num 13.114.45n. and map [OBA, p. 79, D-3]; see Deut 1.19;
9.23. Goshen, a designation of the region north of the Negeb (see also 11.16); not the region with the same name
in the Egyptian Delta (Gen 45.10; etc.).
11.115: Northern campaign. A literary mirror of 10.143 both in general structure and vocabulary, though
less developed.
11.111: Defeat of the Canaanite coalition. A large and powerful Canaanite coalition is organized and headed
by Jabin, the king of Hazor. The name Jabin occurs here and in Judg 4 and Ps 83.10. Scholars generally see Judg
45 as the source for this story. 1: The nal occurrence of the hearing motif, see 5.1n. The locations of Madon,
Shimron, and Achshaph are not certain. 2: The Arabah is the Jordan Valley; Chinneroth, the Sea of Galilee. 35:
This enemy is superior to the Israelite army, both numerically and technologically (they have dreaded horses
and chariots). This coalition presents the most signicant threat to Israels success in conquering the land.
Hermon, the high mountain in the extreme north of Israel. Merom is a city in Galilee known from extrabiblical
sources; its precise location is not certain. 6: The Lords oracle of assurance precedes the victory (cf. 8.1; 10.8).
Hamstring their horses means cuing a tendon of a rear leg to make them useless (see 2 Sam 8.4). 1011: Hazor,
the most important northern city, is totally destroyed by burning just like Jericho and Ai (cf. 6.24; 8.8,19). Jericho
and Hazor frame the conquest of the land of Canaan.
336 | hebrew bible
joshua 12
sword all who were in it, utterly destroying
them; there was no one left who breathed,
and he burned Hazor with re. And all the
towns of those kings, and all their kings,
Joshua took, and struck them with the edge
of the sword, utterly destroying them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded.
But Israel burned none of the towns that
stood on mounds except Hazor, which Joshua
did burn. All the spoil of these towns, and
the livestock, the Israelites took for their
booty; but all the people they struck down
with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who
breathed. As the Lord had commanded his
servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua,
and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of
all that the Lord had commanded Moses.
So Joshua took all that land: the hill country and all the Negeb and all the land of Goshen and the lowland and the Arabah and the
hill country of Israel and its lowland, from
Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as
Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon below Mount
Hermon. He took all their kings, struck them
down, and put them to death. Joshua made
war a long time with all those kings. There
was not a town that made peace with the
Israelites, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of
Gibeon; all were taken in battle. For it was the
Lords doing to harden their hearts so that they
would come against Israel in battle, in order
that they might be utterly destroyed, and might
receive no mercy, but be exterminated, just as
the Lord had commanded Moses.
At that time Joshua came and wiped

out the Anakim from the hill country, from
Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all
the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill
country of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed
them with their towns. None of the Anakim
was left in the land of the Israelites; some remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod.
So Joshua took the whole land, according
to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses;
and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel
according to their tribal allotments. And the
land had rest from war.
Now these are the kings of the land,
whom the Israelites defeated, whose
land they occupied beyond the Jordan
toward the east, from the Wadi Arnon to
Mount Hermon, with all the Arabah eastward: King Sihon of the Amorites who lived
at Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is
on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, and from the
middle of the valley as far as the river Jabbok, the boundary of the Ammonites, that
is, half of Gilead, and the Arabah to the Sea
of Chinneroth eastward, and in the direction
of Beth-jeshimoth, to the sea of the Arabah,
the Dead Sea,a southward to the foot of the
slopes of Pisgah; and King Ogb of Bashan,
one of the last of the Rephaim, who lived
at Ashtaroth and at Edrei and ruled over
Mount Hermon and Salecah and all Bashan
to the boundary of the Geshurites and the
12
a Heb Salt Sea

b Gk: Heb the boundary of King Og
11.1215: Summary of northern campaign. The Israelite conquest in the north is summarized by noting several times that all was conquered by Joshua, the worthy successor to Moses, who fullled the requirements
of Deut 20.1617. 13: Mounds, translating the Hebrew word for tells, cf. 8.28n.
11.1623: Summary of total conquest. 1619: The word all characterizes these verses, emphasizing the totality of the conquest. 1820: The depiction here somewhat conicts with the earlier accounts, suggesting that
a protracted war was necessary. 20: Harden their hearts, this phrase is elsewhere used of Pharaoh in Egypt (Ex
4.21; etc.), and suggests that, for the Lord and for the author, the inhabitants of the land were enemies comparable to the Egyptians. 21: The Anakim, a term for pre-Israelite inhabitants of Canaan renowned for their size and
strength (Deut 9.2). 23: And the land had rest from war, a conclusion formula, moving toward a transition from
the conquest to the division of land. This declaration recurs in 14.15, forming a literary link between the defeat
of the Anakim by Joshua (ch 11) and their defeat by Caleb (ch 14).
12.124: A selective list of defeated cities kings. An additional conclusion to the rst section of the book.
16: Moses exploits in Transjordan. This summary draws from Deut 23; (see map on p. 252 in Deut). 2: The
story of King Sihon is narrated in Num 21.2131 and Deut 2.2637. 4: The defeat of Og is narrated in Num 21.3335
and Deut 3.117. Bashan, northern Transjordan. Rephaim, here another term for pre-Israelite inhabitants of Canaan.
hebrew bible | 337
joshua 13
Maacathites, and over half of Gilead to the
boundary of King Sihon of Heshbon. Moses,
the servant of the Lord, and the Israelites
defeated them; and Moses the servant of the
Lord gave their land for a possession to the
Reubenites and the Gadites and the halftribe of Manasseh.
The following are the kings of the land
whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated on
the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in
the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, that
rises toward Seir (and Joshua gave their land
to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their allotments, in the hill country,
in the lowland, in the Arabah, in the slopes,
in the wilderness, and in the Negeb, the
land of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites,
Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites):
the king of Jericho
one
the king of Ai, which is next toBethel one
the king of Jerusalem
one
the king of Hebron
one
the king of Jarmuth
one
the king of Lachish
one
the king of Eglon
one
the king of Gezer
one
the king of Debir
one
the king of Geder
one
the king of Hormah
one
the king of Arad

one
the king of Libnah
one
the king of Adullam
one
the king of Makkedah
one
the king of Bethel
one
the king of Tappuah
one
the king of Hepher
one
the king of Aphek
one
the king of Lasharon
one
the king of Madon
one
the king of Hazor
one
the king of Shimron-meron
one
the king of Achshaph
one
the king of Taanach
one
the king of Megiddo
one
the king of Kedesh
one
the king of Jokneam in Carmel
one
the king of Dor in Naphath-dor
one
one
the king of Goiim in Galilee,a
the king of Tirzah
one
thirty-one kings in all.
Now Joshua was old and advanced in
years; and the Lord said to him, You
are old and advanced in years, and very much
of the land still remains to be possessed.
This is the land that still remains: all the
regions of the Philistines, and all those of
13
a Gk: Heb Gilgal
12.724: Joshuas victories west of the Jordan. Previous narratives mention fewer than half of these cities.
Vv. 913a follow the order of chs 610, but aer that there is no clear paern. This section thus seems to be
adapted from a dierent source than the previous chapters. Moreover, the length of this list shows that previous narratives are selective, highlighting particular stories for ideological and theological purposes. For the
location of the places, see map 4 at the end of this volume.
13.124.33: The allotment of land. Having completed his rst task, the conquest (1.25), Joshua turns his
aention to his second task (1.6): Put this people in possession of the land (cf. Deut 4.21; 15.4; 19.10). The
concern over allotment or inheritance (nahalah)
unies this section (13.6; 14.3,13; 17.4,6,14; 19.49). The section
.
emphasizes that the division follows the divine will, as mediated by Joshua and Eleazar the priest. It utilizes
four types of sources: boundary descriptions; town lists integrated into boundary descriptions; town lists; and
short narratives that relate incidents of importance within the allotments, providing didactic signicance to
the division of the land. The cities of refuge and Levitical cities are aached at the end of the section since it is
necessary for the tribes to receive their inheritance before they can allocate parts of it to others. For this entire
section, see map on p. 347.
13.17: Land remaining. The land remaining is dened by those towns and regions inside the borders of
Canaan (cf. Num 34.112) that are not under Israelite control. This foreshadows other passages in chs 1321 that
contrast with the rst half of the book, by documenting Israels failure to capture all of the land, or by noting
that foreigners live among the Israelites. These contrast ironically with the idealistic reports given in the text
(cf. 15.63; 16.10; 17.1113; 18.2; 19.47). The particular areas designated as outside Israelite possession are the regions of the Philistines (the southwestern coastal area), and all those of the Geshurites (east of the Sea of Galilee)
(cf. 13.13), and the land of Phoenicia (northern coastal areas). Philistia and Geshur came under Israelite control
during the period of David and Solomon (2 Sam 8.12; 3.3).
338 | hebrew bible
joshua 13
the Geshurites (from the Shihor, which is
east of Egypt, northward to the boundary
of Ekron, it is reckoned as Canaanite; there
are ve rulers of the Philistines, those of
Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron),
and those of the Avvim in the south; all
the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that
belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the
boundary of the Amorites, and the land of
the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the
east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to
Lebo-hamath, all the inhabitants of the hill
country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim,
even all the Sidonians. I will myself drive
them out from before the Israelites; only allot
the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have
commanded you. Now therefore divide this
land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and
the half-tribe of Manasseh.
With the other half-tribe of Manasseha
the Reubenites and the Gadites received
their inheritance, which Moses gave them,
beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the
servant of the Lord gave them: from Aroer,
which is on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, and
the town that is in the middle of the valley,
and all the tableland fromb Medeba as far as
Dibon; and all the cities of King Sihon of
the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as
far as the boundary of the Ammonites; and
Gilead, and the region of the Geshurites and
Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all
Bashan to Salecah; all the kingdom of Og
in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in
Edrei (he alone was left of the survivors of
the Rephaim); these Moses had defeated and
driven out. Yet the Israelites did not drive
out the Geshurites or the Maacathites; but
Geshur and Maacath live within Israel to this
day.
To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no

inheritance; the oerings by re to the Lord
God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said
to them.
Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of
the Reubenites according to their clans. Their
territory was from Aroer, which is on the edge
of the Wadi Arnon, and the town that is in the
middle of the valley, and all the tableland by
Medeba; with Heshbon, and all its towns
that are in the tableland; Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and Beth-baal-meon, and Jahaz, and
Kedemoth, and Mephaath, and Kiriathaim,
and Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill of
the valley, and Beth-peor, and the slopes of
Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, that is, all the
towns of the tableland, and all the kingdom
of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned
in Heshbon, whom Moses defeated with the
leaders of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and
Hur and Reba, as princes of Sihon, who lived
in the land. Along with the rest of those they
put to death, the Israelites also put to the sword
Balaam son of Beor, who practiced divination.
And the border of the Reubenites was the
Jordan and its banks. This was the inheritance
of the Reubenites according to their families
with their towns and villages.
Moses gave an inheritance also to the
tribe of the Gadites, according to their families. Their territory was Jazer, and all the
towns of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites, to Aroer, which is east of Rabbah,
and from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and
Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory
of Debir,c and in the valley Beth-haram,
a Cn: Heb With it
b Compare Gk: Heb lacks from
c Gk Syr Vg: Heb Lidebir
13.833: Transjordanian tribal allotment. Before the allotments west of the Jordan can be described, the
Transjordanian allotments that Moses made are recounted: a general description of the extent of the Transjordanian lands (13.813), a declaration that the Levites received no inheritance (13.14), a specic description of
the Transjordanian territories (13.1532), and again a declaration that the Levites received no inheritance (13.33).
Israel had great diculties controlling this territory throughout its history, though Deuteronomy considered
it part of Israel (see Deut 3.1217). See map on p. 237 [Num map #3] and map 2 at the end of this volume. 12:
Rephaim, see 12.4n. 13: The rst of a number of qualications about Israelite success in possessing the land. 14:
Oerings by re, as the priestly tribe, the Levites were in charge of worship and shared the oerings; cf. Lev
7.2936; etc. See also v. 33n. 21: Midian, see Num 31.112. 22: Balaam, in contrast to the narrative about him in
Num 2224, here this non-Israelite prophet is presented in a negative light, and only here and in Num 31.8 are
the Israelites said to have killed him.
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joshua 14
Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest
of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon,
the Jordan and its banks, as far as the lower
end of the Sea of Chinnereth, eastward
beyond the Jordan. This is the inheritance
of the Gadites according to their clans, with
their towns and villages.
Moses gave an inheritance to the halftribe of Manasseh; it was allotted to the
half-tribe of the Manassites according to
their families. Their territory extended
from Mahanaim, through all Bashan, the
whole kingdom of King Og of Bashan, and
all the settlements of Jair, which are in
Bashan, sixty towns, and half of Gilead,
and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the towns of the
kingdom of Og in Bashan; these were allotted to the people of Machir son of Manasseh according to their clansfor half the
Machirites.
These are the inheritances that Moses
distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond
the Jordan east of Jericho. But to the tribe
of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the Lord
God of Israel is their inheritance, as he said
to them.
These are the inheritances that the
Israelites received in the land of
Canaan, which the priest Eleazar, and Joshua
son of Nun, and the heads of the families
of the tribes of the Israelites distributed to
them. Their inheritance was by lot, as the
Lord had commanded Moses for the nine
and one-half tribes. For Moses had given an
14
inheritance to the two and one-half tribes

beyond the Jordan; but to the Levites he gave
no inheritance among them. For the people
of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and
Ephraim; and no portion was given to the
Levites in the land, but only towns to live in,
with their pasture lands for their ocks and
herds. The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses; they allotted the land.
Then the people of Judah came to Joshua
at Gilgal; and Caleb son of Jephunneh the
Kenizzite said to him, You know what
the Lord said to Moses the man of God in
Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I
was forty years old when Moses the servant
of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to
spy out the land; and I brought him an honest
report. But my companions who went up
with me made the heart of the people melt;
yet I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my
God. And Moses swore on that day, saying,
Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your
children forever, because you have wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God. And
now, as you see, the Lord has kept me alive,
as he said, these forty-ve years since the
time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses,
while Israel was journeying through the
wilderness; and here I am today, eighty-ve
years old. I am still as strong today as I was
on the day that Moses sent me; my strength
now is as my strength was then, for war,
and for going and coming. So now give me
14.119.51: Cisjordanian tribal allotment. The story of the allotments to the tribes west of the Jordan is
framed by an introduction (14.15) and a summary (19.51). The main text is divided into two major sections: the
Judah and Joseph allotments (14.617.18) and the seven other tribal allotments (18.119.51). 33: A somewhat different formulation from v. 14; cf. Deut 10.9; 18.2; 18.7.
14.15: Introduction to the process of allotment. Eleazar (the chief priest, son of Aaron), Joshua, and the
heads of the tribal families oversaw this allotment, which was performed by lot (see 7.14n.). 45: See Num
34.1315; 35.3. To maintain the number of tribes at twelve, the people of Joseph were counted as two tribes,
Manasseh and Ephraim, to make up for Levis lack of inheritance.
14.617.18: Judah and Joseph allotments. Parallel structures are used to describe the allotments to these
tribes: narrative frames, boundary descriptions, and town lists, with vignees in the center.
14.615.63: Judah. The tribe to which King David belonged is rst.
14.615: Calebs conquest. The success of Judah is specically illustrated in the narrative frame story of
Calebs conquest of Hebron. Caleb was one of the original twelve spies sent into the land of Canaan (Num 13.30;
14.24). Caleb and his clan conquer Hebron, the home of the Anakim. The repetition in v. 15 of the statement and
the land had rest from war connects this story to 11.2123. Ironically, it was the fear of these very Anakim that
caused Israels disobedience and failure at Kadesh-barnea, according to Num 13.28 and Deut 1.28. 10: According
to Deut 2.14, thirty-eight years elapsed from the events at Kadesh to the entry into the land; the events of the
340 | hebrew bible
joshua 15
this hill country of which the Lord spoke on
that day; for you heard on that day how the
Anakim were there, with great fortied cities;
it may be that the Lord will be with me, and I
shall drive them out, as the Lord said.
Then Joshua blessed him, and gave
Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh for
an inheritance. So Hebron became the
inheritance of Caleb son of Jephunneh the
Kenizzite to this day, because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord, the God of
Israel. Now the name of Hebron formerly
was Kiriath-arba;a this Arba wasb the greatest man among the Anakim. And the land
had rest from war.
The lot for the tribe of the people
of Judah according to their families
reached southward to the boundary of Edom,
to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south.
And their south boundary ran from the
end of the Dead Sea,c from the bay that faces
southward; it goes out southward of the
ascent of Akrabbim, passes along to Zin, and
goes up south of Kadesh-barnea, along by
Hezron, up to Addar, makes a turn to Karka,
passes along to Azmon, goes out by the
Wadi of Egypt, and comes to its end at the
sea. This shall be your south boundary. And
the east boundary is the Dead Sea,c to the
mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary on
the north side runs from the bay of the sea
at the mouth of the Jordan; and the boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah, and passes along
north of Beth-arabah; and the boundary
goes up to the Stone of Bohan, Reubens son;
and the boundary goes up to Debir from the
15
Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning

toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent
of Adummim, which is on the south side of
the valley; and the boundary passes along
to the waters of En-shemesh, and ends at
En-rogel; then the boundary goes up by the
valley of the son of Hinnom at the southern
slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem);
and the boundary goes up to the top of the
mountain that lies over against the valley of
Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of
the valley of Rephaim; then the boundary
extends from the top of the mountain to the
spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, and from
there to the towns of Mount Ephron; then
the boundary bends around to Baalah (that
is, Kiriath-jearim); and the boundary circles
west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passes along to
the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is,
Chesalon), and goes down to Beth-shemesh,
and passes along by Timnah; the boundary goes out to the slope of the hill north
of Ekron, then the boundary bends around
to Shikkeron, and passes along to Mount
Baalah, and goes out to Jabneel; then the
boundary comes to an end at the sea. And
the west boundary was the Mediterranean
with its coast. This is the boundary surrounding the people of Judah according to their
families.
According to the commandment of the
Lord to Joshua, he gave to Caleb son of Jepa That is the city of Arba
b Heb lacks this Arba was
c Heb Salt Sea
preceding chapters thus took seven years. 13: Hebron (Tell Rumeideh) is 31 km (19 mi) south of Jerusalem. 14:
This prime example of Judahite success is accomplished by a non-Israelite: Caleb is a Kenizzite (14.6,14) who is,
however, ultimately incorporated into Judahs genealogy (1 Chr 2.9,18). 15: See 15.13; Gen 23.2.
15.112: Judahs boundary description is given in a counterclockwise arrangement: south (vv. 24), east (v.
5), north (vv. 611), west (v. 12a; cf. 11.2122; Judg 1.1819; Josh 15.63), with a concluding boundary description (v.
12b). See map on p. 347 and map 4 at the end of this volume. 1: Wilderness of Zin, the locale of Kadesh-barnea,
in the southern Negeb (see 10.41n.; Num 20.1; Deut 32.51). 4: Wadi of Egypt, either the Wadi Besor or the Wadi
el-Arish, both south of Gaza. 6: Bohan, means thumb; see 18.17. No son of Reuben with this name is mentioned
elsewhere, and the location of part of the tribe of Reuben west of the Jordan is unusual. 78: For the geography
of Jerusalem, see map 4 at the end of this volume.
15.1319: Vigne+es about Judahs heroes (cf. 10.3639; Judg 1.915): male, Caleb and Othniel (15.1317), and
female, Achsah (15.1819). In the rst vignee, Caleb conquers Hebron (see 14.615) and aacks the city of
Debir. Aer recording Calebs challenge and oer of his daughter in marriage (cf. 1 Sam 17.25), Othniel steps
forward as the conquering hero of Debir. In the second, Achsah takes the initiative, urging her husband to ask
for a eld and then requesting her father to give her springs or pools since land without water is land without
hebrew bible | 341
joshua 16
hunneh a portion among the people of Judah,
Kiriath-arba,a that is, Hebron (Arba was the
father of Anak). And Caleb drove out from
there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak.
From there he went up against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher. And Caleb said,
Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes
it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as
wife. Othniel son of Kenaz, the brother of
Caleb, took it; and he gave him his daughter
Achsah as wife. When she came to him, she
urged him to ask her father for a eld. As she
dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to
her, What do you wish? She said to him,
Give me a present; since you have set me
in the land of the Negeb, give me springs of
water as well. So Caleb gave her the upper
springs and the lower springs.
This is the inheritance of the tribe of the
people of Judah according to their families.
The towns belonging to the tribe of the
people of Judah in the extreme south, toward
the boundary of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder,
Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, Kedesh,
Hazor, Ithnan, Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is,
Hazor), Amam, Shema, Moladah, Hazargaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, Hazar-shual,
Beer-sheba, Biziothiah, Baalah, Iim, Ezem,
Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, Lebaoth, Shilhim,
Ain, and Rimmon: in all, twenty-nine towns,
with their villages.
And in the lowland, Eshtaol, Zorah,
Ashnah, Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah,
Enam, Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,
Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, Gederothaim: fourteen towns with their villages.
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, Dilan,
Mizpeh, Jokthe-el, Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,

Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, Gederoth,
Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah: sixteen
towns with their villages.
Libnah, Ether, Ashan, Iphtah, Ashnah,
Nezib, Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine
towns with their villages.
Ekron, with its dependencies and its
villages; from Ekron to the sea, all that were
near Ashdod, with their villages.
Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza,
its towns and its villages; to the Wadi of
Egypt, and the Great Sea with its coast.
And in the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir),
Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, Goshen, Holon,
and Giloh: eleven towns with their villages.
Arab, Dumah, Eshan, Janim, Bethtappuah, Aphekah, Humtah, Kiriath-arba
(that is, Hebron), and Zior: nine towns with
their villages.
Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel,
Jokdeam, Zanoah, Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten towns with their villages.
Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, Maarath,
Beth-anoth, and Eltekon: six towns with their
villages.
Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim) and
Rabbah: two towns with their villages.
In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin,
Secacah, Nibshan, the City of Salt, and Engedi: six towns with their villages.
But the people of Judah could not drive
out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so the Jebusites live with the people of
Judah in Jerusalem to this day.
The allotment of the Josephites went
from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the
waters of Jericho, into the wilderness, going
16
a That is the city of Arba
life. She seeks a sucient blessing in the land.

15.2062: A list of Judahs towns according to districts that is generally considered to have originated in the
monarchic period. A similar list is found in 1 Kings 4.719.
15.63: A narrative postscript noting Judahs failure to conquer Jerusalem. This failure contrasts with Calebs
success in the initial narrative of Judahs allotment (14.615). David captures this city (2 Sam 5.69). Jebusites,
Jebus, the name by which Jerusalem was known before its conquest by David.
16.117.18: Joseph (Ephraim and Half-Manasseh). As the primary power in the Northern Kingdom, Joseph is
mentioned next. See map on p. 347.
16.14: A narrative frame that gives the general outline of the southern borders of the Joseph tribes (i.e.,
the southern boundary of Ephraim). There is ambiguity concerning the people of Joseph. They receive one
342 | hebrew bible
joshua 17
up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel;
then going from Bethel to Luz, it passes along
to Ataroth, the territory of the Archites; then
it goes down westward to the territory of the
Japhletites, as far as the territory of Lower Bethhoron, then to Gezer, and it ends at the sea.
The JosephitesManasseh and
Ephraimreceived their inheritance.
The territory of the Ephraimites by their
families was as follows: the boundary of their
inheritance on the east was Ataroth-addar as
far as Upper Beth-horon, and the boundary
goes from there to the sea; on the north is
Michmethath; then on the east the boundary makes a turn toward Taanath-shiloh, and
passes along beyond it on the east to Janoah,
then it goes down from Janoah to Ataroth
and to Naarah, and touches Jericho, ending
at the Jordan. From Tappuah the boundary goes westward to the Wadi Kanah, and
ends at the sea. Such is the inheritance of
the tribe of the Ephraimites by their families,
together with the towns that were set apart
for the Ephraimites within the inheritance
of the Manassites, all those towns with their
villages. They did not, however, drive out
the Canaanites who lived in Gezer: so the
Canaanites have lived within Ephraim to this
day but have been made to do forced labor.
Then allotment was made to the
tribe of Manasseh, for he was the
rstborn of Joseph. To Machir the rstborn
17
of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were

allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was
a warrior. And allotments were made to
the rest of the tribe of Manasseh, by their
families, Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem,
Hepher, and Shemida; these were the male
descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, by
their families.
Now Zelophehad son of Hepher son of
Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh had
no sons, but only daughters; and these are
the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah,
Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They came
before the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of
Nun and the leaders, and said, The Lord
commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our male kin. So according
to the commandment of the Lord he gave
them an inheritance among the kinsmen of
their father. Thus there fell to Manasseh
ten portions, besides the land of Gilead and
Bashan, which is on the other side of the
Jordan, because the daughters of Manasseh
received an inheritance along with his sons.
The land of Gilead was allotted to the rest of
the Manassites.
The territory of Manasseh reached
from Asher to Michmethath, which is east
of Shechem; then the boundary goes along
southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah.
The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh,
but the town of Tappuah on the boundary
allotment (16.1), as if they constitute one tribe, yet they are recognized as two distinct tribal units (Manasseh
and Ephraim; 14.4a). In addition, one of the tribes, Manasseh, is further divided. Part of the tribe has already
received an allotment in Transjordan, while the remainder receives its allotment in Cisjordan.
16.510: Ephraims boundary description is delineated. The fragmentary description here contrasts with
that devoted to Judah (15.112). 10: The Ephraimites failed to dispossess the Canaanites, though puing them
under forced labor; cf. 15.63; Judg 1.29.
17.16: Ephraims heroes. This somewhat disjointed section corresponds to Judahs vignees of heroes. 12:
The mighty warrior (parallel to Caleb and Othniel in 15.1317) is Machir, Manassehs rstborn (cf. Num 32.39
40), who is given Gilead and Bashan, in Transjordan (see map on p. 347). Yet the allotment for the rest of the tribe
of Manasseh west of the Jordan is given in the form of a town list without any connection to the ancestral hero.
Although Ephraims territory was listed rst, Manasseh is considered the rstborn, as in Gen 48.1320. 36: The
tribes heroic women (corresponding to Achsah in 15.1819) are the daughters of Zelophehad (see Num 27.111;
36.112).
17.713: Manassehs boundary description is given. It includes a list of towns that the tribe had within the
tribal allotments of Issachar and Asher (v. 11). As in the case of Ephraim, the Canaanites were not driven out,
but were put to forced labor (vv. 1213, cf. Judg 1.2728). While the description of Judahs borders is related
with precision and detail, those of Ephraim and Manasseh are fragmentary, take up much less textual space,
and present numerous topographical diculties. The integrity of Judahs territory is thus contrasted with the
broken borders of the Joseph tribes.
hebrew bible | 343
joshua 18
of Manasseh belonged to the Ephraimites.
Then the boundary went down to the Wadi
Kanah. The towns here, to the south of the
wadi, among the towns of Manasseh, belong
to Ephraim. Then the boundary of Manasseh goes along the north side of the wadi
and ends at the sea. The land to the south
is Ephraims and that to the north is Manassehs, with the sea forming its boundary;
on the north Asher is reached, and on the
east Issachar. Within Issachar and Asher,
Manasseh had Beth-shean and its villages,
Ibleam and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor
and its villages, the inhabitants of En-dor and
its villages, the inhabitants of Taanach and
its villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo
and its villages (the third is Naphath).a Yet
the Manassites could not take possession of
those towns; but the Canaanites continued
to live in that land. But when the Israelites grew strong, they put the Canaanites to
forced labor, but did not utterly drive them
out.
The tribe of Joseph spoke to Joshua,
saying, Why have you given me but one
lot and one portion as an inheritance, since
we are a numerous people, whom all along
the Lord has blessed? And Joshua said
to them, If you are a numerous people,
go up to the forest, and clear ground there
for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites
and the Rephaim, since the hill country
of Ephraim is too narrow for you. The
tribe of Joseph said, The hill country is not
enough for us; yet all the Canaanites who
live in the plain have chariots of iron, both
those in Beth-shean and its villages and
those in the Valley of Jezreel. Then Joshua
said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim
and Manasseh, You are indeed a numerous people, and have great power; you shall
not have one lot only, but the hill country

shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you
shall clear it and possess it to its farthest
borders; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and
though they are strong.
Then the whole congregation of the
Israelites assembled at Shiloh, and set
up the tent of meeting there. The land lay
subdued before them.
There remained among the Israelites
seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet
been apportioned. So Joshua said to the
Israelites, How long will you be slack about
going in and taking possession of the land
that the Lord, the God of your ancestors,
has given you? Provide three men from
each tribe, and I will send them out that they
may begin to go throughout the land, writing a description of it with a view to their
inheritances. Then come back to me. They
shall divide it into seven portions, Judah
continuing in its territory on the south, and
the house of Joseph in their territory on the
north. You shall describe the land in seven
divisions and bring the description here to
me; and I will cast lots for you here before
the Lord our God. The Levites have no
portion among you, for the priesthood of the
Lord is their heritage; and Gad and Reuben
and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received
their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord
gave them.
So the men started on their way; and
Joshua charged those who went to write the
description of the land, saying, Go throughout the land and write a description of it, and
come back to me; and I will cast lots for you
18
17.1418: Josephs portion. This narrative frame describes the demand of the people of Joseph and the double portion that they receive. This story is an ironic counterbalance to the quest for land by Caleb (14.615), and
perhaps also by Achsah (15.1819). The Josephites convey trepidation, contentiousness, and failure.
18.119.51: Seven other tribal allotments. The narration of the allotments to the remaining seven tribes. See
map on p. 347 and map 4 at the end of this volume.
18.110: Assembly of Shiloh. General introduction to the allotments. The boundaries of the tribes in the
land are asserted to be the result of the Lords will and of Israels obedience, not human will or historical contingency. 1: Shiloh, an important Israelite sanctuary in the period before the monarchy (Judg 18.31; 1 Sam 4.34).
It is 31 km (19 mi) north of Jerusalem.
6: Lots, see 7.14n. 7: The Levites, see 13.14n., 33n.
344 | hebrew bible
joshua 19
here before the Lord in Shiloh. So the men
went and traversed the land and set down in
a book a description of it by towns in seven
divisions; then they came back to Joshua in
the camp at Shiloh, and Joshua cast lots for
them in Shiloh before the Lord; and there
Joshua apportioned the land to the Israelites,
to each a portion.
The lot of the tribe of Benjamin according to its families came up, and the territory
allotted to it fell between the tribe of Judah
and the tribe of Joseph. On the north side
their boundary began at the Jordan; then the
boundary goes up to the slope of Jericho on
the north, then up through the hill country westward; and it ends at the wilderness
of Beth-aven. From there the boundary
passes along southward in the direction of
Luz, to the slope of Luz (that is, Bethel), then
the boundary goes down to Ataroth-addar,
on the mountain that lies south of Lower
Beth-horon. Then the boundary goes in
another direction, turning on the western
side southward from the mountain that lies
to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it
ends at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim),
a town belonging to the tribe of Judah. This
forms the western side. The southern side
begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim; and
the boundary goes from there to Ephron,a
to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah;
then the boundary goes down to the
border of the mountain that overlooks the
valley of the son of Hinnom, which is at the
north end of the valley of Rephaim; and it
then goes down the valley of Hinnom, south
of the slope of the Jebusites, and downward
to En-rogel; then it bends in a northerly
direction going on to En-shemesh, and from
there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the
ascent of Adummim; then it goes down to the
Stone of Bohan, Reubens son; and passing
on to the north of the slope of Beth-arabahb it
goes down to the Arabah; then the boundary passes on to the north of the slope of
Beth-hoglah; and the boundary ends at the

northern bay of the Dead Sea,c at the south
end of the Jordan: this is the southern border.
The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the tribe of
Benjamin, according to its families, boundary
by boundary all around.
Now the towns of the tribe of Benjamin
according to their families were Jericho,
Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, Beth-arabah,
Zemaraim, Bethel, Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,
Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba
twelve towns with their villages: Gibeon,
Ramah, Beeroth, Mizpeh, Chephirah,
Mozah, Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, Zela,
Haeleph, Jebusd (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeahe
and Kiriath-jearimffourteen towns with
their villages. This is the inheritance of the
tribe of Benjamin according to its families.
The second lot came out for Simeon,
for the tribe of Simeon, according to
its families; its inheritance lay within the
inheritance of the tribe of Judah. It had for
its inheritance Beer-sheba, Sheba, Moladah,
Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul,
Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazarsusah, Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhenthirteen towns with their villages; Ain, Rimmon,
Ether, and Ashanfour towns with their
villages; together with all the villages all
around these towns as far as Baalath-beer,
Ramah of the Negeb. This was the inheritance
of the tribe of Simeon according to its families. The inheritance of the tribe of Simeon
formed part of the territory of Judah; because
the portion of the tribe of Judah was too large
for them, the tribe of Simeon obtained an
inheritance within their inheritance.
19
a
b
c
d
e
f
Cn See 15.9. Heb westward

Gk: Heb to the slope over against the Arabah
Heb Salt Sea
Gk Syr Vg: Heb the Jebusite
Heb Gibeath
Gk: Heb Kiriath
18.1128: Benjamin. The territory of Benjamin is immediately north of Judah. 1220: A counter-clockwise
boundary description is given. 17: Bohan, see 15.6n. 2128: Benjamins town list follows. Two districts of towns
(vv. 2124 and vv. 2528) are presented in the same format as those for Judah (many scholars assume from the
same source). 28: Jerusalem, assigned to Judah in 15.63.
19.19: Simeon. The allotment is described only in terms of a town list (cf. 1 Chr 4.2833). 9: A gloss explaining why these do not follow a boundary description. A conjoining of Judah and Simeon is also found in Judg 1.3.
hebrew bible | 345
joshua 19
The third lot came up for the tribe
of Zebulun, according to its families. The
boundary of its inheritance reached as far as
Sarid; then its boundary goes up westward,
and on to Maralah, and touches Dabbesheth,
then the wadi that is east of Jokneam;
from Sarid it goes in the other direction
eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chisloth-tabor; from there it goes to
Daberath, then up to Japhia; from there it
passes along on the east toward the sunrise
to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to
Rimmon it bends toward Neah; then on the
north the boundary makes a turn to Hannathon, and it ends at the valley of Iphtah-el;
and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and
Bethlehemtwelve towns with their villages.
This is the inheritance of the tribe of Zebulun, according to its familiesthese towns
The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for
the tribe of Issachar, according to its families.
Its territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth,
Shunem, Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath,
Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, Remeth, Engannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez; the
boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazumah,
and Beth-shemesh, and its boundary ends
at the Jordansixteen towns with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of
Issachar, according to its familiesthe towns
The fifth lot came out for the tribe of
Asher according to its families. Its boundary included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal;
on the west it touches Carmel and Shihorlibnath, then it turns eastward, goes to
Beth-dagon, and touches Zebulun and the
valley of Iphtah-el northward to Beth-emek

and Neiel; then it continues in the north to
Cabul, Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah,
as far as Great Sidon; then the boundary
turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified
city of Tyre; then the boundary turns to
Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab,a
Achzib, Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob
twenty-two towns with their villages. This
is the inheritance of the tribe of Asher
according to its familiesthese towns with
their villages.
The sixth lot came out for the tribe of
Naphtali, for the tribe of Naphtali, according
to its families. And its boundary ran from
Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and
Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum; and it ended at the Jordan; then the
boundary turns westward to Aznoth-tabor,
and goes from there to Hukkok, touching
Zebulun at the south, and Asher on the west,
and Judah on the east at the Jordan. The
fortied towns are Ziddim, Zer, Hammath,
Rakkath, Chinnereth, Adamah, Ramah,
Hazor, Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, Iron,
Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Bethshemeshnineteen towns with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of
Naphtali according to its familiesthe towns
The seventh lot came out for the tribe of
Dan, according to its families. The territory
of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol,
Ir-shemesh, Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,
Elon, Timnah, Ekron, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, Jehud, Bene-berak, Gathrimmon, Me-jarkon, and Rakkon at the
a Cn Compare Gk: Heb Mehebel
19.1016: Zebulun. 1014: Zebuluns boundary description is given. 15: A town list integrated into a boundary description follows.
19.1723: Issachar. 1821: Issachars town list. 22: A boundary fragment with v. 17 providing a formulaic introduction. Issachars boundaries correspond to Solomons tenth district (1 Kings 4.17). Consequently, there
may be some relationship between this data and that administrative unit. Issachar is missing in the outline of
Judg 1.
19.2431: Asher. Ashers allotment is fragmentary, with a boundary description (vv. 2630) and a town list
integrated into a boundary description (vv. 2526,28,30). The list includes some Phoenician cities such as Tyre
(v. 29) that were never under Israelite control, suggesting that idealized elements are found in these lists.
19.3239: Naphtali. Naphtalis allotment has a boundary description (vv. 3334) and a town list (vv. 3538).
Vv. 32 and 39 provide the framework. The allotment is missing a northern border.
19.4048: Dan. Like Simeon (vv. 19), the allotment is given only in the form of a town list (vv. 4147), with
346 | hebrew bible
LI
TA
A S
H E
R
NA
Rehob
Mediterranean
Sea
33
MANASSEH
Rimmon
(Dimnah)
ZEBULUN
Helkath
Kedesh
PH
Abdon
Golan
Hammath-dor
Daberath
Jokneam
BASHAN
Kishion
ISSACHAR
Jarmuth
Ramoth-gilead?
Taanach
MANASSEH
GILEAD
G A D
Shechem
Mahanaim
32
Gath-rimmon
Shiloh
D
A
Elteke?
Gibbethon
Jazer
EPHRAIM
Beth-horon
Gibeon
Geba
BENJAMIN
Aijalon
Almon
Anathoth
Gezer
Heshbon
Bezer?
Beth-shemesh
Holon?
Libnah
R E U B E N
Hebron
(Kiriath-arba)
J U D A H
Debir
Juah
Kedemoth?
Dead
Sea
Eshtemoa
Jair
S I M E O N
31
0
0
35
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
36
The Levitical cities. Cities of refuge are highlighted with a star. The tribal boundaries are shown by a dashed line.
hebrew bible | 347
joshua 20
border opposite Joppa. When the territory
of the Danites was lost to them, the Danites
went up and fought against Leshem, and after
capturing it and putting it to the sword, they
took possession of it and settled in it, calling
Leshem, Dan, after their ancestor Dan. This
is the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, according to their familiesthese towns with their
villages.
When they had nished distributing the
several territories of the land as inheritances,
the Israelites gave an inheritance among them
to Joshua son of Nun. By command of the
Lord they gave him the town that he asked
for, Timnath-serah in the hill country of
Ephraim; he rebuilt the town, and settled in it.
These are the inheritances that the priest
Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun and the heads
of the families of the tribes of the Israelites
distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord,
at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they
nished dividing the land.
Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, Say to the Israelites, Appoint
the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you
20
through Moses, so that anyone who kills a

person without intent or by mistake may ee
there; they shall be for you a refuge from the
avenger of blood. The slayer shall ee to one
of these cities and shall stand at the entrance
of the gate of the city, and explain the case to
the elders of that city; then the fugitive shall
be taken into the city, and given a place, and
shall remain with them. And if the avenger
of blood is in pursuit, they shall not give up
the slayer, because the neighbor was killed
by mistake, there having been no enmity between them before. The slayer shall remain
in that city until there is a trial before the
congregation, until the death of the one who
is high priest at the time: then the slayer may
return home, to the town in which the deed
was done.
So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the
hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the
hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba
(that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they
appointed Bezer in the wilderness on the
tableland, from the tribe of Reuben, and
vv. 40 and 48 providing a formulaic framework. Ancient tradition located Dan in the south (cf. Judg 1.34). 47:
Sometime before the time of the monarchy the Danites migrated to the north (see Judg 18.131). Judg 18.27
refers to Leshem as Laish.
19.4950: Final allotment. The allotments of two former spies (Num 13.6,8) frame the larger unit: Joshuas
individual allotment concludes the division of the land, just as Calebs individual allotment began it (14.615).
Calebs success and vigor in capturing Hebron is contrasted to Joshua, who requests a city in the Ephraimite
hill country that he (re)builds for himself. The citys name, Timnath-serah. (portion of excess) (cf. 24.30), is
preserved as Timnath- heres
(portion of the sun) in Judg 2.9. The dierence is due to a change in the order of
.
the last three consonants. The dierence is not easily resolved. Joshua appears to prefer the sparsely seled
hills to fortied cities.
19.51: Summary of the process of allotment. The verse serves as a closing bracket for the structural segments of both 14.119.51 (nine and one-half tribes) and 18.119.51 (seven tribes).
20.121.42: Allotments to persons of marginal status. This section delineates secondary allotments that
form a transition to the practical concerns of how life is to be lived in the land. Neither group is bounded by
the tribal borders just enumerated in chs 1319. The establishment of both the cities of refuge and the Levitical
cities was on the basis of instructions given by Moses. Both are supplemental land grants.
20.19: Cities of refuge. The towns of asylum provided the right of asylum for someone who commied
involuntary manslaughter until the case was adjudicated. The passage shows how Joshua fullled what God
had commanded Moses (Num 35.934) and Moses commanded Israel (Deut 19.113). The right of asylum helped
to limit the social damage of unrestrained blood vengeance or feuding, especially important in a tribal context
(see Judg 12.15; 19.121.25). Three towns were alloed on each side of the Jordan. All six were also Levitical
cities (21.1,11,27,32,36,38). 3: The avenger (Heb goel) of blood was the deceaseds nearest relative (cf. 2 Sam
14.217). 4: The gate of the city was where the elders of the city met to adjudicate disputes (cf. Ruth 4.112). 6:
Probably a later addition, incorporating the Priestly perspective of Num 35.25, with trial by the congregation
(rather than the elders of v. 4), and implying that the death of the . . . high priest expiated the victims death.
710: See map on p. 347.
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joshua 21
Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and
Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh. These were the cities designated for
all the Israelites, and for the aliens residing
among them, that anyone who killed a person without intent could ee there, so as not
to die by the hand of the avenger of blood,
until there was a trial before the congregation.
Then the heads of the families of the
Levites came to the priest Eleazar and
to Joshua son of Nun and to the heads of the
families of the tribes of the Israelites; they
said to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan,
The Lord commanded through Moses that
we be given towns to live in, along with
their pasture lands for our livestock. So by
command of the Lord the Israelites gave to
the Levites the following towns and pasture
lands out of their inheritance.
The lot came out for the families of
the Kohathites. So those Levites who were
descendants of Aaron the priest received by
lot thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah,
Simeon, and Benjamin.
The rest of the Kohathites received by lot
ten towns from the families of the tribe of
Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and the halftribe of Manasseh.
The Gershonites received by lot thirteen towns from the families of the tribe of
Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the
tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of
Manasseh in Bashan.
The Merarites according to their families received twelve towns from the tribe of
Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of
Zebulun.
These towns and their pasture lands the
Israelites gave by lot to the Levites, as the
Lord had commanded through Moses.
Out of the tribe of Judah and the tribe
of Simeon they gave the following towns
mentioned by name, which went to the
descendants of Aaron, one of the families of
the Kohathites who belonged to the Levites,
21
since the lot fell to them rst. They gave

them Kiriath-arba (Arba being the father of
Anak), that is Hebron, in the hill country of
Judah, along with the pasture lands around
it. But the elds of the town and its villages
had been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as
his holding.
To the descendants of Aaron the priest
they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the
slayer, with its pasture lands, Libnah with its
pasture lands, Jattir with its pasture lands,
Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, Holon
with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture
lands, Ain with its pasture lands, Juttah
with its pasture lands, and Beth-shemesh
with its pasture landsnine towns out of
these two tribes. Out of the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba
with its pasture lands, Anathoth with its
pasture lands, and Almon with its pasture
landsfour towns. The towns of the
descendants of Aaronthe priestswere
thirteen in all, with their pasture lands.
As to the rest of the Kohathites belonging to the Kohathite families of the Levites,
the towns allotted to them were out of the
tribe of Ephraim. To them were given
Shechem, the city of refuge for the slayer,
with its pasture lands in the hill country of
Ephraim, Gezer with its pasture lands, Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth-horon
with its pasture landsfour towns. Out of
the tribe of Dan: Elteke with its pasture lands,
Gibbethon with its pasture lands, Aijalon
with its pasture lands, Gath-rimmon with its
pasture landsfour towns. Out of the halftribe of Manasseh: Taanach with its pasture
lands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasture
landstwo towns. The towns of the families of the rest of the Kohathites were ten in
all, with their pasture lands.
To the Gershonites, one of the families of the Levites, were given out of the
half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan
with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for
the slayer, and Beeshterah with its pasture
21.142: Levitical cities. Elsewhere the Levites have no inheritance (13.14,33; 18.7; Deut 10.89); nevertheless, they are integrated into the unity of Israel. As in the delineation of the tribal boundaries, there is some
idealization. The total number of Levitical cities (forty-eight) as a multiple of twelve is likely symbolic. But
the towns are not equally divided among the tribes. They are alloed to the three clans of the Levites: the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites. 1112: See 14.1315n.; 15.1319n. 1340: See map on p. 347.
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joshua 22
landstwo towns. Out of the tribe of
Issachar: Kishion with its pasture lands,
Daberath with its pasture lands, Jarmuth
with its pasture lands, En-gannim with its
pasture landsfour towns. Out of the
tribe of Asher: Mishal with its pasture lands,
Abdon with its pasture lands, Helkath with
its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture
landsfour towns. Out of the tribe of
Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the slayer,
Hammoth-dor with its pasture lands, and
Kartan with its pasture landsthree towns.
The towns of the several families of the
Gershonites were in all thirteen, with their
pasture lands.
To the rest of the Levitesthe Merarite familieswere given out of the tribe of
Zebulun: Jokneam with its pasture lands,
Kartah with its pasture lands, Dimnah with
its pasture lands, Nahalal with its pasture
landsfour towns. Out of the tribe of
Reuben: Bezer with its pasture lands, Jahzah
with its pasture lands, Kedemoth with its
pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture
landsfour towns. Out of the tribe of Gad:
Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, the
city of refuge for the slayer, Mahanaim with
its pasture lands, Heshbon with its pasture
lands, Jazer with its pasture landsfour
towns in all. As for the towns of the several
Merarite families, that is, the remainder of
the families of the Levites, those allotted to
them were twelve in all.
The towns of the Levites within the
holdings of the Israelites were in all fortyeight towns with their pasture lands. Each
of these towns had its pasture lands around

it; so it was with all these towns.
Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land
that he swore to their ancestors that he would
give them; and having taken possession of it,
they settled there. And the Lord gave them
rest on every side just as he had sworn to
their ancestors; not one of all their enemies
had withstood them, for the Lord had given
all their enemies into their hands. Not one
of all the good promises that the Lord had
made to the house of Israel had failed; all
came to pass.
Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of
Manasseh, and said to them, You have observed all that Moses the servant of the Lord
commanded you, and have obeyed me in all
that I have commanded you; you have not
forsaken your kindred these many days, down
to this day, but have been careful to keep the
charge of the Lord your God. And now the
Lord your God has given rest to your kindred,
as he promised them; therefore turn and go to
your tents in the land where your possession
lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave
you on the other side of the Jordan. Take
good care to observe the commandment and
instruction that Moses the servant of the
Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your
God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, and to hold fast to him, and to
serve him with all your heart and with all your
soul. So Joshua blessed them and sent them
away, and they went to their tents.
Now to the one half of the tribe of
Manasseh Moses had given a possession
22
21.4345: Ironic conclusion. This is an ironic conclusion to the conquest and allotment sections of the
book. The overstated claims of unmitigated success (note the use of Heb kol [all or every] six times) in
these verses seem incongruent with the subtle statements given throughout 13.121.42 that there were failures among the tribessome quite signicantas each aempted to secure its allotment. Nevertheless, the
stress on the Lords faithfulness contrasts with the squabbling over the Transjordanian altar in the next section
(22.1034).
22.124.33: Epilogue to the conquest and allotment. Three concluding sections are used to foster Israels
delity in the land. These take the form of a warning narrative (22.134) and a pair of exhorting addresses
(23.116; 24.128) in which commitments to the covenant are renewed. Originally disparate materials have been
selected and arranged to frame the book. In particular, participants and motifs from 1.118 recur in this section.
22.134: Misunderstanding with the Transjordanian tribes. The ties binding the tribes together were not
rm, and conicts were a continuing problem. The issue here is the place of legitimate worship, a central concern of Deuteronomy. 19: The Transjordanian tribes return to their homes on the east bank. 15: Joshuas
farewell to the Transjordanian tribes structurally balances the introduction to them in 1.1218. 5: To love the Lord
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joshua 22
in Bashan; but to the other half Joshua had
given a possession beside their fellow Israelites in the land west of the Jordan. And when
Joshua sent them away to their tents and
blessed them, he said to them, Go back to
your tents with much wealth, and with very
much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and
iron, and with a great quantity of clothing;
divide the spoil of your enemies with your
kindred. So the Reubenites and the Gadites
and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned
home, parting from the Israelites at Shiloh,
which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the
land of Gilead, their own land of which they
had taken possession by command of the
Lord through Moses.
When they came to the regiona near the
Jordan that lies in the land of Canaan, the
Reubenites and the Gadites and the halftribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the
Jordan, an altar of great size. The Israelites
heard that the Reubenites and the Gadites
and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an
altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in
the regionb near the Jordan, on the side that
belongs to the Israelites. And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly
of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh, to make
war against them.
Then the Israelites sent the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar to the Reubenites and
the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
in the land of Gilead, and with him ten
chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of
Israel, every one of them the head of a family
among the clans of Israel. They came to the
Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe
of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they
said to them, Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, What is this treachery
that you have committed against the God of
Israel in turning away today from following

the Lord, by building yourselves an altar today in rebellion against the Lord? Have we
not had enough of the sin at Peor from which
even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and
for which a plague came upon the congregation of the Lord, that you must turn away
today from following the Lord! If you rebel
against the Lord today, he will be angry with
the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow.
But now, if your land is unclean, cross
over into the Lords land where the Lords
tabernacle now stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us; only do not
rebel against the Lord, or rebel against usc by
building yourselves an altar other than the
altar of the Lord our God. Did not Achan
son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the
devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the
congregation of Israel? And he did not perish
alone for his iniquity!
Then the Reubenites, the Gadites, and
the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer
to the heads of the families of Israel, The
Lord, God of gods! The Lord, God of gods!
He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was
in rebellion or in breach of faith toward the
Lord, do not spare us today for building
an altar to turn away from following the
Lord; or if we did so to oer burnt oerings
or grain oerings or oerings of well-being
on it, may the Lord himself take vengeance.
No! We did it from fear that in time to
come your children might say to our children, What have you to do with the Lord,
the God of Israel? For the Lord has made
the Jordan a boundary between us and you,
a Or to Geliloth
b Or at Geliloth
c Or make rebels of us
anticipates 23.11; the language is Deuteronomic (see Deut 6.5; 10.1213; 30.16; etc.). 7: See Deut 3.13; Josh 17.
22.1034: The debate over the altar built by the Transjordanian tribes. The central role of Phinehas (see
Ex 6.25; Num 25) in dealing with this conict leads some scholars to conclude that priestly circles edited this
story. 12: Holding strictly to the Deuteronomic law that forbade the oering of sacrice anywhere except in the
one central sanctuary (Deut 12.1314), the other tribes apparently interpret the building of the altar as an act of
disloyalty to Israel and to its God, and therefore prepare to make war against them. The extent to which the tribal
selement east of the Jordan is or is not part of Israel also stands behind this narrative. 17: The sin at Peor, Num
25.35. 19: Highly charged theological language suggests the superiority of the Cisjordanian tribes. 20: Achan,
see ch 7. 2425: The motive of the Transjordanian tribes was honorable; they built the altar as a witness to their
loyalty to the Lord. They feared that in the future the Israelites west of the Jordan might discriminate against
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joshua 23
you Reubenites and Gadites; you have no
portion in the Lord. So your children might
make our children cease to worship the Lord.
Therefore we said, Let us now build an
altar, not for burnt oering, nor for sacrice,
but to be a witness between us and you,
and between the generations after us, that
we do perform the service of the Lord in
his presence with our burnt oerings and
sacrices and oerings of well-being; so that
your children may never say to our children
in time to come, You have no portion in the
Lord. And we thought, If this should be
said to us or to our descendants in time to
come, we could say, Look at this copy of the
altar of the Lord, which our ancestors made,
not for burnt oerings, nor for sacrice, but
to be a witness between us and you. Far be
it from us that we should rebel against the
Lord, and turn away this day from following
the Lord by building an altar for burnt oering, grain oering, or sacrice, other than the
altar of the Lord our God that stands before
his tabernacle!
When the priest Phinehas and the chiefs
of the congregation, the heads of the families
of Israel who were with him, heard the words
that the Reubenites and the Gadites and the
Manassites spoke, they were satised. The
priest Phinehas son of Eleazar said to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the Manassites,
Today we know that the Lord is among us,
because you have not committed this treachery against the Lord; now you have saved the
Israelites from the hand of the Lord.
Then the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar
and the chiefs returned from the Reubenites
and the Gadites in the land of Gilead to the
land of Canaan, to the Israelites, and brought
back word to them. The report pleased the
Israelites; and the Israelites blessed God and
spoke no more of making war against them,
to destroy the land where the Reubenites and

the Gadites were settled. The Reubenites
and the Gadites called the altar Witness;a
For, said they, it is a witness between us
that the Lord is God.
A long time afterward, when the Lord
had given rest to Israel from all their
enemies all around, and Joshua was old and
well advanced in years, Joshua summoned
all Israel, their elders and heads, their judges
and ocers, and said to them, I am now old
and well advanced in years; and you have
seen all that the Lord your God has done to
all these nations for your sake, for it is the
Lord your God who has fought for you. I
have allotted to you as an inheritance for
your tribes those nations that remain, along
with all the nations that I have already cut
o, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the
west. The Lord your God will push them
back before you, and drive them out of your
sight; and you shall possess their land, as the
Lord your God promised you. Therefore be
very steadfast to observe and do all that is
written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right nor to
the left, so that you may not be mixed with
these nations left here among you, or make
mention of the names of their gods, or swear
by them, or serve them, or bow yourselves
down to them, but hold fast to the Lord
your God, as you have done to this day. For
the Lord has driven out before you great and
strong nations; and as for you, no one has
been able to withstand you to this day. One
of you puts to ight a thousand, since it is
the Lord your God who ghts for you, as he
promised you. Be very careful, therefore,
to love the Lord your God. For if you turn
back, and join the survivors of these nations
23
a Cn Compare Syr: Heb lacks Witness
thema well-founded fear in light of this story (see Judg 12.15). 2627: It was not a real sacricial altar, they
claimed, but merely a memorial, a witness (cf. Gen 31.4748; Josh 24.27).
23.124.28: Concluding charges. There are a number of similarities between Joshuas speech to the leaders
(23.116) and his charge to the people (24.128). Both resemble the testaments of prior Israelite leaders: Jacob
(Gen 4849), Joseph (Gen 50.2226), and especially Moses (Deut 3233). Additionally, both have framing links
with 1.29.
23.116: Covenantal charge to the leaders. Joshuas address to the leaders consists almost entirely of Deuteronomistic reections. 15: Gods mighty acts of conquest. 611: An exhortation to remain faithful to the
Lord and his covenant so that the remaining land can be conquered. 1216: Warnings of judgments if Israel is
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joshua 24
left here among you, and intermarry with
them, so that you marry their women and
they yours, know assuredly that the Lord
your God will not continue to drive out these
nations before you; but they shall be a snare
and a trap for you, a scourge on your sides,
and thorns in your eyes, until you perish
from this good land that the Lord your God
has given you.
And now I am about to go the way of all
the earth, and you know in your hearts and
souls, all of you, that not one thing has failed
of all the good things that the Lord your God
promised concerning you; all have come to
pass for you, not one of them has failed. But
just as all the good things that the Lord your
God promised concerning you have been
fullled for you, so the Lord will bring upon
you all the bad things, until he has destroyed
you from this good land that the Lord your
God has given you. If you transgress the
covenant of the Lord your God, which he
enjoined on you, and go and serve other gods
and bow down to them, then the anger of the
Lord will be kindled against you, and you
shall perish quickly from the good land that
he has given to you.
Then Joshua gathered all the tribes
of Israel to Shechem, and summoned
the elders, the heads, the judges, and the
ocers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all
the people, Thus says the Lord, the God of
Israel: Long ago your ancestorsTerah and
his sons Abraham and Nahorlived beyond
the Euphrates and served other gods. Then
I took your father Abraham from beyond
the River and led him through all the land
of Canaan and made his ospring many. I
gave him Isaac; and to Isaac I gave Jacob
24
and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of

Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children
went down to Egypt. Then I sent Moses
and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what
I did in its midst; and afterwards I brought
you out. When I brought your ancestors
out of Egypt, you came to the sea; and the
Egyptians pursued your ancestors with
chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.a
When they cried out to the Lord, he put
darkness between you and the Egyptians,
and made the sea come upon them and cover
them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt.
Afterwards you lived in the wilderness a long
time. Then I brought you to the land of the
Amorites, who lived on the other side of the
Jordan; they fought with you, and I handed
them over to you, and you took possession of
their land, and I destroyed them before you.
Then King Balak son of Zippor of Moab, set
out to ght against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam son of Beor to curse you, but
I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he
blessed you; so I rescued you out of his hand.
When you went over the Jordan and came
to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought
against you, and also the Amorites, the
Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the
Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites;
and I handed them over to you. I sent the
hornetb ahead of you, which drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was
not by your sword or by your bow. I gave
you a land on which you had not labored,
and towns that you had not built, and you
live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards
and oliveyards that you did not plant.
a Or Sea of Reeds
unfaithful to the covenant, worshiping foreign gods. 14: Way of all the earth, i.e., to die; see 1 Kings 2.2.
24.128: Covenant renewal of the people. Joshua fullls the commands of Moses in Deut 11; 27; 31. All Israel
unites under Joshuas leadership in the service of the Lord. Joshuas nal meeting with the people takes place at
Shechem (cf. 8.3035). 1: Shechem (Tell Balata) became an important Israelite religious and political center, and
was already important in Genesis. The seing of Shechem thus frames the Hexateuch. 213: A historical summary analogous to the prologues of ancient Near Eastern suzerainty treaties divides into three subdivisions:
the ancestral period (vv. 24), the Egyptian period (vv. 57), and the conquest period (vv. 813). 24: A summary
of Gen 11.2646.27. 510: A summary of Exodus and Numbers, omiing any reference to the events at Mount
Sinai. 9: Balak and Balaam, see Num 2224; Josh 13.22n. 11: Perhaps a dierent tradition about Jericho from that
found in ch 6. 12: The hornet, a vivid image; see Ex 23.28; Deut 7.20. 13: See Deut 6.1011. 1424: A dialogue between Joshua and the people in which the issue of serving the Lord, not other gods, is weighed. The Israelites
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joshua 24
Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve
him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away
the gods that your ancestors served beyond
the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord,
choose this day whom you will serve, whether
the gods your ancestors served in the region
beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites
in whose land you are living; but as for me and
my household, we will serve the Lord.
Then the people answered, Far be it
from us that we should forsake the Lord to
serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God
who brought us and our ancestors up from
the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,
and who did those great signs in our sight. He
protected us along all the way that we went,
and among all the peoples through whom we
passed; and the Lord drove out before us
all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the
land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord,
for he is our God.
But Joshua said to the people, You
cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God.
He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your
transgressions or your sins. If you forsake
the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will
turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good. And the people
said to Joshua, No, we will serve the Lord!
Then Joshua said to the people, You are
witnesses against yourselves that you have
chosen the Lord, to serve him. And they
said, We are witnesses. He said, Then
put away the foreign gods that are among
you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the
God of Israel. The people said to Joshua,
The Lord our God we will serve, and him we

will obey. So Joshua made a covenant with
the people that day, and made statutes and
ordinances for them at Shechem. Joshua
wrote these words in the book of the law of
God; and he took a large stone, and set it up
there under the oak in the sanctuary of the
Lord. Joshua said to all the people, See,
this stone shall be a witness against us; for it
has heard all the words of the Lord that he
spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness
against you, if you deal falsely with your
God. So Joshua sent the people away to
their inheritances.
After these things Joshua son of Nun,
the servant of the Lord, died, being one
hundred ten years old. They buried him in
his own inheritance at Timnath-serah, which
is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of
Mount Gaash.
Israel served the Lord all the days of
Joshua, and all the days of the elders who
outlived Joshua and had known all the work
that the Lord did for Israel.
The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites
had brought up from Egypt, were buried at
Shechem, in the portion of ground that Jacob
had bought from the children of Hamor, the
father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces
of money;a it became an inheritance of the
descendants of Joseph.
Eleazar son of Aaron died; and they
buried him at Gibeah, the town of his son
Phinehas, which had been given him in the
hill country of Ephraim.
a Heb one hundred qesitah
commitment to the covenant with the Lord is formalized. 14: The River, the Euphrates. In Egypt, cf. Ezek 20.58;
23.3,8. 23: See Gen 35.24. 26: A large stone, cf. 8.32. The oak, see Gen 12.6; 35.4; Deut 11.30; Judg 9.6.
24.2933: Appendixes. Appendixes are found in several biblical books; here three short notices are given.
2931: The death and burial of Joshua, with a comment concerning Israels faithfulness to the Lord; cf. Judg
2.69. 32: The reburial of the bones of Joseph in Shechem in the patriarchal plot (see Gen 50.25; Ex 13.19). Here
again our aention is returned to Genesis. 33: The death and burial of the priest Eleazar (see 13.1). This is a surprising ending, but it indicates the strength of the priestly interests in the book.
JUDGES
location in canon and name
The book of Judges is the second book of the Former Prophets in the Jewish canon, and in Christian Bibles the
second of the Historical Books. Its place was determined chronologically, as it covers the period aer Joshuas
death and before the establishment of kingship recounted in 1 Samuel.
The book is named aer its principal characters, who are called only in the beginning of the book judges
(2.16-19), meaning chieains or rulers. The use of this term points to diverse leaders who acted in this period.
Some are depicted as military leaders (Othniel, Ehud, Barak, Gideon and Jephthah); some as lone warriors (Shamgar and Samson); others had a religious mission (prophets: Deborah and Samuel; Nazirite: Samson; and priests:
Eli and Samuel). Only a few are mentioned as siing in judgment in the juridical sense (Deborah and Samuel),
while there are some whose activities are not specied (Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon and Abdon). The Hebrew word
shaphat (to judge) and its derivative shophet (a judge) can mean adjudicate but also rule (2 Chr 1.10; Is
51.5) and vindicate, provide justice for (Pss 10.18; 82.3). The range of leaders over the entire period produced
the sweeping editorial rubric Judges (see also Ruth 1.1; 2 Sam 7.11; 2 Kings 23.22; 1 Chr 17.6, 10; Sir 46.11).
authorship and literary history

The early rabbis (b. B. Bat. 14b) assumed that the book of Judges was wrien by the prophet Samuel, who lived
not long aer the events described. Most modern biblical scholars maintain that, like other historiographic
books of the Former Prophets, Judges was a compilation of materials edited by Deuteronomistic editors in
the late seventh and sixth centuries bce, with other materials, such as the story of Gibeah (chs 1921), added
later. Other scholars think that, because of stylistic and ideological considerations, the main redaction was
completed in a pre-Deuteronomistic stage, in the late eighth or early seventh century bce, and that it reected
the shocked mood in Judah aer the downfall of the kingdom of Israel in 722 (see 18.30). All critical scholars
agree, however, that the book was wrien long aer the events depicted, and reects later Judean goals and
perspectives. Thus, even though some of the episodes may contain historical memories of the premonarchic
period, it is dicult to speak of the period of the judges and to use the stories to reconstruct the history of
early Israel.

The book has three parts: an introduction that explains the background of the judges rise (1.13.6); a central
section describing the activities of the judges (3.716.31); and a conclusion composed of two episodes: that of
Micah and the conquest of Dan (chs 1718), and the story of the rape in Gibeah with its subsequent civil war
(chs 1921). These last episodes create the impression that monarchy alone could end the chaotic period of
the judges, and thus serves, along with the book as a whole, a ing introduction to the book of Samuel that
follows it in the Jewish canon.
The book of Judges does not cover the entire period of the judges, nor is its narrative chronological. It
opens in the time of the elders who survived Joshua and concludes with events that took place in the third
generation from the Exodus (18.30, 20:28). Moreover, the last two individuals designated as judgesEli and
Samuelappear in the book of Samuel (1 Sam 4.18; 7.15-17). By closing the book with events from the beginning of the period and creating a circular structure, the author-editor exposes the inecacy of the judges, who
could only save and inuence their people for a limited time. As the book states several times, aer the death
of the delivering judges, the people relapsed, were punished, and cried to the Lord to save them. This recurrent
paern of sin, punishment, appeal to God, rescue and peace results in a series of cyclical narratives of the book,
gives the period its cyclic quality and the book its circular structure. Its non-chronological order shows that the
author-editors main purpose was not to record history, but to draw lessons from it.
interpretation
The books two principal lessons are the role of God in history, and kingship, especially Judean kingship, as
the preferred kind of leadership. The book describes the course of history as an interaction between God and
hebrew bible | 355
judges 1
his people, and its cyclical nature shows how extensively God directs history. But although the judges are the
Lords emissaries, their leadership ultimately fails. Thus, since they were unable to break the cyclical paern,
their rule created an expectation of monarchy, as a consecutive, continuous, and stable leadership, which
could prevent anarchy. On the other hand, the book warns that a king may also be a villain, as in the case of
Abimelech, symbolized by the bramble (ch 9). Thus, although the book prepares the ground for kingship, it
does not depict it as ideal. In particular, by the way it depicts the tribe of Benjamin, it suggests that the kingdom of Saul, who was a Benjaminite, as well as the later Northern Kingdom of Israel, who was the origin of most
of the judges (except Othniel from Judah), are not the future solution. The expectations are for a Judean king.
Yairah Amit
After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the Lord, Who shall go up rst
for us against the Canaanites, to ght against
them? The Lord said, Judah shall go up. I
hereby give the land into his hand. Judah
said to his brother Simeon, Come up with me
into the territory allotted to me, that we may
ght against the Canaanites; then I too will
go with you into the territory allotted to you.
So Simeon went with him. Then Judah went
up and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the
Perizzites into their hand; and they defeated
ten thousand of them at Bezek. They came
upon Adoni-bezek at Bezek, and fought
against him, and defeated the Canaanites and
the Perizzites. Adoni-bezek ed; but they
pursued him, and caught him, and cut o his
thumbs and big toes. Adoni-bezek said, Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut
o used to pick up scraps under my table; as
I have done, so God has paid me back. They

brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
Then the people of Judah fought against
Jerusalem and took it. They put it to the
sword and set the city on re. Afterward the
people of Judah went down to ght against
the Canaanites who lived in the hill country,
in the Negeb, and in the lowland. Judah
went against the Canaanites who lived in
Hebron (the name of Hebron was formerly
Kiriath-arba); and they defeated Sheshai and
Ahiman and Talmai.
From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was
formerly Kiriath-sepher). Then Caleb said,
Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes it,
I will give him my daughter Achsah as wife.
And Othniel son of Kenaz, Calebs younger
brother, took it; and he gave him his daughter
Achsah as wife. When she came to him, she
1.13.6: Double introduction. The book of Judges opens with two introductions: the rst (1.12.5) depicts
the days of the elders (2.7), the second (2.63.6) the era of the judges.
1.12.5: The days of the elders. A brief period, less than a generation, passes between the death of Joshua
and the beginning of the era of the judges. This rst introduction explains how the people, who were loyal to
the Lord in the days of Joshua (2.7), repeatedly did evil in his eyes; and how most of the tribes, though not Judah
and Simeon, preferred to subjugate the nations who remained in the land aer Joshuas death rather than to
exterminate them; this caused Israel to sin.
1.120: The conquests of Judah. The tribe of Judah, accompanied by Simeon, is described as destroying all
the Canaanites except the inhabitants of the valley, who had iron chariots. 3: His brother, the connection between Judah and Simeon reects the historical situation of the tribe of Simeon being part of Judahs inheritance
(compare Josh 19.19 with 15.2632). 4: The Perizzites were one of the groups who inhabited Canaan (see Gen
15.20; Deut 7.1; Josh 3.11). Bezek, probably Khirbet Ibzik, about 15 mi (24 km) northeast of Shechem. 57: Adonibezek, the kings name may be a corruption of Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem (see Josh 10.1); his burial in Jerusalem (v. 7 below) supports this. 8: Here Judah conquered Jerusalem, but contrast v. 21; 19.1012; and Josh 15.63.
According to 2 Sam 5.69, Jerusalem remained a Jebusite enclave until the period of David. 9: Judahs conquests
south of Jerusalem. 10: Hebron, only here is its conquest aributed to Judah; contrast Josh 10.3637; 14.614;
and v. 20 below. 13: The representation of Othniel as younger than Caleb means that his clan is less important
than Calebs. The families of Caleb and Kenaz appear here as part of Judah; in Gen 36.15,42 Kenaz is an Edomite
descended from Esau, which means that Edomites integrated into the tribe of Judah. 14: Here Achsah addresses
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Achzib
Acco
Rehob
Aphik
Naaahaloll
LU
Sea
DAN
Rehob
Mediterranean
R
N
N A P H T A L I
Sidon
AS
SE
H
A S
S E
H
Ibleam
Beth-shean
ean
n
Rehob
Taanach
Megiddo
J o r d a n
Dor
R i v e r
E P
H R
A I M
D
A
Ashkelon
Gaza
Hebron
Debir
Dead S
ea
Gezer N
Ekron
Beth-shemesh
Bethel
Shaalbim
Aijalon B E N J A M
IN
Jerusalem
Arad
Arad
ad
Cities where Canaanites

ani
continued to live
0
N e g e b
10
10
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Tribal conquests in chapter 1. Starred cities are locales where Canaanites continued to live.
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judges 1
urged him to ask her father for a eld. As she
dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to
her, What do you wish? She said to him,
Give me a present; since you have set me in
the land of the Negeb, give me also Gullothmayim.a So Caleb gave her Upper Gulloth
and Lower Gulloth.
The descendants of Hobabb the Kenite, Moses father-in-law, went up with the
people of Judah from the city of palms into
the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the
Negeb near Arad. Then they went and settled with the Amalekites.c Judah went with
his brother Simeon, and they defeated the
Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and devoted it to destruction. So the city was called
Hormah. Judah took Gaza with its territory,
Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with
its territory. The Lord was with Judah,
and he took possession of the hill country,
but could not drive out the inhabitants of
the plain, because they had chariots of iron.
Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had
said; and he drove out from it the three sons
of Anak. But the Benjaminites did not drive
out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so
the Jebusites have lived in Jerusalem among
the Benjaminites to this day.
The house of Joseph also went up against
Bethel; and the Lord was with them. The
house of Joseph sent out spies to Bethel (the
name of the city was formerly Luz). When
the spies saw a man coming out of the city,
they said to him, Show us the way into the
city, and we will deal kindly with you. So
he showed them the way into the city; and
they put the city to the sword, but they let the
man and all his family go. So the man went
to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and
named it Luz; that is its name to this day.
Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach
and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and
its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and
its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and
its villages; but the Canaanites continued to
live in that land. When Israel grew strong,
they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but
did not in fact drive them out.
And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.
Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol;
but the Canaanites lived among them, and
became subject to forced labor.
Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or
of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of
Aphik, or of Rehob; but the Asherites lived
among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the
land; for they did not drive them out.
Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants
of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Bethanath, but lived among the Canaanites, the
inhabitants of the land; nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath
became subject to forced labor for them.
a That is Basins of Water
b Gk: Heb lacks Hobab
c See 1Sam 15.6: Heb people
Othniel, and the negotiations take place between her and Caleb, but according to the LXX Othniel addresses
Achsah. Dismounting from the donkey is a courtesy. 16: The Kenites, originally a non-Israelite people, were
also considered Judean; they are connected to Israel through Moses (Ex 2.1622). For the Amalekites, see Num
13.29. City of palms, dicult to identify, because the name is so general and applicable to any selement with
palms. 18: Gaza . . . Ashkelon . . .Ekron, in 14.19; 16.21; 1 Sam 6.17 these cities are still under Philistine control, but
here their conquest is aributed to Judah. 20: Judah gives Hebron to Caleb; see Num 13.28,3233, but contrast
v. 10 above. The mixture of contradictory traditions suggests that the author-editors intent was not simply to
recount the past, but to emphasize the importance of Judah. Anak, see Num 13.38; Josh 15.14.
1.2136: The conquests of the northern tribes. The sequence of the seven northern tribes is from south
(Benjamin) to north (Dan), like that of narratives of the individual judges in 3.76.31 (from Ehud to Samson). In
contrast to Judah, which was depicted positively and as successful, these tribes are presented as responsible
for the failure to take possession of the land. 21: Jebusites, see 19.11n. Here Benjamin is responsible for the existence of Jebusites in Jerusalem (but see Josh 15.63). 2229: The house of Joseph, like Judah, rst conquered their
central sacred city, Bethel. 3435: The Danites did not succeed in occupying their inheritance. Their brother
Joseph, unlike Judah who cooperated with Simeon, did not help them and preferred to subjugate the indig-
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judges 2
The Amorites pressed the Danites back
into the hill country; they did not allow them
to come down to the plain. The Amorites
continued to live in Har-heres, in Aijalon,
and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house
of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they
became subject to forced labor. The border
of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.
Now the angel of the Lord went up from
Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I brought
you up from Egypt, and brought you into the
land that I had promised to your ancestors.
I said, I will never break my covenant with
you. For your part, do not make a covenant
with the inhabitants of this land; tear down
their altars. But you have not obeyed my
command. See what you have done! So now
I say, I will not drive them out before you; but
they shall become adversariesa to you, and
their gods shall be a snare to you. When the
angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the
Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and
wept. So they named that place Bochim,b and
there they sacriced to the Lord.
When Joshua dismissed the people, the
Israelites all went to their own inheritances
to take possession of the land. The people
worshiped the Lord all the days of Joshua,
and all the days of the elders who outlived
Joshua, who had seen all the great work
that the Lord had done for Israel. Joshua
son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at
the age of one hundred ten years. So they
buried him within the bounds of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of
Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. Moreover,
that whole generation was gathered to their

ancestors, and another generation grew up
after them, who did not know the Lord or the
work that he had done for Israel.
Then the Israelites did what was evil
in the sight of the Lord and worshiped the
Baals; and they abandoned the Lord, the
God of their ancestors, who had brought
them out of the land of Egypt; they followed
other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were all around them, and bowed
down to them; and they provoked the Lord to
anger. They abandoned the Lord, and worshiped Baal and the Astartes. So the anger
of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he
gave them over to plunderers who plundered
them, and he sold them into the power of
their enemies all around, so that they could
no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord
was against them to bring misfortune, as the
Lord had warned them and sworn to them;
and they were in great distress.
Then the Lord raised up judges, who
delivered them out of the power of those who
plundered them. Yet they did not listen even
to their judges; for they lusted after other gods
and bowed down to them. They soon turned
aside from the way in which their ancestors
had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord; they did not follow their example. Whenever the Lord raised up judges
for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he
delivered them from the hand of their enemies
a OL Vg Compare Gk: Heb sides
b That is Weepers
enous Amorites as forced laborers.

2.15: The assembly in Bochim. A divine messenger (angel) came to Bochim (lit. Weepers; see vv. 45) to
rebuke the northern tribes, who had violated the covenant and sinned by not dispossessing the Canaanites.
Bochim is oen identied with Bethel (so LXX), as well as the connection of Bethel with weeping (20.23,26; 21.2
and Gen 35.8), and the connection between Gilgal (v.1) and Bethel (Hos 4.15; Am 4.4).
2.113.6: Summary characterization of the era of the judges. 2.1119: A paradigm for the period, comprised
of four repeated stages: doing evil (vv. 1113); punishment by subjugation (vv. 1415); deliverance by judges (v.
16); and days of calm, during which the judges ruled (vv. 1719). The people always returned to sin, either during
the judges lifetime or aer his death. The stage of crying to the Lord is absent here (cf. 3.9), further emphasizing the negative depiction of the period. This unit is rich in repetitions and Deuteronomistic expressions,
suggesting late editing. 11: Baals, Baal, whose name means master, was one of the heads of the Canaanite
pantheon. The use of the plural may indicate multiplicity of shrines, various manifestations of Baal or various
idolatries, and is meant to emphasize the polytheistic nature of Israels worship. 13: Astartes, singular Ashtoreth, the goddess of love and fertility, and Baals consort.
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Sidon
ARAM (SYRIA)
Haroshethha-goiim?
Dan
Hill of
Moreh
sh
Ki
ASHER
Hazor
Megiddo
N A P H TA L I
V. o
f Je
on
Mediterranean
Sea
Mt. Tabor
i
ad
W
Kedesh
Ramah
zre
el
Tanaach
Bethlehem
Thebez?
Hill Country
of Ephraim
ZEBULUN
ISSACHAR
MANASSEH
MANASSEH
EPHRAIM
Ramah
DAN
Ekron
Timnah
Ashdod
Gath?
Bethel
Aijalon
IL
PH
Gaza
Ophrah
Mizpah
BENJAMIN
Zorah
Lehi?
Hebron
River Jabbok
Succoth
GILEAD
Jogbehah
32
AMMON
Jericho
Heshbon
Jerusalem
REUBEN
JUDAH
IS
TI
Ashkelon
Shiloh
Zaphon?
Penuel
River Jordan
Shechem
Mt. Gerizim
Arumah
Abel-meholah
Dead
Sea
Karkor
R. Ar
n
on
M O A B
EDOM
AMALEK
MIDIAN
35
The geography of the book of Judges. Square boxes indicate Philistine cities.
360 | hebrew bible
36
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
31
judges 3
all the days of the judge; for the Lord would
be moved to pity by their groaning because of
those who persecuted and oppressed them.
But whenever the judge died, they would
relapse and behave worse than their ancestors,
following other gods, worshiping them and
bowing down to them. They would not drop
any of their practices or their stubborn ways.
So the anger of the Lord was kindled against
Israel; and he said, Because this people have
transgressed my covenant that I commanded
their ancestors, and have not obeyed my voice,
I will no longer drive out before them any
of the nations that Joshua left when he died.
In order to test Israel, whether or not they
would take care to walk in the way of the Lord
as their ancestors did, the Lord had left those
nations, not driving them out at once, and had
not handed them over to Joshua.
Now these are the nations that the Lord
left to test all those in Israel who had
no experience of any war in Canaan (it was
only that successive generations of Israelites
might know war, to teach those who had no
experience of it before): the ve lords of
the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and
the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on
Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as
far as Lebo-hamath. They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would
obey the commandments of the Lord, which
he commanded their ancestors by Moses. So
the Israelites lived among the Canaanites,
the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the
Hivites, and the Jebusites; and they took

their daughters as wives for themselves, and
their own daughters they gave to their sons;
and they worshiped their gods.
The Israelites did what was evil in the
sight of the Lord, forgetting the Lord their
God, and worshiping the Baals and the
Asherahs. Therefore the anger of the Lord
was kindled against Israel, and he sold them
into the hand of King Cushan-rishathaim of
Aram-naharaim; and the Israelites served
Cushan-rishathaim eight years. But when the
Israelites cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised
up a deliverer for the Israelites, who delivered
them, Othniel son of Kenaz, Calebs younger
brother. The spirit of the Lord came upon
him, and he judged Israel; he went out to war,
and the Lord gave King Cushan-rishathaim
of Aram into his hand; and his hand prevailed
over Cushan-rishathaim. So the land had rest
forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
The Israelites again did what was evil in
the sight of the Lord; and the Lord strengthened King Eglon of Moab against Israel,
because they had done what was evil in the
sight of the Lord. In alliance with the Ammonites and the Amalekites, he went and
defeated Israel; and they took possession of
the city of palms. So the Israelites served
King Eglon of Moab eighteen years.
But when the Israelites cried out to the
Lord, the Lord raised up for them a deliverer,
Ehud son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a lefthanded man. The Israelites sent tribute by him
2.203.6: Three answers regarding why the nations remained. The multiple perspectives here suggest that
this section is a composite. 2.2021: The rst answer: Gods punishment for the sins of the people in the period
of the judges. 2.2223; 3.4: The second answer: God intended to let the nations remain in order to test Israels
loyalty to him. 3.13: The third answer: God planned to leave the nations in order to train Israel in ghting. 56:
Not dispossessing the Canaanites resulted in Israels becoming assimilated among them.
3.716.31: Cycles of the judges. 3.711: Othniel the Kenizzite. The account of the rst judge has typical formulas but no detailed deliverance story. Thus it serves as a transition from the introduction to the specic
narratives. Othniel from Judah (see 1.13n.), who fought against an enemy from the far north, is depicted as a
national leader and highlights the preeminence of Judah. 7: Asherahs, the plural of Asherah, the consort of El,
the chief god in the older Canaanite pantheon; on the plural, see 2.11n. Her name refers also to wooden symbols, trees or poles, which are prohibited in Deuteronomy (e.g., 16.2122). 8: Cushan-rishathaim, this strange,
rhyming name means: dark double-wickedness. Aram-naharaim, a distant place in northeast Syria (cf. Gen
24.10), which rhymes with its kings name. The use of a distant place aributes to the Judahite Othniel not just
local but national prominence. 10: The spirit of the Lord, charisma, allowing him to do activities he could not
otherwise accomplish.
3.1230: Ehud. The deliverance story of Ehud is not only the result of human tactics, planned and improvised, but also the result of divine providence. 13: For the Amalekites, see 1.16n. City of palms, here as in Dt 34.3
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judges 4
to King Eglon of Moab. Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length;
and he fastened it on his right thigh under his
clothes. Then he presented the tribute to
King Eglon of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat
man. When Ehud had nished presenting
the tribute, he sent the people who carried the
tribute on their way. But he himself turned
back at the sculptured stones near Gilgal, and
said, I have a secret message for you, Oking.
So the king said,a Silence! and all his attendants went out from his presence. Ehud came
to him, while he was sitting alone in his cool
roof chamber, and said, I have a message
from God for you. So he rose from his seat.
Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took
the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it
into Eglonsb belly; the hilt also went in after
the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for
he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and
the dirt came out.c Then Ehud went out into
the vestibule,d and closed the doors of the roof
chamber on him, and locked them.
After he had gone, the servants came.
When they saw that the doors of the roof
chamber were locked, they thought, He
must be relieving himselfe in the cool
chamber. So they waited until they were
embarrassed. When he still did not open the
doors of the roof chamber, they took the key
and opened them. There was their lord lying
dead on the oor.
Ehud escaped while they delayed, and

passed beyond the sculptured stones, and
escaped to Seirah. When he arrived, he
sounded the trumpet in the hill country of
Ephraim; and the Israelites went down with
him from the hill country, having him at
their head. He said to them, Follow after
me; for the Lord has given your enemies the
Moabites into your hand. So they went down
after him, and seized the fords of the Jordan
against the Moabites, and allowed no one to
cross over. At that time they killed about
ten thousand of the Moabites, all strong,
able-bodied men; no one escaped. So Moab
was subdued that day under the hand of
Israel. And the land had rest eighty years.
After him came Shamgar son of Anath,
who killed six hundred of the Philistines with
an oxgoad. He too delivered Israel.
the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died.
So the Lord sold them into the hand of King
Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the
commander of his army was Sisera, who lived
in Harosheth-ha-goiim. Then the Israelites
cried out to the Lord for help; for he had nine
4
a
b
c
d
e
Heb he said
Heb his
With Tg Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
Heb covering his feet
and 2 Chr 28.15: Jericho. 16: A sword . . . a cubit, Ehuds weapon was a dagger, shorter than ordinary swords (the
word translated cubit occurs only here), about 12 inches and thus easy to hide, but sharpened on both edges
in order to eciently kill this portly king. 18: This verse creates the impression of an elaborate and long gioering ceremony, which enabled Ehud to become familiar with the palace and its tenants. At the end, Ehud
sent his people away and remained alone. 19: Ehud arrived at Eglons residency aer previously visiting a sacred
site with statues (Heb pesilim, idols) near Gilgal. 20: From God, Ehud mentions God because he wants the
stout king to stand up and thus to stretch himself. 25: Lying dead, the servants were unaware of the murder and
did not suspect Ehud, who then had time to escape. 26: Seirah, location unknown. 28: The fords of the Jordan,
shallow places in the river that served for crossing. 29: No one escaped, unlike a normal war, which usually has
survivors; this is also an allusion to divine providence.
3.31: Shamgar. The report about Shamgar is reminiscent of stories of heroism (e.g., 15.1516 and cf. 2 Sam
23.8). His name is mentioned in 5.6.
4.15.31: Deborah. The prose narrative in ch 4 complements the older poetic account in ch 5.
4.124: The prose narrative. Deborah the prophetess, Barak the army commander, and Jael wife of Heber the
Kenite all contributed to achieving victory over the Canaanites. None of them is called a deliverer, because in
practice the true deliverer was God (vv. 1415,23). 2: King Jabin of Canaan (lit. Jabin, king of Canaan). Canaan,
comprised of many city-states with their own rulers, did not have a single king. The use of the term king of
Canaan reects the desire to magnify the enemy and thus the deliverance. Hazor, a major city in the upper
Galilee (see Josh 11.9). The origin of the name of Sisera, Jabins general, is unknown, as is the precise location
362 | hebrew bible
judges 4
hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed
the Israelites cruelly twenty years.
At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife
of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to
sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah
and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim;
and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. She sent and summoned Barak son of
Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to
him, The Lord, the God of Israel, commands
you, Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali
and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out
Sisera, the general of Jabins army, to meet you
by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his
troops; and I will give him into your hand.
Barak said to her, If you will go with me, I
will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not
go. And she said, I will surely go with you;
nevertheless, the road on which you are going
will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will
sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. Then
Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.
Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to
Kedesh; and ten thousand warriors went up
behind him; and Deborah went up with him.
Now Heber the Kenite had separated
from the other Kenites,a that is, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses,
and had encamped as far away as Elon-bezaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
When Sisera was told that Barak son of
Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, Sisera called out all his chariots, nine hundred
chariots of iron, and all the troops who were
with him, from Harosheth-ha-goiim to the
Wadi Kishon. Then Deborah said to Barak,
Up! For this is the day on which the Lord
has given Sisera into your hand. The Lord is
indeed going out before you. So Barak went

down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand
warriors following him. And the Lord
threw Sisera and all his chariots and all his
army into a panicb before Barak; Sisera got
down from his chariot and ed away on foot,
while Barak pursued the chariots and the
army to Harosheth-ha-goiim. All the army of
Sisera fell by the sword; no one was left.
Now Sisera had ed away on foot to the
tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite; for there
was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and
the clan of Heber the Kenite. Jael came out
to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn aside,
my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear. So
he turned aside to her into the tent, and she
covered him with a rug. Then he said to her,
Please give me a little water to drink; for I
am thirsty. So she opened a skin of milk and
gave him a drink and covered him. He said
to her, Stand at the entrance of the tent, and
if anybody comes and asks you, Is anyone
here? say, No. But Jael wife of Heber took
a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand,
and went softly to him and drove the peg
into his temple, until it went down into the
groundhe was lying fast asleep from wearinessand he died. Then, as Barak came in
pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to meet him,
and said to him, Come, and I will show you
the man whom you are seeking. So he went
into her tent; and there was Sisera lying dead,
with the tent peg in his temple.
So on that day God subdued King Jabin
of Canaan before the Israelites. Then the
hand of the Israelites bore harder and harder
a Heb from the Kain
b Heb adds to the sword; compare verse 16
of Harosheth-ha-goiim. Harosheth seems to be derived from harish, i.e., a plowed area, referring to the at
area near Taanach and Megiddo, where Siseras chariots encamped. 4: Deborah, whose name means bee,
was a prophetess (compare Ex 15.20; 2 Kings 22.14; Neh 6.14; Isa 8.3. 5). She is the only woman who is a judge
too. Deborahs location is in Mount Ephraim. 6: Kedesh in Naphtali, identied with Khirbet Kadish at the foot
of todays Poriyah, above Tiberia. Mount Tabor, overlooking the Valley of Jezreel from the north. 7: The Wadi
Kishon, a branch of Kishon, which ows close to Taanach and Megiddo (see 5.19). 8: The military leader needs
the prophetess at his side, somewhat diminishing his heroic status. 9: A woman, the reader assumes that the
woman is Deborah, but at the end will realize that Jael is meant. 11: The Kenites were a group associated with
Judah (see 1.16n.). 14: Deborah predicts the Lords direct participation in the bale; before you, the Hebrew has
double meaning: before Baraks arrival or in front of him. 16: No one was le, this unrealistic detail also indicates
divine intervention (cf. 3.29). 17: Sisera prefers the Kenites encampment, due to the friendship between them
and Jabin. 19: Although Sisera asked for water, Jael gave him milk, which has soothing qualities, because she
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judges 5
on King Jabin of Canaan, until they destroyed
King Jabin of Canaan.
Then Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam
sang on that day, saying:
When locks are long in Israel,
when the people oer themselves
willingly
bless a the Lord!
Hear, Okings; give ear, Oprinces;

to the Lord I will sing,
I will make melody to the Lord, the God
of Israel.
Lord, when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the region of
Edom,
the earth trembled,
and the heavens poured,
the clouds indeed poured water.
The mountains quaked before the Lord,
the One of Sinai,
before the Lord, the God of Israel.
In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,

in the days of Jael, caravans ceased
and travelers kept to the byways.
The peasantry prospered in Israel,
they grew fat on plunder,
because you arose, Deborah,
arose as a mother in Israel.
When new gods were chosen,
then war was in the gates.
Was shield or spear to be seen
among forty thousand in Israel?
My heart goes out to the commanders of
Israel
who oered themselves willingly
among the people.
Bless the Lord.
Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,
you who sit on rich carpetsb
and you who walk by the way.
a Or You who oer yourselves willingly among the
people, bless

wanted him to sleep deeply. 2324: The conclusion emphasizes that the victory was achieved mainly due to
Gods intervention; the role of the human heroes was secondary.
5.131: The poetic account: the song of Deborah. This is a hymn of praise thanking and extolling God for
overcoming the enemies that threatened his people. The people here refers only to the northern tribes (Judah, Simon and Levi are not mentioned), which suggest that the poem was composed in the north. Notwithstanding the similarities between the song and the prose story (ch 4) with respect to the main characters and
various details, there are also signicant dierences, such as the names of the tribes who participated in the
bale and the absence of Jabin in the song. The prose narrative was likely composed aer the song, aempting
to resolve some unclear maers. The poem is wrien in the rst person, expressing spontaneous enthusiasm
(e.g., vv. 3,12) and using contrasts and extreme transitions (as from Jael to Siseras mother). Although the text
is oen unclear, the song reects the atmosphere of the northern kingdom, which means that it was wrien
before its fall (722 bce). Between the opening (vv. 23) and the closing (v. 31a) the song has three sections that
feature contrasts: Gods power versus his oppressed people (vv. 411c), the Israelites army versus the Canaanites (vv. 11d23), and Jael who killed Sisera versus his expecting mother (vv. 2430). 1: According to the editor,
the song is the immediate joyous reaction of Deborah and Barak to the victory. 23: An opening that explains
the circumstances of reciting the song. 2: When locks are long, the Hebrew is dicult; if this translation is correct, it may refer to Nazirites who dedicated themselves to warfare wearing long hair. Alternatively, the Hebrew
may mean disasters that confronted Israel. 3: I will sing . . . I will make melody, the poetic parallelism emphasizes
the involvement of the speaker, Deborah.
5.411c: The strength of Gods epiphany versus the dicult situation of his people. 4: Seir . . . Edom, synonyms referring to Gods epiphany in the southeast of Judah (cf. Deut 33.2), with accompanying manifestations
of earthquake and storms. 5: Quaked, lit. owed,as if melted; cf. Am 9.5. 6: Shamgar, see 3.31. 7: Peasantry,
the Heb probably means open (unwalled) cities. People were afraid to live in such places, and ed to fortied
cities. 8: New gods, the abandonment of the Lord for the gods of Canaan is the cause of the war and of the lack
of weapons. Then, repeated ve times (vv. 8,11,13,19,22), indicating ve stages in the course of the war: danger,
gathering together, arrival at the baleeld, war, retreat. Forty thousand, an exaggerated typological number,
which suggests a comprehensive war. 10: Riding on donkeys, especially light-haired ones, was a symbol of
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judges 5
To the sound of musiciansa at the
watering places,
there they repeat the triumphs of the
Lord,
the triumphs of his peasantry in Israel.
Among the clans of Reuben

there were great searchings of heart.
Why did you tarry among the
sheepfolds,
to hear the piping for the ocks?
Among the clans of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.
Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;
and Dan, why did he abide with the
ships?
Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,
settling down by his landings.
Zebulun is a people that scorned death;
Naphtali too, on the heights of
the eld.
Then down to the gates marched the

people of the Lord.
Awake, awake, Deborah!
Awake, awake, utter a song!
Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,
Oson of Abinoam.
Then down marched the remnant of the
noble;
the people of the Lord marched down
for himb against the mighty.
From Ephraim they set outc into the
valley,d
following you, Benjamin, with your kin;
from Machir marched down the
commanders,
and from Zebulun those who bear the
marshals sta;
the chiefs of Issachar came with Deborah,
and Issachar faithful to Barak;
into the valley they rushed out at his
heels.
The kings came, they fought;

then fought the kings of Canaan,
at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;
they got no spoils of silver.
The stars fought from heaven,
from their courses they fought against
Sisera.
a
b
c
d

Gk: Heb me
Cn: Heb From Ephraim their root
Gk: Heb in Amalek
wealth (see 10.4). 11: Sound of musicians, the Hebrew may refer to the noise made by the shepherds while driving
their ocks to water; the sound of those who tell of Gods victories will be louder than this. His peasantry, see
v.6n. The Lords deliverance restored condence.
5.11d23: The Israelite warriors versus the Canaanite kings. 11: The city gate served as a gathering place. 12:
The song here is a prophecy. 13: The Hebrew is dicult; a preferable translation is: Then they [the Lords people] went down to Sarid [a city in the Jezreel Valley] against the mighty ones [the Canaanite kings], the Lords
people with its warriors. 1418: Description of the Israelite side. Most commentators think that only six tribes
went to war (Ephraim, Benjamin, Machir [= Manasseh], Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali), while the other four
(Reuben, Gilead [= Gad and the other half of Manasseh], Dan, and Asher) refused to join. According to the interpretation suggested here, all ten northern tribes participated. 14: Set out, unclear; a beer translation is: From
Ephraim chieains [went down] to the valley. Kin, the collective noun here may be interpreted as kinfolk,
thus strengthening the forces of Benjamin. Machir, the rstborn son of Manasseh; cf. Josh 17.1. Marshals sta,
i.e., commanders who recorded the number of those going to war. 15: And Issachar, Issachar is repeated twice,
while Naphtali is absent; probably the second Issachar should be emended to Naphtali. Heart, the center
of thinking and wisdom (e.g., 1 Kings 3.12). 16: Why did you tarry, here the Hebrew lamah is a term of negation
with an emphatic mem: You did not tarry (see v. 17). 17: The depiction of Gilead is rhetorical, emphasizing
that although they dwelled (NRSV: stayed) far away, they participated in the war. And Dan, Dan did not abide
with the ships.. The tribe of Asher, who lived on the northern coastal plain, also joined the war. 18: Only the
tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali are described as bold warriors; perhaps that is why they alone are mentioned in
the prose narrative (4.6,10). On the heights, an allusion to Naphtalis inheritance, as the war was in the valley
in its territory. 19: Taanach, in the Valley of Jezreel, near the ancient international highway connecting Egypt
and Mesopotamia. 20: Here Sisera rather than Jabin heads the alliance (see 4.2,23). 21: The onrushing torrent,
the Hebrew is obscure; a beer translation is the brook Kishon came in front of them. March on, my soul, a
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judges 6
The torrent Kishon swept them away,
the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon.
March on, my soul, with might!
Then loud beat the horses hoofs
with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.
Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord,
curse bitterly its inhabitants,
because they did not come to the help of
the Lord,
to the help of the Lord against the mighty.
Most blessed of women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
of tent-dwelling women most blessed.
He asked water and she gave him milk,
she brought him curds in a lordly bowl.
She put her hand to the tent peg
and her right hand to the workmens
mallet;
she struck Sisera a blow,
she crushed his head,
she shattered and pierced his temple.
He sank, he fell,
he lay still at her feet;
at her feet he sank, he fell;
where he sank, there he fell dead.
Out of the window she peered,
the mother of Sisera gazeda through the
lattice:
Why is his chariot so long in coming?

Why tarry the hoofbeats of his
chariots?
Her wisest ladies make answer,
indeed, she answers the question
herself:
Are they not nding and dividing the
spoil?
A girl or two for every man;
spoil of dyed stus for Sisera,
spoil of dyed stus embroidered,
two pieces of dyed work embroidered
for my neck as spoil?
So perish all your enemies, OLord!
But may your friends be like the sun as
it rises in its might.
And the land had rest forty years.
The Israelites did what was evil in the
sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave
them into the hand of Midian seven years.
The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel;
and because of Midian the Israelites provided
for themselves hiding places in the mountains, caves and strongholds. For whenever
the Israelites put in seed, the Midianites
and the Amalekites and the people of the
east would come up against them. They
would encamp against them and destroy the
a Gk Compare Tg: Heb exclaimed
self-address by the speaker because of the joy of victory. 22: The noise of the feet of the enemys horses eeing
from the confusion of the bale. 23: Only the people of Meroz, which has not been identied, are cursed for not
joining God and his warriors.
5.2430: The victory of Jael, who is contrasted with the mother of defeated Sisera.
2427: Death at the hands of a woman was considered shameful (cf. 9.54). 27: At her feet, lit. between her
feet. Since feet can be a euphemism for genitals, there is a suggestion that Jael used her sexuality to entice
Sisera, who lay with her. 28: The picture of a woman looking through the window is found elsewhere in the
Bible (e.g., 2 Sam 6.16; 2 Kings 9.30) and in the ancient Near East. 30: A girl or two, taking women as captives (cf.
Deut 21.1011), another sexual connotation. Dyed and colored clothing were expensive luxury items. My neck
as spoil, beer the necks of those who took the spoil. 31a: Conclusion to the Song. Your friends, the people of
the Lord are compared to the sun, rising with great intensity. 31b: And the land had rest forty years, these words,
using the formula for calm, are not part of the song, but the closing frame of Deborahs cycle.
6.18.28: Gideon. Gideons cycle has two parts. The rst (6.17.23) abounds with miracles, while Gideon is
portrayed as excessively fearful and requiring divine support. In contrast, in the second (7.248.28), which is
concerned with problems of leadership, there are no miracles and Gideon is presented as a charismatic leader.
The two sections illustrate the central problem of the book of Judges: what is the preferred type of leadership:
divine leadership with abundant miracles, or human rule?
6.110: Beginning of the rst part of the Gideon cycle. 13: Nomadic tribes destroyed all the crops of the
land, and the Israelites were forced to hide their grain in the hills. Midian, see Num 31.112. For the Amalekites,
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judges 6
produce of the land, as far as the neighborhood of Gaza, and leave no sustenance in
Israel, and no sheep or ox or donkey. For
they and their livestock would come up, and
they would even bring their tents, as thick as
locusts; neither they nor their camels could
be counted; so they wasted the land as they
came in. Thus Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian; and the Israelites
cried out to the Lord for help.
When the Israelites cried to the Lord on
account of the Midianites, the Lord sent a
prophet to the Israelites; and he said to them,
Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led
you up from Egypt, and brought you out of
the house of slavery; and I delivered you
from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the
hand of all who oppressed you, and drove
them out before you, and gave you their land;
and I said to you, I am the Lord your God;
you shall not pay reverence to the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land you live. But you
have not given heed to my voice.
Now the angel of the Lord came and sat
under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to
Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was
beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it
from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord
appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is
with you, you mighty warrior. Gideon answered him, But sir, if the Lord is with us, why
then has all this happened to us? And where
are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors
recounted to us, saying, Did not the Lord bring

us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has cast
us o, and given us into the hand of Midian.
Then the Lord turned to him and said, Go
in this might of yours and deliver Israel from
the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.
He responded, But sir, how can I deliver
Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh,
and I am the least in my family. The Lord
said to him, But I will be with you, and you
shall strike down the Midianites, every one of
them. Then he said to him, If now I have
found favor with you, then show me a sign that
it is you who speak with me. Do not depart
from here until I come to you, and bring out my
present, and set it before you. And he said, I
will stay until you return.
So Gideon went into his house and
prepared a kid, and unleavened cakes from an
ephah of our; the meat he put in a basket,
and the broth he put in a pot, and brought
them to him under the oak and presented
them. The angel of God said to him, Take
the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put
them on this rock, and pour out the broth.
And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord
reached out the tip of the sta that was in his
hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and re sprang up from the rock
and consumed the meat and the unleavened
cakes; and the angel of the Lord vanished
from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that
it was the angel of the Lord; and Gideon said,
see 1.16n. 4: Gaza, marks the boundary of the entire land (see 1 Kgs 5.4). 5: As locusts, an image emphasizing
large numbers. 710: The Israelites cried out to the Lord, but this time he sent a prophet to rebuke them rather
than a deliverer to rescue them. These verses are absent in 4Q Judga, a manuscript of the book of Judges in the
Dead Sea Scrolls, and are likely a late addition.
6.1124: Gideons appointment. This is a stereotypical appointment or call scene composed of seven stages:
meeting (vv. 1113), presentation of the mission (v. 14), refusal (v. 15), encouragement (v. 16), request for a sign
(vv. 1722), acknowledgment and fear (v. 23), and further encouragement (v. 24). The appointment of some
prophets has similar elements (e.g., Ex 34). 11: Ophrah, location unknown. Abiezrite, Abiezer is one of the important families in Manasseh (Josh 17.2), mentioned in the Samaria Ostraca from the mid-eighth century bce.
Gideon, his name, which means hacker, anticipates his cuing down of sacred poles (cf. vv. 25, 30; the same
Heb root is used in Deut 7.5 and elsewhere). See also v. 32n. Wine press, here a hiding place; see vv. 23. 12: Angel,
(lit. messenger); Gideon is initially unaware of his divine identity (see v. 22). You mighty warrior, the angel hints
to Gideons future role, but the hiding Gideon understands it ironically and responds furiously. 15: Weakest . . .
least (lit. smallest, youngest), although Gideons family is prosperous (vv. 19,25,27), the choice of an unlikely
hero (oen the youngest son) is a repeated motif in the Bible (e.g., 1 Sam 9.21; 16.613). 1821: This assumes that
angels do not usually eat (cf. 13.15); the meal is transformed into a burnt oering. 19: Ephah, a large quantity of
our, ca. 21 qts (23 liters). 21: The appearance of re from the rock (cf. 13.20; 1 Kings 18.38; etc.) and the sudden
disappearance are also signs that this is an angel. 22: Gideon was afraid to see the divine presence (cf. 13,22; Gen
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judges 7
Help me, Lord God! For I have seen the angel
of the Lord face to face. But the Lord said
to him, Peace be to you; do not fear, you
shall not die. Then Gideon built an altar
there to the Lord, and called it, The Lord is
peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah,
which belongs to the Abiezrites.
That night the Lord said to him, Take
your fathers bull, the second bull seven years
old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the sacred
polea that is beside it; and build an altar to
the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, in proper order; then take the
second bull, and oer it as a burnt oering
with the wood of the sacred polea that you
shall cut down. So Gideon took ten of his
servants, and did as the Lord had told him;
but because he was too afraid of his family
and the townspeople to do it by day, he did it
by night.
When the townspeople rose early in the
morning, the altar of Baal was broken down,
and the sacred polea beside it was cut down,
and the second bull was oered on the altar
that had been built. So they said to one another, Who has done this? After searching
and inquiring, they were told, Gideon son of
Joash did it. Then the townspeople said to
Joash, Bring out your son, so that he may die,
for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and
cut down the sacred polea beside it. But
Joash said to all who were arrayed against
him, Will you contend for Baal? Or will you
defend his cause? Whoever contends for him
shall be put to death by morning. If he is a
god, let him contend for himself, because
his altar has been pulled down. Therefore
on that day Gideonb was called Jerubbaal,

that is to say, Let Baal contend against him,
because he pulled down his altar.
Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east came together, and crossing the Jordan they encamped
in the Valley of Jezreel. But the spirit of
the Lord took possession of Gideon; and he
sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites
were called out to follow him. He sent
messengers throughout all Manasseh, and
they too were called out to follow him. He
also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and
Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.
Then Gideon said to God, In order to
see whether you will deliver Israel by my
hand, as you have said, I am going to lay a
eece of wool on the threshing oor; if there
is dew on the eece alone, and it is dry on all
the ground, then I shall know that you will
deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said.
And it was so. When he rose early next
morning and squeezed the eece, he wrung
enough dew from the eece to ll a bowl with
water. Then Gideon said to God, Do not
let your anger burn against me, let me speak
one more time; let me, please, make trial with
the eece just once more; let it be dry only
on the eece, and on all the ground let there
be dew. And God did so that night. It was
dry on the eece only, and on all the ground
there was dew.
Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all
the troops that were with him rose early
and encamped beside the spring of Harod;
a Heb Asherah
b Heb he
32.30; Ex 20.19). 24: The altars name is related to Gods comforting words in v. 23.
6.2532: Gideon destroys the altar and sacred pillar of Baal. This story indicates the proliferation of Baal
worship and explains Gideons other name, Jerubbaal, which might be the original name (see v. 11b). 25: Second
bull, the reference to two bulls (also vv. 26,28) is problematic; a beer reading, found in some textual sources,
is the bull that had been faened for seven years. Sacred pole, a symbol of the goddess Asherah (see 3.7n.). 31:
Joash puts Baal to the test in the eyes of his believers (cf. 1 Kings 18.2040). By morning of the next day. Joash
le time for Baal to prove himself. 32: Jerubbaal, the original meaning of this name was probably Baal makes
great or Baal is a founder, the component Jeru appears in the name Jerusalem too; here a folk etymology
suggests that it means to content or ght against Baal, referring to Gideons bale with the worship of Baal.
6.337.25: The ba+le with the Midianites. 6.3335: The military mustering. Gideon called to his assistance
his own tribe and the neighboring tribes. 3640: The signs of the eece. In order to be certain that God is with
him, Gideon requested two additional and contradictory signs. 7.18: Another test. In order to convince the
people that deliverance comes from God, Gideons army was gradually reduced from a force of 32,000 warriors
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judges 7
and the camp of Midian was north of them,
belowa the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
The Lord said to Gideon, The troops with
you are too many for me to give the Midianites
into their hand. Israel would only take the
credit away from me, saying, My own hand has
delivered me. Now therefore proclaim this in
the hearing of the troops, Whoever is fearful
and trembling, let him return home. Thus
Gideon sifted them out;b twenty-two thousand
returned, and ten thousand remained.
Then the Lord said to Gideon, The
troops are still too many; take them down
to the water and I will sift them out for you
there. When I say, This one shall go with you,
he shall go with you; and when I say, This
one shall not go with you, he shall not go.
So he brought the troops down to the water;
and the Lord said to Gideon, All those who
lap the water with their tongues, as a dog
laps, you shall put to one side; all those who
kneel down to drink, putting their hands to
their mouths,c you shall put to the other side.
The number of those that lapped was three
hundred; but all the rest of the troops knelt
down to drink water. Then the Lord said to
Gideon, With the three hundred that lapped
I will deliver you, and give the Midianites
into your hand. Let all the others go to their
homes. So he took the jars of the troops
from their hands,d and their trumpets; and
he sent all the rest of Israel back to their own
tents, but retained the three hundred. The
camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
That same night the Lord said to him, Get
up, attack the camp; for I have given it into your
hand. But if you fear to attack, go down to the
camp with your servant Purah; and you shall
hear what they say, and afterward your hands
shall be strengthened to attack the camp. Then
he went down with his servant Purah to the
outposts of the armed men that were in the

camp. The Midianites and the Amalekites and
all the people of the east lay along the valley as
thick as locusts; and their camels were without
number, countless as the sand on the seashore.
When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling
a dream to his comrade; and he said, I had a
dream, and in it a cake of barley bread tumbled
into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent,
and struck it so that it fell; it turned upside
down, and the tent collapsed. And his comrade answered, This is no other than the sword
of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his
hand God has given Midian and all the army.
When Gideon heard the telling of the
dream and its interpretation, he worshiped;
and he returned to the camp of Israel, and
said, Get up; for the Lord has given the army
of Midian into your hand. After he divided
the three hundred men into three companies,
and put trumpets into the hands of all of
them, and empty jars, with torches inside the
jars, he said to them, Look at me, and do
the same; when I come to the outskirts of the
camp, do as I do. When I blow the trumpet,
I and all who are with me, then you also blow
the trumpets around the whole camp, and
shout, For the Lord and for Gideon!
So Gideon and the hundred who were
with him came to the outskirts of the camp
at the beginning of the middle watch, when
they had just set the watch; and they blew the
trumpets and smashed the jars that were in
their hands. So the three companies blew
the trumpets and broke the jars, holding
a Heb from
b Cn: Heb home, and depart from Mount Gilead
c Heb places the words putting their hands to their
mouths after the word lapped in verse 6
d Cn: Heb So the people took provisions in their hands
to a band of 300 who lapped water, thus highlighting Gods intervention. 1: In the valley, at the base of Gibeathmoreh, south of modern Afula. 915a: The dream of the Midianite soldier. In order to encourage Gideon, God
commanded him to approach the Midianite camp, where he heard a Midianite soldier recounting his dream to
his friend about Gideons victory. 13: A dream was understood by the ancients as a divine message. The cake
symbolizes Gideon the farmer, and the tent the nomadic Midianites. 15b23: The bale. The story emphasizes
the passivity of Gideons army, whose task was to blow the horns, to shout, and mainly to witness Gods deliverance. 16: Three companies, in order to surround the camp. 19: The night is divided into three watches. During
the middle watch, from approximately 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., sleep is strongest and the soldiers may panic at every
sound. 2023: Both hands of the soldiers were occupied with horns to blow and jars with torches, so all they
could do was to shout. God interfered and the soldiers simply watched how some of the Midianites killed one
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judges 8
in their left hands the torches, and in their
right hands the trumpets to blow; and they
cried, A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!
Every man stood in his place all around
the camp, and all the men in camp ran; they
cried out and ed. When they blew the
three hundred trumpets, the Lord set every
mans sword against his fellow and against all
the army; and the army ed as far as Bethshittah toward Zererah,a as far as the border
of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. And the men
of Israel were called out from Naphtali and
from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they
pursued after the Midianites.
Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying,
Come down against the Midianites and
seize the waters against them, as far as Bethbarah, and also the Jordan. So all the men
of Ephraim were called out, and they seized
the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the
Jordan. They captured the two captains
of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; they killed Oreb
at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at
the wine press of Zeeb, as they pursued the
Midianites. They brought the heads of Oreb
and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
Then the Ephraimites said to him, What
have you done to us, not to call us when
you went to ght against the Midianites? And
they upbraided him violently. So he said to
them, What have I done now in comparison
with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of
Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
God has given into your hands the captains
of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; what have I been
able to do in comparison with you? When he

said this, their anger against him subsided.
Then Gideon came to the Jordan and
crossed over, he and the three hundred who
were with him, exhausted and famished.b So
he said to the people of Succoth, Please give
some loaves of bread to my followers, for they
are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and
Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. But the ofcials of Succoth said, Do you already have
in your possession the hands of Zebah and
Zalmunna, that we should give bread to your
army? Gideon replied, Well then, when the
Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my
hand, I will trample your esh on the thorns
of the wilderness and on briers. From there
he went up to Penuel, and made the same
request of them; and the people of Penuel
answered him as the people of Succoth
had answered. So he said to the people of
Penuel, When I come back victorious, I will
break down this tower.
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in
Karkor with their army, about fteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army
of the people of the east; for one hundred
twenty thousand men bearing arms had fallen. So Gideon went up by the caravan route
east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the
army; for the army was o its guard. Zebah
and Zalmunna ed; and he pursued them and
took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and threw all the army into a panic.
a Another reading is Zeredah
b Gk: Heb pursuing
another and others escaped. Most of the places mentioned are not identiable. 23: More ghting units of Israel
joined in the chase.
7.248.3: The confrontation with Ephraim (beginning of the second part of the Gideon cycle). Gideon prevented a civil war by calming Ephraims warriors. He is characterized here not as a coward but as a responsible
leader with diplomatic talent. 2425: Simultaneously or even before the chase : Gideon called on Ephraims warriors to pursue the Midianites, adjacent to their territory. Beth-barah, precise location unknown. 8.1: Ephraims
warriors were angry that Gideon did not involve them in the bale from the beginning (see 6.35). 2: Gleaning of
the grapes, the grapes that remain aer the main part of a crop has been harvested. Gideon convinced them that
their part, the killing of the two generals, was even more important than the bale itself.
8.421: Confrontation with Succoth and Penuel. Gideons purpose was to smite the camp of the Midianites
east of the Jordan River and to capture their leaders. Two Israelite cities in Transjordan refused to give bread to
Gideons exhausted three hundred warriors, so aer his victory he acted as a decisive leader, punishing them
severely. 5: Succoth, probably Tell Deir Alla in the Transjordan Valley. Kings, here heads of tribes. 8: Penuel is
probably Tell edh-Dhahab esh-Sherqiyeh, east of Succoth (see Gen 32.23-31, 1 Kings 12.25). 10: Karkor, probably a desert oasis in eastern Transjordan. The numbers are exaggerated. 11: A nomadic route east of Amman.
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judges 8
When Gideon son of Joash returned
from the battle by the ascent of Heres, he
caught a young man, one of the people of
Succoth, and questioned him; and he listed
for him the ocials and elders of Succoth,
seventy-seven people. Then he came to the
people of Succoth, and said, Here are Zebah
and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me,
saying, Do you already have in your possession the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna, that
we should give bread to your troops who are
exhausted? So he took the elders of the
city and he took thorns of the wilderness and
briers and with them he trampleda the people
of Succoth. He also broke down the tower
of Penuel, and killed the men of the city.
Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna,
What about the men whom you killed at
Tabor? They answered, As you are, so were
they, every one of them; they resembled
the sons of a king. And he replied, They
were my brothers, the sons of my mother; as
the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I
would not kill you. So he said to Jether his
rstborn, Go kill them! But the boy did not
draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he
was still a boy. Then Zebah and Zalmunna
said, You come and kill us; for as the man is,
so is his strength. So Gideon proceeded to kill
Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.
Then the Israelites said to Gideon, Rule
over us, you and your son and your grand-
son also; for you have delivered us out of the

hand of Midian. Gideon said to them, I
will not rule over you, and my son will not
rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.
Then Gideon said to them, Let me make a
request of you; each of you give me an earring
he has taken as booty. (For the enemyb had
golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) We will willingly give them, they
answered. So they spread a garment, and each
threw into it an earring he had taken as booty.
The weight of the golden earrings that he
requested was one thousand seven hundred
shekels of gold (apart from the crescents and
the pendants and the purple garments worn
by the kings of Midian, and the collars that
were on the necks of their camels). Gideon
made an ephod of it and put it in his town, in
Ophrah; and all Israel prostituted themselves
to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon
and to his family. So Midian was subdued
before the Israelites, and they lifted up their
heads no more. So the land had rest forty
years in the days of Gideon.
Jerubbaal son of Joash went to live in his
own house. Now Gideon had seventy sons,
his own ospring, for he had many wives.
His concubine who was in Shechem also
bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. Then Gideon son of Joash died at a
a With verse 7, Compare Gk: Heb he taught
b Heb they
18: If this is the familiar Tabor (see 4.6n.), no bale between the Midianites and Gibeons forces there has been
reported. Sons of a king, they relate to Gideon as to a king. 21: The Midianite leaders preferred that Gideon, an
experienced warrior, and not his young son, should kill them, because of honor and their wish to die quickly.
8.2227: The oer of kingship to Gideon. Gideons refusal to rule as king is interpreted in dierent ways:
as connected to the ancient ideology that God alone is king; as a later anti-monarchical interpolation; or as a
polite refusal even though he actually acted as a king. It may also reect the editors view that Israelite society
was not yet ripe for a monarch, because the armies of only some tribes supported Gideon and the results could
lead to a civil war (as in ch 9). The establishing of the ephod (a statue) is reminiscent of the calf in Ex 32:24. 22:
The Israelites, i.e., Gideons troops. You and your son . . . , indicating a dynasty. You have delivered us, the army sees
Gideon and not the Lord as their deliverer. 24: Ishmaelites, instead of Midianites; the same substitution occurs
in Gen 37.2536. The two groups were likely related. 27: Ephod, usually part of the priestly vestments used in
divination, but here apparently a statue intended to commemorate the deliverance that became a ritual object.
27b: A Deuteronomistic addition, contrasting the view that he did good for Israel (8.35; 9.16.) and highlighting the dangers of Gideons actions.
8.299.57: Abimelech. Gideon had a concubine at Shechem, perhaps reecting a political alliance. Their son
was Abimelech, who wanted to become king. His brief and bloody reign marks the failure of the rst aempt to
establish a monarchy. 8.30: Seventy, a typological number signifying multiplicity. 31: Concubine, a woman with
a status lower than that of a primary wife. Shechem, see 9.1n. Abimelech, his name, which means My (divine)
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judges 9
good old age, and was buried in the tomb of
his father Joash at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites
relapsed and prostituted themselves with the
Baals, making Baal-berith their god. The
Israelites did not remember the Lord their
God, who had rescued them from the hand
of all their enemies on every side; and they
did not exhibit loyalty to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good
that he had done to Israel.
Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went
to Shechem to his mothers kinsfolk and
said to them and to the whole clan of his
mothers family, Say in the hearing of all
the lords of Shechem, Which is better for
you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal
rule over you, or that one rule over you?
Remember also that I am your bone and
your esh. So his mothers kinsfolk spoke
all these words on his behalf in the hearing
of all the lords of Shechem; and their hearts
inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said,
He is our brother. They gave him seventy
pieces of silver out of the temple of Baalberith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him.
He went to his fathers house at Ophrah,
and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal,
seventy men, on one stone; but Jotham, the
youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, for he
hid himself. Then all the lords of Shechem
and all Beth-millo came together, and they

went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of
the pillara at Shechem.
When it was told to Jotham, he went and
stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and cried
aloud and said to them, Listen to me, you lords
of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.
The trees once went out
to anoint a king over themselves.
So they said to the olive tree,
Reign over us.
The olive tree answered them,
Shall I stop producing my rich oil
by which gods and mortals are
honored,
and go to sway over the trees?
Then the trees said to the g tree,
You come and reign over us.
But the g tree answered them,
Shall I stop producing my sweetness
and my delicious fruit,
Then the trees said to the vine,
But the vine said to them,
Shall I stop producing my wine
that cheers gods and mortals,
So all the trees said to the bramble,
a Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
father is king, hints at the tension between divine and human kingship. 32: Ophrah, see 6.11. 33: Baal-berith,
meaning Baal (or lord) of the covenant (also called El-berith in 9.46), is a title not mentioned elsewhere.
9.16: Abimelechs enthronement at his own initiative. 1: Shechem, one of the most important political and
religious centers in northern Israel; see Gen 12.6, 33.1835.4; Josh 24.1; 1 Kings 12.1,25. 2: All seventy, Abimelechs
rst argument for enthronement was false: Gideons seventy sons could not rule over one city, Shechem. The
second argument was family ties. 4: Seventy pieces, corresponding to the number of Gideons sons (8.30). A
temple could also function as a treasury (cf. 1 Kings 7.51). Worthless . . . fellows, Jephthah (11.3) also utilized such
people at the beginning of his road to rule; see also 1 Sam 22.2. 5: One stone, against seventy people. The contrast is intended to shock the reader. Jotham, his name means God acts with integrity. It is likely that some of
the names in Gideon-Abimelech episodes are symbolic. 6: Beth-millo, perhaps a quarter in the city built upon
a lling of earth (Heb millo means ll). The oak of the pillar, probably a holy place; see Gen 12.6; 35.4; Josh
24.2327.
9.721: Jothams fable. The fable (vv. 715) and its explication (vv. 1620) are not consistent with the narrative surrounding it; e.g., Abimelech was not oered the monarchy. The fable was thus probably an independent
anti-monarchic text, used here to criticize Abimelech and to emphasize the responsibility of choosing a king.
The fable uses the paern of three and four, in which the nal element is climactic: three refusals of the useful
trees and one acceptance by the bramble, which leads to harm. 7: Uering from a high place is a literary model
(cf. Num 23.14). Actually the Shechemites could not hear Jotham, because the top of Mount Gerizim was several
hundred feet above Shechem. 9: Gods and mortals are honored, oil and wine (v. 13) were used in worship as well
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judges 9
And the bramble said to the trees,
If in good faith you are anointing me
king over you,
then come and take refuge in my
shade;
but if not, let re come out of the
bramble
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
Now therefore, if you acted in good
faith and honor when you made Abimelech
king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal
and his house, and have done to him as his
actions deserved for my father fought for
you, and risked his life, and rescued you from
the hand of Midian; but you have risen up
against my fathers house this day, and have
killed his sons, seventy men on one stone,
and have made Abimelech, the son of his
slave woman, king over the lords of Shechem,
because he is your kinsman if, I say, you
have acted in good faith and honor with
Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then
rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice
in you; but if not, let re come out from
Abimelech, and devour the lords of Shechem,
and Beth-millo; and let re come out from the
lords of Shechem, and from Beth-millo, and
devour Abimelech. Then Jotham ran away
and ed, going to Beer, where he remained for
fear of his brother Abimelech.
Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.
But God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem; and the lords
of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech. This happened so that the violence
done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might
be avengeda and their blood be laid on their
brother Abimelech, who killed them, and
on the lords of Shechem, who strengthened
his hands to kill his brothers. So, out of
hostility to him, the lords of Shechem set ambushes on the mountain tops. They robbed
all who passed by them along that way; and it

was reported to Abimelech.
When Gaal son of Ebed moved into
Shechem with his kinsfolk, the lords of
Shechem put condence in him. They
went out into the eld and gathered the
grapes from their vineyards, trod them, and
celebrated. Then they went into the temple
of their god, ate and drank, and ridiculed
Abimelech. Gaal son of Ebed said, Who
is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem,
that we should serve him? Did not the son
of Jerubbaal and Zebul his ocer serve the
men of Hamor father of Shechem? Why then
should we serve him? If only this people
were under my command! Then I would
remove Abimelech; I would sayb to him, Increase your army, and come out.
When Zebul the ruler of the city heard
the words of Gaal son of Ebed, his anger was
kindled. He sent messengers to Abimelech
at Arumah,c saying, Look, Gaal son of Ebed
and his kinsfolk have come to Shechem, and
they are stirring upd the city against you.
Now therefore, go by night, you and the
troops that are with you, and lie in wait in the
elds. Then early in the morning, as soon
as the sun rises, get up and rush on the city;
and when he and the troops that are with
him come out against you, you may deal with
them as best you can.
So Abimelech and all the troops with
him got up by night and lay in wait against
Shechem in four companies. When Gaal
son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, Abimelech and
the troops with him rose from the ambush.
a
b
c
d
Heb might come

Gk: Heb and he said
Cn See 9.41. Heb Tormah
Cn: Heb are besieging
as in nonreligious activities. 14: Bramble, a useless shrub which oers lile shade and whose fruit is inedible.
16: Now therefore, a transitional formula that introduces the explanation. 21: Beer, which means well, is an
unidentied locale.
9.2257: The end of Abimelechs rule. 22: Ruled over, the Hebrew root (s-r-r) means arbitrary rule (see
Num 16.13). Israel, in reality, only Shechem and its environs. Three years, a typological number indicating a brief
reign. 2341: The rst bale at Shechem. 2324: Abimelechs fall and the war in Shechem are explained as a divine punishment, measure for measure (see also vv. 5657). 25: Social and economic causes are also mentioned.
26: Ebed may be a name, or a title meaning the status of a slave. Kinsfolk, perhaps not family but mercenaries;
cf. 9.4. 28: Gaal incites the citizens by rhetorical questions, identifying himself as a native Shechemite commit-
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judges 9
And when Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul,
Look, people are coming down from the
mountain tops! And Zebul said to him, The
shadows on the mountains look like people
to you. Gaal spoke again and said, Look,
people are coming down from Tabbur-erez,
and one company is coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim.a Then Zebul said
to him, Where is your boastb now, you who
said, Who is Abimelech, that we should
serve him? Are not these the troops you
made light of? Go out now and ght with
them. So Gaal went out at the head of the
lords of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. Abimelech chased him, and he ed
before him. Many fell wounded, up to the
entrance of the gate. So Abimelech resided
at Arumah; and Zebul drove out Gaal and
his kinsfolk, so that they could not live on at
Shechem.
On the following day the people went
out into the elds. When Abimelech was told,
he took his troops and divided them into
three companies, and lay in wait in the elds.
When he looked and saw the people coming out of the city, he rose against them and
killed them. Abimelech and the company
that wasc with him rushed forward and stood
at the entrance of the gate of the city, while
the two companies rushed on all who were
in the elds and killed them. Abimelech
fought against the city all that day; he took
the city, and killed the people that were in it;
and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.
When all the lords of the Tower of
Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the temple of El-berith. Abimelech was told that all the lords of the Tower
of Shechem were gathered together. So

Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and
all the troops that were with him. Abimelech
took an ax in his hand, cut down a bundle
of brushwood, and took it up and laid it on
his shoulder. Then he said to the troops with
him, What you have seen me do, do quickly,
as I have done. So every one of the troops
cut down a bundle and following Abimelech
put it against the stronghold, and they set the
stronghold on re over them, so that all the
people of the Tower of Shechem also died,
about a thousand men and women.
Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and
encamped against Thebez, and took it. But
there was a strong tower within the city, and
all the men and women and all the lords of
the city ed to it and shut themselves in; and
they went to the roof of the tower. Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it,
and came near to the entrance of the tower to
burn it with re. But a certain woman threw
an upper millstone on Abimelechs head, and
crushed his skull. Immediately he called
to the young man who carried his armor and
said to him, Draw your sword and kill me, so
people will not say about me, A woman killed
him. So the young man thrust him through,
and he died. When the Israelites saw that
Abimelech was dead, they all went home.
Thus God repaid Abimelech for the crime
he committed against his father in killing his
seventy brothers; and God also made all
the wickedness of the people of Shechem fall
a That is Diviners Oak
b Heb mouth
c Vg and some Gk Mss: Heb companies that were
ted to the family of Hamor (Gen 34.2), and portraying Abimelech as a foreigner. 37: Tabbur-erez, (lit. the navel of
the earth); cf. Ezek 38.12. Elon-meonenim, (lit. oak of the diviners). The route is named aer a holy tree. 4245:
The second bale at Shechem; its cause is unexplained. 45: Sowed it with salt, a symbolic action signifying a
nal destruction. 4649: The bale at the tower of Shechem; again, no reason for the bale is given. Abimelech
is depicted here like the harmful re in the fable; the image of re connects this bale with the next one. 46:
Tower of Shechem, probably a fortied section of the city, but perhaps a selement near it. El-berith, see 8.33n.
48: Zalmon, a mountain near Shechem; some scholars identify it as Mount Ebal, opposite Mount Gerizim (see
v. 7n.). 5054: The bale at Thebez and Abimelechs death. This time the re is stopped, because Abimelech
himself died in this war (see the reference to this bale in 2 Sam 11.2021). 50: Thebez, perhaps a corruption of
Tirzah, located seven miles northeast of Shechem. 54: Even at the point of death Abimelech was concerned for
his honor and did not want to be killed by a woman. 55-57: The Dispersion of the Army and the Cyclical End.
55: Upon Abimelechs death, his army was dispersed. Gideons refusal to reign was justied: the situation was
not yet ripe for a monarch.
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judges 10
back on their heads, and on them came the
curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal.
After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah son
of Dodo, a man of Issachar, who lived at
Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim, rose to
deliver Israel. He judged Israel twenty-three
years. Then he died, and was buried at Shamir.
After him came Jair the Gileadite, who
judged Israel twenty-two years. He had
thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; and
they had thirty towns, which are in the land
of Gilead, and are called Havvoth-jair to this
day. Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.
the sight of the Lord, worshiping the Baals
and the Astartes, the gods of Aram, the gods
of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the
Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines.
Thus they abandoned the Lord, and did not
worship him. So the anger of the Lord was
kindled against Israel, and he sold them into
the hand of the Philistines and into the hand
of the Ammonites, and they crushed and
oppressed the Israelites that year. For eighteen
years they oppressed all the Israelites that
were beyond the Jordan in the land of the
Amorites, which is in Gilead. The Ammonites
also crossed the Jordan to ght against Judah
10
and against Benjamin and against the house of

Ephraim; so that Israel was greatly distressed.
So the Israelites cried to the Lord, saying, We have sinned against you, because we
have abandoned our God and have worshiped the Baals. And the Lord said to the
Israelites, Did I not deliver youa from the
Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the
Ammonites and from the Philistines? The
Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the
Maonites, oppressed you; and you cried to
me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
Yet you have abandoned me and worshiped
other gods; therefore I will deliver you no
more. Go and cry to the gods whom you
have chosen; let them deliver you in the time
of your distress. And the Israelites said to
the Lord, We have sinned; do to us whatever
seems good to you; but deliver us this day!
So they put away the foreign gods from
among them and worshiped the Lord; and he
could no longer bear to see Israel suer.
Then the Ammonites were called to
arms, and they encamped in Gilead; and the
Israelites came together, and they encamped
at Mizpah. The commanders of the people
a Heb lacks Did I not deliver you
10.15: First list of consecutive judges. The two judges aer Abimelech appear one aer another, without
the usual paern of sin and punishment. Their brief and consecutive mention hints that continuity of leadership may prevent return to sin and thus points to the advantages of monarchy in spite of Abimelechs kingship. The descriptions of these judges are short reports: they do not narrate acts of deliverance, but merely
list details such as where they lived and were buried, how long they judged, their property and numbers of
descendants. For this reason many scholars call these individuals along with those in 12.815 minor judges. 1:
To deliver, but the story of deliverance is missing. Tola is from the tribe of Issachar, one of whose sons had the
same name according to Gen 43.13. Shamir, location unknown, situated in Mount Ephraim. 3: According to Num
32.41; Deut 3.14; and 1 Chr 2.2223, Jair conquered territory in Gilead. 4: Thirty sons . . . thirty donkeys, the large
number of ospring and burros indicates his high status (cf. 8.30; 12.14; see 5.10n.). Havvoth-jair means villages
of Jair. 5: Kamon, location unknown.
10.612.15: Jephthah. A sense of disappointment accompanies most of the Jephthah stories, suggesting
that even as the cycle continues, the judges are geing worse and worse.
10.616: Introduction to the Jephthah cycle. The stages of sin (here seven types of idolatry), punishment
(Philistines and Ammonites), and crying out (repentance and direct rebuke by God) that precede the Jephthah cycle point to the increased severity of the situation, and suggest the need for a very able leader. 12: The
Maonites, a nomadic tribe in southern Judah (1 Chr 4.41; 2 Chr 26.7).
10.1711.11: Jephthahs appointment. The elders of Gilead could not nd someone to lead the army against
the Ammonites, so they oered it to Jephthah. As the son of a prostitute, he had been disinherited by his brothers, and he moved to the eastern border area, where he gained military experience as a bandit leader. Jephthah
made his appointment conditional: if he led them to victory, he would be appointed their leader aer the war
too. 17: Mizpah (also 11.11), location unknown. 18: A situation of despair. The leadership is promised to whoever
will dare to go to war. Head, a leader whose authority was not only military but also judicial and administrative.
hebrew bible | 375
judges 11
of Gilead said to one another, Who will begin the ght against the Ammonites? He shall
be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
Now Jephthah the Gileadite, the son of a
prostitute, was a mighty warrior. Gilead
was the father of Jephthah. Gileads wife also
bore him sons; and when his wifes sons grew
up, they drove Jephthah away, saying to him,
You shall not inherit anything in our fathers
house; for you are the son of another woman. Then Jephthah ed from his brothers
and lived in the land of Tob. Outlaws collected
around Jephthah and went raiding with him.
After a time the Ammonites made war
against Israel. And when the Ammonites
made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead
went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob.
They said to Jephthah, Come and be our
commander, so that we may ght with the
Ammonites. But Jephthah said to the elders
of Gilead, Are you not the very ones who
rejected me and drove me out of my fathers
house? So why do you come to me now when
you are in trouble? The elders of Gilead
said to Jephthah, Nevertheless, we have now
turned back to you, so that you may go with
us and ght with the Ammonites, and become
head over us, over all the inhabitants of
Gilead. Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead,
If you bring me home again to ght with the
Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over
to me, I will be your head. And the elders
of Gilead said to Jephthah, The Lord will be
witness between us; we will surely do as you
say. So Jephthah went with the elders of
Gilead, and the people made him head and
11
commander over them; and Jephthah spoke

all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.
Then Jephthah sent messengers to the
king of the Ammonites and said, What is
there between you and me, that you have
come to me to ght against my land? The
king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel, on
coming from Egypt, took away my land from
the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan;
now therefore restore it peaceably. Once
again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of
the Ammonites and said to him: Thus says
Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land
of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, but
when they came up from Egypt, Israel went
through the wilderness to the Red Seaa and
came to Kadesh. Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Let us pass
through your land; but the king of Edom
would not listen. They also sent to the king
of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel
remained at Kadesh. Then they journeyed
through the wilderness, went around the
land of Edom and the land of Moab, arrived
on the east side of the land of Moab, and
camped on the other side of the Arnon. They
did not enter the territory of Moab, for the
Arnon was the boundary of Moab. Israel
then sent messengers to King Sihon of the
Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said
to him, Let us pass through your land to our
country. But Sihon did not trust Israel to
pass through his territory; so Sihon gatha Or Sea of Reeds
11.2: Gileads wife apparently bore him sons aer Jephthahs birth. According to some ancient laws, Jephthah
was also entitled to an inheritance. 3: Tob, in northeast Gilead. Outlaws, see 9.4n. 4: This verse logically belongs
before 10.17. 5: The elders themselves, not emissaries from them. 6: Commander, a military ocer whose authority was less than that of a head (cf. 10.18). Jephthah begins negotiations in order to be their head (v.9). 11:
Before the Lord, at a temple or an altar.
11.1228: Negotiations with the Ammonite king. Jephthah aempted to prevent war on Israelite territory
from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan (v. 13) by negotiation. His arguments were historical: the area
had never belonged to Ammon, but to Sihon king of the Amorites (vv. 1419); when Sihon did not allow the Israelites to pass through his land aer the Exodus, they were forced to wage war against him (v. 20); their victory
was Gods will (vv. 2124); for the past three hundred years the Ammonites had not claimed this area (vv. 2526).
Once the Ammonite king rejected Jephthahs arguments, war was inevitable (cf. Num 20.1421; 33.3749; Deut
23). Scholars think that this text is a late document concerning Israelite-Moabite relations, since throughout
the negotiation Moab rather than Ammon is mentioned. 13: The borders of Sihons land are the river Arnon in
the south, the river Jabbok in the north, the river Jordan in the west, and the desert in the east. Reuben and Gad
seled there. 16: Kadesh, i.e., Kadesh-barnea, a desert oasis in northern Sinai; see Num 13.25; 20.1. 19: Heshbon,
376 | hebrew bible
judges 11
ered all his people together, and encamped
at Jahaz, and fought with Israel. Then the
Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all
his people into the hand of Israel, and they
defeated them; so Israel occupied all the land
of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. They occupied all the territory of the
Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and
from the wilderness to the Jordan. So now
the Lord, the God of Israel, has conquered
the Amorites for the benet of his people
Israel. Do you intend to take their place?
Should you not possess what your god
Chemosh gives you to possess? And should
we not be the ones to possess everything
that the Lord our God has conquered for our
benet? Now are you any better than King
Balak son of Zippor of Moab? Did he ever
enter into conict with Israel, or did he ever
go to war with them? While Israel lived in
Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its
villages, and in all the towns that are along
the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you
not recover them within that time? It is not
I who have sinned against you, but you are
the one who does me wrong by making war
on me. Let the Lord, who is judge, decide today for the Israelites or for the Ammonites.
But the king of the Ammonites did not heed
the message that Jephthah sent him.
Then the spirit of the Lord came upon
Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead
and Manasseh. He passed on to Mizpah of
Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed
on to the Ammonites. And Jephthah made
a vow to the Lord, and said, If you will
give the Ammonites into my hand, then
whoever comes out of the doors of my house
to meet me, when I return victorious from
the Ammonites, shall be the Lords, to be

oered up by me as a burnt oering. So
Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to
ght against them; and the Lord gave them
into his hand. He inicted a massive defeat
on them from Aroer to the neighborhood of
Minnith, twenty towns, and as far as Abelkeramim. So the Ammonites were subdued
before the people of Israel.
Then Jephthah came to his home at
Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with
dancing. She was his only child; he had no
son or daughter except her. When he saw
her, he tore his clothes, and said, Alas, my
daughter! You have brought me very low; you
have become the cause of great trouble to me.
For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and
I cannot take back my vow. She said to him,
My father, if you have opened your mouth to
the Lord, do to me according to what has gone
out of your mouth, now that the Lord has
given you vengeance against your enemies,
the Ammonites. And she said to her father,
Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two
months, so that I may go and wandera on the
mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I. Go, he said and sent her
away for two months. So she departed, she and
her companions, and bewailed her virginity on
the mountains. At the end of two months,
she returned to her father, who did with her
according to the vow he had made. She had
never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that for four days every year the
daughters of Israel would go out to lament the
daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
a Cn: Heb go down
Sihons royal city, about 14 mi (23 km) southwest of Amman. 20: Jahaz, location uncertain. 24: Chemosh, the
national god of Moab; the reference to him, and not to Milcom the god of Ammon, indicates the Moabite
context of this document. Chemosh is mentioned in the Mesha inscription. 25: Balak, see Num 22.224.5. 26:
Aroer, just north of the Arnon. Three hundred, a round and inexact number for the time from Joshuas conquest
until Jephthah.
11.2940: The war and the vow. Before the war Jephthah vowed that if the Lord granted him victory, he
would oer up to him the rst coming out of his house. When he returned home victorious, his only daughter
came out to greet him, and he was obliged to fulll his vow. This story shows Jephthah in a clear negative light,
because of human sacrice. 29: Jephthah advanced in a northeasterly direction. 31: The oath suggests a human
sacrice; 2 Kings 3:27 illustrates such a sacrice at the time of war. 35: Both Jephthah and his unnamed daughter
understand the oath as an unconditional obligation; see Deut 23.2123. 37: Virginity, see v. 39. 40: The etiological conclusion explains a preexisting custom.
hebrew bible | 377
judges 12
12
The men of Ephraim were called to arms,

and they crossed to Zaphon and said
to Jephthah, Why did you cross over to ght
against the Ammonites, and did not call us to
go with you? We will burn your house down
over you! Jephthah said to them, My people
and I were engaged in conict with the Ammonites who oppressed usa severely. But when
I called you, you did not deliver me from their
hand. When I saw that you would not deliver
me, I took my life in my hand, and crossed over
against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave
them into my hand. Why then have you come
up to me this day, to ght against me? Then
Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and
fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead
defeated Ephraim, because they said, You are
fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileaditesin
the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh.b Then
the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan
against the Ephraimites. Whenever one of the
fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the
men of Gilead would say to him, Are you an
Ephraimite? When he said, No, they said to
him, Then say Shibboleth, and he said, Sibboleth, for he could not pronounce it right.
Then they seized him and killed him at the
fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand of the
Ephraimites fell at that time.
Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then

Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried
in his town in Gilead.c
After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
He had thirty sons. He gave his thirty daughters in marriage outside his clan and brought in
thirty young women from outside for his sons.
He judged Israel seven years. Then Ibzan died,
and was buried at Bethlehem.
After him Elon the Zebulunite judged
Israel; and he judged Israel ten years. Then
Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried at
Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. He had forty sons
and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy
donkeys; he judged Israel eight years. Then
Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and
was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim,
in the hill country of the Amalekites.
The Israelites again did what was evil
in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord
gave them into the hand of the Philistines
forty years.
13
a Gk OL, Syr H: Heb lacks who oppressed us

b Meaning of Heb uncertain: Gk omits because . . .
Manasseh
c Gk: Heb in the towns of Gilead
12.17: Jephthahs ba+le with Ephraim and the conclusion of the Jephthah cycle. This conict, like Gideons
(8.13), is a struggle for intertribal hegemony, but since it ends with the death of forty-two thousand Ephraimites, it emphasizes Jephthahs negative characteristics. Another example of his negative behavior is the blocking of the Jordan crossings, a tactic used by Ehud against the Moabites (3.28); Jephthah used it against his own
people. 1: Zaphon, in the central Jordan valley, perhaps near Succoth (Josh 13.27). 4: Fugitives from Ephraim,
the men of Gilead were insulted by the Ephraimites. Perhaps this phrase relates to the inhabitants of Gilead
in Transjordan as refugees who had le the region of Ephraim and Manasseh west of the Jordan River. 5: The
Gileadites prevented the men of Ephraim from escaping westward to the Jordan. 6: Shibboleth . . . sibboleth, the
dierence in pronunciation shows variation in dialects. Shibboleth may mean river currents (Ps 69.3) or sheaves
of grain (Gen 41.57).
12.815: Second list of consecutive judges. Three consecutive judges appear aer Jephthah, and therefore
there was no room for sin, punishment or deliverance (see 10.15n.). 8: Bethlehem, here a city in the territory
of Zebulun (Josh 19.15). 9: Marriage was one of the means of creating foreign alliances (cf. 8.31). 13: Pirathon is
located in the land of Ephraim, see 2 Sam 23.30; 1 Chr 27.14. 14: See 10.4n.
Chs 1316: The Samson cycle. Samson diers from the other judges: he fought as an individual rather than
a commander, and his miraculous heroic acts were the result of personal involvement with Philistine women.
He did not deliver his people but only began the process and then died in enemy captivity. Like Jephthah he is
also disappointing and his appearance as the last judge in the book leads toward the conclusion that monarchy
is preferable to judges. The stories concerning Samson are lled with remnants of myth, legends, and folk
traditions.
13.125: Samsons birth. This story is reminiscent of other annunciation stories (Gen 18.115; Judg 6.1124;
1 Sam 1; 2 Kings 4.837). 1: Forty years is the longest period of subjugation in the book. There is no statement
378 | hebrew bible
judges 13
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the
tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah.
His wife was barren, having borne no children.
And the angel of the Lord appeared to the
woman and said to her, Although you are
barren, having borne no children, you shall
conceive and bear a son. Now be careful
not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat
anything unclean, for you shall conceive and
bear a son. No razor is to come on his head,
for the boy shall be a naziritea to God from
birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel
from the hand of the Philistines. Then the
woman came and told her husband, A man of
God came to me, and his appearance was like
that of an angelb of God, most awe-inspiring;
I did not ask him where he came from, and he
did not tell me his name; but he said to me,
You shall conceive and bear a son. So then
drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing
unclean, for the boy shall be a naziritea to God
from birth to the day of his death.
Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and
said, O Lord, I pray, let the man of God
whom you sent come to us again and teach
us what we are to do concerning the boy who
will be born. God listened to Manoah, and
the angel of God came again to the woman as
she sat in the eld; but her husband Manoah
was not with her. So the woman ran quickly
and told her husband, The man who came
to me the other day has appeared to me.
Manoah got up and followed his wife, and
came to the man and said to him, Are you
the man who spoke to this woman? And he

said, I am. Then Manoah said, Now when
your words come true, what is to be the boys
rule of life; what is he to do? The angel of
the Lord said to Manoah, Let the woman
give heed to all that I said to her. She may
not eat of anything that comes from the vine.
She is not to drink wine or strong drink, or
eat any unclean thing. She is to observe everything that I commanded her.
Manoah said to the angel of the Lord,
Allow us to detain you, and prepare a kid
for you. The angel of the Lord said to
Manoah, If you detain me, I will not eat your
food; but if you want to prepare a burnt oering, then oer it to the Lord. (For Manoah
did not know that he was the angel of the
Lord.) Then Manoah said to the angel of
the Lord, What is your name, so that we
may honor you when your words come true?
But the angel of the Lord said to him, Why
do you ask my name? It is too wonderful.
So Manoah took the kid with the grain offering, and oered it on the rock to the Lord, to
him who worksc wonders.d When the ame
went up toward heaven from the altar, the
angel of the Lord ascended in the ame of the
altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and
they fell on their faces to the ground. The ana
b
c
d
That is one separated or one consecrated

Or the angel
Gk Vg: Heb and working
Heb wonders, while Manoah and his wife looked on
that the Israelites cried out, strengthening the impression of distance from the Lord. 2: Zorah is in the territory
of Dan, about 16 mi (25 km) west of Jerusalem. 5: Samsons status as a nazirite is exceptional. It is connected only
to his hair, while other prohibitions apply to his mother; see Num 6.15. Begin, i.e., his deliverance will be partial.
7: To the day of his death, the woman does not repeat the angels words exactly. She focuses upon her prohibitions and interprets the partial deliverance as alluding to the death of the child. Thus Manoah has a reason to
ask for another visit of the messenger for further clarication. 8: Us, Manoah wants to be a full partner in the
additional visit. 9: Due to womens preferred status in birth stories (compare 2 Kings 4.817), the angel appears
to the woman again, and thereaer Manoah follows his wife. 1314: The angels answer relates to the woman
and not to the child. 15: Like Gideon in 6.18, Manoah invites the angel to a meal in order to ascertain whether
he is an angel. 16: The angel, behaving properly, refuses to eat. The second half of this verse (For Manoah . . .)
may belong at the end of v. 15. 1718: Manoah continues to question the angel and asks for his name, but the
angel refuses to disclose it. 1920: The angel behaves in a miraculous way and disappears in the ame while
the sacrice is oered. 20: Altar, i.e., the rock. 2122: In contrast to his wife who understood early on that the
visitor was an angel, Manoah realizes who the visitor was only aer the angel disappeared, and he begins to
be afraid (cf. 6.22). 23: Manoahs wife calms him with logical arguments. 24a: Many scholars connect the name
of Samson (Heb Shimshon) with the word for sun (shemesh), nding in it a mythological allusion. 24b25:
These verses summarize Samsons unique growth and development under divine protection. Eshtaol, near Zo-
hebrew bible | 379
judges 14
gel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah
and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was
the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to
his wife, We shall surely die, for we have seen
God. But his wife said to him, If the Lord
had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt oering and a grain oering at
our hands, or shown us all these things, or now
announced to us such things as these.
The woman bore a son, and named him
Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed
him. The spirit of the Lord began to stir him
in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Once Samson went down to Timnah,
and at Timnah he saw a Philistine
woman. Then he came up, and told his
father and mother, I saw a Philistine woman
at Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.
But his father and mother said to him,
Is there not a woman among your kin, or
among all oura people, that you must go to
take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? But Samson said to his father, Get
her for me, because she pleases me. His
father and mother did not know that this was
from the Lord; for he was seeking a pretext
to act against the Philistines. At that time the
Philistines had dominion over Israel.
Then Samson went down with his father
and mother to Timnah. When he came to
the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young
lion roared at him. The spirit of the Lord
rushed on him, and he tore the lion apart
barehanded as one might tear apart a kid. But
he did not tell his father or his mother what
he had done. Then he went down and talked
with the woman, and she pleased Samson.
After a while he returned to marry her, and
he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion,
and there was a swarm of bees in the body of
the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into
14
his hands, and went on, eating as he went.

When he came to his father and mother, he
gave some to them, and they ate it. But he did
not tell them that he had taken the honey
from the carcass of the lion.
His father went down to the woman, and
Samson made a feast there as the young men
were accustomed to do. When the people
saw him, they brought thirty companions to
be with him. Samson said to them, Let me
now put a riddle to you. If you can explain it
to me within the seven days of the feast, and
nd it out, then I will give you thirty linen
garments and thirty festal garments. But if
you cannot explain it to me, then you shall
give me thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments. So they said to him, Ask your
riddle; let us hear it. He said to them,
Out of the eater came something to eat.
Out of the strong came something sweet.
But for three days they could not explain
the riddle.
On the fourthb day they said to Samsons
wife, Coax your husband to explain the
riddle to us, or we will burn you and your
fathers house with re. Have you invited us
here to impoverish us? So Samsons wife
wept before him, saying, You hate me; you
do not really love me. You have asked a riddle
of my people, but you have not explained it to
me. He said to her, Look, I have not told my
father or my mother. Why should I tell you?
She wept before him the seven days that
their feast lasted; and because she nagged
him, on the seventh day he told her. Then she
explained the riddle to her people. The men
of the town said to him on the seventh day
before the sun went down,
a Cn: Heb my
b Gk Syr: Heb seventh
rah (see v. 1n.).

14.115.20: Samsons marriage to the Timnite woman and its consequences. Samsons marriage to a Philistine woman was part of a deliberate divine strategy so that he would have justication for harming the Philistines (see 14.4). 14.1: Timnah, between Beth-shemesh and Ekron, about 18 mi (30 km) west of Jerusalem. 5: Samson leaves the main road, so his parents do not know of his struggle with the lion (v. 6; also v. 9). Several ancient
heroes, such as Babylonian Gilgamesh and Greek Herakles or Hercules, are described as ghting with lions. 8:
The removal of honey from the skeleton of a lion has parallels in other ancient literature. 10: The mention of
the father by himself is dicult; a possible emendation is: He went down to the woman. 12: Proposing riddles
accompanied by being was an aspect of the entertainment at a feast. 14: Samsons riddle is based on chance
and personal experience, and is unsolvable without knowledge of his earlier acts. 16: My people, phrasing that
380 | hebrew bible
judges 15
What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?
And he said to them,
If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have found out my riddle.
Then the spirit of the Lord rushed on
him, and he went down to Ashkelon. He
killed thirty men of the town, took their
spoil, and gave the festal garments to those
who had explained the riddle. In hot anger
he went back to his fathers house. And
Samsons wife was given to his companion,
who had been his best man.
After a while, at the time of the wheat
harvest, Samson went to visit his wife,
bringing along a kid. He said, I want to go
into my wifes room. But her father would
not allow him to go in. Her father said, I
was sure that you had rejected her; so I gave
her to your companion. Is not her younger
sister prettier than she? Why not take her
instead? Samson said to them, This time,
when I do mischief to the Philistines, I will
be without blame. So Samson went and
caught three hundred foxes, and took some
torches; and he turned the foxesa tail to tail,
and put a torch between each pair of tails.
When he had set re to the torches, he let
the foxes go into the standing grain of the
Philistines, and burned up the shocks and
the standing grain, as well as the vineyards
andb olive groves. Then the Philistines
asked, Who has done this? And they said,
Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken Samsons wife and given
her to his companion. So the Philistines
came up, and burned her and her father.
Samson said to them, If this is what you
do, I swear I will not stop until I have taken
revenge on you. He struck them down hip
and thigh with great slaughter; and he went
down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of
Etam.
15
Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah, and made a raid on Lehi.
The men of Judah said, Why have you
come up against us? They said, We have
come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he
did to us. Then three thousand men of
Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of
Etam, and they said to Samson, Do you not
know that the Philistines are rulers over us?
What then have you done to us? He replied,
As they did to me, so I have done to them.
They said to him, We have come down to
bind you, so that we may give you into the
hands of the Philistines. Samson answered
them, Swear to me that you yourselves will
not attack me. They said to him, No, we
will only bind you and give you into their
hands; we will not kill you. So they bound
him with two new ropes, and brought him up
from the rock.
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines
came shouting to meet him; and the spirit
of the Lord rushed on him, and the ropes
that were on his arms became like ax that
has caught re, and his bonds melted o his
hands. Then he found a fresh jawbone of a
donkey, reached down and took it, and with it
he killed a thousand men. And Samson said,
With the jawbone of a donkey,
heaps upon heaps,
with the jawbone of a donkey
I have slain a thousand men.
When he had nished speaking, he
threw away the jawbone; and that place was
called Ramath-lehi.c
By then he was very thirsty, and he called
on the Lord, saying, You have granted this
great victory by the hand of your servant.
Am I now to die of thirst, and fall into the
a Heb them
b Gk Tg Vg: Heb lacks and
c That is The Hill of the Jawbone
emphasizes the national confrontation. 18: Samson responds with another riddle, comparing the woman to a
heifer and the method of solution to plowing. Samson hints that he knows how they arrived at the solution. 19:
Ashkelon, a Philistine city 25 mi (40 km) west-southwest of Timnah.
15.18: Samson continues his acts of violence against the Philistines. 4: The motif of using foxes to damage
elds is also known from ancient literature 8: Hip and thigh, an idiom probably meaning a severe beating. Etam,
a rock in Judah, near Zorah (see 1 Chr 4.3). 9: Samsons presence in Judah leads the Philistines to apply further
pressure on Judah. Lehi, not identied location. 15: This act is reminiscent of the heroic acts of Shamgar (3.31).
16: Samson does not mention God in his song of victory. 18: Samsons thirst teaches him that his might and life
hebrew bible | 381
judges 16
hands of the uncircumcised? So God split
open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and
water came from it. When he drank, his spirit
returned, and he revived. Therefore it was
named En-hakkore,a which is at Lehi to this
day. And he judged Israel in the days of the
Philistines twenty years.
Once Samson went to Gaza, where he
saw a prostitute and went in to her.
The Gazites were told,b Samson has come
here. So they circled around and lay in wait
for him all night at the city gate. They kept
quiet all night, thinking, Let us wait until
the light of the morning; then we will kill
him. But Samson lay only until midnight.
Then at midnight he rose up, took hold of
the doors of the city gate and the two posts,
pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his
shoulders, and carried them to the top of the
hill that is in front of Hebron.
After this he fell in love with a woman in
the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
The lords of the Philistines came to her and
said to her, Coax him, and nd out what
makes his strength so great, and how we may
overpower him, so that we may bind him in
order to subdue him; and we will each give
you eleven hundred pieces of silver. So
Delilah said to Samson, Please tell me what
makes your strength so great, and how you
could be bound, so that one could subdue
you. Samson said to her, If they bind me
with seven fresh bowstrings that are not
dried out, then I shall become weak, and be
16
like anyone else. Then the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings
that had not dried out, and she bound him
with them. While men were lying in wait
in an inner chamber, she said to him, The
Philistines are upon you, Samson! But he
snapped the bowstrings, as a strand of ber
snaps when it touches the re. So the secret
of his strength was not known.
Then Delilah said to Samson, You have
mocked me and told me lies; please tell me how
you could be bound. He said to her, If they
bind me with new ropes that have not been
used, then I shall become weak, and be like
anyone else. So Delilah took new ropes and
bound him with them, and said to him, The
Philistines are upon you, Samson! (The men
lying in wait were in an inner chamber.) But he
snapped the ropes o his arms like a thread.
Then Delilah said to Samson, Until now
you have mocked me and told me lies; tell me
how you could be bound. He said to her, If
you weave the seven locks of my head with
the web and make it tight with the pin, then I
shall become weak, and be like anyone else.
So while he slept, Delilah took the seven
locks of his head and wove them into the
web,c and made them tight with the pin. Then
she said to him, The Philistines are upon you,
a That is The Spring of the One who Called
b Gk: Heb lacks were told
c Compare Gk: in verses 13-14, Heb lacks and make it
tight . . . into the web
are dependent upon God. 19: The etymology connects the springs name (see textual note b) with Samsons
calling on God (v. 18). 20: The position of the closing formula here indicates that the period of his being judge
takes place aer his marriage but before the events in ch 16 that will lead to his death.
16.121: Samsons downfall. Samsons nal acts, which begin and end in the city of Gaza, lead to his death in
Philistine captivity. Here too a woman plays a prominent role. 13: Gaza, a Philistine city on the southeast coast
of the Mediterranean. This story explains the Philistines readiness to pay Delilah any price in order to catch
Samson. 2: City gate, a fortied structure with several rooms. 3: Against the preparations of the townspeople
all night (v. 2, twice), the author informs us twice that already at midnight Samson had le. To the top of the
hill that is in front of Hebron, the geographical details emphasize the miracle. Samson walks more than 35 mi (56
km), from the seacoast to the mountains in front of Hebron, carrying on his shoulders the massive structure
comprised of the doors, the gateposts, and the bar. 421: Delilahs aempts to uncover the source of Samsons
strength are based upon the model of ascending numbers (cf. 9.815). Three times she fails (vv. 69,1012,13
14), but at the fourth (vv. 1521) he reveals her his secret. In so doing he betrays his destiny and is punished. 4:
For the rst time we are told that Samson was in love. Delilah is not explicitly identied as a Philistine; her name
may refer to woven braids of hair, anticipating vv. 1314 (see Song 7.6). Valley of Sorek, near Zorah (see 13.2n.).
5: As there were ve Philistine lords (see 3.3), Delilah was oered the enormous sum of 5,500 shekels. 7: Fresh
bowstrings, their freshness assures their exibility and makes them more dicult to tear. 13: The web and the pin
382 | hebrew bible
judges 16
Samson! But he awoke from his sleep, and
pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.
Then she said to him, How can you say,
I love you, when your heart is not with me?
You have mocked me three times now and
have not told me what makes your strength
so great. Finally, after she had nagged him
with her words day after day, and pestered
him, he was tired to death. So he told her
his whole secret, and said to her, A razor has
never come upon my head; for I have been
a naziritea to God from my mothers womb.
If my head were shaved, then my strength
would leave me; I would become weak, and
be like anyone else.
When Delilah realized that he had told
her his whole secret, she sent and called the
lords of the Philistines, saying, This time
come up, for he has told his whole secret to
me. Then the lords of the Philistines came
up to her, and brought the money in their
hands. She let him fall asleep on her lap;
and she called a man, and had him shave
o the seven locks of his head. He began to
weaken,b and his strength left him. Then
she said, The Philistines are upon you,
Samson! When he awoke from his sleep, he
thought, I will go out as at other times, and
shake myself free. But he did not know that
the Lord had left him. So the Philistines
seized him and gouged out his eyes. They
brought him down to Gaza and bound him
with bronze shackles; and he ground at the
mill in the prison. But the hair of his head
began to grow again after it had been shaved.
Now the lords of the Philistines gathered
to oer a great sacrice to their god Dagon,
and to rejoice; for they said, Our god has
given Samson our enemy into our hand.
When the people saw him, they praised their

god; for they said, Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country,
who has killed many of us. And when their
hearts were merry, they said, Call Samson,
and let him entertain us. So they called
Samson out of the prison, and he performed
for them. They made him stand between the
pillars; and Samson said to the attendant
who held him by the hand, Let me feel the
pillars on which the house rests, so that I may
lean against them. Now the house was full
of men and women; all the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were
about three thousand men and women, who
looked on while Samson performed.
Then Samson called to the Lord and
said, Lord God, remember me and strengthen me only this once, OGod, so that with
this one act of revenge I may pay back the
Philistines for my two eyes.c And Samson
grasped the two middle pillars on which the
house rested, and he leaned his weight against
them, his right hand on the one and his left
hand on the other. Then Samson said, Let
me die with the Philistines. He strained with
all his might; and the house fell on the lords
and all the people who were in it. So those he
killed at his death were more than those he
had killed during his life. Then his brothers
and all his family came down and took him
and brought him up and buried him between
Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father
Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.
a That is one separated or one consecrated
b Gk: Heb She began to torment him
c Or so that I may be avenged upon the Philistines for
one of my two eyes
were parts of a loom. 17: See 13.5. 19: She called a man to assist her in cuing his hair.
16.2231: Samsons death and burial. The Philistines gather at the temple of the god Dagon (cf. 1 Sam 5.1)
in Gaza to oer him sacrices and to thank him for catching Samson. 22: His hair growing back alludes to the
connection with the Lord through the nazirite vow (see v. 17) and the renewal of his strength. 25: The Philistines
wish to enjoy the sight of Samson humiliated. 29: It seems that the pillars were placed close together. 31: His
brothers, his compatriots. 31: He had judged Israel twenty years returns to 15.20, to the period before the events
of ch 16, and it ends the whole cycle.
17.118.31: Micahs house of God and the temple of Dan. This story criticizes the time of the judges by representing it as one of social and religious anarchy. Chronologically, it belongs to the beginning of the period (see
18.30). Its appearance at the end of the book emphasizes the limited inuence of the judges rule and the need
for monarchy. Scholars think that Micahs temple is an allusion to Bethel, which is oen mentioned along with
Dan as one of the central shrines of the northern kingdom of Israel whose worship the narrative is criticizing.
hebrew bible | 383
judges 17
17
There was a man in the hill country of

Ephraim whose name was Micah. He
said to his mother, The eleven hundred pieces
of silver that were taken from you, about which
you uttered a curse, and even spoke it in my
hearing,that silver is in my possession; I
took it; but now I will return it to you.a And
his mother said, May my son be blessed by the
Lord! Then he returned the eleven hundred
pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother
said, I consecrate the silver to the Lord from
my hand for my son, to make an idol of cast
metal. So when he returned the money to his
mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of
silver, and gave it to the silversmith, who made
it into an idol of cast metal; and it was in the
house of Micah. This man Micah had a shrine,
and he made an ephod and teraphim, and
installed one of his sons, who became his priest.
In those days there was no king in Israel; all
the people did what was right in their own eyes.
Now there was a young man of Bethlehem
in Judah, of the clan of Judah. He was a Levite
residing there. This man left the town of
Bethlehem in Judah, to live wherever he could
nd a place. He came to the house of Micah
in the hill country of Ephraim to carry on his
work.b Micah said to him, From where do
you come? He replied, I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to live wherever I can nd a place. Then Micah said
to him, Stay with me, and be to me a father
and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of
silver a year, a set of clothes, and your living.c
The Levite agreed to stay with the man; and

the young man became to him like one of his
sons. So Micah installed the Levite, and the
young man became his priest, and was in the
house of Micah. Then Micah said, Now I
know that the Lord will prosper me, because
the Levite has become my priest.
In those days there was no king in Israel.
And in those days the tribe of the Danites
was seeking for itself a territory to live in; for
until then no territory among the tribes of Israel
had been allotted to them. So the Danites sent
ve valiant men from the whole number of
their clan, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy
out the land and to explore it; and they said to
them, Go, explore the land. When they came
to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of
Micah, they stayed there. While they were at
Micahs house, they recognized the voice of the
young Levite; so they went over and asked him,
Who brought you here? What are you doing
in this place? What is your business here? He
said to them, Micah did such and such for me,
and he hired me, and I have become his priest.
Then they said to him, Inquire of God that we
may know whether the mission we are undertaking will succeed. The priest replied, Go in
peace. The mission you are on is under the eye
of the Lord.
18
a The words but now I will return it to you are

transposed from the end of verse 3 in Heb
b Or Ephraim, continuing his journey

c Heb living, and the Levite went
17.113: Micahs shrine and its idol. The story reveals how God was worshiped during the period of the
judges: a statue could be made by means of stolen silver, and priests were appointed by people like Micah. 1: Hill
country of Ephraim, the name of Micahs town is not given. 34: The mother says that she consecrated the silver
to God, but in practice she set aside only two hundred of the eleven hundred pieces. Cast metal, a reference to
a prohibited form of worship (Deut 27.15; Ex 20.3; 34.17; etc.). 5: Shrine, (lit. house of God). Ephod and teraphim,
part of priestly paraphernalia used in divination; see 8.27n. One of his sons, an illegitimate appointment, as he
was not a Levite. 6: A criticism of what precedes and what follows. 7: Of the clan of Judah, a Levite could be
only a temporary sojourner in Judah. 8: A place to earn a livelihood. 10: A father, Micah promises the Levite a
respected position (cf. Gen 45.8).
18.131: The conquest of Dan and the establishment of its temple. The Danites wandering may reect intertribal relations during the premonarchical period, the dicult situation of the individual, and the character
of the worship sites. 1: On the tribe of Dan, which was forced to leave its territory, see 1.3435; Josh 19.47. 5:
Inquire of God, before carrying out signicant tasks, it was customary to inquire of God. 7: Laish, the former
name of Dan (v. 29; cf. Josh 19.47 where it is mentioned as Leshem). It was located in the northern Galilee,
which is the extreme north of Israel, therefore described as an isolated location. Sidonians, Phoenicians, on
the Mediterranean coast north of Israel. Aram, a common name to the Western Semitic tribes, who seled in
Syria and western Mesopotamia, when the Israeli trible seled in Canaan, and established separate kingdoms
384 | hebrew bible
judges 18
The ve men went on, and when they
came to Laish, they observed the people who
were there living securely, after the manner
of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting,
lackinga nothing on earth, and possessing
wealth.b Furthermore, they were far from the
Sidonians and had no dealings with Aram.c
When they came to their kinsfolk at Zorah
and Eshtaol, they said to them, What do
you report? They said, Come, let us go up
against them; for we have seen the land, and
it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not
be slow to go, but enter in and possess the
land. When you go, you will come to an
unsuspecting people. The land is broadGod
has indeed given it into your handsa place
where there is no lack of anything on earth.
Six hundred men of the Danite clan,
armed with weapons of war, set out from
Zorah and Eshtaol, and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this
account that place is called Mahaneh-dand to
this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim. From
there they passed on to the hill country of
Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
Then the ve men who had gone to spy out
the land (that is, Laish) said to their comrades,
Do you know that in these buildings there are
an ephod, teraphim, and an idol of cast metal?
Now therefore consider what you will do.
So they turned in that direction and came
to the house of the young Levite, at the home
of Micah, and greeted him. While the six
hundred men of the Danites, armed with their
weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the
gate, the ve men who had gone to spy out the
land proceeded to enter and take the idol of cast
metal, the ephod, and the teraphim.e The priest
was standing by the entrance of the gate with
the six hundred men armed with weapons of
war. When the men went into Micahs house
and took the idol of cast metal, the ephod, and
the teraphim, the priest said to them, What are
you doing? They said to him, Keep quiet!
Put your hand over your mouth, and come with
us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better

for you to be priest to the house of one person,
or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?
Then the priest accepted the oer. He took
the ephod, the teraphim, and the idol, and went
along with the people.
So they resumed their journey, putting the
little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front
of them. When they were some distance
from the home of Micah, the men who were
in the houses near Micahs house were called
out, and they overtook the Danites. They
shouted to the Danites, who turned around
and said to Micah, What is the matter that
you come with such a company? He replied,
You take my gods that I made, and the priest,
and go away, and what have I left? How then
can you ask me, What is the matter? And
the Danites said to him, You had better not
let your voice be heard among us or else hottempered fellows will attack you, and you will
lose your life and the lives of your household.
Then the Danites went their way. When
Micah saw that they were too strong for him,
he turned and went back to his home.
The Danites, having taken what Micah
had made, and the priest who belonged
to him, came to Laish, to a people quiet
and unsuspecting, put them to the sword,
and burned down the city. There was no
deliverer, because it was far from Sidon and
they had no dealings with Aram.f It was in
the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. They
rebuilt the city, and lived in it. They named
the city Dan, after their ancestor Dan, who
was born to Israel; but the name of the city
was formerly Laish. Then the Danites set
up the idol for themselves. Jonathan son of
a
b
c
d
e
Cn Compare 18.10: Meaning of Heb uncertain

Symmachus: Heb with anyone
That is Camp of Dan
Compare 17.4, 5; 18.14: Heb teraphim and the cast
metal
like Aram Damascus, Aram Zoba and others (see v. 28). 9: Cf. Num 14.79. 11: Six hundred probably indicates a
military unit (see 1 Sam 30.9). 12: Kiriath-jearim, on the border between Judah and Benjamin, west of Jerusalem.
Mahaneh-dan, (lit. the camp of Dan); location unknown. To this day, the time of the author. 21: In order to
protect their property and the weak, they placed them in front, so that the ghting men would serve as a buer
against pursuers coming from behind. 23: The Danites are sarcastic, as they knew the real reason. 24: Micahs
answer indicates the depth of improper worship. 28: Beth-rehob, elsewhere an Aramean kingdom (2 Sam 10.6)
hebrew bible | 385
judges 19
10
19
36
35
Dan
20 Miles
0 1 0 20Kilometers
33
Jabesh-Gilead?
Hill Countr y
of Ephraim
G I L
E A
Mediterranean
Sea
32
Shiloh
BEN
JAM
IN
AH
Jebus
(Jerusalem)
JU
Dead
Sea
Beer-sheba
31
0
0
10 Mi
1 0 Km
Rimmon?
Bethel
Mizpah
Ramah
Gibeah
Jebus
(Jerusalem)
Bethlehem
Chs 1921: The Benjaminite War.
Gershom, son of Moses,a and his sons were

priests to the tribe of the Danites until the
time the land went into captivity. So they
maintained as their own Micahs idol that he
had made, as long as the house of God was at
Shiloh.
In those days, when there was no king

in Israel, a certain Levite, residing
in the remote parts of the hill country of
Ephraim, took to himself a concubine from
Bethlehem in Judah. But his concubine
became angry withb him, and she went away
from him to her fathers house at Bethlehem
in Judah, and was there some four months.
Then her husband set out after her, to speak
tenderly to her and bring her back. He had
with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. When he reachedc her fathers house,
the girls father saw him and came with joy
to meet him. His father-in-law, the girls
father, made him stay, and he remained with
him three days; so they ate and drank, and
hed stayed there. On the fourth day they got
up early in the morning, and he prepared to
go; but the girls father said to his son-in-law,
Fortify yourself with a bit of food, and after
that you may go. So the two men sat and
ate and drank together; and the girls father
said to the man, Why not spend the night
and enjoy yourself? When the man got up
to go, his father-in-law kept urging him until
he spent the night there again. On the fth
day he got up early in the morning to leave;
and the girls father said, Fortify yourself.
So they lingerede until the day declined, and
a
b
c
d
e
Another reading is son of Manasseh

Gk OL: Heb prostituted herself against
Gk: Heb she brought him to
Compare verse 7 and Gk: Heb they
Cn: Heb Linger
whose precise location is unclear. 30: Jonathan the Levite was the grandson of Moses, belonging to the third
generation aer the Exodus. To disassociate the name of Moses (Mosheh) from his grandsons misdeeds, his
Hebrew name is turned by the Masoretic scribes into Manasseh by inserting a hanging leer N (nun). Captivity, when the Galileans were exiled by Assyria, 732 bce (see 2 Kings 15.29). 31: This verse is an editorial addition,
introduced to connect the story with the book of Samuel (1 Sam 1). Shiloh was destroyed more than three
centuries before the Assyrian invasion (see 1 Sam 45).
Chs 1921: The events with Gibeah and Benjamin. A brutal rape in the town Gibeah of Benjamin (ch 19)
led to a war between all the tribes of Israel and Benjamin, resulting in Benjamins near extermination (ch 20).
Subsequently the other tribes arranged for the surviving Benjaminites to marry women from Jabesh-gilead
(21.114) and Shiloh (21.1524). This exceptional story is dependent on other biblical stories and contains many
unclear details. It focuses upon place names; all the individuals involved are anonymous. Through place names
and what occurred in those places, the author expresses his preference for Davids birthplace, Bethlehem in
Judah, a place of hospitality, over Sauls birthplace, Gibeah in Benjamin, a place of rape, and thus hints at the
later divine preference of David over Saul (see 1 Sam 1516).
19.130: Between two cities. Gibeah is portrayed by means of plot and style as Sodom (cf. Gen 19). 1: Concubine: A woman with a status lower than that of a primary wife. 39: The generous hospitality oered in Beth-
386 | hebrew bible
judges 19
the two of them ate and drank.a When the
man with his concubine and his servant got
up to leave, his father-in-law, the girls father,
said to him, Look, the day has worn on until
it is almost evening. Spend the night. See,
the day has drawn to a close. Spend the night
here and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can
get up early in the morning for your journey,
and go home.
But the man would not spend the night;
he got up and departed, and arrived opposite
Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a
couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine
was with him. When they were near Jebus, the
day was far spent, and the servant said to his
master, Come now, let us turn aside to this city
of the Jebusites, and spend the night in it. But
his master said to him, We will not turn aside
into a city of foreigners, who do not belong to
the people of Israel; but we will continue on to
Gibeah. Then he said to his servant, Come,
let us try to reach one of these places, and
spend the night at Gibeah or at Ramah. So
they passed on and went their way; and the
sun went down on them near Gibeah, which
belongs to Benjamin. They turned aside there,
to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. He went
in and sat down in the open square of the city,
but no one took them in to spend the night.
Then at evening there was an old man
coming from his work in the eld. The man
was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he
was residing in Gibeah. (The people of the place
were Benjaminites.) When the old man looked
up and saw the wayfarer in the open square
of the city, he said, Where are you going and
where do you come from? He answered him,
We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to
the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim,
from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; and I am going to my home.b Nobody has
oered to take me in. We your servants have

straw and fodder for our donkeys, with bread
and wine for me and the woman and the young
man along with us. We need nothing more.
The old man said, Peace be to you. I will care
for all your wants; only do not spend the night
in the square. So he brought him into his
house, and fed the donkeys; they washed their
feet, and ate and drank.
While they were enjoying themselves,
the men of the city, a perverse lot, surrounded the house, and started pounding on the
door. They said to the old man, the master of
the house, Bring out the man who came into
your house, so that we may have intercourse
with him. And the man, the master of the
house, went out to them and said to them,
No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.
Since this man is my guest, do not do this vile
thing. Here are my virgin daughter and his
concubine; let me bring them out now. Ravish
them and do whatever you want to them; but
against this man do not do such a vile thing.
But the men would not listen to him. So the
man seized his concubine, and put her out to
them. They wantonly raped her, and abused
her all through the night until the morning.
And as the dawn began to break, they let her
go. As morning appeared, the woman came
and fell down at the door of the mans house
where her master was, until it was light.
In the morning her master got up,
opened the doors of the house, and when he
went out to go on his way, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her
hands on the threshold. Get up, he said to
her, we are going. But there was no answer.
Then he put her on the donkey; and the man
a Gk: Heb lacks and drank
b Gk Compare 19.29. Heb to the house of the Lord
lehem of Judah. 10: Jebus, there is no nonbiblical evidence that Jebus was the previous name of Jerusalem; in
the fourteenth-century bce Amarna leers, it is already called Jerusalem. 12: Ironically, seeking to avoid the
potential inhospitality of a non-Israelite city, the Levite and his party suer that very fate in an Israelite city. 13:
The mention of Ramah, located 6 mi (10 km) north of Jerusalem, alludes to the birthplace of Samuel (see 1 Sam
1.1), who anointed Saul and David as the rst kings of Israel. 1421: Like Lot (Gen 19.23), the man who was host
to the Levite and to those who accompanied him was a stranger in the city. 2226: There are many points of
similarity between this incident and that of Sodom. The story in Judges is likely based on Genesis, and intends
to portray the Israelite inhabitants of Gibeah as being as evil as the inhabitants of Sodom. 25: The numerous
descriptions of time (all through the night until the morning, as the dawn began) emphasize the brutality. 27: The
Levites behavior was strange too: upon seeing the concubines body, he called her to get up and go, as though
hebrew bible | 387
judges 20
set out for his home. When he had entered
his house, he took a knife, and grasping his
concubine he cut her into twelve pieces, limb
by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. Then he commanded the
men whom he sent, saying, Thus shall you
say to all the Israelites, Has such a thing ever
happeneda since the day that the Israelites
came up from the land of Egypt until this day?
Consider it, take counsel, and speak out.
Then all the Israelites came out, from
Dan to Beer-sheba, including the land
of Gilead, and the congregation assembled
in one body before the Lord at Mizpah. The
chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of
Israel, presented themselves in the assembly
of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot-soldiers bearing arms. (Now the
Benjaminites heard that the people of Israel
had gone up to Mizpah.) And the Israelites
said, Tell us, how did this criminal act come
about? The Levite, the husband of the
woman who was murdered, answered, I
came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I
and my concubine, to spend the night. The
lords of Gibeah rose up against me, and surrounded the house at night. They intended
to kill me, and they raped my concubine until
she died. Then I took my concubine and
cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout
the whole extent of Israels territory; for
they have committed a vile outrage in Israel.
So now, you Israelites, all of you, give your
advice and counsel here.
All the people got up as one, saying, We
will not any of us go to our tents, nor will
20
any of us return to our houses. But now this

is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go upb
against it by lot. We will take ten men of a
hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel,
and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand
of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the
troops, who are going to repayc Gibeah of
Benjamin for all the disgrace that they have
done in Israel. So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one.
The tribes of Israel sent men through all
the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What crime
is this that has been committed among you?
Now then, hand over those scoundrels in
Gibeah, so that we may put them to death,
and purge the evil from Israel. But the Benjaminites would not listen to their kinsfolk,
the Israelites. The Benjaminites came together out of the towns to Gibeah, to go out to
battle against the Israelites. On that day the
Benjaminites mustered twenty-six thousand
armed men from their towns, besides the
inhabitants of Gibeah. Of all this force, there
were seven hundred picked men who were
left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a
hair, and not miss. And the Israelites, apart
from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand armed men, all of them warriors.
The Israelites proceeded to go up to
Bethel, where they inquired of God, Which
of us shall go up rst to battle against the
a Compare Gk: Heb 30And all who saw it said, Such a
thing has not happened or been seen
b Gk: Heb lacks we will go up

c Compare Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
nothing had happened. It is even unclear whether or not she was dead. 29: The cuing up of the concubines
body and sending of the pieces throughout the land are also bizarre. It is based on an episode where Saul cut
up a pair of oxen (see 1 Sam 11.7). There, the purpose was to dramatize what would happen to the oxen of those
who refused to join the war, but what is its purpose here, and what is someone who receives a piece of human
body supposed to think of it? This episode is meant to pregure Saul, seing his later actions in a negative
light.
20.148: The war against Benjamin. Benjamins refusal to turn over the guilty people of Gibeah led to a
bloody civil war. 1: From Dan to Beersheba, the traditional northern and southern limits of Israelite territory.
Gilead, Israelite territory in northern Transjordan. There is no other unied action like this elsewhere in the
book of Judges. 2: The numbers here and elsewhere in chs 2021 are exaggerated. 3: It is strange that the examination of the Levite is only performed once the army has been mustered. 411: The Levites report is brief
and not investigated. 9: The casting of lots determines when to go to war and which of the tribes will go rst
(v. 18); this also returns us to the beginning of the book (1.2). 10: Ten percent are responsible for supplying the
combatants. 1517: The numbers here are inconsistent with those in vv. 35,4447. 16: Le-handed, see 3.15.
1 Chr 12.2 mentions Benjaminite warriors who were ambidextrous. 18: Judah . . . rst. It is strange, but this is
388 | hebrew bible
judges 20
Benjaminites? And the Lord answered,
Judah shall go up rst.
Then the Israelites got up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah. The
Israelites went out to battle against Benjamin;
and the Israelites drew up the battle line
against them at Gibeah. The Benjaminites
came out of Gibeah, and struck down on that
day twenty-two thousand of the Israelites.
aThe Israelites went up and wept before the
Lord until the evening; and they inquired of
the Lord, Shall we again draw near to battle
against our kinsfolk the Benjaminites? And
the Lord said, Go up against them. The
Israelites took courage, and again formed the
battle line in the same place where they had
formed it on the rst day.
So the Israelites advanced against the
Benjaminites the second day. Benjamin
moved out against them from Gibeah the
second day, and struck down eighteen thousand of the Israelites, all of them armed men.
Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went
back to Bethel and wept, sitting there before
the Lord; they fasted that day until evening.
Then they oered burnt oerings and sacrices of well-being before the Lord. And
the Israelites inquired of the Lord (for the
ark of the covenant of God was there in those
days, and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of
Aaron, ministered before it in those days),
saying, Shall we go out once more to battle
against our kinsfolk the Benjaminites, or shall
we desist? The Lord answered, Go up, for
tomorrow I will give them into your hand.
So Israel stationed men in ambush
around Gibeah. Then the Israelites went
up against the Benjaminites on the third day,

and set themselves in array against Gibeah,
as before. When the Benjaminites went
out against the army, they were drawn away
from the city. As before they began to inict
casualties on the troops, along the main
roads, one of which goes up to Bethel and the
other to Gibeah, as well as in the open country, killing about thirty men of Israel. The
Benjaminites thought, They are being routed
before us, as previously. But the Israelites
said, Let us retreat and draw them away
from the city toward the roads. The main
body of the Israelites drew back its battle
line to Baal-tamar, while those Israelites who
were in ambush rushed out of their place
westb of Geba. There came against Gibeah
ten thousand picked men out of all Israel, and
the battle was erce. But the Benjaminites did
not realize that disaster was close upon them.
The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel; and the Israelites destroyed twenty-ve
thousand one hundred men of Benjamin that
day, all of them armed.
Then the Benjaminites saw that they
were defeated.c
The Israelites gave ground to Benjamin,
because they trusted to the troops in ambush
that they had stationed against Gibeah.
The troops in ambush rushed quickly upon
Gibeah. Then they put the whole city to the
sword. Now the agreement between the
main body of Israel and the men in ambush
a Verses 22 and 23 are transposed
b Gk Vg: Heb in the plain
c This sentence is continued by verse 45.
not mentioned in what follows. 1925: It is odd that although Israel went twice to war aer asking the Lord
and geing his approval, so many of them were killed by the Benjaminites. 2628: The army of Israel went up
the third time to Bethel, where Phinehas, also belonging to the third generation aer the Exodus (see Num
25.713; Josh 22), served as priest. God promised that this time he would help them. 2947: According to most
scholars the description of this war is a combination of two versions, whose reworking into a single text is not
smooth. Both versions tell of a strategy of ambush and decoy (cf. Josh 78). 29: According to vv. 3334, the main
force was east of Gibeah, the ambush west of the city, while the decoy force was opposite the city. 30: This
refers to the decoy force alone; see v. 34. 31: To Gibeah, a textual corruption, as they were eeing from Gibeah.
It most likely refers to Geba, located east of Gibeah. The choice of two directions of ight causes the pursuers
to divide their forces. About thirty men, the small number of the fallen, in comparison to the rst two wars, is
probably inuenced by the story of Ai, where exactly thirty fell (Josh 7.5). 33: The main Israelite force had been
mustered before in Baal-tamar, whose location has not been identied. 35: See vv. 1517n. 36b: The second version begins here. This one emphasizes that the Israelite army, which had relied upon the ambush located to the
west of Gibeah, waited for a sign indicating when to enter into bale, thus giving the decoy time to lead the
hebrew bible | 389
judges 21
was that when they sent up a cloud of smoke
out of the city the main body of Israel
should turn in battle. But Benjamin had
begun to inict casualties on the Israelites,
killing about thirty of them; so they thought,
Surely they are defeated before us, as in the
rst battle. But when the cloud, a column
of smoke, began to rise out of the city, the
Benjaminites looked behind themand there
was the whole city going up in smoke toward
the sky! Then the main body of Israel
turned, and the Benjaminites were dismayed,
for they saw that disaster was close upon
them. Therefore they turned away from
the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and those
who came out of the citya were slaughtering
them in between.b Cutting downc the Benjaminites, they pursued them from Nohahd
and trod them down as far as a place east of
Gibeah. Eighteen thousand Benjaminites
fell, all of them courageous ghters. When
they turned and ed toward the wilderness
to the rock of Rimmon, ve thousand of them
were cut down on the main roads, and they
were pursued as far as Gidom, and two thousand of them were slain. So all who fell that
day of Benjamin were twenty-ve thousand
arms-bearing men, all of them courageous
ghters. But six hundred turned and ed
toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and remained at the rock of Rimmon
for four months. Meanwhile, the Israelites
turned back against the Benjaminites, and
put them to the swordthe city, the people,
the animals, and all that remained. Also the
remaining towns they set on re.
21
Now the Israelites had sworn at

Mizpah, No one of us shall give his
daughter in marriage to Benjamin. And the
people came to Bethel, and sat there until
evening before God, and they lifted up their
voices and wept bitterly. They said, OLord,
the God of Israel, why has it come to pass
that today there should be one tribe lacking
in Israel? On the next day, the people got
up early, and built an altar there, and oered
burnt oerings and sacrices of well-being.
Then the Israelites said, Which of all the
tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the Lord? For a solemn oath had been
taken concerning whoever did not come up to
the Lord to Mizpah, saying, That one shall be
put to death. But the Israelites had compassion for Benjamin their kin, and said, One
tribe is cut o from Israel this day. What
shall we do for wives for those who are left,
since we have sworn by the Lord that we will
not give them any of our daughters as wives?
Then they said, Is there anyone from the
tribes of Israel who did not come up to the
Lord to Mizpah? It turned out that no one
from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp, to
the assembly. For when the roll was called
among the people, not one of the inhabitants
of Jabesh-gilead was there. So the congregation sent twelve thousand soldiers there and
commanded them, Go, put the inhabitants
of Jabesh-gilead to the sword, including the
a
b
c
d
Compare Vg and some Gk Mss: Heb cities

Compare Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
Gk: Heb Surrounding
Gk: Heb pursued them at their resting place
inhabitants of Gibeah away from their city. 3839a: The sign was a great cloud of smoke rising from the city. 43:
The Hebrew is poetic, perhaps a remnant of an epic centered on the victory over Benjamin. Nohah, Israel surrounded Benjamin and pursued them from a selement called Nohah (see 1 Chr 8.2) until Geba, east of Gibeah
(v. 31). 47: Six hundred men of Benjamin found shelter for four months at the Rock of Rimmon on the edge of the
wilderness to the east. 48: The Israelites treated Benjamin like an apostate city (cf. Deut 13.1319), destroying its
population, property, and towns.
21.114: The war against Jabesh-gilead. This narrative is reminiscent of the story of the war against the
Midianites at the time of the wilderness wanderings aer the Exodus (Num 31). It is motivated by a desire to
denounce Jabesh-gilead, which supported Saul (see 1 Sam 11; 31.1113; 2 Sam 2.47; etc.). 1: At the gathering in
Mizpah (see 20.1) the Israelites took two oaths: not to marry their daughters to the Benjaminites (20.3; 21.1), and
to put to death those who did not join the war (21.5). 2: Bethel once again serves as a place for weeping (cf. 2.15;
20.23,26). 5: Those who did not join the war were not commied to the oath. They were subject to the death
penalty and their daughters could be given to the Benjaminites. 9: Jabesh-gilead is located east of the Jordan
in northern Gilead, but has not been denitively identied. 1012: Use of the number twelve thousand as well
390 | hebrew bible
judges 21
women and the little ones. This is what
you shall do; every male and every woman
that has lain with a male you shall devote to
destruction. And they found among the
inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred
young virgins who had never slept with a
man and brought them to the camp at Shiloh,
which is in the land of Canaan.
Then the whole congregation sent word
to the Benjaminites who were at the rock
of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.
Benjamin returned at that time; and they
gave them the women whom they had saved
alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead; but they
did not suce for them.
The people had compassion on Benjamin
because the Lord had made a breach in the
tribes of Israel. So the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for
those who are left, since there are no women
left in Benjamin? And they said, There
must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin,
in order that a tribe may not be blotted out
from Israel. Yet we cannot give any of our
daughters to them as wives. For the Israelites had sworn, Cursed be anyone who gives
a wife to Benjamin. So they said, Look,
the yearly festival of the Lord is taking place

at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the
east of the highway that goes up from Bethel
to Shechem, and south of Lebonah. And
they instructed the Benjaminites, saying, Go
and lie in wait in the vineyards, and watch;
when the young women of Shiloh come out
to dance in the dances, then come out of the
vineyards and each of you carry o a wife for
himself from the young women of Shiloh,
and go to the land of Benjamin. Then if
their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, Be generous
and allow us to have them; because we did
not capture in battle a wife for each man. But
neither did you incur guilt by giving your
daughters to them. The Benjaminites did
so; they took wives for each of them from
the dancers whom they abducted. Then they
went and returned to their territory, and
rebuilt the towns, and lived in them. So the
Israelites departed from there at that time by
tribes and families, and they went out from
there to their own territories.
In those days there was no king in Israel;
all the people did what was right in their own
eyes.
as of the phrase virgins who had never slept with a man recalls Num 31. 14: The six hundred surviving men from
Benjamin returned from the rock of Rimmon (see 20.47).
21.1524: The abduction at Shiloh. Killing the people of Jabesh-gilead provided wives for most of the Benjaminites, but there were still two hundred without wives. The motif of stealing women on a festival day is
known from Greek and Roman literature. The connection between Benjamin and Shiloh prepares the ground
for the decline of the towns status in the book of Samuel. 15: A breach, the blow struck to the Benjaminites
harmed the overall structure of the Israelite tribes. 19: The yearly festival, it is not clear what feast this refers to:
one of the three pilgrimage festivals, or to the eenth of Av (the h month) or the Day of Atonement. The
two last were auspicious days for nding brides in later rabbinic times (m. Taanit 4.8). It may also refer to a local
grape harvest festival (see 9.27). Shiloh, about 9 mi (15 km) north of Bethel.
21.25: Conclusion to the book of Judges. The book concludes with the last occurrence (see 17.6; 18.1; 19.1) of
the moo that expresses disappointment in the judges and hope in the monarchy. Coming aer the negative
depiction of Gibeah, Sauls city, it is clear that the book hints at a monarchy whose roots are not in Benjamin,
Sauls tribe. The book thus looks forward to the dynasty founded by David, who was from Bethlehem in Judah.
This ts with other positive descriptions of Judah in the beginning of the book: it is Judah who leads the conquest in ch 1.1-20, and the Judean judge Othniel in ch 3.7-11 is idealized as a national leader.
RUTH
The book is named aer its heroine, a young Moabite widow who leaves her land and family to follow her
mother-in-law to Bethlehem in Judah, where she will become the great-grandmother of King David.
The book of Ruth is in the third division of the Hebrew Bible, the Writings; it is one of the Megillot, the ve
scrolls read on dierent Jewish holidays, with Ruth traditionally read at the late spring harvest festival of Weeks
(Shavuot). In the Septuagint, and consequently in Christian Bibles, it comes between the books of Judges and
Samuel. That is apparently where the writer of the book of Ruth intended it to be placed, since it begins In the
days when the judges ruled (1.1), and ends with a list of ten generations from Perez to David, preparing us for
Davids arrival onto the stage of history in 1 Samuel and supplying the genealogy lacking there. The authors
aempt to place Ruth aer Judges and before Samuel in the Hebrew Bible was unsuccessful, however, presumably because that division of the Bible, the Prophets, had been closed before the book of Ruth was accepted as
canonical, and it was placed in the nal division.
authorship and date

The book of Ruth was wrien by an unknown author, probably in the Second Temple period, when there was
opposition to marriage by Jews with foreign women, particularly Ammonites and Moabites (see Ezra 910; Neh
10.2931; 13.2427). Nehemiah 13.1 cites Deut 23.4 as the basis for its demand to exclude all foreigners from
Israel. Our book voices an alternate view: its heroine is an ideal Moabite woman, a model of righteousness,
who altruistically follows her mother-in-law. Formal conversion to Judaism did not exist in this period, but Ruth
clings to the God of Israel, and God blesses her and provides her with posterity: David. Boaz is also blessed, like
the young Moabite woman whom he redeems.
The language of the book of Ruth supports a Second Temple period dating: its words and expressions, and
their spelling, aest to a substantial Aramaic inuence. Moreover, it shows no sign of the Deuteronomistic
redaction that characterizes the earlier historical books (JoshuaKings), suggesting that it was wrien by a
later author to be inserted between Judges and Samuel, and not by the main preexilic authors of those books.
An alternate view is that the book was wrien during the period of the monarchy, because of its interest in the
ancestry of King David.
structure
While Ruth is one of the shortest of the Bibles books, it comprises one of the Bibles longest stories, one of
an idyllic-romantic character. Great misfortunes, both national (famine) and personal-familial (the death of
Naomis husband and sons) occur at the outset and propel the narrative forward. The former is resolved at the
end of the exposition (1.6), and the bier pessimism caused by the laer is limited to the rst chapterfrom
here on, the story is bathed in an optimistic light, full of hope for a beer future.
The book has no villains, and the protagonists almost compete with their exemplary behavior: all are
helpful, considerate, and well intentioned. The absence of conict also characterizes the relations with God.
Apart from Naomis deant words in 1.2021, the book depicts a wonder of harmonious relations with God.
Pentateuchal laws also play a role in this harmony: the protagonists are fond of fullling the commandments, noticeable in their willingness to go above and beyond what the law requires, and they are rewarded
accordingly.
The book is structured symmetrically. The familys history before their return from Moab and following the
act of redemption are concentrated at the books beginning (1.16) and end (4.1822), framing the narrative.
Chapters 1 and 4 are parallel, as are chs 2 and 3. Chapter 1 opens with the genealogy of Elimelech, an unknown
Ephrathite; ch 4 ends with the genealogy from Perez to David. Chapter 1 opens with an allusion to the period
of the judges; ch 4 ends with an allusion to the monarchic periodDavid. Chapter 1 mentions a direct act of
God ending the famine (v. 6); ch 4 mentions Gods second intervention, which resolves the personal-familial
crisis (v. 13). These are the only direct acts of God in the book, and neither crisis is aributed to God (only
Naomi in her suering interprets her tragedies as Gods actions; 1.13, 2021). A female chorus explains Naomis
392 | hebrew bible
ruth
circumstances in both chapters: in ch 1 their reaction is sad astonishment at Naomis return to Bethlehem (v.
19), in ch 4 their speech is prolonged and buoyant (vv. 1415). A striking structural parallel is also developed in
the conduct of the secondary characters Orpah, who ultimately decides against following Naomi (1.14), and
the next-of-kin, who recants his willingness to redeem the eld (4.6). Both serve to highlight the exceptional
goodness of Ruth and Boaz.
Chapters 2 and 3 are also parallel. Chapter 2 depicts one day in Boazs eld; ch 3 describes a night. The day
scene involves many secondary gures working in Boazs eld; the night scene is unobservedRuth and Boaz
are alone on the threshing oor. Both chapters open with conversations between Naomi and Ruth, but here
we are presented with clear oppositions: in ch 2 Ruth initiates, asking Naomis permission to go to the elds
to glean; Naomi is passive and her answer succinct, Go, my daughter (v. 2). In ch 3, Naomi initiates, asking
Ruth to go to Boazs eld, and Ruth is the passive one who accepts Naomis proposition, her answer brief: All
that you tell me I will do (v. 5). The next locale in both chapterswhich is the main locale in bothis Boazs
eld. In ch 2, Ruth reaches the eld before Boaz, whose arrival is marked by the word wehinneh, just then (v.
4). In ch 3, Boaz arrives before Ruth, whose appearance is also marked by wehinneh (v. 8 [NRSV] and there). In
2.5, Boaz asks about Ruths identity; in 3.9 he asks Ruth, Who are you? Ruths answer alludes to the dierence
between the characters functioning in the two chapters: in ch 3 Ruth instructs Boaz what he must do (v. 9); in
ch 2 she is passive, astonished at Boazs graciousness toward her. In both chapters Boaz is careful to protect
Ruths honor: in ch 2 he takes care that she will stay with the young women (and not the men; v. 8), and that
the men will neither reproach nor rebuke her (vv. 15, 16); in ch 3 he makes sure that no one will see her with him
(v. 14). In 2.18 Ruth brings Naomi what was le aer she had been satised, a sign of her good character, and in
3.17 she delivers barley to Naomi as Boaz had instructed, a sign of his good character. The nal locale in both
chapters is Naomis home (2.1823; 3.1618).
interpretation and guide to reading

The author of the book knows Pentateuchal law. The heroines gleaning of the grain elds alludes both to the
law of gleanings (Lev 19.910) and that concerning overlooking a sheaf in the eld (Deut 24.19), laws that are
here blended harmoniously. To redeem Ruth (3.9, 1213) and the eld (4.34), and to bind them together (4.5,
910), the book boldly combines the laws of redeeming a eld (Lev 25.2528) with that of levirate marriage
(Deut 25.510), a law that does not correspond exactly to the legal situation here. In Ruth, the law regarding
the redemption of a woman becomes a logical extension of the law of levirate marriage, as in later rabbinic
interpretation in which dierent laws are combined and their discrepancies reconciled.
Other than laws, Ruth quotes or makes extensive use of earlier, First Temple period texts of all types. Clear
ties to the Pentateuch are discernible in Ruths actions on Boazs threshing oor (ch 3), where her conduct is implicitly contrasted to that of Lots daughters (Gen 19.3038) and she is presented as being even more dignied
than Tamar (Gen 38.1415). The matriarchs Rachel and Leah are mentioned explicitly (4.11; cf. also Gen 12.1 with
Ruth 2.11). The inuence of the historical books is similarly evident: 1 Sam 1.8 leaves its imprint on Ruth 4.15;
1 Sam 9.9 is reected in Ruth 4.7. The genealogy in 4.822 is constructed from the genealogy of Judah in 1 Chr 2.
This highly skilled narrative should be understood in its historical context, within the debates of the Second
Temple period concerning intermarriage. The stance of Ruth is clear and unambiguous: h. esed, kindness and
loyalty, are more important than ethnicity.
Yair Zakovitch
ruth 1
In the days when the judges ruled, there

was a famine in the land, and a certain
man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in
the country of Moab, he and his wife and two
sons. The name of the man was Elimelech
and the name of his wife Naomi, and the
names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem
in Judah. They went into the country of Moab
and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with
her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the
name of the one was Orpah and the name of
the other Ruth. When they had lived there
about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion
also died, so that the woman was left without
her two sons and her husband.
Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she
had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord
had considered his people and given them
food. So she set out from the place where she
had been living, she and her two daughters-inlaw, and they went on their way to go back to
the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two
daughters-in-law, Go back each of you to your
mothers house. May the Lord deal kindly with
you, as you have dealt with the dead and with
me. The Lord grant that you may nd security, each of you in the house of your husband.
Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud.
They said to her, No, we will return with
you to your people. But Naomi said, Turn
back, my daughters, why will you go with
me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they
may become your husbands? Turn back, my

daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have
a husband. Even if I thought there was hope
for me, even if I should have a husband tonight
and bear sons, would you then wait until they
were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more
bitter for me than for you, because the hand of
the Lord has turned against me. Then they
wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-inlaw, but Ruth clung to her.
So she said, See, your sister-in-law has
gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law. But Ruth said,
Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die
there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus and so to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!
When Naomi saw that she was determined
to go with her, she said no more to her.
So the two of them went on until they
came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of
them; and the women said, Is this Naomi?
She said to them,
Call me no longer Naomi,a
a That is Pleasant
1.15: Famine. These verses provide the background for the entire story. The familys prolonged absence from
Israel and a string of misfortunes have le Naomi and her daughters-in-law in desperate straits. 1: Bethlehem,
5 mi (8 km) south of Jerusalem, the home of Davids family (1 Sam 16.15). It means house of bread, and thus
opens the book on an ironic note. Moab, the region east of the Dead Sea. According Gen 19.3637, the Moabites
are related to the Israelites: their patriarch, Lot, was Abrahams nephew. 2: Mahlon and Chilion, the names are
symbolic in an escalating order of gravity: Mahlon is related to the word for sickness (Heb mahalah),
and
.
Chilion to the word for destruction (Heb killayon). Ephrathites, the family is from Bethlehem, also called
Ephrathah (4.11; see Gen 35.19; 48.7). 35: The legal status of women is determined to some extent by the men
they are connected toa father, husband, or male children. The status of these three women is thus dire.
1.619a: The return to Bethlehem. No description of the journey is given. Instead, we nd a dialogue between Naomi and her daughters-in-law, during which Naomi fails to convince Ruth to leave her and return
to Moab; Orpah returns to Moab, persuaded by the bleak picture Naomi describes. Ruth reveals her noblemindedness, electing to remain with Naomi and follow Naomis God, without expectation of reward or hope
for a beer life.
1.19b22: The arrival at Bethlehem. The narrative focuses on Naomi. 19: The chorus of women expresses
wonder at the change in Naomi and ignores Ruth. In her grief, Naomi blames God for her sorrows. 20: Mara,
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ruth 2
call me Mara,a
for the Almightyb has dealt bitterly with
me.
I went away full,
but the Lord has brought me back
empty;
why call me Naomi
when the Lord has dealt harshly withc
me,
and the Almightyb has brought calamity
upon me?
So Naomi returned together with Ruth
the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came
back with her from the country of Moab.
They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of
the barley harvest.
Now Naomi had a kinsman on her
husbands side, a prominent rich man,
of the family of Elimelech, whose name was
Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi,
Let me go to the eld and glean among the
ears of grain, behind someone in whose
sight I may nd favor. She said to her, Go,
my daughter. So she went. She came and
gleaned in the eld behind the reapers. As it
happened, she came to the part of the eld
belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of
Elimelech. Just then Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers, The Lord be
with you. They answered, The Lord bless
you. Then Boaz said to his servant who
was in charge of the reapers, To whom does
this young woman belong? The servant
who was in charge of the reapers answered,
She is the Moabite who came back with
Naomi from the country of Moab. She said,
Please, let me glean and gather among the
sheaves behind the reapers. So she came,
and she has been on her feet from early this
morning until now, without resting even for

a moment.d
Then Boaz said to Ruth, Now listen, my
daughter, do not go to glean in another eld
or leave this one, but keep close to my young
women. Keep your eyes on the eld that is
being reaped, and follow behind them. I have
ordered the young men not to bother you.
If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink
from what the young men have drawn.
Then she fell prostrate, with her face to
the ground, and said to him, Why have I
found favor in your sight, that you should
take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?
But Boaz answered her, All that you have
done for your mother-in-law since the death
of your husband has been fully told me, and
how you left your father and mother and
your native land and came to a people that
you did not know before. May the Lord
reward you for your deeds, and may you
have a full reward from the Lord, the God of
Israel, under whose wings you have come for
refuge! Then she said, May I continue to
nd favor in your sight, my lord, for you have
comforted me and spoken kindly to your
servant, even though I am not one of your
servants.
At mealtime Boaz said to her, Come
here, and eat some of this bread, and dip your
morsel in the sour wine. So she sat beside
the reapers, and he heaped up for her some
parched grain. She ate until she was satised, and she had some left over. When she
a
b
c
d
That is Bitter
Or has testied against
Compare Gk Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
bier, is the opposite of Naomi, pleasant. 22: The barley harvest was the earliest harvest.
2.123: Ruth and Boazs rst encounter. 17: Ruth, who insisted on remaining with Naomi, again takes the
initiativenow on foreign soiland sets out to glean in order to provide for her mother-in-law and herself.
The scene introduces the prosperous Boaz, a member of Elimelechs family. Chance events bring Ruth and Boaz
together: Ruth happens to reach Boazs eld, and he happens to arrive while she gleans there. The Bible oen
suggests that the divine hand is behind such chance. 814: Boaz and Ruth speak. Boaz guides and dominates
the exchange. The conversation secures their connection. He exhibits genuine concern for Ruth, for her food,
honor, and drink. Ruth prostrates herself and wonders at his solicitude, since she is a foreigner. In his answer
the heart of the exchangeBoaz expresses admiration for her self-sacrice and devotion to her mother-inlaw, and his hope that God will reward her. Ruth continues to belile herself, and Boaz proves his interest in
her welfare by granting her more than she needs. 1517: Ruth returns to glean in Boazs eld, unaware of Boazs
eorts on her behalf. The section ends with an account of Boazs generosity; the amount of barley Ruth gleaned
hebrew bible | 395
ruth 3
got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young
men, Let her glean even among the standing
sheaves, and do not reproach her. You must
also pull out some handfuls for her from the
bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and
do not rebuke her.
So she gleaned in the eld until
evening. Then she beat out what she had
gleaned, and it was about an ephah of
barley. She picked it up and came into the
town, and her mother-in-law saw how much
she had gleaned. Then she took out and gave
her what was left over after she herself had
been satised. Her mother-in-law said to
her, Where did you glean today? And where
have you worked? Blessed be the man who
took notice of you. So she told her motherin-law with whom she had worked, and said,
The name of the man with whom I worked
today is Boaz. Then Naomi said to her
daughter-in-law, Blessed be he by the Lord,
whose kindness has not forsaken the living
or the dead! Naomi also said to her, The
man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest
kin.a Then Ruth the Moabite said, He
even said to me, Stay close by my servants,
until they have nished all my harvest.
Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-inlaw, It is better, my daughter, that you go
out with his young women, otherwise you
might be bothered in another eld. So
she stayed close to the young women of
Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley

and wheat harvests; and she lived with her
mother-in-law.
Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, My
daughter, I need to seek some security
for you, so that it may be well with you. Now
here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young
women you have been working. See, he is
winnowing barley tonight at the threshing
oor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and
put on your best clothes and go down to the
threshing oor; but do not make yourself
known to the man until he has nished
eating and drinking. When he lies down,
observe the place where he lies; then, go and
uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell
you what to do. She said to her, All that
you tell me I will do.
So she went down to the threshing
oor and did just as her mother-in-law had
instructed her. When Boaz had eaten and
drunk, and he was in a contented mood, he
went to lie down at the end of the heap of
grain. Then she came stealthily and uncovered his feet, and lay down. At midnight
the man was startled, and turned over, and
there, lying at his feet, was a woman! He
said, Who are you? And she answered, I
am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak
over your servant, for you are next-of-kin.a
a Or one with the right to redeem
that day (an ephah was about 2/3 bushel or 22 l) would have been sucient for many days. 1823: Naomi and
Ruth in Naomis house. Boazs opening words in the previous section supply Naomis closing words here: concern that Ruth will stay with Boazs young women and so avoid dishonor (vv. 89; 22). In the middle of each
dialogue, the speaker (Boaz, Naomi) voices esteem for Ruth and a blessing (vv. 1112; 20). Gaps are lled in the
course of the conversation: to the amazed Naomis question regarding the kindness shown Ruth, Ruth reveals
the identity of the eld-owner (v. 19). Naomi learns of Boazs kindness toward Ruth, and Ruth learns that Boaz is
one of the redeeming kinsmen (v. 20), a person related to the deceased Elimelech; he can thus allow the women
to have access to the eld of Elimelech. Ruth does not respond to Naomis words, but speaks of her intention
to glean until the end of the harvest (v. 21). Naomi agrees, remaining hopeful. The wheat harvest, in late spring,
followed the barley harvest.
3.118: Ruth and Boazs nigh+ime encounter. 15: As in 2.2, Naomi and Ruth again discuss maers in Naomis home, though the roles are reversed: Naomi is the initiator who slowly intimates her objective. Naomis
instructions suggest that marriage is the aim (cf. Ezek 16.810). She expects Boaz to know what to do. 615:
Ruth reaches the eld unnoticed; she needs to be seen by Boaz, alone. She follows Naomis instructions but
goes even further, making clear to Boaz that her actions refer to the law of redemption. Ruths discretion as she
proceeds to the threshing oor also characterizes her dialogue with Boaz and their subsequent actions. Ruth
continues to lie at Boazs feet until morning. Although feet is oen a euphemism in the Bible for genitals (e.g.,
Isaiah 7.20), nothing explicit occurs between them. Both Ruth and Boaz are cautious for her reputation, as were
Boaz and Naomi in the previous chapter. With Ruths return from the threshing oor at dawn, hope reigns: Ruth
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ruth 4
He said, May you be blessed by the Lord,
my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty
is better than the rst; you have not gone
after young men, whether poor or rich. And
now, my daughter, do not be afraid, I will do
for you all that you ask, for all the assembly
of my people know that you are a worthy
woman. But now, though it is true that I am
a near kinsman, there is another kinsman
more closely related than I. Remain this
night, and in the morning, if he will act as
next-of-kina for you, good; let him do it. If he
is not willing to act as next-of-kina for you,
then, as the Lord lives, I will act as next-ofkina for you. Lie down until the morning.
So she lay at his feet until morning, but
got up before one person could recognize
another; for he said, It must not be known
that the woman came to the threshing
oor. Then he said, Bring the cloak you
are wearing and hold it out. So she held it,
and he measured out six measures of barley,
and put it on her back; then he went into
the city. She came to her mother-in-law,
who said, How did things go with you,b my
daughter? Then she told her all that the
man had done for her, saying, He gave me
these six measures of barley, for he said, Do
not go back to your mother-in-law emptyhanded. She replied, Wait, my daughter,
until you learn how the matter turns out,
for the man will not rest, but will settle the
matter today.
No sooner had Boaz gone up to the gate
and sat down there than the next-of-kin,a
of whom Boaz had spoken, came passing by.
So Boaz said, Come over, friend; sit down
here. And he went over and sat down. Then

Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city,
and said, Sit down here; so they sat down.
He then said to the next-of-kin,a Naomi,
who has come back from the country of
Moab, is selling the parcel of land that
belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. So I
thought I would tell you of it, and say: Buy it
in the presence of those sitting here, and in
the presence of the elders of my people. If
you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will
not, tell me, so that I may know; for there is
no one prior to you to redeem it, and I come
after you. So he said, I will redeem it.
Then Boaz said, The day you acquire the
eld from the hand of Naomi, you are also
acquiring Ruthc the Moabite, the widow of
the dead man, to maintain the dead mans
name on his inheritance. At this, the nextof-kina said, I cannot redeem it for myself
without damaging my own inheritance. Take
my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot
redeem it.
Now this was the custom in former times
in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to conrm a transaction, the one took o
a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the
manner of attesting in Israel. So when the
next-of-kina said to Boaz, Acquire it for yourself, he took o his sandal. Then Boaz said
to the elders and all the people, Today you
are witnesses that I have acquired from the

b Or Who are you,
c OL Vg: Heb from the hand of Naomi and from Ruth
knows that she will be redeemed and she carries much barley, a sign of Boazs favorable intentions. 10: Loyalty,
Heb hesed,
a key term in the Hebrew Bible, where God is expected to show hesed
to Israel, and those with
.
.
more power are expected to show hesed
to those who are disadvantaged. 1618: Ruth reports to Naomi, and
.
Naomi trusts Boaz that the identity of the redeemer will be known that very day. Here Ruth and Naomi conclude their active role. From now on they are passive, dependent upon the eorts of others.
4.122: Ruth is redeemed, Obed is born: the familys name continues. 112: Redemption at the city gate.
The gate was where legal issues were seled (e.g., Deut 25.7). Boazs authority at the city gate it is as great as it
was with his young men: here also Boaz commands, and the city elders follow his instructions. Nevertheless,
he does not take advantage of his position, and treats the closest kinsman fairly, allowing him to exercise his
legal rights if he so desires. Awareness of the Pentateuch is evident by the rigor with which the law is kept and
by repeated allusions to the laws of redeeming and that of levirate marriage (Lev 25.2528; Deut 25.510), and
also in the greetings of the people to Boaz and his household, where Ruth is depicted as one of the matriarchs,
along with Rachel and Leah, the wives of Jacob (v. 11). 6: The exact meaning of damaging my own inheritance
is uncertain, but likely refers to a requirement that the current eld of this redeemer would have to be shared
hebrew bible | 397
ruth 4
hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech
and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon.
I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the
wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to maintain
the dead mans name on his inheritance, in
order that the name of the dead may not be
cut o from his kindred and from the gate
of his native place; today you are witnesses.
Then all the people who were at the gate,
along with the elders, said, We are witnesses.
May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who
together built up the house of Israel. May you
produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a
name in Bethlehem; and, through the children that the Lord will give you by this young
woman, may your house be like the house of
Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his
wife. When they came together, the Lord
made her conceive, and she bore a son.
Then the women said to Naomi, Blessed

be the Lord, who has not left you this day
without next-of-kin;a and may his name be
renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a
restorer of life and a nourisher of your old
age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you,
who is more to you than seven sons, has
borne him. Then Naomi took the child and
laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse.
The women of the neighborhood gave
him a name, saying, A son has been born to
Naomi. They named him Obed; he became
the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Now these are the descendants of Perez:
Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron
of Ram, Ram of Amminadab, Amminadab
of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon, Salmon of
Boaz, Boaz of Obed, Obed of Jesse, and Jesse
of David.
with heirs of Ruth as well as with his current heirs. 12: By comparing Boazs house to Perezs house, the most
important clan in Judah, Ruth is compared to Tamar, the mother of Perez (Gen 38.29), another foreign woman
who although a childless widow was granted illustrious progeny. 1317: The marriage of Ruth and Boaz and the
birth of Obed. 13: Just as God intervened to resolve the national crisis at the end of the introduction (1.6), so he
intervenes in this nal scene to resolve the familys misfortune. 1415: The chorus of women reappears, too,
and in a change of tone blesses Naomis good fortune. Whereas they previously ignored Ruth (1.19), now they
glorify her. 1617: The meaning of the actions here is uncertain; it may reect her adoption of this baby as her
own. 17: The section ends, illuminating the familys magnicent future.
1822: The line of Perez. Once the narrative has named Obed as the grandfather of David (v. 17), it recounts
the entire genealogy from Perez to David, as in Genesis, combining story with genealogy. Ten is the number of
generations from Adam until Noah (Gen 5), and from Noahs son Shem until Abraham (Gen 11.1026), indicating that the tenth generation, David, is the chosen one. It would appear that Obed has two fathers. Boaz is his
biological father (and thus he appears in the list; v. 21), but he will be counted as the seed of Mahlon (4.5, 10).
1 SAMUEL
name
First and Second Samuel were originally a single work named aer the prophet Samuel, who is the focal character of the rst eight chapters of 1 Samuel. The name is not entirely appropriate, however, since Samuel dies
before 1 Samuel ends (25.1).
location in canon
The original, single book of Samuel was divided into two books in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible
(the Septuagint, abbreviated LXX) and grouped together with the book of Kings (also divided in two) to form
14 Reigns or 14 Kingdoms. These divisions were later introduced into Hebrew Bibles and subsequently became standard. The books of Samuel are part of the section of the Hebrew Bible known as the Former Prophets.
The LXX and most English Bibles place 1 and 2 Samuel in the category of the Historical Books.
authorship
In the Babylonian Talmud (b. B. Bat. 14b, ca. sixth century ce) the prophet Samuel is identied as the author
of those parts of the book that treat events before his death, with the rest being aributed to the prophets
Nathan and Gad based on 1 Chr 29.29. Modern scholars consider 1 and 2 Samuel to have been wrien by several
anonymous authors, and generally view it as part of a larger composition called the Deuteronomistic History.
The Deuteronomistic History, encompassing the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and
1 and 2 Kings, relates Israels history in the Promised Land, from the conquest under Joshua to the end of the
kingdoms of Israel and Judah. It was wrien by one or more nameless authors and editors known as Deuteronomists, abbreviated Dtr(s).
date and context of composition

The Deuteronomistic History was probably completed shortly aer the Babylonian exile in 586 bce and sought
to oer a theological reason for the demise of Israel and Judah. Some scholars posit an earlier edition that
promoted King Josiah (640609 bce) as a new David. Others argue for multiple preexilic, exilic, or postexilic
editions.
literary history
The Deuteronomist(s) edited various traditions into a single, running historical account. In 1 Samuel some
scholars have posited source documents behind 4.17.1 (the Ark Narrative), chs 815 (the Saul Cycle), and
chs 1631 (the Story of Davids Rise). These documents are theoretical, and the nature of the sources used by
the Dtr(s) remains hypothetical. The Dtr(s) also occasionally inserted speeches or commentary in their own
distinctive Deuteronomistic style into the narrative. Examples of Deuteronomistic style in 1 Samuel are 8.8 (the
Exodus), 8.12 (the people crying out), and 12.1415 (the review of Israels history and the command to heed the
voice of the Lord).

First Samuel falls readily into three parts, each with a dierent central character: Samuel as a transitional gureprophet, priest, and judge (chs 17), the emergence of Saul as Israels rst king (chs 815), and Davids
ascent (chs 1631). David is the main hero not only of 1 and 2 Samuel but of the Deuteronomistic History as
well. The pro-Davidic tone of 1 Samuel is evident in the fact that while Saul falters repeatedly, David can do no
wrong. God eventually abandons Saul but is constantly with David. Gods presence with David, rst in Sauls
court and then while hiding from Saul, is a major theme in the book.
interpretation
First Samuel is a literary masterpiece, full of wordplays, intricate plots with subtle twists, and portraits of complex characters. Some parts may also contain or reect genuine history. While the book was wrien centuries
hebrew bible | 399
1 samuel 1
aer the events it describes, it is based on older source materials. At some stage in its development, the section
dealing with Davids rise seems to have been designed as an apology or defense of David and his kingship. The
charge that David usurped the throne to which he had no hereditary right is eectively addressed in 1 Samuel
by the contention that David was the Lords anointed, who came to prominence as a result of divine election
rather than personal ambition. First Samuel thus presents David as the innocent victim of Sauls jealousy, beloved by Israels public and leading citizens including Sauls own children, and even by Saul at the beginning of
their relationship, such that David became a member of the royal family through marriage.
guide to reading
Since 1 Samuel is a continuous narrative, it is best read from start to nish. This reading will be enriched by
aention to details that cultivate an appreciation of the work as literature. For instance, the story is told by an
omniscient narrator using techniques such as reporting private conversations and personal thoughts. Characters are rarely described, so that descriptions are particularly noteworthy. More oen, their inner qualities
and motives are revealed by their actions or words, leaving room for ambiguity. Further appreciation will result
from recognizing the apologetic, especially pro-Davidic nature of the material. Was Saul really as bad and David
as innocent as their portraits in this book indicate? What ulterior motives might David (and other characters)
have had for their actions? How might a modern historian reconstruct the events related in 1 Samuel by seing
aside the spin of the apologist? Some instances of protesting too much suggest that the historical reality
was quite dierent, as when all of chs 2431 seem dedicated to showing that David would not and could not
have been involved in any aempt on Sauls life.
Steven L. McKenzie
There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a

Zuphitea from the hill country of Ephraim,
whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham
son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph, an
Ephraimite. He had two wives; the name of
the one was Hannah, and the name of the
other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but
Hannah had no children.
Now this man used to go up year by year
from his town to worship and to sacrice to
the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two
sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests
of the Lord. On the day when Elkanah sacriced, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to
Hannah he gave a double portion,b because

he loved her, though the Lord had closed her
womb. Her rival used to provoke her severely,
to irritate her, because the Lord had closed
her womb. So it went on year by year; as often
as she went up to the house of the Lord, she
used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept
and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah said
to her, Hannah, why do you weep? Why do
you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not
more to you than ten sons?
a Compare Gk and 1Chr 6.35-36: Heb Ramathaimzophim
b Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
1.128: The birth and consecration of Samuel. The story of a barren woman who bears a child as a favor from
God appears several other times in the Bible: Sarah (Gen 17.1619), Rebekah (Gen 25.2126), Rachel (Gen 29.31;
30.2224), the mother of Samson (Judg 13.25), and Elizabeth (Lk 1.517). Such a child is designated by God
for a special purpose. 1: Ramathaim, a town in Ephraim, is called Ramah later in this chapter (v. 19). But in later
chapters the Ramah that was Samuels home seems to be located in Benjamin (7.1617). 2: Peninnah is the second (translated the other in the NRSV) wife; Hannah is obviously the favored one. Elkanah may have married
Peninnah because of Hannahs failure to produce an heir (see Gen 16.12). Elkanah, therefore, was probably
prosperous. 3: Elkanahs annual pilgrimage to worship in Shiloh shows him to be a righteous man. The Lord of
hosts or armies (Heb tsebaot) is a title describing Yahwehs leadership in war on Israels behalf. Hophni and
Phinehas are Egyptian names. 7: The house of the Lord usually refers to a temple (Jer 7.12). But Josh 18.1; Ps 78.60
mention a tent of meeting or tabernacle in Shiloh, and 2 Sam 7.67 denies that the Lord dwelt in a house
before Solomons Temple. See 2.22. 9: Elis seat beside the doorpost of the temple (or sanctuary, Heb hekal)
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1 samuel 1
After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh,
Hannah rose and presented herself before the
Lord.a Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat
beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord.
She was deeply distressed and prayed to the
Lord, and wept bitterly. She made this vow:
OLord of hosts, if only you will look on the
misery of your servant, and remember me, and
not forget your servant, but will give to your
servant a male child, then I will set him before
you as a naziriteb until the day of his death. He
shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants,c and
no razor shall touch his head.
As she continued praying before the Lord,
Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying
silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was
not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk.
So Eli said to her, How long will you make a
drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your
wine. But Hannah answered, No, my lord,
I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk
neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been
pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not
regard your servant as a worthless woman, for
I have been speaking out of my great anxiety
and vexation all this time. Then Eli answered, Go in peace; the God of Israel grant
the petition you have made to him. And she
said, Let your servant nd favor in your sight.
Then the woman went to her quarters,d ate and
drank with her husband,e and her countenance
was sad no longer.f
They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back
to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his
wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.
In due time Hannah conceived and bore a
son. She named him Samuel, for she said, I
have asked him of the Lord.
The man Elkanah and all his household went up to oer to the Lord the yearly
sacrice, and to pay his vow. But Hannah
did not go up, for she said to her husband,
As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring
him, that he may appear in the presence of
the Lord, and remain there forever; I will
oer him as a naziriteb for all time.g Her
husband Elkanah said to her, Do what seems
best to you, wait until you have weaned him;
onlymay the Lord establish his word.h So
the woman remained and nursed her son, until she weaned him. When she had weaned
him, she took him up with her, along with a
three-year-old bull,i an ephah of our, and a
skin of wine. She brought him to the house of
the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was young.
Then they slaughtered the bull, and they
brought the child to Eli. And she said, Oh,
my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman
who was standing here in your presence,
praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed;
and the Lord has granted me the petition
that I made to him. Therefore I have lent
him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is
given to the Lord.
a Gk: Heb lacks and presented herself before the Lord
b That is one separated or one consecrated
c Cn Compare Gk Q Ms 1.22: MT then I will give him
to the Lord all the days of his life
Gk: Heb went her way
Gk: Heb lacks and drank with her husband
Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
Cn Compare Q Ms: MT lacks I will oer him as a
nazirite for all time
h MT: Q Ms Gk Compare Syr that which goes out of
your mouth
i Q Ms Gk Syr: MT three bulls
d
e
f
g
allowed him to see Hannah praying outside of the temple proper (see also 4.18). 11: Nazirites were devoted to
the Lord for a set period of time and were prohibited from drinking alcohol or eating grapes, cuing their hair
or beards, and approaching a dead body (Num 6.121). Intoxicants, probably distilled wine or beer. 13: Eli thought
she was drunk because prayers were not usually silent. 17: The petition you have made, the rst of several wordplays in this chapter on the name of Saul, which sounds like the Hebrew verb for ask, petition. 19: Elkanah
knew his wife, an idiom for sexual relations. 20: I have asked him of the Lord, asked (Heb shaal) is another
pun on the name Saul. 2224: Weaned, taken o breast milk. Samuels age is not given, but he is older than an
infant or toddler. An ephah of our (v. 24), ca. .6 bu (23 l). 27: The petition that I made, another pun on Sauls name.
28: Lent . . . given, the Heb word for both is yet another pun on Sauls name. He is given is exactly the same as
Sauls name in Hebrew (shaul) and could be translated, he is Saul to the Lord. Some scholars think, based
on these puns, that this story was originally about Sauls birth rather than Samuels. Other scholars think they
are simply allusions to Saul as Israels rst king.
hebrew bible | 401
1 samuel 2
Dan
Aphek
33
Ebenezer
Mediterranean
Sea
Shiloh
Jeshanah
Ramathaim
Bethel
Mizpah
Ramah
Gilgal
Kiriath-jearim
Hill Country
of
Ephraim
IA
32
IS
Gath?
IL
Ashkelon
Ekron
Ashdod
Dead
Sea
Gaza
0
0
Beer-sheba
35
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
36
Chs 16: The activity of Samuel.
She left him there fora the Lord.

Hannah prayed and said,
My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in my God.b
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in myc victory.
There is no Holy One like the Lord,

no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your

mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
a Gk (Compare Q Ms) and Gk at 2.11: MT And he (that
is, Elkanah) worshiped there before
b Gk: Heb the Lord

c Q Ms: MT your
2.110: The Song of Hannah. Biblical writers sometimes inserted poems into prose books where they
seemed appropriate. In this case the poem seems to be considerably later than the surrounding context. It is a
psalm of national thanksgiving, but its thankful tone appropriately reects Hannahs sentiments. It was later
used as a model for Lk 1.4655. 1: Strength, lit. horn, draws on the image of a proud animal. 2: Rock, a common
metaphor for God (2 Sam 22.23; Ps 18.2; 28.1; 62.2,6). 3: The enemies of Israel are addressed. 4: The reversal
of fortune for the downtrodden and oppressed. 5: The barren has borne seven, this line probably suggested
402 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 2
Those who were full have hired
themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with
spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.a
For the pillars of the earth are the Lords,
and on them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut o in
darkness;
for not by might does one prevail.
The Lord! His adversaries shall be
shattered;
the Most Highb will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king,
and exalt the power of his anointed.
Then Elkanah went home to Ramah,
while the boy remained to minister to the
Lord, in the presence of the priest Eli.
Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels;
they had no regard for the Lord or for the
duties of the priests to the people. When
anyone oered sacrice, the priests serv-
ant would come, while the meat was boiling,

with a three-pronged fork in his hand, and
he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or
caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up
the priest would take for himself.c This is
what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites
who came there. Moreover, before the fat
was burned, the priests servant would come
and say to the one who was sacricing, Give
meat for the priest to roast; for he will not
accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.
And if the man said to him, Let them burn
the fat rst, and then take whatever you
wish, he would say, No, you must give it
now; if not, I will take it by force. Thus the
sin of the young men was very great in the
sight of the Lord; for they treated the oerings of the Lord with contempt.
Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a
boy wearing a linen ephod. His mother used
to make for him a little robe and take it to him
each year, when she went up with her husband
to oer the yearly sacrice. Then Eli would
bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, May the
Lord repayd you with children by this woman
for the gift that she made toe the Lord; and
then they would return to their home.
a Gk (Compare Q Ms) adds He grants the vow of the
b
c
d
e
one who vows, and blesses the years of the just

Cn Heb against him he
Gk Syr Vg: Heb with it
Q Ms Gk: MT give
Q Ms Gk: MT for the petition that she asked of
the insertion of the poem at this place. Seven is symbolic of a sizable family; Hannah will eventually have six
children (2.21). 67: Brings to life refers to birth, not resurrection from the dead. Sheol was the underworld (Isa
14.921), where all people were believed to go aer death. (The idea of heaven and hell does not exist yet in the
Bible.) Sheol may be metaphorical for conditions near death (Ps 86.13; 88.37), injuries, or serious trouble. 8:
He raises up the poor . . . he lis the needy, Gods concern for the poor and oppressed is a common theme in the
Bible. Pillars of the earth, the earth is conceived of as a platform resting upon great pillars. 10: His king shows
that the psalm was wrien later than Hannah since there was no king of Israel yet in her time. Anointed (Heb
mashiah)
. was a title for the king and the source of the postbiblical term messiah, which never means future
Davidic ruler in the Hebrew Bible.
2.1226: The wicked sons of Eli. Samuels faithful service, in contrast to the evil deeds of Elis sons, hints
that he will replace Eli. 12: They had no regard for, lit. they did not know. Its meaning here may be that Elis
sons did not have a personal relationship with the Lord. 1317: Priests made their living by receiving a portion
of the sacrices. The custom in Shiloh (vv. 1314) was for the priest to get whatever the fork brought up while
the meat was boiling, which is dierent from that prescribed elsewhere (contrast Lev 7.2836; Deut 18.3). By demanding the fat portion, which properly belonged to God, and taking it before the sacrice was made, Elis sons
were sinning against the Lord (v. 25) and treating him with contempt (vv. 12,17). They also threatened violence
against worshipers who tried to do right (v. 16). 18: This linen ephod was a kind of apron worn by priests. 20: The
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1 samuel 2
Anda the Lord took note of Hannah;
she conceived and bore three sons and two
daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in
the presence of the Lord.
Now Eli was very old. He heard all that
his sons were doing to all Israel, and how
they lay with the women who served at the
entrance to the tent of meeting. He said
to them, Why do you do such things? For
I hear of your evil dealings from all these
people. No, my sons; it is not a good report
that I hear the people of the Lord spreading
abroad. If one person sins against another,
someone can intercede for the sinner with
the Lord;b but if someone sins against the
Lord, who can make intercession? But they
would not listen to the voice of their father;
for it was the will of the Lord to kill them.
Now the boy Samuel continued to grow
both in stature and in favor with the Lord
and with the people.
A man of God came to Eli and said to
him, Thus the Lord has said, I revealedc
myself to the family of your ancestor in
Egypt when they were slavesd to the house of
Pharaoh. I chose him out of all the tribes
of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar,
to oer incense, to wear an ephod before me;
and I gave to the family of your ancestor all
my oerings by re from the people of Israel.
Why then look with greedy eyee at my
sacrices and my oerings that I commanded, and honor your sons more than me by
fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of

every oering of my people Israel? Therefore the Lord the God of Israel declares: I
promised that your family and the family of
your ancestor should go in and out before
me forever; but now the Lord declares: Far
be it from me; for those who honor me I will
honor, and those who despise me shall be
treated with contempt. See, a time is coming when I will cut o your strength and the
strength of your ancestors family, so that no
one in your family will live to old age. Then
in distress you will look with greedy eyef
on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed
upon Israel; and no one in your family shall
ever live to old age. The only one of you
whom I shall not cut o from my altar shall
be spared to weep out hisg eyes and grieve
hish heart; all the members of your household shall die by the sword.i The fate of
your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall
be the sign to youboth of them shall die
a Q Ms Gk: MT When
b Gk Compare Q Ms: MT another, God will mediate
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
for him
Gk Tg Syr: Heb Did I reveal
Q Ms Gk: MT lacks slaves
Q Ms Gk: MT then kick
Q Ms Gk: MT will kick
Q Ms Gk: MT your
Q Ms Gk: Heb your
Q Ms See Gk: MT die like mortals
gi that she made, another pun on Sauls name. 22: And how they lay with the women who served at the entrance
to the tent of meeting, this line, if original, indicates that the shrine at Shiloh was a portable tent or tabernacle
(see 1.7n.). However, this line is not in some of the best witnesses to the text of Samuel and may be borrowed
from Ex 38.8. It is unknown exactly how these women served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 25: It was the
will of the Lord to kill them, compare Gods hardening of Pharaohs heart in Ex 412.
2.2736: The oracle against Eli. This passage was probably wrien by the Deuteronomistic author to justify the exclusion of Abiathar and his descendants from the priesthood in favor of Zadok and his descendants
(1 Kings 2.27,35), which occurred due to Josiahs centralization of worship in Jerusalem (2 Kings 23.9). 2728:
Your ancestor may refer to Moses, to whom Elis family traced their ancestry. But the statement that he was chosen out of all the tribes of Israel seems to indicate Levi, and Moses was a Levite (Ex 2.1). 28: To go up to my altar, to
oer incense, to wear an ephod, three principal duties of priests. Going up to the altar refers to oering sacrices.
30: The promise mentioned here is not explicitly found in the Bible but resembles Ex 28.43, which is directed
to Aaron. 3133: The cuing o of Elis household probably refers not to the death of Eli and his sons in 4.11,18
but to Sauls annihilation of the priests of Nob in ch 22. The only one of you is Abiathar, who alone escaped the
slaughter (22.1823; 1 Kings 2.2627). The Hebrew of v. 32a is obscure. 35: The faithful priest is Zadok, who came
to prominence when Abiathar was banished by Solomon (1 Kings 12). The language of this verse is very similar
to that of 2 Sam 7.1116, which promises a dynasty to David. Both were probably wrien by the Deuteronomistic
Historian. See also 1 Sam 25.28; 1 Kings 11.38. Anointed one, see 2.10n.
404 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 3
on the same day. I will raise up for myself
a faithful priest, who shall do according to
what is in my heart and in my mind. I will
build him a sure house, and he shall go in
and out before my anointed one forever.
Everyone who is left in your family shall
come to implore him for a piece of silver or
a loaf of bread, and shall say, Please put me
in one of the priests places, that I may eat a
morsel of bread.
Now the boy Samuel was ministering
to the Lord under Eli. The word of the
Lord was rare in those days; visions were not
widespread.
At that time Eli, whose eyesight had
begun to grow dim so that he could not see,
was lying down in his room; the lamp of
God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was
lying down in the temple of the Lord, where
the ark of God was. Then the Lord called,
Samuel! Samuel!a and he said, Here I
am! and ran to Eli, and said, Here I am,
for you called me. But he said, I did not
call; lie down again. So he went and lay
down. The Lord called again, Samuel!
Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said,
Here I am, for you called me. But he said,
I did not call, my son; lie down again.
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord,
and the word of the Lord had not yet been
revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel
again, a third time. And he got up and went
to Eli, and said, Here I am, for you called
me. Then Eli perceived that the Lord
was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to
Samuel, Go, lie down; and if he calls you,
you shall say, Speak, Lord, for your servant
is listening. So Samuel went and lay down
in his place.
Now the Lord came and stood there,

calling as before, Samuel! Samuel! And
Samuel said, Speak, for your servant is
listening. Then the Lord said to Samuel,
See, I am about to do something in Israel
that will make both ears of anyone who hears
of it tingle. On that day I will fulll against
Eli all that I have spoken concerning his
house, from beginning to end. For I have
told him that I am about to punish his house
forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because
his sons were blaspheming God,b and he did
not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the
house of Eli that the iniquity of Elis house
shall not be expiated by sacrice or oering
forever.
Samuel lay there until morning; then he
opened the doors of the house of the Lord.
Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.
But Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel,
my son. He said, Here I am. Eli said,
What was it that he told you? Do not hide
it from me. May God do so to you and more
also, if you hide anything from me of all that
he told you. So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he
said, It is the Lord; let him do what seems
good to him.
As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with
him and let none of his words fall to the
ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy
prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued
to appear at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed
himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of
a Q Ms Gk See 3.10: MT the Lord called Samuel

b Another reading is for themselves
3.14.1a: Samuels call. 3.1: Word of the Lord . . . visions are means of prophetic revelation. 3: The lamp in
the temple burned at night (see Ex 27.21). The lamp of God had not yet gone out, hence it was just before dawn.
Samuels bed was inside the temple near the inner sanctuary where the ark of God was kept. The ark was a portable shrine or chest representing Gods presence; see 4.4n. 7: Samuel did not yet know the Lord, Samuels role as
a prophet had not yet been established since the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. In this story
Samuel comes to know the Lord by learning to recognize Gods revelations. 910: Your servant, a polite way
of referring to oneself. 14: Elis sons profaned the sacrices that might otherwise have expiated or atoned for
their sins (2.1217). 17: May God do so to you and more also, a typical oath formula. Eli places Samuel under oath,
forcing him to reveal his conversation with the Lord. 19: All of Samuels prophecies come true (none fall to the
ground ). 20: Dan to Beer-sheba, the traditional northern and southern limits of Israel.
4.1b22: The capture of the ark. Many scholars believe that 4.17.1 and possibly 2 Sam 6 are based on an old
document called the Ark Narrative that described the capture and return of the ark. The ark is the focus of
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1 samuel 4
Aphek
Mediterranean
Sea
Ebenezer
Shiloh
IA
32
IS
Jerusalem
Beth-shemesh
Gath?
IL
Ashkelon
Kiriath-jearim
Ekron
Ashdod
Gaza
0
0
10
10
Dead
Sea
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
35
Chs 46: Wanderings of the ark of the covenant.
the Lord. And the word of Samuel came to

all Israel.
In those days the Philistines mustered for
war against Israel,a and Israel went out to
battle against them;b they encamped at
Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped
at Aphek. The Philistines drew up in line
against Israel, and when the battle was
joined,c Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men
on the eld of battle. When the troops
came to the camp, the elders of Israel said,
Why has the Lord put us to rout today
before the Philistines? Let us bring the
ark of the covenant of the Lord here from
Shiloh, so that he may come among us and
save us from the power of our enemies. So
the people sent to Shiloh, and brought from
there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of
hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas,
were there with the ark of the covenant of
God.
When the ark of the covenant of the

Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a
mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.
When the Philistines heard the noise of
the shouting, they said, What does this
great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews
mean? When they learned that the ark
of the Lord had come to the camp, the
Philistines were afraid; for they said, Gods
haved come into the camp. They also
said, Woe to us! For nothing like this has
happened before. Woe to us! Who can
deliver us from the power of these mighty
gods? These are the gods who struck the
Egyptians with every sort of plague in the
wilderness. Take courage, and be men,
OPhilistines, in order not to become slaves
to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be
men and fight.
So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated, and they ed, everyone to his home.
There was a very great slaughter, for there fell
of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. The
ark of God was captured; and the two sons of
Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
A man of Benjamin ran from the battle
line, and came to Shiloh the same day, with
his clothes torn and with earth upon his head.
When he arrived, Eli was sitting upon his
seat by the road watching, for his heart trema Gk: Heb lacks In those days the Philistines mustered
for war against Israel
b Gk: Heb against the Philistines

d Or A god has
this section rather than Samuel, who is not mentioned. 1b: The Philistines came from the northeastern Mediterranean area (including the island of Crete; see Am 9.7) and entered Palestine (which is derived from Philistine)
in approximately 1200 bce, about the same time the Israelites were emerging in the central highlands. In this
period they were Israels great enemy. 2: Four thousand men, the numbers throughout this account are exaggerated, although some scholars think that the Hebrew word translated thousand refers to a military unit of
far fewer than a thousand men. 4: Cherubim were mythical grin-like creatures with body parts from dierent
creatures, especially human heads and wings. They were commonly depicted in palaces and temples. As the
throne of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim (cf. 3.3), the ark represented the Lords presence in bale. In some passages the ark is described as simple in form and lacking cherubim (Deut 10.23) while
in others it is depicted as ornate (Ex 25.1022; 37.19) 6: Hebrews is commonly used to distinguish Israelites
ethnically from foreigners (Gen 14.13; Ex 1.15; 2.11,13; 3.18; 1 Sam 14.21; Jon 1.9). Sometimes, however, it seems to
designate a broader socioeconomic group (Gen 39.14; 43.32). 8: Gods implies that the Philistines had no conception that the Israelites worshiped only one god (but cf. 5.78,1011). The Philistines also locate the plagues in
the wilderness rather than in Egypt. In both cases the Israelite writer may be mocking the Philistines. See also
6.6n. 10: Thirty thousand, see v. 2n. 12: With his clothes torn and with earth upon his head, conventional signs of
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1 samuel 5
bled for the ark of God. When the man came
into the city and told the news, all the city
cried out. When Eli heard the sound of the
outcry, he said, What is this uproar? Then
the man came quickly and told Eli. Now Eli
was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were
set, so that he could not see. The man said
to Eli, I have just come from the battle; I ed
from the battle today. He said, How did it
go, my son? The messenger replied, Israel
has ed before the Philistines, and there has
also been a great slaughter among the troops;
your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are
dead, and the ark of God has been captured.
When he mentioned the ark of God, Elia fell
over backward from his seat by the side of the
gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for
he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged
Israel forty years.
Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of
Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth.
When she heard the news that the ark of God
was captured, and that her father-in-law and
her husband were dead, she bowed and gave
birth; for her labor pains overwhelmed her.
As she was about to die, the women attending her said to her, Do not be afraid, for you
have borne a son. But she did not answer or
give heed. She named the child Ichabod,
meaning, The glory has departed from Israel,
because the ark of God had been captured and
because of her father-in-law and her husband.
She said, The glory has departed from Israel,
for the ark of God has been captured.
When the Philistines captured the ark of
God, they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod; then the Philistines took the ark of
God and brought it into the house of Dagon

and placed it beside Dagon. When the people
of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was
Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground before
the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and
put him back in his place. But when they rose
early on the next morning, Dagon had fallen
on his face to the ground before the ark of
the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his
hands were lying cut o upon the threshold;
only the trunk ofb Dagon was left to him.
This is why the priests of Dagon and all who
enter the house of Dagon do not step on the
threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
The hand of the Lord was heavy upon
the people of Ashdod, and he terried and
struck them with tumors, both in Ashdod and
in its territory. And when the inhabitants of
Ashdod saw how things were, they said, The
ark of the God of Israel must not remain with
us; for his hand is heavy on us and on our god
Dagon. So they sent and gathered together
all the lords of the Philistines, and said, What
shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?
The inhabitants of Gath replied, Let the ark
of God be moved on to us.c So they moved
the ark of the God of Israel to Gath.d But after
they had brought it to Gath,e the hand of the
Lord was against the city, causing a very great
panic; he struck the inhabitants of the city,
a Heb he
b Heb lacks the trunk of
c Gk Compare Q Ms: MT They answered, Let the ark
of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.
d Gk: Heb lacks to Gath

e Q Ms: MT lacks to Gath
mourning. 18: Pious Eli is moved by the loss of the ark more than the loss of his wicked sons. Forty years, a round
number for a generation. 2122: Ichabod, Where is the glory? or Alas for the glory. Glory alludes to the ark.
5.112: The ark troubles the Philistines. In the ancient Near East, wars between nations were interpreted
as contests between their respective gods. This story explains that although the Philistines defeated Israel,
the Lord was superior to Dagon, a Philistine god. Similar ancient Near Eastern bale accounts explain defeat
as punishment from the god of the vanquished. 1: Ashdod, one of ve principal Philistine cities along with
Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza. 2: Beside Dagon means beside the statue of Dagon in his temple. Dagon was a
Canaanite god of grain whom the Philistines adopted as a major deity. 3: There was Dagon, fallen on his face to the
ground before the ark of the Lord, bowing prostrate was a sign of subservience. 45: This is an etiology (a story
that explains a custom, name, etc.) for the practice of jumping over thresholds in order to avoid oending the
spirits of a particular building or space (see Zeph 1.9). 612: The tumors and mice (in the next chapter) suggest
that this outbreak was bubonic plague, which was common in coastlands. According to this story, however,
the plague is the Lords doing. 8: The lords of the Philistines are the rulers of the Philistine pentapolis. The word
lord (seren) is Philistine and cognate with Gk tyrannos (tyrant).
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1 samuel 6
both young and old, so that tumors broke out
on them. So they sent the ark of the God of
Israela to Ekron. But when the ark of God came
to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, Whyb
have they brought around to usc the ark of
the God of Israel to kill usc and ourd people?
They sent therefore and gathered together
all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send
away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it
return to its own place, that it may not kill us
and our people. For there was a deathly panice
throughout the whole city. The hand of God
was very heavy there; those who did not die
were stricken with tumors, and the cry of the
city went up to heaven.
The ark of the Lord was in the country
of the Philistines seven months. Then
the Philistines called for the priests and the
diviners and said, What shall we do with
the ark of the Lord? Tell us what we should
send with it to its place. They said, If
you send away the ark of the God of Israel,
do not send it empty, but by all means
return him a guilt offering. Then you will
be healed and will be ransomed;f will not
his hand then turn from you? And they
said, What is the guilt oering that we shall
return to him? They answered, Five gold
tumors and ve gold mice, according to the
number of the lords of the Philistines; for the
same plague was upon all of you and upon
your lords. So you must make images of
your tumors and images of your mice that
ravage the land, and give glory to the God
of Israel; perhaps he will lighten his hand
on you and your gods and your land. Why
should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had made fools of them, did they not
let the people go, and they departed? Now
then, get ready a new cart and two milch
cows that have never borne a yoke, and yoke

the cows to the cart, but take their calves
home, away from them. Take the ark of the
Lord and place it on the cart, and put in a
box at its side the gures of gold, which you
are returning to him as a guilt oering. Then
send it o, and let it go its way. And watch;
if it goes up on the way to its own land, to
Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done
us this great harm; but if not, then we shall
know that it is not his hand that struck us; it
happened to us by chance.
The men did so; they took two milch
cows and yoked them to the cart, and shut
up their calves at home. They put the ark
of the Lord on the cart, and the box with the
gold mice and the images of their tumors.
The cows went straight in the direction of
Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as
they went; they turned neither to the right
nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines
went after them as far as the border of Bethshemesh.
Now the people of Beth-shemesh were
reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark,
they went with rejoicing to meet it.g The
cart came into the eld of Joshua of Bethshemesh, and stopped there. A large stone
was there; so they split up the wood of the
cart and oered the cows as a burnt oering to the Lord. The Levites took down the
ark of the Lord and the box that was beside
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Q Ms Gk: MT lacks of Israel

Q Ms Gk: MT lacks Why
Heb me
Heb my
Q Ms reads a panic from the Lord
Q Ms Gk: MT and it will be known to you
Gk: Heb rejoiced to see it
6.17.1: The return of the ark. 6.3: Guilt oering, not a sacrice but compensation for taking the ark and
appeasement of the Lord in hopes of avoiding further punishment. 45: There is one gold tumor and one gold
mouse for each of the ve Philistine rulers (vv. 4,1718). The images serve as substitutes for the rulers and their
cities in order to carry the plague away by magic. 6: Cf. Ex 8.19,32. A creative enhancement by the author, since
the Philistines would not have known the story of the Exodus. 7: A new cart is ritually pure. The two cows have
never been yoked and are therefore t to be sacriced (cf. Num 19.2; Deut 21.3). Milch cows means that they
have young calves. 9: Unaccustomed to pulling a cart, these two cows would be expected to wander aimlessly
in search of their calves. If instead they headed for Israelite territory, the Philistines would know that their
suerings had indeed been sent by the Lord. 12: The cows take the most direct route into Israelite territory.
15: This verse is likely a later addition by an editor concerned to have the Levites, the priestly tribe, handle the
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1 samuel 7
it, in which were the gold objects, and set
them upon the large stone. Then the people
of Beth-shemesh oered burnt oerings and
presented sacrices on that day to the Lord.
When the ve lords of the Philistines saw it,
they returned that day to Ekron.
These are the gold tumors, which the
Philistines returned as a guilt oering to the
Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for
Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; also
the gold mice, according to the number of all
the cities of the Philistines belonging to the
ve lords, both fortied cities and unwalled
villages. The great stone, beside which they set
down the ark of the Lord, is a witness to this
day in the eld of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
The descendants of Jeconiah did not
rejoice with the people of Beth-shemesh
when they greeteda the ark of the Lord; and
he killed seventy men of them.b The people mourned because the Lord had made a
great slaughter among the people. Then
the people of Beth-shemesh said, Who is
able to stand before the Lord, this holy God?
To whom shall he go so that we may be rid
of him? So they sent messengers to the
inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, The
Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord.
Come down and take it up to you. And
the people of Kiriath-jearim came and
took up the ark of the Lord, and brought it
to the house of Abinadab on the hill. They
consecrated his son, Eleazar, to have charge
of the ark of the Lord.
From the day that the ark was lodged

at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some
twenty years, and all the house of Israel
lamentedc after the Lord.
Then Samuel said to all the house of
Israel, If you are returning to the Lord with
all your heart, then put away the foreign gods
and the Astartes from among you. Direct
your heart to the Lord, and serve him only,
and he will deliver you out of the hand of the
Philistines. So Israel put away the Baals and
the Astartes, and they served the Lord only.
Then Samuel said, Gather all Israel at
Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.
So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water
and poured it out before the Lord. They
fasted that day, and said, We have sinned
against the Lord. And Samuel judged the
people of Israel at Mizpah.
When the Philistines heard that the
people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the
lords of the Philistines went up against Israel.
And when the people of Israel heard of it they
were afraid of the Philistines. The people of
Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry out
to the Lord our God for us, and pray that he
may save us from the hand of the Philistines.
So Samuel took a sucking lamb and oered
it as a whole burnt oering to the Lord; Sama Gk: Heb And he killed some of the people of Bethshemesh, because they looked into
b Heb killed seventy men, fty thousand men

ark. 17: See 5.1n. 19: It was seventy of the people of Beth-shemesh, not seventy of the descendants of Jeconiah,
who were killed. The reason is uncertain, since nothing else is known about Jeconiah or his family. 20: To stand
before the Lord is a technical expression for priestly service, suggesting that the people are asking for a priest to
handle the ark. It remains unclear how the absence of a priest relates to Jeconiah. 21: Kiriath-jearim is located ca.
8 mi (13 km) northwest of Jerusalem. 7.1: Abinadab is the father of several important priests (2 Sam 6.34,68;
1 Chr 13.7,911).
7.217: Samuel judges Israel. Samuel is depicted as a transitional gure between the judges and the monarchy. He embodies the roles of priest, prophet, and now judge (cf. Judg 10.616). 2: Twenty years is a way of
designating half a generation. This notice ts Samuel into the structure of the book of Judges where a period
of foreign oppression precedes Israels repentance. 34: Returning to the Lord with all your heart is Deuteronomistic language (cf. Deut 30.10; Josh 22.5; 23.14; 24.23; Judg 10.16; 1 Sam 12.20,24; 1 Kings 8.23,48; 14.8; 2 Kings
10.31; 23.25). Baals and Astartes, the leading male and female gods of Canaan. 5: Mizpah, located ca. 8 mi (13
km) north of Jerusalem, became the administrative and religious capital of Judah aer Jerusalems destruction
in 586 bce (2 Kings 25.23). Hence, the seing of this story in Mizpah may indicate a date of composition aer
586 (similarly Judg 1921). 6: The elements of this ritualprayer, libation, fasting, and confessiondo not
occur together anywhere else in the Bible. Since fasting suggests contrition and pouring out water suggests
cleansing, a community purication ritual may be envisioned, perhaps in preparation for war. 89: Samuel is
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1 samuel 8
uel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the
Lord answered him. As Samuel was oering up the burnt oering, the Philistines drew
near to attack Israel; but the Lord thundered
with a mighty voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion; and
they were routed before Israel. And the men
of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the
Philistines, and struck them down as far as
beyond Beth-car.
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up
between Mizpah and Jeshanah,a and named it
Ebenezer;b for he said, Thus far the Lord has
helped us. So the Philistines were subdued
and did not again enter the territory of Israel;
the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. The towns
that the Philistines had taken from Israel
were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath;
and Israel recovered their territory from the
hand of the Philistines. There was peace also
between Israel and the Amorites.
Samuel judged Israel all the days of his
life. He went on a circuit year by year to
Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all these places. Then he would come
back to Ramah, for his home was there; he
administered justice there to Israel, and built

there an altar to the Lord.
When Samuel became old, he made his
sons judges over Israel. The name of his
rstborn son was Joel, and the name of his
second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. Yet his sons did not follow in his
ways, but turned aside after gain; they took
bribes and perverted justice.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered
together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and
said to him, You are old and your sons do
not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then,
a king to govern us, like other nations. But
the thing displeased Samuel when they said,
Give us a king to govern us. Samuel prayed
to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel,
Listen to the voice of the people in all that
they say to you; for they have not rejected
you, but they have rejected me from being
king over them. Just as they have done to
me,c from the day I brought them up out of
Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving
a Gk Syr: Heb Shen

b That is Stone of Help
c Gk: Heb lacks to me
an intercessor for the people in the tradition of Moses and Jeremiah. A whole burnt oering, one that is entirely
consumed (Ex 29.18; Lev 8.21; Deut 13.16; 33.10). 10: Thunder is considered the voice of God. 12: An etiology
for the name Ebenezer, which means stone of the helper/warrior (God). 1314: The statement that the Philistines did not again enter the territory of Israel is contradicted later in 1 Samuel. It may refer only to Samuels
lifetime. It serves the authors eort to cast Samuel as a judge; compare the Deuteronomistic formulas in
Judg 3.30; 8.28; 11.33. Amorites, in Deuteronomy and Deuteronomistic literature the pre-Israelite inhabitants
of Canaan. Contrast, e.g., Gen 14.7; 15.20, where Amorites refers to one pre-Israelite group. 1517: Scholars
oen identify two types of judges in the book of Judges: military leaders and legal functionaries. This chapter
ascribes both roles to Samuel: His intercession brings victory over the Philistines (vv. 1011), and he rides a
circuit judging Israel (vv. 1517). 16: Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpah, and Ramah were all within traditional Benjaminite
territory. See map on p. 411.
Chs 812: The beginning of kingship in Israel. These chapters recount the events in ve distinct episodes:
the peoples request for a king and Samuels response (ch 8); Sauls search for his fathers asses and his anointing (9.110.16); the designation of Saul by lot (10.1727a); Sauls victory over the Ammonites (10.27b11.15); and
Samuels farewell address (ch 12). The stories in 9.110.16 and 10.27b11.15 are generally recognized as older
and neutral or positive in their aitude toward monarchy, while the other three episodes view kingship with
suspicion and depict the peoples request as a sin. The laer three texts are also widely recognized as Deuteronomistic. In the end, God allows a king but also warns the people against leing their king lead them astray.
8.122: The people request a king. 2: Beer-sheba, the southernmost city in Judah and far outside Samuels
jurisdiction in 7.1517. It became an administrative center during Judahs monarchy. 3: Samuels sons, like Elis,
are corrupt (Deut 16.19 denounces taking bribes). Their untness to rule impels the elders to ask for a king.
4: The elders were the leading and usually senior citizens. 67: Samuel and the Lord are displeased by the request and consider it a rejection of the Lord. But is kingship regarded as inherently evil? Or does the request
demonstrate a lack of faith in the Lord? 8: The review of Israels history is in typical Deuteronomistic style (cf.
410 | hebrew bible
Baal-shalishah
0
Aphek
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
Ramah
Bethel
(Beth-aven)
Ophrah
Gilgal
Mizpah
Beth-horon
Migron
Aijalon
Michmash
Geba
Gibeah
Jerusalem
33
Azekah
Socoh
Dead
Sea
Endor
V. o
Jezreel
Carmel
f Je
zre
el
Mt.
Gilboa
Beth-shan
Jabesh-gilead
Bezek
GILEAD
Mediterranean
Sea
GAD
Jor da n Riv er
Hill Country
of
Ephraim
AMMON
32
BENJAMIN
Jerusalem
Ekron
?Gath
IL
IS
IA
Dead
Sea
MOAB
A MAL EK
31
EDOM
35
36
The kingdom of Saul according to the book of Samuel. The dashed line shows the approximate outer boundary
of his kingdom.
hebrew bible | 411
1 samuel 9
other gods, so also they are doing to you.
Now then, listen to their voice; onlyyou
shall solemnly warn them, and show them
the ways of the king who shall reign over
them.
So Samuel reported all the words of the
Lord to the people who were asking him for
a king. He said, These will be the ways of
the king who will reign over you: he will take
your sons and appoint them to his chariots
and to be his horsemen, and to run before his
chariots; and he will appoint for himself
commanders of thousands and commanders of fties, and some to plow his ground
and to reap his harvest, and to make his
implements of war and the equipment of his
chariots. He will take your daughters to be
perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will
take the best of your elds and vineyards and
olive orchards and give them to his courtiers.
He will take one-tenth of your grain and of
your vineyards and give it to his ocers and
his courtiers. He will take your male and
female slaves, and the best of your cattlea and
donkeys, and put them to his work. He will
take one-tenth of your ocks, and you shall
be his slaves. And in that day you will cry
out because of your king, whom you have
chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not
answer you in that day.
But the people refused to listen to the
voice of Samuel; they said, No! but we are
determined to have a king over us, so that
we also may be like other nations, and that
our king may govern us and go out before us
and ght our battles. When Samuel had

heard all the words of the people, he repeated
them in the ears of the Lord. The Lord
said to Samuel, Listen to their voice and set
a king over them. Samuel then said to the
people of Israel, Each of you return home.
There was a man of Benjamin whose
name was Kish son of Abiel son of Zeror
son of Becorath son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite,
a man of wealth. He had a son whose name
was Saul, a handsome young man. There was
not a man among the people of Israel more
handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else.
Now the donkeys of Kish, Sauls father,
had strayed. So Kish said to his son Saul,
Take one of the boys with you; go and look
for the donkeys. He passed through the hill
country of Ephraim and passed through the
land of Shalishah, but they did not nd them.
And they passed through the land of Shaalim,
but they were not there. Then he passed
through the land of Benjamin, but they did
not nd them.
When they came to the land of Zuph,
Saul said to the boy who was with him, Let
us turn back, or my father will stop worrying
about the donkeys and worry about us. But
he said to him, There is a man of God in this
town; he is a man held in honor. Whatever he
says always comes true. Let us go there now;
perhaps he will tell us about the journey on
which we have set out. Then Saul replied
a Gk: Heb young men
2 Kings 21.15). 10: Asking is a play on the name Saul; see 1.17n. 1117: These verses may preserve an older treaty
document that described the rights and privileges of the king. Ways, the Hebrew word means custom or
judgment. The king to whom the people look for justice will follow the typical ancient Near Eastern practices
of taxation and conscription. The items in this list appear to be based on Solomons reign (cf. 1 Kings 4.7; 5.13).
18: This verse is in characteristic Deuteronomistic language and resembles that of the framework of Judges, in
which the people constantly cry out for relief from their oppressors. 19: True to his name (listen in Hebrew
sounds like Samuel), Samuel listens to God, while the people refused to listen. 20: The desire to be like other
nations is opposed to the Lords desire that Israel be his special people. Govern is elsewhere translated judge.
Go out before us is an idiom for military leadership. The people trust in a king instead of God for protection from
their enemies. 22: The Lord will permit Israel to have a king even though he does not approve of their request.
Each of you return home is editorial and sets the stage for Samuel to call another assembly in 10.17.
9.110.16: Sauls anointing. This is an old story that has been edited by the Deuteronomist. Samuel appears
not as a judge but as a man of God. Both Saul and kingship are depicted positively. 9.2: Handsome (lit. good),
a description oen aributed to leaders (Joseph, Gen 39.6; baby Moses, Ex 2.2; David, 1 Sam 16.12). Sauls height
is also an important theme in 1 Samuel, especially for its contrast with David. 3: Boys (beer: servants) need
not have been young. 4: Shalishah and Shaalim may both be puns on Sauls name. 67: What can we bring, a
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1 samuel 9
to the boy, But if we go, what can we bring
the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone,
and there is no present to bring to the man
of God. What have we? The boy answered
Saul again, Here, I have with me a quarter
shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of
God, to tell us our way. (Formerly in Israel,
anyone who went to inquire of God would
say, Come, let us go to the seer; for the one
who is now called a prophet was formerly
called a seer.) Saul said to the boy, Good;
come, let us go. So they went to the town
where the man of God was.
As they went up the hill to the town,
they met some girls coming out to draw
water, and said to them, Is the seer here?
They answered, Yes, there he is just ahead
of you. Hurry; he has come just now to the
town, because the people have a sacrice
today at the shrine. As soon as you enter
the town, you will nd him, before he goes
up to the shrine to eat. For the people will
not eat until he comes, since he must bless
the sacrice; afterward those eat who are
invited. Now go up, for you will meet him
immediately. So they went up to the town.
As they were entering the town, they saw
Samuel coming out toward them on his way
up to the shrine.
Now the day before Saul came, the Lord
had revealed to Samuel: Tomorrow about
this time I will send to you a man from the
land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to
be ruler over my people Israel. He shall save
my people from the hand of the Philistines;
for I have seen the suering ofa my people, because their outcry has come to me.
When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him,
Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He
it is who shall rule over my people. Then
Saul approached Samuel inside the gate, and
said, Tell me, please, where is the house of
the seer? Samuel answered Saul, I am the
seer; go up before me to the shrine, for today
you shall eat with me, and in the morning I
will let you go and will tell you all that is on
your mind. As for your donkeys that were
lost three days ago, give no further thought
to them, for they have been found. And on
whom is all Israels desire xed, if not on
you and on all your ancestral house? Saul
answered, I am only a Benjaminite, from the
least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is
the humblest of all the families of the tribe of
Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me
in this way?
Then Samuel took Saul and his servantboy and brought them into the hall, and
gave them a place at the head of those who
had been invited, of whom there were about
thirty. And Samuel said to the cook, Bring
the portion I gave you, the one I asked you
to put aside. The cook took up the thigh
and what went with itb and set them before
Saul. Samuel said, See, what was kept is set
before you. Eat; for it is setc before you at the
a Gk: Heb lacks the suering of
c Q Ms Gk: MT it was kept
single word in Hebrew, spelled exactly like the word prophet. The man of God, a title for a prophet, turns
out to be Samuel (v. 14). But the identication is secondary, since Saul and his servant do not initially know
who Samuel is. In the original tale, Sauls encounter was with an anonymous seer. The town, probably Ramah,
Samuels home. The present was a payment to the man of God for divining the whereabouts of the donkeys. 8:
A quarter shekel was a measure of weight (ca. .10 oz [3 gm]). 9: A note by an editor indicating that the word seer
had gone out of use. 11: Drawing water was done by women, usually in the morning or evening when it was
cooler. Hence, it was around sundown. 12: The shrine (high place) was a hill or raised platform where worship,
especially sacrices, took place. Deuteronomistic literature condemns the high places once the Jerusalem Temple is built. 13: Sacrices provided occasions for feasting aer the portions of the animal designated for God
were burned. 16: Ruler, a special term meaning king designate. Their outcry has come to me, cf. Ex 3.9. 18: The
gate, a fortied entryway into a walled city. It was the site of commerce and judicial proceedings. 1920: In the
original tale, the seer consulted God overnight in order to address Sauls need (v. 19). But in the present, edited
version, Samuel has been told to expect Saul (vv. 1517) and now goes ahead and tells him all that is on his mind,
assuring him that the donkeys have been found (v. 20). The next morning is reserved for Sauls anointing. 21:
Like others called by God (Moses, Ex 34; Jeremiah, Jer 1), Saul objects that he is unworthy. 2224: Saul is the
honored guest. The thigh is usually reserved for the deity or priests. These verses are likely editorial, since they
hebrew bible | 413
1 samuel 10
appointed time, so that you might eat with
the guests.a
So Saul ate with Samuel that day. When
they came down from the shrine into the
town, a bed was spread for Saulb on the roof,
and he lay down to sleep.c Then at the
break of dawnd Samuel called to Saul upon
the roof, Get up, so that I may send you
on your way. Saul got up, and both he and
Samuel went out into the street.
As they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to Saul, Tell
the boy to go on before us, and when he has
passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that
I may make known to you the word of God.
Samuel took a vial of oil and poured
it on his head, and kissed him; he said,
The Lord has anointed you ruler over his
people Israel. You shall reign over the people
of the Lord and you will save them from the
hand of their enemies all around. Now this
shall be the sign to you that the Lord has
anointed you rulere over his heritage: When
you depart from me today you will meet
two men by Rachels tomb in the territory of
Benjamin at Zelzah; they will say to you, The
donkeys that you went to seek are found, and
now your father has stopped worrying about
them and is worrying about you, saying: What
shall I do about my son? Then you shall go
on from there further and come to the oak of
Tabor; three men going up to God at Bethel
will meet you there, one carrying three kids,
another carrying three loaves of bread, and
another carrying a skin of wine. They will
greet you and give you two loaves of bread,
which you shall accept from them. After
that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim,f at the
place where the Philistine garrison is; there,
as you come to the town, you will meet a band
10
of prophets coming down from the shrine

with harp, tambourine, ute, and lyre playing
in front of them; they will be in a prophetic
frenzy. Then the spirit of the Lord will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy
along with them and be turned into a dierent
person. Now when these signs meet you, do
whatever you see t to do, for God is with you.
And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me;
then I will come down to you to present burnt
oerings and oer sacrices of well-being.
Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you
and show you what you shall do.
As he turned away to leave Samuel,
God gave him another heart; and all these
signs were fullled that day. When they
were going from thereg to Gibeah,h a band
of prophets met him; and the spirit of God
possessed him, and he fell into a prophetic
frenzy along with them. When all who
knew him before saw how he prophesied with
the prophets, the people said to one another,
What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul
also among the prophets? A man of the
place answered, And who is their father?
Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also
among the prophets? When his prophetic
frenzy had ended, he went home.i
a Cn: Heb it was kept for you, saying, I have invited
the people
Gk: Heb and he spoke with Saul
Gk: Heb lacks and he lay down to sleep
Gk: Heb and they arose early and at break of dawn
Gk: Heb lacks over his people Israel. You shall . . .
anointed you ruler
f Or the Hill of God
g Gk: Heb they came there
h Or the hill
i Cn: Heb he came to the shrine
b
c
d
e
presuppose Samuels foreknowledge of Sauls arrival. 10.1: The Lords heritage is the land of Israel. Every nation
is understood as the inheritance of the god it worships. The Lord, creator of the world, is envisioned as having
chosen Israel as his people (Deut 10.1415; 32.89). 2: Zelzah, location unknown. 3: The three men going up to
God at Bethel are carrying items for sacrice. Tabor is a dierent place than that in Judg 4.6. 4: Greet is a pun
on Sauls name. The men give two loaves of bread, one for Saul and one for his servant. The Greek (LXX) reading, two oerings of bread, suggests that Saul again receives the portion of a priest. 57: Music was used to
induce an ecstatic condition in which prophets uered their oracles (2 Kings 3.1516); frenzy (vv. 56,10,13) is a
misleadingly pejorative translation. Like the judges, Saul will be moved to action by the spirit of the Lord (see
Judg 3.10; 6.34; 11.29; 13.24; etc.). The instruction to do whatever you see t to do is a military commission. 8: This
verse connects this story to 13.7b15a. 1013: An etiology for the proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? Here
the proverb has a positive sense, showing that the Lords spirit empowers Saul to prophesy and rule. A dierent
414 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 11
Sauls uncle said to him and to the boy,
Where did you go? And he replied, To seek
the donkeys; and when we saw they were
not to be found, we went to Samuel. Sauls
uncle said, Tell me what Samuel said to
you. Saul said to his uncle, He told us that
the donkeys had been found. But about the
matter of the kingship, of which Samuel had
spoken, he did not tell him anything.
Samuel summoned the people to the Lord
at Mizpah and said to them,a Thus says the
Lord, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel
out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand
of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the
kingdoms that were oppressing you. But today you have rejected your God, who saves you
from all your calamities and your distresses;
and you have said, No! but set a king over us.
Now therefore present yourselves before the
Lord by your tribes and by your clans.
Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken
by lot. He brought the tribe of Benjamin near
by its families, and the family of the Matrites
was taken by lot. Finally he brought the family
of the Matrites near man by man,b and Saul
the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when
they sought him, he could not be found. So
they inquired again of the Lord, Did the man
come here?c and the Lord said, See, he has
hidden himself among the baggage. Then
they ran and brought him from there. When
he took his stand among the people, he was
head and shoulders taller than any of them.

Samuel said to all the people, Do you see
the one whom the Lord has chosen? There is
no one like him among all the people. And all
the people shouted, Long live the king!
Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book
and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent
all the people back to their homes. Saul also
went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went
warriors whose hearts God had touched. But
some worthless fellows said, How can this man
save us? They despised him and brought him
no present. But he held his peace.
Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had
been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the
Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye
of each of them and would not grant Israel a
deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across
the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the
Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were
seven thousand men who had escaped from the
Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.d
About a month later,e Nahash the
Ammonite went up and besieged
Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said
11
a
b
c
d
Heb to the people of Israel

Gk: Heb lacks Finally . . . man by man
Gk: Heb Is there yet a man to come here?
Q Ms Compare Josephus, Antiquities VI.v.1 (68-71):
MT lacks Now Nahash . . . entered Jabesh-gilead.
e Q Ms Gk: MT lacks About a month later
explanation of the proverb occurs in 19.1924. The father of a group of prophets (v. 12) is their leader. 1416: It is
surprising that Sauls uncle rather than his father questions him, since the uncle has not been mentioned before
in the story. These verses are an editorial addition that prepares for the following story (10.1727a) by pointing
out that since Sauls anointing was private, a public proclamation of his kingship is needed.
10.1727a: Saul chosen by lot. 17: Mizpah, see 7.5n. 1819: The language of these verses is Deuteronomistic,
especially the references to bringing up Israel out of Egypt and the accusation that they have rejected their God.
2021: Israelite society was structured in a descending hierarchy of tribe, clan, family (house of the father),
and individual. In the Bible (Josh 7.14; 1 Sam 14.41) the lot is used to nd by divine assistance a person guilty of
breaking a law or vow. Some scholars believe that two stories are combined at this point, one in which Saul was
present and chosen by lot and another in which he was chosen by oracle or because of his height. 22: Inquired,
another pun on Sauls name. 25: The rights and duties of the kingship probably set out the responsibilities of king
and people to each other. The expression here is nearly identical to the ways of the king in 8.9,11, although
they may not refer to the same document. 2627a: Sauls return to Gibeah and the doubts of the worthless fellows prepare for the subsequent story in which Saul proves his ability to save Israel. By bringing him no present
these people refuse to accept him as king.
10.27b11.15: Saul proves himself able to lead in ba+le and is publicly made king. 10.27b: This paragraph
was lost from the Hebrew text and has been restored from a Dead Sea Scroll fragment of Samuel, as the translators note indicates. The paragraph explains the reason for the conict in ch 11. The Gadites and the Reubenites
hebrew bible | 415
1 samuel 11
to Nahash, Make a treaty with us, and we
will serve you. But Nahash the Ammonite
said to them, On this condition I will make
a treaty with you, namely that I gouge out
everyones right eye, and thus put disgrace
upon all Israel. The elders of Jabesh said to
him, Give us seven days respite that we may
send messengers through all the territory
of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us,
we will give ourselves up to you. When
the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they
reported the matter in the hearing of the
people; and all the people wept aloud.
Now Saul was coming from the eld
behind the oxen; and Saul said, What is the
matter with the people, that they are weeping? So they told him the message from
the inhabitants of Jabesh. And the spirit
of God came upon Saul in power when he
heard these words, and his anger was greatly
kindled. He took a yoke of oxen, and cut
them in pieces and sent them throughout all
the territory of Israel by messengers, saying,
Whoever does not come out after Saul and
Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!
Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the
people, and they came out as one. When he
mustered them at Bezek, those from Israel
were three hundred thousand, and those
from Judah seventya thousand. They said

to the messengers who had come, Thus
shall you say to the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead: Tomorrow, by the time the sun is
hot, you shall have deliverance. When the
messengers came and told the inhabitants
of Jabesh, they rejoiced. So the inhabitants of Jabesh said, Tomorrow we will give
ourselves up to you, and you may do to us
whatever seems good to you. The next
day Saul put the people in three companies.
At the morning watch they came into the
camp and cut down the Ammonites until
the heat of the day; and those who survived
were scattered, so that no two of them were
left together.
The people said to Samuel, Who is it
that said, Shall Saul reign over us? Give
them to us so that we may put them to
death. But Saul said, No one shall be put
to death this day, for today the Lord has
brought deliverance to Israel.
Samuel said to the people, Come, let
us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingship. So all the people went to Gilgal, and
there they made Saul king before the Lord in
Gilgal. There they sacriced oerings of wella Q Ms Gk: MT thirty
were Israelites living east of the Jordan in territory that the Ammonite king, Nahash, considered his. The city of
Jabesh in Gilead was farther north, outside the disputed area, but Nahash threatened it because some of the
Israelites from Gad and Reuben had ed there. 2: As a visible sign of their subjugation and a punishment for
encroaching on his land, Nahash had been gouging out everyones right eye among the Gadites and Reubenites
(10.27b). 3: The elders of Jabesh are willing to accept Nahash as their overlord. But he insists on the same measure against them as a punishment for their harboring those who ed from him and as a sign of disgrace upon all
Israel. 3: The messengers are not sent directly to Saul but through all the territory of Israel, thus indicating that
this story was independent of preceding ones. 45: Even in Gibeah the messengers do not seek out Saul; he
learns of their mission because of the weeping of the people as he returns from the eld. The story, then, does
not assume that Saul is king. 6: The spirit of God spurs Saul to military action as in the book of Judges (see 1 Sam
10.7n). 7: Sauls dismembering the oxen represents a threat against those who do not join in the war. Dismemberment was a common curse for breaking a treaty, so that Sauls actions assume a treaty or covenant among
the tribes. 8: The distinction between Israel and Judah either is an anachronism or reects a dierentiation that
was always felt if not institutionalized until aer Solomons reign. 10: We will give ourselves up to you, lit. we
will come out to you as in v. 3, could also be understood as we will ght against you. 11: Their day began at
sundown, hence the next day would be that evening in our reckoning. The morning watch was in the early
hours before sunrise. The Israelites marched all night to aack by surprise before dawn. 1214: An editorial
addition that links 10.1727a with 10.27b11.15. Samuel plays no role in the preceding bale account; his name
was probably added secondarily to the story. The editor also speaks of renewing the kingship. These verses, and
the story as a whole, show how Saul succeeded in delivering Israel and thus answering his critics, and thereby
present him in a positive light. 15: The original story did not assume that Saul was already king but explained
that the people made Saul king as a result of his victory on this occasion.
416 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 12
being before the Lord, and there Saul and all
the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
Samuel said to all Israel, I have listened to you in all that you have said
to me, and have set a king over you. See,
it is the king who leads you now; I am old
and gray, but my sons are with you. I have
led you from my youth until this day. Here
I am; testify against me before the Lord and
before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken?
Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom
have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed?
Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to
blind my eyes with it? Testify against mea and
I will restore it to you. They said, You have
not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken
anything from the hand of anyone. He said
to them, The Lord is witness against you,
and his anointed is witness this day, that you
have not found anything in my hand. And
they said, He is witness.
Samuel said to the people, The Lord is
witness, whob appointed Moses and Aaron
and brought your ancestors up out of the
land of Egypt. Now therefore take your
stand, so that I may enter into judgment with
you before the Lord, and I will declare to
youc all the saving deeds of the Lord that he
performed for you and for your ancestors.
When Jacob went into Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them,d then your ancestors
cried to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses
and Aaron, who brought forth your ancestors
out of Egypt, and settled them in this place.
But they forgot the Lord their God; and he
sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of King Jabin ofe Hazor,
and into the hand of the Philistines, and
12
into the hand of the king of Moab; and they

fought against them. Then they cried to
the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because
we have forsaken the Lord, and have served
the Baals and the Astartes; but now rescue
us out of the hand of our enemies, and we
will serve you. And the Lord sent Jerubbaal
and Barak,f and Jephthah, and Samson,g and
rescued you out of the hand of your enemies
on every side; and you lived in safety. But
when you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me,
No, but a king shall reign over us, though
the Lord your God was your king. See, here
is the king whom you have chosen, for whom
you have asked; see, the Lord has set a king
over you. If you will fear the Lord and serve
him and heed his voice and not rebel against
the commandment of the Lord, and if both
you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well; but
if you will not heed the voice of the Lord, but
rebel against the commandment of the Lord,
then the hand of the Lord will be against you
and your king.h Now therefore take your
stand and see this great thing that the Lord
will do before your eyes. Is it not the wheat
harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that
he may send thunder and rain; and you shall
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Gk: Heb lacks Testify against me

Gk: Heb lacks is witness, who
Gk: Heb lacks and I will declare to you
Gk: Heb lacks and the Egyptians oppressed them
Gk: Heb lacks King Jabin of
Gk Syr: Heb Bedan
Gk: Heb Samuel
Gk: Heb and your ancestors
12.125: Samuels address. This chapter is a Deuteronomistic composition. Ancient historians oen placed
speeches, which they themselves composed and considered appropriate to the occasion, into the mouths of
their characters. See, e.g., Josh 2324 and 1 Kings 8. Most of Deuteronomy is cast as a speech of Moses. 2: My
sons are with you, Samuel is not puing his sons forward as leaders but mentions them as illustrating his old
age; they are fully grown. 3: Samuels actions contrast with the ways of the king in 8.1118; cf. Moses words in
Num 16.15. 612: This retrospective on Israels history is Deuteronomistic in language and orientation. 9: Sisera,
see Judg 4.2. Philistines, see Judg 13.1. Moab, see Judg 3.12. 10: Baals and the Astartes, see 7.34. 11: Barak, see Judg
4.6. The Hebrew text reads Bedan. There is no story about Bedan in the book of Judges. Some scholars think
Bedan reects a distinct tradition; others think it is another name for Jephthah. If Barak is correct, the order
here diers from Judges. Jerubbaal, see Judg 6.32. Jephthah, see Judg 11. Samson, see Judg 1316. The Hebrew
has Samuel; in either case, the reference is to the last judge. 12: The mention of Nahash diers from ch 8, in
which the Philistine threat leads the Israelites to request a king. 13: For whom you have asked, a pun on Sauls
name. 1618: The wheat harvest was in early summer, when rain would be very rare and a threat to the crops.
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1 samuel 13
know and see that the wickedness that you
have done in the sight of the Lord is great in
demanding a king for yourselves. So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent
thunder and rain that day; and all the people
greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
All the people said to Samuel, Pray to
the Lord your God for your servants, so that
we may not die; for we have added to all our
sins the evil of demanding a king for ourselves. And Samuel said to the people, Do
not be afraid; you have done all this evil, yet
do not turn aside from following the Lord, but
serve the Lord with all your heart; and do
not turn aside after useless things that cannot prot or save, for they are useless. For
the Lord will not cast away his people, for
his great names sake, because it has pleased
the Lord to make you a people for himself.
Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I
should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray
for you; and I will instruct you in the good and
the right way. Only fear the Lord, and serve
him faithfully with all your heart; for consider
what great things he has done for you. But if
you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away,
both you and your king.
Saul was . . .a years old when he began
to reign; and he reigned . . . and twob
years over Israel.
Saul chose three thousand out of Israel;
two thousand were with Saul in Michmash
and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; the rest of the people he sent home to
their tents. Jonathan defeated the garrison
of the Philistines that was at Geba; and the
Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the
trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let
the Hebrews hear! When all Israel heard
that Saul had defeated the garrison of the
13
Philistines, and also that Israel had become

odious to the Philistines, the people were
called out to join Saul at Gilgal.
The Philistines mustered to ght with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand
horsemen, and troops like the sand on the
seashore in multitude; they came up and encamped at Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven.
When the Israelites saw that they were in
distress (for the troops were hard pressed), the
people hid themselves in caves and in holes
and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns.
Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land
of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and
all the people followed him trembling.
He waited seven days, the time appointed
by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from
Saul.c So Saul said, Bring the burnt oering
here to me, and the oerings of well-being.
And he oered the burnt oering. As soon
as he had nished oering the burnt oering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to
meet him and salute him. Samuel said,
What have you done? Saul replied, When
I saw that the people were slipping away
from me, and that you did not come within
the days appointed, and that the Philistines
were mustering at Michmash, I said, Now
the Philistines will come down upon me at
Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of
the Lord; so I forced myself, and oered the
burnt oering. Samuel said to Saul, You
have done foolishly; you have not kept the
commandment of the Lord your God, which
a The number is lacking in the Heb text (the verse is
lacking in the Septuagint).
b Two is not the entire number; something has

dropped out.
c Heb him
Thus, it shows the Lords response to Samuel and hints at his displeasure with the people. Demanding (vv. 17,19)
is another pun on Saul. 22: For his great names sake, the Lords reputation might be damaged if he destroyed
them too readily; see Num 14.1316. 2425: The theology of divine reward and punishment is Deuteronomistic.
13.17a: Saul begins the war with the Philistines. 1: Sauls age and length of reign are uncertain. The Hebrew
literally says that he was a year old when he began to reign and reigned two years; see the translators notes. 3:
Jonathan, Sauls son, appears here for the rst time, and as a grown man, indicating that this story is much later
than 9.110.16, in which Saul is a young man. Geba and Gibeah are very similar in Hebrew and may be confused
here. 4: Saul, as king, is apparently given credit for his sons victory. 5: Beth-aven, probably an alternative name
for Bethel (v. 2). 7: Gad and Gilead, east of the Jordan.
13.7b15a: Sauls sin and rejection by God. 8: The time appointed by Samuel was seven days (10.8), but the
418 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 14
he commanded you. The Lord would have
established your kingdom over Israel forever,
but now your kingdom will not continue;
the Lord has sought out a man after his own
heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be
ruler over his people, because you have not
kept what the Lord commanded you. And
Samuel left and went on his way from Gilgal.a
The rest of the people followed Saul to join
the army; they went up from Gilgal toward
Gibeah of Benjamin.b
Saul counted the people who were present
with him, about six hundred men. Saul,
his son Jonathan, and the people who were
present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin; but the Philistines encamped at Michmash. And raiders came out of the camp
of the Philistines in three companies; one
company turned toward Ophrah, to the land
of Shual, another company turned toward
Beth-horon, and another company turned
toward the mountainc that looks down upon
the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
Now there was no smith to be found
throughout all the land of Israel; for the
Philistines said, The Hebrews must not
make swords or spears for themselves; so
all the Israelites went down to the Philistines
to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes,
or sickles;d The charge was two-thirds of a
shekele for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and one-third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.f So
on the day of the battle neither sword nor
spear was to be found in the possession of

any of the people with Saul and Jonathan; but
Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
Now a garrison of the Philistines had
gone out to the pass of Michmash.
One day Jonathan son of Saul said
to the young man who carried his armor,
Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side. But he did not tell
his father. Saul was staying in the outskirts
of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree that
is at Migron; the troops that were with him
were about six hundred men, along with
Ahijah son of Ahitub, Ichabods brother, son
of Phinehas son of Eli, the priest of the Lord
in Shiloh, carrying an ephod. Now the people
did not know that Jonathan had gone. In the
pass,g by which Jonathan tried to go over to
the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag
on one side and a rocky crag on the other; the
name of the one was Bozez, and the name of
the other Seneh. One crag rose on the north
in front of Michmash, and the other on the
south in front of Geba.
Jonathan said to the young man who
carried his armor, Come, let us go over to
14
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Gk: Heb went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin

Gk: Heb lacks The rest . . . of Benjamin
Cn Compare Gk: Heb toward the border
Gk: Heb plowshare
Heb was a pim
Heb Between the passes
intervening events in chs 1012 require a much longer time. 1314: The nature of Sauls sin is not clear; perhaps
he tried to usurp Samuels role of religious leadership. But cf. 14.35, where Saul builds an altar to the Lord
without being criticized. Your kingdom, like David (2 Sam 7.1316), Saul had a chance to establish a long-lasting
dynasty, but his sin prevented this. Another rejection, perhaps of Sauls individual kingship, occurs in ch 15. The
man aer the Lords own heart, an allusion to David, is a way of saying he is chosen by the Lord and does not
necessarily imply any special quality on Davids part.
13.15b14.52: Continuation of the Philistine war. 13.15b23: These verses set the stage for the bale account in the next chapter. Geba and Michmash (v. 16) were across from each other on opposite sides of a valley.
The Philistine domination took two forms: Raiders customarily went out from Michmash to aack Israelite settlements (vv. 1718), and the Philistines controlled metalworking and hence the manufacture of weapons (vv.
1922). 21: A shekel (of silver) weighed ca. .4 oz (11.4 gr). 23: The bale begins with the Philistines moving to the
pass on their side of the valley. 14.1: The Philistine garrison on the other side was the one sent as reinforcements
(13.23). The Israelites and Philistines were camped on opposite sides of the ravine at Geba and Michmash, respectively (14.5). Jonathans plan is to defeat this garrison and then perhaps to rally the Israelites who were
hiding (vv. 11,22) into joining in and driving the Philistines back. 3: For Ichabod and Phinehas, see 4.4,19. Carrying
an ephod, not the linen ephod of 2.18, but a box whose contents were used to divine the will of God (v. 41; Ex
28.30). It was carried in priestly garments, which may be why the same word was used for both. The people oen
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1 samuel 14
the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may
be that the Lord will act for us; for nothing
can hinder the Lord from saving by many or
by few. His armor-bearer said to him, Do
all that your mind inclines to.a I am with you;
as your mind is, so is mine.b Then Jonathan
said, Now we will cross over to those men
and will show ourselves to them. If they
say to us, Wait until we come to you, then
we will stand still in our place, and we will
not go up to them. But if they say, Come
up to us, then we will go up; for the Lord
has given them into our hand. That will be
the sign for us. So both of them showed
themselves to the garrison of the Philistines;
and the Philistines said, Look, Hebrews are
coming out of the holes where they have
hidden themselves. The men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer,
saying, Come up to us, and we will show
you something. Jonathan said to his armorbearer, Come up after me; for the Lord has
given them into the hand of Israel. Then
Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet,
with his armor-bearer following after him.
The Philistinesc fell before Jonathan, and his
armor-bearer, coming after him, killed them.
In that rst slaughter Jonathan and his
armor-bearer killed about twenty men within
an area about half a furrow long in an acred of
land. There was a panic in the camp, in the
eld, and among all the people; the garrison
and even the raiders trembled; the earth
quaked; and it became a very great panic.
Sauls lookouts in Gibeah of Benjamin
were watching as the multitude was surging back and forth.e Then Saul said to the
troops that were with him, Call the roll
and see who has gone from us. When they
had called the roll, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there. Saul said to Ahijah,
Bring the arkf of God here. For at that time
the arkf of God went with the Israelites.
While Saul was talking to the priest, the
tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more; and Saul said to the
priest, Withdraw your hand. Then Saul

and all the people who were with him rallied
and went into the battle; and every sword
was against the other, so that there was very
great confusion. Now the Hebrews who
previously had been with the Philistines and
had gone up with them into the camp turned
and joined the Israelites who were with Saul
and Jonathan. Likewise, when all the Israelites who had gone into hiding in the hill
country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines
were eeing, they too followed closely after
them in the battle. So the Lord gave Israel
the victory that day.
The battle passed beyond Beth-aven, and
the troops with Saul numbered altogether
about ten thousand men. The battle spread
out over the hill country of Ephraim.
Now Saul committed a very rash act on
that day.g He had laid an oath on the troops,
saying, Cursed be anyone who eats food
before it is evening and I have been avenged
on my enemies. So none of the troops tasted
food. All the troopsh came upon a honeycomb; and there was honey on the ground.
When the troops came upon the honeycomb, the honey was dripping out; but they
did not put their hands to their mouths, for
they feared the oath. But Jonathan had not
heard his father charge the troops with the
oath; so he extended the sta that was in his
hand, and dipped the tip of it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his
eyes brightened. Then one of the soldiers
said, Your father strictly charged the troops
with an oath, saying, Cursed be anyone
who eats food this day. And so the troops
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Gk: Heb Do all that is in your mind. Turn

Gk: Heb lacks so is mine
Heb They
Heb yoke
Gk: Heb they went and there
Gk the ephod
Gk: Heb The Israelites were distressed that day
Heb land
means the army. 6: These uncircumcised, a derogatory term for the Philistines, who, in contrast to the Israelites
and Egyptians, did not practice male circumcision. 11: Hebrews, see 4.6n. 18: The ark of God, the Greek reading,
the ephod, is probably beer (see v. 3). 19: Withdraw your hand, Saul had called Ahijah the priest in order to
consult the Lord through him, but the growing sound of bale made him decide to aack before nishing his
inquiry. 21: The Hebrews here are distinguished from the Israelites. They are rst allied with the Philistines and
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1 samuel 14
are faint. Then Jonathan said, My father
has troubled the land; see how my eyes have
brightened because I tasted a little of this
honey. How much better if today the troops
had eaten freely of the spoil taken from their
enemies; for now the slaughter among the
Philistines has not been great.
After they had struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon, the
troops were very faint; so the troops ew
upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen and
calves, and slaughtered them on the ground;
and the troops ate them with the blood.
Then it was reported to Saul, Look, the
troops are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood. And he said, You have
dealt treacherously; roll a large stone before
me here.a Saul said, Disperse yourselves
among the troops, and say to them, Let all
bring their oxen or their sheep, and slaughter
them here, and eat; and do not sin against
the Lord by eating with the blood. So all of
the troops brought their oxen with them that
night, and slaughtered them there. And
Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the rst
altar that he built to the Lord.
Then Saul said, Let us go down after
the Philistines by night and despoil them
until the morning light; let us not leave one of
them. They said, Do whatever seems good
to you. But the priest said, Let us draw near
to God here. So Saul inquired of God, Shall
I go down after the Philistines? Will you give
them into the hand of Israel? But he did not
answer him that day. Saul said, Come here,
all you leaders of the people; and let us nd
out how this sin has arisen today. For as the
Lord lives who saves Israel, even if it is in my
son Jonathan, he shall surely die! But there
was no one among all the people who answered him. He said to all Israel, You shall
be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan

will be on the other side. The people said to
Saul, Do what seems good to you. Then
Saul said, OLord God of Israel, why have you
not answered your servant today? If this guilt
is in me or in my son Jonathan, OLord God
of Israel, give Urim; but if this guilt is in your
people Israel,b give Thummim. And Jonathan
and Saul were indicated by the lot, but the
people were cleared. Then Saul said, Cast
the lot between me and my son Jonathan.
And Jonathan was taken.
Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me
what you have done. Jonathan told him, I
tasted a little honey with the tip of the sta
that was in my hand; here I am, I will die.
Saul said, God do so to me and more also;
you shall surely die, Jonathan! Then the
people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who
has accomplished this great victory in Israel?
Far from it! As the Lord lives, not one hair of
his head shall fall to the ground; for he has
worked with God today. So the people ransomed Jonathan, and he did not die. Then
Saul withdrew from pursuing the Philistines;
and the Philistines went to their own place.
When Saul had taken the kingship over
Israel, he fought against all his enemies on
every sideagainst Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of
Zobah, and against the Philistines; wherever
he turned he routed them. He did valiantly,
and struck down the Amalekites, and rescued
Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan,
Ishvi, and Malchishua; and the names of his
a Gk: Heb me this day
b Vg Compare Gk: Heb 41Saul said to the Lord, the
God of Israel
then turn against them; they may have been mercenaries (cf. 4.6). 2430: Sauls oath was an expression of piety
to aract Gods aid in the bale. It was foolish because his troops became faint from hunger. Most honey was
made from dates; Jonathan has found a true delicacy (cf. Prov 25.16). 3135: The soldiers commit a ritual oense
by slaughtering animals on the ground so that the blood does not drain out and eating meat cooked with the
blood, contrary to laws such as Lev 19.26; Deut 12.16. Animals slaughtered on the large stone could be propped
up to allow their blood to drain before cooking. 37: Inquired, a pun on Sauls name. The lack of response indicates divine disfavor and may hint at Gods future displeasure with Saul (see 28.6) 4142: The Urim and Thummim (Ex 28.30) answered yes-or-no questions and decided between two alternatives. 45: It is not clear exactly
how the people ransomed Jonathan. Perhaps an animal was substituted (Gen 22.13; Ex 13.13; 34.20). The story may
foreshadow Jonathans death in 31.2. 4748: This summary of Sauls military successes contrast (see map on p.
hebrew bible | 421
1 samuel 15
two daughters were these: the name of the
rstborn was Merab, and the name of the
younger, Michal. The name of Sauls wife
was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. And the
name of the commander of his army was
Abner son of Ner, Sauls uncle; Kish was the
father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner
was the son of Abiel.
There was hard ghting against the
Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul
saw any strong or valiant warrior, he took
him into his service.
Samuel said to Saul, The Lord sent
me to anoint you king over his people
Israel; now therefore listen to the words of
the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, I will
punish the Amalekites for what they did in
opposing the Israelites when they came up
out of Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek,
and utterly destroy all that they have; do not
spare them, but kill both man and woman,
child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and
donkey.
So Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand
foot soldiers, and ten thousand soldiers of
Judah. Saul came to the city of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley. Saul said
to the Kenites, Go! Leave! Withdraw from
among the Amalekites, or I will destroy you
with them; for you showed kindness to all
the people of Israel when they came up out
of Egypt. So the Kenites withdrew from the
Amalekites. Saul defeated the Amalekites,
from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of
Egypt. He took King Agag of the Amalekites
15
alive, but utterly destroyed all the people

with the edge of the sword. Saul and the
people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep
and of the cattle and of the fatlings, and the
lambs, and all that was valuable, and would
not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.
The word of the Lord came to Samuel:
I regret that I made Saul king, for he has
turned back from following me, and has
not carried out my commands. Samuel
was angry; and he cried out to the Lord all
night. Samuel rose early in the morning to
meet Saul, and Samuel was told, Saul went
to Carmel, where he set up a monument for
himself, and on returning he passed on down
to Gilgal. When Samuel came to Saul,
Saul said to him, May you be blessed by the
Lord; I have carried out the command of the
Lord. But Samuel said, What then is this
bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing
of cattle that I hear? Saul said, They have
brought them from the Amalekites; for the
people spared the best of the sheep and the
cattle, to sacrice to the Lord your God; but
the rest we have utterly destroyed. Then
Samuel said to Saul, Stop! I will tell you what
the Lord said to me last night. He replied,
Speak.
Samuel said, Though you are little in
your own eyes, are you not the head of the
tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king
over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a
mission, and said, Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and ght against them
until they are consumed. Why then did you
411) with the surrounding negative portrait of Saul. 48: Amalekites, see 15.2n. 49: Ishvi, perhaps another spelling
of Ishbaal (2 Sam 2.8). 52: Any strong or valiant warrior, an allusion to David (cf. 16.1423).
15.135: Another story of Sauls rejection. Compare 13.7b15a. 2: Amalekites, a nomadic people south of Judah. The story mentioned here is recounted in Ex 17.816 and Deut 25.1719. 3: Uerly destroy, the ban or devotion to destruction (Heb herem)
used by Israel (see Josh 6.17) and other peoples in the ancient Near East.
.
The enemy and their property were exterminated as a kind of sacrice to the deity. The instructions are given
explicitly here in anticipation of Sauls disobedience. 4: The numbers may be exaggerated or the word thousand may refer to a military unit much smaller than a thousand men (see 4.2n). 6: Kenites, a clan in southern
Judah; this verse indicates that they had seled with the Amalekites. Their name means metalworkers. Their
kindness to the Israelites is unknown. 9: Spared, a direct violation of the order in v. 3. However, Saul claims (v.
15) that his intent was to kill them in sacrice to the Lord. He may also have intended to execute Agag in some
ocial or ritual way (vv. 3233). 12: Carmel, not the famous mount, but a town in Judah (Josh 15.55). 15: Saul
says his troops (the people) spared the best of the sheep and the cale, though he is implicated in v. 9. His claim
that the animals were spared for sacrice provides the ground for Samuels rebuke. Your God suggests that Saul
has abandoned the Lord. 1719: The pronouns and verbs are singular and directed at Saul alone as the head of
422 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 16
not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you
swoop down on the spoil, and do what was
evil in the sight of the Lord? Saul said to
Samuel, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord,
I have gone on the mission on which the
Lord sent me, I have brought Agag the king
of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites. But from the spoil the people
took sheep and cattle, the best of the things
devoted to destruction, to sacrice to the
Lord your God in Gilgal. And Samuel said,
Has the Lord as great delight in burnt
oerings and sacrices,
as in obedience to the voice of the
Lord?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrice,
and to heed than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is no less a sin than
divination,
and stubbornness is like iniquity and
idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the
Lord,
he has also rejected you from being
king.
Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned; for I
have transgressed the commandment of the
Lord and your words, because I feared the
people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with
me, so that I may worship the Lord. Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you;
for you have rejected the word of the Lord,
and the Lord has rejected you from being
king over Israel. As Samuel turned to go
away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe,
and it tore. And Samuel said to him, The
Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you
this very day, and has given it to a neighbor of

yours, who is better than you. Moreover the
Glory of Israel will not recanta or change his
mind; for he is not a mortal, that he should
change his mind. Then Saulb said, I have
sinned; yet honor me now before the elders
of my people and before Israel, and return
with me, so that I may worship the Lord your
God. So Samuel turned back after Saul;
and Saul worshiped the Lord.
Then Samuel said, Bring Agag king of
the Amalekites here to me. And Agag came
to him haltingly.c Agag said, Surely this is
the bitterness of death.d But Samuel said,
As your sword has made women childless,
so your mother shall be childless
among women.
And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the
Lord in Gilgal.
Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul
went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.
Samuel did not see Saul again until the day
of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul.
And the Lord was sorry that he had made
Saul king over Israel.
The Lord said to Samuel, How long
will you grieve over Saul? I have
rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill
your horn with oil and set out; I will send you
to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided
for myself a king among his sons. Samuel
said, How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will
kill me. And the Lord said, Take a heifer
16
a
b
c
d
Q Ms Gk: MT deceive
Heb he
Cn Compare Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
Q Ms Gk: MT Surely the bitterness of death is past
the tribes of Israel (v. 17). 22: The fat of rams, the part of the animal burned in sacrices. The poetic form of this
verse and the next recalls the oracles of the writing prophets (see Hos 6.6; Am 5.2124; Mic 6.68). 23: The
divination condemned here is oen related to foreign idolatry (see Deut 18.914). Rebellion and stubbornness, like
divination, involve turning away from the Lord. 26: This verse illustrates a narrative technique known to later
rabbinic writers as measure for measure; Sauls punishment corresponds to his sin (both labeled rejection).
See also v. 33. 2728: Grasping the hem of a persons garment was a way of submiing or pleading. Samuel uses
the torn hem as an object lesson. The neighbor is David. Sauls robe is symbolic of his kingdom and becomes a
literary motif in 1 Samuel (see ch 24). 29: The Glory of Israel, an epithet for the Lord. The message of the verse
seems to contradict the larger context in which the Lord has changed his mind about Saul being king. Some
scholars address this contradiction by positing v. 29 as a late pious gloss. 33: Samuels dismemberment of Agag
before the Lord was a ritual execution, perhaps for war crimes or violation of a treaty. 35: Samuel did not see Saul
again until the day of his death, anticipating ch 28 but in tension with 19.1824.
16.113: The anointing of David. 1: Fill your horn with oil, ne olive oil carried in a rams horn was used for
hebrew bible | 423
1 samuel 16
0
0
Jerusalem
Ekron
Azekah
?Gath
Socoh
5
5
10 Miles
10 Kilometers
Nob
Bethlehem
Adullam
Keilah
Ziph
Carmel
Ziklag
En-gedi
Dead
Sea
Maon
Chs 1628: Davids early career and his ight

from Saul.
with you, and say, I have come to sacrice to

the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrice, and
I will show you what you shall do; and you
shall anoint for me the one whom I name
to you. Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders
of the city came to meet him trembling, and
said, Do you come peaceably? He said,
Peaceably; I have come to sacrice to the
Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me
to the sacrice. And he sanctied Jesse and
his sons and invited them to the sacrice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and
thought, Surely the Lords anointed is now
before the Lord.a But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on the
height of his stature, because I have rejected
him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see;
they look on the outward appearance, but the
Lord looks on the heart. Then Jesse called

Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel.
He said, Neither has the Lord chosen this
one. Then Jesse made Shammah pass by.
And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen
this one. Jesse made seven of his sons pass
before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, The
Lord has not chosen any of these. Samuel
said to Jesse, Are all your sons here? And
he said, There remains yet the youngest, but
he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said to
Jesse, Send and bring him; for we will not
sit down until he comes here. He sent and
brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had
beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord
said, Rise and anoint him; for this is the
one. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and
anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily
upon David from that day forward. Samuel
then set out and went to Ramah.
Now the spirit of the Lord departed
from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord
tormented him. And Sauls servants said
to him, See now, an evil spirit from God is
tormenting you. Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for
someone who is skillful in playing the lyre;
and when the evil spirit from God is upon
you, he will play it, and you will feel better.
So Saul said to his servants, Provide for me
someone who can play well, and bring him
to me. One of the young men answered,
a Heb him
anointing a new king. 45: Jesse seems to be among the elders or civic leaders of Bethlehem. Their trembling is
perhaps because they suspect the nature of Samuels mission and fear that his visit will bring consequences
from Saul. Or perhaps they are afraid that he has come to condemn them for some wrongdoing. 67: Eliabs
height and good looks are reminiscent of Saul, whom the Lord has rejected as king. God is more impressed
with inner qualities or the heart, which Samuel cannot know. 89: Samuel is likely using some device like the
Urim and Thummim to determine whether each of Jesses sons is the chosen one. 10: This verse and 17.12 credit
Jesse with eight sons, while 1 Chr 2.1315 mentions only seven. As the seventh son David would have been seen
as specially blessed. His description as the eighth son may highlight his humble origins. 11: Youngest may also
mean the smallest and contrasts David with Saul. Keeping the sheep, shepherd was a common metaphor for a
king (e.g., 2 Sam 5.2). 12: Ruddy means reddish of hair and complexion (see Gen 25.25). Handsome, see 9.2n.
13: Spirit of the Lord, see 10.57.
16.1423: David wins a position at Sauls court. 14: The departure of the spirit of the Lord from Saul (cf.
10.57n) and its replacement by an evil spirit from the Lord further contrasts Saul and David (v. 13). The evil
spirit may describe mental illness. The theological point is that the Lord abandoned Saul. 16: Lyre, a hand-held
stringed instrument. Musicians were thought to ward o evil spirits. 18: A man of valor, a nobleman or man
of wealth (9.1). Prudent in speech implies both eloquence and cleverness. The Lord is with him, a central theme
424 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 17
I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite
who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a
warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of
good presence; and the Lord is with him.
So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said,
Send me your son David who is with the
sheep. Jesse took a donkey loaded with
bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent
them by his son David to Saul. And David
came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul
loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David
remain in my service, for he has found favor
in my sight. And whenever the evil spirit
from God came upon Saul, David took the
lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul
would be relieved and feel better, and the evil
spirit would depart from him.
Now the Philistines gathered their
armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and
encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in
Ephes-dammim. Saul and the Israelites
gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah,
and formed ranks against the Philistines.
The Philistines stood on the mountain on
the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between
them. And there came out from the camp of
the Philistines a champion named Goliath,
of Gath, whose height was sixa cubits and
a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his
head, and he was armed with a coat of mail;
the weight of the coat was ve thousand
17
shekels of bronze. He had greaves of bronze

on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear
was like a weavers beam, and his spears head
weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his
shield-bearer went before him. He stood and
shouted to the ranks of Israel, Why have you
come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a
Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul?
Choose a man for yourselves, and let him
come down to me. If he is able to ght with
me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him,
then you shall be our servants and serve us.
And the Philistine said, Today I defy the
ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may
ght together. When Saul and all Israel
heard these words of the Philistine, they were
dismayed and greatly afraid.
Now David was the son of an Ephrathite
of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had
eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was
already old and advanced in years.b The
three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul
to the battle; the names of his three sons who
went to the battle were Eliab the rstborn,
and next to him Abinadab, and the third
Shammah. David was the youngest; the
three eldest followed Saul, but David went
back and forth from Saul to feed his fathers
sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the
a MT: Q Ms Gk four
b Gk Syr: Heb among men
of the David story. 19: Davids role as a shepherd (see v. 11n) again hints at his future as king. 21: Armor-bearer
indicates Davids skill as a warrior and his closeness to Saul.
17.158: David defeats the Philistine champion. An initial version of this story in vv. 111,3249,5154 has
been extensively supplemented in the Hebrew text by vv. 1231,50,5558; 18.15. The supplementary material
is absent from the Greek translation (the Septuagint, or LXX). Its addition has caused inconsistencies relating
to Davids presence in Sauls army, the way in which the Philistine died, and Sauls acquaintance with David. 4:
Goliath, a Philistine name, occurs only here and in v. 23, which is supplemental. Otherwise, Davids opponent
is called the Philistine. The name has come into the story from 2 Sam 21.19, which says that a certain Elhanan
killed Goliath. Six cubits and a span, about 9.5 (3 m). The Greek reading, four cubits and a span, (6.6
[2 m]) is more realistic and probably original. The number six was mistakenly imported here (in place of four)
from v. 7. Davids small stature contrasts with Goliaths as with Sauls. 57: The armor described here reects
items from dierent armies at dierent times and is designed to give an imposing picture of the Philistine. 5:
Five thousand shekels, ca. 125 lb (57 kg). 6: Greaves, armor for the shins. Javelin, beer: scimitar. 7: The spears
description is borrowed from 2 Sam 21.19. A weavers beam may refer to size or to a leather thong aached to
some spears to facilitate hurling. Six hundred shekels of iron, ca. 15 lb (7 kg). 12: Ephrathites, a subgroup within
the Calebite clan, which was part of the tribe of Judah. The introduction of David suggests the beginning of
a once independent version of the story. 1415: Here, David is a shepherd boy running errands rather than a
hebrew bible | 425
1 samuel 17
Philistine came forward and took his stand,
morning and evening.
Jesse said to his son David, Take for your
brothers an ephah of this parched grain and
these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to
the camp to your brothers; also take these
ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring
some token from them.
Now Saul, and they, and all the men of
Israel, were in the valley of Elah, ghting
with the Philistines. David rose early in the
morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took
the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment
as the army was going forth to the battle line,
shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.
David left the things in charge of the keeper
of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went
and greeted his brothers. As he talked with
them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath,
Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of
the Philistines, and spoke the same words as
before. And David heard him.
All the Israelites, when they saw the
man, ed from him and were very much
afraid. The Israelites said, Have you seen
this man who has come up? Surely he has
come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly
enrich the man who kills him, and will give
him his daughter and make his family free in
Israel. David said to the men who stood
by him, What shall be done for the man
who kills this Philistine, and takes away the
reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy
the armies of the living God? The people
answered him in the same way, So shall it be
done for the man who kills him.
His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men; and Eliabs anger was kindled
against David. He said, Why have you come

down? With whom have you left those
few sheep in the wilderness? I know your
presumption and the evil of your heart; for
you have come down just to see the battle.
David said, What have I done now? It was
only a question. He turned away from him
toward another and spoke in the same way;
and the people answered him again as before.
When the words that David spoke were
heard, they repeated them before Saul; and
he sent for him. David said to Saul, Let no
ones heart fail because of him; your servant
will go and ght with this Philistine. Saul
said to David, You are not able to go against
this Philistine to ght with him; for you are
just a boy, and he has been a warrior from
his youth. But David said to Saul, Your
servant used to keep sheep for his father; and
whenever a lion or a bear came, and took
a lamb from the ock, I went after it and
struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its
mouth; and if it turned against me, I would
catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill
it. Your servant has killed both lions and
bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall
be like one of them, since he has deed the
armies of the living God. David said, The
Lord, who saved me from the paw of the
lion and from the paw of the bear, will save
me from the hand of this Philistine. So Saul
said to David, Go, and may the Lord be with
you!
Saul clothed David with his armor; he
put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed
him with a coat of mail. David strapped
Sauls sword over the armor, and he tried in
vain to walk, for he was not used to them.
Then David said to Saul, I cannot walk with
these; for I am not used to them. So David
removed them. Then he took his sta in his
hand, and chose ve smooth stones from the
warrior as in 16.1423. 16: In this supplementary version of the story, the Philistine had been challenging the
Israelites for forty days, while the initial version had David ght him the rst time he comes out. 17: An ephah,
ca. .6 bu (23 l). 18: Some token, a personal eect showing that the brothers were well. 25: Free in Israel means
exempt from slavery and from taxes and compulsory military service. 31: Saul appears for the rst time in the
story here. Though king of Israel, he is eclipsed by David. 32: Your servant, a polite term for oneself before a
superior. 3839: Davids inability to move in Sauls armor emphasizes his lack of experience as a soldier. It also
shows Sauls failure to understand that Davids advantage lay in his mobility. 40: His sta, a shepherds sta, not
a weapon. The Philistine sees it as a stick (v. 43). Wadi, a dry streambed. The sling was not a toy but a standard
weapon of ancient warfare. It consisted of two cords aached to a pouch from which a stone could be hurled a
426 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 18
wadi, and put them in his shepherds bag, in
the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he
drew near to the Philistine.
The Philistine came on and drew near
to David, with his shield-bearer in front of
him. When the Philistine looked and saw
David, he disdained him, for he was only a
youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
The Philistine said to David, Am I a dog,
that you come to me with sticks? And the
Philistine cursed David by his gods. The
Philistine said to David, Come to me, and
I will give your esh to the birds of the air
and to the wild animals of the eld. But
David said to the Philistine, You come to me
with sword and spear and javelin; but I come
to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the
God of the armies of Israel, whom you have
deed. This very day the Lord will deliver
you into my hand, and I will strike you down
and cut o your head; and I will give the dead
bodies of the Philistine army this very day to
the birds of the air and to the wild animals
of the earth, so that all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel, and that all this
assembly may know that the Lord does not
save by sword and spear; for the battle is the
Lords and he will give you into our hand.
When the Philistine drew nearer to meet
David, David ran quickly toward the battle
line to meet the Philistine. David put his
hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it,
and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the
stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face
down on the ground.
So David prevailed over the Philistine
with a sling and a stone, striking down the
Philistine and killing him; there was no sword
in Davids hand. Then David ran and stood

over the Philistine; he grasped his sword,
drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then
he cut o his head with it.
When the Philistines saw that their
champion was dead, they ed. The troops
of Israel and Judah rose up with a shout and
pursued the Philistines as far as Gatha and
the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded
Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as
far as Gath and Ekron. The Israelites came
back from chasing the Philistines, and they
plundered their camp. David took the head
of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem;
but he put his armor in his tent.
When Saul saw David go out against the
Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander
of the army, Abner, whose son is this young
man? Abner said, As your soul lives, Oking,
I do not know. The king said, Inquire
whose son the stripling is. On Davids
return from killing the Philistine, Abner took
him and brought him before Saul, with the
head of the Philistine in his hand. Saul said
to him, Whose son are you, young man?
And David answered, I am the son of your
servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
When Davidb had nished speaking to
Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound
to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him
as his own soul. Saul took him that day
and would not let him return to his fathers
house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with
David, because he loved him as his own soul.
Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that
18
a Gk Syr: Heb Gai

b Heb he
considerable distance with great force and accuracy (Judg 20.16). 4147: Ancient warfare included taunting and
trying to demoralize ones enemy. Davids speech (vv. 4547) is religious in nature and promises retribution for
the Philistines deance of the Lord. David says he does not need the Philistines arms because the Lord ghts
for him. The Philistine is distracted by Davids sta (v. 43) and overlooks his real weapon, the sling. 49: Davids
stone strikes the Philistine in the spot where he is vulnerable. Davids speech shows that this is understood as
Gods doing. 5051: These verses make it appear as though David killed the Philistine twice, once with the sling
stone (v. 50) and once by beheading him with his own sword (v. 51). The repetition results from the combination
of two versions of the story, but v. 50 can be read as an overview of the entire episode. 54: Jerusalem, an anachronism, since Jerusalem was conquered aer David became king of Israel (2 Sam 5.69). His tent, perhaps read
the tent (shrine) of Yahweh. Goliaths sword later surfaces with the priests at Nob (21.9). 55: Whose son is this
young man?, idiomatic for Who is this? It indicates the storys originally independent nature, since according
to 16.1423 Saul and David already had a close relationship.
18.130: Saul becomes jealous of David. 13: Loved implies political loyalty in addition to personal aec-
hebrew bible | 427
1 samuel 18
he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his
armor, and even his sword and his bow and
his belt. David went out and was successful
wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set
him over the army. And all the people, even
the servants of Saul, approved.
As they were coming home, when David
returned from killing the Philistine, the
women came out of all the towns of Israel,
singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with
tambourines, with songs of joy, and with
musical instruments.a And the women sang
to one another as they made merry,
Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.
Saul was very angry, for this saying displeased him. He said, They have ascribed
to David ten thousands, and to me they have
ascribed thousands; what more can he have
but the kingdom? So Saul eyed David from
that day on.
The next day an evil spirit from God
rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his
house, while David was playing the lyre, as he
did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand;
and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, I
will pin David to the wall. But David eluded
him twice.
Saul was afraid of David, because the
Lord was with him but had departed from
Saul. So Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and David marched out and came in,
leading the army. David had success in all

his undertakings; for the Lord was with him.
When Saul saw that he had great success,
he stood in awe of him. But all Israel and
Judah loved David; for it was he who marched
out and came in leading them.
Then Saul said to David, Here is my
elder daughter Merab; I will give her to you
as a wife; only be valiant for me and ght the
Lords battles. For Saul thought, I will not
raise a hand against him; let the Philistines
deal with him. David said to Saul, Who am
I and who are my kinsfolk, my fathers family
in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the
king? But at the time when Sauls daughter
Merab should have been given to David, she
was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.
Now Sauls daughter Michal loved David.
Saul was told, and the thing pleased him. Saul
thought, Let me give her to him that she may
be a snare for him and that the hand of the
Philistines may be against him. Therefore
Saul said to David a second time,b You shall
now be my son-in-law. Saul commanded
his servants, Speak to David in private and
say, See, the king is delighted with you, and
all his servants love you; now then, become
the kings son-in-law. So Sauls servants
reported these words to David in private. And
David said, Does it seem to you a little thing to
a Or triangles, or three-stringed instruments
b Heb by two
tion. 4: Jonathans royal robe and armor represent his status as crown prince. David is thus depicted as Sauls
true successor, by the initiative of Jonathan himself. But David does not usurp the throne (see 17.3839 where
he does not wear Sauls armor). 6: As they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the
continuation of ch 17, showing that vv. 15 are an interruption of the initial narrative and part of the supplemental material in ch 17 (not found in the LXX). 7: David has slain his ten thousands, but David has killed only the
single Philistine, Goliath. This is another indication of the interpolation of ch 17s portrait of David as a young
shepherd rather than a warrior. 9: Saul eyed David means that Saul was suspicious of David. 1011: These verses
are also supplemental (and lacking in the LXX); initially, Sauls aempt to kill David with his spear (19.810) provided the climax to a series of subtle moves against David. He raved, lit. he prophesied, referring to ecstatic
behavior. 1314: Saul promotes David because he is afraid to have David nearby and hopes that David will be
killed in bale. Marched out and came in, an idiom for went to war. 16: All Israel and Judah loved David expresses
political loyalty and anticipates Davids rule over both north and south (2 Sam 5.5). The army was devoted to
David because of his military success. 1719: These verses are supplemental; they are not found in the LXX. If
these verses are related to 17.25, Saul has changed the conditions of his promise. Davids response in v. 18 shows
his humility and lack of ambition to be king. Son-in-law to the king was an important political position as a potential heir to the throne. In the end (v. 19), Saul reneges on his promise despite Davids heroic deeds. 20: Michal,
Sauls younger daughter. 21: This plan of Sauls is slightly more direct than his hope that Davids promotion over
the army would lead to his death. Therefore Saul said to David a second time, You shall now be my son-in-law, an
428 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 19
become the kings son-in-law, seeing that I am
a poor man and of no repute? The servants
of Saul told him, This is what David said.
Then Saul said, Thus shall you say to David,
The king desires no marriage present except
a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he
may be avenged on the kings enemies. Now
Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of
the Philistines. When his servants told David
these words, David was well pleased to be the
kings son-in-law. Before the time had expired,
David rose and went, along with his men,
and killed one hundreda of the Philistines;
and David brought their foreskins, which were
given in full number to the king, that he might
become the kings son-in-law. Saul gave him
his daughter Michal as a wife. But when Saul
realized that the Lord was with David, and that
Sauls daughter Michal loved him, Saul was
still more afraid of David. So Saul was Davids
enemy from that time forward.
Then the commanders of the Philistines
came out to battle; and as often as they came
out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his fame became very
great.
Saul spoke with his son Jonathan and
with all his servants about killing
David. But Sauls son Jonathan took great
delight in David. Jonathan told David, My
father Saul is trying to kill you; therefore
be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a
secret place and hide yourself. I will go
out and stand beside my father in the eld
where you are, and I will speak to my father
about you; if I learn anything I will tell you.
Jonathan spoke well of David to his father
Saul, saying to him, The king should not
sin against his servant David, because he
has not sinned against you, and because his
deeds have been of good service to you; for
19
he took his life in his hand when he attacked

the Philistine, and the Lord brought about
a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and
rejoiced; why then will you sin against an
innocent person by killing David without
cause? Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan;
Saul swore, As the Lord lives, he shall not
be put to death. So Jonathan called David
and related all these things to him. Jonathan
then brought David to Saul, and he was in his
presence as before.
Again there was war, and David went out
to ght the Philistines. He launched a heavy
attack on them, so that they ed before him.
Then an evil spirit from the Lord came
upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his
spear in his hand, while David was playing
music. Saul sought to pin David to the wall
with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he
struck the spear into the wall. David ed and
escaped that night.
Saul sent messengers to Davids house to
keep watch over him, planning to kill him in
the morning. Davids wife Michal told him,
If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed. So Michal let David
down through the window; he ed away and
escaped. Michal took an idolb and laid it on
the bed; she put a netc of goats hair on its
head, and covered it with the clothes. When
Saul sent messengers to take David, she said,
He is sick. Then Saul sent the messengers
to see David for themselves. He said, Bring
him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.
When the messengers came in, the idold
was in the bed, with the coveringc of goats
a
b
c
d
Gk Compare 2Sam 3.14: Heb two hundred

Heb took the teraphim
Heb the teraphim
editorial addition explaining vv. 1719. 2325: The marriage present (bride-price) was set by the brides father
and paid by the groom. The use of foreskins as a bride-price plays on the references to the Philistines as uncircumcised (14.6; 31.4). 26: David was well pleased to be the kings son-in-law, despite his claim to lack of ambition.
28: Michal loved him, Michals aection also entailed political loyalty.
19.124: Saul actively seeks Davids life. 5: Killing an innocent person could bring Gods wrath . Jonathan
emphasizes that David is innocent, and Saul has no cause to kill him. 6: Saul swore, an oath was a serious maer
as it oen involved the deity. In 1 Samuel, however, Saul consistently breaks his oaths. 910: Cf. 16.23. 1117:
This incident follows naturally upon the marriage in 18.2029. 12: The house was evidently built into the city
wall (see Josh 2.15), so that David went through the window and escaped from the city. 13: An idol (lit. teraphim),
household gods (see Gen. 31.1935n.; Judg 17.5.). The one used by Michal seems to have been close to life-size.
hebrew bible | 429
1 samuel 20
hair on its head. Saul said to Michal, Why
have you deceived me like this, and let my
enemy go, so that he has escaped? Michal
answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go;
why should I kill you?
Now David ed and escaped; he came to
Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul
had done to him. He and Samuel went and
settled at Naioth. Saul was told, David is at
Naioth in Ramah. Then Saul sent messengers to take David. When they saw the company of the prophets in a frenzy, with Samuel
standing in charge ofa them, the spirit of God
came upon the messengers of Saul, and they
also fell into a prophetic frenzy. When Saul
was told, he sent other messengers, and they
also fell into a frenzy. Saul sent messengers
again the third time, and they also fell into
a frenzy. Then he himself went to Ramah.
He came to the great well that is in Secu;b
he asked, Where are Samuel and David?
And someone said, They are at Naioth in
Ramah. He went there, toward Naioth
in Ramah; and the spirit of God came upon
him. As he was going, he fell into a prophetic
frenzy, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
He too stripped o his clothes, and he too
fell into a frenzy before Samuel. He lay naked
all that day and all that night. Therefore it is
said, Is Saul also among the prophets?
David ed from Naioth in Ramah.
He came before Jonathan and said,
What have I done? What is my guilt? And
what is my sin against your father that he is
trying to take my life? He said to him, Far
from it! You shall not die. My father does
nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me; and why should my father hide
this from me? Never! But David also swore,
20
Your father knows well that you like me; and

he thinks, Do not let Jonathan know this,
or he will be grieved. But truly, as the Lord
lives and as you yourself live, there is but a
step between me and death. Then Jonathan
said to David, Whatever you say, I will do
for you. David said to Jonathan, Tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to
sit with the king at the meal; but let me go,
so that I may hide in the eld until the third
evening. If your father misses me at all, then
say, David earnestly asked leave of me to run
to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly
sacrice there for all the family. If he says,
Good! it will be well with your servant; but
if he is angry, then know that evil has been
determined by him. Therefore deal kindly
with your servant, for you have brought your
servant into a sacred covenantc with you.
But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself;
why should you bring me to your father?
Jonathan said, Far be it from you! If I knew
that it was decided by my father that evil
should come upon you, would I not tell you?
Then David said to Jonathan, Who will
tell me if your father answers you harshly?
Jonathan replied to David, Come, let us go
out into the eld. So they both went out into
the eld.
Jonathan said to David, By the Lord, the
God of Israel! When I have sounded out my
father, about this time tomorrow, or on the
third day, if he is well disposed toward David,
shall I not then send and disclose it to you?
b Gk reads to the well of the threshing oor on the
bare height
c Heb a covenant of the Lord
17: Michal lies to protect herself. A threat from David does not explain her trick with the bed aer his departure.
18: Ramah, Samuels hometown, was about 2 mi (3 km) north of Gibeah. It is unlikely that David would have ed
there rather than south to his home in Bethlehem; the story is included for literary and theological reasons; it
shows that the prophetsand God through themare on Davids side. Naioth may be not a proper name but
a word meaning camps or huts where the prophets lived near Ramah. 2024: Frenzy, see 10.57n. 23: Spirit
of God, cf. 10.57n; 11.6; 16.1416. 2324: Is Saul also among the prophets? here has a negative explanation (contrast 10.1012). His loss of self-control and his nakedness are degrading. If Saul is among the prophets it is only
because God is using prophecy to prevent him from harming David. 24: Samuel, cf. 15.35.
20.142: The covenant between David and Jonathan. 2: Jonathan is unaware that Saul has tried to kill David
and still believes that his father would not act without rst consulting him. 3: You like me, lit. I have favor in
your eyes (see v. 29). 5: New moon, a day of sacricing and feasting; see Num 28.1115; Am 8.5. 8: David asks
Jonathan to deal kindly with him. The term implies loyalty to a treaty, and David goes on to mention the cov-
430 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 20
But if my father intends to do you harm, the
Lord do so to Jonathan, and more also, if I do
not disclose it to you, and send you away, so
that you may go in safety. May the Lord be
with you, as he has been with my father. If I
am still alive, show me the faithful love of the
Lord; but if I die,a never cut o your faithful love from my house, even if the Lord were
to cut o every one of the enemies of David
from the face of the earth. Thus Jonathan
made a covenant with the house of David,
saying, May the Lord seek out the enemies
of David. Jonathan made David swear again
by his love for him; for he loved him as he
loved his own life.
Jonathan said to him, Tomorrow is the
new moon; you will be missed, because your
place will be empty. On the day after tomorrow, you shall go a long way down; go to the
place where you hid yourself earlier, and
remain beside the stone there.a I will shoot
three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot
at a mark. Then I will send the boy, saying,
Go, nd the arrows. If I say to the boy, Look,
the arrows are on this side of you, collect
them, then you are to come, for, as the Lord
lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.
But if I say to the young man, Look, the
arrows are beyond you, then go; for the Lord
has sent you away. As for the matter about
which you and I have spoken, the Lord is
witnessb between you and me forever.
So David hid himself in the eld. When
the new moon came, the king sat at the
feast to eat. The king sat upon his seat, as
at other times, upon the seat by the wall.
Jonathan stood, while Abner sat by Sauls
side; but Davids place was empty.
Saul did not say anything that day; for

he thought, Something has befallen him; he
is not clean, surely he is not clean. But on
the second day, the day after the new moon,
Davids place was empty. And Saul said to his
son Jonathan, Why has the son of Jesse not
come to the feast, either yesterday or today?
Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly
asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem; he
said, Let me go; for our family is holding
a sacrice in the city, and my brother has
commanded me to be there. So now, if I have
found favor in your sight, let me get away,
and see my brothers. For this reason he has
not come to the kings table.
Then Sauls anger was kindled against
Jonathan. He said to him, You son of a
perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know
that you have chosen the son of Jesse to
your own shame, and to the shame of your
mothers nakedness? For as long as the son
of Jesse lives upon the earth, neither you nor
your kingdom shall be established. Now send
and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.
Then Jonathan answered his father Saul,
Why should he be put to death? What has he
done? But Saul threw his spear at him to
strike him; so Jonathan knew that it was the
decision of his father to put David to death.
Jonathan rose from the table in erce
anger and ate no food on the second day of
the month, for he was grieved for David, and
because his father had disgraced him.
In the morning Jonathan went out into
the eld to the appointment with David, and
b Gk: Heb lacks witness
enant between them. 13: The Lord do so to Jonathan and more also, an oath formula. Jonathan swears that he
will warn David. Jonathans wish that the Lord be with David as he was with Saul hints that David will be king.
1415: Faithful love, loyalty (Heb hesed)
the same word as in v. 8. My house means Jonathans descendants.
.
Davids oath of loyalty to Jonathans house explains his treatment of Mephibosheth in 2 Sam 9. 16: The enemies
of David include Saul! 17: Love again expresses political loyalty. 1822: Jonathan will signal David secretly during
his target practice. If Jonathan tells his servant retrieving the arrows that they are back toward Jonathan, it is
safe for David to come out of hiding. But if Jonathan tells the servant to go farther, David should ee immediately. 26: He is not clean, ritual impurity, which could be caused by a variety of factors, disqualied a person
from participation in some religious ceremonies (Lev 1115). 27: The son of Jesse, a disdainful reference to David.
30: Chosen the son of Jesse, Saul accuses Jonathan of treason. Nakedness, a euphemism for the genitals. 33: Saul
tries to kill Jonathan with his spear, exactly as he had tried to kill David (18.1011; 19.810). 4142a: An addition
reiterating the aection and loyalty between David and Jonathan. If they could have met openly like this, the
previous signal would have been unnecessary.
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1 samuel 21
with him was a little boy. He said to the boy,
Run and nd the arrows that I shoot. As
the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
When the boy came to the place where
Jonathans arrow had fallen, Jonathan called
after the boy and said, Is the arrow not
beyond you? Jonathan called after the boy,
Hurry, be quick, do not linger. So Jonathans
boy gathered up the arrows and came to his
master. But the boy knew nothing; only
Jonathan and David knew the arrangement.
Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and
said to him, Go and carry them to the city.
As soon as the boy had gone, David rose
from beside the stone heapa and prostrated
himself with his face to the ground. He
bowed three times, and they kissed each
other, and wept with each other; David wept
the more.b Then Jonathan said to David,
Go in peace, since both of us have sworn in
the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord shall
be between me and you, and between my
descendants and your descendants, forever.
He got up and left; and Jonathan went into
the city.c
d David came to Nob to the priest
Ahimelech. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and said to him, Why
are you alone, and no one with you? David
said to the priest Ahimelech, The king has
charged me with a matter, and said to me,
No one must know anything of the matter
about which I send you, and with which I
have charged you. I have made an appointmente with the young men for such and such
a place. Now then, what have you at hand?
Give me ve loaves of bread, or whatever
is here. The priest answered David, I
have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy
breadprovided that the young men have
kept themselves from women. David
answered the priest, Indeed women have
21
been kept from us as always when I go on an

expedition; the vessels of the young men are
holy even when it is a common journey; how
much more today will their vessels be holy?
So the priest gave him the holy bread; for
there was no bread there except the bread of
the Presence, which is removed from before
the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the
day it is taken away.
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul
was there that day, detained before the Lord;
his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of
Sauls shepherds.
David said to Ahimelech, Is there
no spear or sword here with you? I did
not bring my sword or my weapons with
me, because the kings business required
haste. The priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the
valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth
behind the ephod; if you will take that, take
it, for there is none here except that one.
David said, There is none like it; give it to
me.
David rose and ed that day from Saul;
he went to King Achish of Gath. The servants of Achish said to him, Is this not David
the king of the land? Did they not sing to one
another of him in dances,
and David his ten thousands?
David took these words to heart and was
very much afraid of King Achish of Gath. So
he changed his behavior before them; he pretended to be mad when in their presence.f He
a
b
c
d
e
f
Gk: Heb from beside the south

Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
This sentence is 21.1 in Heb
Ch 21.2 in Heb
Q Ms Vg Compare Gk: Meaning of MT uncertain
Heb in their hands
21.115: David escapes to Nob. 1: Nob was between Gibeah and Jerusalem. Ahimelech, the great-grandson of
Eli, came trembling to meet David apparently because David was alone, suggesting his fugitive status. 4: Provided
that the young men have kept themselves from women, those involved in sacred activities, such as worship and
preparing for holy war, were prohibited from engaging in sexual relations (see Ex 19.15). 5: Vessels, probably a
euphemism for the sexual organs. 6: Bread of the Presence, see Ex 25.30. 7: Detained before the Lord probably
means Doeg had a vow to fulll. The fact that he is an Edomite is ominous, because Edomites are oen depicted
as Israels hated enemies. 9: The sword of Goliath, see 17.54n. The ephod mentioned here seems to be an idol
(Judg 8.27) rather than a priestly garment. 10: Achish, a Philistine name. In chs 2729, David is his trusted vassal.
11: The king of the land, if it is not an anachronism, indicates that the Philistines already recognize David as a
432 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 22
scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and
let his spittle run down his beard. Achish
said to his servants, Look, you see the man is
mad; why then have you brought him to me?
Do I lack madmen, that you have brought
this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?
David left there and escaped to the
cave of Adullam; when his brothers
and all his fathers house heard of it, they
went down there to him. Everyone who was
in distress, and everyone who was in debt,
and everyone who was discontented gathered
to him; and he became captain over them.
Those who were with him numbered about
four hundred.
David went from there to Mizpeh of
Moab. He said to the king of Moab, Please let
my father and mother comea to you, until I
know what God will do for me. He left them
with the king of Moab, and they stayed with
him all the time that David was in the stronghold. Then the prophet Gad said to David,
Do not remain in the stronghold; leave, and
go into the land of Judah. So David left, and
went into the forest of Hereth.
Saul heard that David and those who
were with him had been located. Saul was
sitting at Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on
the height, with his spear in his hand, and
all his servants were standing around him.
Saul said to his servants who stood around
him, Hear now, you Benjaminites; will the
son of Jesse give every one of you elds and
vineyards, will he make you all commanders
of thousands and commanders of hundreds?
Is that why all of you have conspired against
me? No one discloses to me when my son
makes a league with the son of Jesse, none
of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that
22
my son has stirred up my servant against me,

to lie in wait, as he is doing today. Doeg
the Edomite, who was in charge of Sauls
servants, answered, I saw the son of Jesse
coming to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub;
he inquired of the Lord for him, gave him
provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath
the Philistine.
The king sent for the priest Ahimelech
son of Ahitub and for all his fathers house,
the priests who were at Nob; and all of them
came to the king. Saul said, Listen now,
son of Ahitub. He answered, Here I am,
my lord. Saul said to him, Why have you
conspired against me, you and the son of
Jesse, by giving him bread and a sword, and
by inquiring of God for him, so that he has
risen against me, to lie in wait, as he is doing
today?
Then Ahimelech answered the king,
Who among all your servants is so faithful
as David? He is the kings son-in-law, and is
quickb to do your bidding, and is honored
in your house. Is today the rst time that I
have inquired of God for him? By no means!
Do not let the king impute anything to his
servant or to any member of my fathers
house; for your servant has known nothing
of all this, much or little. The king said,
You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and
all your fathers house. The king said to
the guard who stood around him, Turn and
kill the priests of the Lord, because their
hand also is with David; they knew that he
ed, and did not disclose it to me. But the
servants of the king would not raise their
hand to attack the priests of the Lord. Then
a Syr Vg: Heb come out
b Heb and turns aside
ruler. The Philistines quote the song in 18.7. 1315: To be mad was to be divinely touched (see the references
to Saul prophesying in 18.1011; 19.2324). Thus, the Philistines, fearing divine wrath, leave David alone. The
story ridicules the Philistines, who cannot tell madness from sanity and who admit to having plenty of madmen.
22.123: David at Adullam; massacre of the priests of Nob. 1: Cave, possibly an error for stronghold (v. 4).
Adullam served as Davids headquarters. 2: The wilderness of Judah around Adullam had long been a hideout
of fugitives. 34: The book of Ruth indicates that David had a Moabite ancestry. Stronghold, probably Adullam.
5: The prophet Gad, see 2 Sam 24.11. 7: Son of Jesse, a disparaging reference to David. Kings commonly rewarded
their servants with elds and vineyards and military appointments. The Benjaminites can expect no such rewards
if David becomes king because his native tribe is Judah. 10: Ch 21 does not mention that Ahimelech inquired
of the Lord for David, but the accusation (whether true or not) plays an important role in the confrontation to
follow. 18: Only Doeg (see 21.7) dares to aack the Lords priests, because he is an Edomite. Linen ephod, a gar-
hebrew bible | 433
1 samuel 23
the king said to Doeg, You, Doeg, turn and
attack the priests. Doeg the Edomite turned
and attacked the priests; on that day he killed
eighty-ve who wore the linen ephod. Nob,
the city of the priests, he put to the sword;
men and women, children and infants, oxen,
donkeys, and sheep, he put to the sword.
But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of
Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and ed after David. Abiathar told David that Saul had
killed the priests of the Lord. David said to
Abiathar, I knew on that day, when Doeg the
Edomite was there, that he would surely tell
Saul. I am responsiblea for the lives of all your
fathers house. Stay with me, and do not be
afraid; for the one who seeks my life seeks
your life; you will be safe with me.
Now they told David, The Philistines
are ghting against Keilah, and are robbing the threshing oors. David inquired of
the Lord, Shall I go and attack these Philistines? The Lord said to David, Go and attack
the Philistines and save Keilah. But Davids
men said to him, Look, we are afraid here in
Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah
against the armies of the Philistines? Then
David inquired of the Lord again. The Lord
answered him, Yes, go down to Keilah; for I
will give the Philistines into your hand. So
David and his men went to Keilah, fought with
the Philistines, brought away their livestock,
and dealt them a heavy defeat. Thus David
rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.
When Abiathar son of Ahimelech ed to
David at Keilah, he came down with an ephod
in his hand. Now it was told Saul that David
had come to Keilah. And Saul said, God has
givenb him into my hand; for he has shut
himself in by entering a town that has gates
and bars. Saul summoned all the people to
war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David
and his men. When David learned that
Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to
23
the priest Abiathar, Bring the ephod here.

David said, OLord, the God of Israel, your
servant has heard that Saul seeks to come
to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account.
And now, willc Saul come down as your
servant has heard? OLord, the God of Israel,
I beseech you, tell your servant. The Lord
said, He will come down. Then David said,
Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my
men into the hand of Saul? The Lord said,
They will surrender you. Then David and
his men, who were about six hundred, set out
and left Keilah; they wandered wherever they
could go. When Saul was told that David had
escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. David remained in the strongholds in
the wilderness, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day,
but the Lordd did not give him into his hand.
David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at
Horesh when he learned thate Saul had come
out to seek his life. Sauls son Jonathan set
out and came to David at Horesh; there he
strengthened his hand through the Lord.f
He said to him, Do not be afraid; for the
hand of my father Saul shall not nd you; you
shall be king over Israel, and I shall be second
to you; my father Saul also knows that this is
so. Then the two of them made a covenant
before the Lord; David remained at Horesh,
and Jonathan went home.
Then some Ziphites went up to Saul at
Gibeah and said, David is hiding among us
in the strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of
Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon. Now,
a Gk Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Gk Tg: Heb made a stranger of
c Q Ms Compare Gk: MT Will the men of Keilah
surrender me into his hand? Will
d Q Ms Gk: MT God
e Or saw that
f Compare Q Ms Gk: MT God
ment worn by priests (2.18) 19: Saul devotes the Lords priests to destruction. Ironically, this is what he failed
to do against the Amalekites in ch 15 (see vv. 89,14,19). 2023: The one escapee is Abiathar in fulllment of
the oracle in 2.2736.
23.113: Davids relief of Keilah. 1: Keilah, an independent city within Philistine territory. Threshing oors,
open-air surfaces where grain was separated from cha. 25: This episode illustrates the importance of Abiathars ability to divine. Davids inquiries require a yes-or-no answer, which could be determined through the
ephod (v. 6). 713: David receives forewarning from the ephod, which allows him to escape Saul. Saul, in contrast, has no ephod, and later his eorts to consult the Lord go unanswered (28.6) 17: It is extraordinary and
434 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 24
Oking, whenever you wish to come down, do
so; and our part will be to surrender him into
the kings hand. Saul said, May you be
blessed by the Lord for showing me compassion! Go and make sure once more; nd out
exactly where he is, and who has seen him
there; for I am told that he is very cunning.
Look around and learn all the hiding places
where he lurks, and come back to me with
sure information. Then I will go with you;
and if he is in the land, I will search him out
among all the thousands of Judah. So they
set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul.
David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of
Jeshimon. Saul and his men went to search
for him. When David was told, he went down
to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of
Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued
David into the wilderness of Maon. Saul
went on one side of the mountain, and David
and his men on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from
Saul, while Saul and his men were closing
in on David and his men to capture them.
Then a messenger came to Saul, saying,
Hurry and come; for the Philistines have
made a raid on the land. So Saul stopped
pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; therefore that place was called the Rock
of Escape.a bDavid then went up from there,
and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.
When Saul returned from following
the Philistines, he was told, David
is in the wilderness of En-gedi. Then Saul
took three thousand chosen men out of all
Israel, and went to look for David and his
men in the direction of the Rocks of the Wild
Goats. He came to the sheepfolds beside
the road, where there was a cave; and Saul
went in to relieve himself.c Now David and
24
his men were sitting in the innermost parts

of the cave. The men of David said to him,
Here is the day of which the Lord said to
you, I will give your enemy into your hand,
and you shall do to him as it seems good to
you. Then David went and stealthily cut o
a corner of Sauls cloak. Afterward David
was stricken to the heart because he had
cut o a corner of Sauls cloak. He said to
his men, The Lord forbid that I should do
this thing to my lord, the Lords anointed,
to raise my hand against him; for he is the
Lords anointed. So David scolded his men
severely and did not permit them to attack
Saul. Then Saul got up and left the cave, and
went on his way.
Afterwards David also rose up and went
out of the cave and called after Saul, My lord
the king! When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground, and did
obeisance. David said to Saul, Why do you
listen to the words of those who say, David
seeks to do you harm? This very day your
eyes have seen how the Lord gave you into my
hand in the cave; and some urged me to kill
you, but I sparedd you. I said, I will not raise
my hand against my lord; for he is the Lords
anointed. See, my father, see the corner of
your cloak in my hand; for by the fact that I
cut o the corner of your cloak, and did not
kill you, you may know for certain that there
is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not
sinned against you, though you are hunting me to take my life. May the Lord judge
between me and you! May the Lord avenge
me on you; but my hand shall not be against
a
b
c
d
Or Rock of Division; meaning of Heb uncertain

Ch 24.1 in Heb
Heb to cover his feet
Gk Syr Tg Vg: Heb it (my eye) spared
unbelievable that Jonathan would admit that David would be king in his place. 18: Cf. 20.16. 2529: This story
illustrates the Lords protection of David, even though the Lord is not mentioned. Sauls withdrawal just at the
moment he has David trapped hints at divine intervention. The name of this place (v. 28) means either rock of
escape or rock of division. Both are appropriate to the story.
24.122: David spares Sauls life (cf. ch. 25). 2: Three thousand, see 4.2n. 3: To relieve himself, lit. to cover his
feet, a denigrating portrayal of a king. 4a: The prophecy cited by Davids men is not recorded and could be
their own invention. 4b5: These verses originally may have belonged aer v. 7a. Davids cuing o Sauls hem
is symbolic for emasculation or usurpation of Sauls kingdom, which is why Davids conscience bothers him.
6: To aack the Lords anointed (Saul) was to aack the Lord. 8: David bowed with his face to the ground, and did
obeisance, David thus shows the proper respect toward Saul as the Lords anointed. 11: My father is a respectful
hebrew bible | 435
1 samuel 25
you. As the ancient proverb says, Out of the
wicked comes forth wickedness; but my hand
shall not be against you. Against whom has
the king of Israel come out? Whom do you
pursue? A dead dog? A single ea? May the
Lord therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you. May he see to it, and plead
my cause, and vindicate me against you.
When David had nished speaking these
words to Saul, Saul said, Is this your voice,
my son David? Saul lifted up his voice and
wept. He said to David, You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good,
whereas I have repaid you evil. Today you
have explained how you have dealt well with
me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord
put me into your hands. For who has ever
found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely
away? So may the Lord reward you with good
for what you have done to me this day. Now
I know that you shall surely be king, and that
the kingdom of Israel shall be established in
your hand. Swear to me therefore by the
Lord that you will not cut o my descendants
after me, and that you will not wipe out my
name from my fathers house. So David
swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home; but
David and his men went up to the stronghold.
Now Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and mourned for him. They
buried him at his home in Ramah.
25
Then David got up and went down to the

wilderness of Paran.
There was a man in Maon, whose property was in Carmel. The man was very rich;
he had three thousand sheep and a thousand
goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
Now the name of the man was Nabal, and
the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was
clever and beautiful, but the man was surly
and mean; he was a Calebite. David heard
in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing
his sheep. So David sent ten young men;
and David said to the young men, Go up to
Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in
my name. Thus you shall salute him: Peace
be to you, and peace be to your house, and
peace be to all that you have. I hear that
you have shearers; now your shepherds have
been with us, and we did them no harm, and
they missed nothing, all the time they were
in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they
will tell you. Therefore let my young men
nd favor in your sight; for we have come on
a feast day. Please give whatever you have
at hand to your servants and to your son
David.
When Davids young men came, they
said all this to Nabal in the name of David;
and then they waited. But Nabal answered
Davids servants, Who is David? Who is the
son of Jesse? There are many servants today
address from the younger David; it may also imply Davids right to inherit Sauls kingdom. 14: A dead dog? A
single ea? Deliberately ambiguous. David could be disparaging himself as insignicant, or he could be saying
that Saul is mistaken if he thinks David is insignicant. 16: Sauls reference to David as my son recalls their once
close relationship and hints that David will be Sauls successor. 20: Saul recognizes that David will succeed
him. 2122: A new king commonly killed all the descendants of the previous king in order to be rid of potential
rivals. Davids oath not to wipe out Sauls descendants anticipates his treatment of Mephibosheth (2 Sam 9);
see further 20.1415n.
25.1a: The death of Samuel. An editors note that prepares for ch 28.
25.1b43: Nabal and Abigail. In chs 24 and 26 David refuses to kill Saul, but in ch 25 he is almost guilty of
killing many innocent people in Nabals household. 2: Carmel, see 15.12n. Nabal, like Saul, is a rich and powerful man. 3: Calebite, lit. as his heart, possibly an allusion to vv. 3637. The Calebites were the leading clan of
Judah. Calebite is also very similar to the word for dog, which may be signicant in view of the idiom for
males in v. 22 as those who urinate on walls. Nabal, meaning fool (v. 25), is an unlikely name for parents to
give to a child. Either the name Nabal was invented as appropriate to this mans character, or it originally
meant something dierent (there are several other possible meanings). Nabal is also similar to the Heb words
for wine bole and corpse, and so may allude to Nabals later death following his drunkenness (vv. 3638).
Nabals wife, Abigail, is his complete opposite. The only other Abigail in the Bible is Davids sister (1 Chr 2.16).
48: Shearing his sheep, a time of celebration. David hopes that Nabal, in the spirit of the festival, will give a
generous gi. This gi is more or less obligatory as payment for not harming Nabals shepherds. Hence, Davids
request can be read as a kind of extortion. The ten young men give Nabal an idea of the size of gi David is ex-
436 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 25
who are breaking away from their masters.
Shall I take my bread and my water and the
meat that I have butchered for my shearers,
and give it to men who come from I do not
know where? So Davids young men turned
away, and came back and told him all this.
David said to his men, Every man strap on
his sword! And every one of them strapped
on his sword; David also strapped on his
sword; and about four hundred men went
up after David, while two hundred remained
with the baggage.
But one of the young men told Abigail,
Nabals wife, David sent messengers out of
the wilderness to salute our master; and he
shouted insults at them. Yet the men were
very good to us, and we suered no harm,
and we never missed anything when we were
in the elds, as long as we were with them;
they were a wall to us both by night and by
day, all the while we were with them keeping
the sheep. Now therefore know this and
consider what you should do; for evil has
been decided against our master and against
all his house; he is so ill-natured that no one
can speak to him.
Then Abigail hurried and took two
hundred loaves, two skins of wine, ve sheep
ready dressed, ve measures of parched
grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and
two hundred cakes of gs. She loaded them
on donkeys and said to her young men, Go
on ahead of me; I am coming after you. But
she did not tell her husband Nabal. As she
rode on the donkey and came down under
cover of the mountain, David and his men
came down toward her; and she met them.
Now David had said, Surely it was in vain
that I protected all that this fellow has in the
wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all

that belonged to him; but he has returned me
evil for good. God do so to Davida and more
also, if by morning I leave so much as one
male of all who belong to him.
When Abigail saw David, she hurried
and alighted from the donkey, and fell before
David on her face, bowing to the ground.
She fell at his feet and said, Upon me
alone, my lord, be the guilt; please let your
servant speak in your ears, and hear the
words of your servant. My lord, do not take
seriously this ill-natured fellow, Nabal; for
as his name is, so is he; Nabalb is his name,
and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did
not see the young men of my lord, whom you
sent.
Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives,
and as you yourself live, since the Lord has
restrained you from bloodguilt and from taking vengeance with your own hand, now let
your enemies and those who seek to do evil
to my lord be like Nabal. And now let this
present that your servant has brought to my
lord be given to the young men who follow
my lord. Please forgive the trespass of your
servant; for the Lord will certainly make my
lord a sure house, because my lord is ghting
the battles of the Lord; and evil shall not be
found in you so long as you live. If anyone
should rise up to pursue you and to seek
your life, the life of my lord shall be bound
in the bundle of the living under the care
of the Lord your God; but the lives of your
enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow
of a sling. When the Lord has done to my
a Gk Compare Syr: Heb the enemies of David
b That is Fool
pectingwhatever ten men can carry; they may also be meant to intimidate Nabal. 1011: Who is David? Who
is the son of Jesse? demean David as insignicant. Nabal goes on to call David a runaway slave and a vagabond.
14: Nabals own servants go to Abigail because they recognize him as ill-natured and untrustworthy. 18: Five
measures (Heb seah), about 1 bu (38 l). Cakes, clumps of dried gs rather than a baked product. 22: David vows
to annihilate every male (see v. 3n) in Nabals household. Only the woman, Abigail, can prevent the tragedy. 23:
Abigail bows to David as before a king. 24: Abigail is eloquent and tactful, calling herself Davids servant (v. 24).
26: This verse anticipates the conclusion of the story, according to which Nabal dies but not by Davids hand. It
may be out of place. 27: Abigail diplomatically refers to the supplies she brings as a present for Davids men. 28:
Sure house (see 2.35n.) suggests that Abigail knows David will be king. 29: If anyone should rise up to pursue you
and to seek your life alludes to Saul. The bundle of the living, the list of those who are alive. Sling out recalls Davids
victory in ch 17 and anticipates Nabals death in 25.37. 3031: Abigail points out that shedding innocent blood
would be an obstacle to Davids kingship. Prince, the one designated as king. When the Lord has dealt well with
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1 samuel 26
lord according to all the good that he has
spoken concerning you, and has appointed
you prince over Israel, my lord shall have
no cause of grief, or pangs of conscience, for
having shed blood without cause or for having saved himself. And when the Lord has
dealt well with my lord, then remember your
servant.
David said to Abigail, Blessed be the
Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet
me today! Blessed be your good sense, and
blessed be you, who have kept me today from
bloodguilt and from avenging myself by my
own hand! For as surely as the Lord the
God of Israel lives, who has restrained me
from hurting you, unless you had hurried
and come to meet me, truly by morning there
would not have been left to Nabal so much as
one male. Then David received from her
hand what she had brought him; he said to
her, Go up to your house in peace; see, I have
heeded your voice, and I have granted your
petition.
Abigail came to Nabal; he was holding
a feast in his house, like the feast of a king.
Nabals heart was merry within him, for he
was very drunk; so she told him nothing at
all until the morning light. In the morning,
when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his
wife told him these things, and his heart died
within him; he became like a stone. About
ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he
died.
When David heard that Nabal was dead,
he said, Blessed be the Lord who has judged
the case of Nabals insult to me, and has
kept back his servant from evil; the Lord has
returned the evildoing of Nabal upon his own
head. Then David sent and wooed Abigail, to

make her his wife. When Davids servants
came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her,
David has sent us to you to take you to him
as his wife. She rose and bowed down,
with her face to the ground, and said, Your
servant is a slave to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. Abigail got up hurriedly
and rode away on a donkey; her ve maids
attended her. She went after the messengers
of David and became his wife.
David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel;
both of them became his wives. Saul had
given his daughter Michal, Davids wife, to
Palti son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
Then the Ziphites came to Saul at
Gibeah, saying, David is in hiding
on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite
Jeshimon.a So Saul rose and went down to
the Wilderness of Ziph, with three thousand
chosen men of Israel, to seek David in the
Wilderness of Ziph. Saul encamped on the
hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimona beside the road. But David remained
in the wilderness. When he learned that
Saul had come after him into the wilderness,
David sent out spies, and learned that Saul
had indeed arrived. Then David set out and
came to the place where Saul had encamped;
and David saw the place where Saul lay, with
Abner son of Ner, the commander of his
army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around
him.
Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite,
and to Joabs brother Abishai son of Zeruiah,
26
a Or opposite the wasteland
my lord may refer to Davids becoming king or ironically to Nabals death. Remember your servant is a marriage
proposal. 3233: David praises the Lord for sending Abigail because she saved him from commiing murder
and thus incurring bloodguilt. 35: I have granted your petition, David already speaks as a king. 36: The Heb word
for feast is related to the root for to drink, suggesting that drinking was the primary activity. Like the feast of a
king, Nabal is again compared to a king. 37: When the wine had gone out of Nabal, the name Nabal is similar to
the word for wineskin in v. 18. He became like a stone, perhaps a coma, and another allusion to Davids sling (ch
17). 43: Sauls wife was also named Ahinoam (14.50). Jezreel, apparently a town near Carmel (Josh 15.56) rather
than the northern valley of that name. 44: Saul had given his daughter Michal, Davids wife, to Palti son of Laish,
this notice illustrates Sauls enmity toward David and prepares for the story of Michals return in 2 Sam 3.1316.
26.125: David spares Sauls life again. This story is similar to the one in ch 24, and the two may be variants
of a single original. In both, Saul is unknowingly defenseless before David, who is urged by his men to kill Saul
but refuses because of Sauls status as the Lords anointed. David then reveals to Saul that he could have killed
him, and Saul expresses remorse for persecuting David and hints or states that David will succeed him as king.
438 | hebrew bible
1 samuel 27
Who will go down with me into the camp
to Saul? Abishai said, I will go down with
you. So David and Abishai went to the army
by night; there Saul lay sleeping within the
encampment, with his spear stuck in the
ground at his head; and Abner and the army
lay around him. Abishai said to David, God
has given your enemy into your hand today;
now therefore let me pin him to the ground
with one stroke of the spear; I will not strike
him twice. But David said to Abishai, Do
not destroy him; for who can raise his hand
against the Lords anointed, and be guiltless? David said, As the Lord lives, the
Lord will strike him down; or his day will
come to die; or he will go down into battle
and perish. The Lord forbid that I should
raise my hand against the Lords anointed;
but now take the spear that is at his head,
and the water jar, and let us go. So David
took the spear that was at Sauls head and the
water jar, and they went away. No one saw it,
or knew it, nor did anyone awake; for they
were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the
Lord had fallen upon them.
Then David went over to the other side,
and stood on top of a hill far away, with a great
distance between them. David called to the
army and to Abner son of Ner, saying, Abner!
Will you not answer? Then Abner replied,
Who are you that calls to the king? David
said to Abner, Are you not a man? Who is
like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept
watch over your lord the king? For one of the
people came in to destroy your lord the king.
This thing that you have done is not good.
As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because
you have not kept watch over your lord, the
Lords anointed. See now, where is the kings
spear, or the water jar that was at his head?
Saul recognized Davids voice, and said,
Is this your voice, my son David? David
said, It is my voice, my lord, Oking. And

he added, Why does my lord pursue his
servant? For what have I done? What guilt is
on my hands? Now therefore let my lord the
king hear the words of his servant. If it is the
Lord who has stirred you up against me, may
he accept an oering; but if it is mortals, may
they be cursed before the Lord, for they have
driven me out today from my share in the
heritage of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other
gods. Now therefore, do not let my blood
fall to the ground, away from the presence of
the Lord; for the king of Israel has come out
to seek a single ea, like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.
Then Saul said, I have done wrong;
come back, my son David, for I will never
harm you again, because my life was precious in your sight today; I have been a fool,
and have made a great mistake. David replied, Here is the spear, Oking! Let one of
the young men come over and get it. The
Lord rewards everyone for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord gave
you into my hand today, but I would not
raise my hand against the Lords anointed.
As your life was precious today in my
sight, so may my life be precious in the sight
of the Lord, and may he rescue me from
all tribulation. Then Saul said to David,
Blessed be you, my son David! You will do
many things and will succeed in them. So
David went his way, and Saul returned to his
place.
David said in his heart, I shall now
perish one day by the hand of Saul;
there is nothing better for me than to escape
to the land of the Philistines; then Saul will
despair of seeking me any longer within the
borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of
his hand. So David set out and went over,
he and the six hundred men who were with
27
5: The army sleeps around the king in order to protect him. 6: Joab, Davids nephew (1 Chr 2.16), later the commander of his army. 8: Ironically, the same spear that Saul used to try to kill David is now available for David to
use against Saul. 9: See 24.6n. 13: David went over to the other side, if Saul pursues him he can lead Sauls army
away from his own men. 19: David curses anyone who caused Saul to pursue him, because this has driven him
from the land of Israel, which is the Lords heritage. Each god was believed to have his own nation and each
nation its god. Other gods, the gods of countries outside Israel where David says he has been driven. 20: A
partridge, lit. the caller. David calls to Saul from a mountain; cf. 24.14n. 25: Sauls blessing hints that David will
be king (cf. 24.20).
27.128.2: David becomes a vassal of the Philistines. This chapter is in tension with 21.1015, in which
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1 samuel 28
him, to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath.
David stayed with Achish at Gath, he and his
troops, every man with his household, and
David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel,
and Abigail of Carmel, Nabals widow. When
Saul was told that David had ed to Gath, he
no longer sought for him.
Then David said to Achish, If I have
found favor in your sight, let a place be given
me in one of the country towns, so that I
may live there; for why should your servant
live in the royal city with you? So that day
Achish gave him Ziklag; therefore Ziklag has
belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.
The length of time that David lived in the
country of the Philistines was one year and
four months.
Now David and his men went up and
made raids on the Geshurites, the Girzites,
and the Amalekites; for these were the
landed settlements from Telama on the way
to Shur and on to the land of Egypt. David
struck the land, leaving neither man nor
woman alive, but took away the sheep, the
oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing, and came back to Achish. When Achish
asked, Against whomb have you made a
raid today? David would say, Against the
Negeb of Judah, or Against the Negeb of the
Jerahmeelites, or, Against the Negeb of the
Kenites. David left neither man nor woman
alive to be brought back to Gath, thinking,
They might tell about us, and say, David
has done so and so. Such was his practice
all the time he lived in the country of the

Philistines. Achish trusted David, thinking,
He has made himself utterly abhorrent to
his people Israel; therefore he shall always be
my servant.
In those days the Philistines gathered
their forces for war, to ght against
Israel. Achish said to David, You know, of
course, that you and your men are to go out
with me in the army. David said to Achish,
Very well, then you shall know what your
servant can do. Achish said to David, Very
well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.
Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had
mourned for him and buried him in Ramah,
his own city. Saul had expelled the mediums
and the wizards from the land. The Philistines assembled, and came and encamped at
Shunem. Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army
of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart
trembled greatly. When Saul inquired of the
Lord, the Lord did not answer him, not by
dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Then
Saul said to his servants, Seek out for me a
woman who is a medium, so that I may go to
her and inquire of her. His servants said to
him, There is a medium at Endor.
So Saul disguised himself and put on
other clothes and went there, he and two
men with him. They came to the woman by
28
a Compare Gk 15.4: Heb from of old

b Q Ms Gk Vg: MT lacks whom
David escapes from Achish by pretending to be mad. 27.3: Gath, Goliaths home (17.4). 6: Kings commonly
gave land grants to faithful servants. Ziklag also guarded the southern frontier of Achishs territory. 812: The
Negeb, the southern wilderness area of Palestine. David conducts raids against non-Israelite peoples (v. 8).
The mention of Amalekites is inconsistent with ch 15, in which they are all killed. David fools Achish by claiming to aack clans within Judah such as the Kenizzites (a beer reading than Kenites) and Jerahmeelites.
Thus, while Achish felt condent of Davids loyalty because he thought David had betrayed his own people,
the writer asserts that Davids loyalty remained with Israel. 28.2: Then you shall know what your servant can
do, the statement is ambiguous. Achish thinks David is saying that he will show his potential against Israel.
The reader knows that David is actually saying that in the heat of bale Achish will nd out how David remains loyal to Israel.
28.325: Saul consults a spirit. 3: Mediums and wizards refer to persons who communicated with the dead;
this is forbidden in Lev 19.31; 20.6,27; Deut 18.10. Ironically, Saul, who had expelled them, now seeks one out. 4:
Shunem and Gilboa, near the Jezreel Valley, far north of the Negeb where the previous stories were set. 6: Three
means of divining were dreams, or incubation, in which one slept at a holy place anticipating the answer to an
inquiry; Urim or lots, used earlier in 14.41; and prophets like the man of God in 9.110.16. 7: A woman who is a
medium, lit. a woman of spirits, using the word translated medium in v. 3. 1112a: An insertion identifying
Samuel as the ghost. Originally, the woman recognized Saul because of his oath not to punish her in v. 10, a
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1 samuel 29
night. And he said, Consult a spirit for me,
and bring up for me the one whom I name to
you. The woman said to him, Surely you
know what Saul has done, how he has cut o
the mediums and the wizards from the land.
Why then are you laying a snare for my life to
bring about my death? But Saul swore to
her by the Lord, As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.
Then the woman said, Whom shall I bring
up for you? He answered, Bring up Samuel
for me. When the woman saw Samuel, she
cried out with a loud voice; and the woman
said to Saul, Why have you deceived me?
You are Saul! The king said to her, Have
no fear; what do you see? The woman said
to Saul, I see a divine beinga coming up out
of the ground. He said to her, What is his
appearance? She said, An old man is coming up; he is wrapped in a robe. So Saul knew
that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his
face to the ground, and did obeisance.
Then Samuel said to Saul, Why have
you disturbed me by bringing me up? Saul
answered, I am in great distress, for the
Philistines are warring against me, and God
has turned away from me and answers me no
more, either by prophets or by dreams; so I
have summoned you to tell me what I should
do. Samuel said, Why then do you ask
me, since the Lord has turned from you and
become your enemy? The Lord has done to
you just as he spoke by me; for the Lord has
torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given
it to your neighbor, David. Because you did
not obey the voice of the Lord, and did not
carry out his erce wrath against Amalek,
therefore the Lord has done this thing to you
today. Moreover the Lord will give Israel
along with you into the hands of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons shall
be with me; the Lord will also give the army
of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.
Immediately Saul fell full length on

the ground, lled with fear because of the
words of Samuel; and there was no strength
in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and
all night. The woman came to Saul, and
when she saw that he was terried, she said
to him, Your servant has listened to you;
I have taken my life in my hand, and have
listened to what you have said to me. Now
therefore, you also listen to your servant; let
me set a morsel of bread before you. Eat, that
you may have strength when you go on your
way. He refused, and said, I will not eat.
But his servants, together with the woman,
urged him; and he listened to their words.
So he got up from the ground and sat on the
bed. Now the woman had a fatted calf in
the house. She quickly slaughtered it, and she
took our, kneaded it, and baked unleavened
cakes. She put them before Saul and his
servants, and they ate. Then they rose and
went away that night.
Now the Philistines gathered all their
forces at Aphek, while the Israelites
were encamped by the fountain that is in
Jezreel. As the lords of the Philistines were
passing on by hundreds and by thousands,
and David and his men were passing on in the
rear with Achish, the commanders of the
Philistines said, What are these Hebrews doing here? Achish said to the commanders of
the Philistines, Is this not David, the servant
of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me
now for days and years? Since he deserted to
me I have found no fault in him to this day.
But the commanders of the Philistines were
angry with him; and the commanders of the
Philistines said to him, Send the man back,
so that he may return to the place that you
have assigned to him; he shall not go down
with us to battle, or else he may become an
29
a Or a god; or gods
promise that could only have been made by Saul. 13: Divine being, a god or a ghost or spirit. The ground, beer:
the underworld. 14: Robe, Samuels characteristic garment by which Saul recognizes him. 15: Disturbed me, the
spirits in the underworld were viewed as sleeping. 1718: See ch 15. 19: Tomorrow you and your sons shall be with
me, they will be dead. 20: Sauls being lled with fear is unbecoming of the king and suggests that he is unt
for the role. 21: The woman who is the medium is calmer and stronger than the terried Saul. 24: A faed calf in
the house, livestock were kept on the ground oor of houses with peoples sleeping quarters on a second story.
29.111: The Philistines reject David. 2: The lords of the Philistines, the rulers of the ve main Philistine cities.
3: It is the commanders of the Philistine army who will actually be in bale, rather than the Philistine lords, who
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1 samuel 30
adversary to us in the battle. For how could
this fellow reconcile himself to his lord?
Would it not be with the heads of the men
here? Is this not David, of whom they sing to
one another in dances,
and David his ten thousands?
Then Achish called David and said to
him, As the Lord lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should
march out and in with me in the campaign;
for I have found nothing wrong in you from
the day of your coming to me until today.
Nevertheless the lords do not approve of you.
So go back now; and go peaceably; do nothing to displease the lords of the Philistines.
David said to Achish, But what have I done?
What have you found in your servant from
the day I entered your service until now, that
I should not go and ght against the enemies
of my lord the king? Achish replied to
David, I know that you are as blameless in
my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless, the
commanders of the Philistines have said, He
shall not go up with us to the battle. Now
then rise early in the morning, you and the
servants of your lord who came with you, and
go to the place that I appointed for you. As
for the evil report, do not take it to heart, for
you have done well before me.a Start early in
the morning, and leave as soon as you have
light. So David set out with his men early in
the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
Now when David and his men came to
Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites
had made a raid on the Negeb and on Ziklag.
30
They had attacked Ziklag, burned it down, and

taken captive the women and allb who were
in it, both small and great; they killed none of
them, but carried them o, and went their way.
When David and his men came to the city,
they found it burned down, and their wives
and sons and daughters taken captive. Then
David and the people who were with him raised
their voices and wept, until they had no more
strength to weep. Davids two wives also had
been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and
Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David
was in great danger; for the people spoke of
stoning him, because all the people were bitter
in spirit for their sons and daughters. But David
strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
David said to the priest Abiathar son
of Ahimelech, Bring me the ephod. So
Abiathar brought the ephod to David. David
inquired of the Lord, Shall I pursue this
band? Shall I overtake them? He answered
him, Pursue; for you shall surely overtake
and shall surely rescue. So David set out,
he and the six hundred men who were with
him. They came to the Wadi Besor, where
those stayed who were left behind. But
David went on with the pursuit, he and four
hundred men; two hundred stayed behind,
too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor.
In the open country they found an
Egyptian, and brought him to David. They
gave him bread and he ate; they gave him
water to drink; they also gave him a piece of
a Gk: Heb lacks and go to the place . . . done well
before me
b Gk: Heb lacks and all
object to the presence of David and his men. Hebrews, see 4.6n. 5: The same song as in 18.7. 6: As the Lord lives,
Achish, the Philistine, swears by Yahweh, the God of Israel! 8: The enemies of my lord the king, Achish takes this
as a reference to himself, but David means Saul. 10: The place that I appointed for you, Ziklag. 11: David and the
Philistines separate and go in opposite directions. Thus the writer shows that David is far away from the bale
and had nothing to do with Sauls death.
30.131: The burning of Ziklag and Davids pursuit of the Amalekites. 1: On the third day. Ziklag was about
50 mi (80 km) south of Aphek (v. 1). Again the writer emphasizes Davids distance from the bale where Saul
was killed. The Amalekite raid on Ziklag may have been in retaliation for Davids raids against them (27.8). This
story is inconsistent with ch 15, in which the Amalekites were all destroyed. 2: Both small and great, poor or
unimportant and wealthy or socially prominent, a gure of speech (a merism) meaning everyone. 6: Strengthened himself may mean summoning courage as well as gathering support within the army. David is here depicted as an ideal ruler. 78: Ephod, a device (see 23.25n) used by priests to divine the answers to yes-or-no
questions. Davids access to God through the ephod contrasts with Sauls lack of response from God in 28.6
and highlights the theme: the Lord was with him (David). 9: Wadi Besor, a major watercourse south of Gaza,
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1 samuel 31
g cake and two clusters of raisins. When he
had eaten, his spirit revived; for he had not
eaten bread or drunk water for three days and
three nights. Then David said to him, To
whom do you belong? Where are you from?
He said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant
to an Amalekite. My master left me behind
because I fell sick three days ago. We had
made a raid on the Negeb of the Cherethites
and on that which belongs to Judah and on
the Negeb of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag
down. David said to him, Will you take me
down to this raiding party? He said, Swear
to me by God that you will not kill me, or
hand me over to my master, and I will take
you down to them.
When he had taken him down, they were
spread out all over the ground, eating and
drinking and dancing, because of the great
amount of spoil they had taken from the land
of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
David attacked them from twilight until the
evening of the next day. Not one of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who
mounted camels and ed. David recovered
all that the Amalekites had taken; and David
rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken;
David brought back everything. David also
captured all the ocks and herds, which were
driven ahead of the other cattle; people said,
This is Davids spoil.
Then David came to the two hundred
men who had been too exhausted to follow
David, and who had been left at the Wadi
Besor. They went out to meet David and to
meet the people who were with him. When
David drew near to the people he saluted
them. Then all the corrupt and worthless
fellows among the men who had gone with
David said, Because they did not go with us,
we will not give them any of the spoil that
we have recovered, except that each man
may take his wife and children, and leave.

But David said, You shall not do so, my
brothers, with what the Lord has given us; he
has preserved us and handed over to us the
raiding party that attacked us. Who would
listen to you in this matter? For the share of
the one who goes down into the battle shall
be the same as the share of the one who
stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.
From that day forward he made it a statute
and an ordinance for Israel; it continues to
the present day.
When David came to Ziklag, he sent part
of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah,
saying, Here is a present for you from the
spoil of the enemies of the Lord; it was for
those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negeb, in
Jattir, in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa,
in Racal, in the towns of the Jerahmeelites,
in the towns of the Kenites, in Hormah, in
Bor-ashan, in Athach, in Hebron, all the
places where David and his men had roamed.
31
Now the Philistines fought against

Israel; and the men of Israel ed before
the Philistines, and many fella on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines overtook Saul and his
sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and
Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.
The battle pressed hard upon Saul; the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by
them. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer,
Draw your sword and thrust me through
with it, so that these uncircumcised may not
come and thrust me through, and make sport
of me. But his armor-bearer was unwilling;
for he was terried. So Saul took his own
sword and fell upon it. When his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell
upon his sword and died with him. So Saul
and his three sons and his armor-bearer and
all his men died together on the same day.
a Heb and they fell slain
not far north of Egypt. 12: Fig cake, see 25.18n. 14: Cherethites, probably Cretans, mercenaries from Crete, associated with the Philistines. 19: Small or great, see v. 2n. 2325: An etiology for a custom in the writers day.
A statute and an ordinance for Israel, an illustration of Davids kingly decisiveness and authority. 2631: Davids
gis to the elders of these cities, all in southern Judah, would cause them to look favorably upon him when the
time came to choose a king over Judah (2 Sam 2.4).
31.113: Sauls death. Compare 1 Chr 10 and 2 Sam 1. For the locations, see map on p. 452. 4: These uncircumcised, a deprecating term for the Philistines. 5: Although not condemned, suicide is rare in the Bible; see 2 Sam
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1 samuel 31
When the men of Israel who were on the
other side of the valley and those beyond the
Jordan saw that the men of Israel had ed and
that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their towns and ed; and the Philistines
came and occupied them.
The next day, when the Philistines came
to strip the dead, they found Saul and his
three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut
o his head, stripped o his armor, and sent
messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to the houses
of their idols and to the people. They put
his armor in the temple of Astarte;a and they

fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead
heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
all the valiant men set out, traveled all night
long, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan.
They came to Jabesh and burned them there.
Then they took their bones and buried
them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and
fasted seven days.
a Heb plural
17.23; 1 Kings 16.18; Mt 27.5. 910: The Philistines humiliate Sauls corpse and credit their gods with the victory.
Astarte, a Canaanite goddess. 1113: The men of Jabesh are likely moved to rescue Sauls body because of his
rescue of their city at the beginning of his reign (10.27b11.15). Cremation (vv. 1213) was not practiced by the
Israelites. They may have burned the bodies in this case to avoid further desecration of them by the Philistines.
They fasted seven days apparently in mourning for Saul and his sons.
2 SAMUEL
First and Second Samuel were originally a single work, so that much of the information in the Introduction to
1 Samuel (pp. 399400) pertains to 2 Samuel as well. The name of the book (as relating to the prophet Samuel) is
even less appropriate for 2 Samuel, since Samuel dies before 1 Samuel ends and is never mentioned in 2 Samuel.
The division between 1 and 2 Samuel is articial and was apparently based on considerations of length
when it was rst made in the LXX, where 2 Samuel bears the title 2 Kingdoms or 2 Reigns.

Since Samuel dies in 1 Sam 25.1, 2 Samuel was traditionally ascribed to Nathan and Gad based on the mention in
1 Chr 29.29 of the records of these two prophets. Modern scholars typically regard the Former Prophets in the
Hebrew Bible (Joshua through 2 Kings, without Ruth) as the work of the Deuteronomistic Historian(s) or Dtr(s).
Scholars disagree about the number of editions and their dates for the Deuteronomistic History, though it
is clear that the work was not completed before the Babylonian exile (586 bce).
literary history
The major critical issues in 2 Samuel revolve around chs 920. These chapters (or in some views chs 1320), together with 1 Kings 12, have been dubbed the Court History or Succession Narrative (aer their perceived
intention of dealing with the question of who would succeed David as king). Many scholars have viewed this
proposed source document as almost contemporaneous with the events it narrates. However, the extent and
early date of this hypothetical source have been called into question because it is impossible to extract these
chapters cleanly from the surrounding narrative and to see them as a separate source; there are, for example,
ties between chs 920 and chs 24, such as the description of Mephibosheths injury in 4.4 and 9.3 and the
importance of the sons of Zeruiah, Joab and his brothers. Questions of literary history also loom large in the
consideration of ch 7, with its unconditional promise of a dynasty made to David. While scholars generally
recognize this as a Deuteronomistic composition as it now stands, many of them think that underlying it is an
older version of Gods promise to David.

Second Samuel can be divided into four sections.
Section one (1.15.5) describes how, aer Sauls death (ch 1), David becomes king rst of Judah (2.14a) and
then, aer a civil war that included the assassinations of Abner (ch 3) and Ishbaal (ch 4), of all Israel (5.15).
Section two (5.612.31) tells of Davids annexation of Jerusalem (5.56.23), his interest in building a temple
there resulting in the divine promise of a dynasty (ch 7), and his victories over surrounding peoples (chs 812),
which are interrupted by the story of his aair with Bathsheba (11.212.25).
Section three (chs 1320) recounts Absaloms revolt and that led by Sheba (ch 20).
Section four (chs 2124), oen considered an appendix, is a miscellaneous collection of narratives, military
lists, and poems.
interpretation
Scholars and other readers disagree about the perspective on David in these chapters. Some contend that
the pro-Davidic, apologetic character of 1 Samuel continues, as those who stand in Davids way perish,
though never by his own hand or order. Joab and the sons of Zeruiah are oen blamed for the murders of
Davids enemiesAbner (3.2630), Absalom (18.115), and Amasa (20.410)while David is too tender for
such deeds (3.39; 16.10; 19.22) and is deeply grieved by their deaths (3.3137; 18.2219.8). In this reading, the
annihilation of Sauls line (recounted apologetically in 21.114, which once preceded ch 9) secures Davids
hold on the throne. Only Mephibosheth, Jonathans crippled son, remains alive, and David keeps a watchful
eye on him by bringing him to the royal court (ch 9). Even when David commits adultery with Bathsheba and
arranges for the death of her husband, it has been argued, Davids repentance is exemplary and is immedi-
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2 samuel 1
ately accepted (12.13). However, other readers point precisely to Davids adultery and his inability to control
his children as evidence that the Court History paints both David and the monarchy in a very negative light.
It is fair to say that 2 Samuel in its current form depicts David as a complex, highly ambiguous character who
is blessed by the Lord.
guide to reading
As with 1 Samuel, the story in 2 Samuel is best read sequentially. Characterization exemplied by deeds and
speeches is even more signicant in 2 Samuel than in 1 Samuel. The array of characters can bewilder new readers, so that keeping tabs on the identities of characters and their relationship to David can be useful. Minute,
seemingly insignicant details in the narrative are worthy of note as they oen signal points of historical or
literary signicance beneath the surface. Readers do well to ask which charactersespecially Davidbenet
from events that are reported and whether those characters may have been responsible for bringing them
about. As in 1 Samuel, a narrative that protests too much may lead the critical reader to question whether
apologetic interest has replaced historical accuracy. For example, David benets from Abners death (3.2039),
and the narratives repeated assertion that David dismissed Abner in peace and knew nothing about Joabs plan
to murder him may lead one to suspect that the narrator is trying to counter just such a charge and even to
speculate that David had some role in Abners death.
The nal four chapters of 2 Samuel contain six passages arranged in symmetrical order: narrative, list,
poem, poem, list, narrative. The list (23.17) provides Davids last words, in the tradition of other leading
biblical characters.
Steven L. McKenzie
After the death of Saul, when David had

returned from defeating the Amalekites,
David remained two days in Ziklag. On the
third day, a man came from Sauls camp, with
his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When
he came to David, he fell to the ground and
did obeisance. David said to him, Where
have you come from? He said to him, I have
escaped from the camp of Israel. David
said to him, How did things go? Tell me! He
answered, The army ed from the battle, but
also many of the army fell and died; and Saul
and his son Jonathan also died. Then David
asked the young man who was reporting to
him, How do you know that Saul and his son
Jonathan died? The young man reporting to him said, I happened to be on Mount
Gilboa; and there was Saul leaning on his
spear, while the chariots and the horsemen
drew close to him. When he looked behind
him, he saw me, and called to me. I answered,

Here sir. And he said to me, Who are you?
I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said
to me, Come, stand over me and kill me; for
convulsions have seized me, and yet my life
still lingers. So I stood over him, and killed
him, for I knew that he could not live after he
had fallen. I took the crown that was on his
head and the armlet that was on his arm, and
I have brought them here to my lord.
Then David took hold of his clothes and
tore them; and all the men who were with
him did the same. They mourned and wept,
and fasted until evening for Saul and for his
son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord
and for the house of Israel, because they had
fallen by the sword. David said to the young
man who had reported to him, Where do
you come from? He answered, I am the son
of a resident alien, an Amalekite. David
1.116: David learns of the death of Saul and Jonathan. Some scholars think this is a separate tradition of the
account in 1 Sam 31, with which it disagrees. Another possibility is that the man who brings the news to David
changes the story for his own benet. 1.2: Tearing clothes and scaering dust on the head were conventional
signs of mourning. 6: The young mans claim that he happened to be on Mount Gilboa in the heat of bale is probably a lie (see v. 10). 8: Amalekite, David has just come from successfully pursuing Amalekites (1 Sam 30), who are
depicted as scavengers. It is ironic that an Amalekite killed Saul, who (according to 1 Sam 15) lost his kingship
because he did not kill o the Amalekites. 10: The Amalekite stripped Sauls corpse and brought the crown and
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2 samuel 2
said to him, Were you not afraid to lift your
hand to destroy the Lords anointed? Then
David called one of the young men and said,
Come here and strike him down. So he
struck him down and he died. David said to
him, Your blood be on your head; for your
own mouth has testied against you, saying,
I have killed the Lords anointed.
David intoned this lamentation over Saul
and his son Jonathan. (He ordered that The
Song of the Bowa be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said:
Your glory, OIsrael, lies slain upon your
high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of
Ashkelon;
or the daughters of the Philistines will
rejoice,
the daughters of the uncircumcised will
exult.
You mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor bounteous elds!b
For there the shield of the mighty was
deled,
the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no
more.
From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
nor the sword of Saul return empty.
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!

In life and in death they were not
divided;
they were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
Odaughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you with crimson, in
luxury,
who put ornaments of gold on your
apparel.
How the mighty have fallen
in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan lies slain upon your high
places.
I am distressed for you, my brother
Jonathan;
greatly beloved were you to me;
your love to me was wonderful,
passing the love of women.
How the mighty have fallen,
and the weapons of war perished!
After this David inquired of the Lord,
Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? The Lord said to him, Go up. David
said, To which shall I go up? He said, To
Hebron. So David went up there, along
with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel,
and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
David brought up the men who were with
a Heb that The Bow

armlet, symbols of kingship, to David hoping for a reward. 12: Fasting was another sign of mourning. 1316: As a
resident alien, the Amalekite was subject to the same laws as an Israelite citizen, and therefore David holds him
responsible for killing the Lords anointed.
1.1727: Davids elegy over Saul and Jonathan. Many scholars consider plausible the texts aribution of
authorship to David himself. 18: Song of the Bow, the Hebrew has simply bow. If not a copyists mistake, this
may refer to a type of song or a title. Book of Jashar, a lost collection of poems (see Josh 10.13). 19: Your glory,
an allusion to Saul and Jonathan. 20: Gath, Ashkelon, Philistine cities. Uncircumcised, a disparaging term for
the Philistines. 21: Mountains of Gilboa, the site of the bale where Saul and Jonathan were killed. Shields were
made of leather and were anointed with oil to keep them bale-ready. 24: Sauls reign brought prosperity to
Israel. 26: Passing the love of women expresses the closeness of Davids relationship to Jonathan but does not
necessarily imply a sexual relationship.
2.111: David becomes king of Judah. 1: Inquired, probably by means of the ephod and Urim and Thummim
(1 Sam 14.3,41; 28.6; 30.78). Hebron, principal city of the Calebites (see Josh 14.13; Judg 1.20), the leading clan in
Judah and also the traditional site of the tombs of Israels ancestors (Gen 23.19; 25.9; 49.2932). 2: Ahinoam of
Jezreel, Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, see 1 Sam 25, esp. v. 43. Both women were from the Calebite region.
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2 samuel 2
him, every one with his household; and
they settled in the towns of Hebron. Then
the people of Judah came, and there they
anointed David king over the house of
Judah.
When they told David, It was the people
of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul, David
sent messengers to the people of Jabeshgilead, and said to them, May you be
blessed by the Lord, because you showed
this loyalty to Saul your lord, and buried
him! Now may the Lord show steadfast
love and faithfulness to you! And I too will
reward you because you have done this
thing. Therefore let your hands be strong,
and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead,
and the house of Judah has anointed me
king over them.
But Abner son of Ner, commander of
Sauls army, had taken Ishbaala son of Saul,
and brought him over to Mahanaim. He
made him king over Gilead, the Ashurites,
Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and over all
Israel. Ishbaal,a Sauls son, was forty years
old when he began to reign over Israel, and
he reigned two years. But the house of Judah
followed David. The time that David was
king in Hebron over the house of Judah was
seven years and six months.
Abner son of Ner, and the servants of
Ishbaala son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. Joab son of Zeruiah, and
the servants of David, went out and met them
at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat on one
side of the pool, while the other sat on the
other side of the pool. Abner said to Joab,
Let the young men come forward and have a
contest before us. Joab said, Let them come
forward. So they came forward and were

counted as they passed by, twelve for Benjamin and Ishbaala son of Saul, and twelve
of the servants of David. Each grasped his
opponent by the head, and thrust his sword
in his opponents side; so they fell down
together. Therefore that place was called
Helkath-hazzurim,b which is at Gibeon. The
battle was very erce that day; and Abner and
the men of Israel were beaten by the servants
of David.
The three sons of Zeruiah were there,
Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was
as swift of foot as a wild gazelle. Asahel
pursued Abner, turning neither to the right
nor to the left as he followed him. Then
Abner looked back and said, Is it you, Asahel? He answered, Yes, it is. Abner said
to him, Turn to your right or to your left,
and seize one of the young men, and take
his spoil. But Asahel would not turn away
from following him. Abner said again
to Asahel, Turn away from following me;
why should I strike you to the ground? How
then could I show my face to your brother
Joab? But he refused to turn away. So
Abner struck him in the stomach with the
butt of his spear, so that the spear came out
at his back. He fell there, and died where
he lay. And all those who came to the place
where Asahel had fallen and died, stood
still.
a Gk Compare 1 Chr 8.33; 9.39: Heb Ish-bosheth, man

of shame
b That is Field of Sword-edges
Nabal had been a leading Calebite, and marriage to his wife strengthened Davids claims to the throne of Judah.
4: Davids gis to the elders of Judah (1 Sam 30.2631) further helped his bid to be their king. Jabesh-gilead, see
1 Sam 11; 31.1113. 57: In wooing Jabesh-gilead, David is seeking to win over the strongest enclave of support
for Saul. His overture to Jabesh is likely what sparked the military response by Abner (v. 12). 8: Ishbaal (Heb
Ish-bosheth), pious scribes substituted the word boshet, meaning shame, for the name of the Canaanite
god Baal. But Heb baal can also simply mean lord and might have been an epithet for Yahweh. The original
form of the name, Ishbaal (a dierence of a single leer in Heb), is preserved in 1 Chr 8.33; 9.39 and in some
early Greek translations. Mahanaim was east of the Jordan in Gilead. Abner was forced to go there because
the Philistines controlled the territory west of the Jordan. 9: This list of Ishbaals domains is idealistic at best
considering the Philistine domination. Ashurites should probably read Geshurites. Geshur was the region
north of Gilead.
2.1232: War between Israel and Judah. 1417: This contest, the exact nature of which is unclear, quickly
turned to war. 18: Zeruiah, Davids sister, according to 1 Chr 2.16. 1923: Asahels death provides the motive for
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2 samuel 3
But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. As
the sun was going down they came to the hill of
Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to
the wilderness of Gibeon. The Benjaminites
rallied around Abner and formed a single band;
they took their stand on the top of a hill. Then
Abner called to Joab, Is the sword to keep devouring forever? Do you not know that the end
will be bitter? How long will it be before you
order your people to turn from the pursuit of
their kinsmen? Joab said, As God lives, if you
had not spoken, the people would have continued to pursue their kinsmen, not stopping until
morning. Joab sounded the trumpet and all
the people stopped; they no longer pursued
Israel or engaged in battle any further.
Abner and his men traveled all that night
through the Arabah; they crossed the Jordan,
and, marching the whole forenoon,a they
came to Mahanaim. Joab returned from the
pursuit of Abner; and when he had gathered
all the people together, there were missing
of Davids servants nineteen men besides
Asahel. But the servants of David had killed
of Benjamin three hundred sixty of Abners
men. They took up Asahel and buried him
in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. Joab and his men marched all night,
and the day broke upon them at Hebron.
There was a long war between the house
of Saul and the house of David; David
grew stronger and stronger, while the house
of Saul became weaker and weaker.
Sons were born to David at Hebron: his
rstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel;
his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of
Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom son of

Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;
the fourth, Adonijah son of Haggith; the
fth, Shephatiah son of Abital; and the
sixth, Ithream, of Davids wife Eglah. These
were born to David in Hebron.
While there was war between the house
of Saul and the house of David, Abner was
making himself strong in the house of Saul.
Now Saul had a concubine whose name
was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ishbaalb
said to Abner, Why have you gone in to
my fathers concubine? The words of
Ishbaalc made Abner very angry; he said,
Am I a dogs head for Judah? Today I keep
showing loyalty to the house of your father
Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends, and
have not given you into the hand of David;
and yet you charge me now with a crime
concerning this woman. So may God do
to Abner and so may he add to it! For just
what the Lord has sworn to David, that
will I accomplish for him, to transfer the
kingdom from the house of Saul, and set
up the throne of David over Israel and over
Judah, from Dan to Beer-sheba. And Ishbaalb could not answer Abner another word,
because he feared him.
Abner sent messengers to David at
Hebron,d saying, To whom does the land bea Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Heb And he
c Gk Compare 1 Chr 8.33; 9.39: Heb Ish-bosheth, man
of shame
d Gk: Heb where he was
Joabs murder of Abner in 3.2630. 29: Arabah, the ri valley of which the Jordan valley is a part.
3.15: Davids sons. 1: The suggestion that there was a long war indicates that Saul and his family received
more popular support than the book of 1 Samuel might imply. 2: Amnon, see ch 13. Ahinoam, see 1 Sam 25.43;
2 Sam 2.2. 3: Nothing more is known of Chileab, who apparently died young; in the LXX his name is Dalouia, and
in 1 Chr 3.1 he is called Daniel. Abigail, see 1 Sam 25. Absalom, see chs 1318. Geshur, see 2.9n. Davids marriage
to Maacah indicates that he had a political alliance with her father, King Talmai. 45: Adonijah, see 1 Kings 1.
Shephatiah and Ithream are mentioned only here and in 1 Chr 3.3.
3.639: Abners death. 7: Concubine, a woman (usually a slave) acquired for sexual purposes. To sleep with a
member of the royal harem was to claim the throne (see 16.2122; 1 Kings 2.1325). Hence, Ishbaals question is
tantamount to an accusation of treason. 8: Dogs head, used only here in the Bible, this expression is obviously
reproachful, but its origin is unknown, although comparison to a dog or a dead dog is a frequent form of selfdeprecation (see 9.8; 2 Kings 18.3). Abner does not deny Ishbaals accusation but is contemptuous. Although
the power is his (2.89), he has been loyal to Ishbaal. 10: From Dan to Beer-sheba, the traditional northern and
southern limits of Israel. 12: Abner oers to join David and bring the army with him. The author thereby shows
that David had no motive for killing Abner. 13: David demands the return of Sauls daughter Michal because
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2 samuel 3
long? Make your covenant with me, and I will
give you my support to bring all Israel over to
you. He said, Good; I will make a covenant
with you. But one thing I require of you: you
shall never appear in my presence unless you
bring Sauls daughter Michal when you come
to see me. Then David sent messengers
to Sauls son Ishbaal,a saying, Give me my
wife Michal, to whom I became engaged at
the price of one hundred foreskins of the
Philistines. Ishbaala sent and took her
from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish.
But her husband went with her, weeping as
he walked behind her all the way to Bahurim.
Then Abner said to him, Go back home! So
he went back.
Abner sent word to the elders of Israel,
saying, For some time past you have been
seeking David as king over you. Now then
bring it about; for the Lord has promised
David: Through my servant David I will save my
people Israel from the hand of the Philistines,
and from all their enemies. Abner also spoke
directly to the Benjaminites; then Abner went
to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the
whole house of Benjamin were ready to do.
When Abner came with twenty men to
David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. Abner
said to David, Let me go and rally all Israel to
my lord the king, in order that they may make
a covenant with you, and that you may reign
over all that your heart desires. So David
dismissed Abner, and he went away in peace.
Just then the servants of David arrived
with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil
with them. But Abner was not with David at
Hebron, for Davidb had dismissed him, and he
had gone away in peace. When Joab and all
the army that was with him came, it was told
Joab, Abner son of Ner came to the king, and

he has dismissed him, and he has gone away
in peace. Then Joab went to the king and
said, What have you done? Abner came to
you; why did you dismiss him, so that he got
away? You know that Abner son of Ner came
to deceive you, and to learn your comings and
goings and to learn all that you are doing.
When Joab came out from Davids
presence, he sent messengers after Abner,
and they brought him back from the cistern
of Sirah; but David did not know about it.
When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took
him aside in the gateway to speak with him
privately, and there he stabbed him in the
stomach. So he died for sheddingc the blood
of Asahel, Joabsd brother. Afterward, when
David heard of it, he said, I and my kingdom
are forever guiltless before the Lord for the
blood of Abner son of Ner. May the guilte
fall on the head of Joab, and on all his fathers
house; and may the house of Joab never be
without one who has a discharge, or who is
leprous,f or who holds a spindle, or who falls
by the sword, or who lacks food! So Joab
and his brother Abishai murdered Abner
because he had killed their brother Asahel in
the battle at Gibeon.
Then David said to Joab and to all the
people who were with him, Tear your
clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourn
over Abner. And King David followed the
a
b
c
d
e
f
Heb Ish-bosheth
Heb he
Heb lacks shedding
Heb his
Heb May it
A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning
uncertain
it is through her that he claims a right to Sauls kingdom. 14: See 1 Sam 18.2029. 15: It is not clear why Ishbaal returns Michal to David. Some scholars have suggested that he was under legal obligation. Paltiel, or Palti
(1 Sam 25.44). 17: The elders of Israel, the tribal leaders. 18: The Philistines, Israels principal enemy in 1 Samuel,
whose defeat of Saul (1 Sam 31) meant that they were still a problem for David, which he will resolve in 5.1725;
cf. 21.1522. 19: Benjamin, the tribe of both Saul and Abner; they would be the most reluctant to make David, a
non-Benjaminite, king. 21: In peace, repeated in the following verses; the writer emphasizes (perhaps too much)
Davids noninvolvement in Abners death. 25: Comings and goings, military maneuvers. Joab accuses Abner of
spying. 2627: The writer stresses that Joab, seeking to avenge his brother (2.1823), acted alone. Some have
suggested that Joab also feared losing his position as army commander to Abner (see 19.13; 20.810). 29: While
David curses Joab, he does not now punish him (but see 1 Kings 2.56). Spindle, beer: crutch. 30: Abishai
is not mentioned in the story but may have helped Joab plan Abners murder. 31: Sackcloth, material worn by
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2 samuel 4
bier. They buried Abner at Hebron. The
king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave
of Abner, and all the people wept. The king
lamented for Abner, saying,
Should Abner die as a fool dies?
Your hands were not bound,
your feet were not fettered;
as one falls before the wicked
you have fallen.
And all the people wept over him again.
Then all the people came to persuade
David to eat something while it was still day;
but David swore, saying, So may God do to
me, and more, if I taste bread or anything
else before the sun goes down! All the
people took notice of it, and it pleased them;
just as everything the king did pleased all
the people. So all the people and all Israel
understood that day that the king had no part
in the killing of Abner son of Ner. And the
king said to his servants, Do you not know
that a prince and a great man has fallen this
day in Israel? Today I am powerless, even
though anointed king; these men, the sons of
Zeruiah, are too violent for me. The Lord pay
back the one who does wickedly in accordance with his wickedness!
When Sauls son Ishbaala heard that
Abner had died at Hebron, his courage
failed, and all Israel was dismayed. Sauls
son had two captains of raiding bands; the
name of the one was Baanah, and the name
of the other Rechab. They were sons of
Rimmon a Benjaminite from Beerothfor
Beeroth is considered to belong to Benjamin.
(Now the people of Beeroth had ed to
Gittaim and are there as resident aliens to
this day).
Sauls son Jonathan had a son who was
crippled in his feet. He was ve years old
when the news about Saul and Jonathan
came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up
and ed; and, in her haste to ee, it happened
that he fell and became lame. His name was

Mephibosheth.b
Now the sons of Rimmon the
Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and
about the heat of the day they came to the
house of Ishbaal,c while he was taking his
noonday rest. They came inside the house
as though to take wheat, and they struck
him in the stomach; then Rechab and his
brother Baanah escaped.d Now they had
come into the house while he was lying on
his couch in his bedchamber; they attacked
him, killed him, and beheaded him. Then
they took his head and traveled by way of
the Arabah all night long. They brought
the head of Ishbaalc to David at Hebron
and said to the king, Here is the head of
Ishbaal,c son of Saul, your enemy, who
sought your life; the Lord has avenged my
lord the king this day on Saul and on his
offspring.
David answered Rechab and his brother
Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite,
As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life
out of every adversity, when the one who
told me, See, Saul is dead, thought he was
bringing good news, I seized him and killed
him at Ziklagthis was the reward I gave him
for his news. How much more then, when
wicked men have killed a righteous man on
his bed in his own house! And now shall I not
require his blood at your hand, and destroy
you from the earth? So David commanded
the young men, and they killed them; they
cut o their hands and feet, and hung their
bodies beside the pool at Hebron. But the
head of Ishbaalc they took and buried in the
tomb of Abner at Hebron.
a
b
c
d
Heb lacks Ishbaal

In 1Chr 8.34 and 9.40, Merib-baal
Heb Ish-bosheth
Meaning of Heb of verse 6 uncertain
mourners. 33: Fool (Heb nabal) recalls the story in 1 Sam 25. 3539: These verses continue to stress (perhaps
too strongly) Davids lack of involvement in Abners death.
4.112: The assassination of Ishbaal. Here too the author stresses that David was in no way involved in the
death of his enemy. 3: An explanation of how Beeroth came to be considered a Benjaminite city; the event referred to here is otherwise unknown. 4: Mephibosheth, the original form of the name was Merib-baal (1 Chr 8.34;
9.40), cf. 2.8n. 7: Arabah, see 2.29n. 8: The assassins bring Ishbaals head to David, expecting a reward for killing
his enemy. 910: See 1.116. 11: A righteous man, David does not recognize Ishbaals kingship and therefore does
not call him the Lords anointed. 12: Execution of this nature was reserved for traitors.
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Baal-hazor
Gilgal
Gezer
Geba
Gibeon
Ekron
Jericho
Jerusalem
ZOBAH
Gath?
Giloh
Bethlehem
Tekoa
ARAM (SYRIA)
Sidon
Damascus
BETH-REHOB
Hebron
Abel-beth-maacah
Tyre
Dan
GESHUR
Jezreel
Mediterranean
Sea
I S R A E L
Beth-shan
Jabesh-gilead
M
M
Mahanaim
Jordan River
Hill Country
of Ephraim
GILEAD
Rabbah
IS
IL
J U D A H
Aroer
PH
Gaza
Jerusalem
TI
Ashdod
Ashkelon
BENJAMIN
Ziklag
Carmel
M O A B
Beer-sheba
Valley of Salt
Dead
Sea
AMALEK
EDOM
25
50
75 Miles
40
80
120 Kilometers
The kingdom of David according to Second Samuel. The dashed line shows the approximate boundary of
the kingdom at its greatest extent.
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2 samuel 5
Then all the tribes of Israel came to David

at Hebron, and said, Look, we are your
bone and esh. For some time, while Saul
was king over us, it was you who led out
Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you:
It is you who shall be shepherd of my people
Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.
So all the elders of Israel came to the king
at Hebron; and King David made a covenant
with them at Hebron before the Lord, and
they anointed David king over Israel. David
was thirty years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned forty years. At Hebron
he reigned over Judah seven years and six
months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all
Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants
of the land, who said to David, You will not
come in here, even the blind and the lame
will turn you backthinking, David cannot
come in here. Nevertheless David took the
stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of
David. David had said on that day, Whoever
would strike down the Jebusites, let him get
up the water shaft to attack the lame and the
blind, those whom David hates.a Therefore
it is said, The blind and the lame shall not
come into the house. David occupied the
stronghold, and named it the city of David.
David built the city all around from the Millo
inward. And David became greater and

greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was
with him.
King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to
David, along with cedar trees, and carpenters
and masons who built David a house. David
then perceived that the Lord had established
him king over Israel, and that he had exalted
his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
In Jerusalem, after he came from
Hebron, David took more concubines and
wives; and more sons and daughters were
born to David. These are the names of those
who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar,
Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada,
and Eliphelet.
When the Philistines heard that David
had been anointed king over Israel, all the
Philistines went up in search of David; but
David heard about it and went down to the
stronghold. Now the Philistines had come
and spread out in the valley of Rephaim.
David inquired of the Lord, Shall I go up
against the Philistines? Will you give them
into my hand? The Lord said to David, Go
up; for I will certainly give the Philistines
into your hand. So David came to Baalperazim, and David defeated them there. He
a Another reading is those who hate David
5.116: David becomes king of all Israel and conquers Jerusalem. 1: All the tribes of Israel, the northern tribes,
excluding Judah where David is already king (2.4). 2: Led out and brought . . . in are idioms for military leadership.
Shepherd, a common metaphor for kings. Ruler, king designate (translated prince in 7.8). 3: Elders, senior
tribal leaders. 4: Forty years, a round number for a generation. The actual length of Davids reign is not certain,
but scholars have proposed ca. 1005965 bce as likely dates. 68: Exactly how David conquered Jerusalem is
not clear. The parallel in 1 Chr 11.56 leaves out these verses, perhaps indicating that the Chronicler found them
confusing. The account may be an etiology for the saying in v. 8. 6: Jebusites, one group of pre-Israelite inhabitants of the land; see Gen 15.21; Ex 3.8; etc. 7: Zion, one of the hills on which Jerusalem stood; it becomes a name
for the city as a whole. 8: One scholar has argued that get up the water sha means strike at the wind pipe so
as to kill the enemy rather than leaving any wounded (blind and lame). The saying may refer to the prohibition
in Lev 21.18. 9: City of David, Jerusalems location between Israel and Judah was ideal for a neutral capital in
Davids eort to unite the two. Millo, meaning ll, apparently refers to a landll or articial platform created
near the stronghold. 11: Tyre, the capital of Phoenicia, the country north of Israel. Cedar, a luxury item for which
Lebanon in Phoenician territory was renowned. 1316: A large harem was a sign of royal prestige. Marriages
were also a way of sealing treaties with foreign powers. Solomon is born later (12.24); these verses are an anticipatory summary. Alternatively, the mention of Solomon here may suggest that the material has been organized
thematically rather than chronologically. A list of sons born to David in Hebron was given in 2 Sam 3.25.
5.1725: War with the Philistines. 17: Davids defeat of the Philistines (see 3.18n.) probably preceded his conquest of Jerusalem, since they stood between Hebron and Jerusalem and would have resisted the unication
of Israel and Judah. The stronghold, probably Adullam (see 1 Sam 22.1), not Jerusalem. 18: The valley of Rephaim,
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2 samuel 6
said, The Lord has burst forth againsta my
enemies before me, like a bursting ood.
Therefore that place is called Baal-perazim.b
The Philistines abandoned their idols there,
and David and his men carried them away.
Once again the Philistines came up, and
were spread out in the valley of Rephaim.
When David inquired of the Lord, he said,
You shall not go up; go around to their rear,
and come upon them opposite the balsam
trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then be
on the alert; for then the Lord has gone out
before you to strike down the army of the
Philistines. David did just as the Lord had
commanded him; and he struck down the
Philistines from Geba all the way to Gezer.
David again gathered all the chosen men
of Israel, thirty thousand. David and all
the people with him set out and went from
Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of
God, which is called by the name of the Lord
of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim.
They carried the ark of God on a new cart,
and brought it out of the house of Abinadab,
which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio,c the
sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart
with the ark of God;d and Ahioc went in
front of the ark. David and all the house of
Israel were dancing before the Lord with all
their might, with songse and lyres and harps
and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.
When they came to the threshing oor
of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the
ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen
shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled
against Uzzah; and God struck him there be-
cause he reached out his hand to the ark;f and

he died there beside the ark of God. David
was angry because the Lord had burst forth
with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is
called Perez-uzzah,g to this day. David was
afraid of the Lord that day; he said, How can
the ark of the Lord come into my care? So
David was unwilling to take the ark of the
Lord into his care in the city of David; instead
David took it to the house of Obed-edom
the Gittite. The ark of the Lord remained
in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three
months; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom
and all his household.
It was told King David, The Lord has
blessed the household of Obed-edom and
all that belongs to him, because of the ark
of God. So David went and brought up the
ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to
the city of David with rejoicing; and when
those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone
six paces, he sacriced an ox and a fatling.
David danced before the Lord with all his
might; David was girded with a linen ephod.
So David and all the house of Israel brought
up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and
with the sound of the trumpet.
a
b
c
d
Heb paraz
That is Lord of Bursting Forth
Or and his brother
Compare Gk: Heb and brought it out of the house of
Abinadab, which was on the hill with the ark of God
e Q Ms Gk 1Chr 13.8: Heb r trees
f 1Chr 13.10 Compare Q Ms: Meaning of Heb
uncertain
g That is Bursting Out Against Uzzah
probably located southwest of Jerusalem. 19: David inquired, see 2.1n. 20: An etiology explaining the name Baalperazim (see note b); Yahweh and Baal are here equated. 21: A victorious army typically captured the religious
symbols that its opponent brought to the baleeld to show the superiority of its own gods; this is an ironic
reversal of 1 Sam 4.511. 24: The one marching is the Divine Warriorthe Lordcoming out to ght on Israels
behalf. 25: From Geba near Jerusalem all the way to Gezer near the border of Philistine territory.
6.123: David brings the ark to Jerusalem. 1: Thousand probably designates a military unit of much smaller
size. 2: Baale-judah, another name for Kiriath-jearim, according to Josh 15.9, where the ark was le in 1 Sam 7.1.
The ark of God was viewed as the throne of the Lord. Having it in Jerusalem would make the city the religious
as well as the political capital. Cherubim, mythical grins that oen guarded temples and palaces (see 1 Sam
4.4n.). 68: Uzzahs death shows the awesome holiness of the ark, which was not to be touched, even with the
best intentions. The story is also an etiology explaining the name Perez-uzzah (Uzzahs breach). 10: Obededom the Giite (i.e., from Gath) was apparently among the Philistines who followed David from his days with
Achish (1 Sam 27; 29). 1314: He sacriced, David ociates as a priest here, which was not unusual for kings in
the ancient Near East (8.18; 1 Kings 3.15; 9.25; Gen 14.18). Linen ephod, an apron typically worn by priests (1 Sam
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2 samuel 7
As the ark of the Lord came into the city
of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out
of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she
despised him in her heart.
They brought in the ark of the Lord, and
set it in its place, inside the tent that David
had pitched for it; and David oered burnt offerings and oerings of well-being before the
Lord. When David had nished oering the
burnt oerings and the oerings of well-being,
he blessed the people in the name of the Lord
of hosts, and distributed food among all the
people, the whole multitude of Israel, both
men and women, to each a cake of bread, a
portion of meat,a and a cake of raisins. Then
all the people went back to their homes.
David returned to bless his household.
But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to
meet David, and said, How the king of Israel
honored himself today, uncovering himself
today before the eyes of his servants maids,
as any vulgar fellow might shamelessly uncover himself! David said to Michal, It was
before the Lord, who chose me in place of
your father and all his household, to appoint
me as prince over Israel, the people of the
Lord, that I have danced before the Lord. I
will make myself yet more contemptible than
this, and I will be abased in my own eyes; but
by the maids of whom you have spoken, by
them I shall be held in honor. And Michal
the daughter of Saul had no child to the day

of her death.
Now when the king was settled in his
house, and the Lord had given him rest
from all his enemies around him, the king
said to the prophet Nathan, See now, I am
living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God
stays in a tent. Nathan said to the king, Go,
do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is
with you.
But that same night the word of the Lord
came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant
David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to
build me a house to live in? I have not lived
in a house since the day I brought up the
people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I
have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among
all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a
word with any of the tribal leadersb of Israel,
whom I commanded to shepherd my people
Israel, saying, Why have you not built me
a house of cedar? Now therefore thus you
shall say to my servant David: Thus says the
Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture,
from following the sheep to be prince over
my people Israel; and I have been with you
wherever you went, and have cut o all your
enemies from before you; and I will make for
a Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain

b Or any of the tribes
2.18). Apparently David is wearing lile else (see v. 20). 20: Michal accuses David of fraternizing with the lowest
element of society, implying that he is not dignied enough to be king. 2122: David replies that he has been
humbling himself before the Lord and that the Lord was pleased enough with him to make him king in place of
her father, Saul. 23: Michal . . . had no child, probably because David had no relations with her since her children
would have been Sauls heirs and a threat to Davids rule.
7.129: A dynasty for David. This chapter with the Lords promise to David of an eternal dynasty is a key
passage in the Deuteronomistic History. It combines the themes of Jerusalem as the divinely chosen center for
worship and the Davidic line as the chosen dynasty in Judah. Gods promise of an eternal dynasty (vv. 1316)
explains Judahs survival beyond the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 bce. The language
and style of the chapter are thoroughly Deuteronomistic, although many scholars believe one or more older
oracles underlie vv. 17. This promise is reected in various forms in the Deuteronomistic History and in Pss 89
and 132, as well as in Chronicles. Some of these texts temper the unconditional, eternal nature of the promise.
1: The Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, this statement is inconsistent with the accounts of
Davids wars in chs 820 and with 1 Kings 5.34, which says that rest came only to Solomon. It is also inconsistent with v. 11, which indicates that the rest lies in the future. It is not in the parallel in 1 Chr 17.1. 2: In a tent,
the tabernacle. 417: The Lords promise to David. 57: The house (bayit) David proposes to build is a temple.
The Lord says instead (v. 11) that he will build David a house (bayit), that is, a dynasty. The claim in vv. 67
that the Lord has never had a house (i.e., temple) seems to overlook the temple in Shiloh (1 Sam 13). 8: Following the sheep, see 1 Sam 17.15, 34. Kings in the ancient Near East were oen described as shepherds; see 24.17;
hebrew bible | 455
2 samuel 8
you a great name, like the name of the great
ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place
for my people Israel and will plant them, so
that they may live in their own place, and
be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall
aict them no more, as formerly, from the
time that I appointed judges over my people
Israel; and I will give you rest from all your
enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you
that the Lord will make you a house. When
your days are fullled and you lie down with
your ancestors, I will raise up your ospring
after you, who shall come forth from your
body, and I will establish his kingdom. He
shall build a house for my name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
I will be a father to him, and he shall be a
son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will
punish him with a rod such as mortals use,
with blows inicted by human beings. But
I will not takea my steadfast love from him,
as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from
before you. Your house and your kingdom
shall be made sure forever before me;b your
throne shall be established forever. In accordance with all these words and with all
this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
Then King David went in and sat before
the Lord, and said, Who am I, OLord God,
and what is my house, that you have brought
me thus far? And yet this was a small thing
in your eyes, OLord God; you have spoken
also of your servants house for a great while
to come. May this be instruction for the
people,c OLord God! And what more can
David say to you? For you know your servant,
OLord God! Because of your promise,
and according to your own heart, you have
wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. Therefore you are great,
OLord God; for there is no one like you, and
there is no God besides you, according to all
that we have heard with our ears. Who is

like your people, like Israel? Is there anotherd
nation on earth whose God went to redeem it
as a people, and to make a name for himself,
doing great and awesome things for them,e
by driving outf before his people nations
and their gods?g And you established your
people Israel for yourself to be your people
forever; and you, OLord, became their God.
And now, OLord God, as for the word that
you have spoken concerning your servant
and concerning his house, conrm it forever;
do as you have promised. Thus your name
will be magnied forever in the saying, The
Lord of hosts is God over Israel; and the
house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, OLord of hosts,
the God of Israel, have made this revelation
to your servant, saying, I will build you a
house; therefore your servant has found
courage to pray this prayer to you. And now,
OLord God, you are God, and your words
are true, and you have promised this good
thing to your servant; now therefore may it
please you to bless the house of your servant,
so that it may continue forever before you; for
you, OLord God, have spoken, and with your
blessing shall the house of your servant be
blessed forever.
Some time afterward, David attacked
the Philistines and subdued them; David
took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the
Philistines.
8
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Gk Syr Vg 1Chr 17.13: Heb shall not depart

Gk Heb Mss: MT before you; Compare 2Sam 7.26, 29
Gk: Heb one
Heb you
Gk 1Chr 17.21: Heb for your land
Cn: Heb before your people, whom you redeemed for
yourself from Egypt, nations and its gods
1 Chr 11.2; Ps 78.70; Isa 44.28. Prince, king designate (translated ruler in 5.2). 10: Place in Hebrew may mean a
shrine or place of worship. Here it refers to the Jerusalem Temple. 1112: See vv. 57n. 13: Davids son, Solomon,
will build the temple. Forever here (and in v. 16) characterizes the dynasty as enduring but does not necessarily
mean for all eternity. 14: Father . . . son, a king was oen described as the (adopted) son of God; see, e.g., Pss
2.7; 89.2627. 15: Steadfast love, another form of the promise; see Ps 89.1,24. 16: Cf. 1 Sam 25.28. 1829: Davids
prayer to the Lord. Compare Solomons prayers in 1 Kings 3.69 and 8.2253. 23: Redeem . . . driving out refer
to the Exodus from Egypt and the conquest of Canaan. The language is Deuteronomistic. 24: Cf. Ex 6.7; Deut
29.1015. 2729: Your servant, a way of referring to oneself before a superior.
8.118: Davids wars. 1: This verse represents Davids decisive defeat of the Philistines, the archenemies of
456 | hebrew bible
2 samuel 9
He also defeated the Moabites and, making them lie down on the ground, measured
them o with a cord; he measured two
lengths of cord for those who were to be put
to death, and one lengtha for those who were
to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.
David also struck down King Hadadezer
son of Rehob of Zobah, as he went to restore
his monumentb at the river Euphrates. David
took from him one thousand seven hundred
horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses,
but left enough for a hundred chariots.
When the Arameans of Damascus came to
help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed
twenty-two thousand men of the Arameans.
Then David put garrisons among the
Arameans of Damascus; and the Arameans
became servants to David and brought tribute. The Lord gave victory to David wherever
he went. David took the gold shields that
were carried by the servants of Hadadezer,
and brought them to Jerusalem. From Betah
and from Berothai, towns of Hadadezer, King
David took a great amount of bronze.
When King Toi of Hamath heard that David
had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer,
Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to greet
him and to congratulate him because he had
fought against Hadadezer and defeated him.
Now Hadadezer had often been at war with
Toi. Joram brought with him articles of silver,
gold, and bronze; these also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and
gold that he dedicated from all the nations he
subdued, from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites,
the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of
King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah.
David won a name for himself. When he returned, he killed eighteen thousand Edomitesc
in the Valley of Salt. He put garrisons in Edom;
throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all
the Edomites became Davids servants. And the
Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
So David reigned over all Israel; and
David administered justice and equity to all
his people. Joab son of Zeruiah was over
the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was
recorder; Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah
was secretary; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was
overd the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and
Davids sons were priests.
David asked, Is there still anyone left
of the house of Saul to whom I may
show kindness for Jonathans sake? Now
there was a servant of the house of Saul
whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, Are
a Heb one full length

b Compare 1Sam 15.12 and 2Sam 18.18
c Gk: Heb returned from striking down eighteen
thousand Arameans
d Syr Tg Vg 20.23; 1Chr 18.17: Heb lacks was over
Saul. They never surface again as enemies during his reign. 2: The Moabites lived on the other side of the Dead
Sea from Israel. 3: Zobah was an Aramean (Syrian) city-state. Restore may also mean leave, so that David,
rather than Hadadezer, was traveling to the Euphrates to erect a monument. 4: Hamstrung, David crippled
the hind legs of the horses he could not use to keep someone else from using them against him (see Josh
11.6). Thus the Israelites probably did not yet make extensive use of chariots. 5: Twenty-two thousand probably means twenty-two military units (see 6.1n.). 9: Hamath, modern Hama, an important city-state in central
Syria north of Zobah. 10: Joram is an Israelite (Yahwistic) name; 1 Chr 18.18 calls him Hadoram, an Aramaic
name. 12: Edom was the country east of the Jordan, south of Moab and, at times, Judah. Ammonites, the ancient residents in the vicinity of the modern city of Amman, Jordan. 13: Eighteen thousand, see v. 5n. 15: It was
viewed as the responsibility of kings in the ancient Near East to ensure the just and equitable treatment of
all subjects, especially the poor and disadvantaged. 1618: Cf. the similar list of Davids cabinet in 20.2326.
Cherethites and the Pelethites, perhaps Cretans and Philistines who composed the royal bodyguard (23.23),
probably mercenaries. Davids sons were priests, the restriction of priesthood to the Levites had apparently
not yet arisen. 17: Ahimelech son of Abiathar should probably be changed to Abiathar son of Ahimelech as
indicated in 20.25 and also throughout 2 Sam.
9.113: Jonathans son. 1: Is there still anyone le of the house of Saul? Davids execution of Sauls sons and
grandsons in 21.114 provides background to this question, and the story in 21.114 probably originally preceded ch 9. Kindness is covenant faithfulness. David wants to keep the promise of loyalty he made to Jonathan
hebrew bible | 457
2 samuel 10
you Ziba? And he said, At your service!
The king said, Is there anyone remaining
of the house of Saul to whom I may show
the kindness of God? Ziba said to the king,
There remains a son of Jonathan; he is
crippled in his feet. The king said to him,
Where is he? Ziba said to the king, He
is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel,
at Lo-debar. Then King David sent and
brought him from the house of Machir son
of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. Mephiboshetha
son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David,
and fell on his face and did obeisance. David
said, Mephibosheth!a He answered, I am
your servant. David said to him, Do not
be afraid, for I will show you kindness for
the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather
Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table
always. He did obeisance and said, What
is your servant, that you should look upon a
dead dog such as I?
Then the king summoned Sauls servant
Ziba, and said to him, All that belonged
to Saul and to all his house I have given to
your masters grandson. You and your
sons and your servants shall till the land
for him, and shall bring in the produce,
so that your masters grandson may have
food to eat; but your masters grandson
Mephiboshetha shall always eat at my
table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and
twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the
king, According to all that my lord the king
commands his servant, so your servant will
do. Mephiboshetha ate at Davidsb table,
like one of the kings sons. Mephiboshetha
had a young son whose name was Mica.

And all who lived in Zibas house became
Mephiboshethsc servants. Mephiboshetha
lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the
kings table. Now he was lame in both his
feet.
Some time afterward, the king of
the Ammonites died, and his son
Hanun succeeded him. David said, I will
deal loyally with Hanun son of Nahash, just
as his father dealt loyally with me. So David sent envoys to console him concerning
his father. When Davids envoys came into
the land of the Ammonites, the princes of
the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun,
Do you really think that David is honoring your father just because he has sent
messengers with condolences to you? Has
not David sent his envoys to you to search
the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?
So Hanun seized Davids envoys, shaved
off half the beard of each, cut off their
garments in the middle at their hips, and
sent them away. When David was told, he
sent to meet them, for the men were greatly
ashamed. The king said, Remain at Jericho
until your beards have grown, and then
return.
When the Ammonites saw that they had
become odious to David, the Ammonites sent
and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and
the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand
foot soldiers, as well as the king of Maacah,
10
a Or Merib-baal : See 4.4 note

b Gk: Heb my
c Or Merib-baals : See 4.4 note
(1 Sam 18.14; 20.1417). 3: Crippled in his feet, see 4.4. This handicap made Mephibosheth unable to go to war
and therefore unsuitable to be king. 4: Machir became a loyal supporter of David (17.27). Lo-debar, a northern
Israelite city east of the Jordan. 6: Fell on his face and did obeisance, prostrating oneself was a sign of submission
to God or the king. Mephibosheth, the name was originally Merib-baal; see 4.4n. 7: Eating at the kings table was
a sign of favor. In this case it allowed David to keep a close watch on Merib-baal, who was still heir to Sauls
kingdom and therefore a potential rival (see 16.14; 19.2430). 8: Dead dog, a term of self-reproach (see 3.8n.).
913: Merib-baal was to receive the income from Sauls lands, which Ziba and his family would work.
10.119: David defeats the Ammonites and Arameans. 2: Nahash, Sauls enemy in 1 Sam 10.27b11.15. Ammonites, see 8.12n. Deal loyally . . . dealt loyally, indicate that David and Nahash had a treaty. Hanuns actions in
the following verses indicate that Israel was the superior partner in the treaty or that David was trying to make
Israel the superior partner, and Hanun resisted. 4: The beard was a symbol of masculinity, and cuing o half of
it was symbolic emasculation. According to the Lachish reliefs, ancient Israelite and Judean men were typically
bearded. Cuing o their garments below the waist was symbolic castration. 5: Jericho, the closest Israelite city
west of the Jordan opposite Ammon. 6: Beth-rehob, Zobah, Aramean (Syrian) city-states. Thousand, probably
458 | hebrew bible
2 samuel 11
one thousand men, and the men of Tob,
twelve thousand men. When David heard of
it, he sent Joab and all the army with the warriors. The Ammonites came out and drew
up in battle array at the entrance of the gate;
but the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob,
and the men of Tob and Maacah, were by
themselves in the open country.
When Joab saw that the battle was set
against him both in front and in the rear, he
chose some of the picked men of Israel, and
arrayed them against the Arameans; the
rest of his men he put in the charge of his
brother Abishai, and he arrayed them against
the Ammonites. He said, If the Arameans
are too strong for me, then you shall help
me; but if the Ammonites are too strong
for you, then I will come and help you. Be
strong, and let us be courageous for the sake
of our people, and for the cities of our God;
and may the Lord do what seems good to
him. So Joab and the people who were
with him moved forward into battle against
the Arameans; and they ed before him.
When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans ed, they likewise ed before Abishai,
and entered the city. Then Joab returned
from ghting against the Ammonites, and
came to Jerusalem.
But when the Arameans saw that they
had been defeated by Israel, they gathered
themselves together. Hadadezer sent and
brought out the Arameans who were beyond
the Euphrates; and they came to Helam,
with Shobach the commander of the army
of Hadadezer at their head. When it was

told David, he gathered all Israel together,
and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam.
The Arameans arrayed themselves against
David and fought with him. The Arameans
ed before Israel; and David killed of the
Arameans seven hundred chariot teams, and
forty thousand horsemen,a and wounded
Shobach the commander of their army, so
that he died there. When all the kings who
were servants of Hadadezer saw that they
had been defeated by Israel, they made peace
with Israel, and became subject to them. So
the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.
In the spring of the year, the time when
kings go out to battle, David sent Joab
with his ocers and all Israel with him; they
ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
It happened, late one afternoon, when
David rose from his couch and was walking
about on the roof of the kings house, that
he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the
woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam,
the wife of Uriah the Hittite. So David sent
messengers to get her, and she came to him,
and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying
herself after her period.) Then she returned
to her house. The woman conceived; and
she sent and told David, I am pregnant.
11
a 1Chr 19.18 and some Gk Mss read foot soldiers
used for a military unit of far fewer than 1,000 men. Maacah, Tob, small states in northern Transjordan. 8: The
gate, the city in question is Rabbah, capital of the Ammonites (see 12.26). Rehob, another Aramean city-state.
12: The cities of our God were the cities Israel claimed east of the Jordan. Joab is rousing the army for holy war.
18: Forty thousand, see v. 6.
11.127: David and Bathsheba. 1: In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to bale, an alternate
translation is: A year aer the kings had gone out to bale. The story is set a year aer the events in ch 10
and does not necessarily imply that kings were supposed to go to war each spring. David remained at Jerusalem,
perhaps at the insistence of his army to avoid danger to himself (see 21.1517), although here this may be a possible disparagement of David. 2: The roof of the kings house was breezy and cool in the late aernoon, the ideal
place for a nap. From there he was able to look down into the courtyard of surrounding houses, where he saw
the woman bathing. 3: Inquire about the woman, David wants to know whether she is married; if not, he can add
her to his harem. Eliam, perhaps the son of Ahithophel, Davids adviser (see 23.34; 16.1517.23). Uriah, one of the
thirty best soldiers of David, according to 23.39. Thus, Bathsheba was well-married and came from a distinguished family. The name Uriah is Israelite, but his epithet the Hiite indicated his non-Israelite heritage.
He may have been a resident alien, a class whose rights kings were especially charged to guard. 4: Bathsheba
was purifying herself aer her period; hence her bath (see Lev 15.1928). She was at the most fertile time of her
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2 samuel 11
So David sent word to Joab, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
When Uriah came to him, David asked how
Joab and the people fared, and how the war
was going. Then David said to Uriah, Go
down to your house, and wash your feet.
Uriah went out of the kings house, and
there followed him a present from the king.
But Uriah slept at the entrance of the kings
house with all the servants of his lord, and
did not go down to his house. When they
told David, Uriah did not go down to his
house, David said to Uriah, You have just
come from a journey. Why did you not go
down to your house? Uriah said to David,
The ark and Israel and Judah remain in
booths;a and my lord Joab and the servants of
my lord are camping in the open eld; shall I
then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and
to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your
soul lives, I will not do such a thing. Then
David said to Uriah, Remain here today also,
and tomorrow I will send you back. So Uriah
remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next
day, David invited him to eat and drink in
his presence and made him drunk; and in the
evening he went out to lie on his couch with
the servants of his lord, but he did not go
down to his house.
In the morning David wrote a letter to
Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In
the letter he wrote, Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest ghting, and then draw
back from him, so that he may be struck
down and die. As Joab was besieging the
city, he assigned Uriah to the place where
he knew there were valiant warriors. The
men of the city came out and fought with
Joab; and some of the servants of David

among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite was
killed as well. Then Joab sent and told
David all the news about the ghting; and
he instructed the messenger, When you
have nished telling the king all the news
about the ghting, then, if the kings anger
rises, and if he says to you, Why did you go
so near the city to ght? Did you not know
that they would shoot from the wall? Who
killed Abimelech son of Jerubbaal?b Did not
a woman throw an upper millstone on him
from the wall, so that he died at Thebez?
Why did you go so near the wall? then you
shall say, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is
dead too.
So the messenger went, and came and
told David all that Joab had sent him to tell.
The messenger said to David, The men
gained an advantage over us, and came out
against us in the eld; but we drove them
back to the entrance of the gate. Then the
archers shot at your servants from the wall;
some of the kings servants are dead; and
your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
David said to the messenger, Thus you
shall say to Joab, Do not let this matter trouble you, for the sword devours now one and
now another; press your attack on the city,
and overthrow it. And encourage him.
When the wife of Uriah heard that her
husband was dead, she made lamentation for
him. When the mourning was over, David
sent and brought her to his house, and she
became his wife, and bore him a son.
a Or at Succoth
b Gk Syr Judg 7.1: Heb Jerubbesheth
cycle when she slept with David. It is clear that David must be her childs father. 67: It was unusual for a soldier
to be called back from bale for a personal audience. Since David asked Uriah only the most general questions, Uriah may have thought he was being tested, which in turn motivated him to demonstrate his loyalty
to David and the army in the following verses. The people, the army. 8: Wash your feet, a euphemism for sexual
intercourse. Feet can refer to the genitals (see Isa 6.2; 7.20). 913: As a pious soldier consecrated for war (see
1 Sam 21.4), Uriah refuses to have sexual relations with his wife, even when David gets him drunk. 14: David
trusts Uriahs loyalty enough to send his death warrant by his own hand, knowing that Uriah, if he could read,
would not open it. 1617: Joab places Uriah in a dangerous place but does not have time to implement Davids
order fully. Uriah is killed along with other soldiers because of a tactical error by Joab. 1821: Joab uses Uriahs
death to cover up his mistake in allowing the troops to come too close to the city wall. The story of Abimelech
son of Jerubbaal (v. 21) is in Judg 9. An upper millstone, a large stone used for grinding grain. 25: Davids aitude
toward Joab changes when he learns of Uriahs death. 27b: David . . . displeased the Lord, the authors moral
condemnation links the account of Davids oense in ch 11 with the judgment in ch 12.
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2 samuel 12
DAVID
Ahinoam
Maacah
amnon
Haggith
absalom
brother of
Tamar
adonijah
Bathsheba
solomon
The sons of David. According to 2 Sam 3.25 (see also 1 Chr 3.14) and 2 Sam 5.1314 (1 Chr 3.59; 14.37), David
had many children, at least twenty of whom are named. In the narrative of the struggle for succession in 2 Samuel
1318 and 1 Kings 12, the principal sons in the order of their birth are: Amnon, Absalom, Adonijah, and Solomon.
Dashed lines show wives; solid lines show sons.
But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, and the Lord sent
Nathan to David. He came to him, and
said to him, There were two men in a certain
city, the one rich and the other poor. The
rich man had very many ocks and herds;
but the poor man had nothing but one little
ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought
it up, and it grew up with him and with his
children; it used to eat of his meager fare,
and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom,
and it was like a daughter to him. Now there
came a traveler to the rich man, and he was
loath to take one of his own ock or herd to
prepare for the wayfarer who had come to
him, but he took the poor mans lamb, and
prepared that for the guest who had come
to him. Then Davids anger was greatly
kindled against the man. He said to Nathan,
As the Lord lives, the man who has done
this deserves to die; he shall restore the
lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and
because he had no pity.
Nathan said to David, You are the man!
Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I
12
anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued

you from the hand of Saul; I gave you your
masters house, and your masters wives into
your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel
and of Judah; and if that had been too little,
I would have added as much more. Why
have you despised the word of the Lord, to
do what is evil in his sight? You have struck
down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and
have taken his wife to be your wife, and have
killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
Now therefore the sword shall never depart
from your house, for you have despised me,
and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite
to be your wife. Thus says the Lord: I will
raise up trouble against you from within your
own house; and I will take your wives before
your eyes, and give them to your neighbor,
and he shall lie with your wives in the sight
of this very sun. For you did it secretly;
but I will do this thing before all Israel, and
before the sun. David said to Nathan, I
have sinned against the Lord. Nathan said to
David, Now the Lord has put away your sin;
you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by
12.125: Davids punishment. 16: The prophet Nathan couches his parable as a legal case to get David to
pronounce judgment on himself. As king he was responsible for protecting the rights of the poor. However,
the vagueness of the case (Two men in a certain city hints that it is contained by Nathan. Fourfold (v. 6), as
prescribed in Ex 22.1; other textual witnesses have sevenfold. 8: There is some textual support for reading
daughter(s) (Heb bat) instead of house (Heb bayit or beyt) both times in this verse. Daughter(s) would
t the point of the verse beer that David had many women as wives and concubines, including Sauls
daughter Michal, but like the rich man in Nathans parable, he stole what belonged to his poor neighbor. Your
masters wives, David took over Sauls harem. 10: The sword, a metaphor for violence, alluding to the events in
chs 1320. 1112: An allusion to Absaloms future revolt, specically his deed in 16.2023. 1318: Davids sin is
transferred (not put away) to his newborn son, who dies because of it. This is the clearest indication in the Hebrew Bible of the application of intergenerational punishment by God (see Ex 20.5; 34.7; Deut 5.9), where the
hebrew bible | 461
2 samuel 13
this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord,a
the child that is born to you shall die. Then
Nathan went to his house.
The Lord struck the child that Uriahs wife
bore to David, and it became very ill. David
therefore pleaded with God for the child;
David fasted, and went in and lay all night
on the ground. The elders of his house
stood beside him, urging him to rise from the
ground; but he would not, nor did he eat food
with them. On the seventh day the child
died. And the servants of David were afraid to
tell him that the child was dead; for they said,
While the child was still alive, we spoke to
him, and he did not listen to us; how then can
we tell him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm. But when David saw that
his servants were whispering together, he
perceived that the child was dead; and David
said to his servants, Is the child dead? They
said, He is dead.
Then David rose from the ground,
washed, anointed himself, and changed his
clothes. He went into the house of the Lord,
and worshiped; he then went to his own
house; and when he asked, they set food
before him and he ate. Then his servants
said to him, What is this thing that you have
done? You fasted and wept for the child while
it was alive; but when the child died, you rose
and ate food. He said, While the child was
still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who
knows? The Lord may be gracious to me, and
the child may live. But now he is dead; why
should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I
shall go to him, but he will not return to me.
Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba,
and went to her, and lay with her; and she
bore a son, and he named him Solomon. The

Lord loved him, and sent a message by the
prophet Nathan; so he named him Jedidiah,b
because of the Lord.
Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the
Ammonites, and took the royal city. Joab
sent messengers to David, and said, I have
fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have
taken the water city. Now, then, gather
the rest of the people together, and encamp
against the city, and take it; or I myself will
take the city, and it will be called by my
name. So David gathered all the people
together and went to Rabbah, and fought
against it and took it. He took the crown of
Milcomc from his head; the weight of it was a
talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone;
and it was placed on Davids head. He also
brought forth the spoil of the city, a very great
amount. He brought out the people who
were in it, and set them to work with saws
and iron picks and iron axes, or sent them to
the brickworks. Thus he did to all the cities
of the Ammonites. Then David and all the
people returned to Jerusalem.
Some time passed. Davids son Absalom had a beautiful sister whose name
was Tamar; and Davids son Amnon fell in
love with her. Amnon was so tormented
that he made himself ill because of his sister
Tamar, for she was a virgin and it seemed
impossible to Amnon to do anything to her.
But Amnon had a friend whose name was
13
a Ancient scribal tradition: Compare 1Sam 25.22

note: Heb scorned the enemies of the Lord
b That is Beloved of the Lord

c Gk See 1Kings 11.5, 33: Heb their kings
sin is perceived as property that may be inherited. 20: House of the Lord, an anachronism, since the Temple in
Jerusalem had not yet been built. 2425: Solomon means his replacement; he was a replacement for the dead
child. Jedidiah (beloved of Yahweh), which does not occur elsewhere for Solomon, hints that he will replace
David (whose name means beloved) as king.
12.2631: The conclusion of the Ammonite war. 2629: Joab captured the citadel and the water supply of
Rabbah, the Ammonite capital, so that conquering the rest of the city was fairly simple. This Joab le for David,
as the king, to complete. 30: Milcom, the national Ammonite god. A talent, about 75 lb (34 kg).
13.139: The rape of Tamar and the murder of Amnon. In its current context, this and the following chapter reect a measure-for-measure punishment of David. He appropriated Bathsheba and arranged for Uriahs
death, so rape and death are unleashed against his house. Originally, though, this story may have been unconnected to the Bathsheba event and served to introduce Absaloms revolt. 1: Tamar was Absaloms full sister,
Amnons half-sister. Amnon was Davids oldest son and the crown prince. The next oldest had apparently died
(perhaps as a child), leaving Absalom as second in line of succession to the throne (cf. 3.23). 2: It seemed impos-
462 | hebrew bible
2 samuel 13
Jonadab, the son of Davids brother Shimeah;
and Jonadab was a very crafty man. He said
to him, Oson of the king, why are you so
haggard morning after morning? Will you not
tell me? Amnon said to him, I love Tamar,
my brother Absaloms sister. Jonadab said
to him, Lie down on your bed, and pretend
to be ill; and when your father comes to see
you, say to him, Let my sister Tamar come
and give me something to eat, and prepare
the food in my sight, so that I may see it and
eat it from her hand. So Amnon lay down,
and pretended to be ill; and when the king
came to see him, Amnon said to the king,
Please let my sister Tamar come and make a
couple of cakes in my sight, so that I may eat
from her hand.
Then David sent home to Tamar, saying,
Go to your brother Amnons house, and
prepare food for him. So Tamar went to
her brother Amnons house, where he was
lying down. She took dough, kneaded it,
made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.
Then she took the pan and set thema out
before him, but he refused to eat. Amnon
said, Send out everyone from me. So
everyone went out from him. Then Amnon
said to Tamar, Bring the food into the
chamber, so that I may eat from your hand.
So Tamar took the cakes she had made, and
brought them into the chamber to Amnon
her brother. But when she brought them
near him to eat, he took hold of her, and said
to her, Come, lie with me, my sister. She
answered him, No, my brother, do not force
me; for such a thing is not done in Israel; do
not do anything so vile! As for me, where
could I carry my shame? And as for you,

you would be as one of the scoundrels in
Israel. Now therefore, I beg you, speak to the
king; for he will not withhold me from you.
But he would not listen to her; and being
stronger than she, he forced her and lay with
her.
Then Amnon was seized with a very
great loathing for her; indeed, his loathing
was even greater than the lust he had felt for
her. Amnon said to her, Get out! But she
said to him, No, my brother;b for this wrong
in sending me away is greater than the other
that you did to me. But he would not listen
to her. He called the young man who served
him and said, Put this woman out of my
presence, and bolt the door after her. (Now
she was wearing a long robe with sleeves; for
this is how the virgin daughters of the king
were clothed in earlier times.c) So his servant
put her out, and bolted the door after her.
But Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore
the long robe that she was wearing; she put
her hand on her head, and went away, crying
aloud as she went.
Her brother Absalom said to her, Has
Amnon your brother been with you? Be quiet
for now, my sister; he is your brother; do not
take this to heart. So Tamar remained, a
desolate woman, in her brother Absaloms
house. When King David heard of all these
things, he became very angry, but he would
not punish his son Amnon, because he loved
a Heb and poured
b Cn Compare Gk Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Cn: Heb were clothed in robes
sible to Amnon to do anything to her, as the kings virgin daughter Tamar may have been guarded. However, the
verb translated seemed impossible might be translated seemed wonderful. 6: Cakes, the Hebrew word is
similar to the word for heart and may indicate their shape and hints at the erotic nature of the story. 10: The
chamber, Amnons bedroom where he is feigning illness. 11: My sister not only reects the kinship of Amnon to
Tamar but is also a term of endearment and sexual desire in ancient love poetry (i.e., Song 4.910; 5.1). 12: Such
a thing may refer to incest or rape or both. 13: He will not withhold me from you, Tamar suggests that David would
allow their marriage despite its incestuous nature. Perhaps she is just trying to buy time. 16: Ex 22.16 and Deut
22.2829 required marriage in such cases. Tamar may have such laws in mind when she says that in sending
her away Amnon is commiing a greater wrong than the rape itself. 17: This woman, a contemptuous reference.
The word woman is not in the Heb, so that it might be translated this thing. Having robbed Tamar of her
virginity, Amnon takes her identity as well. 18: A long robe with sleeves, used also for Josephs garment in Gen
37.3; the exact nature of this garment is unknown. 19: Puing ashes on the head and tearing clothes were signs
of grief, though Tamar may also have torn the long robe worn by the kings virgin daughters because it was no
longer appropriate. 20: Desolate, because she is unmarried and childless. 21: Because he loved him may be the
hebrew bible | 463
2 samuel 14
him, for he was his rstborn.a But Absalom
spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad; for
Absalom hated Amnon, because he had raped
his sister Tamar.
After two full years Absalom had
sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near
Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the kings
sons. Absalom came to the king, and said,
Your servant has sheepshearers; will the
king and his servants please go with your
servant? But the king said to Absalom,
No, my son, let us not all go, or else we will
be burdensome to you. He pressed him, but
he would not go but gave him his blessing.
Then Absalom said, If not, please let my
brother Amnon go with us. The king said
to him, Why should he go with you? But
Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon
and all the kings sons go with him. Absalom
made a feast like a kings feast.b Then Absalom commanded his servants, Watch when
Amnons heart is merry with wine, and when
I say to you, Strike Amnon, then kill him. Do
not be afraid; have I not myself commanded
you? Be courageous and valiant. So the
servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the kings sons
rose, and each mounted his mule and ed.
While they were on the way, the report
came to David that Absalom had killed all
the kings sons, and not one of them was
left. The king rose, tore his garments, and
lay on the ground; and all his servants who
were standing by tore their garments. But
Jonadab, the son of Davids brother Shimeah,
said, Let not my lord suppose that they have
killed all the young men the kings sons; Am-
non alone is dead. This has been determined

by Absalom from the day Amnonc raped his
sister Tamar. Now therefore, do not let my
lord the king take it to heart, as if all the kings
sons were dead; for Amnon alone is dead.
But Absalom ed. When the young man
who kept watch looked up, he saw many people
coming from the Horonaim roadd by the side of
the mountain. Jonadab said to the king, See,
the kings sons have come; as your servant
said, so it has come about. As soon as he had
nished speaking, the kings sons arrived, and
raised their voices and wept; and the king and
all his servants also wept very bitterly.
But Absalom ed, and went to Talmai
son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. David
mourned for his son day after day. Absalom, having ed to Geshur, stayed there three
years. And the heart of e the king went out,
yearning for Absalom; for he was now consoled over the death of Amnon.
Now Joab son of Zeruiah perceived
that the kings mind was on Absalom.
Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there
a wise woman. He said to her, Pretend to be
a mourner; put on mourning garments, do
not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like
a woman who has been mourning many days
for the dead. Go to the king and speak to
14
a Q Ms Gk: MT lacks but he would not punish . . .

rstborn
b Gk Compare Q Ms: MT lacks Absalom made a feast

like a kings feast
c Heb he
d Cn Compare Gk: Heb the road behind him
e Q Ms Gk: MT And David
writers way of assuring the reader that David had nothing to do with Amnons death. 22: Neither good nor bad
means not at all. 23: Sheepshearing was a time of celebration. 2425: In light of what follows, Absaloms invitation to David makes the reader wonder whether he already intended to kill his father and assume the throne.
27: The feast was a drinking bout, as indicated by the words etymology and the next verse. 29: David and his
sons rode on mules (18.9; 1 Kings 1.33). 3033: David initially thought that Absalom had killed all the kings sons,
which would make sense if he were aempting a coup. But his intention at this point is purely revenge against
Amnon. Jonadab appears as a false friend to Amnon (cf. vv. 35). 36: The king . . . wept very bierly, Davids great
love for Amnon and his noninvolvement in Amnons death are stressed. 37: Talmai . . . king of Geshur, Absaloms
maternal grandfather with whom David apparently has a treaty (see 2.9n.). 39: And the heart of the king went
out, yearning for Absalom, beer: The kings spirit for marching out against Absalom was exhausted. David
did not yearn for Absalom but was tired of going out aer him; hence Davids reluctance in the next chapter to
allow Absalom back into his presence.
14.133: Absaloms return. 1: The kings mind was on Absalom does not mean that David was now favorably
inclined toward Absalom, as this story makes clear. 2: Tekoa, a village south of Bethlehem where the prophet
464 | hebrew bible
2 samuel 14
him as follows. And Joab put the words into
her mouth.
When the woman of Tekoa came to the
king, she fell on her face to the ground and
did obeisance, and said, Help, Oking! The
king asked her, What is your trouble? She
answered, Alas, I am a widow; my husband
is dead. Your servant had two sons, and they
fought with one another in the eld; there was
no one to part them, and one struck the other
and killed him. Now the whole family has risen against your servant. They say, Give up the
man who struck his brother, so that we may
kill him for the life of his brother whom he
murdered, even if we destroy the heir as well.
Thus they would quench my one remaining
ember, and leave to my husband neither name
nor remnant on the face of the earth.
Then the king said to the woman, Go to
your house, and I will give orders concerning
you. The woman of Tekoa said to the king,
On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on
my fathers house; let the king and his throne
be guiltless. The king said, If anyone says
anything to you, bring him to me, and he
shall never touch you again. Then she said,
Please, may the king keep the Lord your God
in mind, so that the avenger of blood may kill
no more, and my son not be destroyed. He
said, As the Lord lives, not one hair of your
son shall fall to the ground.
Then the woman said, Please let your
servant speak a word to my lord the king. He
said, Speak. The woman said, Why then
have you planned such a thing against the
people of God? For in giving this decision the

king convicts himself, inasmuch as the king
does not bring his banished one home again.
We must all die; we are like water spilled on
the ground, which cannot be gathered up. But
God will not take away a life; he will devise
plans so as not to keep an outcast banished
forever from his presence.a Now I have
come to say this to my lord the king because
the people have made me afraid; your servant
thought, I will speak to the king; it may be
that the king will perform the request of his
servant. For the king will hear, and deliver
his servant from the hand of the man who
would cut both me and my son o from the
heritage of God. Your servant thought, The
word of my lord the king will set me at rest;
for my lord the king is like the angel of God,
discerning good and evil. The Lord your God
be with you!
Then the king answered the woman,
Do not withhold from me anything I ask
you. The woman said, Let my lord the king
speak. The king said, Is the hand of Joab
with you in all this? The woman answered
and said, As surely as you live, my lord the
king, one cannot turn right or left from
anything that my lord the king has said. For
it was your servant Joab who commanded
me; it was he who put all these words into the
mouth of your servant. In order to change
the course of aairs your servant Joab did
this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom
Amos was from (see Am 1.1). Perhaps David took an interest in this case because the woman was from his home
territory. Wise in the Hebrew Bible oen means skilled as well as clever (see Ex 28.3). This woman was a skilled
actress. 4: Fell . . . to the ground and did obeisance, prostration was the proper way of bowing before a king. 57:
As in ch 12, a ctional legal case is presented to David in order to get him to pronounce judgment on a maer
concerning himself. Two sons (v. 6), one of whom kills the other, like Amnon and Absalom. Leave to my husband
neither name nor remnant (v. 7). This part of the womans case is not paralleled in Davids family since he has
many other sons. It is crucial to the womans place, yet does not gure into Davids decision or the outcome of
the story. 811: David grants the womans request and swears by the Lord that her one remaining son will not
be harmed. The woman will urge David to apply this oath to his situation with Absalom. Since Davids ruling
is contrary to the customary punishment, the woman accepts any guilt that David may incur (v. 9). Avenger of
blood, one charged with taking vengeance for the death of a relative. 13: The woman now applies Davids decree
to the situation with Absalom. It is not clear how Davids refusal to bring Absalom back is a thing against the
people of God. 14: Amnon is dead and cannot be brought to life again, but David can accept Absalom, who is still
alive. 1517: These verses seem out of place and may originally have gone aer v. 7. The woman continues to
plead for her son, but David has already rendered his decision. The man who would cut both me and my son o,
the avenger of blood (see v. 11). The heritage of God, the land of Israel and its people. 19: Your servant, a polite
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2 samuel 15
of the angel of God to know all things that are
on the earth.
Then the king said to Joab, Very well, I
grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom. Joab prostrated himself with his face
to the ground and did obeisance, and blessed
the king; and Joab said, Today your servant
knows that I have found favor in your sight,
my lord the king, in that the king has granted
the request of his servant. So Joab set o,
went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. The king said, Let him go to his own
house; he is not to come into my presence. So
Absalom went to his own house, and did not
come into the kings presence.
Now in all Israel there was no one to be
praised so much for his beauty as Absalom;
from the sole of his foot to the crown of his
head there was no blemish in him. When
he cut the hair of his head (for at the end
of every year he used to cut it; when it was
heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the
hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the
kings weight. There were born to Absalom
three sons, and one daughter whose name
was Tamar; she was a beautiful woman.
So Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without coming into the kings presence. Then Absalom sent for Joab to send
him to the king; but Joab would not come to
him. He sent a second time, but Joab would
not come. Then he said to his servants,
Look, Joabs eld is next to mine, and he has
barley there; go and set it on re. So Absaloms servants set the eld on re. Then
Joab rose and went to Absalom at his house,
and said to him, Why have your servants set
my eld on re? Absalom answered Joab,
Look, I sent word to you: Come here, that I
may send you to the king with the question,

Why have I come from Geshur? It would be
better for me to be there still. Now let me go
into the kings presence; if there is guilt in
me, let him kill me! Then Joab went to the
king and told him; and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and prostrated
himself with his face to the ground before the
king; and the king kissed Absalom.
After this Absalom got himself a
chariot and horses, and fty men to
run ahead of him. Absalom used to rise
early and stand beside the road into the gate;
and when anyone brought a suit before the
king for judgment, Absalom would call out
and say, From what city are you? When
the person said, Your servant is of such and
such a tribe in Israel, Absalom would say,
See, your claims are good and right; but
there is no one deputed by the king to hear
you. Absalom said moreover, If only I were
judge in the land! Then all who had a suit or
cause might come to me, and I would give
them justice. Whenever people came near
to do obeisance to him, he would put out his
hand and take hold of them, and kiss them.
Thus Absalom did to every Israelite who
came to the king for judgment; so Absalom
stole the hearts of the people of Israel.
At the end of foura years Absalom said
to the king, Please let me go to Hebron and
pay the vow that I have made to the Lord.
For your servant made a vow while I lived at
Geshur in Aram: If the Lord will indeed bring
me back to Jerusalem, then I will worship the
Lord in Hebron.b The king said to him, Go
15
a Gk Syr: Heb forty

b Gk Mss: Heb lacks in Hebron
form of self-reference. 2124: David allows Absalom to return but refuses to see him personally. 26: Two hundred shekels, ca. 5 lb (2.3 kg), an extraordinary amount of hair. The reference to his hair foreshadows Absaloms
mode of death (18.915). 27: Absalom named his daughter aer his sister, Tamar (ch 13). The reference to his
three sons is contradicted in 18.18, where he says he had no son. 2833: This episode further shows Absaloms
violent nature and suggests that Joab may have held a grudge against him. The king kissed Absalom, a gesture
of recognition and reconciliation, performed only aer Absalom did his obeisance to David. This subservience,
however, did not last long.
15.112: Absalom revolts. 1: Chariot and horses, and y men to run ahead, parts of the kings entourage
(1 Kings 1.5). The y men were probably a royal bodyguard. Absalom is making a claim to be king. 2: When
anyone brought a suit before the king for judgment, one of the kings roles in the ancient world was to serve as
a judge in special cases. David may have been weak in this role, and Absalom took advantage. 5: Do obeisance
to him, the proper aitude before a king, but Absalom presented himself as a man of the people. 6: Stole the
466 | hebrew bible
2 samuel 15
in peace. So he got up, and went to Hebron.
But Absalom sent secret messengers
throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As
soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet,
then shout: Absalom has become king at
Hebron! Two hundred men from Jerusalem
went with Absalom; they were invited guests,
and they went in their innocence, knowing nothing of the matter. While Absalom
was oering the sacrices, he sent fora
Ahithophel the Gilonite, Davids counselor,
from his city Giloh. The conspiracy grew in
strength, and the people with Absalom kept
increasing.
A messenger came to David, saying, The
hearts of the Israelites have gone after Absalom. Then David said to all his ocials
who were with him at Jerusalem, Get up! Let
us ee, or there will be no escape for us from
Absalom. Hurry, or he will soon overtake us,
and bring disaster down upon us, and attack
the city with the edge of the sword. The
kings ocials said to the king, Your servants
are ready to do whatever our lord the king
decides. So the king left, followed by all
his household, except ten concubines whom
he left behind to look after the house. The
king left, followed by all the people; and they
stopped at the last house. All his ocials
passed by him; and all the Cherethites, and
all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred
Gittites who had followed him from Gath,
passed on before the king.
Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite,
Why are you also coming with us? Go back,
and stay with the king; for you are a foreigner, and also an exile from your home. You
came only yesterday, and shall I today make
you wander about with us, while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take your kinsfolk
with you; and may the Lord showb steadfast
love and faithfulness to you. But Ittai
answered the king, As the Lord lives, and as
my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the
king may be, whether for death or for life,
there also your servant will be. David said
to Ittai, Go then, march on. So Ittai the Gittite marched on, with all his men and all the
little ones who were with him. The whole
country wept aloud as all the people passed
by; the king crossed the Wadi Kidron, and all
the people moved on toward the wilderness.
Abiathar came up, and Zadok also, with
all the Levites, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God,
until the people had all passed out of the city.
Then the king said to Zadok, Carry the
ark of God back into the city. If I nd favor in
the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back
and let me see both it and the place where
it stays. But if he says, I take no pleasure
in you, here I am, let him do to me what
seems good to him. The king also said to
the priest Zadok, Look,c go back to the city
in peace, you and Abiathar,d with your two
a
b
c
d
Or he sent
Gk Compare 2.6: Heb lacks may the Lord show
Gk: Heb Are you a seer or Do you see?
Cn: Heb lacks and Abiathar
hearts or deceived (cf. Gen 31.20). 710: Absalom has made a vow to worship at the local shrine of the Lord in
Hebron (v. 8) and must go there to fulll it. But he has ulterior motives for choosing Hebron. He is deliberately
recalling his fathers rise by declaring himself king in Hebron, the capital of Judah, where David had been made
king of both Judah and Israel and had ruled Judah for seven years (5.17). Absalom probably found supporters in
Hebron among those discontented that David had moved the capital. His revolt, however, spread throughout all
the tribes of Israel (v. 10). Geshur in Aram (v. 8), where Absalom ed aer killing Amnon (13.3739). 12: Ahithophel
was renowned as Davids counselor (see 16.1523). His presence with Absalom meant that the conspiracy grew
in strength.
15.1316.14: David ees Jerusalem. 15.13: Israelites, perhaps only the residents of the north. But since Absalom began the revolt in Hebron, it has now spread through the entire country. 16: Concubines, see 3.7n. 17: The
last house, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. 18: Cherethites and Pelethites, see 8.18n. Giites, Philistines from Gath.
All these groups had followed David from his days with the Philistines (1 Sam 27; 29). 19: Iai, commander of the
Giites. 20: Yesterday, an idiom for recently. David is amazed that these Philistines who only recently joined
him are more loyal than his own people. 21: It is striking that Iai, the Philistine, swears by the Lord (Yahweh)
the God of Israel. 23: The Wadi Kidron, the valley between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. David heads east
toward the Jordan River. 24: Abiathar and Zadok, Davids two priests. 2529: Caring for the ark properly would
hebrew bible | 467
2 samuel 16
sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan son
of Abiathar. See, I will wait at the fords of
the wilderness until word comes from you to
inform me. So Zadok and Abiathar carried
the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they
remained there.
But David went up the ascent of the
Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his
head covered and walking barefoot; and all
the people who were with him covered their
heads and went up, weeping as they went.
David was told that Ahithophel was among
the conspirators with Absalom. And David
said, OLord, I pray you, turn the counsel of
Ahithophel into foolishness.
When David came to the summit, where
God was worshiped, Hushai the Archite came
to meet him with his coat torn and earth on
his head. David said to him, If you go on
with me, you will be a burden to me. But if
you return to the city and say to Absalom, I
will be your servant, Oking; as I have been
your fathers servant in time past, so now I
will be your servant, then you will defeat for
me the counsel of Ahithophel. The priests
Zadok and Abiathar will be with you there. So
whatever you hear from the kings house, tell
it to the priests Zadok and Abiathar. Their
two sons are with them there, Zadoks son
Ahimaaz and Abiathars son Jonathan; and
by them you shall report to me everything
you hear. So Hushai, Davids friend, came
into the city, just as Absalom was entering
Jerusalem.
When David had passed a little beyond
the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephiboshetha met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, carrying two hundred loaves
16
of bread, one hundred bunches of raisins,

one hundred of summer fruits, and one skin
of wine. The king said to Ziba, Why have
you brought these? Ziba answered, The
donkeys are for the kings household to ride,
the bread and summer fruit for the young
men to eat, and the wine is for those to drink
who faint in the wilderness. The king said,
And where is your masters son? Ziba said
to the king, He remains in Jerusalem; for
he said, Today the house of Israel will give
me back my grandfathers kingdom. Then
the king said to Ziba, All that belonged to
Mephiboshetha is now yours. Ziba said, I do
obeisance; let me nd favor in your sight, my
lord the king.
When King David came to Bahurim,
a man of the family of the house of Saul
came out whose name was Shimei son
of Gera; he came out cursing. He threw
stones at David and at all the servants of
King David; now all the people and all the
warriors were on his right and on his left.
Shimei shouted while he cursed, Out!
Out! Murderer! Scoundrel! The Lord has
avenged on all of you the blood of the
house of Saul, in whose place you have
reigned; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom.
See, disaster has overtaken you; for you are
a man of blood.
Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the
king, Why should this dead dog curse my
lord the king? Let me go over and take o
his head. But the king said, What have
I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he
a Or Merib-baal: See 4.4 note
slow Davids retreat (see 6.111). Besides, the priests could serve as Davids spies in Jerusalem. 30: His head covered and walking barefoot, conventional signs of mourning. 3137: David was disheartened to learn that his wise
adviser, Ahithophel (see 16.23), had joined Absalom. As he walked up the Mount of Olives (v. 31), he prayed for
help against Ahithophel. His prayer was answered at the summit when he met Hushai, who would help him defeat Ahithophels advice. Where God was worshiped (v. 32), a shrine at the top of the Mount of Olives; such high
places are outlawed in the Deuteronomistic History once the Temple is built. 37: Davids friend (v. 37), perhaps a
title for an intimate adviser. 16.2: Young men, soldiers. 34: Your masters son, Merib-baal (Mephibosheth), Sauls
grandson (see ch 9). Ziba claims that Merib-baal is planning to take over his grandfathers place as king. But
Ziba may be lying (19.2430). David rewards Ziba by giving him Sauls property. There is some question about
whether David has the legal right to do this. 5: Shimei belonged not only to Sauls tribe (Benjamin) but also to
his family or clan. 68: Shimei accused David of murdering members of Sauls family and usurping the throne.
This indicates that Davids execution of Sauls sons and grandsons (21.114) preceded Absaloms revolt. 910:
Abishai, the brother of Joab and Asahel (see 2.1823). Called the sons of Zeruiah (Davids sister) in 2 Samuel and
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2 samuel 17
is cursing because the Lord has said to him,
Curse David, who then shall say, Why have
you done so? David said to Abishai and to
all his servants, My own son seeks my life;
how much more now may this Benjaminite!
Let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord
has bidden him. It may be that the Lord will
look on my distress,a and the Lord will repay
me with good for this cursing of me today.
So David and his men went on the road,
while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, throwing
stones and inging dust at him. The king
and all the people who were with him arrived
weary at the Jordan;b and there he refreshed
himself.
Now Absalom and all the Israelitesc
came to Jerusalem; Ahithophel was with him.
When Hushai the Archite, Davids friend,
came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom,
Long live the king! Long live the king! Absalom said to Hushai, Is this your loyalty to
your friend? Why did you not go with your
friend? Hushai said to Absalom, No;
but the one whom the Lord and this people
and all the Israelites have chosen, his I will
be, and with him I will remain. Moreover,
whom should I serve? Should it not be his
son? Just as I have served your father, so I will
serve you.
Then Absalom said to Ahithophel,
Give us your counsel; what shall we do?
Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to your
fathers concubines, the ones he has left to
look after the house; and all Israel will hear

that you have made yourself odious to your
father, and the hands of all who are with you
will be strengthened. So they pitched a
tent for Absalom upon the roof; and Absalom
went in to his fathers concubines in the sight
of all Israel. Now in those days the counsel
that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted
the oracled of God; so all the counsel of
Ahithophel was esteemed, both by David and
by Absalom.
Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom,
Let me choose twelve thousand men,
and I will set out and pursue David tonight.
I will come upon him while he is weary and
discouraged, and throw him into a panic;
and all the people who are with him will ee.
I will strike down only the king, and I will
bring all the people back to you as a bride
comes home to her husband. You seek the life
of only one man,e and all the people will be at
peace. The advice pleased Absalom and all
the elders of Israel.
Then Absalom said, Call Hushai the
Archite also, and let us hear too what he has
to say. When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, This is what Ahithophel
17
a
b
c
d
e
Gk Vg: Heb iniquity

Gk: Heb lacks at the Jordan
Gk: Heb all the people, the men of Israel
Heb word
Gk: Heb like the return of the whole (is) the man
whom you seek
portrayed as violent men in contrast to gentle David. Dead dog, see 3.8n.; 9.8n. 11: This Benjaminite, a demeaning
reference to Shimei.
16.1517.29: Overcoming Ahithophel. 16.16: Davids friend, see 15.37n. Long live the king, the uerance is
duplicitous; for Hushai, David is still king. 18: The one whom the Lord and this people and all the Israelites have
chosen, again, Hushai means David. 19: Hushais duplicity continues. Should it not be his son? For Hushai, the
answer is no. Just as I have served your father, so I will serve you, Hushai is saying that by serving Absalom he is
actually serving David. In all cases (vv. 1619), Absalom is unaware of Hushais true meaning. 2022: To sleep
with a member of the harem is to claim the throne. Hence, by having relations with Davids concubines, Absalom makes his claim to kingship emphatic. He also fullls Nathans prophecy (12.12), which was likely wrien
with Absaloms act in view. 23: Ahithophel may have been Bathshebas grandfather (cf. 11.3 and 23.34) and
may have held a grudge against David for his treatment of Bathsheba and Uriah. 17.14: Ahithophels sensible
advice is to aack while Davids forces are weak from eeing. Once David is dead, he says, all who followed
him will turn to Absalom. 514: Hushai says that David will not be so easy to nd or his troops so easy to
defeat (vv. 810). He advises Absalom to wait, gather the full force of Israel, then aack (vv. 1113). Hushai is
trying to buy time for David to reorganize his forces. Hushai also plays on Absaloms ego, saying that all the
people will follow him, and he can lead them into bale (v. 12). Even though Ahithophels advice is beer than
Hushais the Lord had ordained that Absalom would be persuaded to follow Hushai. 15: Hushai sends word to
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2 samuel 17
has said; shall we do as he advises? If not,
you tell us. Then Hushai said to Absalom,
This time the counsel that Ahithophel has
given is not good. Hushai continued, You
know that your father and his men are warriors, and that they are enraged, like a bear
robbed of her cubs in the eld. Besides, your
father is expert in war; he will not spend
the night with the troops. Even now he has
hidden himself in one of the pits, or in some
other place. And when some of our troopsa
fall at the rst attack, whoever hears it will
say, There has been a slaughter among the
troops who follow Absalom. Then even
the valiant warrior, whose heart is like the
heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear; for
all Israel knows that your father is a warrior,
and that those who are with him are valiant
warriors. But my counsel is that all Israel be
gathered to you, from Dan to Beer-sheba, like
the sand by the sea for multitude, and that
you go to battle in person. So we shall come
upon him in whatever place he may be found,
and we shall light on him as the dew falls
on the ground; and he will not survive, nor
will any of those with him. If he withdraws
into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to
that city, and we shall drag it into the valley,
until not even a pebble is to be found there.
Absalom and all the men of Israel said,
The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better
than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the
Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel
of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring
ruin on Absalom.
Then Hushai said to the priests Zadok
and Abiathar, Thus and so did Ahithophel
counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and
thus and so I have counseled. Therefore
send quickly and tell David, Do not lodge
tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but
by all means cross over; otherwise the king
and all the people who are with him will be

swallowed up. Jonathan and Ahimaaz
were waiting at En-rogel; a servant-girl used
to go and tell them, and they would go and
tell King David; for they could not risk being
seen entering the city. But a boy saw them,
and told Absalom; so both of them went away
quickly, and came to the house of a man at
Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard;
and they went down into it. The mans wife
took a covering, stretched it over the wells
mouth, and spread out grain on it; and nothing was known of it. When Absaloms servants came to the woman at the house, they
said, Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?
The woman said to them, They have crossed
over the brookb of water. And when they
had searched and could not nd them, they
returned to Jerusalem.
After they had gone, the men came up
out of the well, and went and told King David.
They said to David, Go and cross the water
quickly; for thus and so has Ahithophel
counseled against you. So David and all
the people who were with him set out and
crossed the Jordan; by daybreak not one was
left who had not crossed the Jordan.
When Ahithophel saw that his counsel
was not followed, he saddled his donkey and
went o home to his own city. He set his
house in order, and hanged himself; he died
and was buried in the tomb of his father.
Then David came to Mahanaim, while
Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men
of Israel. Now Absalom had set Amasa over
the army in the place of Joab. Amasa was the
son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite,c
who had married Abigal daughter of Naa Gk Mss: Heb some of them
c 1Chr 2.17: Heb Israelite
David through the priests Zadok and Abiathar and their sons (see 15:2429). 16: Hushai has bought David some
time but urges him to cross the Jordan quickly and escape. 17: Jonathan and Ahimaaz, the sons of Zadok and
Abiathar. En-rogel, the spring of the fuller, in the Kidron Valley south of Jerusalem. 1819: Well, a simple pit
whose opening could be covered with a blanket and grain spread over it for camouage. 23: Ahithophel . . .
hanged himself, perhaps because he knew that the end of Absaloms reign was imminent. There is no stigma
associated with suicide in the Bible; see 1 Sam 31.5n. 24: Mahanaim, the site east of the Jordan where Abner had
conducted Ishbaal aer making him king (2.8); it was easily defensible. 25: Amasa, Davids nephew, the son
of his sister Zeruiah (see 1 Chr 2.16). Zeruiah is called the daughter of Nahash here rather than the daughter of
Jesse. This may be a scribal error (note that Nahash occurs in v. 27), or Abigal may have been Davids half sister.
470 | hebrew bible
2 samuel 18
hash, sister of Zeruiah, Joabs mother. The
Israelites and Absalom encamped in the land
of Gilead.
When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi
son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir son of Ammiel from
Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from
Rogelim, brought beds, basins, and earthen
vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain,
beans and lentils,a honey and curds, sheep,
and cheese from the herd, for David and the
people with him to eat; for they said, The
troops are hungry and weary and thirsty in
the wilderness.
Then David mustered the men who
were with him, and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of
hundreds. And David divided the army into
three groups:b one third under the command
of Joab, one third under the command of
Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joabs brother, and
one third under the command of Ittai the
Gittite. The king said to the men, I myself
will also go out with you. But the men said,
You shall not go out. For if we ee, they
will not care about us. If half of us die, they
will not care about us. But you are worth ten
thousand of us;c therefore it is better that you
send us help from the city. The king said to
them, Whatever seems best to you I will do.
So the king stood at the side of the gate, while
all the army marched out by hundreds and
by thousands. The king ordered Joab and
Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my
sake with the young man Absalom. And all
the people heard when the king gave orders
to all the commanders concerning Absalom.
So the army went out into the eld
against Israel; and the battle was fought in
the forest of Ephraim. The men of Israel
were defeated there by the servants of David,
18
and the slaughter there was great on that day,

twenty thousand men. The battle spread
over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the
sword.
Absalom happened to meet the servants
of David. Absalom was riding on his mule,
and the mule went under the thick branches
of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak,
and he was left hangingd between heaven and
earth, while the mule that was under him went
on. A man saw it, and told Joab, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak. Joab said to the man
who told him, What, you saw him! Why then
did you not strike him there to the ground? I
would have been glad to give you ten pieces
of silver and a belt. But the man said to
Joab, Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a
thousand pieces of silver, I would not raise my
hand against the kings son; for in our hearing
the king commanded you and Abishai and
Ittai, saying: For my sake protect the young
man Absalom! On the other hand, if I had
dealt treacherously against his lifee (and there
is nothing hidden from the king), then you
yourself would have stood aloof. Joab said,
I will not waste time like this with you. He
took three spears in his hand, and thrust them
into the heart of Absalom, while he was still
alive in the oak. And ten young men, Joabs
armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and
struck him, and killed him.
Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and
the troops came back from pursuing Israel,
a Heb and lentils and parched grain
b Gk: Heb sent forth the army
c Gk Vg Symmachus: Heb for now there are ten
thousand such as we
d Gk Syr Tg: Heb was put

e Another reading is at the risk of my life
27: Nahash, the Ammonite king with whom David had a treaty (10.12). His son, Shobi, loyal to the treaty, now
helps David in exile. Machir, see 9.4.
18.119.10: The defeat and death of Absalom. 18.3: You shall not go out, cf. the story in 21.1517. 5: Through
Davids order concerning Absalom, the writer shows that David was not responsible for Absaloms death. 68:
David chooses the rugged forest of Ephraim as the bale site, thereby countering the larger numbers of Absaloms army. This is another benet aorded him by the delay that Hushai achieved. 9: Mule, the royal mount
for King David and his sons (see 13.29; 1 Kings 1.38). Thus, Absaloms unseating from the mule symbolizes his
loss of the kingdom. His being caught by the head recalls his glorious hair (14.26) and suggests that his pride
was his downfall. 12: In our hearing the king commanded, see v. 5. 14: Spears may also be translated sticks. Apparently, Joab stabbed or struck Absalom with them in order to dislodge him from the tree and nish him o
hebrew bible | 471
2 samuel 19
for Joab restrained the troops. They took
Absalom, threw him into a great pit in the
forest, and raised over him a very great heap
of stones. Meanwhile all the Israelites ed to
their homes. Now Absalom in his lifetime
had taken and set up for himself a pillar that
is in the Kings Valley, for he said, I have no
son to keep my name in remembrance; he
called the pillar by his own name. It is called
Absaloms Monument to this day.
Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said,
Let me run, and carry tidings to the king
that the Lord has delivered him from the
power of his enemies. Joab said to him,
You are not to carry tidings today; you
may carry tidings another day, but today
you shall not do so, because the kings son
is dead. Then Joab said to a Cushite,
Go, tell the king what you have seen. The
Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran. Then
Ahimaaz son of Zadok said again to Joab,
Come what may, let me also run after the
Cushite. And Joab said, Why will you run,
my son, seeing that you have no rewarda for
the tidings? Come what may, he said,
I will run. So he said to him, Run. Then
Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and
outran the Cushite.
Now David was sitting between the two
gates. The sentinel went up to the roof of
the gate by the wall, and when he looked up,
he saw a man running alone. The sentinel
shouted and told the king. The king said, If
he is alone, there are tidings in his mouth.
He kept coming, and drew near. Then the
sentinel saw another man running; and the
sentinel called to the gatekeeper and said,
See, another man running alone! The king
said, He also is bringing tidings. The sentinel said, I think the running of the rst one
is like the running of Ahimaaz son of Zadok.
The king said, He is a good man, and comes

with good tidings.
Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, All
is well! He prostrated himself before the king
with his face to the ground, and said, Blessed
be the Lord your God, who has delivered up
the men who raised their hand against my
lord the king. The king said, Is it well
with the young man Absalom? Ahimaaz
answered, When Joab sent your servant,b I
saw a great tumult, but I do not know what it
was. The king said, Turn aside, and stand
here. So he turned aside, and stood still.
Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite
said, Good tidings for my lord the king! For
the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up
against you. The king said to the Cushite,
Is it well with the young man Absalom? The
Cushite answered, May the enemies of my
lord the king, and all who rise up to do you
harm, be like that young man.
c The king was deeply moved, and went
up to the chamber over the gate, and wept;
and as he went, he said, Omy son Absalom,
my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died
instead of you, OAbsalom, my son, my son!
It was told Joab, The king is weeping
and mourning for Absalom. So the
victory that day was turned into mourning
for all the troops; for the troops heard that
day, The king is grieving for his son. The
troops stole into the city that day as soldiers
steal in who are ashamed when they ee in
battle. The king covered his face, and the
king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, OAbsalom, my son, my son! Then
19

b Heb the kings servant, your servant
c Ch 19.1 in Heb
(v. 15). 15: Ten young men, hence, no individual could be blamed for the actual killing. 17: A very great heap of
stones, this kind of burial was reserved for a cursed person (Josh 7.26). 18: No son, cf. 14.27. Absaloms Monument,
later identied with the late Hellenistic or Roman-period tomb in the Kidron valley. 1920: Ahimaaz wants to
deliver the good news of the victory to David, but Joab refuses because he knows that Absaloms death will not
be welcome news to David. Because the kings son was dead may be the narrators words rather than Joabs (see
v. 29). 21: Cushite, a Nubian or Ethiopian. 27: Good tidings, victory usually constitutes good news. But the writer
goes on to depict David as focused on Absalom, whose death will be bad news to David despite the victory.
29: Ahimaaz apparently does not know that Absalom is dead. 32: The Cushite thinks that Absaloms death is
also good news. 18.3319.8: David is portrayed as very distraught at his sons death, despite the political gain
it means for him. Compare Davids laments over Saul and Jonathan (1.1127) and Abner (3.3139), whose deaths
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2 samuel 19
Joab came into the house to the king, and
said, Today you have covered with shame
the faces of all your ocers who have saved
your life today, and the lives of your sons
and your daughters, and the lives of your
wives and your concubines, for love of those
who hate you and for hatred of those who
love you. You have made it clear today that
commanders and ocers are nothing to you;
for I perceive that if Absalom were alive and
all of us were dead today, then you would be
pleased. So go out at once and speak kindly
to your servants; for I swear by the Lord, if
you do not go, not a man will stay with you
this night; and this will be worse for you than
any disaster that has come upon you from
your youth until now. Then the king got up
and took his seat in the gate. The troops were
all told, See, the king is sitting in the gate;
and all the troops came before the king.
Meanwhile, all the Israelites had ed to
their homes. All the people were disputing
throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying,
The king delivered us from the hand of our
enemies, and saved us from the hand of the
Philistines; and now he has ed out of the
land because of Absalom. But Absalom,
whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle.
Now therefore why do you say nothing about
bringing the king back?
King David sent this message to the
priests Zadok and Abiathar, Say to the
elders of Judah, Why should you be the last
to bring the king back to his house? The talk
of all Israel has come to the king.a You are
my kin, you are my bone and my esh; why
then should you be the last to bring back the
king? And say to Amasa, Are you not my
bone and my esh? So may God do to me,
and more, if you are not the commander

of my army from now on, in place of Joab.
Amasab swayed the hearts of all the people
of Judah as one, and they sent word to the
king, Return, both you and all your servants. So the king came back to the Jordan;
and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king
and to bring him over the Jordan.
Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite,
from Bahurim, hurried to come down with
the people of Judah to meet King David;
with him were a thousand people from
Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of the house
of Saul, with his fteen sons and his twenty
servants, rushed down to the Jordan ahead
of the king, while the crossing was taking
place,c to bring over the kings household,
and to do his pleasure.
Shimei son of Gera fell down before the
king, as he was about to cross the Jordan,
and said to the king, May my lord not hold
me guilty or remember how your servant
did wrong on the day my lord the king left
Jerusalem; may the king not bear it in mind.
For your servant knows that I have sinned;
therefore, see, I have come this day, the rst
of all the house of Joseph to come down
to meet my lord the king. Abishai son
of Zeruiah answered, Shall not Shimei be
put to death for this, because he cursed the
Lords anointed? But David said, What
have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah,
that you should today become an adversary
to me? Shall anyone be put to death in Israel
this day? For do I not know that I am this day
a Gk: Heb to the king, to his house
b Heb He
c Cn: Heb the ford crossed
also beneted him. 19.6: Love and hate can be political terms for loyalty and disloyalty. Joabs point is that David
shows love to those who are disloyal to him (Absalom) while failing to show love or appreciation toward his
loyal subjects. 9: All the tribes of Israel may refer to the northern tribes, not Judah, which is the focus of the
subsequent narrative.
19.1143: David returns to Jerusalem. 1112: David contacts the tribal leaders or elders of Judah to encourage
them to welcome him back as king before all Israel (i.e., the northern tribes) does so. 13: David appoints Amasa
as his army commander in place of Joab because of Amasas inuence in Judahs army (see 17.25), and perhaps
also because David shrewdly calculated that this would gain favor with the troops who had been loyal to Absalom, since Amasa was Absaloms commander. It may also be intended to express Davids anger at Joab for having disobeyed his instructions regarding Absalom. All of these factors may provide motivation for Joabs murder
of Amasa (20.10). My bone and my esh, David was Amasas uncle (see 17.25). 14: Amasa, in turn, persuades the
people (i.e., army) of Judah to return to David. 15: Gilgal, west of the Jordan River, was an ancient Israelite shrine
hebrew bible | 473
2 samuel 19
king over Israel? The king said to Shimei,
You shall not die. And the king gave him his
oath.
Mephiboshetha grandson of Saul came
down to meet the king; he had not taken
care of his feet, or trimmed his beard, or
washed his clothes, from the day the king
left until the day he came back in safety.
When he came from Jerusalem to meet
the king, the king said to him, Why did
you not go with me, Mephibosheth?a He
answered, My lord, Oking, my servant
deceived me; for your servant said to him,
Saddle a donkey for me,b so that I may
ride on it and go with the king. For your
servant is lame. He has slandered your
servant to my lord the king. But my lord the
king is like the angel of God; do therefore
what seems good to you. For all my fathers house were doomed to death before
my lord the king; but you set your servant
among those who eat at your table. What
further right have I, then, to appeal to the
king? The king said to him, Why speak
any more of your affairs? I have decided:
you and Ziba shall divide the land. Mephiboshetha said to the king, Let him take
it all, since my lord the king has arrived
home safely.
Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come
down from Rogelim; he went on with the
king to the Jordan, to escort him over the
Jordan. Barzillai was a very aged man,
eighty years old. He had provided the king
with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for
he was a very wealthy man. The king said

to Barzillai, Come over with me, and I will
provide for you in Jerusalem at my side.
But Barzillai said to the king, How many
years have I still to live, that I should go up
with the king to Jerusalem? Today I am
eighty years old; can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste
what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still
listen to the voice of singing men and singing
women? Why then should your servant be
an added burden to my lord the king? Your
servant will go a little way over the Jordan
with the king. Why should the king recompense me with such a reward? Please let
your servant return, so that I may die in my
own town, near the graves of my father and
my mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king;
and do for him whatever seems good to you.
The king answered, Chimham shall go
over with me, and I will do for him whatever
seems good to you; and all that you desire of
me I will do for you. Then all the people
crossed over the Jordan, and the king crossed
over; the king kissed Barzillai and blessed
him, and he returned to his own home.
The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham
went on with him; all the people of Judah,
and also half the people of Israel, brought
the king on his way.
a Or Merib-baal : See 4.4 note
b Gk Syr Vg: Heb said, I will saddle a donkey for
myself
where Saul had been made king (1 Sam 11.15). 1623: Shimei and those with him were from the tribe of Benjamin,
Sauls tribe. Shimei had ridiculed David when he ed from Jerusalem (16.513). Now that David is victorious, he
asks forgiveness. David grants it, perhaps in part because of the thousand people (soldiers) from Benjamin with
Shimei. House of Joseph (v. 20), the northern tribes, Israel as opposed to Judah. Abishai still wants to kill Shimei
(16.9), but David refuses. This is part of the authors portrayal of David as gentle, in contrast to the violent sons
of Zeruiah (v. 22). It may also have been customary for a new king to pardon criminals on the day of his coronation (see 1 Sam 11.13). 24: Taken care of his feet may mean trimmed his toenails, since the writer cites it as evidence that Merib-baal (Mephibosheth) had been mourning Davids exile. 2530: Ziba had accused Merib-baal
of ploing to take the throne (16.14). Merib-baal here defends himself, saying that Ziba refused to help him to
ee with David, and he could not leave on his own accord because of his physical condition. Davids decision
(v. 29) indicates that he does not know which of them is telling the truth. All my fathers house were doomed to
death before my lord the king, a new king oen executed all the heirs of his predecessor in order to have no rival
for the throne. 3140: Barzillai had helped to provide for David in exile (17.27). David now invites him to come
live in his palace in Jerusalem. Barzillai replies that he is too old to enjoy it, but he arranges for the king to take
his son Chimham instead. 35: Can I discern . . . , lit. Can I know between good and evil? likely a reference to
sexual pleasure. Cf. Gen 2.9; Isa 7.15. 41: Barzillai says that he is too old to enjoy the pleasures of taste, music,
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2 samuel 20
Then all the people of Israel came to the
king, and said to him, Why have our kindred
the people of Judah stolen you away, and
brought the king and his household over the
Jordan, and all Davids men with him? All
the people of Judah answered the people of
Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us.
Why then are you angry over this matter?
Have we eaten at all at the kings expense? Or
has he given us any gift? But the people
of Israel answered the people of Judah, We
have ten shares in the king, and in David also
we have more than you. Why then did you
despise us? Were we not the rst to speak of
bringing back our king? But the words of the
people of Judah were ercer than the words
of the people of Israel.
Now a scoundrel named Sheba son of
Bichri, a Benjaminite, happened to be
there. He sounded the trumpet and cried out,
We have no portion in David,
no share in the son of Jesse!
Everyone to your tents, OIsrael!
So all the people of Israel withdrew from
David and followed Sheba son of Bichri; but
the people of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
David came to his house at Jerusalem;
and the king took the ten concubines whom
he had left to look after the house, and put
them in a house under guard, and provided
for them, but did not go in to them. So they
were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.
Then the king said to Amasa, Call the
men of Judah together to me within three
days, and be here yourself. So Amasa went
to summon Judah; but he delayed beyond the
set time that had been appointed him. David
20
said to Abishai, Now Sheba son of Bichri will

do us more harm than Absalom; take your
lords servants and pursue him, or he will nd
fortied cities for himself, and escape from
us. Joabs men went out after him, along with
the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue
Sheba son of Bichri. When they were at the
large stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to
meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldiers
garment and over it was a belt with a sword
in its sheath fastened at his waist; as he went
forward it fell out. Joab said to Amasa, Is it
well with you, my brother? And Joab took
Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss
him. But Amasa did not notice the sword
in Joabs hand; Joab struck him in the belly so
that his entrails poured out on the ground, and
he died. He did not strike a second blow.
Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued
Sheba son of Bichri. And one of Joabs men
took his stand by Amasa, and said, Whoever
favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him
follow Joab. Amasa lay wallowing in his
blood on the highway, and the man saw that
all the people were stopping. Since he saw
that all who came by him were stopping, he
carried Amasa from the highway into a eld,
and threw a garment over him. Once he was
removed from the highway, all the people
went on after Joab to pursue Sheba son of
Bichri.
Shebaa passed through all the tribes
of Israel to Abel of Beth-maacah;b and all
the Bichritesc assembled, and followed him
a Heb He
b Compare 20.15: Heb and Beth-maacah
c Compare Gk Vg: Heb Berites
or sex that are available at Davids court. But his son is not too old. The army (people) of Judah welcomes David
back before the army of Israel. 42: The army of Judah denies that it has received any special favors or bribes from
David. 43: Ten shares, the ten northern tribes of Israel.
20.126: Shebas revolt. 1: Happened to be there, at the scene in Gilgal described in 19.4143. Ch 20 continues
that story. Everyone to your tents, an idiom for military demobilization; Sheba is calling for the army of Israel
to withdraw from David; cf. 1 Kings 12.16. 2: All the people of Israel, the northern tribes. The phrase exaggerates
the extent of the northern disaection with David (see v. 21). 3: David no longer had sexual relations with the
ten concubines he had le behind, because Absalom had slept with them (16.2022). 7: The Cherethites and Pelethites, perhaps Cretans and Philistines, who composed the royal bodyguard (8.19). 810: Joabs assassination of Amasa is similar to his murder of Abner (3.2639). His implied motive had to do with the fact that Amasa
had taken Joabs place as army commander (19.13). His actual motive was more likely political: to rid David of
a powerful rival for the leadership of Judah. 13: The people, the army. 14: Abel of Beth-maacah is in the extreme
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2 samuel 21
inside. Joabs forcesa came and besieged him
in Abel of Beth-maacah; they threw up a siege
ramp against the city, and it stood against the
rampart. Joabs forces were battering the wall
to break it down. Then a wise woman called
from the city, Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, Come
here, I want to speak to you. He came near
her; and the woman said, Are you Joab?
He answered, I am. Then she said to him,
Listen to the words of your servant. He
answered, I am listening. Then she said,
They used to say in the old days, Let them
inquire at Abel; and so they would settle a
matter. I am one of those who are peaceable
and faithful in Israel; you seek to destroy a
city that is a mother in Israel; why will you
swallow up the heritage of the Lord? Joab
answered, Far be it from me, far be it, that
I should swallow up or destroy! That is
not the case! But a man of the hill country
of Ephraim, called Sheba son of Bichri, has
lifted up his hand against King David; give
him up alone, and I will withdraw from the
city. The woman said to Joab, His head shall
be thrown over the wall to you. Then the
woman went to all the people with her wise

plan. And they cut o the head of Sheba son
of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. So he blew
the trumpet, and they dispersed from the
city, and all went to their homes, while Joab
returned to Jerusalem to the king.
Now Joab was in command of all the
army of Israel;b Benaiah son of Jehoiada
was in command of the Cherethites and the
Pelethites; Adoram was in charge of the
forced labor; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was
the recorder; Sheva was secretary; Zadok
and Abiathar were priests; and Ira the Jairite was also Davids priest.
Now there was a famine in the days
of David for three years, year after
year; and David inquired of the Lord. The
Lord said, There is bloodguilt on Saul and
on his house, because he put the Gibeonites
to death. So the king called the Gibeonites
and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were
not of the people of Israel, but of the remnant
21
a Heb They
b Cn: Heb Joab to all the army, Israel
northern part of Israel. 15: Ancient Israelite cities were surrounded by thick walls that had to be broken through
with baering rams. 16: Wise woman (cf. ch 14) in this case could be a title for a city ocial. She is certainly intelligent and eloquent and acts on behalf of her city. 18: Let them inquire at Abel implies that Abel was a central city
for seling legal disputes or for divination. 19: A mother in Israel, a large city, a metropolis. The heritage of the
Lord, the land and people of Israel; see 1 Sam 10.1. 20: The woman pleads for her city based on its antiquity and
historical value to Israel. 21: The woman apparently does not know about Sheba, indicating that his revolt did
not reach to all Israel but included only part of Benjamin and the hill country of Ephraim. 2326: This cabinet list
is similar to the one in 8.1618. It probably came to this location by aachment to 21.114, which originally stood
directly before 9.1. Alternatively, the two lists are used to frame the section, sometimes called David under the
curse. The two lists are probably variants, although according to some scholars they reect dierent periods
in Davids reign. The Cherethites and the Pelethites, see v. 7n. Forced labor, conscripted from the northern tribes
by David and Solomon. Adoram or Adoniram (1 Kings 4.6) was later stoned when the Israelites rebelled against
the Davidic dynasty (1 Kings 12.18).
Chs 2124: An appendix of miscellaneous stories and poems. The nal four chapters of 2 Samuel contain
six passages arranged in chiastic order: narrative (21.114), list (21.1522), poem (22.151), poem (23.17), list
(23.838), narrative (24.125). The accumulation of these passages may have come about as follows. 21.114
was moved from its original place before ch 9. The motive was likely to lessen the impression that David had
Sauls heirs killed for political reasons. The story in 24.125 was added to 21.114 (see 24.1) and placed as the
nal episode in Davids life before the account of his death in 1 Kings 12 because it anticipated the founding
of the Temple under Solomon. The lists may have been added next, separating the two narratives. The two
psalms were then inserted. Ch 22 is a song of deliverance and praise for victory. It is appropriate following the
list of victories in 21.1522. Then 23.17 provides Davids last words, in the tradition of other leading biblical
characters.
21.114: The execution of Sauls heirs. 12: The Gibeonites had a special treaty with Israel (Josh 9). This story
assumes that the violation of that treaty brought divine wrath. The Bible nowhere recounts Sauls aempted
extermination of the Gibeonites. Amorites, one of several groups of pre-Israelite residents of the land of Ca-
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2 samuel 21
of the Amorites; although the people of Israel
had sworn to spare them, Saul had tried to
wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.) David said to the Gibeonites,
What shall I do for you? How shall I make
expiation, that you may bless the heritage of
the Lord? The Gibeonites said to him, It
is not a matter of silver or gold between us
and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to
put anyone to death in Israel. He said, What
do you say that I should do for you? They
said to the king, The man who consumed us
and planned to destroy us, so that we should
have no place in all the territory of Israel
let seven of his sons be handed over to us,
and we will impale them before the Lord at
Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord.a The
king said, I will hand them over.
But the king spared Mephibosheth,b the
son of Sauls son Jonathan, because of the
oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan son of Saul. The
king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter
of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and
Mephibosheth;b and the ve sons of Merabc
daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel
son of Barzillai the Meholathite; he gave
them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and
they impaled them on the mountain before
the Lord. The seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the rst days of
harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.
Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah
took sackcloth, and spread it on a rock for
herself, from the beginning of harvest until
rain fell on them from the heavens; she did
not allow the birds of the air to come on
the bodiesd by day, or the wild animals by

night. When David was told what Rizpah
daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had
done, David went and took the bones of
Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from
the people of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen
them from the public square of Beth-shan,
where the Philistines had hung them up, on
the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa.
He brought up from there the bones of Saul
and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they
gathered the bones of those who had been
impaled. They buried the bones of Saul and
of his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in
Zela, in the tomb of his father Kish; they did
all that the king commanded. After that, God
heeded supplications for the land.
The Philistines went to war again
with Israel, and David went down together
with his servants. They fought against the
Philistines, and David grew weary. Ishbibenob, one of the descendants of the giants,
whose spear weighed three hundred shekels
of bronze, and who was tted out with new
weapons,e said he would kill David. But
Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and
attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then
Davids men swore to him, You shall not go
out with us to battle any longer, so that you
do not quench the lamp of Israel.
a Cn Compare Gk and 21.9: Heb at Gibeah of Saul, the
b
c
d
e
chosen of the Lord

Or Merib-baal: See 4.4 note
Two Heb Mss Syr Compare Gk: MT Michal
Heb them
Heb was belted anew
naan, oen used in the Deuteronomistic History for all of them. 3: The heritage of the Lord, the land and people
of Israel; see 1 Sam 10.1n. 4: The Gibeonites regard this as a maer for blood vengeance, but as resident aliens in
Israel they do not have that right. 59: Typically, the founder of a new dynasty annihilated the potential claimants from the previous dynasty as David does here. Sauls alleged oense provides a religious legitimation for
this political act. Only Merib-baal is spared (v. 7), probably because he is crippled and therefore cannot be king,
though this may also reect Davids relationship with Jonathan (see 1 Sam 18.13; 20.17,4142). On the other
hand, the theme of Davids aection for and covenant with Jonathan may have been developed by the author
from the historical fact of Davids preservation of Merib-baal. This event took place early in Davids reign over
Israel and originally came before 9.1, where David asks if anyone is le in Sauls house. Sons (v. 6) also includes
grandsons. Mephibosheth (v. 8), not Jonathans son, Merib-baal, who was spared. The barley harvest was in AprilMay. 10: Rizpah was Sauls concubine (3.711). 1114: As a result of Rizpahs courageous action, David tries to
honor the memory of Saul and Jonathan; see 1 Sam 31.1213.
21.1522: Stories from the Philistine wars. The stories recounted here come from the bales with the Philistines earlier in Davids reign. 16: Three hundred shekels was about 8 lb (3.5 kg). 17: The insistence of Davids men
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2 samuel 22
After this a battle took place with
the Philistines, at Gob; then Sibbecai the
Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the
descendants of the giants. Then there was
another battle with the Philistines at Gob;
and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft
of whose spear was like a weavers beam.
There was again war at Gath, where there
was a man of great size, who had six ngers
on each hand, and six toes on each foot,
twenty-four in number; he too was descended from the giants. When he taunted Israel,
Jonathan son of Davids brother Shimei, killed
him. These four were descended from the
giants in Gath; they fell by the hands of David
and his servants.
David spoke to the Lord the words of
this song on the day when the Lord
delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my
deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be
praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
22
For the waves of death encompassed me,

the torrents of perdition assailed me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me,
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry came to his ears.
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations of the heavens
trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring re from his mouth;
glowing coals amed forth from him.
He bowed the heavens, and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
He rode on a cherub, and ew;
he was seen upon the wings of the
wind.
He made darkness around him a canopy,
thick clouds, a gathering of water.
Out of the brightness before him
coals of re amed forth.
The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High uttered his voice.
He sent out arrows, and scattered them
lightning, and routed them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
the foundations of the world were laid
bare
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
He reached from on high, he took me,
he drew me out of mighty waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me;
for they were too mighty for me.
that he not go to bale may lie behind 11.1; 18.3. 19: This represents an earlier tradition than 1 Sam 17 concerning
the death of Goliath; the otherwise unknown Elhanan, rather than David, slays him. The story in 1 Sam 17 is an
elaboration and reworking of this tradition, aributing the victory to the beer-known David, cf. 1 Chr 20.5.
22.151: A psalm of praise. This psalm, which is essentially the same as Psalm 18, was wrien long aer
Davids time but is inserted here as appropriate to his sentiments. The psalm praises the Lord for appearing
to rescue the psalmist (vv. 120) and for continued support of the psalmists military activities (vv. 2151). Its
placement following the exploits of Davids heroes in 21.1522 and Davids own rescue (vv. 1517) is appropriate.
23: Rock, a metaphor for the Lord as protector. 56: Perdition, the underworld, the abode of the dead, known
in the Bible as Sheol. 7: Temple suggests that this psalm was wrien aer David, since the Temple was built by
Solomon, although it may refer to Gods heavenly abode (see Ps 11.4). 8: The Lords appearance is accompanied
by earthquake. 9: The Lord is pictured here as a re-breathing dragon. 1116: The Lord is depicted here as a
storm god. 11: Cherub, a mythical, grinlike creature. 1415: Gods voice is thunder (Job 40.9; Ps 29.3), and he
throws lightning bolts at his enemies. Most High, a title of El, head of the Canaanite pantheon. The title is later
appropriated for the Lord. 16: The psalmist envisions the world as at; he is trapped in the underworld beneath
the foundations of the world, which the Lords roar uncovers. 32: This is a monotheistic claim; the Lord (Yahweh)
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2 samuel 22
You have given me the shield of your
salvation,
and your helpd has made me great.
You have made me stride freely,
and my feet do not slip;
I pursued my enemies and destroyed
them,
and did not turn back until they were
consumed.
I consumed them; I struck them down,
so that they did not rise;
they fell under my feet.
For you girded me with strength for the
battle;
you made my assailants sink
under me.
You made my enemies turn their backs
to me,
those who hated me, and I destroyed
them.
They looked, but there was no one to
save them;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not
answer them.
I beat them ne like the dust of the
earth,
I crushed them and stamped them
down like the mire of the streets.
They came upon me in the day of my

calamity,
but the Lord was my stay.
He brought me out into a broad place;
he delivered me, because he delighted
in me.
The Lord rewarded me according to my
righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands
he recompensed me.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from
my God.
For all his ordinances were before me,
and from his statutes I did not turn
aside.
I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me
according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his
sight.
With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
with the blameless you show yourself
blameless;
with the pure you show yourself pure,
and with the crooked you show yourself
perverse.
You deliver a humble people,
but your eyes are upon the haughty to
bring them down.
Indeed, you are my lamp, OLord,
the Lord lightens my darkness.
By you I can crush a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This Godhis way is perfect;
the promise of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all who take refuge in
him.
For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
The God who has girded me with
strengtha
has opened wide my path.b
He made myc feet like the feet of deer,
and set me secure on the heights.
He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of
bronze.
You delivered me from strife with the

peoples;e
you kept me as the head of the
nations;
people whom I had not known served
me.
Foreigners came cringing to me;
as soon as they heard of me, they
obeyed me.
Foreigners lost heart,
and came trembling out of their
strongholds.
The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,
and exalted be my God, the rock of my
salvation,
a Q Ms Gk Syr Vg Compare Ps 18.32: MT God is my
b
c
d
e
strong refuge
Another reading is his
Q Ms: MT your answering
Gk: Heb from strife with my people
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2 samuel 23
the God who gave me vengeance
and brought down peoples under me,
who brought me out from my enemies;
you exalted me above my adversaries,
you delivered me from the violent.
For this I will extol you, OLord, among
the nations,
and sing praises to your name.
He is a tower of salvation for his king,
and shows steadfast love to his
anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.
23
Now these are the last words of David:

The oracle of David, son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man whom God
exalted,a
the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the favorite of the Strong One of Israel:
The spirit of the Lord speaks through me,
his word is upon my tongue.
The God of Israel has spoken,
the Rock of Israel has said to me:
One who rules over people justly,
ruling in the fear of God,
is like the light of morning,
like the sun rising on a cloudless
morning,
gleaming from the rain on the grassy
land.
Is not my house like this with God?
For he has made with me an everlasting
covenant,
ordered in all things and secure.
Will he not cause to prosper

all my help and my desire?
But the godless areb all like thorns that
are thrown away;
for they cannot be picked up with the
hand;
to touch them one uses an iron bar
or the shaft of a spear.
And they are entirely consumed in re
on the spot.c
These are the names of the warriors
whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a
Tahchemonite; he was chief of the Three;d
he wielded his speare against eight hundred
whom he killed at one time.
Next to him among the three warriors
was Eleazar son of Dodo son of Ahohi. He
was with David when they deed the Philistines who were gathered there for battle.
The Israelites withdrew, but he stood his
ground. He struck down the Philistines until
his arm grew weary, though his hand clung
to the sword. The Lord brought about a great
victory that day. Then the people came back
to himbut only to strip the dead.
Next to him was Shammah son of
Agee, the Hararite. The Philistines gathered
together at Lehi, where there was a plot of
ground full of lentils; and the army ed from
a
b
c
d
Q Ms: MT who was raised on high

Heb But worthlessness
Heb in sitting
Gk Vg Compare 1Chr 11.11: Meaning of Heb
uncertain
e 1Chr 11.11: Meaning of Heb uncertain
alone is God. 3343: The Lord equips the psalmist for bale. 47: Rock, see vv. 23n. 51: Steadfast love, loyalty.
This verse alludes to the Lords promise to David of an enduring dynasty (2 Sam 7). Anointed, Heb mashiah
.
(messiah), a royal title appropriate for any king (see 1 Sam 2.10n). David and his descendants, if original, suggests that the psalm comes from royal circles in Judah.
23.17: The last words of David. There may have been a literary tradition in the Bible of ascribing poems to
leading characters as their last words. Compare the poems aributed to Jacob in Gen 49 and to Moses in Deut
3233. Davids last words, though, do not consist of a blessing of Israel. Like Moses, however, David is portrayed
as a prophet pronouncing an oracle (23.12). The actual date of Davids last words is uncertain. In contrast to
ch 22, 23.17 has no parallel in Psalms. 1: Anointed, a royal title, here referring to David, echoing the end of ch
22. Strong One of Israel, an epithet for the Lord. 3: Rock, see 22.3,47. 4: The image of the king as the sun was
common in the ancient Near East, especially in Egypt, although less so in Israel. 5: House, the kings (Davids) dynasty. Everlasting covenant, the Lords promise of a dynasty for David in 7.16; cf. Ps 89.2829. 67: These verses
continue the image of vv. 34. The godless are like thorns consumed by the suns heat.
23.839: Davids heroes. 812: Nothing more is known about the Three greatest warriors in Davids army.
480 | hebrew bible
2 samuel 23
the Philistines. But he took his stand in the
middle of the plot, defended it, and killed
the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a
great victory.
Towards the beginning of harvest three
of the thirtya chiefs went down to join David
at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.
David was then in the stronghold; and the
garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. David said longingly, Othat someone
would give me water to drink from the well
of Bethlehem that is by the gate! Then the
three warriors broke through the camp of
the Philistines, drew water from the well of
Bethlehem that was by the gate, and brought
it to David. But he would not drink of it; he
poured it out to the Lord, for he said, The
Lord forbid that I should do this. Can I drink
the blood of the men who went at the risk of
their lives? Therefore he would not drink it.
The three warriors did these things.
Now Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother
of Joab, was chief of the Thirty.b With his
spear he fought against three hundred men
and killed them, and won a name beside the
Three. He was the most renowned of the
Thirty,c and became their commander; but he
did not attain to the Three.
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant
warriord from Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds;
he struck down two sons of Ariele of Moab. He
also went down and killed a lion in a pit on a
day when snow had fallen. And he killed an
Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had
a spear in his hand; but Benaiah went against
him with a sta, snatched the spear out of the
Egyptians hand, and killed him with his own

spear. Such were the things Benaiah son
of Jehoiada did, and won a name beside the
three warriors. He was renowned among the
Thirty, but he did not attain to the Three. And
David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
Among the Thirty were Asahel brother
of Joab; Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem; Shammah of Harod; Elika of Harod;
Helez the Paltite; Ira son of Ikkesh of
Tekoa; Abiezer of Anathoth; Mebunnai the
Hushathite; Zalmon the Ahohite; Maharai of Netophah; Heleb son of Baanah of
Netophah; Ittai son of Ribai of Gibeah of the
Benjaminites; Benaiah of Pirathon; Hiddai
of the torrents of Gaash; Abi-albon the
Arbathite; Azmaveth of Bahurim; Eliahba
of Shaalbon; the sons of Jashen: Jonathan
son of fShammah the Hararite; Ahiam son
of Sharar the Hararite; Eliphelet son of
Ahasbai of Maacah; Eliam son of Ahithophel
the Gilonite; Hezrog of Carmel; Paarai the
Arbite; Igal son of Nathan of Zobah; Bani
the Gadite; Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai
of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab son of
Zeruiah; Ira the Ithrite; Gareb the Ithrite;
Uriah the Hittitethirty-seven in all.
a Heb adds head

b Two Heb Mss Syr: MT Three
c Syr Compare 1Chr 11.25: Heb Was he the most
d
e
f
g
renowned of the Three?

Another reading is the son of Ish-hai
Gk: Heb lacks sons of
Gk: Heb lacks son of
Another reading is Hezrai
1317: This story is not about the three warriors just listed but about three anonymous members of the honor
guard of the thirty. 13: The beginning of harvest, the weather was hot and dry, which is why David became thirsty.
The cave of Adullam, cave may be an error for stronghold; the two words dier by one leer in Hebrew.
Adullam was Davids headquarters and hideout when he ed from Saul (cf. 1 Sam 22.14). 14: Stronghold, the
fortress at Adullam. Since a garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem, this must have been early in Davids
reign or even before he became king. Bethlehem, Davids hometown, hence his fond remembrance of the water
there. 1617: He poured it out to the Lord, there are dierent interpretations of Davids actions here. Some think
he is angry that the men risked their lives foolishly. Others suggest that this was a libation or sacrice to God,
a great honor to the three men. 2023: Benaiah, the commander of Davids bodyguard and later of the army
under Solomon. 24: Asahel seems to be a young warrior aspiring to greatness in the story of his death (2.1823).
It is surprising to nd his name in this list of soldiers who distinguished themselves in Davids army. This may
indicate that the story in 2 Sam 2 was invented to give Joab a personal motive, rather than the political one
of following Davids order, for killing Abner. Elhanan killed Goliath (21.19). 30: Benaiah, a dierent man from
the Benaiah in vv. 2023. 39: Uriah, Bathshebas husband (ch 11). It is uncertain how the count of thirty-seven
hebrew bible | 481
2 samuel 24
24
Again the anger of the Lord was

kindled against Israel, and he incited
David against them, saying, Go, count the
people of Israel and Judah. So the king said
to Joab and the commanders of the army,a
who were with him, Go through all the tribes
of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and take a
census of the people, so that I may know how
many there are. But Joab said to the king,
May the Lord your God increase the number
of the people a hundredfold, while the eyes
of my lord the king can still see it! But why
does my lord the king want to do this? But
the kings word prevailed against Joab and
the commanders of the army. So Joab and the
commanders of the army went out from the
presence of the king to take a census of the
people of Israel. They crossed the Jordan,
and began fromb Aroer and from the city that
is in the middle of the valley, toward Gad and
on to Jazer. Then they came to Gilead, and
to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites;c and
they came to Dan, and from Dand they went
around to Sidon, and came to the fortress
of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and
Canaanites; and they went out to the Negeb
of Judah at Beer-sheba. So when they had
gone through all the land, they came back
to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and
twenty days. Joab reported to the king the
number of those who had been recorded: in

Israel there were eight hundred thousand
soldiers able to draw the sword, and those of
Judah were ve hundred thousand.
But afterward, David was stricken to the
heart because he had numbered the people.
David said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly
in what I have done. But now, OLord, I pray
you, take away the guilt of your servant; for I
have done very foolishly. When David rose
in the morning, the word of the Lord came to
the prophet Gad, Davids seer, saying, Go
and say to David: Thus says the Lord: Three
things I oere you; choose one of them, and I
will do it to you. So Gad came to David and
told him; he asked him, Shall threef years
of famine come to you on your land? Or will
you ee three months before your foes while
they pursue you? Or shall there be three days
pestilence in your land? Now consider, and
decide what answer I shall return to the one
who sent me. Then David said to Gad, I
a 1Chr 21.2 Gk: Heb to Joab the commander of the
b
c
d
e
f
army
Gk Mss: Heb encamped in Aroer south of
Gk: Heb to the land of Tahtim-hodshi
Cn Compare Gk: Heb they came to Dan-jaan and
Or hold over
1Chr 21.12 Gk: Heb seven
is achieved. The list in vv. 2439 has thirty names in it. The addition of the Three plus Abishai and Benaiah
brings the number to thirty-ve. Joab may have been counted as a member of this elite group, though his name
is not specically mentioned. There are textual variations in vv. 2439 where an additional name may have
been read.
24.125: Davids census. The nal narrative in 2 Samuel. It must be remembered that 2 Samuel and 1 Kings
were originally part of a larger work and not separate books. This chapter, then, was not wrien as a conclusion
to 2 Samuel. Rather, it anticipates the building of the Temple under Solomon (vv. 1825; see 1 Kings chs 56; 8)
and thus looks forward to the important results of Davids reign. 1: Again implies that this story is the sequel to
an earlier one, perhaps 21.114. This same story is found in 1 Chr 21, which says that Satan rather than the anger
of the Lord incited David. It is only in postexilic texts that (the) Satan becomes important in biblical literature.
Both reect the belief that natural calamity is the result of human sin. It is not clear why taking a census was sinful; some scholars suggest it was a sign of Davids inordinate pride or that the census was meant to bring about
unacceptable changes in Israelite society. (A census usually provided the basis for conscription and taxation.)
Another possibility is that all men enrolled in the census were required to be ritually pure as when they went to
bale, and this requirement was easily broken. 2: From Dan to Beer-sheba, the traditional northern and southern
limits of Israel. 34: These potential dangers may explain Joabs reluctance to carry out the census. 57: The
census takers began at Aroer east of the Dead Sea and moved north as far as Dan, then crossed over the Jordan
and went south through traditional Israel until they reached Beer-sheba. 9: The count is limited to men of military age. Thousand may refer to a much smaller military unit. Israel and Judah are numbered separately because
Judah, as Davids native tribe, was exempted from taxation. 1014: Stricken to the heart, conscience-stricken;
the language David uses is similar to 2 Sam 12.13. David is given a choice of three punishments. He chooses the
482 | hebrew bible
2 samuel 24
am in great distress; let us fall into the hand
of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me
not fall into human hands.
So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel
from that morning until the appointed time;
and seventy thousand of the people died,
from Dan to Beer-sheba. But when the
angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented concerning the evil, and said to the angel who was
bringing destruction among the people, It is
enough; now stay your hand. The angel of
the Lord was then by the threshing oor of
Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the
angel who was destroying the people, he said
to the Lord, I alone have sinned, and I alone
have done wickedly; but these sheep, what
have they done? Let your hand, I pray, be
against me and against my fathers house.
That day Gad came to David and said to
him, Go up and erect an altar to the Lord on
the threshing oor of Araunah the Jebusite.
Following Gads instructions, David went
up, as the Lord had commanded. When
Araunah looked down, he saw the king
and his servants coming toward him; and

Araunah went out and prostrated himself
before the king with his face to the ground.
Araunah said, Why has my lord the king
come to his servant? David said, To buy the
threshing oor from you in order to build an
altar to the Lord, so that the plague may be
averted from the people. Then Araunah
said to David, Let my lord the king take and
oer up what seems good to him; here are the
oxen for the burnt oering, and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the
wood. All this, Oking, Araunah gives to the
king. And Araunah said to the king, May
the Lord your God respond favorably to you.
But the king said to Araunah, No, but
I will buy them from you for a price; I will
not oer burnt oerings to the Lord my God
that cost me nothing. So David bought the
threshing oor and the oxen for fty shekels
of silver. David built there an altar to the
Lord, and oered burnt oerings and oerings of well-being. So the Lord answered his
supplication for the land, and the plague was
averted from Israel.
hand of the Lord, an idiom for plague, trusting in the Lords mercy. 1516: Davids strategy works. The plague
is stopped aer only one day and Jerusalem is spared. The appointed time (v. 15) may be the time of the evening
meal. Thousand may be a military unit of much fewer than 1,000. Evil (v. 16), not moral evil but destruction.
Araunah, called Ornan in 1 Chr 21. Jebusite, a pre-Israelite native of Jerusalem (5.610). Threshing oor, a at, high
area where grain was separated from the cha. God also appears to people at threshing oors elsewhere in
the Bible (Judg 6.1112). 17: Sheep, the people of Jerusalem with David, as king, imagined as their shepherd; see
7.8n. 1825: These verses indicate that the plague was stopped aer David built his altar and made his oerings
rather than by the Lords free will as in v. 16. The site of Davids altar is the location of the later altar of burnt
oering of Solomons Temple. Fiy shekels was about 1.25 lb (.57 kg).
1 KINGS
name
In the Greek Bible, the Septuagint (LXX), this book is called Basileion 3 (reigns or dynasties). The Greek
translators linked the two books of Samuel with the two books of Kings (the books of Samuel are labeled
Basileion 1 and 2) because they narrate the story of the Israelite and Judean monarchy from its beginning until
its end; indeed, 1 Kings opens with the death of David, the main character of the book of Samuel. In the Hebrew
Bible, 1 and 2 Kings were originally a single book called Kings; it was divided into two, in the eenth century,
under the inuence of the Greek and Latin translations. This division originated in the Greek Bible for practical reasons: one long scroll of Kings was dicult to handle. This division articially splits up the stories of the
Israelite king Ahaziah and those of the prophet Elijah. It is probably based on a view of 2 Kings 1.1 (aer the
death of Ahab) as paerned on the opening of the books of Joshua (aer the death of Moses), Judges (aer
the death of Joshua), and 2 Samuel (aer the death of Saul).

In the Christian canon, 1 and 2 Kings belong to the Historical Books and are followed by the books of Chronicles, which oer an alternative account of the period of the monarchy. In the Jewish canon, the books of Kings
close the rst part of the Prophets, the Former Prophets comprised of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The
exact meaning of this term is unclear since although prophets play some role in these books, it is not a major
one. The Former Prophets do, however, provide the necessary background for the oracles of doom and of restoration that follow in the books of the Laer Prophets.
authorship
Jewish tradition (b. B. Bat. 14b15a) regards the prophet Jeremiah, a contemporary of the last kings of Judah, as
the author of the book of Kings, perhaps because of the stylistic similarities between the books of Kings and
Jeremiah. Kings and Jeremiah are both wrien in a style, which contemporary scholars call Deuteronomistic;
they also share with Deuteronomy and the other books of the Former Prophets key vocabulary and theological
concepts. For this reason, most scholars call the books of Deuteronomy through Kings the Deuteronomistic
History. In fact, the last episodes in the Former Prophets, the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of
the people, related at the end of 2 Kings, are already alluded to in Deuteronomy (see Deut 6.15 and 28.4768).
For these reasons, modern scholars posit that scribes who belonged to the same social and ideological group
edited the books from Deuteronomy to Kings.
dates of composition and literary history

There are some indications that the rst Deuteronomistic edition of the book of Kings as well as of the book
of Deuteronomy was wrien in approximately 620 bce, during the reign of the Judean king Josiah. According
to 2 Kings 2223, Josiah undertook a religious reform aimed at making Jerusalem the only legitimate sanctuary
for the worship of the Lord. This reform follows the main theological ideas expressed in Deuteronomy, namely
the centralization of worship and the exclusive veneration of the Lord, the God who had chosen Israel as his
special property. The Josianic editions conclusion was probably 2 Kings 23.25: Before him there was no king
like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might. This ideal description of Josiah corresponds exactly to the central exhortation of the book of Deuteronomy: You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (Deut 6.5). The aim of the
Josianic edition of Kings would then have been to demonstrate that Josiah fullled Gods will by his religious
and political acts. This quite optimistic work was revised anew aer the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 bce; it
aempted to explain the reasons for the end of the Judean monarchy and the exile to Babylon. The last event
related in 2 Kings is the alleviation of the status of king Jehoiachin, which occurred under the Babylonian king
Evil-merodach (Amel-Marduk) who reigned briey in 562561 bce. Therefore many scholars think that the book
of Kings in its present form was wrien shortly aer this date. Scholars have more recently pointed to evidence
suggesting that the books underwent further revision during the Persian period.
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1 kings
The Deuteronomistic authors and editors integrated several older sources or independent documents into
their work. The Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11.41) may have been one such work. Later, Kings refers
to the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel (e.g., 1 Kings 14.19) and the Book of the Annals of the Kings
of Judah (e.g., 1 Kings 14.29). Such annals probably existed in the courts of Samaria and Jerusalem and were
known by the authors and editors of Kings. Most of the prophetic stories about Elijah and Elisha, as well as
other prophetic stories, may have existed as independent scrolls before they were incorporated at a late stage
into the book of Kings. We can thus say that much of the book of Kings was produced by authors and editors
that we can label as Deuteronomists, though they incorporated some earlier sources, and the editing of the
book continued into the rst half of the Persian period, the late sixth and h centuries bce.

The book of Kings tells the story of the Judean and Israelite monarchies from the United Monarchy under Solomon
(1 Kings 111) and its division aer his death into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah
(1 Kings 12), until the end of Israel (2 Kings 17) and of Judah (2 Kings 2425). First Kings covers the time from Solomon
until King Jehoshaphat of Judah and King Ahaziah of Israel. The story of Solomon can be divided into three parts: chs
12; 3.19.9; and 9.1011.43. Chapters 12 relate his rise to power. The narrative of his reign is bookmarked by two
divine manifestations in chs 3 and 9. Chapters 38 present the positive part of Solomons activity: his wisdom and
especially the construction of the Jerusalem Temple, followed by a long prayer. Gods second speech to Solomon is
forward-looking, evoking the possibility of his downfall, and ultimately the destruction of the Temple and the exile.
First Kings 9.1011.43 reviews Solomon negatively: he imposes forced labor upon the people, loves many foreign
women, and worships their divinities. The last chapter prepares the reader for ch 12, where the kingdom is divided,
and Jeroboam becomes the rst king of Israel, and Rehoboam the rst king of Judah. Aer the account of Jeroboams
reign the story of both kingdoms is narrated (until 2 Kings 17) in a synchronistic way, where the reign of each king is
framed by introductory and nal formulas. The information about Judean kings is more extensive, indicating that the
Judean scribes likely had more information about their own kings. The formulas have the following paern:
judean kings
israelite kings
Introductory synchronism
Introductory synchronism
The kings age at his enthronement
Length of reign
Length of reign
Name of his mother
Theological judgment
Theological judgment
Final reference to the annals of the kings of Judah
Final reference to the annals of the kings of Israel
Death of the king
Death of the king
Burial
Name of the successor
Name of the successor
Aer the story of Jeroboam and Rehoboam (chs 1214), the narrative continues with two Judean kings (Abijam
and Asa in 15.124) before describing the chaotic situation in the Northern Kingdom, which aer several coups
sees the rise of King Omri, the founder of Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom (15.2516.28). The last
quarter of 1 Kings is devoted to the story of Omris son Ahab and his Phoenician wife Jezebel (16.2922.40).
Their worship of the god Baal provokes a dramatic conict with the Lords prophet Elijah, which culminates in
a public competition between the many prophets of Baal and the lone prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel (ch 18).
First Kings concludes with short notices about Jehoshaphat of Judah and Ahaziah of Israel (22.4153); the nal
verse reporting the ongoing veneration of Baal in the Northern Kingdom, which provoked the Lords anger
(22.53) hints at the end of Israel (2 Kings 17) and Judah (2 Kings 2425).
interpretation
The book of Kings is historiography in the sense that it presents a chronological succession from the beginning
of the Israelite monarchy until its end, covering roughly a time span from 970 to 560 bce, but it is not histori-
486 | hebrew bible
1 kings
ography in the ancient Greek or modern meaning of the term. First of all, the book of King is an anonymous
work; in contrast to the ancient Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides, there is no author who speaks
in the rst person and who presents sources and evaluates information. There is no inquiry at all about how
things really happened. For the author(s) of Kings, the Lord is the major actor in the history of the Judean and
Israelite kings. The kings whose reigns are positively evaluated are monarchs who conform themselves to Gods
will, whereas the unfaithful kings provoke Gods punishment and in some cases, are ultimately responsible for
the fall of Samaria and Jerusalem. There is no interest in an objective comprehensive and complete recounting
of the past. Kings such as Josiah, whose hazardous geopolitical policies may appear strange to modern readers, are presented very positively, whereas kings with a long, apparently peaceful reign, such as Manasseh, are
judged very negatively. The main interest of the authors of Kings is not the political, economical, and military
achievements of kings, but their religious aitude, especially as expressed through exclusive worship of the
Lord in the Temple of Jerusalem, the only legitimate sanctuary, which plays a central role throughout the book
of Kings. Jeroboam, the rst king of the Northern Kingdom aer its separation from Judah, is described as the
founder of two sanctuaries in Dan and Bethel, which appear as illegitimate competitors with the Temple of
Jerusalem (1 Kings 12). Consequently, all subsequent northern kings are systematically blamed for Jeroboams
sin. The southern kings are compared to their father David (1 Kings 15.3,11; 2 Kings 14.3; 16.2; 18.3; 22.2) and
are evaluated based on their loyalty to the Jerusalem Temple and their condemnation of the other places of
worship (the high places).
Several narratives describe aempts by kings of Judah to reform the Jerusalem Temple (Joash, 2 Kings 12;
Hezekiah, 2 Kings 18; Josiah, 2 Kings 23); these are generally followed by a return to previous idolatry (Ahaz,
2 Kings 16:1018; Manasseh, 2 Kings 21). Only Josiah accomplishes a full restoration of the Temple, establishing
an implicit parallel between Josiah, the reformer king, and Solomon, the founder of the Temple. This suggests
that the rst edition of Kings was an aempt to glorify Josiah as the ideal descendant of David and Solomon.
The destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in 586 bce caused a thoroughgoing revision of Kings, which was
transformed into an explanation of that exile. These editors, working during the Babylonian exile or during the
rst decades of the Persian period, oered a theodicy, an explanation of how a good God could cause such
evil: the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple are not due to the Lords inability to defend his nation against its enemies; on the contrary, the Lord himself had ordered the Babylonians to invade Judah in order
to punish it because it did not conform to divine law as expressed in the book of Deuteronomy.
Kings concludes with the release of King Jehoiachin from Babylonian prison (2 Kings 25.2730). The purpose
of these verses is debated: Are they a theological justication of the end of monarchy and the exile or do they
express hope for the renewal of the Davidic dynasty? It is dicult to decide, and the following book of Isaiah,
where oracles of doom alternate with oracles of restoration and the announcement of an ideal king, has the
same ambivalence.
An early form of the books of Samuel and Kings triggered an interpretative rewriting, namely the books of
Chronicles. Chronicles oers an alternative, less ambiguous account of the Judean monarchy. It omits almost
all of the story of the Northern Kingdom, and ends with the decree of the Persian king allowing the Judeans to
return from exile and to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple.
guide to reading
The best way to understand the meaning of Kings is to read the whole story starting with Solomon (or even
beer with David in the books of Samuel) until its end. The reader should pay aention to the way in which
the dierent kings are presented and also to the importance of the prophets and the prophetic stories, which
alternate with the narratives about good and bad kings. It is worth asking questions concerning the theology
of Kings, specically the manner in which it aempts to give sense to a national disaster and to arm that the
Lord is the God of Israel and of Judah and also the master of all other nations.
Thomas Rmer
1 kings 1
King David was old and advanced in

years; and although they covered him
with clothes, he could not get warm. So his
servants said to him, Let a young virgin be
sought for my lord the king, and let her wait
on the king, and be his attendant; let her lie
in your bosom, so that my lord the king may
be warm. So they searched for a beautiful
girl throughout all the territory of Israel, and
found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought
her to the king. The girl was very beautiful.
She became the kings attendant and served
him, but the king did not know her sexually.
Now Adonijah son of Haggith exalted
himself, saying, I will be king; he prepared
for himself chariots and horsemen, and fty
men to run before him. His father had never
at any time displeased him by asking, Why
have you done thus and so? He was also a
very handsome man, and he was born next
after Absalom. He conferred with Joab son
of Zeruiah and with the priest Abiathar, and
they supported Adonijah. But the priest
Zadok, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and
the prophet Nathan, and Shimei, and Rei,
and Davids own warriors did not side with
Adonijah.
Adonijah sacriced sheep, oxen, and
fatted cattle by the stone Zoheleth, which is
beside En-rogel, and he invited all his broth-
ers, the kings sons, and all the royal ocials

of Judah, but he did not invite the prophet
Nathan or Benaiah or the warriors or his
brother Solomon.
Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomons mother, Have you not heard that
Adonijah son of Haggith has become king
and our lord David does not know it? Now
therefore come, let me give you advice, so
that you may save your own life and the
life of your son Solomon. Go in at once to
King David, and say to him, Did you not, my
lord the king, swear to your servant, saying:
Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king,
and he shall sit on my throne? Why then is
Adonijah king? Then while you are still
there speaking with the king, I will come in
after you and conrm your words.
So Bathsheba went to the king in his
room. The king was very old; Abishag the
Shunammite was attending the king. Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king,
and the king said, What do you wish? She
said to him, My lord, you swore to your
servant by the Lord your God, saying: Your
son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and
he shall sit on my throne. But now suddenly Adonijah has become king, though
you, my lord the king, do not know it. He
has sacriced oxen, fatted cattle, and sheep
1.153: Solomons rise to the throne. The opening chapters of 1 Kings continue the account of the succession to David, which begins in 2 Samuel (see Introduction to 2 Samuel). The rst chapter of Kings shows that
Solomon was not the expected successor, but became king aer a court intrigue, a well-aested motif in Assyrian and Babylonian literature. 14: Virility and the ability to govern were connected in antiquity (see 1 Sam 16.22
where Absalom sleeps in public with Davids wives to show that he is the new king). The strategy of Davids
servants to revive his vigor fails. The question of his successor has thus become unavoidable. 3: Abishag is from
Shunem, a town in the Jezreel valley in northern Israel. 4: Despite Abishags integration into Davids harem, the
old king is unable to have sexual relations with her. 58: Aer the deaths of Amnon and Absalom (Chileab is
mentioned only in 2 Sam 3.4), Adonijah, the next oldest son, thinks he should succeed his father to the throne.
The narrator also suggests his suitability because he is very handsome, a royal aribute. Adonijah tries to gain
support for his claim, and two important members of the court are on his side: Joab, Davids nephew (his sisters
son, according to 1 Chr 2.16) and head of the army, and Abiathar, Davids priest, who had escaped Sauls slaughter of the priests of Nob (1 Sam 22.2023). The opposing group (v. 8) includes members of the Jerusalemite aristocracy: the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan, Benaiah, a chief of foreign mercenaries, and Shimei, whose
identity is not clear. Perhaps one may identify him with the one mentioned in 2 Sam 16.514. The Zadok-Nathan
party is also supported by Davids own warriors, Davids bodyguard. 910: Adonijahs abundant sacrices by the
stone Zoheleth (the snake stone) at En-rogel (the fullers spring, in the Kidron Valley southeast of Jerusalem)
are meant to foster unity among his party. 1114: There is no mention in the previous story of an oath sworn by
David in favor of Solomon, so it may be an invention of Nathan and Bathsheba to manipulate the ailing king.
1531: Bathsheba and Nathans strategy is successful in convincing David to proclaim Solomon his successor.
According to v. 22 Bathsheba is present while Nathan is speaking to David, whereas according to v. 28 she
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1 kings 1
in abundance, and has invited all the children
of the king, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the
commander of the army; but your servant
Solomon he has not invited. But you, my
lord the kingthe eyes of all Israel are on
you to tell them who shall sit on the throne of
my lord the king after him. Otherwise it will
come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps
with his ancestors, that my son Solomon and
I will be counted oenders.
While she was still speaking with the
king, the prophet Nathan came in. The king
was told, Here is the prophet Nathan. When
he came in before the king, he did obeisance
to the king, with his face to the ground.
Nathan said, My lord the king, have you
said, Adonijah shall succeed me as king, and
he shall sit on my throne? For today he
has gone down and has sacriced oxen, fatted cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has
invited all the kings children, Joab the commandera of the army, and the priest Abiathar,
who are now eating and drinking before him,
and saying, Long live King Adonijah! But
he did not invite me, your servant, and the
priest Zadok, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada,
and your servant Solomon. Has this thing
been brought about by my lord the king and
you have not let your servants know who
should sit on the throne of my lord the king
after him?
King David answered, Summon Bathsheba to me. So she came into the kings
presence, and stood before the king. The
king swore, saying, As the Lord lives, who
has saved my life from every adversity, as I
swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel,
Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king,
and he shall sit on my throne in my place, so
will I do this day. Then Bathsheba bowed
with her face to the ground, and did obeisance to the king, and said, May my lord
King David live forever!
King David said, Summon to me the

priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada. When they came before
the king, the king said to them, Take with
you the servants of your lord, and have my
son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring
him down to Gihon. There let the priest
Zadok and the prophet Nathan anoint him
king over Israel; then blow the trumpet, and
say, Long live King Solomon! You shall go
up following him. Let him enter and sit on my
throne; he shall be king in my place; for I have
appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over
Judah. Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered
the king, Amen! May the Lord, the God of
my lord the king, so ordain. As the Lord
has been with my lord the king, so may he be
with Solomon, and make his throne greater
than the throne of my lord King David.
So the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan,
and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down and had
Solomon ride on King Davids mule, and led
him to Gihon. There the priest Zadok took
the horn of oil from the tent and anointed
Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and
all the people said, Long live King Solomon!
And all the people went up following him,
playing on pipes and rejoicing with great joy,
so that the earth quaked at their noise.
Adonijah and all the guests who were
with him heard it as they nished feasting.
When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Why is the city in an uproar?
While he was still speaking, Jonathan son
of the priest Abiathar arrived. Adonijah said,
Come in, for you are a worthy man and surely
you bring good news. Jonathan answered
Adonijah, No, for our lord King David has
made Solomon king; the king has sent with
him the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan,
a Gk: Heb the commanders
seems to have le the audience, suggesting that the story has undergone revision. 3240: The anointing of
Solomon takes place at Gihon, the main spring of Jerusalem located in the Kidron Valley. 38: Whereas Saul and
David were anointed only by the prophet Samuel, but following the Lords instructions, Solomon is anointed
by a prophet and by a priest, but without explicit divine authorization. The Cherethites and Pelethites, who
participate in the ritual, are Davids personal troops; the names may allude to their Cretan and Philistine origin.
39: Tent, the mobile sanctuary, which David transferred to Jerusalem, will be replaced by the Temple built by
Solomon. 40: Aer the anointing a solemn procession to the throne begins the new kings rule. 4153: Jonathan,
son of Abiathar, who supported David during Absaloms revolt (2 Sam 15.36; 17.17) informs Adonijah that he will
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1 kings 2
and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they had him
ride on the kings mule; the priest Zadok
and the prophet Nathan have anointed him
king at Gihon; and they have gone up from
there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar.
This is the noise that you heard. Solomon
now sits on the royal throne. Moreover the
kings servants came to congratulate our lord
King David, saying, May God make the name
of Solomon more famous than yours, and
make his throne greater than your throne.
The king bowed in worship on the bed and
went on to pray thus, Blessed be the Lord, the
God of Israel, who today has granted one of
my ospringa to sit on my throne and permitted me to witness it.
Then all the guests of Adonijah got up
trembling and went their own ways. Adonijah, fearing Solomon, got up and went to
grasp the horns of the altar. Solomon was
informed, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; see, he has laid hold of the horns of
the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear to
me rst that he will not kill his servant with
the sword. So Solomon responded, If he
proves to be a worthy man, not one of his
hairs shall fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die. Then
King Solomon sent to have him brought
down from the altar. He came to do obeisance to King Solomon; and Solomon said to
him, Go home.
When Davids time to die drew near, he

charged his son Solomon, saying: I
am about to go the way of all the earth. Be
strong, be courageous, and keep the charge
of the Lord your God, walking in his ways
and keeping his statutes, his commandments,
his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is
written in the law of Moses, so that you may
prosper in all that you do and wherever you
turn. Then the Lord will establish his word
that he spoke concerning me: If your heirs
take heed to their way, to walk before me in
faithfulness with all their heart and with all
their soul, there shall not fail you a successor
on the throne of Israel.
Moreover you know also what Joab son
of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the
two commanders of the armies of Israel,
Abner son of Ner, and Amasa son of Jether,
whom he murdered, retaliating in time of
peace for blood that had been shed in war,
and putting the blood of war on the belt
around his waist, and on the sandals on his
feet. Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to
Sheol in peace. Deal loyally, however, with
the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let
them be among those who eat at your table;
for with such loyalty they met me when I ed
from your brother Absalom. There is also
with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite
a Gk: Heb one
not become king over Israel. 50: Adonijah fears revenge and grasps the horns of the altar. The altar with four
horns (see Ex 29.12; 30,3; Lev 4.7), quarter-round stones on each corner, was understood in some traditions as
oering a place of asylum. 52: Solomon promises that he will not harm Adonijah if he proves to be a worthy
man, behaving loyally to the new king (but see 2.2930).
2.112: Davids last words and his death. 14: Davids exhortations recall Gods words to Joshua, Israels
leader aer Moses death (Josh 1.29). Solomon, like every king in Israel, must abide by Gods commandments
as wrien in the law of Moses (see Deut 17.1820), particularly Deuteronomy; many of Davids exhortations are
taken from that book (see Deut 4.29,40; 8.6; 10.12; 11.1; 29.9). 4: A summary and interpretation of the dynastic
promise of 2 Sam 7.1216. The unconditional promise of an eternal dynasty in 2 Sam 7 is here transformed into
a conditional promise, stating that the Davidic dynasty will last only if his successors respect Gods will as expressed in Deuteronomy. 59: Davids order legitimates Solomons killing of Joab and Shimei (vv. 2846). 56:
Joab, a supporter of Adonijah, was formerly a loyal follower of David, who had carried out several murders,
some at Davids request. David accuses him of killing Abner (2 Sam 3.639) and Amasa (2 Sam 20.910). 89:
Shimei, who did not support Adonijah (1.8), has to die because he cursed David; David had sworn to him that
he would not harm him (2 Sam 19.23), but David now asks Solomon to kill his former antagonist. 6: Solomons
wisdom, which will be a main feature of his reign, is rst alluded to here. Sheol, the underworld where all the
dead go. David asks Solomon to hasten Joabs and Shimeis descent there. 7: In contrast, Barzillai is a model
of dutiful service to the king (2 Sam 17.2729; 19.3239). He is therefore to be allowed to eat at the kings
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1 kings 2
from Bahurim, who cursed me with a terrible
curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim;
but when he came down to meet me at the
Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, I will not
put you to death with the sword. Therefore
do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise
man; you will know what you ought to do to
him, and you must bring his gray head down
with blood to Sheol.
Then David slept with his ancestors,
and was buried in the city of David. The
time that David reigned over Israel was forty
years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and
thirty-three years in Jerusalem. So Solomon
sat on the throne of his father David; and his
kingdom was rmly established.
Then Adonijah son of Haggith came to
Bathsheba, Solomons mother. She asked,
Do you come peaceably? He said, Peaceably. Then he said, May I have a word
with you? She said, Go on. He said, You
know that the kingdom was mine, and that
all Israel expected me to reign; however, the
kingdom has turned about and become my
brothers, for it was his from the Lord. And
now I have one request to make of you; do
not refuse me. She said to him, Go on.
He said, Please ask King Solomonhe
will not refuse youto give me Abishag the
Shunammite as my wife. Bathsheba said,
Very well; I will speak to the king on your
behalf.
So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to
speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king
rose to meet her, and bowed down to her;
then he sat on his throne, and had a throne
brought for the kings mother, and she sat
on his right. Then she said, I have one

small request to make of you; do not refuse
me. And the king said to her, Make your
request, my mother; for I will not refuse you.
She said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be
given to your brother Adonijah as his wife.
King Solomon answered his mother, And
why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for
Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom as well!
For he is my elder brother; ask not only for
him but also for the priest Abiathar and for
Joab son of Zeruiah! Then King Solomon
swore by the Lord, So may God do to me,
and more also, for Adonijah has devised this
scheme at the risk of his life! Now therefore
as the Lord lives, who has established me
and placed me on the throne of my father
David, and who has made me a house as he
promised, today Adonijah shall be put to
death. So King Solomon sent Benaiah son
of Jehoiada; he struck him down, and he died.
The king said to the priest Abiathar, Go
to Anathoth, to your estate; for you deserve
death. But I will not at this time put you to
death, because you carried the ark of the Lord
God before my father David, and because
you shared in all the hardships my father
endured. So Solomon banished Abiathar
from being priest to the Lord, thus fullling the word of the Lord that he had spoken
concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
When the news came to Joabfor Joab
had supported Adonijah though he had not
supported AbsalomJoab ed to the tent of
the Lord and grasped the horns of the altar.
When it was told King Solomon, Joab
has ed to the tent of the Lord and now is
table, a high distinction. 10: David slept with his ancestors, this standard formula occurs for kings who died a
natural death and expresses the idea of being united with ones ancestors in Sheol, as well as being buried in
the family tomb. 11: The forty-year reign of David should be understood symbolically as a reign of a complete,
perfect period. In general, it is dicult to reconstruct historical dates for this period, but the rst half of the
tenth century bce is probably correct; see Chronological Table of Rulers on p. 486. 12: The notice about the
establishment of Solomons kingdom is repeated in v. 46. Between these two verses the narrator tells us how
this was accomplished.
2.1346: Solomons elimination of his enemies and consolidation of his kingship. The fates of Adonijah, Abiathar, Joab, and Shimei. 1325: Adonijahs request, which is relayed by Bathsheba, to marry Davids
last concubine Abishag is ambiguous since it can be understood as legitimating a claim to the throne
(see 2 Sam 16.2022). In Solomons eyes Adonijah is still a rival who has to die. 2627: Adonijahs death
is followed by the banishing of his supporter, the priest Abiathar. Abiathars exile to Anathoth (ca. 4 mi
[6 km] northeast of Jerusalem), the hometown of the prophet Jeremiah, fulfils the divine oracle against
the descendants of the priest Eli in 1 Sam 2.2736. 2835: The death of Joab may cast a negative light on
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1 kings 3
beside the altar, Solomon sent Benaiah son
of Jehoiada, saying, Go, strike him down.
So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord
and said to him, The king commands, Come
out. But he said, No, I will die here. Then
Benaiah brought the king word again, saying,
Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
The king replied to him, Do as he has said,
strike him down and bury him; and thus take
away from me and from my fathers house
the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without
cause. The Lord will bring back his bloody
deeds on his own head, because, without the
knowledge of my father David, he attacked
and killed with the sword two men more
righteous and better than himself, Abner
son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel,
and Amasa son of Jether, commander of the
army of Judah. So shall their blood come
back on the head of Joab and on the head of
his descendants forever; but to David, and
to his descendants, and to his house, and
to his throne, there shall be peace from the
Lord forevermore. Then Benaiah son of
Jehoiada went up and struck him down and
killed him; and he was buried at his own
house near the wilderness. The king put
Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in his
place, and the king put the priest Zadok in
the place of Abiathar.
Then the king sent and summoned
Shimei, and said to him, Build yourself a
house in Jerusalem, and live there, and do
not go out from there to any place whatever.
For on the day you go out, and cross the
Wadi Kidron, know for certain that you shall
die; your blood shall be on your own head.
And Shimei said to the king, The sentence
is fair; as my lord the king has said, so will

your servant do. So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
But it happened at the end of three years
that two of Shimeis slaves ran away to King
Achish son of Maacah of Gath. When it was
told Shimei, Your slaves are in Gath, Shimei arose and saddled a donkey, and went to
Achish in Gath, to search for his slaves; Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath.
When Solomon was told that Shimei had
gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned,
the king sent and summoned Shimei, and
said to him, Did I not make you swear by
the Lord, and solemnly adjure you, saying,
Know for certain that on the day you go out
and go to any place whatever, you shall die?
And you said to me, The sentence is fair; I
accept. Why then have you not kept your
oath to the Lord and the commandment with
which I charged you? The king also said to
Shimei, You know in your own heart all the
evil that you did to my father David; so the
Lord will bring back your evil on your own
head. But King Solomon shall be blessed,
and the throne of David shall be established
before the Lord forever. Then the king
commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada; and he
went out and struck him down, and he died.
So the kingdom was established in the
hand of Solomon.
Solomon made a marriage alliance with
Pharaoh king of Egypt; he took Pharaohs
daughter and brought her into the city of
David, until he had nished building his own
house and the house of the Lord and the wall
around Jerusalem. The people were sacricing at the high places, however, because no
Solomon since he has Benaiah (who also killed Adonijah) kill him inside the holy tent where Joab grasped
the horns of the altar (see 1.50). 3646: Shimei is first put under house arrest in Jerusalem in order to
prevent him from crossing the Wadi Kidron (to enter the territory of Benjamin, King Sauls home) in order
to instigate a revolt from his power base. But when three of his slaves run away, Shimei goes westward
to the Philistine town of Gath. Solomon takes this opportunity to have him executed. In this passage the
murders of Joab and Shimei are not related as fulfillment of Davids order; they are presented as Solomons
own initiative. His kingdom is therefore established by violence, but this need not be seen as a negative
value-judgment by our author: Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian texts tell similar stories about the rise
to power of important kings.
3.128: Solomons wisdom. 1: The story of Solomons reign starts with a note about his marriage with Pharaohs daughter. This marriage is also mentioned in the Masoretic Text (MT) in 7.8 and 9.1617,24, while the LXX
reports it in dierent places (2.35c.f.; 5.14; 7.45). The Pharaohs name is not noted, and the historicity of this
information is dicult to establish. Deut 17.16; 26.28 warns against too-close relations with Egypt, so this text
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1 kings 3
house had yet been built for the name of the
Lord.
Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the
statutes of his father David; only, he sacriced
and oered incense at the high places. The
king went to Gibeon to sacrice there, for
that was the principal high place; Solomon
used to oer a thousand burnt oerings on
that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to
Solomon in a dream by night; and God said,
Ask what I should give you. And Solomon
said, You have shown great and steadfast
love to your servant my father David, because
he walked before you in faithfulness, in
righteousness, and in uprightness of heart
toward you; and you have kept for him this
great and steadfast love, and have given him
a son to sit on his throne today. And now,
OLord my God, you have made your servant
king in place of my father David, although I
am only a little child; I do not know how to
go out or come in. And your servant is in the
midst of the people whom you have chosen,
a great people, so numerous they cannot be
numbered or counted. Give your servant
therefore an understanding mind to govern
your people, able to discern between good
and evil; for who can govern this your great
people?
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had
asked this. God said to him, Because you
have asked this, and have not asked for
yourself long life or riches, or for the life of

your enemies, but have asked for yourself
understanding to discern what is right, I
now do according to your word. Indeed I give
you a wise and discerning mind; no one like
you has been before you and no one like you
shall arise after you. I give you also what
you have not asked, both riches and honor
all your life; no other king shall compare with
you. If you will walk in my ways, keeping
my statutes and my commandments, as your
father David walked, then I will lengthen
your life.
Then Solomon awoke; it had been a
dream. He came to Jerusalem where he stood
before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
He oered up burnt oerings and oerings
of well-being, and provided a feast for all his
servants.
Later, two women who were prostitutes
came to the king and stood before him. The
one woman said, Please, my lord, this woman
and I live in the same house; and I gave birth
while she was in the house. Then on the third
day after I gave birth, this woman also gave
birth. We were together; there was no one else
with us in the house, only the two of us were
in the house. Then this womans son died in
the night, because she lay on him. She got
up in the middle of the night and took my son
from beside me while your servant slept. She
laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son
may hint that Solomon was not an ideal king. 23: In a description of other less-than-ideal behavior, the people
and Solomon, in contradiction to Deuteronomic law (Deut 12) worship at the high places, local open-air sanctuaries, which are oen condemned as idolatrous. They are regularly mentioned in the accusations against
the bad kings. Here, however, Solomon is somewhat exonerated, since the Temple for the God of Israel, the
only legitimate sanctuary, has not yet been built. 415: The divine vision organizes the story of Solomons rule
in two parts (see also 9.19). 3.48.66 relate mostly the positive aspects of his reign, which culminates with
the building of the Temple; chs 9.1011.43 underline Solomons problematic behavior, which led to disaster. 4:
Gibeon, 5.6 mi (9 km) northwest of Jerusalem, was an important religious and political center during the monarchy. Solomon honors the place by seeking there, through sacrices and an incubation dream, a divine oracle
at the beginning of his reign. 59: God tests Solomon and he behaves rightly in asking for wisdom in order to
accomplish his royal task. 7: Solomons self-presentation as a lile child or a young boy is not a reference to his
age, but a conventional expression that expresses incapacity to accomplish an important task (see Judg 6.15; Jer
1.6). To go out or come in concerns military experience (see Num 27.1517). 1213: God is pleased by Solomons
quest for wisdom and also promises him outstanding wealth. Both themes are developed in the following account of Solomons reign. 14: The divine promise is oered conditionally. 15: The correct place for the Lords
worship is Jerusalem and not Gibeon. 1628: The judgment of Solomon is the rst illustration of the kings
newly acquired wisdom, since administration of justice is an important royal function. The name of Solomon
is not mentioned in this story, which may have been originally an independent folktale. Its incorporation in
the Solomon narrative contrasts with ch 2 where Solomon uses his wisdom to kill his enemies by the sword.
hebrew bible | 493
TYRE
AS
HE
R
N
AP
H
TA
LI
Dan
33
BA
SH
AN
VIII
Mediterranean
Sea
ISSACHAR
IV
Jezreel
Taanach
Hepher
Socoh
III
Beth-shean
Arubboth
Abel-meholah
IM
RA
H
I
EP
VI
VII
Ramoth-gilead
32
Mahanaim
XI
Shaalbim
Makaz
Megiddo
NA P H
Dor
G I L E
A D
AT H -
DOR
IX
II
Elon
Beth-shemesh
BENJAMIN
JERUSALEM
XII
JUDAH
Dead
Sea
Beer-sheba
31
0
0
35
4.719: Solomons twelve administrative districts.
494 | hebrew bible
10
10
36
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
1 kings 4
at my breast. When I rose in the morning to
nurse my son, I saw that he was dead; but when
I looked at him closely in the morning, clearly
it was not the son I had borne. But the other
woman said, No, the living son is mine, and
the dead son is yours. The rst said, No, the
dead son is yours, and the living son is mine.
So they argued before the king.
Then the king said, The one says,
This is my son that is alive, and your son
is dead; while the other says, Not so! Your
son is dead, and my son is the living one.
So the king said, Bring me a sword, and
they brought a sword before the king. The
king said, Divide the living boy in two; then
give half to the one, and half to the other.
But the woman whose son was alive said to
the kingbecause compassion for her son
burned within herPlease, my lord, give
her the living boy; certainly do not kill him!
The other said, It shall be neither mine nor
yours; divide it. Then the king responded:
Give the rst woman the living boy; do not
kill him. She is his mother. All Israel heard
of the judgment that the king had rendered;
and they stood in awe of the king, because
they perceived that the wisdom of God was in
him, to execute justice.
King Solomon was king over all Israel,
and these were his high ocials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest; Elihoreph
and Ahijah sons of Shisha were secretaries;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder;
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in command of
the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
Azariah son of Nathan was over the ocials;
Zabud son of Nathan was priest and kings
friend; Ahishar was in charge of the palace;

and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of
the forced labor.
Solomon had twelve ocials over all
Israel, who provided food for the king and
his household; each one had to make provision for one month in the year. These were
their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of
Ephraim; Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim,
Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan; Benhesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh
and all the land of Hepher); Ben-abinadab,
in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath, Solomons daughter, as his wife); Baana son
of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all
Beth-shean, which is beside Zarethan below
Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;
Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the
villages of Jair son of Manasseh, which are
in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob,
which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with
walls and bronze bars); Ahinadab son of
Iddo, in Mahanaim; Ahimaaz, in Naphtali
(he had taken Basemath, Solomons daughter,
as his wife); Baana son of Hushai, in Asher
and Bealoth; Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in
Issachar; Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin;
Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the
country of King Sihon of the Amorites and of
King Og of Bashan. And there was one ocial
in the land of Judah.
Judah and Israel were as numerous as
the sand by the sea; they ate and drank and
were happy. a Solomon was sovereign over
a Ch 5.1 in Heb
2427: The royal sword is used in order to preserve life and establish justice.
4.134: The organization of Solomons kingdom. 16: A list of Solomons high ocials. The most important
positions at the royal court were the priest (surprisingly v. 4 mentions Abiathar, who according to 2.27 had been
banished); the state-secretary or scribe and spokesman; the chief commander of the army; the chief of the
ocials (see vv. 719); the kings friend, a title for the kings condant; the prime minister, called the one who
was in charge of the palace; and the supervisor of the forced labor, a new institution that will play an important
role during Solomons reign. 719: Twelve ocials who functioned as governors in charge of twelve regions in
northern Israel, only partially based on traditional tribal areas (see map on p. 494). They organized taxes and
provisions for the king and the Jerusalem court, with each region responsible for the provision for one month
of the year. 19: The text is uncertain here. The NRSV reference to Judah is found in some Greek manuscripts but
not in the Hebrew. A later copyist probably missed a reference to Judah and inserted it here. The Hebrew reads:
there was one ocial in the land, probably the governor mentioned in v. 5 to whom the twelve ocials were
responsible. 20: The concluding remark suggests that under Solomons reign Gods promise to the patriarchs
(Gen 22.17; 32.12) that Israel would be as numerous as the sand by the sea had been fullled. 2128: Solomon is
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1 kings 5
all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the
land of the Philistines, even to the border of
Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
Solomons provision for one day was
thirty cors of choice our, and sixty cors of
meal, ten fat oxen, and twenty pasturefed cattle, one hundred sheep, besides deer,
gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl. For he
had dominion over all the region west of the
Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the
kings west of the Euphrates; and he had peace
on all sides. During Solomons lifetime
Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan
even to Beer-sheba, all of them under their
vines and g trees. Solomon also had forty
thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and
twelve thousand horsemen. Those ocials
supplied provisions for King Solomon and for
all who came to King Solomons table, each
one in his month; they let nothing be lacking.
They also brought to the required place
barley and straw for the horses and swift
steeds, each according to his charge.
God gave Solomon very great wisdom,
discernment, and breadth of understanding
as vast as the sand on the seashore, so that
Solomons wisdom surpassed the wisdom of
all the people of the east, and all the wisdom
of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else,
wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman,
Calcol, and Darda, children of Mahol; his
fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. He composed three thousand
proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand
and ve. He would speak of trees, from the

cedar that is in the Lebanon to the hyssop that
grows in the wall; he would speak of animals,
and birds, and reptiles, and sh. People
came from all the nations to hear the wisdom
of Solomon; they came from all the kings of
the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
a Now King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants
to Solomon, when he heard that they
had anointed him king in place of his father;
for Hiram had always been a friend to David.
Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, You
know that my father David could not build a
house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies
surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.b But now the Lord
my God has given me rest on every side;
there is neither adversary nor misfortune.
So I intend to build a house for the name
of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to my
father David, Your son, whom I will set on
your throne in your place, shall build the
house for my name. Therefore command
that cedars from the Lebanon be cut for me.
My servants will join your servants, and I
will give you whatever wages you set for your
servants; for you know that there is no one
among us who knows how to cut timber like
the Sidonians.
When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be
a Ch 5.15 in Heb
b Gk Tg Vg: Heb my feet or his feet
described as dominating all kingdoms in the ancient Near East, an idealized description based on the borders
of the land promised to Abraham in Gen 15.18. More realistic boundaries of Israel are found in v. 25, from Dan
. . . to Beer-sheba (the traditional northern and southern limits of Israel and Judah). 2223,2728: Additional information (see 4.7) about the royal provisions, which are incredibly high. 26: For Solomons horses see 10.2629.
2934: Solomon surpasses the other nations also in wisdom. He is wiser than the great nations of wisdom,
Egypt and the people of the east (probably Assyria and Babylon) and wiser than the great men known for their
wisdom: Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda (mentioned in 1 Chr 2.6; 6.1828). 32: Solomons reputation as a maker
of proverbs is reected in Prov 1.1; 10.1; 25.1, where he is considered to be the author of dierent collections of
proverbs. For the aribution of songs to Solomon, see Pss 72; 127; Song 1.1.
5.118: Solomons relation with Hiram of Tyre and the preparations for building the Temple. According to
2 Sam 5.11, King Hiram of Tyre was an ally of David. After Solomons rise to the throne he sends a goodwill
embassy to him, to show that he wanted to continue the good relationship between the two kingdoms.
26: Solomons request to Hiram. 34: The divine gift of rest from all enemies is a prominent theme in
the Deuteronomistic History (e.g., Deut 12.10; Josh 21.44; 23.1; 2 Sam 7.1). Here this rest is a necessary
condition for the building of the Temple. 6: The Phoenicians were famous for their cedars, one of their
chief exports. Sidonians, here probably a general term for the Phoenicians. Sidon, like Tyre, is a city on the
496 | hebrew bible
1 kings 6
the Lord today, who has given to David a wise
son to be over this great people. Hiram sent
word to Solomon, I have heard the message
that you have sent to me; I will fulll all your
needs in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. My servants shall bring it down to the
sea from the Lebanon; I will make it into rafts
to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will
have them broken up there for you to take
away. And you shall meet my needs by providing food for my household. So Hiram
supplied Solomons every need for timber of
cedar and cypress. Solomon in turn gave
Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as
food for his household, and twenty cors of
ne oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by
year. So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as
he promised him. There was peace between
Hiram and Solomon; and the two of them
made a treaty.
King Solomon conscripted forced labor
out of all Israel; the levy numbered thirty
thousand men. He sent them to the Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they
would be a month in the Lebanon and two
months at home; Adoniram was in charge of
the forced labor. Solomon also had seventy thousand laborers and eighty thousand
stonecutters in the hill country, besides
Solomons three thousand three hundred
supervisors who were over the work, having
charge of the people who did the work. At
the kings command, they quarried out great,
costly stones in order to lay the foundation of
the house with dressed stones. So Solomons builders and Hirams builders and the
Gebalites did the stonecutting and prepared
the timber and the stone to build the house.
In the four hundred eightieth year after
the Israelites came out of the land of
Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomons reign
over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the
second month, he began to build the house
of the Lord. The house that King Solomon
built for the Lord was sixty cubits long,
twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.
The vestibule in front of the nave of the
house was twenty cubits wide, across the
width of the house. Its depth was ten cubits
in front of the house. For the house he made
windows with recessed frames.a He also
built a structure against the wall of the house,
running around the walls of the house, both
the nave and the inner sanctuary; and he
made side chambers all around. The lowest
storyb was ve cubits wide, the middle one
was six cubits wide, and the third was seven
cubits wide; for around the outside of the
house he made osets on the wall in order
that the supporting beams should not be
inserted into the walls of the house.
The house was built with stone nished
at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor ax
nor any tool of iron was heard in the temple
while it was being built.

b Gk: Heb structure
Phoenician cost, south of Beirut. 712: Hiram transports the wood in rafts and Solomon pays with very
large amounts of wheat and oil. 12: There is a wordplay in Hebrew between peace (Heb shalom) and the
name of Solomon (shelomoh). 1318: Contrary to 9.2022, this passage states that Solomon compelled
the Israelites to forced labor in order to build the Temple. 18: The Gebalites, the inhabitants of Byblos, a
Phoenician city north of Tyre, are mentioned here as a separate group. From early times Byblos was an
important timber port, and later was a major shipping center of papyrus; the term Bible is derived from
the citys name.
6.138: The building of the Temple. The Temple and its ings are described in detail, whereas the palace
complex is described more briey (7.112), suggesting that the writer was more interested in the Temple than
the palace. The Temple is foreshadowed in Ex 2531; 3540, and is similar in design to sanctuaries found in Assyria, Syria, and Israel. The closest parallels can be found at Hazor in Israel, Tell Tayinat in southeastern Turkey,
and Ain Dara in Syria. 1: The four hundred eightieth year aer the Exodus is not historical fact and likely belongs
to a late, typological chronological system. The Hebrew month Ziv, which is numbered second according to the
Babylonian system from the spring New Year, falls in April-May. 210: A cubit is the distance from the tip of the
elbow to the tip of the middle nger (ca. 17.5 in [45 cm]). The Temples form is tripartite, comprising the vestibule
or entrance hall, the nave or main hall, and the inner sanctuary, the most holy place (v. 16) of the sanctuary, to
which access was severely restricted. A complex structure is built around the Temple. 7: No iron tools were used
hebrew bible | 497
1 kings 6
20 cubits
40 cubits
10 cubits
Inner
Sanctuary
Nave
Vestibule
Pillar
Boaz
Altar of
Sacrice
3-story
structure
20 cubits
10 cubits
N
W
E
S
Pillar
Jachin
60 cubits
TEMPLE
100 cubits
Hall of
Throne
(Hall of
Judgment)
Dimensions
not given
Molten
Sea
30 cubits
House of the
Forest of Lebanon
Hall of
Pillars
50 cubits
PALACE
The Temple and palace of Solomon according to First Kings.
The entrance for the middle story was on

the south side of the house: one went up by
winding stairs to the middle story, and from
the middle story to the third. So he built the
house, and nished it; he roofed the house
with beams and planks of cedar. He built
the structure against the whole house, each
storya ve cubits high, and it was joined to
the house with timbers of cedar.
Now the word of the Lord came to
Solomon, Concerning this house that you
are building, if you will walk in my statutes,
obey my ordinances, and keep all my commandments by walking in them, then I will
establish my promise with you, which I made
to your father David. I will dwell among the
children of Israel, and will not forsake my
people Israel.
So Solomon built the house, and nished it. He lined the walls of the house
on the inside with boards of cedar; from the
oor of the house to the rafters of the ceiling,
he covered them on the inside with wood;
and he covered the oor of the house with
boards of cypress. He built twenty cubits
of the rear of the house with boards of cedar
from the oor to the rafters, and he built this
within as an inner sanctuary, as the most
holy place. The house, that is, the nave in
front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits
long. The cedar within the house had
carvings of gourds and open owers; all was
cedar, no stone was seen. The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the
a Heb lacks each story
at the Temple site; cf. Ex 20.25; Deut 27.5. 1113: Gods speech to Solomon interrupts the building report and
insists that the divine presence will inhabit the sanctuary only if Solomon observes the divine commandments
(see also Jer 7.115). 1436: Aer the building of the external structure is concluded, the construction of the
inside of the Temple is described. 1518: The interior walls, oors, and ceilings are covered with wood, so that
all stones are covered. 1928: Particular aention is paid to the inner sanctuary, the holiest part of the Temple
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1 kings 7
house, to set there the ark of the covenant of
the Lord. The interior of the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits
wide, and twenty cubits high; he overlaid it
with pure gold. He also overlaid the altar with
cedar.a Solomon overlaid the inside of the
house with pure gold, then he drew chains of
gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary,
and overlaid it with gold. Next he overlaid
the whole house with gold, in order that
the whole house might be perfect; even the
whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.
In the inner sanctuary he made two
cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high.
Five cubits was the length of one wing of
the cherub, and ve cubits the length of the
other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits
from the tip of one wing to the tip of the
other. The other cherub also measured ten
cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. The height of one
cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the
other cherub. He put the cherubim in the
innermost part of the house; the wings of the
cherubim were spread out so that a wing of
one was touching the one wall, and a wing of
the other cherub was touching the other wall;
their other wings toward the center of the
house were touching wing to wing. He also
overlaid the cherubim with gold.
He carved the walls of the house all
around about with carved engravings of
cherubim, palm trees, and open owers, in
the inner and outer rooms. The oor of the
house he overlaid with gold, in the inner and
outer rooms.
For the entrance to the inner sanctuary

he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and
the doorposts were ve-sided.a He covered
the two doors of olivewood with carvings of
cherubim, palm trees, and open owers; he
overlaid them with gold, and spread gold on
the cherubim and on the palm trees.
So also he made for the entrance to the
nave doorposts of olivewood, four-sided
each, and two doors of cypress wood; the
two leaves of the one door were folding, and
the two leaves of the other door were folding.
He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open
owers, overlaying them with gold evenly
applied upon the carved work. He built
the inner court with three courses of dressed
stone to one course of cedar beams.
In the fourth year the foundation of the
house of the Lord was laid, in the month of
Ziv. In the eleventh year, in the month of
Bul, which is the eighth month, the house
was nished in all its parts, and according to
all its specications. He was seven years in
building it.
Solomon was building his own house
thirteen years, and he nished his entire
house.
He built the House of the Forest of the
Lebanon one hundred cubits long, fty cubits
wide, and thirty cubits high, built on four
rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the
pillars. It was roofed with cedar on the fortyve rafters, fteen in each row, which were
on the pillars. There were window frames
in the three rows, facing each other in the
where the ark of the covenant, a component of Gods throne, is placed. 2328: The cherubim are winged, composite creatures well known in the ancient Near East. They may be guardians of the ark (see Gen 3.24, where
they are guardians of the garden of Eden). In Assyria and Babylon winged sphinxes stood at the entrance of
temples and palaces. In Phoenician art, winged human-faced creatures support the throne of a king, a function
they likely had in the Temple here (see Ps 99.1; 2 Kings 19.15). 2936: The authors highlight the splendor of the
decoration: everything was overlaid with gold, and there were special carvings, with the cherubim symbolizing
divine protection, and open owers and palm trees for fertility. The dierent, richly decorated doors separate the
three parts of the Temple. 3638: Building the Temple took seven years and six months.
7.112: Building the palace. In the ancient Near East the palace and the (royal) sanctuary oen belong to the
same complex. Here the Temple is relatively modest compared to the palace. 1: Therefore it is not astonishing
that Solomon spent thirteen years, almost twice as long on his palace as he did on the Temple. This remark can
also be understood as a discreet criticism of Solomons priorities. 25: House of the Forest of the Lebanon, the
rows of cedar pillars suggest the idea of a forest. Such a structure may show Egyptian inuence. It was perhaps
a treasury and armory (see 1 Kings 10.17 and Isa 22.8). For the author, this was the most important building of
hebrew bible | 499
1 kings 7
three rows. All the doorways and doorposts
had four-sided frames, opposite, facing each
other in the three rows.
He made the Hall of Pillars fty cubits
long and thirty cubits wide. There was a
porch in front with pillars, and a canopy in
front of them.
He made the Hall of the Throne where he
was to pronounce judgment, the Hall of Justice, covered with cedar from oor to oor.
His own house where he would reside,
in the other court back of the hall, was of
the same construction. Solomon also made
a house like this hall for Pharaohs daughter,
whom he had taken in marriage.
All these were made of costly stones,
cut according to measure, sawed with saws,
back and front, from the foundation to the
coping, and from outside to the great court.
The foundation was of costly stones, huge
stones, stones of eight and ten cubits. There
were costly stones above, cut to measure,
and cedarwood. The great court had three
courses of dressed stone to one layer of cedar
beams all around; so had the inner court of
the house of the Lord, and the vestibule of
the house.
Now King Solomon invited and received
Hiram from Tyre. He was the son of a
widow of the tribe of Naphtali, whose father,
a man of Tyre, had been an artisan in bronze;
he was full of skill, intelligence, and knowledge in working bronze. He came to King
Solomon, and did all his work.
He cast two pillars of bronze. Eighteen

cubits was the height of the one, and a cord
of twelve cubits would encircle it; the second
pillar was the same.a He also made two
capitals of molten bronze, to set on the tops
of the pillars; the height of the one capital
was ve cubits, and the height of the other
capital was ve cubits. There were nets of
checker work with wreaths of chain work for
the capitals on the tops of the pillars; sevenb
for the one capital, and sevenb for the other
capital. He made the columns with two
rows around each latticework to cover the
capitals that were above the pomegranates;
he did the same with the other capital. Now
the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily-work, four
cubits high. The capitals were on the two
pillars and also above the rounded projection that was beside the latticework; there
were two hundred pomegranates in rows
all around; and so with the other capital.
He set up the pillars at the vestibule of the
temple; he set up the pillar on the south and
called it Jachin; and he set up the pillar on the
north and called it Boaz. On the tops of the
pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the
pillars was nished.
Then he made the molten sea; it was
round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and
a Cn: Heb and a cord of twelve cubits encircled the
second pillar ; Compare Jer 52.21
b Heb: Gk a net
the palace complex. 67: The Hall of Pillars could have been the waiting hall for the Hall of the Throne, where the
king dispensed justice. 8: The private quarters comprise Solomons residence and a residence for the daughter
of Pharaoh (see 3.1 and 9.24). The author does not tell us about the harem for Solomons other wives. 912: The
foundations were built with huge quarry blocks.
7.1351: Hiram and the furnishings of the Temple. 1314: The Hiram who appears here as crasman is called
Huram-abi in 2 Chr 2.1213 and should not be confused with King Hiram of ch 5. The detail about his Israelite
mother (according to 2 Chr 2.12, his mother is not from the tribe of Naphtali but from Dan) was provided
to reassure the reader that the main crasman of the Temple was not a foreigner (cf. Ezra 4.13 for a similar
sensitivity to the question of involvement in the Temple building). His skills are like those of Bezalel, who constructed the Tabernacle (Ex 31.3; 35.31). 1522: The two huge pillars (more than 26 [8 m] high) at the entry of
the vestibule symbolize the Lords presence in the Temple and his protection of the royal dynasty. This is also
symbolized in their names: Jachin (which also occurs in the name of King Jehoiachin) means he will establish
and refers to Gods initiative to establish the throne of the king (2 Sam 7.13); Boaz (by him he is mighty)
expresses the kings dependence on the divine favor. 2326: Molten, molded or cast. The molten sea was a
large metal basin lled with water (two thousand baths: a bath equals ca. 6 gal [23 l]) representing the primeval
watery chaos subdued by the Lord, creator of the world (see Ps 74). The twelve oxen or bulls that supported
the basin represented divine strength (see 1 Kings 12.28). According to 2 Chr 4.6 the molten sea was used for
500 | hebrew bible
1 kings 7
ve cubits high. A line of thirty cubits would
encircle it completely. Under its brim were
panels all around it, each of ten cubits, surrounding the sea; there were two rows of panels, cast when it was cast. It stood on twelve
oxen, three facing north, three facing west,
three facing south, and three facing east; the
sea was set on them. The hindquarters of
each were toward the inside. Its thickness
was a handbreadth; its brim was made like
the brim of a cup, like the ower of a lily; it
held two thousand baths.a
He also made the ten stands of bronze;
each stand was four cubits long, four cubits
wide, and three cubits high. This was
the construction of the stands: they had
borders; the borders were within the frames;
on the borders that were set in the frames
were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the
frames, both above and below the lions and
oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work.
Each stand had four bronze wheels and
axles of bronze; at the four corners were
supports for a basin. The supports were
cast with wreaths at the side of each. Its
opening was within the crown whose height
was one cubit; its opening was round, as a
pedestal is made; it was a cubit and a half
wide. At its opening there were carvings; its
borders were four-sided, not round. The
four wheels were underneath the borders;
the axles of the wheels were in the stands;
and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a
half. The wheels were made like a chariot
wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes,
and their hubs were all cast. There were
four supports at the four corners of each
stand; the supports were of one piece with
the stands. On the top of the stand there
was a round band half a cubit high; on the
top of the stand, its stays and its borders
were of one piece with it. On the surfaces
of its stays and on its borders he carved
cherubim, lions, and palm trees, where each
had space, with wreaths all around. In
this way he made the ten stands; all of them

were cast alike, with the same size and the
same form.
He made ten basins of bronze; each
basin held forty baths,a each basin measured
four cubits; there was a basin for each of the
ten stands. He set ve of the stands on the
south side of the house, and ve on the north
side of the house; he set the sea on the southeast corner of the house.
Hiram also made the pots, the shovels,
and the basins. So Hiram finished all the
work that he did for King Solomon on the
house of the Lord: the two pillars, the
two bowls of the capitals that were on the
tops of the pillars, the two latticeworks to
cover the two bowls of the capitals that
were on the tops of the pillars; the four
hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each
latticework, to cover the two bowls of the
capitals that were on the pillars; the ten
stands, the ten basins on the stands; the
one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath
the sea.
The pots, the shovels, and the basins,
all these vessels that Hiram made for King
Solomon for the house of the Lord were
of burnished bronze. In the plain of the
Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground
between Succoth and Zarethan. Solomon
left all the vessels unweighed, because there
were so many of them; the weight of the
bronze was not determined.
So Solomon made all the vessels that
were in the house of the Lord: the golden
altar, the golden table for the bread of the
Presence, the lampstands of pure gold,
ve on the south side and ve on the north,
in front of the inner sanctuary; the owers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; the
cups, snuers, basins, dishes for incense,
and repans, of pure gold; the sockets for the
a A Heb measure of volume
the ritual washings of the priest. 2739: The wheeled stands and their bases may have originally symbolized
Gods power to provide water and rain, but later they were understood to provide the water necessary for the
performance of sacricial worship. 4051: The division of work between Hiram and Solomon: Hiram made
the objects of bronze, whereas Solomon made the more prestigious vessels of gold. 46: Hiram did his work
in the Jordan valley, where appropriate clay is to be found. Succoth, probably Deir Alla, and Zarethan, were in
Transjordan near the Jabbok River. 4850: Solomon himself is responsible for all objects related directly to
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1 kings 8
doors of the innermost part of the house, the
most holy place, and for the doors of the nave
of the temple, of gold.
Thus all the work that King Solomon
did on the house of the Lord was nished.
Solomon brought in the things that his father
David had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and
the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries
of the house of the Lord.
Then Solomon assembled the elders of
Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the
leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to
bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord
out of the city of David, which is Zion. All
the people of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the festival in the month Ethanim,
which is the seventh month. And all the
elders of Israel came, and the priests carried
the ark. So they brought up the ark of the
Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy
vessels that were in the tent; the priests and
the Levites brought them up. King Solomon
and all the congregation of Israel, who had
assembled before him, were with him before
the ark, sacricing so many sheep and oxen
that they could not be counted or numbered.
Then the priests brought the ark of the
covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner
sanctuary of the house, in the most holy
place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.
For the cherubim spread out their wings
over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its
poles. The poles were so long that the ends
of the poles were seen from the holy place in
front of the inner sanctuary; but they could
not be seen from outside; they are there to

this day. There was nothing in the ark except
the two tablets of stone that Moses had
placed there at Horeb, where the Lord made
a covenant with the Israelites, when they
came out of the land of Egypt. And when
the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud
lled the house of the Lord, so that the
priests could not stand to minister because of
the cloud; for the glory of the Lord lled the
house of the Lord.
Then Solomon said,
The Lord has said that he would dwell in
thick darkness.
I have built you an exalted house,
a place for you to dwell in forever.
Then the king turned around and
blessed all the assembly of Israel, while
all the assembly of Israel stood. He said,
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who
with his hand has fullled what he promised
with his mouth to my father David, saying,
Since the day that I brought my people
Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city
from any of the tribes of Israel in which to
build a house, that my name might be there;
but I chose David to be over my people Israel.
My father David had it in mind to build a
house for the name of the Lord, the God of
Israel. But the Lord said to my father David,
You did well to consider building a house for
my name; nevertheless you shall not build
the house, but your son who shall be born
to you shall build the house for my name.
Now the Lord has upheld the promise that
he made; for I have risen in the place of my
father David; I sit on the throne of Israel, as
sacricial worship. Bread of the Presence, see Ex 25.30; Lev 24.59. 51: See 2 Sam 8.912, where David dedicates
his booty to the Lord.
8.166: The inauguration of the Temple. 113: The ark is now transferred from the tent sanctuary into the
inner sanctuary of the Temple. 2: The Temple was nished in the eighth month (6.38), so the inauguration took
place in the following year in the seventh month (September-October), aer the end of the harvest seasons, at
the festival of booths (tabernacles); see v. 66. 34: As in Josh 34, the ark is carried by the priests and Levites,
because touching it is dangerous for lay people. 9: The statement that nothing was in the ark but the tablets of
stone that Moses had placed (see Deut 10.15) is meant to counter the popular idea that God is present in the ark.
1011: A cloud is oen associated with divine appearances (e.g., Ex 13.2122; 16.10; 19.9) and covers the earlier
tent sanctuary upon its completion in Ex 40.3438. 1213: An independent poetic statement, which in the LXX
has dierent wording and follows v. 53. It suggests that the God of Israel was considered to be a weather-god
who wants to dwell in darkness, in a cloud. 1466: Solomon pronounces three prayers that provide important
clues to the later authors theological understanding of the Temple. 1421: The rst prayer, in front of the assembly, builds on the promise to David of an eternal dynasty in 2 Sam 7 and highlights that Solomon is Davids
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1 kings 8
the Lord promised, and have built the house
for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
There I have provided a place for the ark,
in which is the covenant of the Lord that he
made with our ancestors when he brought
them out of the land of Egypt.
Then Solomon stood before the altar of
the Lord in the presence of all the assembly
of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven.
He said, OLord, God of Israel, there is
no God like you in heaven above or on earth
beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love
for your servants who walk before you with
all their heart, the covenant that you kept
for your servant my father David as you declared to him; you promised with your mouth
and have this day fullled with your hand.
Therefore, OLord, God of Israel, keep for
your servant my father David that which you
promised him, saying, There shall never fail
you a successor before me to sit on the throne
of Israel, if only your children look to their
way, to walk before me as you have walked
before me. Therefore, OGod of Israel, let
your word be conrmed, which you promised
to your servant my father David.
But will God indeed dwell on the earth?
Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot
contain you, much less this house that I have
built! Regard your servants prayer and his
plea, OLord my God, heeding the cry and
the prayer that your servant prays to you
today; that your eyes may be open night
and day toward this house, the place of which
you said, My name shall be there, that you
may heed the prayer that your servant prays
toward this place. Hear the plea of your
servant and of your people Israel when they
pray toward this place; Ohear in heaven your
dwelling place; heed and forgive.
If someone sins against a neighbor and
is given an oath to swear, and comes and
swears before your altar in this house, then
hear in heaven, and act, and judge your

servants, condemning the guilty by bringing their conduct on their own head, and
vindicating the righteous by rewarding them
according to their righteousness.
When your people Israel, having sinned
against you, are defeated before an enemy
but turn again to you, confess your name,
pray and plead with you in this house, then
hear in heaven, forgive the sin of your people
Israel, and bring them again to the land that
you gave to their ancestors.
When heaven is shut up and there is no
rain because they have sinned against you,
and then they pray toward this place, confess
your name, and turn from their sin, because
you punisha them, then hear in heaven, and
forgive the sin of your servants, your people
Israel, when you teach them the good way
in which they should walk; and grant rain
on your land, which you have given to your
people as an inheritance.
If there is famine in the land, if there is
plague, blight, mildew, locust, or caterpillar;
if their enemy besieges them in anyb of their
cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness
there is; whatever prayer, whatever plea
there is from any individual or from all your
people Israel, all knowing the aictions of
their own hearts so that they stretch out
their hands toward this house; then hear in
heaven your dwelling place, forgive, act, and
render to all whose hearts you knowaccording to all their ways, for only you know
what is in every human heart so that
they may fear you all the days that they live in
the land that you gave to our ancestors.
Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of
your people Israel, comes from a distant land
because of your name for they shall hear
a Or when you answer
b Gk Syr: Heb in the land
legitimate successor and the proper Temple builder. 2253: The second prayer, in front of the altar, is the central
piece of the dedication. The authors reassert seven times that the Lord does not dwell in the Temple (contrast
v. 13), but in heaven (vv. 32,34,36,39,43,45,49). The Temple is the place to pray to God. But as Solomon enumerates seven dierent occasions for prayersin of an individual (vv. 3132); defeat in bale (vv. 3334); drought
(vv. 3536); famine and plagues (vv. 3740); a foreigner who comes to pray (vv. 4143); war (vv. 4445); sin of
the people and deportation (vv. 4651)the scene changes. Prayer is initially located in the Temple, then it is
in the direction of the sanctuary, and nally, the praying individuals are in another country and pray toward the
city and the Temple. This presupposes the situation aer the Babylonian exile. 3340,4651: These occasions
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1 kings 8
of your great name, your mighty hand, and
your outstretched armwhen a foreigner
comes and prays toward this house, then
hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do
according to all that the foreigner calls to you,
so that all the peoples of the earth may know
your name and fear you, as do your people
Israel, and so that they may know that your
name has been invoked on this house that I
have built.
If your people go out to battle against
their enemy, by whatever way you shall send
them, and they pray to the Lord toward the
city that you have chosen and the house that
I have built for your name, then hear in
heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.
If they sin against youfor there is no
one who does not sinand you are angry
with them and give them to an enemy, so that
they are carried away captive to the land of
the enemy, far o or near; yet if they come
to their senses in the land to which they have
been taken captive, and repent, and plead
with you in the land of their captors, saying,
We have sinned, and have done wrong; we
have acted wickedly; if they repent with all
their heart and soul in the land of their enemies, who took them captive, and pray to you
toward their land, which you gave to their
ancestors, the city that you have chosen, and
the house that I have built for your name;
then hear in heaven your dwelling place
their prayer and their plea, maintain their
cause and forgive your people who have
sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you;
and grant them compassion in the sight of
their captors, so that they may have compassion on them (for they are your people and
heritage, which you brought out of Egypt,
from the midst of the iron-smelter). Let
your eyes be open to the plea of your servant,
and to the plea of your people Israel, listening
to them whenever they call to you. For you
have separated them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be your heritage, just as
you promised through Moses, your servant,

when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt,
OLord God.
Now when Solomon nished oering all
this prayer and this plea to the Lord, he arose
from facing the altar of the Lord, where he
had knelt with hands outstretched toward
heaven; he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice:
Blessed be the Lord, who has given
rest to his people Israel according to all that
he promised; not one word has failed of all
his good promise, which he spoke through
his servant Moses. The Lord our God be
with us, as he was with our ancestors; may
he not leave us or abandon us, but incline
our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and
to keep his commandments, his statutes,
and his ordinances, which he commanded
our ancestors. Let these words of mine,
with which I pleaded before the Lord, be
near to the Lord our God day and night, and
may he maintain the cause of his servant
and the cause of his people Israel, as each
day requires; so that all the peoples of the
earth may know that the Lord is God; there
is no other. Therefore devote yourselves
completely to the Lord our God, walking in
his statutes and keeping his commandments,
as at this day.
Then the king, and all Israel with him,
oered sacrice before the Lord. Solomon
oered as sacrices of well-being to the Lord
twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred
twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all
the people of Israel dedicated the house of
the Lord. The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front
of the house of the Lord; for there he oered
the burnt oerings and the grain oerings
and the fat pieces of the sacrices of well-being, because the bronze altar that was before
the Lord was too small to receive the burnt
oerings and the grain oerings and the fat
pieces of the sacrices of well-being.
So Solomon held the festival at that
time, and all Israel with hima great assem-
for prayer are parallel to the curses in Deut 28.2125,38,6465. 51: Iron-smelter, see Deut 4.20. 5461: The last
prayer, spoken again in front of the people, reasserts, like Josh 21.4345, that the Lord has fullled all his promises. It repeats the Deuteronomistic exhortation to respond to this gi by the observance of the divine commandments. 6264: The number of the sacrices is highly exaggerated, symbolizing Solomons and the peo-
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1 kings 9
bly, people from Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of
Egyptbefore the Lord our God, seven days.a
On the eighth day he sent the people away;
and they blessed the king, and went to their
tents, joyful and in good spirits because of all
the goodness that the Lord had shown to his
servant David and to his people Israel.
When Solomon had nished building the
house of the Lord and the kings house
and all that Solomon desired to build, the
Lord appeared to Solomon a second time,
as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. The
Lord said to him, I have heard your prayer
and your plea, which you made before me;
I have consecrated this house that you have
built, and put my name there forever; my eyes
and my heart will be there for all time. As
for you, if you will walk before me, as David
your father walked, with integrity of heart and
uprightness, doing according to all that I have
commanded you, and keeping my statutes
and my ordinances, then I will establish your
royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised
your father David, saying, There shall not fail
you a successor on the throne of Israel.
If you turn aside from following me,
you or your children, and do not keep my
commandments and my statutes that I have
set before you, but go and serve other gods
and worship them, then I will cut Israel o
from the land that I have given them; and
the house that I have consecrated for my
name I will cast out of my sight; and Israel
will become a proverb and a taunt among
all peoples. This house will become a heap
of ruins;b everyone passing by it will be

astonished, and will hiss; and they will say,
Why has the Lord done such a thing to this
land and to this house? Then they will say,
Because they have forsaken the Lord their
God, who brought their ancestors out of the
land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, worshiping them and serving them; therefore the
Lord has brought this disaster upon them.
At the end of twenty years, in which
Solomon had built the two houses, the house
of the Lord and the kings house, King
Hiram of Tyre having supplied Solomon
with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as
much as he desired, King Solomon gave to
Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the
cities that Solomon had given him, they did
not please him. Therefore he said, What
kind of cities are these that you have given
me, my brother? So they are called the land
of Cabulc to this day. But Hiram had sent to
the king one hundred twenty talents of gold.
This is the account of the forced labor
that King Solomon conscripted to build
the house of the Lord and his own house,
the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor,
Megiddo, Gezer (Pharaoh king of Egypt
had gone up and captured Gezer and burned
it down, had killed the Canaanites who lived
a Compare Gk: Heb seven days and seven days,
fourteen days
b Syr Old Latin: Heb will become high

c Perhaps meaning a land good for nothing
ples aachment to the new sanctuary. 6566: The dedication of the Temple took place during the festival of
Tabernacles. According to Deut 16.1315 the participants are sent home on the eighth day. The limits of the land
are dened here (less extensively than in 4.21,24) in the north by Lebo-hamath (in the southern Orontes valley
in Lebanon) and in the south by the Wadi of Egypt (the Wadi el-Arish or the Wadi Besor, both south of Gaza).
9.19: Gods second appearance to Solomon. This text recalls 3.415 and hints at the kings dark side, which
will appear more and more clearly. 35: Gods loyalty to Solomon depends on his behavior regarding the divine
law. 69: The disobedience of Solomon and his successor is suggested; this disobedience will lead to the exile.
89: Cf. Deut 29.2324.
9.1028: The ambiguity of Solomons wealth (see also 10.1429). 1014: The text reports that Solomon
paid a heavy price to the king of Tyre, twenty cities; this almost makes Solomon into Hirams vassal. In order
to correct this idea, the text states that Hiram had paid Solomon 120 talents of gold (a talent is ca. 75 lb [34
kg]). 13: The name of the town of Cabul (8 mi [14 km] southeast of Acco) is explained with a play on the Heb
verb to waste away. 1524: The many building projects aributed to Solomon are executed through forced
labor. 15: Millo (lit. ll) refers to terraces to stabilize the wall and the ocial buildings of Jerusalem. 1519:
The cities that Solomon built are located in strategic places, and are enumerated from north to south. The
note about Gezer interrupts the list. This town is presented as Pharaohs dowry to Solomon: see also 3.1; 9.24;
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1 kings 10
in the city, and had given it as dowry to his
daughter, Solomons wife; so Solomon
rebuilt Gezer), Lower Beth-horon, Baalath,
Tamar in the wilderness, within the land,
as well as all of Solomons storage cities,
the cities for his chariots, the cities for his
cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to
build, in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all
the land of his dominion. All the people
who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites,
the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites,
who were not of the people of Israel
their descendants who were still left in
the land, whom the Israelites were unable
to destroy completelythese Solomon
conscripted for slave labor, and so they are
to this day. But of the Israelites Solomon
made no slaves; they were the soldiers, they
were his ocials, his commanders, his captains, and the commanders of his chariotry
and cavalry.
These were the chief ocers who were
over Solomons work: ve hundred fty, who
had charge of the people who carried on the
work.
But Pharaohs daughter went up from the
city of David to her own house that Solomon
had built for her; then he built the Millo.
Three times a year Solomon used to
oer up burnt oerings and sacrices of
well-being on the altar that he built for the
Lord, oering incensea before the Lord. So
he completed the house.
King Solomon built a eet of ships at
Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore
of the Red Sea,b in the land of Edom. Hiram
sent his servants with the eet, sailors who
were familiar with the sea, together with
the servants of Solomon. They went to
Ophir, and imported from there four hundred
twenty talents of gold, which they delivered
to King Solomon.
10
When the queen of Sheba heard of

the fame of Solomon (fame due toc
the name of the Lord), she came to test him
with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem
with a very great retinue, with camels bearing
spices, and very much gold, and precious
stones; and when she came to Solomon, she
told him all that was on her mind. Solomon
answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not
explain to her. When the queen of Sheba
had observed all the wisdom of Solomon,
the house that he had built, the food of his
table, the seating of his ocials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his
valets, and his burnt oerings that he oered
at the house of the Lord, there was no more
spirit in her.
So she said to the king, The report was
true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom, but I
did not believe the reports until I came and
my own eyes had seen it. Not even half had
been told me; your wisdom and prosperity far
surpass the report that I had heard. Happy
are your wives!d Happy are these your servants, who continually attend you and hear
your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your
God, who has delighted in you and set you on
the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved
Israel forever, he has made you king to execute justice and righteousness. Then she
gave the king one hundred twenty talents of
gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious
stones; never again did spices come in such
quantity as that which the queen of Sheba
gave to King Solomon.
a
b
c
d
Gk: Heb oering incense with it that was

Or Sea of Reeds
Gk Syr: Heb men
11.1. 2023: This passage modies 5.13 and 11.2628, stating that only the former inhabitants of the land were
conscripted for forced labor. 2428: In this summary of Solomons wealth we are told of his naval enterprises.
26: Ezion-geber, perhaps a small island in the Gulf of Aqaba. Eloth, also spelled Elath, is at the northern tip
of the same body of water. 28: The location of Ophir is uncertain. For the biblical writers it probably designated southern Arabia (Gen 10.29; Isa 13.12; Job 28.16).
10.113: The visit of the queen of Sheba. This story, which resembles a tale from A Thousand and One Nights,
interrupts the enumeration of Solomons wealth. Sheba is in Arabia. 45: The queen of Sheba is overwhelmed
by Solomons wealth and wisdom. 613: According to an Ethiopian tradition, all Ethiopian emperors descended
from the union between Solomon and the queen of Sheba. 10: The queen oers more than two tons of gold.
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1 kings 11
Moreover, the eet of Hiram, which
carried gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir
a great quantity of almug wood and precious
stones. From the almug wood the king
made supports for the house of the Lord, and
for the kings house, lyres also and harps for
the singers; no such almug wood has come or
been seen to this day.
Meanwhile King Solomon gave to
the queen of Sheba every desire that she
expressed, as well as what he gave her out of
Solomons royal bounty. Then she returned to
her own land, with her servants.
The weight of gold that came to Solomon
in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents
of gold, besides that which came from the
traders and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and
the governors of the land. King Solomon
made two hundred large shields of beaten
gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into
each large shield. He made three hundred
shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold
went into each shield; and the king put them
in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. The
king also made a great ivory throne, and
overlaid it with the nest gold. The throne
had six steps. The top of the throne was
rounded in the back, and on each side of the
seat were arm rests and two lions standing
beside the arm rests, while twelve lions
were standing, one on each end of a step on
the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made in
any kingdom. All King Solomons drinking
vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the
House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure
gold; none were of silverit was not con-
sidered as anything in the days of Solomon.

For the king had a eet of ships of Tarshish
at sea with the eet of Hiram. Once every
three years the eet of ships of Tarshish used
to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and
peacocks.a
Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings
of the earth in riches and in wisdom. The
whole earth sought the presence of Solomon
to hear his wisdom, which God had put into
his mind. Every one of them brought a
present, objects of silver and gold, garments,
weaponry, spices, horses, and mules, so much
year by year.
Solomon gathered together chariots and
horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and
twelve thousand horses, which he stationed
in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. The king made silver as common in
Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as
numerous as the sycamores of the Shephelah.
Solomons import of horses was from Egypt
and Kue, and the kings traders received them
from Kue at a price. A chariot could be
imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels
of silver, and a horse for one hundred fty; so
through the kings traders they were exported
to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings
of Aram.
King Solomon loved many foreign
women along with the daughter of
Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations
concerning which the Lord had said to the
Israelites, You shall not enter into marriage
11
a Or baboons
1112: The verses belong to 9.2628. Almug wood, a precious wood of uncertain species (traditionally sandalwood).
10.1429: The ambiguity of Solomons wealth, continued (see also 9.1028). 1422: Contrary to Deut 17.17,
Solomon has almost an obsession for gold. 1415: A talent is ca. 75 lb (34 kg). The number of six hundred sixty-six,
Solomons income, symbolizes totality (see also Ezra 2.13; contrast Rev 13.18). 16: A shekel is ca. .4 oz (11.5 g). 17:
A mina is ca. 20 oz (570 g). 1820: Solomons throne, which symbolizes the divine cosmos of which the king was
the guarantor, has many parallels in ancient Near Eastern art. 2122: The location of Tarshish is uncertain; it may
be Tarsus in southern Turkey or Tartessus in southern Spain. 2329: Contrary to Deut 17.16, Solomon accumulates many horses. 27: The Shephelah, the foothills between the Mediterranean coastal plain and the Judean hill
country. 2829: According to this translation, Solomon was the intermediary in horse-trading between Egypt
and Asia Minor. 28: Kue, Cilicia, in southern Asia Minor. 29: Hiites, a non-Semitic population in northern Syria
and southern Turkey; Aram, southern Syria.
11.143: The troublesome end of Solomons reign. 18: Contrary to Deut 17.17, Solomon introduces a thousand foreign wives and concubines into his harem. 2: A quotation from Deut 7.34, which prohibited intermar-
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1 kings 11
with them, neither shall they with you; for
they will surely incline your heart to follow
their gods; Solomon clung to these in love.
Among his wives were seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines; and
his wives turned away his heart. For when
Solomon was old, his wives turned away his
heart after other gods; and his heart was not
true to the Lord his God, as was the heart
of his father David. For Solomon followed
Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and
Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of
the Lord, and did not completely follow the
Lord, as his father David had done. Then
Solomon built a high place for Chemosh
the abomination of Moab, and for Molech
the abomination of the Ammonites, on the
mountain east of Jerusalem. He did the same
for all his foreign wives, who oered incense
and sacriced to their gods.
Then the Lord was angry with Solomon,
because his heart had turned away from the
Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to
him twice, and had commanded him concerning this matter, that he should not follow
other gods; but he did not observe what the
Lord commanded. Therefore the Lord said to
Solomon, Since this has been your mind and
you have not kept my covenant and my statutes
that I have commanded you, I will surely tear
the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of your father David I
will not do it in your lifetime; I will tear it out of
the hand of your son. I will not, however, tear
away the entire kingdom; I will give one tribe to
your son, for the sake of my servant David and
for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.
Then the Lord raised up an adversary
against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was
of the royal house in Edom. For when David

was in Edom, and Joab the commander of
the army went up to bury the dead, he killed
every male in Edom (for Joab and all Israel
remained there six months, until he had
eliminated every male in Edom); but Hadad
ed to Egypt with some Edomites who were
servants of his father. He was a young boy
at that time. They set out from Midian and
came to Paran; they took people with them
from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh
king of Egypt, who gave him a house, assigned him an allowance of food, and gave
him land. Hadad found great favor in the
sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him his
sister-in-law for a wife, the sister of Queen
Tahpenes. The sister of Tahpenes gave
birth by him to his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaohs house; Genubath
was in Pharaohs house among the children
of Pharaoh. When Hadad heard in Egypt
that David slept with his ancestors and that
Joab the commander of the army was dead,
Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that
I may go to my own country. But Pharaoh
said to him, What do you lack with me that
you now seek to go to your own country?
And he said, No, do let me go.
God raised up another adversary against
Solomon,a Rezon son of Eliada, who had ed
from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah.
He gathered followers around him and
became leader of a marauding band, after the
slaughter by David; they went to Damascus,
settled there, and made him king in Damascus. He was an adversary of Israel all the
days of Solomon, making trouble as Hadad
did; he despised Israel and reigned over Aram.
a
Heb him
riage with the Canaanite population. 4: The note about Solomons old age recalls the aging David, who was
manipulated by his wife Bathsheba. Now the foreign wives lead Solomon to worship their foreign deities. 58:
Astarte was a popular Canaanite goddess and was especially venerated in Sidon; Milcom was the national god
of the Ammonites. The mountain east of Jerusalem is the Mount of Olives. 913: In his last speech to Solomon,
the Lord announces the spliing up of the kingdom during the reign of Solomons son. 1440: Solomon is also
punished during his own lifetime by three enemies that God raises up. 1422: Hadad, an Edomite prince who
ed to Egypt during Davids campaign against Edom (2 Sam 8.14). 1922: His integration into Pharaohs house
recalls the story of the young Moses. Pharaoh, whom Solomon considered an ally, oers asylum to his enemies.
19: Tahpenes, not a proper name, but a transcription of the Egyptian title wife of the king. 20: Genubath,
perhaps an Arabic word meaning guest. 2325: Rezon son of Eliada, a mercenary who served king Hadadezer
of Zobah, an Aramean city-state northeast of Israel. Aer a revolt he became king of Damascus, the capital of
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Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite
of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose
mothers name was Zeruah, a widow, rebelled
against the king. The following was the
reason he rebelled against the king. Solomon
built the Millo, and closed up the gap in the
walla of the city of his father David. The
man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious
he gave him charge over all the forced labor
of the house of Joseph. About that time,
when Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the
prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on
the road. Ahijah had clothed himself with a
new garment. The two of them were alone in
the open country when Ahijah laid hold of
the new garment he was wearing and tore it
into twelve pieces. He then said to Jeroboam: Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus
says the Lord, the God of Israel, See, I am
about to tear the kingdom from the hand of
Solomon, and will give you ten tribes. One
tribe will remain his, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the
city that I have chosen out of all the tribes
of Israel. This is because he hasb forsaken
me, worshiped Astarte the goddess of the
Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and
Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and hasb
not walked in my ways, doing what is right
in my sight and keeping my statutes and my
ordinances, as his father David did. Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom
away from him but will make him ruler all
the days of his life, for the sake of my servant
David whom I chose and who did keep my
commandments and my statutes; but I will

take the kingdom away from his son and give
it to youthat is, the ten tribes. Yet to his
son I will give one tribe, so that my servant
David may always have a lamp before me in
Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to
put my name. I will take you, and you shall
reign over all that your soul desires; you shall
be king over Israel. If you will listen to all
that I command you, walk in my ways, and
do what is right in my sight by keeping my
statutes and my commandments, as David my
servant did, I will be with you, and will build
you an enduring house, as I built for David,
and I will give Israel to you. For this reason
I will punish the descendants of David, but
not forever. Solomon sought therefore to
kill Jeroboam; but Jeroboam promptly ed to
Egypt, to King Shishak of Egypt, and remained in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
Now the rest of the acts of Solomon,
all that he did as well as his wisdom, are
they not written in the Book of the Acts of
Solomon? The time that Solomon reigned
in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
Solomon slept with his ancestors and was
buried in the city of his father David; and his
son Rehoboam succeeded him.
Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him
king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of
it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had ed
from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned
12
a Heb lacks in the wall

b Gk Syr Vg: Heb they have
southern Syria. 2640: Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite; Zeredah is an important town in the hill country of
Ephraim. He had been a supervisor of the labor force of the house of Joseph, which designates northern tribes,
especially Ephraim and Manasseh. The name of the queen mother is typically mentioned only for Judean kings.
Zeruah means leper; scribes may have modied her original name to vilify the rst ruler of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. 2939: The encounter between Jeroboam and the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh, an important sanctuary in Ephraim (see 1 Sam 1.3), has many parallels with the scene of Sauls rejection in 1 Sam 15.2728. 2933:
Aer the prophet tore his mantle into twelve pieces, it is surprising that ten parts (symbolizing ten tribes) are
given to Jeroboam and only one tribe (Judah) is given to the Davidic dynasty. The missing tribe may be Benjamin
(see 12.21), sometimes belonging to the Northern Kingdom, and nally, perhaps under King Josiah, annexed
by Judah. 3439: Because of the promise related in 2 Sam 7.1116, God will not bring Davids dynasty to a total
end. 40: Like Hadad, Jeroboam seeks asylum in Egypt. The Pharaoh Shishak is Shoshenq I, who ruled Egypt ca.
945924 bce; he is the rst Pharaoh named in the Bible. 4143: The concluding formula for Solomon, who like
David reigned for forty years, a typological number. The Book of the Acts of Solomon may have been a source for
the authors of 1 Kings 111. Solomons son Rehoboam succeeded him in Jerusalem, and ruled ca. 928911 bce.
12.133: The disruption of Solomons kingdom. 15: In order to rally the northern tribes, Rehoboam goes
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1 kings 12
Abel-beth-maacah
ER
Dan
SH
N A P H TA L I
33
Ramah
M A N A SS E H
ISSACHAR
Mediterranean
Sea
I S R A E L
Samaria
G A D
Shechem
Penuel
M
AI
Shiloh
HR
P
E
Bethel
Gibbethon
Mizpeh
Ramah Geba
B E N J A M I N
River Jordan
H Tirzah
E
32
Jericho
J U DA H
IL
IS
IA
Jerusalem
Dead
Sea
Beer-sheba
S I M EO N
35
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
36
31
The geography of chs. 1216. The dashed line shows the approximate boundaries
between Israel, Judah and Philistia.
froma Egypt. And they sent and called him;

and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel
came and said to Rehoboam, Your father
made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten
the hard service of your father and his heavy
yoke that he placed on us, and we will serve
you. He said to them, Go away for three
days, then come again to me. So the people
went away.
Then King Rehoboam took counsel
with the older men who had attended his
father Solomon while he was still alive,
saying, How do you advise me to answer

this people? They answered him, If you
will be a servant to this people today and
serve them, and speak good words to them
when you answer them, then they will be
your servants forever. But he disregarded
the advice that the older men gave him, and
consulted with the young men who had
grown up with him and now attended him.
He said to them, What do you advise that
a Gk Vg Compare 2Chr 10.2: Heb lived in
to Shechem, located at the end of the pass between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim (near modern Nablus).
Shechem was one of the most important places in the north (see Deut 27; Josh 24). For David, the northern
tribes had come to Hebron in the south (2 Sam 5.3); now Solomons successor Rehoboam is obliged to go
north. 25: His rival Jeroboam is depicted as a second Moses who has come back from Egypt to liberate the
people, who suer under forced labor. 615: Rehoboam is paerned aer the Pharaoh of the Exodus story,
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1 kings 12
we answer this people who have said to me,
Lighten the yoke that your father put on
us? The young men who had grown up
with him said to him, Thus you should say
to this people who spoke to you, Your father
made our yoke heavy, but you must lighten it
for us; thus you should say to them, My little
nger is thicker than my fathers loins. Now,
whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke,
I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined
you with whips, but I will discipline you with
scorpions.
So Jeroboam and all the people came to
Rehoboam the third day, as the king had said,
Come to me again the third day. The king
answered the people harshly. He disregarded
the advice that the older men had given him
and spoke to them according to the advice
of the young men, My father made your
yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my
father disciplined you with whips, but I will
discipline you with scorpions. So the king
did not listen to the people, because it was a
turn of aairs brought about by the Lord that
he might fulll his word, which the Lord had
spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam
son of Nebat.
When all Israel saw that the king would
not listen to them, the people answered the
king,
What share do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of
Jesse.
To your tents, OIsrael!
Look now to your own house, ODavid.
So Israel went away to their tents. But Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites who were
living in the towns of Judah. When King
Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster
over the forced labor, all Israel stoned him
to death. King Rehoboam then hurriedly

mounted his chariot to ee to Jerusalem. So
Israel has been in rebellion against the house
of David to this day.
When all Israel heard that Jeroboam
had returned, they sent and called him to the
assembly and made him king over all Israel.
There was no one who followed the house of
David, except the tribe of Judah alone.
When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem,
he assembled all the house of Judah and
the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred eighty
thousand chosen troops to ght against the
house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to
Rehoboam son of Solomon. But the word of
God came to Shemaiah the man of God: Say
to King Rehoboam of Judah, son of Solomon,
and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin,
and to the rest of the people, Thus says the
Lord, You shall not go up or ght against your
kindred the people of Israel. Let everyone
go home, for this thing is from me. So they
heeded the word of the Lord and went home
again, according to the word of the Lord.
Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill
country of Ephraim, and resided there; he
went out from there and built Penuel. Then
Jeroboam said to himself, Now the kingdom
may well revert to the house of David. If
this people continues to go up to oer sacrices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem,
the heart of this people will turn again to
their master, King Rehoboam of Judah; they
will kill me and return to King Rehoboam of
Judah. So the king took counsel, and made
two calves of gold. He said to the people,a
You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough.
Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you
a Gk: Heb to them
increasing oppression (the yoke) in response to complaints and hardening his heart. 10: NRSV my lile nger
follows LXX; MT has my small one, probably an expression for the penis. Rehoboam and his young counselors think that they are much more manly than their ancestors. 11: Scorpions, perhaps a whip embedded with
thorns. 1620: The tribes of the north refuse to follow Rehoboam. 16: The cry To your tents, O Israel! was
a traditional exclamation (see 2 Sam 20.1) of the northern tribes, perhaps used as an appeal to return home
aer a bale. 18: Adoram, see 4.6. 20: Jeroboam ruled ca. 928907 bce. 2124: Rehoboam, who wants to wage
war against the northern tribes, is forbidden to do so by the otherwise unknown prophet Shemaiah. LXX has
a second (shorter and dierent) version of 12.133, labeled 12.24.az. 2533: Jeroboam constructs national
sanctuaries at northern and southern cities in his kingdom, Dan and Bethel. This act is referred to as a refrain
throughout Kings as the sin of Jeroboam. 2829: According to the Deuteronomistic Historians, Jeroboam
worshiped the Lord there in the form of a calf; the plural in v. 28 refers to the two statues at Dan and Bethel.
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1 kings 13
up out of the land of Egypt. He set one in
Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. And
this thing became a sin, for the people went
to worship before the one at Bethel and before the other as far as Dan.a He also made
housesb on high places, and appointed priests
from among all the people, who were not
Levites. Jeroboam appointed a festival on
the fteenth day of the eighth month like the
festival that was in Judah, and he oered sacrices on the altar; so he did in Bethel, sacricing to the calves that he had made. And he
placed in Bethel the priests of the high places
that he had made. He went up to the altar
that he had made in Bethel on the fteenth
day in the eighth month, in the month that
he alone had devised; he appointed a festival
for the people of Israel, and he went up to the
altar to oer incense.
While Jeroboam was standing by the
altar to oer incense, a man of God
came out of Judah by the word of the Lord
to Bethel and proclaimed against the altar
by the word of the Lord, and said, Oaltar,
altar, thus says the Lord: A son shall be born
to the house of David, Josiah by name; and he
shall sacrice on you the priests of the high
places who oer incense on you, and human
bones shall be burned on you. He gave a
sign the same day, saying, This is the sign
that the Lord has spoken: The altar shall be
torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall
be poured out. When the king heard what
the man of God cried out against the altar at
Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from
the altar, saying, Seize him! But the hand
that he stretched out against him withered
so that he could not draw it back to himself.
The altar also was torn down, and the ashes
poured out from the altar, according to the
sign that the man of God had given by the
13
word of the Lord. The king said to the man

of God, Entreat now the favor of the Lord
your God, and pray for me, so that my hand
may be restored to me. So the man of God
entreated the Lord; and the kings hand was
restored to him, and became as it was before.
Then the king said to the man of God,
Come home with me and dine, and I will
give you a gift. But the man of God said to
the king, If you give me half your kingdom,
I will not go in with you; nor will I eat food
or drink water in this place. For thus I was
commanded by the word of the Lord: You
shall not eat food, or drink water, or return by
the way that you came. So he went another
way, and did not return by the way that he
had come to Bethel.
Now there lived an old prophet in
Bethel. One of his sons came and told him
all that the man of God had done that day in
Bethel; the words also that he had spoken
to the king, they told to their father. Their
father said to them, Which way did he go?
And his sons showed him the way that the
man of God who came from Judah had gone.
Then he said to his sons, Saddle a donkey
for me. So they saddled a donkey for him,
and he mounted it. He went after the man
of God, and found him sitting under an oak
tree. He said to him, Are you the man of
God who came from Judah? He answered,
I am. Then he said to him, Come home
with me and eat some food. But he said,
I cannot return with you, or go in with you;
nor will I eat food or drink water with you
in this place; for it was said to me by the
word of the Lord: You shall not eat food or
drink water there, or return by the way that
a Compare Gk: Heb went to the one as far as Dan
b Gk Vg Compare 13.32: Heb a house
The wording is almost identical to the peoples comment when Aaron made the golden calf in the desert (Ex
32.4). 3133: The Judean authors relate further transgressions of Jeroboam: high places, illegitimate priests,
and a dierent festival calendar.
13.134: Jeroboam and the man of God from Judah. 110: As Jeroboam stands by the altar, that is, on the
steps leading to it, he is confronted by an anonymous man of God, a prophet, who announces the end of the
kingdom of Israel and the profanation of the sanctuary of Bethel by the Judean king Josiah (see 2 Kings 23.15
19). Such prophecies that connect distant parts of this work are typical of the Deuteronomistic History. 4: The
withered (lit. dried) hand of Jeroboam demonstrates the prophets power over the king. 610: Having restored
the kings hand, the prophet obeys the Lords order and refuses any compensation. 1132: But in the following
story the man of God acts dierently and follows a prophet from Bethel who claims that God has spoken to him
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1 kings 14
you came. Then the othera said to him, I
also am a prophet as you are, and an angel
spoke to me by the word of the Lord: Bring
him back with you into your house so that
he may eat food and drink water. But he was
deceiving him. Then the man of Goda went
back with him, and ate food and drank water
in his house.
As they were sitting at the table, the
word of the Lord came to the prophet who
had brought him back; and he proclaimed
to the man of God who came from Judah,
Thus says the Lord: Because you have
disobeyed the word of the Lord, and have
not kept the commandment that the Lord
your God commanded you, but have come
back and have eaten food and drunk water
in the place of which he said to you, Eat no
food, and drink no water, your body shall
not come to your ancestral tomb. After the
man of Goda had eaten food and had drunk,
they saddled for him a donkey belonging
to the prophet who had brought him back.
Then as he went away, a lion met him on
the road and killed him. His body was thrown
in the road, and the donkey stood beside it;
the lion also stood beside the body. People
passed by and saw the body thrown in the
road, with the lion standing by the body. And
they came and told it in the town where the
old prophet lived.
When the prophet who had brought him
back from the way heard of it, he said, It is
the man of God who disobeyed the word of
the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to
the lion, which has torn him and killed him
according to the word that the Lord spoke to
him. Then he said to his sons, Saddle a
donkey for me. So they saddled one, and
he went and found the body thrown in the
road, with the donkey and the lion standing
beside the body. The lion had not eaten the
body or attacked the donkey. The prophet
took up the body of the man of God, laid it on
the donkey, and brought it back to the city,b

to mourn and to bury him. He laid the body
in his own grave; and they mourned over
him, saying, Alas, my brother! After he
had buried him, he said to his sons, When I
die, bury me in the grave in which the man of
God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
For the saying that he proclaimed by the
word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel,
and against all the houses of the high places
that are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely
come to pass.
Even after this event Jeroboam did not
turn from his evil way, but made priests for
the high places again from among all the
people; any who wanted to be priests he
consecrated for the high places. This matter
became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as
to cut it o and to destroy it from the face of
the earth.
At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam
fell sick. Jeroboam said to his wife,
Go, disguise yourself, so that it will not be
known that you are the wife of Jeroboam,
and go to Shiloh; for the prophet Ahijah is
there, who said of me that I should be king
over this people. Take with you ten loaves,
some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to
him; he will tell you what shall happen to the
child.
Jeroboams wife did so; she set out and
went to Shiloh, and came to the house of
Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes
were dim because of his age. But the Lord
said to Ahijah, The wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son; for
he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her.
When she came, she pretended to be
another woman. But when Ahijah heard
the sound of her feet, as she came in at the
door, he said, Come in, wife of Jeroboam;
14
a Heb he
b Gk: Heb he came to the town of the old prophet
in another way; together, the stories illustrate that Gods word must be heeded precisely. 2428: A lion would
not normally be expected to kill a man and then simply stand over the body beside an uneaten donkey. This
stresses the holiness of the man of God, which was acknowledged even by the lion. 32: Samaria became the
capital of the Northern Kingdom under Omri (16.24); here it means the entire Northern Kingdom. 3334: The
concluding passage about Jeroboams ongoing sin also introduces the following story.
14.131: The deaths of Jeroboam of Israel and Rehoboam of Judah. 118: The story of the illness of Jeroboams son leads to an encounter between Jeroboams wife and the prophet Ahijah, who had invested Jeroboam
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1 kings 14
why do you pretend to be another? For I am
charged with heavy tidings for you. Go, tell
Jeroboam, Thus says the Lord, the God of
Israel: Because I exalted you from among
the people, made you leader over my people
Israel, and tore the kingdom away from the
house of David to give it to you; yet you have
not been like my servant David, who kept my
commandments and followed me with all his
heart, doing only that which was right in my
sight, but you have done evil above all those
who were before you and have gone and
made for yourself other gods, and cast images, provoking me to anger, and have thrust
me behind your back; therefore, I will bring
evil upon the house of Jeroboam. I will cut o
from Jeroboam every male, both bond and
free in Israel, and will consume the house of
Jeroboam, just as one burns up dung until it
is all gone. Anyone belonging to Jeroboam
who dies in the city, the dogs shall eat; and
anyone who dies in the open country, the
birds of the air shall eat; for the Lord has spoken. Therefore set out, go to your house.
When your feet enter the city, the child shall
die. All Israel shall mourn for him and bury
him; for he alone of Jeroboams family shall
come to the grave, because in him there is
found something pleasing to the Lord, the
God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.
Moreover the Lord will raise up for himself
a king over Israel, who shall cut o the house
of Jeroboam today, even right now!a
The Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is
shaken in the water; he will root up Israel out
of this good land that he gave to their ancestors, and scatter them beyond the Euphrates,
because they have made their sacred poles,b
provoking the Lord to anger. He will give
Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam,

which he sinned and which he caused Israel
to commit.
Then Jeroboams wife got up and went
away, and she came to Tirzah. As she came
to the threshold of the house, the child died.
All Israel buried him and mourned for him,
according to the word of the Lord, which he
spoke by his servant the prophet Ahijah.
Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam,
how he warred and how he reigned, are written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings
of Israel. The time that Jeroboam reigned
was twenty-two years; then he slept with his
ancestors, and his son Nadab succeeded him.
Now Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned
in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years
old when he began to reign, and he reigned
seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that
the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of
Israel, to put his name there. His mothers
name was Naamah the Ammonite. Judah
did what was evil in the sight of the Lord;
they provoked him to jealousy with their
sins that they committed, more than all that
their ancestors had done. For they also
built for themselves high places, pillars, and
sacred polesb on every high hill and under
every green tree; there were also male
temple prostitutes in the land. They committed all the abominations of the nations
that the Lord drove out before the people of
Israel.
In the fth year of King Rehoboam, King
Shishak of Egypt came up against Jerusalem;
he took away the treasures of the house
b Heb Asherim
as ruler over Israel (11.2931). 611: Ahijah rst delivers an oracle about the fall of Jeroboams dynasty. 14: An
allusion to the conspiracy of Baasha (15.2730). 1516: A prophecy of the fall of the Northern Kingdom. 15:
Ancestors, lit. fathers, the generation of the entry into the land; beyond the Euphrates, allusion to the Assyrian
empire, which annexed the Northern Kingdom and deported parts of its population in 722 bce. The sacred poles
are symbols of the goddess Asherah, who may have also been venerated as the consort of the God of Israel.
16: The sins of Jeroboam, see 12.2533n. 1718: The mention of Tirzah (probably Tell el-Farah, ca. 6 mi [10 km]
north-northeast of Shechem) suggests that it had become Jeroboams city of residence. According to 15.21
it became Israels capital (for a short time) under Baasha. 1920: A standard conclusion for the reign of each
king (see Introduction). 2131: The reign of Rehoboam is not much beer than that of Jeroboam; the description of the disorder in worship is very close to what is reported from the north. 23: Pillars are phallus-shaped
standing stones, used in fertility rituals. These rituals were celebrated on high hills and under green trees (see
also Jer 2.20), which also symbolized fertility. 24: Temple prostitutes, lit. holy person. The term is probably a
514 | hebrew bible
1 kings 15
of the Lord and the treasures of the kings
house; he took everything. He also took
away all the shields of gold that Solomon had
made; so King Rehoboam made shields of
bronze instead, and committed them to the
hands of the ocers of the guard, who kept
the door of the kings house. As often as
the king went into the house of the Lord, the
guard carried them and brought them back to
the guardroom.
Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam,
and all that he did, are they not written in
the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?
There was war between Rehoboam and
Jeroboam continually. Rehoboam slept with
his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His mothers name
was Naamah the Ammonite. His son Abijam
succeeded him.
Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam began to
reign over Judah. He reigned for three years
in Jerusalem. His mothers name was Maacah
daughter of Abishalom. He committed all
the sins that his father did before him; his
heart was not true to the Lord his God, like
the heart of his father David. Nevertheless
for Davids sake the Lord his God gave him
a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after
him, and establishing Jerusalem; because
David did what was right in the sight of the
Lord, and did not turn aside from anything
that he commanded him all the days of his
15
life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

The war begun between Rehoboam and
Jeroboam continued all the days of his life.
The rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that
he did, are they not written in the Book of the
Annals of the Kings of Judah? There was war
between Abijam and Jeroboam. Abijam slept
with his ancestors, and they buried him in
the city of David. Then his son Asa succeeded
him.
In the twentieth year of King Jeroboam
of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah;
he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem.
His mothers name was Maacah daughter
of Abishalom. Asa did what was right in
the sight of the Lord, as his father David
had done. He put away the male temple
prostitutes out of the land, and removed
all the idols that his ancestors had made.
He also removed his mother Maacah from
being queen mother, because she had made
an abominable image for Asherah; Asa cut
down her image and burned it at the Wadi
Kidron. But the high places were not taken
away. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was true
to the Lord all his days. He brought into
the house of the Lord the votive gifts of his
father and his own votive giftssilver, gold,
and utensils.
There was war between Asa and King
Baasha of Israel all their days. King Baasha
of Israel went up against Judah, and built
Ramah, to prevent anyone from going out or
euphemism for a prostitute; scholars debate whether some form of ritual prostitution is meant. 2528: Pharaoh
Shishaks (see 11.40) campaign to the north is also aested in Egyptian sources that mention many locations in
the Northern Kingdom but not Jerusalem. 30: Wars will frequently occur between Israel and Judah.
15.124: Abijam and Asa, kings of Judah. From this point until the fall of the Northern Kingdom, the accession year of each Judean king is dated with respect to the year of reign of the northern king. 18: Abijam
(called Abijah in the books of Chronicles), a king who reigned for a short time (ca. 911908 bce) is said to be as
bad as Rehoboam. 2: His mother was probably the daughter or granddaughter of Davids son Absalom, whose
mothers name was Maacah. (See 2 Sam 3.3; 2 Chr 11.20. 2 Chr 13.2 gives a dierent name). 4: The Lord maintains the dynasty only because of David; the lamp (see 11.36) or light symbolizes the living representative of
the house of David. 5: The maer of Uriah the Hiite, see 2 Sam 1112. 924: In contrast to Abijam, Asa is depicted
as a good king with one of the longest reigns (ca. 907867 bce). 1015: If the Maacah here is identical with the
one mentioned in 15.2, then Asa would be Abijams brother, and not his son (v. 8). Perhaps mother is a title for
queen mother, who would remain in power as long as she lived; Maacahs removal from that oce strengthens
this hypothesis. According to the Deuteronomistic authors of Kings, Asa is the rst reforming king, who acts
against the syncretistic and idolatrous worship in Jerusalem. 12: Male temple prostitutes, see 14.24n. 14: Nevertheless he does not remove the high places, although he favored the Jerusalem Temple by transferring to it
votive gis presumably oered at other sanctuaries. 1622: Military hostilities between Asa and the northern
usurper Baasha, whose reign is related later in 15.2730 and 15.3316.7. 17: Baasha conquered Ramah (6 mi [10
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1 kings 16
coming in to King Asa of Judah. Then Asa
took all the silver and the gold that were left
in the treasures of the house of the Lord and
the treasures of the kings house, and gave
them into the hands of his servants. King Asa
sent them to King Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion of Aram, who resided in
Damascus, saying, Let there be an alliance
between me and you, like that between my
father and your father: I am sending you a
present of silver and gold; go, break your
alliance with King Baasha of Israel, so that
he may withdraw from me. Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the commanders
of his armies against the cities of Israel. He
conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and
all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
When Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and lived in Tirzah. Then King
Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none
was exempt: they carried away the stones of
Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had
been building; with them King Asa built Geba
of Benjamin and Mizpah. Now the rest of
all the acts of Asa, all his power, all that he
did, and the cities that he built, are they not
written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings
of Judah? But in his old age he was diseased
in his feet. Then Asa slept with his ancestors, and was buried with his ancestors in the
city of his father David; his son Jehoshaphat
succeeded him.
Nadab son of Jeroboam began to reign
over Israel in the second year of King Asa of
Judah; he reigned over Israel two years. He
did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,

walking in the way of his ancestor and in the
sin that he caused Israel to commit.
Baasha son of Ahijah, of the house of
Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which
belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all
Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon. So
Baasha killed Nadaba in the third year of
King Asa of Judah, and succeeded him. As
soon as he was king, he killed all the house
of Jeroboam; he left to the house of Jeroboam
not one that breathed, until he had destroyed
it, according to the word of the Lord that he
spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite
because of the sins of Jeroboam that he
committed and that he caused Israel to commit, and because of the anger to which he
provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.
Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all
that he did, are they not written in the Book
of the Annals of the Kings of Israel? There
was war between Asa and King Baasha of
Israel all their days.
In the third year of King Asa of Judah,
Baasha son of Ahijah began to reign over all
Israel at Tirzah; he reigned twenty-four years.
He did what was evil in the sight of the
Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam and in
the sin that he caused Israel to commit.
The word of the Lord came to Jehu
son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,
Since I exalted you out of the dust and
16
a Heb him
km] north of Jerusalem) located in the territory of Benjamin and fortied it in order to use it as a border citadel
against Judah. 1819: Asa is forced to make an alliance against Baasha with King Ben-hadad of Damascus. 2021:
Ben-hadad is convinced by the important gis and conquers important locations in the north of Israel. Ijon,
Dan, at the headwaters of Jordan; Abel-beth-maacah, 5 mi (8 km) west of Dan. Chinneroth, the land between the
mountains and the lake of Galilee. All these territories belonged to Naphtali. 2224: Asa uses the material that
Baasha had brought to Ramah and builds two border fortresses in the north of Benjamin because he wants to
stress that it belongs to Judah: Geba and Mizpah. The laer means look-out post; it designates a town 8 mi (13
km) north of Jerusalem, which became an important administrative center aer the fall of Jerusalem in 586 bce
(see 2 Kings 25.22). 2324: The note about the kings disease of the feet, perhaps a euphemism for the genitals,
may come from the royal archives. This could mean that his son Jehoshaphat (22.41) governed during the last
years of Asas life.
15.2516.34: The northern kings from Nadab to Ahab. 15.2532: The authors provide lile precise information about Nadab (ca. 907906 bce) and make him as evil as Jeroboam. 2728: He is killed by Baasha, an ocer
from the tribe of Issachar, during the siege of the Philistine town Gibbethon, just west of Gezer. 2930: The
extermination of the whole family of Jeroboam fullls the prophetic oracle against the house of Jeroboam in
14.714. 15.3316.7: Baasha (ca. 906883 bce) established Tirzah (see 14.17) as the capital of the Northern King-
516 | hebrew bible
1 kings 16
made you leader over my people Israel, and
you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and
have caused my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins, therefore, I
will consume Baasha and his house, and I will
make your house like the house of Jeroboam
son of Nebat. Anyone belonging to Baasha
who dies in the city the dogs shall eat; and
anyone of his who dies in the eld the birds
of the air shall eat.
Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, what
he did, and his power, are they not written in
the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?
Baasha slept with his ancestors, and was
buried at Tirzah; and his son Elah succeeded
him. Moreover the word of the Lord came
by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against
Baasha and his house, both because of all
the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord,
provoking him to anger with the work of his
hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam,
and also because he destroyed it.
In the twenty-sixth year of King Asa of
Judah, Elah son of Baasha began to reign
over Israel in Tirzah; he reigned two years.
But his servant Zimri, commander of half
his chariots, conspired against him. When he
was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the
house of Arza, who was in charge of the palace at Tirzah, Zimri came in and struck him
down and killed him, in the twenty-seventh
year of King Asa of Judah, and succeeded
him.
When he began to reign, as soon as he
had seated himself on his throne, he killed
all the house of Baasha; he did not leave him
a single male of his kindred or his friends.
Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baa-
sha, according to the word of the Lord, which

he spoke against Baasha by the prophet
Jehu because of all the sins of Baasha and
the sins of his son Elah that they committed,
and that they caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with
their idols. Now the rest of the acts of Elah,
and all that he did, are they not written in the
Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?
In the twenty-seventh year of King Asa
of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah.
Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines,
and the troops who were encamped heard it
said, Zimri has conspired, and he has killed
the king; therefore all Israel made Omri,
the commander of the army, king over Israel
that day in the camp. So Omri went up from
Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they
besieged Tirzah. When Zimri saw that the
city was taken, he went into the citadel of
the kings house; he burned down the kings
house over himself with re, and died
because of the sins that he committed,
doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in
the way of Jeroboam, and for the sin that he
committed, causing Israel to sin. Now the
rest of the acts of Zimri, and the conspiracy
that he made, are they not written in the
Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?
Then the people of Israel were divided
into two parts; half of the people followed
Tibni son of Ginath, to make him king, and
half followed Omri. But the people who
followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni son of Ginath; so Tibni died, and
Omri became king. In the thirty-rst year of
King Asa of Judah, Omri began to reign over
dom, until Omri moved it to Samaria (16.24). 16.14: The divine oracle by the otherwise unknown prophet Jehu
(not to be confused with the later King Jehu) announces to Baasha, who walked in the way of Jeroboam (15.34),
the end of his dynasty, as did the prophet Ahijah to Jeroboam (14.714). 814: Baashas son Elah (ca. 883882
bce) has a very short reign since he is murdered by his ocer Zimri during a banquet in the house of Arza, the
royal chamberlain (for the title, see 4.6), who participated in the conspiracy. Like Nadab (15.2930), Zimri exterminates all the descendants of the murdered king. 1522: The chaotic and anarchic situation in the Northern
Kingdom culminates with the reign of Zimri, which lasted only a week. During the siege of Gibbethon (see
15.2728n.), Omri, supported by an important part of the army (all Israel in v. 17 is a rhetorical exaggeration)
besieged Tirzah, and Zimri commied suicide to avoid the humiliation of being killed by his enemy. This section emphasizes the instability of the northern kingship, in contrast to that of Judah. 2122: For ve years there
is a civil war. Omris claim to kingship is challenged by Tibni, who nally diedin all likelihood, he was killed.
There were apparently two competing factions in the Israelite army. 2328: The biblical authors describe Omris
reign (ca. 882871) briey. The Assyrians considered Omri as one of Israels most important kings, referring to
hebrew bible | 517
1 kings 17
Israel; he reigned for twelve years, six of them
in Tirzah.
He bought the hill of Samaria from
Shemer for two talents of silver; he fortied
the hill, and called the city that he built, Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner
of the hill.
Omri did what was evil in the sight of
the Lord; he did more evil than all who were
before him. For he walked in all the way
of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and in the sins
that he caused Israel to commit, provoking
the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their
idols. Now the rest of the acts of Omri that
he did, and the power that he showed, are
they not written in the Book of the Annals
of the Kings of Israel? Omri slept with his
ancestors, and was buried in Samaria; his son
Ahab succeeded him.
In the thirty-eighth year of King Asa of
Judah, Ahab son of Omri began to reign over
Israel; Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel
in Samaria twenty-two years. Ahab son of
Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more
than all who were before him.
And as if it had been a light thing for
him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of
Nebat, he took as his wife Jezebel daughter
of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and went

and served Baal, and worshiped him. He
erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal,
which he built in Samaria. Ahab also made
a sacred pole.a Ahab did more to provoke the
anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than had
all the kings of Israel who were before him.
In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho; he
laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his
rstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his
youngest son Segub, according to the word
of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua son of
Nun.
Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbeb
in Gilead, said to Ahab, As the Lord
the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand,
there shall be neither dew nor rain these
years, except by my word. The word of the
Lord came to him, saying, Go from here
and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the
Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.
You shall drink from the wadi, and I have
commanded the ravens to feed you there.
So he went and did according to the word
of the Lord; he went and lived by the Wadi
17
a Heb Asherah
b Gk: Heb of the settlers
Israel as the land of the house of Omri long aer Omris descendants had ceased to rule. The name Omri is
unique in Israel and may be of Amorite or Arabic origin (like Omar). 24: The only reported event of his reign
is his purchase of the hill of Samaria, which became the capital of the Northern Kingdom until its fall in 722
(cf. Davids purchase of Araunahs threshing oor in 2 Sam 24.1825). 2528: The rest consists of stereotypical
expressions, presenting Omri as a sinner, worse than his predecessors. 2934: The sinfulness of Israels kings
culminates with Ahab (ca. 873852 bce). His name may signify the brother of the father; it is perhaps a throne
name indicating a coregency of the prince with his father. 31: The authors sharply condemn his marriage with
Jezebel, a Phoenician princess. Her name includes a title of the Canaanite god Baal (zebul), revocalized to
hint at dung (zebel). Her father Ethbaal is documented by nonbiblical sources as king of Tyre (for Sidon as a
general term, see 6.6n.). 3233: Ahab introduces the worship of Baal into the Northern Kingdom. Baal is not a
proper name but a title (lord, master) given in the Levant to the weather-god who brought rain and fertility
to the land. Nevertheless the names of his children all contain the name of the god of Israel. 34: See Josh 6.26.
Archeological evidence for an occupation of Jericho during the monarchic period points to the seventh century
bce. At the cost of . . . his rstborn . . . his youngest son may mean human sacrices at the occasion of the foundation of an important building. Another possibility is to see the death of Hiels children as the consequence of
Joshuas curse upon the rebuilding of the ruins of Jericho.
1721. Elijah. Most of the narratives about the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 1721) are inserted in account of the
reign of Ahab, whose death is related in 22.3740. The nal Elijah narratives take place during the reign of
Ahaziah (2 Kings 12).
17.118.46: The prophet Elijah and the drought. 17.16: Elijah comes from Tishbe, a town north of the Jabbok
River in Gilead in Transjordan. Elijahs name (which means My god is the Lord) may reect his theological program, since he will ght against the worship of Baal. 1: The Lords bringing a drought upon the land shows that
he is the real weather-god instead of Baal. 25: Following a divine order Elijah escapes the famine and dwells
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1 kings 17
Sidon
Damascus
Zarephath
R. Jordan
ARAM
(SYRIA)
o
ish
.) K
i (R l
e
ad
m
W
ar
t. C
M
n
Mediterranean
Sea
Sea of
Chinnereth
Aphek
Shunem
Jezreel
Ramoth-gilead
Tishbe
I S R A E L
Wadi (Brook) Cherith
Abel-meholah
Samaria
IL
PH
32
Jerusalem
Sea of
Arabah
(Dead Sea)
IS
TI
GILEAD
JUDAH
MOAB
Beer-sheba
0
0
35
EDOM
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
31
36
Places associated with the Elijah narratives. The dashed line shows the approximate boundaries
Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. The

ravens brought him bread and meat in the
morning, and bread and meat in the evening;
and he drank from the wadi. But after a
while the wadi dried up, because there was
no rain in the land.
Then the word of the Lord came to him,
saying, Go now to Zarephath, which belongs
to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded
a widow there to feed you. So he set out
and went to Zarephath. When he came to the
gate of the town, a widow was there gathering

sticks; he called to her and said, Bring me a
little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.
As she was going to bring it, he called to her
and said, Bring me a morsel of bread in your
hand. But she said, As the Lord your God
lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of
meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now
gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go
home and prepare it for myself and my son,
that we may eat it, and die. Elijah said to her,
at the Wadi Cherith, an unidentied brook east of the Jordan. 6: The feeding of the hero by animals is a frequent
motif in folktales. Ravens are known as always hungry and eating roen esh. Paradoxically, they provide meat
for Elijah. 716: Elijah has to go north. 9: Zarephath (10 mi [16 km] south of Sidon) is in Phoenician territory, the
heartland of Baal-worship. Elijahs miracle shows that the God of Israel alone can provide food and life. 12: Meal
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1 kings 18
Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said;
but rst make me a little cake of it and bring
it to me, and afterwards make something for
yourself and your son. For thus says the
Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not
be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until
the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.
She went and did as Elijah said, so that she
as well as he and her household ate for many
days. The jar of meal was not emptied,
neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the
word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was
so severe that there was no breath left in him.
She then said to Elijah, What have you
against me, Oman of God? You have come to
me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to
cause the death of my son! But he said to
her, Give me your son. He took him from
her bosom, carried him up into the upper
chamber where he was lodging, and laid him
on his own bed. He cried out to the Lord,
OLord my God, have you brought calamity
even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son? Then he stretched
himself upon the child three times, and cried
out to the Lord, OLord my God, let this
childs life come into him again. The Lord
listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the
child came into him again, and he revived.
Elijah took the child, brought him down
from the upper chamber into the house, and
gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, See,
your son is alive. So the woman said to
Elijah, Now I know that you are a man of
God, and that the word of the Lord in your
mouth is truth.
After many days the word of the Lord
came to Elijah, in the third year of the
drought,a saying, Go, present yourself to
18
Ahab; I will send rain on the earth. So Elijah

went to present himself to Ahab. The famine
was severe in Samaria. Ahab summoned
Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace.
(Now Obadiah revered the Lord greatly;
when Jezebel was killing o the prophets of
the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets,
hid them fty to a cave, and provided them
with bread and water.) Then Ahab said to
Obadiah, Go through the land to all the
springs of water and to all the wadis; perhaps we may nd grass to keep the horses
and mules alive, and not lose some of the
animals. So they divided the land between
them to pass through it; Ahab went in one
direction by himself, and Obadiah went in
another direction by himself.
As Obadiah was on the way, Elijah met
him; Obadiah recognized him, fell on his
face, and said, Is it you, my lord Elijah?
He answered him, It is I. Go, tell your lord
that Elijah is here. And he said, How have
I sinned, that you would hand your servant
over to Ahab, to kill me? As the Lord your
God lives, there is no nation or kingdom
to which my lord has not sent to seek you;
and when they would say, He is not here,
he would require an oath of the kingdom or
nation, that they had not found you. But
now you say, Go, tell your lord that Elijah is
here. As soon as I have gone from you, the
spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not
where; so, when I come and tell Ahab and he
cannot nd you, he will kill me, although I
your servant have revered the Lord from my
youth. Has it not been told my lord what
I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of
the Lord, how I hid a hundred of the Lords
prophets fty to a cave, and provided them
a Heb lacks of the drought
and oil are the basic ingredients for bread. 1724: Elijahs revival of the widows son manifests again the Lords
power. The Ugaritic Baal epic tells that during the dry summer Baal dies and comes back to life in autumn by the
help of his sister. The God of Israel is not a dying God; on the contrary, his prophet is able to bring the dead back
to life. 18: The woman understands the death of her son as punishment for some obscure sin. 1923: Elijahs lying on the dead boy has a parallel in a similar story about Elisha in 2 Kings 4.34. It reects a magical conception
of transferring life into a dead body. The story emphasizes that this magic can work only if God pays aention
to the voice of his prophet. 24: A foreign woman acknowledges the power of the God of Israel. 18.146: Now
Elijah, the prophet of the Lord, directly confronts the prophets of Baal. 116: This confrontation is introduced
by an encounter between Elijah and Obadiah, Ahabs chamberlain. This encounter prepares the meeting between Elijah and Ahab. As Obadiahs name (servant of the Lord) indicates, he is a faithful worshiper of the
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1 kings 18
with bread and water? Yet now you say, Go,
tell your lord that Elijah is here; he will surely
kill me. Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts
lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show
myself to him today. So Obadiah went to
meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to
meet Elijah.
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to
him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel? He
answered, I have not troubled Israel; but
you have, and your fathers house, because
you have forsaken the commandments of the
Lord and followed the Baals. Now therefore have all Israel assemble for me at Mount
Carmel, with the four hundred fty prophets
of Baal and the four hundred prophets of
Asherah, who eat at Jezebels table.
So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and
assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel.
Elijah then came near to all the people, and
said, How long will you go limping with two
dierent opinions? If the Lord is God, follow
him; but if Baal, then follow him. The people
did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said
to the people, I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baals prophets number
four hundred fty. Let two bulls be given to
us; let them choose one bull for themselves,
cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but
put no re to it; I will prepare the other bull
and lay it on the wood, but put no re to it.
Then you call on the name of your god
and I will call on the name of the Lord; the
god who answers by re is indeed God. All
the people answered, Well spoken! Then
Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose
for yourselves one bull and prepare it rst,
for you are many; then call on the name of

your god, but put no re to it. So they took
the bull that was given them, prepared it,
and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, OBaal, answer us!
But there was no voice, and no answer. They
limped about the altar that they had made.
At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry
aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a
journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be
awakened. Then they cried aloud and, as
was their custom, they cut themselves with
swords and lances until the blood gushed out
over them. As midday passed, they raved
on until the time of the oering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and
no response.
Then Elijah said to all the people, Come
closer to me; and all the people came closer
to him. First he repaired the altar of the Lord
that had been thrown down; Elijah took
twelve stones, according to the number of the
tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word
of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be your
name; with the stones he built an altar in
the name of the Lord. Then he made a trench
around the altar, large enough to contain two
measures of seed. Next he put the wood
in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on
the wood. He said, Fill four jars with water
and pour it on the burnt oering and on the
wood. Then he said, Do it a second time;
and they did it a second time. Again he said,
Do it a third time; and they did it a third
time, so that the water ran all around the
altar, and lled the trench also with water.
God of Israel and protects Gods prophets from Ahabs vengeful wife Jezebel. 1720: The encounter between
Ahab and Elijah prepares the way for the competition between the many prophets of Baal and the one prophet
of the Lord. 17: Troubler, this word may also mean sorcerer. 19: The high number of the prophets of Baal (four
hundred y) emphasizes the disproportion of forces. The four hundred prophets of Asherah, who do not appear
again in the following story, have been inserted here to emphasize Ahabs and Jezebels Canaanite religion. The
competition is on Mount Carmel, on the coast above modern Haifa. 20: All the Israelites, a rhetorical expression,
meaning the people as represented by its elders and other dignitaries. 2024: In his harangue Elijah pretends to
be the only prophet of the Lord; but see 18.4. 24: The Lords association with re and lightning is well aested
(Ex 19; Lev 9.24); Baal was also venerated as a god of re and lightning. 2529: Baals prophets are unsuccessful,
in spite of engaging in self-laceration until the evening (the time of the oering of the oblation). Elijahs mockery
recalls the critique of idols in Deutero-Isaiah (Isa 4055). 27: He has wandered away, a disrespectful euphemism
meaning that Baal has to relieve himself. 29: They raved, lit. they prophesied. 3040: Elijah prepares the revelation of the Lord by restoring or building an altar. 3032: A sacrice to the Lord needs to be oered on an
altar. The author of these verses knows the Jacob story in Genesis and quotes Gen 35.10. 3235: The large trench
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1 kings 19
At the time of the oering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said,
OLord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
let it be known this day that you are God
in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I
have done all these things at your bidding.
Answer me, OLord, answer me, so that this
people may know that you, OLord, are God,
and that you have turned their hearts back.
Then the re of the Lord fell and consumed
the burnt oering, the wood, the stones, and
the dust, and even licked up the water that
was in the trench. When all the people saw
it, they fell on their faces and said, The Lord
indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God. Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal;
do not let one of them escape. Then they
seized them; and Elijah brought them down
to the Wadi Kishon, and killed them there.
Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and
drink; for there is a sound of rushing rain.
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah
went up to the top of Carmel; there he bowed
himself down upon the earth and put his
face between his knees. He said to his
servant, Go up now, look toward the sea.
He went up and looked, and said, There
is nothing. Then he said, Go again seven
times. At the seventh time he said, Look,
a little cloud no bigger than a persons hand
is rising out of the sea. Then he said, Go
say to Ahab, Harness your chariot and go
down before the rain stops you. In a little
while the heavens grew black with clouds
and wind; there was a heavy rain. Ahab rode

o and went to Jezreel. But the hand of the
Lord was on Elijah; he girded up his loins
and ran in front of Ahab to the entrance of
Jezreel.
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had
done, and how he had killed all the
prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel
sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So may
the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not
make your life like the life of one of them by
this time tomorrow. Then he was afraid;
he got up and ed for his life, and came to
Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left
his servant there.
But he himself went a days journey
into the wilderness, and came and sat down
under a solitary broom tree. He asked that
he might die: It is enough; now, OLord,
take away my life, for I am no better than
my ancestors. Then he lay down under
the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an
angel touched him and said to him, Get up
and eat. He looked, and there at his head
was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar
of water. He ate and drank, and lay down
again. The angel of the Lord came a second
time, touched him, and said, Get up and eat,
otherwise the journey will be too much for
you. He got up, and ate and drank; then he
went in the strength of that food forty days
and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
At that place he came to a cave, and spent
the night there.
19
lled with water prevents any human manipulation. 3637: Elijahs prayer contrasts with the ecstatic behavior
of the prophets of Baal. 3839: The Lords manifestation through re leads to the peoples recognition that he
is the only god. The cry The Lord indeed is God echoes the name of Elijah (see 17.16n.). 40: The killing of the
prophets of Baal at Wadi Kishon, a seasonal stream at the eastern base of Mount Carmel, is shocking to modern
readers (cf. the Levites killing the idolatrous people in Ex 32.2728). 4146: These verses conclude the drought
narrative. 45: Jezreel, located in a valley ca. 25 mi (40 km) southeast of Mount Carmel, was where Ahab and Jezebel had a palace (21.1). 46: The Lord orders Elijah to go there, for the next confrontation. Miraculously, Elijah
ran as fast as Ahabs chariot.
19.118: Elijah at the mountain of God. 13: Elijahs violence against the prophets of Baal provokes Jezebels
violence against him, and he ees until he reaches Beer-sheba, in the very south, at the border of the Judean
desert. 48: He goes to the wilderness, the place of death, because he wishes to die, but again the Lord nourishes him miraculously (see 17.56) and orders him on a long journey to Mount Horeb, an alternate name, especially in Deuteronomy, for Mount Sinai. In the following narrative Elijah is depicted as a new Moses. This is already indicated by the mention of the forty days and forty nights, which recall Moses sojourn on the mountain
of God. 914: Elijahs encounter with the Lord takes place at the cave where Moses had stood to meet the God
of Israel (Ex 33.2123). The encounter is framed by Elijahs statement that he has been zealous for the Lord, that
is, enthusiastic and exclusive in devotion to the Lord. The same word (sometimes translated jealous) is used
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Then the word of the Lord came to him,
saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?
He answered, I have been very zealous for
the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites
have forsaken your covenant, thrown down
your altars, and killed your prophets with the
sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking
my life, to take it away.
He said, Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about
to pass by. Now there was a great wind, so
strong that it was splitting mountains and
breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but
the Lord was not in the wind; and after the
wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not
in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a re, but the Lord was not in the re;
and after the re a sound of sheer silence.
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face
in his mantle and went out and stood at the
entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice
to him that said, What are you doing here,
Elijah? He answered, I have been very
zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for
the Israelites have forsaken your covenant,
thrown down your altars, and killed your
prophets with the sword. I alone am left,
and they are seeking my life, to take it away.
Then the Lord said to him, Go, return on
your way to the wilderness of Damascus;
when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as
king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu
son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you
shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah as prophet in your place. Whoever
escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall

kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of
Jehu, Elisha shall kill. Yet I will leave seven
thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not
bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not
kissed him.
So he set out from there, and found
Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing.
There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him,
and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed
by him and threw his mantle over him. He
left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, Let
me kiss my father and my mother, and then
I will follow you. Then Elijaha said to him,
Go back again; for what have I done to you?
He returned from following him, took the
yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using
the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their
esh, and gave it to the people, and they ate.
Then he set out and followed Elijah, and
became his servant.
King Ben-hadad of Aram gathered all
his army together; thirty-two kings
were with him, along with horses and chariots. He marched against Samaria, laid siege to
it, and attacked it. Then he sent messengers
into the city to King Ahab of Israel, and said
to him: Thus says Ben-hadad: Your silver
and gold are mine; your fairest wives and
children also are mine. The king of Israel
answered, As you say, my lord, Oking, I am
yours, and all that I have. The messengers
came again and said: Thus says Ben-hadad: I
20
a Heb he
to describe God. 1013: This unexpected divine manifestation can be understood as a critique of the common
idea that God has to reveal himself spectacularly by wind, earthquake, and re (see Ex 19.1618; Deut 4.36 and
also 1 Kings 18). Here God comes to Elijah in sheer silence, in a barely audible whisper. The author of this narrative was probably polemicizing against the previous Carmel narrative. 1518: The order given to Elijah to anoint
Hazael as king over Aram (see 2 Kings 8.715), Jehu as king over Israel (2 Kings 910), and the prophet Elisha as his
successor hints ahead to the narratives about the time aer Ahab, which will also be characterized by violence.
Anointing of kings by a prophet is common; a prophet anointing another prophet is unique. 15: Wilderness of
Damascus, missing in the LXX, probably means the desert east of the Lake of Tiberias.
19.1921: Elisha becomes Elijahs servant and successor. Elisha is the rst of the three persons mentioned in
vv. 1518 to enter the scene. In fact, he and not Elijah will anoint Hazael and Jehu. 19: Twelve yoke of oxen: likely
an allusion to the twelve tribes of Israel. Threw his mantle over him, a symbolic act, transferring Elijahs power
and abilities to his successor. 21: The burning of the yoke symbolizes Elishas break with his former life.
20.143: Wars between the Israelites and the Arameans. Elijah does not appear in this narrative. Ahab is
hardly mentioned (see vv. 2,1314), suggesting to some scholars that this story originally belonged to a later
time of Israels history. 112: Ben-hadad, head of an impressive alliance (thirty-two kings, or chiefs of various tribes), besieges Samaria and tries to convince the king of Israel to become his vassal and to surrender.
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1 kings 20
sent to you, saying, Deliver to me your silver
and gold, your wives and children; nevertheless I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search
your house and the houses of your servants,
and lay hands on whatever pleases them,a
and take it away.
Then the king of Israel called all the elders
of the land, and said, Look now! See how this
man is seeking trouble; for he sent to me for
my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold;
and I did not refuse him. Then all the elders
and all the people said to him, Do not listen
or consent. So he said to the messengers
of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king: All that
you rst demanded of your servant I will do;
but this thing I cannot do. The messengers
left and brought him word again. Ben-hadad
sent to him and said, The gods do so to me,
and more also, if the dust of Samaria will provide a handful for each of the people who follow me. The king of Israel answered, Tell
him: One who puts on armor should not brag
like one who takes it o. When Ben-hadad
heard this messagenow he had been drinking with the kings in the boothshe said to
his men, Take your positions! And they took
their positions against the city.
Then a certain prophet came up to King
Ahab of Israel and said, Thus says the Lord,
Have you seen all this great multitude? Look,
I will give it into your hand today; and you
shall know that I am the Lord. Ahab said,
By whom? He said, Thus says the Lord,
By the young men who serve the district
governors. Then he said, Who shall begin
the battle? He answered, You. Then he
mustered the young men who served the district governors, two hundred thirty-two; after
them he mustered all the people of Israel,
seven thousand.
They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad

was drinking himself drunk in the booths,
he and the thirty-two kings allied with him.
The young men who served the district governors went out rst. Ben-hadad had sent out
scouts,b and they reported to him, Men have
come out from Samaria. He said, If they
have come out for peace, take them alive; if
they have come out for war, take them alive.
But these had already come out of the
city: the young men who served the district
governors, and the army that followed them.
Each killed his man; the Arameans ed and
Israel pursued them, but King Ben-hadad of
Aram escaped on a horse with the cavalry.
The king of Israel went out, attacked the
horses and chariots, and defeated the Arameans with a great slaughter.
Then the prophet approached the king
of Israel and said to him, Come, strengthen
yourself, and consider well what you have
to do; for in the spring the king of Aram will
come up against you.
The servants of the king of Aram said to
him, Their gods are gods of the hills, and so
they were stronger than we; but let us ght
against them in the plain, and surely we shall
be stronger than they. Also do this: remove
the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in place of them; and muster an
army like the army that you have lost, horse
for horse, and chariot for chariot; then we
will ght against them in the plain, and surely
we shall be stronger than they. He heeded
their voice, and did so.
In the spring Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to ght against
Israel. After the Israelites had been mustered
a Gk Syr Vg: Heb you
b Heb lacks scouts
11: Ahab quotes a popular aphorism, warning Ben-hadad against too much condence about his power.
1315: Through an anonymous prophet, the Lord announces to the king of Israel that he will provide for
the victory against the Arameans. 13: I will give it into your hand, a common expression to express divine assistance in war. 1415: Young men, unmarried soldiers. District, a word normally used of the provinces of the
Persian Empire (e.g., Ezra 2.1; Dan 8.2). 1621: Aacking at an unexpected time, at noon, when the besiegers
were relaxing and even drunk, the Israelite army defeats the Arameans. 2234: Ben-hadad does not give up.
2225: He reorganizes his army in order to aack Israel in the spring (aer his autumn defeat). 23: Their gods
are gods of the hills, or their god is a god of the hills. It is not clear if the Arameans think that the Israelites
worship several mountain gods, or only the Lord. The origin of the Israelites is indeed in the mountains of
Israel. 2630: The bale takes place at Aphek, probably situated east of the Lake of Galilee. 28: An anony-
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and provisioned, they went out to engage
them; the people of Israel encamped opposite
them like two little ocks of goats, while the
Arameans lled the country. A man of God
approached and said to the king of Israel,
Thus says the Lord: Because the Arameans
have said, The Lord is a god of the hills but he
is not a god of the valleys, therefore I will give
all this great multitude into your hand, and
you shall know that I am the Lord. They
encamped opposite one another seven days.
Then on the seventh day the battle began;
the Israelites killed one hundred thousand
Aramean foot soldiers in one day. The rest
ed into the city of Aphek; and the wall fell on
twenty-seven thousand men that were left.
Ben-hadad also ed, and entered the city
to hide. His servants said to him, Look,
we have heard that the kings of the house of
Israel are merciful kings; let us put sackcloth
around our waists and ropes on our heads,
and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he
will spare your life. So they tied sackcloth around their waists, put ropes on their
heads, went to the king of Israel, and said,
Your servant Ben-hadad says, Please let
me live. And he said, Is he still alive? He
is my brother. Now the men were watching for an omen; they quickly took it up
from him and said, Yes, Ben-hadad is your
brother. Then he said, Go and bring him.
So Ben-hadad came out to him; and he had
him come up into the chariot. Ben-hadada
said to him, I will restore the towns that my
father took from your father; and you may
establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as
my father did in Samaria. The king of Israel
responded,b I will let you go on those terms.
So he made a treaty with him and let him go.
At the command of the Lord a certain
member of a company of prophetsc said to

another, Strike me! But the man refused
to strike him. Then he said to him, Because you have not obeyed the voice of the
Lord, as soon as you have left me, a lion will
kill you. And when he had left him, a lion
met him and killed him. Then he found
another man and said, Strike me! So the
man hit him, striking and wounding him.
Then the prophet departed, and waited for
the king along the road, disguising himself
with a bandage over his eyes. As the king
passed by, he cried to the king and said,
Your servant went out into the thick of the
battle; then a soldier turned and brought a
man to me, and said, Guard this man; if he is
missing, your life shall be given for his life, or
else you shall pay a talent of silver. While
your servant was busy here and there, he was
gone. The king of Israel said to him, So shall
your judgment be; you yourself have decided
it. Then he quickly took the bandage away
from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized
him as one of the prophets. Then he said to
him, Thus says the Lord, Because you have
let the man go whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his
life, and your people for his people. The
king of Israel set out toward home, resentful
and sullen, and came to Samaria.
Later the following events took place:
Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard
in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of
Samaria. And Ahab said to Naboth, Give
me your vineyard, so that I may have it for
a vegetable garden, because it is near my
21
a Heb He
b Heb lacks The king of Israel responded
c Heb of the sons of the prophets
mous prophet conrms the saying of the Arameans: the Lord is a god of the hills (see v. 23). 2930: The
outcome recalls the bale of Jericho in Josh 6: on the seventh day the Israelites win the bale, and the wall
of Aphek, where the Arameans have ed, falls down. 3034: Ben-hadad has no other choice than to oer a
treaty to the king of Israel. 3233: Brother here connotes an equal treaty partner. 34: Bazaars allow the Israelites free trade in Damascus. 3543: This story criticizes the treaty that the king of Israel concluded with
Ben-hadad. A member of a prophetic guild, who pretends to have been wounded during the war, confounds
the king with an invented case (like Nathan in 2 Sam 12.17) in order to denounce the kings action as contrary to Gods will. 36: A lion . . . killed him, recalling the prophetic story in 13.24. 39: A talent of silver (about
75 lb [34 kg]) was an exorbitant price and impossible to pay unless one was very wealthy. 42: Cf. 1 Sam 15.
21.129: Naboths vineyard. 14: Naboth of Jezreel, where Ahab had a winter palace, refuses to sell his land to
the king, because he does not want to alienate the property of his clan (cf. Lev 25.834). The story shows how
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1 kings 21
house; I will give you a better vineyard for it;
or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its
value in money. But Naboth said to Ahab,
The Lord forbid that I should give you my
ancestral inheritance. Ahab went home
resentful and sullen because of what Naboth
the Jezreelite had said to him; for he had said,
I will not give you my ancestral inheritance.
He lay down on his bed, turned away his face,
and would not eat.
His wife Jezebel came to him and said,
Why are you so depressed that you will not
eat? He said to her, Because I spoke to
Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, Give
me your vineyard for money; or else, if you
prefer, I will give you another vineyard for
it; but he answered, I will not give you my
vineyard. His wife Jezebel said to him, Do
you now govern Israel? Get up, eat some food,
and be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard
of Naboth the Jezreelite.
So she wrote letters in Ahabs name and
sealed them with his seal; she sent the letters
to the elders and the nobles who lived with
Naboth in his city. She wrote in the letters,
Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth at the
head of the assembly; seat two scoundrels
opposite him, and have them bring a charge
against him, saying, You have cursed God
and the king. Then take him out, and stone
him to death. The men of his city, the
elders and the nobles who lived in his city,
did as Jezebel had sent word to them. Just
as it was written in the letters that she had
sent to them, they proclaimed a fast and
seated Naboth at the head of the assembly.
The two scoundrels came in and sat opposite him; and the scoundrels brought a
charge against Naboth, in the presence of
the people, saying, Naboth cursed God and
the king. So they took him outside the city,
and stoned him to death. Then they sent to
Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned; he
is dead.
As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth

had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said
to Ahab, Go, take possession of the vineyard
of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to
give you for money; for Naboth is not alive,
but dead. As soon as Ahab heard that
Naboth was dead, Ahab set out to go down to
the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take
possession of it.
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah
the Tishbite, saying: Go down to meet King
Ahab of Israel, who rulesa in Samaria; he is
now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has
gone to take possession. You shall say to
him, Thus says the Lord: Have you killed,
and also taken possession? You shall say to
him, Thus says the Lord: In the place where
dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will
also lick up your blood.
Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found
me, Omy enemy? He answered, I have
found you. Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the
Lord, I will bring disaster on you; I will
consume you, and will cut off from Ahab
every male, bond or free, in Israel; and
I will make your house like the house of
Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house
of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have
provoked me to anger and have caused
Israel to sin. Also concerning Jezebel
the Lord said, The dogs shall eat Jezebel
within the bounds of Jezreel. Anyone
belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the
dogs shall eat; and anyone of his who dies
in the open country the birds of the air
shall eat.
(Indeed, there was no one like Ahab,
who sold himself to do what was evil in
the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife
Jezebel. He acted most abominably in
going after idols, as the Amorites had
a Heb who is
a free man is able to resist the king. 514: Like David, who sent a leer to his commander in order to get rid of
Uriah (2 Sam 11.1415), Jezebel sends leers to the elders and nobles in order to have Naboth executed with a false
accusation. 10: Scoundrels, lit. sons of worthlessness. 1516: Apparently the king could claim the possessions
of a man who had been condemned to death. 1729: Despite the fact that it was Jezebel who took the initiative
to kill Naboth, the Lord sends Elijah to confront Ahab. 18: According to this verse the incident transpired in
Samaria and not in Jezreel. 2324: The dogs shall eat . . . , dogs were considered unclean animals. The absence
of a proper burial place is one of the worst curses in the Bible (e.g., Deut 28.26; Jer 34.20) and other ancient
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1 kings 22
done, whom the Lord drove out before the
Israelites.)
When Ahab heard those words, he tore
his clothes and put sackcloth over his bare
esh; he fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went
about dejectedly. Then the word of the
Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: Have you
seen how Ahab has humbled himself before
me? Because he has humbled himself before
me, I will not bring the disaster in his days;
but in his sons days I will bring the disaster
on his house.
For three years Aram and Israel continued without war. But in the third
year King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down
to the king of Israel. The king of Israel said
to his servants, Do you know that Ramothgilead belongs to us, yet we are doing nothing
to take it out of the hand of the king of
Aram? He said to Jehoshaphat, Will you
go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?
Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, I
am as you are; my people are your people, my
horses are your horses.
But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of
Israel, Inquire rst for the word of the Lord.
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred of them,
and said to them, Shall I go to battle against
Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain? They said,
Go up; for the Lord will give it into the hand
of the king. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there
no other prophet of the Lord here of whom
we may inquire? The king of Israel said
to Jehoshaphat, There is still one other by
22
whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah

son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never
prophesies anything favorable about me, but
only disaster. Jehoshaphat said, Let the
king not say such a thing. Then the king of
Israel summoned an ocer and said, Bring
quickly Micaiah son of Imlah. Now the
king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah
were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their
robes, at the threshing oor at the entrance
of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets
were prophesying before them. Zedekiah
son of Chenaanah made for himself horns
of iron, and he said, Thus says the Lord:
With these you shall gore the Arameans until
they are destroyed. All the prophets were
prophesying the same and saying, Go up to
Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will
give it into the hand of the king.
The messenger who had gone to
summon Micaiah said to him, Look, the
words of the prophets with one accord
are favorable to the king; let your word be
like the word of one of them, and speak
favorably. But Micaiah said, As the Lord
lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I
will speak.
When he had come to the king, the king
said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we refrain? He
answered him, Go up and triumph; the Lord
will give it into the hand of the king. But
the king said to him, How many times must
I make you swear to tell me nothing but the
truth in the name of the Lord? Then Mi-
texts. 2729: In reaction to the prophetic word Ahab adopts the traditional mourning rites so the punishment
is transferred to his son Joram.
22.140: The campaign of Ramoth-gilead and the death of Ahab. 136: In this bale story, continuing ch
20, Ahab is mentioned by name only in v. 20 (see 20.143n.). 14: The beginning of the story suggests that
king Jehoshaphat of Judah (see vv. 4150) is a vassal of the Israelite king, since he has to participate in a war
against the king of Aram to retrieve the fortress of Ramoth-gilead in Transjordan. 528: The story about the
prophetic counsel interrupts the bale report that is continued in v. 29. 6: The four hundred prophets are part
of the royal entourage. 79: Jehoshaphat asks for an independent prophet of the Lord. Micaiah son of Imlah, a
prophet of doom, is not the same as the prophet Micah of the book of that name in the Twelve Minor Prophets. 1 Kings 22 (and its parallel in 2 Chr 18) is the only biblical story in which he is mentioned. It is surprising
that the king of Israel does not mention the prophet Elijah in this context. 1016: Zedekiah is the chief of the
ocial court prophets. His symbolic action (horns of iron) is meant to bring about the kings victory. Horns are
symbols of power and strength (cf. the similar narrative in Jer 28). Micaiahs rst answer, repeating the favorable oracle, reects either irony or that he is afraid of punishment in case of a negative oracle (see v. 24). 1718:
The second oracle describes a vision of a ock without a shepherd, namely the king, who in the ancient Near
East was the shepherd of his people. 1923: Micaiahs second vision describes the heavenly court (see also Job
hebrew bible | 527
1 kings 22
caiaha said, I saw all Israel scattered on the
mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd;
and the Lord said, These have no master; let
each one go home in peace. The king of
Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you
that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me, but only disaster?
Then Micaiaha said, Therefore hear
the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting
on his throne, with all the host of heaven
standing beside him to the right and to the
left of him. And the Lord said, Who will
entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at
Ramoth-gilead? Then one said one thing,
and another said another, until a spirit
came forward and stood before the Lord,
saying, I will entice him. How? the Lord
asked him. He replied, I will go out and be a
lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.
Then the Lorda said, You are to entice him,
and you shall succeed; go out and do it. So
you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the
mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord
has decreed disaster for you.
Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came
up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and
said, Which way did the spirit of the Lord
pass from me to speak to you? Micaiah
replied, You will nd out on that day when
you go in to hide in an inner chamber. The
king of Israel then ordered, Take Micaiah,
and return him to Amon the governor of the
city and to Joash the kings son, and say,
Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison,
and feed him on reduced rations of bread and
water until I come in peace. Micaiah said,
If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, you peoples,
all of you!
So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramothgilead. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into
battle, but you wear your robes. So the king

of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. Now the king of Aram had commanded
the thirty-two captains of his chariots, Fight
with no one small or great, but only with
the king of Israel. When the captains of
the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, It
is surely the king of Israel. So they turned
to ght against him; and Jehoshaphat cried
out. When the captains of the chariots saw
that it was not the king of Israel, they turned
back from pursuing him. But a certain man
drew his bow and unknowingly struck the
king of Israel between the scale armor and
the breastplate; so he said to the driver of his
chariot, Turn around, and carry me out of
the battle, for I am wounded. The battle
grew hot that day, and the king was propped
up in his chariot facing the Arameans, until
at evening he died; the blood from the wound
had owed into the bottom of the chariot.
Then about sunset a shout went through
the army, Every man to his city, and every
man to his country!
So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; they buried the king in Samaria. They
washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; the
dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes
washed themselves in it,b according to the
word of the Lord that he had spoken. Now
the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did,
and the ivory house that he built, and all the
cities that he built, are they not written in the
Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel? So
Ahab slept with his ancestors; and his son
Ahaziah succeeded him.
Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to reign
over Judah in the fourth year of King Ahab
of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty-ve years
old when he began to reign, and he reigned
a Heb he
b Heb lacks in it
12). 22: The lying spirit is a member of the divine council. 2428: The king prefers the majority view. 26: Like
Jeremiah (Jer 37.15), Micaiah is kept in prison, in the house of the kings son. 2936: The disguise of the king of
Israel indicates that he is lacking faith in the victory and that he tries to avert the rst vision of Micaiah. 34: But
he cannot oppose Gods decision and is killed in spite of his disguise. 3740: The conclusion of Ahabs reign
is described in stereotypical expressions known from other kings, except for v. 38, which alludes to Elijahs
prophecy in 21.19 in which the dogs licked up his blood. The reference to the prostitutes exceeds what Elijah announced. Their obscene action makes Ahabs death even more infamous.
22.4153: Jehoshaphat of Judah and Ahaziah of Israel. 4150: For the redactors of the book of Kings Je-
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1 kings 22
twenty-ve years in Jerusalem. His mothers
name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. He
walked in all the way of his father Asa; he did
not turn aside from it, doing what was right
in the sight of the Lord; yet the high places
were not taken away, and the people still
sacriced and oered incense on the high
places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with
the king of Israel.
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat,
and his power that he showed, and how he
waged war, are they not written in the Book
of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? The
remnant of the male temple prostitutes who
were still in the land in the days of his father
Asa, he exterminated.
There was no king in Edom; a deputy
was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of the
Tarshish type to go to Ophir for gold; but
they did not go, for the ships were wrecked

at Ezion-geber. Then Ahaziah son of Ahab
said to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with
your servants in the ships, but Jehoshaphat
was not willing. Jehoshaphat slept with his
ancestors and was buried with his ancestors
in the city of his father David; his son Jehoram succeeded him.
Ahaziah son of Ahab began to reign
over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth
year of King Jehoshaphat of Judah; he
reigned two years over Israel. He did what
was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked
in the way of his father and mother, and
in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who
caused Israel to sin. He served Baal and
worshiped him; he provoked the Lord, the
God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had
done.
hoshaphat (ca. 870846 bce) was a good king, except that he tolerated sanctuaries outside the Jerusalem Temple. 46: Male temple prostitutes, see 14.24n. 4750: Like Solomon, Jehoshaphat built ships of the Tarshish type in
order to continue his ancestors exotic expeditions, but he did not succeed; see 10.22n. 5153: This introduces
the reign of the Israelite king Ahaziah (ca. 852851 bce), which is continued in 2 Kings 1. Originally, the two
books of Kings were a single book (see Introduction).
2 KINGS
For a discussion of the composition and character of 12 Kings, see the Introduction to 1 Kings (pp. 485486).
name
In the Hebrew Bible the book of 2 Kings is called Kings 2, in the Greek Bible Basileion 4 (reigns or dynasties).
Originally 2 Kings was joined with 1 Kings as a single book.

In the Hebrew Bible, Kings 2 is the last book of the Former Prophets (Josh, Judg, 12 Sam, 12 Kings). This
book, which ends with the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of the Judeans to Babylon (others ee
to Egypt), is followed by the book of Isaiah, which opens the Laer Prophets. Thus 2 Kings oers background
to the prophetic oracles of doom and restoration in the following prophetic books. In Christian Bibles 2 Kings is
followed by 12 Chronicles, which has an alternate history of the period of the monarchy.

The authors and redactors of 2 Kings are the same as those of 1 Kings. Scholars oen label them Deuteronomists, because their language, style, and theological perspective are largely inspired by the book of Deuteronomy. The nal episode in 2 Kings mentions the Babylonian king Evil-merodach, who ruled around 562 bce, so
the last redactor of the books must have lived aer that.

Second Kings starts during the short reign of Ahaziah king of Israel, with a formula (aer the death of Ahab)
that recalls the beginnings of the preceding books of Joshua, Judges, and 2 Samuel. The book is divided thematically into two parts: chs 117 continue the synchronic history of the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel
until the fall of Samaria in the late eighth century; and chs 1825 relate the last century and a half of the Judean
kingdom until the Babylonian exile of 586. The rst part contains several stories about the prophet Elisha (chs
28). Aer he is installed as Elijahs successor, he performs many miracles, several of which parallel tales told
about Elijah: restoration of a spring in Jericho (Elisha provides water); punishment of jeering boys (Elisha provokes death); the everlasting oil; the purifying of a stew; the feeding of a hundred men (Elisha provides food);
the revival of the Shunamite womans son (Elisha provides life). Elisha also heals a leprous Aramean ocer and
recovers an ax head from the Jordan. But he appears also involved in high politics when he legitimates two
coups dtat: he anoints the Aramean Hazael, and Jehu, who will exterminate the house of Ahab; the story of
Jehus revolution is told in chs 910.
The reign of queen Athaliah over Judah in ch 11 interrupts the Davidic dynasty, and is presented as
illegitimate. The Davidic line continues with King Joash (ch 12), who escaped from Athaliahs massacre.
Chapters 1317 continue the parallel history of the two kingdoms, which is told from a clearly Judean perspective: the northern kings Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, Zechariah, Shallum, Menachem, Pekahiah,
Pekah, and Hoshea are altogether bad kings, since they continue the sins of Jeroboam (see 1 Kings 12),
venerating the Lord outside Jerusalem and worshiping other deities. Among the Judean kings Jehoash,
Amaziah, Azariah, and Jotham are considered good kings, although they are criticized for tolerating the
high places outside Jerusalem. The Judean king Ahaz, however, is presented as walking in the way of the
kings of Israel. Throughout this presentation parallels are drawn between Israel and Judah. The fall of
Israel related in 2 Kings 17 does not mean that Judah will be safe forever. Chapter 17 provides a long commentary in typical Deuteronomistic style, which indicates the reasons that led to the end of the Northern
Kingdom and its transformation into an Assyrian province; it also hints ahead at the destruction of Judah
(vv. 1920).
In the second part of 2 Kings (chs 1825), which relates the story of the kingdom of Judah until its end,
two kings, Hezekiah and Josiah, are presented in a very positive way. Hezekiah (chs 1820) abolishes the
illegitimate religious practices; under his reign the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem fails because of the Lords
intervention. His son Manasseh (ch 21) is presented as the worst of all kings of Judah, although he reigned for
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2 kings
y-ve years. He is explicitly compared to the worst Israelite king, Ahab, reintroducing forbidden religious
practices; the redactor presents him as responsible for the later destruction of Jerusalem. He is succeeded
by the wicked Amon, who is followed by Josiah, who undertakes a sweeping religious reform, making Jerusalem the only legitimate sanctuary for the worship of the Lord and destroying all symbols of unorthodox
worship (chs 2223). But Josiah is killed by the Egyptian king, and his four successors Jeoahaz, Jehoiakim,
Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah (chs 2324), act in a jarring contrast to him. The Deuteronomistic redactors judge
them each with the same formula: he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father(s) had
done. They hasten the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, who are presented as the tool of divine
punishment (chs 2425). The story ends with a short note about the release of the Judean king Jehoiachin
from his Babylonian prison: he stays in Babylon but becomes a privileged guest at the table of the king of
Babylon (25.2730).
interpretation
Because 2 Kings is part of a single composition with 1 Kings, it is not surprising that it shares the same
view of history that is presented there, offering not necessarily complete and accurate history but a theological explanation of the double failure of the northern and southern monarchies. For the authors of
Kings, the north had been condemned from its very beginnings. For the Judean, Davidic kings the issue
was more complicated. The Lord had promised to David an eternal dynasty (2 Sam 7), but Jerusalem had
been destroyed and Judah had come under Babylonian domination. Did this mean that God did not stand
by his word? The authors of Kings gave a double answer. First, they understood the promise as conditional: only if the kings behave according to Gods commandments, as written down in the book of Deuteronomy, would there be always a Davidic king in Jerusalem (see, e.g., 1 Kings 9.47). Second, the mention
of Jehoiachins release out of his prison (2 Kings 25.2730) may indicate hope for the future restoration of
the Davidic monarchy. But the end of 2 Kings may also be understood otherwise (see 25.2730n.).
guide for reading

Since 2 Kings is not a self-contained book, the reader should start with 1 Kings or, even beer, with the books
of Samuel. The role played by the good kings Hezekiah and Josiah, and how their deeds cannot prevent the
fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile, deserve particular aention, as do the parallels between the miracles
of Elisha and Elijah.
Thomas Rmer
2 kings 1
After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled

against Israel.
Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice
in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay
injured; so he sent messengers, telling them,
Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron,
whether I shall recover from this injury.
But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the
Tishbite, Get up, go to meet the messengers
of the king of Samaria, and say to them, Is
it because there is no God in Israel that you
are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of
Ekron? Now therefore thus says the Lord,
You shall not leave the bed to which you
have gone, but you shall surely die. So Elijah
went.
The messengers returned to the king,
who said to them, Why have you returned?
They answered him, There came a man
to meet us, who said to us, Go back to the
king who sent you, and say to him: Thus
says the Lord: Is it because there is no God
in Israel that you are sending to inquire of
Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you
shall not leave the bed to which you have
gone, but shall surely die. He said to them,
What sort of man was he who came to
meet you and told you these things? They
answered him, A hairy man, with a leather
belt around his waist. He said, It is Elijah
the Tishbite.
Then the king sent to him a captain of
fty with his fty men. He went up to Elijah,
who was sitting on the top of a hill, and
said to him, Oman of God, the king says,
Come down. But Elijah answered the

captain of fty, If I am a man of God, let re
come down from heaven and consume you
and your fty. Then re came down from
heaven, and consumed him and his fty.
Again the king sent to him another
captain of fty with his fty. He went upa and
said to him, Oman of God, this is the kings
order: Come down quickly! But Elijah
answered them, If I am a man of God, let re
come down from heaven and consume you
and your fty. Then the re of God came
down from heaven and consumed him and
his fty.
Again the king sent the captain of a third
fty with his fty. So the third captain of
fty went up, and came and fell on his knees
before Elijah, and entreated him, Oman of
God, please let my life, and the life of these
fty servants of yours, be precious in your
sight. Look, re came down from heaven
and consumed the two former captains of
fty men with their fties; but now let my life
be precious in your sight. Then the angel
of the Lord said to Elijah, Go down with
him; do not be afraid of him. So he set out
and went down with him to the king, and
said to him, Thus says the Lord: Because
you have sent messengers to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron,is it because there
is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?
therefore you shall not leave the bed to which
you have gone, but you shall surely die.
a Gk Compare verses 9, 13: Heb He answered
1.117: The encounter between King Ahaziah and the prophet Elijah. 1: The notice Aer the death of Ahab,
Moab rebelled against Israel also appears in 3.5 where it stands at a beer place. 29: Ahaziah, who falls through
the laice on the at roof of his house, on part of which was built the upper chamber, perhaps a bedroom,
wants to consult a local manifestation of the god Baal and is confronted by the prophet Elijah. 2: Baal-zebub
means lord of the ies; the second word is probably a parody by the biblical writers on a more original zebul
(prince; cf. 1 Kings 16.31n.; Mk 3.22). Ekron is the northernmost of the Philistine cities, ca. 25 mi (40 km) west
of Jerusalem. 3: The angel (Heb malak, lit. messenger) of the Lord is juxtaposed to Ahaziahs messengers.
The word malak may denote a human person or a supernatural being. 46: The kings messengers receive
their oracle not from Baal of Ekron but from Elijah, who speaks in the name of the Lord. 78: The king identies
Elijah through his description as a hairy man, with a leather belt. This outt may have been typical of prophetic
groups that were hostile to urban culture (cf. Mk 1.6). 916: This scene, where the king sends other messengers,
contains a play on words: when the ocer harshly asks the man of God (Heb ish elohim) to descend, Elijah
instead sends down the re of God (esh elohim). 10: Fire is oen a tool of divine punishment (e.g., Gen 19.24;
Lev 10.2; Num 16.35). 1316: The third ocer behaves respectfully and Elijah comes down, but his oracle of
death for the king is not altered. 1718: The notice that Jehoram of Israel becomes Ahaziahs successor in the
second year of Jehoram of Judah disagrees with 3.1, where Jehoram of Israel becomes king in the eighteenth
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2 kings 2
Damascus
R. Jordan
ARAM
(SYRIA)
Sea of
Chinnereth
Aphek
BASHAN
t. C
M
m
ar
Mediterranean
Sea
el
Shunem
Jezreel
Megiddo
Beth-haggan
Dothan
Ibleam
Ramoth-gilead
Tishbe
I S R A E L
Samaria
Baal-shalishah
GILEAD
Gath
Jericho
Jerusalem
Ekron
Sea of
Arabah
(Dead Sea)
Beth-shemesh
TI
IS
IL
PH
32
Gilgal
Bethel
Libnah
Lachish
Zair
JUDAH
Aroer
Wadi Arnon
MOAB
Beer-sheba
Kir-hareseth
0
0
35
EDOM
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
31
36
The geography of chs. 114. The dashed line shows the approximate boundaries
So he died according to the word of the

Lord that Elijah had spoken. His brother,a
Jehoram succeeded him as king in the second
year of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat of
Judah, because Ahaziah had no son. Now
the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are
they not written in the Book of the Annals of
the Kings of Israel?
Now when the Lord was about to take

Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah
and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.
Elijah said to Elisha, Stay here; for the Lord
has sent me as far as Bethel. But Elisha said,
As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live,
a Gk Syr: Heb lacks His brother
year of Jehoshaphat of Judah. There may have been a coregency in Judah between Jehoshaphat and his son
Jehoram, or there may be some textual or historical confusion because both kings in Judah and Israel had the
same name.
2.118: Elisha succeeds Elijah. This narrative marks the transition between the narratives about Elijah and
those about Elisha. 1: This verse anticipates v. 11. Gilgal, located between Jericho and the Jordan, is Elishas
home, according to 4.38. 26: The company of prophets designates a prophetic community near Bethel that
has been informed about Elijahs imminent ascension. The supposed journey from Gilgal to Bethel and then
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2 kings 2
I will not leave you. So they went down to
Bethel. The company of prophetsa who were
in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him,
Do you know that today the Lord will take
your master away from you? And he said,
Yes, I know; keep silent.
Elijah said to him, Elisha, stay here; for
the Lord has sent me to Jericho. But he said,
As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I
will not leave you. So they came to Jericho.
The company of prophetsa who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, Do
you know that today the Lord will take your
master away from you? And he answered,
Yes, I know; be silent.
Then Elijah said to him, Stay here; for
the Lord has sent me to the Jordan. But he
said, As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you. So the two of
them went on. Fifty men of the company of
prophetsa also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing
by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle
and rolled it up, and struck the water; the
water was parted to the one side and to the
other, until the two of them crossed on dry
ground.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to
Elisha, Tell me what I may do for you, before
I am taken from you. Elisha said, Please let
me inherit a double share of your spirit. He
responded, You have asked a hard thing; yet,
if you see me as I am being taken from you,
it will be granted you; if not, it will not. As
they continued walking and talking, a chariot
of re and horses of re separated the two
of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind

into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, Father, father! The chariots of Israel
and its horsemen! But when he could no
longer see him, he grasped his own clothes
and tore them in two pieces.
He picked up the mantle of Elijah that
had fallen from him, and went back and
stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took
the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from
him, and struck the water, saying, Where is
the Lord, the God of Elijah? When he had
struck the water, the water was parted to the
one side and to the other, and Elisha went
over.
When the company of prophetsa who
were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they
declared, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.
They came to meet him and bowed to the
ground before him. They said to him, See
now, we have fty strong men among your
servants; please let them go and seek your
master; it may be that the spirit of the Lord
has caught him up and thrown him down
on some mountain or into some valley. He
responded, No, do not send them. But
when they urged him until he was ashamed,
he said, Send them. So they sent fty men
who searched for three days but did not nd
him. When they came back to him (he had
remained at Jericho), he said to them, Did I
not say to you, Do not go?
Now the people of the city said to Elisha,
The location of this city is good, as my lord
a Heb sons of the prophets
back to Jericho is confusing, and may be a later element in the story. 78: Elijahs mantle, already mentioned
in 1 Kings 19.19. The parting of the waters of the Jordan recalls the crossing of that river by the Israelites under
Joshua (Josh 34) and Moses parting of the Sea of Reeds (Ex 14). 910: Elisha is asking Elijah for a double share
of your spirit, which according to Deut 21.17 was the share of the eldest son, who received twice as much as his
brothers. With his request Elisha appears as Elijahs eldest son and successor. 1112: The chariot of re and
horses symbolize the divine army. Elijah goes to heaven in a whirlwind, or in a storm, which is one of the Lords
manifestations (Nah 1.3; Job 38.1; Ps 50.3) thereby integrating Elijah into the divine sphere. Such ascension is
unique to Elijah in the Bible and explains Elijahs importance in Jewish tradition (see Mal 4.56). The phrase the
chariots of Israel and its horsemen suggests that prophetic power equals the strength of cavalry; see also 13.14.
1314: Elishas ability to repeat Elijahs parting of the water shows that he has received his masters spirit. 1518:
The prophetic community (the sons of the prophets; see textual note a) near Jericho is aware that Elisha has
become Elijahs successor, but they do not know that Elijah has been taken to heaven. Only Elisha has seen what
happened in the whirlwind.
2.1925: Elishas rst miracles. These miracles demonstrate that Elisha can either bless or curse in the name
of God. 1922: He puries an infected spring near Jericho, throwing salt in it. Salt was considered to have cleans-
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2 kings 3
sees; but the water is bad, and the land is
unfruitful. He said, Bring me a new bowl,
and put salt in it. So they brought it to him.
Then he went to the spring of water and
threw the salt into it, and said, Thus says
the Lord, I have made this water wholesome;
from now on neither death nor miscarriage
shall come from it. So the water has been
wholesome to this day, according to the word
that Elisha spoke.
He went up from there to Bethel; and
while he was going up on the way, some
small boys came out of the city and jeered at
him, saying, Go away, baldhead! Go away,
baldhead! When he turned around and
saw them, he cursed them in the name of
the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of
the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
From there he went on to Mount Carmel,
and then returned to Samaria.
In the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, Jehoram son of
Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria; he
reigned twelve years. He did what was evil in
the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for he removed the pillar of
Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless
he clung to the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat,
which he caused Israel to commit; he did not
depart from it.
Now King Mesha of Moab was a sheep
breeder, who used to deliver to the king of
Israel one hundred thousand lambs, and the

wool of one hundred thousand rams. But
when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled
against the king of Israel. So King Jehoram
marched out of Samaria at that time and
mustered all Israel. As he went he sent
word to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, The
king of Moab has rebelled against me; will
you go with me to battle against Moab? He
answered, I will; I am with you, my people
are your people, my horses are your horses.
Then he asked, By which way shall we
march? Jehoram answered, By the way of
the wilderness of Edom.
So the king of Israel, the king of Judah,
and the king of Edom set out; and when they
had made a roundabout march of seven days,
there was no water for the army or for the
animals that were with them. Then the king
of Israel said, Alas! The Lord has summoned
us, three kings, only to be handed over to
Moab. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no
prophet of the Lord here, through whom we
may inquire of the Lord? Then one of the
servants of the king of Israel answered, Elisha son of Shaphat, who used to pour water
on the hands of Elijah, is here. Jehoshaphat
said, The word of the Lord is with him. So
the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the
king of Edom went down to him.
Elisha said to the king of Israel, What
have I to do with you? Go to your fathers
ing and protective capacities. 2325: The episode of the cursing of the boys of Bethel who jeered at the prophet
seems shocking to modern readers. For the ancient reader it demonstrated that it was dangerous to behave
disrespectfully toward a man of God. 24: The narrator does not tell the content of Elishas curse, and whether
or not he intended to kill the boys. Forty-two boys, forty-two is a number sometimes associated with death:
Jehu kills forty-two victims (10.14), and the Egyptian Book of the Dead mentions forty-two judges of the dead.
25: Elishas travel to Mount Carmel recalls Elijahs victory against the prophets of Baal, and helps establish Elisha
as a new Elijah.
3.127: Jehoram of Israel, Elisha and the war against Moab. 13: Jehorams behavior is less wicked that that
of his father Ahab. For the chronological problem see 1.1718n. 3: The sin of Jeroboam designates illicit worship
outside of Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 12). 48: The campaign against Moab echoes the war report of 1 Kings 22.
Jehoshaphat, previously allied to Ahab, is now an ally, or even vassal, of Ahabs son (cf. v. 7 and 1 Kings 22.4).
45: King Mesha of Moab is also known from the Moabite Stone discovered in 1868, a stela with an inscription celebrating Meshas victory over Israel, which may allude to the revolt mentioned in v. 5. 8: The descent
to Edom in the south is necessary because of the Moabite fortications in the north. 9: The mention of the
king of Edom may be inaccurate (see 1 Kings 22.47). 1012: Unlike the Israelite king, who is afraid that the Lord
may have gathered the allies for their demise, the pious Judean king asks for a prophet of the Lord. 11: Elisha
pouring water on the hands of Elijah recalls his relationship to his prophetic predecessor; this is a gesture of
deference, as of a servant to his master or of a son to his father. The mention of water also alludes to the water
miracle that follows. 1314: Elisha represents the position of the Judean redactors of the book of Kings that only
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2 kings 4
prophets or to your mothers. But the king
of Israel said to him, No; it is the Lord who
has summoned us, three kings, only to be
handed over to Moab. Elisha said, As the
Lord of hosts lives, whom I serve, were it not
that I have regard for King Jehoshaphat of
Judah, I would give you neither a look nor a
glance. But get me a musician. And then,
while the musician was playing, the power of
the Lord came on him. And he said, Thus
says the Lord, I will make this wadi full of
pools. For thus says the Lord, You shall see
neither wind nor rain, but the wadi shall be
lled with water, so that you shall drink, you,
your cattle, and your animals. This is only a
trie in the sight of the Lord, for he will also
hand Moab over to you. You shall conquer
every fortied city and every choice city;
every good tree you shall fell, all springs of
water you shall stop up, and every good piece
of land you shall ruin with stones. The
next day, about the time of the morning
oering, suddenly water began to ow from
the direction of Edom, until the country was
lled with water.
When all the Moabites heard that the
kings had come up to ght against them,
all who were able to put on armor, from the
youngest to the oldest, were called out and
were drawn up at the frontier. When they
rose early in the morning, and the sun shone
upon the water, the Moabites saw the water
opposite them as red as blood. They said,
This is blood; the kings must have fought
together, and killed one another. Now then,
Moab, to the spoil! But when they came
to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up

and attacked the Moabites, who ed before
them; as they entered Moab they continued
the attack.a The cities they overturned, and
on every good piece of land everyone threw
a stone, until it was covered; every spring of
water they stopped up, and every good tree
they felled. Only at Kir-hareseth did the stone
walls remain, until the slingers surrounded
and attacked it. When the king of Moab saw
that the battle was going against him, he took
with him seven hundred swordsmen to break
through, opposite the king of Edom; but they
could not. Then he took his rstborn son
who was to succeed him, and oered him as
a burnt oering on the wall. And great wrath
came upon Israel, so they withdrew from him
and returned to their own land.
Now the wife of a member of the
company of prophetsb cried to Elisha,
Your servant my husband is dead; and you
know that your servant feared the Lord, but
a creditor has come to take my two children
as slaves. Elisha said to her, What shall I
do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the
house? She answered, Your servant has
nothing in the house, except a jar of oil. He
said, Go outside, borrow vessels from all
your neighbors, empty vessels and not just a
few. Then go in, and shut the door behind
you and your children, and start pouring
into all these vessels; when each is full,
set it aside. So she left him and shut the
a Compare Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain

b Heb the sons of the prophets
Judean kings are worthy of divine help. 15: Music induced ecstasy through which the prophet prophesied (cf.
1 Sam 10.56). The power of the Lord, lit. the hand of the Lord. 1619: Elisha predicts water and a (rst) victory
over Moab. 16: Pools, or ditches. Groundwater can be obtained in a desert terrain by tapping the water table,
but according to Elishas oracle the gi of water is a miracle. 2025: Aer the fulllment of the water miracle
(v. 20), the allies are successful in their war against Moab. 2223: The red light of the rising sun on the water
deceives the Moabites, who think it is the blood of the allies armies. 2425: Large parts of the Moabite territory
were destroyed, but not Kir-hareseth (Fortress of the guard, modern Kerak). 2627: The king of Moab, seeing
no chance to escape, sacrices his rstborn son to his god Chemosh. The great wrath originally referred to the
wrath of Chemosh, who responded positively to this human oering by decimating the Israelite army. The
biblical redactors probably understood it as a kind of disgust that repelled the Israelites.
4.144: Further miracles by Elisha. Elisha is more of a miracle worker than Elijah; some miracles that are told
of both belonged originally to the Elisha traditions. 17: The oil miracle is similar to the story in 1 Kings 17.716.
1: A widow of one of the prophetic groups over which Elisha apparently exercises leadership (the dead prophet
is called servant of Elisha) is obliged to sell her children as slaves in order to pay her debts (see Ex 21.7; Neh 5.5).
27: Elisha does not play an active role in the production of abundant oil; he only tells the woman what she has
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2 kings 4
door behind her and her children; they kept
bringing vessels to her, and she kept pouring. When the vessels were full, she said to
her son, Bring me another vessel. But he
said to her, There are no more. Then the oil
stopped owing. She came and told the man
of God, and he said, Go sell the oil and pay
your debts, and you and your children can
live on the rest.
One day Elisha was passing through
Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who
urged him to have a meal. So whenever he
passed that way, he would stop there for a
meal. She said to her husband, Look, I am
sure that this man who regularly passes our
way is a holy man of God. Let us make a
small roof chamber with walls, and put there
for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so
that he can stay there whenever he comes to
us.
One day when he came there, he went up
to the chamber and lay down there. He said
to his servant Gehazi, Call the Shunammite
woman. When he had called her, she stood
before him. He said to him, Say to her,
Since you have taken all this trouble for us,
what may be done for you? Would you have a
word spoken on your behalf to the king or to
the commander of the army? She answered,
I live among my own people. He said,
What then may be done for her? Gehazi
answered, Well, she has no son, and her
husband is old. He said, Call her. When
he had called her, she stood at the door. He
said, At this season, in due time, you shall
embrace a son. She replied, No, my lord,
Oman of God; do not deceive your servant.
The woman conceived and bore a son
at that season, in due time, as Elisha had
declared to her.
When the child was older, he went out

one day to his father among the reapers. He
complained to his father, Oh, my head, my
head! The father said to his servant, Carry
him to his mother. He carried him and
brought him to his mother; the child sat on
her lap until noon, and he died. She went
up and laid him on the bed of the man of
God, closed the door on him, and left. Then
she called to her husband, and said, Send me
one of the servants and one of the donkeys,
so that I may quickly go to the man of God
and come back again. He said, Why go to
him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. She said, It will be all right. Then
she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, Urge the animal on; do not hold back
for me unless I tell you. So she set out, and
came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
When the man of God saw her coming,
he said to Gehazi his servant, Look, there
is the Shunammite woman; run at once to
meet her, and say to her, Are you all right? Is
your husband all right? Is the child all right?
She answered, It is all right. When she
came to the man of God at the mountain, she
caught hold of his feet. Gehazi approached
to push her away. But the man of God said,
Let her alone, for she is in bitter distress;
the Lord has hidden it from me and has not
told me. Then she said, Did I ask my lord
for a son? Did I not say, Do not mislead me?
He said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins, and
take my sta in your hand, and go. If you
meet anyone, give no greeting, and if anyone
greets you, do not answer; and lay my sta on
the face of the child. Then the mother of
the child said, As the Lord lives, and as you
yourself live, I will not leave without you. So
he rose up and followed her. Gehazi went
to do. 837: The boys revival is reminiscent of 1 Kings 17.1724. 8: Shunem, a town in the Jezreel Valley ca. 10 mi
(16 km) east of Megiddo. 917: Elishas visit to the house of a childless and aged couple and his promise of a son
that shall be born to them because of their hospitality recalls Gen 18.115. 12: Gehazi is Elishas personal servant
and mediator between him and the hosts. 1831: Aer her son dies unexpectedly the mother travels to Mount
Carmel, where Elisha resides (see v. 25). 21: The placing of the dead son in the chamber that was reserved for
Elisha can be understood either as a reproach to Elisha (see also v. 28) or as an aempt to retain the soul, the
life-essence of the boy. 23: It is neither new moon nor Sabbath, it was apparently the custom to consult prophets on such holy days. 2425: The story highlights the womans initiative (she saddled and rode the donkey),
whereas her husband appears to be passive and resigned. 2931: The dispatch of Gehazi with Elishas sta
(see Moses sta in Ex 4.14; 17.813) was meant to allay the mothers impatience, since Gehazi is able to reach
Shunem quicker than Elisha. In other ancient Near Eastern texts, prophets also send items that belong to them
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2 kings 5
on ahead and laid the sta on the face of the
child, but there was no sound or sign of life.
He came back to meet him and told him, The
child has not awakened.
When Elisha came into the house, he
saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he
went in and closed the door on the two of
them, and prayed to the Lord. Then he got
up on the beda and lay upon the child, putting
his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon
his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and
while he lay bent over him, the esh of the
child became warm. He got down, walked
once to and fro in the room, then got up
again and bent over him; the child sneezed
seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
Elishab summoned Gehazi and said, Call
the Shunammite woman. So he called her.
When she came to him, he said, Take your
son. She came and fell at his feet, bowing
to the ground; then she took her son and left.
When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there
was a famine in the land. As the company of
prophets wasc sitting before him, he said to
his servant, Put the large pot on, and make
some stew for the company of prophets.d
One of them went out into the eld to gather herbs; he found a wild vine and gathered
from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and
cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing
what they were. They served some for the
men to eat. But while they were eating the
stew, they cried out, Oman of God, there is
death in the pot! They could not eat it. He
said, Then bring some our. He threw it
into the pot, and said, Serve the people and
let them eat. And there was nothing harmful

in the pot.
A man came from Baal-shalishah,
bringing food from the first fruits to the
man of God: twenty loaves of barley and
fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said,
Give it to the people and let them eat.
But his servant said, How can I set this
before a hundred people? So he repeated,
Give it to the people and let them eat, for
thus says the Lord, They shall eat and have
some left. He set it before them, they
ate, and had some left, according to the
word of the Lord.
Naaman, commander of the army of the
king of Aram, was a great man and in
high favor with his master, because by him
the Lord had given victory to Aram. The
man, though a mighty warrior, suered from
leprosy.e Now the Arameans on one of their
raids had taken a young girl captive from the
land of Israel, and she served Naamans wife.
She said to her mistress, If only my lord
were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He
would cure him of his leprosy.e So Naamanb
went in and told his lord just what the girl
from the land of Israel had said. And the
king of Aram said, Go then, and I will send
along a letter to the king of Israel.
a
b
c
d
e
Heb lacks on the bed

Heb he
Heb sons of the prophets were
Heb sons of the prophets
A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning
uncertain
in order to accomplish a miracle. 3237: Gehazis failure highlights the eect of Elishas personal appearance
and success. 33: Elishas prayer to the Lord precedes his mysterious actions. 3435: Crouching over the boys
body suggests a magic ritual in which the properties of the living party were transferred to the dead. The child
sneezed seven times, the sneezing signies that life has returned. Seven is the number of perfection. 3841:
Elisha appears again as providing food. He makes a poisoned meal edible by adding some our. 4244: Elishas
multiplication of food provides the paern for the stories about Jesus doing the same in the Gospels. 42: Baalshalishah, located in the hills of Ephraim ca. 11 mi (18 km) southwest of Samaria.
5.127: Elisha heals an Aramean ocer. This story teaches that the Lord is not only the god of the Israelites
but also the god of the foreigners. 1: Naaman, a name meaning gracious, which is aested in the ancient Near
East as a proper name as well as an epithet of royal personages. His leprosy (see textual note e) was not contagious and did not exclude him from society. 27: Informed by an Israelite maidservant about Elishas power, the
contact is established by a leer of the Aramean king to the king of Israel. 3: The prophet who is in Samaria refers
to Elisha, who in this story is not associated with a prophetic community but lives alone in Samaria, the capital
of the Northern Kingdom. 57: Despite the excessive gis (ten talents, ca. 340 kg [755 lb], of silver and six thousand shekels, ca. 70 kg [150 lb] of gold ), the Israelite king suspects that the Aramean king is seeking an occasion
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2 kings 5
He went, taking with him ten talents of
silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten
sets of garments. He brought the letter to
the king of Israel, which read, When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you
my servant Naaman, that you may cure him
of his leprosy.a When the king of Israel read
the letter, he tore his clothes and said, Am I
God, to give death or life, that this man sends
word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?a Just
look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.
But when Elisha the man of God heard
that the king of Israel had torn his clothes,
he sent a message to the king, Why have you
torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that
he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.
So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elishas
house. Elisha sent a messenger to him,
saying, Go, wash in the Jordan seven times,
and your esh shall be restored and you shall
be clean. But Naaman became angry and
went away, saying, I thought that for me he
would surely come out, and stand and call
on the name of the Lord his God, and would
wave his hand over the spot, and cure the
leprosy!a Are not Abanab and Pharpar, the
rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters
of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be
clean? He turned and went away in a rage.
But his servants approached and said to
him, Father, if the prophet had commanded
you to do something dicult, would you not
have done it? How much more, when all he
said to you was, Wash, and be clean? So
he went down and immersed himself seven
times in the Jordan, according to the word of
the man of God; his esh was restored like
the esh of a young boy, and he was clean.
Then he returned to the man of God,
he and all his company; he came and stood
before him and said, Now I know that there
is no God in all the earth except in Israel;

please accept a present from your servant.
But he said, As the Lord lives, whom I
serve, I will accept nothing! He urged him
to accept, but he refused. Then Naaman
said, If not, please let two mule-loads of
earth be given to your servant; for your
servant will no longer oer burnt oering or
sacrice to any god except the Lord. But
may the Lord pardon your servant on one
count: when my master goes into the house
of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my
arm, and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I do bow down in the house of
Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant
on this one count. He said to him, Go in
peace.
But when Naaman had gone from him
a short distance, Gehazi, the servant of
Elisha the man of God, thought, My master
has let that Aramean Naaman o too lightly
by not accepting from him what he oered.
As the Lord lives, I will run after him and
get something out of him. So Gehazi went
after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone
running after him, he jumped down from
the chariot to meet him and said, Is everything all right? He replied, Yes, but my
master has sent me to say, Two members of
a company of prophetsc have just come to me
from the hill country of Ephraim; please give
them a talent of silver and two changes of
clothing. Naaman said, Please accept two
talents. He urged him, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes
of clothing, and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them in front of Gehazi.d
uncertain
b Another reading is Amana

c Heb sons of the prophets
d Heb him
for war. 813: Elishas laconic advice to Naaman to wash seven times (see 4.35n.) in the Jordan is taken by Naaman
as insulting. 13: His servants persuade him to reconsider his hasty interpretation of Elishas words. Father, a
title of respect referring to a superior. 1415: Aer his healing, Naaman proclaims a monotheistic confession,
which recalls Rahabs confession (Josh 2.11): the Lord is not only the God of Israel, but of all the earth. 1617: In
order to worship the Lord outside of Israel, Naaman wants to take with him Israelite earth, i.e., soil. 18: Aer
Naamans conversion, he cannot oend his king who venerates Rimmon, so he will only pretend to worship
this false god. The vocalization Rimmon (which means pomegranate) may be a parody of the name of the
Aramean weather-god Hadad Ramanu (the Thunderer). 1927: Whereas Elisha had refused any payment (v.
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2 kings 6
When he came to the citadel, he took the
bagsa from them, and stored them inside; he
dismissed the men, and they left.
He went in and stood before his master;
and Elisha said to him, Where have you
been, Gehazi? He answered, Your servant
has not gone anywhere at all. But he said
to him, Did I not go with you in spirit when
someone left his chariot to meet you? Is this
a time to accept money and to accept clothing, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and
oxen, and male and female slaves? Therefore the leprosyb of Naaman shall cling to
you, and to your descendants forever. So he
left his presence leprous,b as white as snow.
Now the company of prophetsc said to
Elisha, As you see, the place where we
live under your charge is too small for us.
Let us go to the Jordan, and let us collect
logs there, one for each of us, and build a
place there for us to live. He answered, Do
so. Then one of them said, Please come
with your servants. And he answered, I
will. So he went with them. When they
came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.
But as one was felling a log, his ax head fell
into the water; he cried out, Alas, master!
It was borrowed. Then the man of God
said, Where did it fall? When he showed
him the place, he cut o a stick, and threw it
in there, and made the iron oat. He said,
Pick it up. So he reached out his hand and
took it.
Once when the king of Aram was at war
with Israel, he took counsel with his ocers.
He said, At such and such a place shall be
my camp. But the man of God sent word to
the king of Israel, Take care not to pass this
place, because the Arameans are going down
there. The king of Israel sent word to the

place of which the man of God spoke. More
than once or twice he warned such a placed
so that it was on the alert.
The mind of the king of Aram was
greatly perturbed because of this; he called
his ocers and said to them, Now tell me
who among us sides with the king of Israel?
Then one of his ocers said, No one, my
lord king. It is Elisha, the prophet in Israel,
who tells the king of Israel the words that you
speak in your bedchamber. He said, Go
and nd where he is; I will send and seize
him. He was told, He is in Dothan. So he
sent horses and chariots there and a great
army; they came by night, and surrounded
the city.
When an attendant of the man of God
rose early in the morning and went out, an
army with horses and chariots was all around
the city. His servant said, Alas, master! What
shall we do? He replied, Do not be afraid,
for there are more with us than there are
with them. Then Elisha prayed: OLord,
please open his eyes that he may see. So the
Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and
he saw; the mountain was full of horses and
chariots of re all around Elisha. When the
Arameanse came down against him, Elisha
prayed to the Lord, and said, Strike this
people, please, with blindness. So he struck
them with blindness as Elisha had asked.
a Heb lacks the bags
b A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning
uncertain
c Heb sons of the prophets

d Heb warned it
e Heb they
16) his servant Gehazi is eager for prot and is punished for that. 27: Gehazi, who pursued prot from the healed
Naaman, is now aicted with his disease. Leprous, as white as snow, the same punishment happened to Miriam,
who had criticized Moses (Num 12.10).
6.17: Elisha makes iron oat. Another miracle story that illustrates the prophetic communitys dependence
on its master. 5: It was borrowed, the community could not aord to have its own ax, so Elishas help is vital.
6.823: Elisha and the Aramean invasion. 810: Elisha forewarns the king of Israel about an Aramean attack. 8: At war, refers probably to border raids as in 5.2. The king of Aram, his name is not mentioned, which
may indicate the episodes legendary character. 1114: The Aramean king suspects betrayal, but he is told that
Elisha knows everything, even the words spoken in the kings bedchamber (v. 12), the most intimate part of the
royal palace. 13: Now Elisha is in Dothan (see Gen 37.17), located ca. 11 mi (18 km) north of Samaria. 1523: The
two scenes are connected by the motif of blindness. 1517: When the Lord opens the eyes of Elishas servant,
he sees the celestial army, horses and chariots of re (see 2.1112n.). 1823: When the Lord opens the eyes of
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2 kings 7
Elisha said to them, This is not the way,
and this is not the city; follow me, and I will
bring you to the man whom you seek. And
he led them to Samaria.
As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha
said, OLord, open the eyes of these men so
that they may see. The Lord opened their
eyes, and they saw that they were inside
Samaria. When the king of Israel saw them
he said to Elisha, Father, shall I kill them?
Shall I kill them? He answered, No! Did
you capture with your sword and your bow
those whom you want to kill? Set food and
water before them so that they may eat and
drink; and let them go to their master. So
he prepared for them a great feast; after they
ate and drank, he sent them on their way, and
they went to their master. And the Arameans
no longer came raiding into the land of Israel.
Some time later King Ben-hadad of Aram
mustered his entire army; he marched against
Samaria and laid siege to it. As the siege
continued, famine in Samaria became so
great that a donkeys head was sold for eighty
shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of
doves dung for ve shekels of silver. Now
as the king of Israel was walking on the city
wall, a woman cried out to him, Help, my
lord king! He said, No! Let the Lord help
you. How can I help you? From the threshing
oor or from the wine press? But then the
king asked her, What is your complaint?
She answered, This woman said to me, Give
up your son; we will eat him today, and we
will eat my son tomorrow. So we cooked
my son and ate him. The next day I said to
her, Give up your son and we will eat him.
But she has hidden her son. When the
king heard the words of the woman he tore

his clothesnow since he was walking on
the city wall, the people could see that he had
sackcloth on his body underneath and
he said, So may God do to me, and more, if
the head of Elisha son of Shaphat stays on his
shoulders today. So he dispatched a man
from his presence.
Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the
elders were sitting with him. Before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the elders, Are
you aware that this murderer has sent someone to take o my head? When the messenger
comes, see that you shut the door and hold
it closed against him. Is not the sound of his
masters feet behind him? While he was still
speaking with them, the kinga came down to
him and said, This trouble is from the Lord!
Why should I hope in the Lord any longer?
But Elisha said, Hear the word of the
Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow
about this time a measure of choice meal
shall be sold for a shekel, and two measures
of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.
Then the captain on whose hand the king
leaned said to the man of God, Even if the
Lord were to make windows in the sky, could
such a thing happen? But he said, You shall
see it with your own eyes, but you shall not
eat from it.
Now there were four leprousb men outside the city gate, who said to one another,
Why should we sit here until we die? If we
say, Let us enter the city, the famine is in the
a See 7.2: Heb messenger

b A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning
uncertain
the Arameans they discover that they have been captured. 2123: Elisha prevents the Israelite king from killing
them so that they can report the power of the God of Israel to their king. 21: Father, see 5.13n.
6.247.20: Elisha and the siege of Samaria. This story, which relates a second siege of the capital of the
Northern Kingdom (for the rst, see 1 Kings 20.1) by Ben-hadad of Aram, incorporates several originally independent anecdotes. 2430: Two examples are given in order to illustrate the severity of the famine during the
siege. 25: First, the exorbitant prices for the lile remaining barely edible food: eighty shekels of silver (2 lb [900
gr]) for a donkeys head; ve shekels (ca. 2 oz [57 gr]) for a kab (ca 1.1 qt [1.3 liters] of doves dung. 2629: Second,
an episode about women eating their children. Cannibalism is mentioned as a consequence of siege elsewhere
in the Hebrew Bible (Deut 28.5357; Ezek 5.10; Lam 2.20; 4.10) and in nonbiblical texts. 3031: The Israelite
king, who has been wearing sackcloth, as a sign of humiliation and repentance, sees no way to help his people
and irrationally seeks vengeance on the prophet Elisha. 6.327.2: Elisha however is under the protection of the
local elders (v. 32) and announces that the following day food will be available in Samaria at normal prices. 7.1:
A measure (Heb seah), ca. 7.7 liters (7 qt). 35: The four leprous men are ritually impure so they have to reside
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city, and we shall die there; but if we sit here,
we shall also die. Therefore, let us desert to
the Aramean camp; if they spare our lives,
we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but
die. So they arose at twilight to go to the
Aramean camp; but when they came to the
edge of the Aramean camp, there was no one
there at all. For the Lord had caused the
Aramean army to hear the sound of chariots,
and of horses, the sound of a great army, so
that they said to one another, The king of
Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and
the kings of Egypt to ght against us. So
they ed away in the twilight and abandoned
their tents, their horses, and their donkeys
leaving the camp just as it was, and ed for
their lives. When these leprousa men had
come to the edge of the camp, they went into
a tent, ate and drank, carried o silver, gold,
and clothing, and went and hid them. Then
they came back, entered another tent, carried
o things from it, and went and hid them.
Then they said to one another, What
we are doing is wrong. This is a day of good
news; if we are silent and wait until the
morning light, we will be found guilty; therefore let us go and tell the kings household.
So they came and called to the gatekeepers
of the city, and told them, We went to the
Aramean camp, but there was no one to be
seen or heard there, nothing but the horses
tied, the donkeys tied, and the tents as they
were. Then the gatekeepers called out and
proclaimed it to the kings household. The
king got up in the night, and said to his servants, I will tell you what the Arameans have
prepared against us. They know that we are
starving; so they have left the camp to hide
themselves in the open country, thinking,
When they come out of the city, we shall
take them alive and get into the city. One

of his servants said, Let some men take ve
of the remaining horses, since those left here
will suer the fate of the whole multitude of
Israel that have perished already;b let us send
and nd out. So they took two mounted
men, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, Go and nd out. So
they went after them as far as the Jordan; the
whole way was littered with garments and
equipment that the Arameans had thrown
away in their haste. So the messengers returned, and told the king.
Then the people went out, and plundered
the camp of the Arameans. So a measure of
choice meal was sold for a shekel, and two
measures of barley for a shekel, according to
the word of the Lord. Now the king had appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned
to have charge of the gate; the people trampled
him to death in the gate, just as the man of
God had said when the king came down to
him. For when the man of God had said to
the king, Two measures of barley shall be
sold for a shekel, and a measure of choice meal
for a shekel, about this time tomorrow in the
gate of Samaria, the captain had answered
the man of God, Even if the Lord were to
make windows in the sky, could such a thing
happen? And he had answered, You shall
see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat
from it. It did indeed happen to him; the
people trampled him to death in the gate.
Now Elisha had said to the woman whose
son he had restored to life, Get up and
go with your household, and settle wherever

uncertain
b Compare Gk Syr Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
outside the city (see Lev 13.46). Deserting to the Arameans, they nd their camp empty. 67: The narrator tells
why the camp was abandoned: the Lord has made the Arameans hear the sound of a great army, which they
interpreted as the army of the Hiites and the Egyptians, frequent rivals for control of the Levant. 820: The
Israelite king interprets the emptiness of the Aramean camp as military strategy; he is nally convinced that the
Lord has intervened in favor of Israel. 14: Two mounted men, beer two chariot teams. 1819: This verbatim
repetition of Elishas oracle and the answer of the skeptical ocer in vv. 12 shows that the prophetic word has
been fullled. 17,20: Standing at the gate of Samaria where he had asserted that there would be no food available (vv. 12), the ocer is trampled to death in the scramble to acquire food.
8.16: Elisha saves the life of the Shunammite woman. This story is related to the preceding one by the
theme of famine. 13: Warned by the prophet, the woman, whose son Elisha has brought back to life (4.3237),
escapes a famine with her son (see v. 5) by sojourning as an immigrant in the land of the Philistines. Her long
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2 kings 8
you can; for the Lord has called for a famine,
and it will come on the land for seven years.
So the woman got up and did according to
the word of the man of God; she went with
her household and settled in the land of
the Philistines seven years. At the end of
the seven years, when the woman returned
from the land of the Philistines, she set out
to appeal to the king for her house and her
land. Now the king was talking with Gehazi
the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell
me all the great things that Elisha has done.
While he was telling the king how Elisha
had restored a dead person to life, the woman
whose son he had restored to life appealed to
the king for her house and her land. Gehazi
said, My lord king, here is the woman, and
here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.
When the king questioned the woman, she
told him. So the king appointed an ocial
for her, saying, Restore all that was hers, together with all the revenue of the elds from
the day that she left the land until now.
Elisha went to Damascus while King Benhadad of Aram was ill. When it was told him,
The man of God has come here, the king
said to Hazael, Take a present with you and
go to meet the man of God. Inquire of the
Lord through him, whether I shall recover
from this illness. So Hazael went to meet
him, taking a present with him, all kinds
of goods of Damascus, forty camel loads.
When he entered and stood before him, he
said, Your son King Ben-hadad of Aram has
sent me to you, saying, Shall I recover from

this illness? Elisha said to him, Go, say
to him, You shall certainly recover; but the
Lord has shown me that he shall certainly
die. He xed his gaze and stared at him,
until he was ashamed. Then the man of God
wept. Hazael asked, Why does my lord
weep? He answered, Because I know the
evil that you will do to the people of Israel;
you will set their fortresses on re, you will
kill their young men with the sword, dash
in pieces their little ones, and rip up their
pregnant women. Hazael said, What is
your servant, who is a mere dog, that he
should do this great thing? Elisha answered,
The Lord has shown me that you are to be
king over Aram. Then he left Elisha, and
went to his master Ben-hadad,a who said
to him, What did Elisha say to you? And
he answered, He told me that you would
certainly recover. But the next day he took
the bed-cover and dipped it in water and
spread it over the kings face, until he died.
And Hazael succeeded him.
In the fth year of King Joram son of
Ahab of Israel,b Jehoram son of King Jehoshaphat of Judah began to reign. He was
thirty-two years old when he became king,
and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He
walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the
house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of
a Heb lacks Ben-hadad
b Gk Syr: Heb adds Jehoshaphat being king of Judah,
absence (seven years) makes her lose her estate; it may have become crown property. 46: Her appeal to the
king succeeds because of her close relationship with Elisha.
8.715: Elisha and the Aramean kings Ben-hadad and Hazael. This story is dicult to understand, in part
because of later redactors who connected it to 1 Kings 19.15, where Elijah is told to anoint Hazael king of Aram.
710: Elishas response to Hazael, who has been sent by Ben-hadad to inquire of the Lord about his illness, appears as a deliberate misleading of the Aramean king. Hazael should tell the king that he will recover (see v.
14), but in fact he will die through Hazaels hands (v. 15). Elishas behavior was absent in the older story, which
reported only an oracle of healing. The killing of the king was Hazaels own initiative. 9: Your son, an expression
of deference. 1115: Elisha foresees the suerings and cruelties that Hazael will inict on Israel, which are not
explicitly related in the Bible (see however 10.32; 13.3,22; 15.16n.; Am 1.34). 13: A mere dog, self-designation of
deference. Elisha does not anoint Hazael but only reveals that he will be king. 15: Bed-cover, the translation of
this word is uncertain (perhaps grating). In Assyrian inscriptions Hazael is designated as a son of a nobody, a
standard expression for usurpers. Verse 15 may be understood as referring to Hazaels murdering Ben-hadad by
suocation, but the sense of spread it over the kings face is not absolutely clear. It could also refer to an aempt
to lower the kings fever with a cold blanket.
8.1629: Jehoram and Ahaziah of Judah. Both these Judean kings are evaluated negatively. 1624: Jehoram
or Joram (see vv. 21,2324), who reigned ca. 851843 bce, had to face revolts from Edom and Libnah (vv. 2022),
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Ahab was his wife. He did what was evil in
the sight of the Lord. Yet the Lord would
not destroy Judah, for the sake of his servant
David, since he had promised to give a lamp
to him and to his descendants forever.
In his days Edom revolted against the
rule of Judah, and set up a king of their
own. Then Joram crossed over to Zair
with all his chariots. He set out by night
and attacked the Edomites and their chariot
commanders who had surrounded him;a but
his army ed home. So Edom has been
in revolt against the rule of Judah to this
day. Libnah also revolted at the same time.
Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all
of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? So
Joram slept with his ancestors, and was buried with them in the city of David; his son
Ahaziah succeeded him.
In the twelfth year of King Joram son of
Ahab of Israel, Ahaziah son of King Jehoram of Judah began to reign. Ahaziah was
twenty-two years old when he began to
reign; he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His
mothers name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri of Israel. He also walked in
the way of the house of Ahab, doing what was
evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of
Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the
house of Ahab.
He went with Joram son of Ahab to wage
war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramothgilead, where the Arameans wounded Joram.
King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel
of the wounds that the Arameans had inicted on him at Ramah, when he fought against
King Hazael of Aram. King Ahaziah son of
Jehoram of Judah went down to see Joram son

of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was wounded.
Then the prophet Elisha called a member
of the company of prophetsb and said to
him, Gird up your loins; take this ask of
oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
When you arrive, look there for Jehu son
of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi; go in and get
him to leave his companions, and take him
into an inner chamber. Then take the ask
of oil, pour it on his head, and say, Thus says
the Lord: I anoint you king over Israel. Then
open the door and ee; do not linger.
So the young man, the young prophet,
went to Ramoth-gilead. He arrived while
the commanders of the army were in council,
and he announced, I have a message for you,
commander. For which one of us? asked
Jehu. For you, commander. So Jehuc got up
and went inside; the young man poured the
oil on his head, saying to him, Thus says the
Lord the God of Israel: I anoint you king over
the people of the Lord, over Israel. You shall
strike down the house of your master Ahab,
so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of
my servants the prophets, and the blood of all
the servants of the Lord. For the whole house
of Ahab shall perish; I will cut o from Ahab
every male, bond or free, in Israel. I will make
the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam
son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son
of Ahijah. The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the
territory of Jezreel, and no one shall bury her.
Then he opened the door and ed.

b Heb sons of the prophets
c Heb he
which was a border town next to Philistine territory and perhaps never really part of Judah. 2529: Ahaziah
(ca. 843842 bce) was murdered by Jehu aer one year of reign. 26: Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri, lit.
daughter of Omri. Scholars disagree about whether this illegitimate queen of Judah (ch 11) was the daughter of
Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 17.31) or of Omri, Ahabs father. 2829: Ramoth-gilead was already the site of a military
confrontation between Israel and Aram in 1 Kings 22.2936. The report about the wounded Joram of Israel who
needs to recover from his bale-wounds provides the introduction for the following account of Jehus revolt.
9.110.36: Jehus revolt and reign. The long account of Jehus revolt describes the end of Omris dynasty.
The redactors of Kings have a mixed opinion of Jehu: they appreciate him because he tries to eradicate Baal
worship in the Northern Kingdom, but since he is a northern king they are obliged to condemn him. 9.19: The
anointing of Jehu (fullling the divine order given to Elijah in 1 Kings 19.16) is performed by a young member of
Elishas prophetic group. 2: Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, the name of Jehu (in 1 Kings 16.1 a prophets
name) corresponds to Jehus religious conviction; it means: The Lord is God. His fathers name also refers
to the god of Israel (The Lord will judge); Nimshi means weasel. 710: These words recall 1 Kings 14.1011
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2 kings 9
When Jehu came back to his masters
ocers, they said to him, Is everything all
right? Why did that madman come to you?
He answered them, You know the sort and
how they babble. They said, Liar! Come
on, tell us! So he said, This is just what he
said to me: Thus says the Lord, I anoint you
king over Israel. Then hurriedly they all
took their cloaks and spread them for him on
the barea steps; and they blew the trumpet,
and proclaimed, Jehu is king.
Thus Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of
Nimshi conspired against Joram. Joram with
all Israel had been on guard at Ramoth-gilead
against King Hazael of Aram; but King
Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of
the wounds that the Arameans had inicted
on him, when he fought against King Hazael
of Aram. So Jehu said, If this is your wish,
then let no one slip out of the city to go and
tell the news in Jezreel. Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, where
Joram was lying ill. King Ahaziah of Judah
had come down to visit Joram.
In Jezreel, the sentinel standing on the
tower spied the company of Jehu arriving,
and said, I see a company. Joram said, Take
a horseman; send him to meet them, and
let him say, Is it peace? So the horseman
went to meet him; he said, Thus says the
king, Is it peace? Jehu responded, What
have you to do with peace? Fall in behind
me. The sentinel reported, saying, The messenger reached them, but he is not coming
back. Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, Thus says
the king, Is it peace? Jehu answered, What
have you to do with peace? Fall in behind
me. Again the sentinel reported, He
reached them, but he is not coming back. It

looks like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi;
for he drives like a maniac.
Joram said, Get ready. And they got
his chariot ready. Then King Joram of Israel
and King Ahaziah of Judah set out, each in
his chariot, and went to meet Jehu; they met
him at the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.
When Joram saw Jehu, he said, Is it peace,
Jehu? He answered, What peace can there
be, so long as the many whoredoms and
sorceries of your mother Jezebel continue?
Then Joram reined about and ed, saying
to Ahaziah, Treason, Ahaziah! Jehu drew
his bow with all his strength, and shot Joram
between the shoulders, so that the arrow
pierced his heart; and he sank in his chariot.
Jehu said to his aide Bidkar, Lift him out,
and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember,
when you and I rode side by side behind his
father Ahab how the Lord uttered this oracle
against him: For the blood of Naboth and
for the blood of his children that I saw yesterday, says the Lord, I swear I will repay you on
this very plot of ground. Now therefore lift
him out and throw him on the plot of ground,
in accordance with the word of the Lord.
When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he
ed in the direction of Beth-haggan. Jehu pursued him, saying, Shoot him also! And they
shot himb in the chariot at the ascent to Gur,
which is by Ibleam. Then he ed to Megiddo,
and died there. His ocers carried him in
a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his
tomb with his ancestors in the city of David.
b Syr Vg Compare Gk: Heb lacks and they shot him
and 21.2124. 7: Jezebel, see 1 Kings 16.31n. 1113: Jehus anointing was secret (as was Sauls in 1 Sam 9.2710.1),
but it becomes immediately public. 11: Madman, a demeaning reference to the apparently well-known young
prophet, perhaps referring to his ecstatic behavior. 13: They blew the trumpet, see 1 Kings 1.34. 1428: The report
of Jehus coup sums up the situation described in 8.2829. Joram of Israel and Ahaziah are together in Jezreel, so
Jehu kills them both. 20: Like a maniac, beer with madness. Jehus chariot driving is described with a word
from the same root as the madman in v. 11. 21: The kings meet Jehu at the former property of Naboth. They
belong to Ahabs family, and their end will start at the site of Ahab and Jezebels hideous act (see 1 Kings 21).
22: Whoredoms and sorceries of Jezebel, both terms refer to the worship of Baal and his female counterpart, in
which religious prostitution and magic activities may have occurred. 27: Ahaziahs death was motivated by his
relation to Joram (he was either his nephew or his cousin, see 8.26n.). Beth-haggan is identied with Engannin
(Josh 19.21), modern Jenin. Ibleam is nearby, at the southern end of the Jezreel valley. 28: Ahaziah is killed in
Megiddo, as King Josiah will be (see 23.2930); both kings are carried in a chariot to Jerusalem to be buried there.
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2 kings 10
In the eleventh year of Joram son of
Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.
When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel
heard of it; she painted her eyes, and adorned
her head, and looked out of the window.
As Jehu entered the gate, she said, Is it
peace, Zimri, murderer of your master? He
looked up to the window and said, Who is
on my side? Who? Two or three eunuchs
looked out at him. He said, Throw her
down. So they threw her down; some of
her blood spattered on the wall and on the
horses, which trampled on her. Then he
went in and ate and drank; he said, See to
that cursed woman and bury her; for she is
a kings daughter. But when they went to
bury her, they found no more of her than
the skull and the feet and the palms of her
hands. When they came back and told him,
he said, This is the word of the Lord, which
he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite,
In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat
the esh of Jezebel; the corpse of Jezebel
shall be like dung on the eld in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is
Jezebel.
Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them
to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel,a to the
elders, and to the guardians of the sons ofb
Ahab, saying, Since your masters sons are
with you and you have at your disposal chariots and horses, a fortied city, and weapons,
select the son of your master who is the best
qualied, set him on his fathers throne, and
ght for your masters house. But they were
utterly terried and said, Look, two kings
could not withstand him; how then can we
stand? So the steward of the palace, and
the governor of the city, along with the elders
10
and the guardians, sent word to Jehu: We are

your servants; we will do anything you say.
We will not make anyone king; do whatever
you think right. Then he wrote them a second letter, saying, If you are on my side, and
if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of
your masters sons and come to me at Jezreel
tomorrow at this time. Now the kings sons,
seventy persons, were with the leaders of the
city, who were charged with their upbringing.
When the letter reached them, they took the
kings sons and killed them, seventy persons;
they put their heads in baskets and sent
them to him at Jezreel. When the messenger came and told him, They have brought
the heads of the kings sons, he said, Lay
them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate
until the morning. Then in the morning
when he went out, he stood and said to all
the people, You are innocent. It was I who
conspired against my master and killed him;
but who struck down all these? Know then
that there shall fall to the earth nothing of
the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke
concerning the house of Ahab; for the Lord
has done what he said through his servant
Elijah. So Jehu killed all who were left of
the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his leaders,
close friends, and priests, until he left him no
survivor.
Then he set out and went to Samaria.
On the way, when he was at Beth-eked of
the Shepherds, Jehu met relatives of King
Ahaziah of Judah and said, Who are you?
They answered, We are kin of Ahaziah; we
have come down to visit the royal princes
and the sons of the queen mother. He said,
a Or of the city; Vg Compare Gk
b Gk: Heb lacks of the sons of
29: The report about the beginning of Ahaziahs reign, with a chronology that diers from previous notes (8.25),
is probably a correction placed at an odd place. 3037: The murder of Jezebel is presented as the accomplishment of Elijahs oracle (compare vv. 3637 with 1 Kings 21.23). 30: Jezebel appears as woman at the window,
a frequent motif in ancient Near Eastern art, representing prostitutes or fertility goddesses and suggesting
sexual availability. 31: She identies Jehu with Zimri, who killed King Baasha (1 Kings 16.920), but reigned only
a week. 33: Jezebel is killed by the eunuchs who were at her service. 10.111: Jehu massacres the remnant of the
house of Ahab. 1: Seventy sons, seventy is a round number in the Bible (see Judg 8.30; Deut 10.22) and in many
other texts from the ancient Near East. It is unclear why Jehu should write leers to the governors or rulers of
Jezreel, since he is already in the city (9.30). LXX suggests Samaria instead of Jezreel (see textual note a). 10:
Such a reference to a former prophetic oracle (1 Kings 21.2124) is typical for the Deuteronomistic redactors of
Kings (see also v. 17). 1214: Jehus slaughtering continues with the relatives of the Judean king. 12: Beth-eked,
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2 kings 10
Take them alive. They took them alive, and
slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked,
forty-two in all; he spared none of them.
When he left there, he met Jehonadab son
of Rechab coming to meet him; he greeted him,
and said to him, Is your heart as true to mine
as mine is to yours?a Jehonadab answered, It
is. Jehu said,b If it is, give me your hand. So
he gave him his hand. Jehu took him up with
him into the chariot. He said, Come with me,
and see my zeal for the Lord. So hec had him
ride in his chariot. When he came to Samaria,
he killed all who were left to Ahab in Samaria,
until he had wiped them out, according to the
word of the Lord that he spoke to Elijah.
Then Jehu assembled all the people
and said to them, Ahab oered Baal small
service; but Jehu will oer much more. Now
therefore summon to me all the prophets of
Baal, all his worshipers, and all his priests; let
none be missing, for I have a great sacrice
to oer to Baal; whoever is missing shall
not live. But Jehu was acting with cunning
in order to destroy the worshipers of Baal.
Jehu decreed, Sanctify a solemn assembly
for Baal. So they proclaimed it. Jehu sent
word throughout all Israel; all the worshipers
of Baal came, so that there was no one left
who did not come. They entered the temple
of Baal, until the temple of Baal was lled
from wall to wall. He said to the keeper of
the wardrobe, Bring out the vestments for
all the worshipers of Baal. So he brought out
the vestments for them. Then Jehu entered
the temple of Baal with Jehonadab son of
Rechab; he said to the worshipers of Baal,
Search and see that there is no worshiper of
the Lord here among you, but only worshipers of Baal. Then they proceeded to oer
sacrices and burnt oerings.
Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside, saying, Whoever allows any of those to
escape whom I deliver into your hands shall
forfeit his life. As soon as he had nished
presenting the burnt oering, Jehu said to the
guards and to the ocers, Come in and kill
them; let no one escape. So they put them to
the sword. The guards and the ocers threw
them out, and then went into the citadel of
the temple of Baal. They brought out the
pillard that was in the temple of Baal, and
burned it. Then they demolished the pillar
of Baal, and destroyed the temple of Baal, and
made it a latrine to this day.
Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel.
But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins
of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused
Israel to committhe golden calves that
were in Bethel and in Dan. The Lord said
to Jehu, Because you have done well in
carrying out what I consider right, and in accordance with all that was in my heart have
dealt with the house of Ahab, your sons of
the fourth generation shall sit on the throne
of Israel. But Jehu was not careful to
follow the law of the Lord the God of Israel
with all his heart; he did not turn from the
sins of Jeroboam, which he caused Israel to
commit.
In those days the Lord began to trim
o parts of Israel. Hazael defeated them
throughout the territory of Israel: from the
Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the
Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites,
a Gk: Heb Is it right with your heart, as my heart is
with your heart?
b Gk: Heb lacks Jehu said

c Gk Syr Tg: Heb they
d Gk Vg Syr Tg: Heb pillars
an unidentied place, apparently a gathering-place for shepherds. 14: Forty-two, see 2.24n. 1517: Jehonadab
son of Rechab is mentioned in Jer 35 as the founder of a small religious group commied to a life-style that rejected urban culture. Here he is portrayed as an ally of Jehu. 16: Chariot, Heb rekeb, recalling the name Rechab
(rekab). Jehonadab was perhaps a rider, like Jehu (see 9.25). 1827: To a modern reader Jehus massacre of all
worshipers of Baal appears as religious fanaticism, surpassing even Elijahs killing of the prophets of Baal in
1 Kings 18.40. The narrator was absolutely hostile to the worship of Baal, so that he did not have such reservations. 2831: Nevertheless, the evaluation of Jehu is ambivalent. 30: Like David, he receives a dynastic promise,
which is however limited to the fourth generation. 29, 31: For the redactors of Kings, Jehus worship of the Lord
was wrong, because he venerated him outside of Jerusalem, continuing the sins of Jeroboam (see 1 Kings 12).
3233: During Jehus reign, the Northern Kingdom declined and Jehu eventually lost its Transjordanian territory
to the Arameans. An Assyrian stele reports that Jehu had become a vassal of King Shalmaneser III (ruled ca.
548 | hebrew bible
2 kings 11
from Aroer, which is by the Wadi Arnon, that
is, Gilead and Bashan. Now the rest of the
acts of Jehu, all that he did, and all his power,
are they not written in the Book of the Annals
of the Kings of Israel? So Jehu slept with his
ancestors, and they buried him in Samaria.
His son Jehoahaz succeeded him. The time
that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was
twenty-eight years.
Now when Athaliah, Ahaziahs mother,
saw that her son was dead, she set
about to destroy all the royal family. But
Jehosheba, King Jorams daughter, Ahaziahs
sister, took Joash son of Ahaziah, and stole
him away from among the kings children
who were about to be killed; she puta him and
his nurse in a bedroom. Thus sheb hid him
from Athaliah, so that he was not killed; he
remained with her six years, hidden in the
house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned
over the land.
But in the seventh year Jehoiada summoned the captains of the Carites and of
the guards and had them come to him in
the house of the Lord. He made a covenant
with them and put them under oath in the
house of the Lord; then he showed them the
kings son. He commanded them, This is
what you are to do: one-third of you, those
who go o duty on the sabbath and guard
the kings house (another third being at the
gate Sur and a third at the gate behind the
11
guards), shall guard the palace; and your

two divisions that come on duty in force on
the sabbath and guard the house of the Lordc
shall surround the king, each with weapons
in hand; and whoever approaches the ranks
is to be killed. Be with the king in his comings
and goings.
The captains did according to all that the
priest Jehoiada commanded; each brought his
men who were to go o duty on the sabbath,
with those who were to come on duty on the
sabbath, and came to the priest Jehoiada.
The priest delivered to the captains the
spears and shields that had been King
Davids, which were in the house of the Lord;
the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the
house to the north side of the house, around
the altar and the house, to guard the king on
every side. Then he brought out the kings
son, put the crown on him, and gave him the
covenant;d they proclaimed him king, and
anointed him; they clapped their hands and
shouted, Long live the king!
When Athaliah heard the noise of the
guard and of the people, she went into the
house of the Lord to the people; when she
a
b
c
d
With 2 Chr 22.11: Heb lacks she put

Gk Syr Vg Compare 2 Chr 22.11: Heb they
Heb the Lord to the king
Or treaty or testimony; Heb eduth
859824 bce), a fact not mentioned in the Bible. 3436: Very lile of the twenty-eight years of Jehus reign (ca.
842814 bce) is recorded.
11.121: The reign of Athaliah in Judah. The reign of Athaliah (ca. 842836 bce), Ahaziahs mother, interrupts
the Davidic line, since she is from the north (see 8.26n.). For the redactors of the book of Kings, she was considered an illegitimate ruler; therefore her reign lacks the typical introductory and concluding formulas. Athaliahs
name means the Lord is exalted, but she seems to have sponsored Baal worship (see v. 18). 13: Like Jehu
in the north, Athaliah tries to massacre all potential heirs to the throne, but one member of the royal family
escapes (for the same literary motif see Judg 9.5): Joash is hidden by Ahaziahs sister Jehosheba. 412: The priest
Jehoiada, who according to 2 Chr 22.11 was Jehoshebas husband, organizes the rebellion in the seventh year
(the number may be typological or symbolic). 4: The Carites (Carians) are either a bodyguard from Cilicia or the
same as the Cherethites (1 Kings 1.38). 511: The details of the deployment of the troops are unclear. Apparently
three companies should stand on dierent strategic positions (the location of the gate Sur is unknown), and
two other groups (or two of the three previous ones?) should protect the new king. 12: Crown, cf. 2 Sam 1.10; Ex
28.3638. The covenant may refer to the divine promise to the Davidic dynasty (2 Sam 7) or to a list of regulations for the conduct of kingship (like Deut 17.1820). Long live the king, the same exclamation as in 1 Kings 1.25.
1316: The story moves now to the end of Athaliah, who will be executed along with her followers outside the
Temple. 14: Pillar, or podium, a place of royal appearance (see 23.3). The parallel account in 2 Chr 23.13 interprets
this as the pillars Jachin and Boaz (see 1 Kings 7.21) at the Temple entrance. The people of the land designates
here, as elsewhere in the book of Kings, the rural aristocracy that intervened in critical situations in order to
hebrew bible | 549
2 kings 12
looked, there was the king standing by the
pillar, according to custom, with the captains
and the trumpeters beside the king, and all
the people of the land rejoicing and blowing
trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and cried,
Treason! Treason! Then the priest Jehoiada
commanded the captains who were set over the
army, Bring her out between the ranks, and
kill with the sword anyone who follows her.
For the priest said, Let her not be killed in the
house of the Lord. So they laid hands on her;
she went through the horses entrance to the
kings house, and there she was put to death.
Jehoiada made a covenant between the
Lord and the king and people, that they
should be the Lords people; also between
the king and the people. Then all the people
of the land went to the house of Baal, and
tore it down; his altars and his images they
broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan, the
priest of Baal, before the altars. The priest
posted guards over the house of the Lord.
He took the captains, the Carites, the
guards, and all the people of the land; then
they brought the king down from the house
of the Lord, marching through the gate of the
guards to the kings house. He took his seat
on the throne of the kings. So all the people
of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet
after Athaliah had been killed with the sword
at the kings house.
aJehoashb was seven years old when he
began to reign.
In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash
began to reign; he reigned forty years
in Jerusalem. His mothers name was Zibiah
12
of Beer-sheba. Jehoash did what was right in

the sight of the Lord all his days, because the
priest Jehoiada instructed him. Nevertheless
the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrice and make oerings
on the high places.
Jehoash said to the priests, All the money oered as sacred donations that is brought
into the house of the Lord, the money for
which each person is assessedthe money
from the assessment of personsand the
money from the voluntary oerings brought
into the house of the Lord, let the priests
receive from each of the donors; and let them
repair the house wherever any need of repairs
is discovered. But by the twenty-third year
of King Jehoash the priests had made no repairs on the house. Therefore King Jehoash
summoned the priest Jehoiada with the other
priests and said to them, Why are you not
repairing the house? Now therefore do not
accept any more money from your donors but
hand it over for the repair of the house. So
the priests agreed that they would neither accept more money from the people nor repair
the house.
Then the priest Jehoiada took a chest,
made a hole in its lid, and set it beside the
altar on the right side as one entered the
house of the Lord; the priests who guarded
the threshold put in it all the money that was
brought into the house of the Lord. Whenever they saw that there was a great deal of
a Ch 12.1 in Heb
b Another spelling is Joash; see verse 19
defend the traditional worship of the God of Israel. 16: The horses entrance, perhaps the Horse Gate mentioned
in Jer 31.40 and Neh 3.28. 1720: The unusual threefold covenant between the Lord and the king and people mediated by a priest has become necessary because Athaliahs reign had interrupted the Davidic succession. The
covenant would then be the renewal of the Davidic dynasty as chosen by God and accepted by the people (see
2 Sam 5.3). 18: There is no other mention of Athaliah being a fervent worshiper of Baal. The Baal priest Maan
appears only here and in the parallel account in 2 Chr 23.17.
12.121: The reign of Jehoash (or Joash), king of Judah (ca. 836798 bce). 13: In the Deuteronomistic introduction, Jehoash is said to have ruled forty years. This may well be a symbolic number, and may include the six
years of Athaliah. 23: For the redactors Jehoash was a good king, although he tolerated worship of the Lord
in places other than the Temple in Jerusalem. 416: The repair of the Temple foreshadows King Josiahs repairs
(see 22.37). But unlike Josiahs reform, Jehoashs will fail. 4: Money . . . sacred donations, money that replaced
the traditional sacrices (see Lev 27.18). 68: The priests were unwilling to spend the money they received to
repair the Temple. 6: The twenty-third year, this is the year Jehoahaz of Israel acceded to the throne (13.1). 912:
The priest Jehoiada is centralizing and supervising the money for the restoration, as does the priest Hilkiah in
22.46. 10: High priest, this title is used only from the Persian period onward, when this episode may have been
550 | hebrew bible
2 kings 13
money in the chest, the kings secretary and
the high priest went up, counted the money
that was found in the house of the Lord,
and tied it up in bags. They would give the
money that was weighed out into the hands
of the workers who had the oversight of the
house of the Lord; then they paid it out to
the carpenters and the builders who worked
on the house of the Lord, to the masons
and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber
and quarried stone for making repairs on the
house of the Lord, as well as for any outlay
for repairs of the house. But for the house
of the Lord no basins of silver, snuers,
bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of
silver, were made from the money that was
brought into the house of the Lord, for that
was given to the workers who were repairing
the house of the Lord with it. They did not
ask an accounting from those into whose
hand they delivered the money to pay out to
the workers, for they dealt honestly. The
money from the guilt oerings and the money from the sin oerings was not brought
into the house of the Lord; it belonged to the
priests.
At that time King Hazael of Aram went
up, fought against Gath, and took it. But when
Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem,
King Jehoash of Judah took all the votive
gifts that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah,
his ancestors, the kings of Judah, had dedicated, as well as his own votive gifts, all the gold
that was found in the treasuries of the house
of the Lord and of the kings house, and sent
these to King Hazael of Aram. Then Hazael
withdrew from Jerusalem.
Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all

of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? His
servants arose, devised a conspiracy, and
killed Joash in the house of Millo, on the way
that goes down to Silla. It was Jozacar son
of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer,
his servants, who struck him down, so that
he died. He was buried with his ancestors in
the city of David; then his son Amaziah succeeded him.
In the twenty-third year of King Joash
son of Ahaziah of Judah, Jehoahaz son
of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria;
he reigned seventeen years. He did what was
evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed
the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he
caused Israel to sin; he did not depart from
them. The anger of the Lord was kindled
against Israel, so that he gave them repeatedly into the hand of King Hazael of Aram, then
into the hand of Ben-hadad son of Hazael.
But Jehoahaz entreated the Lord, and the
Lord heeded him; for he saw the oppression
of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed
them. Therefore the Lord gave Israel a
savior, so that they escaped from the hand
of the Arameans; and the people of Israel
lived in their homes as formerly. Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the
house of Jeroboam, which he caused Israel to
sin, but walkeda in them; the sacred poleb also
remained in Samaria. So Jehoahaz was left
with an army of not more than fty horse-
13
a Gk Syr Tg Vg: Heb he walked

b Heb Asherah
composed. 13: The meaning of the verse is unclear. It may refer to lack of adequate silver, causing a very modest
restoration, or that the priests were not allowed to use the money for their Temple vessels. 16: There was apparently some dispute about the silver, which belonged directly to the priests (see Lev 7.710). 1718: Aer Israel
(see 10.3233), Hazael of Aram is now aacking the Philistine coast (the city of Gath) and Jerusalem. He was
more interested in controlling the trade routes in the south than in occupying the capital of Judah. Therefore
he accepts the tribute that Jehoash is immediately willing to pay. 1921: The parallel account in 2 Chr 24.2427
gives a dierent explanation of the death of Joash. 20: Millo, see 1 Kings 9.15n. 21: Jozacar . . . and Jehozabad,
NRSV follows the LXX. In the MT both murderers are named Jehozabad.
13.125: Jehoahaz and Jehoash (Joash) of Israel and the death of Elisha. The chronological data oered in
chs 1315 are confusing and do not allow for a reconstruction of a coherent chronological system. All dates
given in parentheses are hypothetical. 19: Jehoahaz (ca. 817800 bce), evaluated as a bad king who nevertheless has the Lord on his side, faces renewed Aramean oppression. 5: The identity of the savior sent by God is not
specied, and some think he was the Assyrian king, who fought the Arameans, and others suggest an Israelite
general (the term savior is sometimes used in Judges for a judge functioning as a military leader). 6: Sacred pole
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2 kings 14
men, ten chariots and ten thousand footmen;
for the king of Aram had destroyed them and
made them like the dust at threshing. Now
the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he
did, including his might, are they not written
in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of
Israel? So Jehoahaz slept with his ancestors,
and they buried him in Samaria; then his son
Joash succeeded him.
In the thirty-seventh year of King Joash
of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz began to
reign over Israel in Samaria; he reigned sixteen years. He also did what was evil in the
sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all
caused Israel to sin, but he walked in them.
Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all
that he did, as well as the might with which
he fought against King Amaziah of Judah, are
they not written in the Book of the Annals of
the Kings of Israel? So Joash slept with his
ancestors, and Jeroboam sat upon his throne;
Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings
of Israel.
Now when Elisha had fallen sick with
the illness of which he was to die, King Joash
of Israel went down to him, and wept before
him, crying, My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen! Elisha said
to him, Take a bow and arrows; so he took a
bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of
Israel, Draw the bow; and he drew it. Elisha
laid his hands on the kings hands. Then he
said, Open the window eastward; and he
opened it. Elisha said, Shoot; and he shot.
Then he said, The Lords arrow of victory,
the arrow of victory over Aram! For you shall

ght the Arameans in Aphek until you have
made an end of them. He continued, Take
the arrows; and he took them. He said to the
king of Israel, Strike the ground with them;
he struck three times, and stopped. Then
the man of God was angry with him, and said,
You should have struck ve or six times;
then you would have struck down Aram until
you had made an end of it, but now you will
strike down Aram only three times.
So Elisha died, and they buried him.
Now bands of Moabites used to invade the
land in the spring of the year. As a man was
being buried, a marauding band was seen and
the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha;
as soon as the man touched the bones of
Elisha, he came to life and stood on his feet.
Now King Hazael of Aram oppressed
Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. But the Lord
was gracious to them and had compassion
on them; he turned toward them, because of
his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and would not destroy them; nor has he banished them from his presence until now.
When King Hazael of Aram died, his son
Ben-hadad succeeded him. Then Jehoash
son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad
son of Hazael the towns that he had taken
from his father Jehoahaz in war. Three times
Joash defeated him and recovered the towns
of Israel.
In the second year of King Joash son
of Joahaz of Israel, King Amaziah son
of Joash of Judah, began to reign. He was
twenty-ve years old when he began to reign,
14
(Heb asherah), a symbol of the goddess Asherah. 78: As in the book of Judges (e.g., 2.18; 3.9,15), the sending
of a savior does not provoke a return to the Lord; therefore the Israelite army is drastically reduced. 1021: The
redactors do not tell much about the wicked Jehoash, whose name is identical to that of his Judean colleague.
His reign (ca. 800784 bce) provides the context for the story about Elishas death. 1113: The concluding formula of his reign already appears here and is repeated in 14.1516. 14: Elisha has not been mentioned since the
anointing of Jehu, some y years before (9.13). He is now an old man about to die. Chariots of Israel . . . , see
2.1112n. 1519: Elisha has the king perform two symbolic actions, which foretell his incomplete victory against
the Arameans. Arrows were used in the ancient Near East as tools of divination. 17: Aphek, see 1 Kings 20.26n.
2021: Even aer his death, Elisha is still able to perform a miracle. 2223: These verses return to the reign of
Jehoahaz; they were inserted by a later redactor to connect with vv. 45, and they give another reason for Gods
help against the Arameans: his covenant with the patriarchs. 2425: A reference to the encounter between Elisha and Jehoahaz, stating that his son Jehoash defeated the Arameans three times (see v. 19).
14.129: Amaziah of Judah and Jeroboam (II) of Israel. 122: Amaziah (ca. 798769 bce) waged war against
Edom and Israel and was severely defeated by the Israelite king. 16: At the beginning of his reign he executes
the conspirators who had murdered his father. Described as a bad king, he nevertheless follows the Deutero-
552 | hebrew bible
2 kings 14
and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mothers name was Jehoaddin of
Jerusalem. He did what was right in the sight
of the Lord, yet not like his ancestor David; in
all things he did as his father Joash had done.
But the high places were not removed; the
people still sacriced and made oerings on
the high places. As soon as the royal power
was rmly in his hand he killed his servants
who had murdered his father the king. But
he did not put to death the children of the
murderers; according to what is written in
the book of the law of Moses, where the Lord
commanded, The parents shall not be put to
death for the children, or the children be put
to death for the parents; but all shall be put to
death for their own sins.
He killed ten thousand Edomites in the
Valley of Salt and took Sela by storm; he
called it Jokthe-el, which is its name to this
day.
Then Amaziah sent messengers to King
Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, of
Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another
in the face. King Jehoash of Israel sent word
to King Amaziah of Judah, A thornbush on
Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying,
Give your daughter to my son for a wife;
but a wild animal of Lebanon passed by and
trampled down the thornbush. You have
indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has
lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and
stay at home; for why should you provoke
trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with
you?
But Amaziah would not listen. So King
Jehoash of Israel went up; he and King
Amaziah of Judah faced one another in battle
at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.

Judah was defeated by Israel; everyone ed
home. King Jehoash of Israel captured King
Amaziah of Judah son of Jehoash, son of
Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh; he came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem
from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, a
distance of four hundred cubits. He seized
all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that
were found in the house of the Lord and in
the treasuries of the kings house, as well as
hostages; then he returned to Samaria.
Now the rest of the acts that Jehoash
did, his might, and how he fought with King
Amaziah of Judah, are they not written in
Jehoash slept with his ancestors, and was
buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel;
then his son Jeroboam succeeded him.
King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah lived
fteen years after the death of King Jehoash
son of Jehoahaz of Israel. Now the rest of
the deeds of Amaziah, are they not written in
the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?
They made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he ed to Lachish. But they sent
after him to Lachish, and killed him there.
They brought him on horses; he was buried
in Jerusalem with his ancestors in the city of
David. All the people of Judah took Azariah,
who was sixteen years old, and made him
king to succeed his father Amaziah. He rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah, after King
Amaziaha slept with his ancestors.
In the fteenth year of King Amaziah
son of Joash of Judah, King Jeroboam son of
a Heb the king
nomic law. 6: See Deut 24.16. 714: Aer a successful campaign against the Edomites he defeats the much
stronger king of Israel. 7: The Valley of Salt (see 2 Sam 8.13) probably refers to the area south of the Dead Sea.
Sela (rock) is a common noun, which is also employed as a proper name to designate several rocky places,
including the capital of Edom. 9: The Israelite king compares Amaziah of Judah to a thornbush easily trampled
down by any wild animal (for another fable about trees and the thornbush, see Judg 9.715). 11: Beth-shemesh,
ca. 16 mi (25 km) west of Jerusalem, a city that Israel and Judah both claimed as belonging to their territory. 13:
Four hundred cubits, ca. 583 (177 m). 14: The deportation of the vessels from the Temple foreshadows its destruction and the deportation of its precious objects by the Babylonians in 25.1415. 1516: see 13.1013. 1722:
The names and the motives of the movers of the conspiracy against Amaziah are not mentioned. 19: The kings
unsuccessful ight to Lachish, Judahs second city, ca. 28 mi (45 km) southwest of Jerusalem, suggests that the
conspirators controlled the capital. 2122: The people of Judah may also be translated as the army of Judah,
which would suggest that the kings young son Azariah (see 15.17) was brought to the throne by the military.
22: Azariah continues to exercise control over Edom by reintegrating the port of Elath (1 Kings 9.26) into Judean
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2 kings 15
Joash of Israel began to reign in Samaria; he
reigned forty-one years. He did what was
evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart
from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat,
which he caused Israel to sin. He restored
the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far
as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the
word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he
spoke by his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the
prophet, who was from Gath-hepher. For
the Lord saw that the distress of Israel was
very bitter; there was no one left, bond or
free, and no one to help Israel. But the Lord
had not said that he would blot out the name
of Israel from under heaven, so he saved
them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash.
Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam,
and all that he did, and his might, how he
fought, and how he recovered for Israel
Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged
to Judah, are they not written in the Book of
the Annals of the Kings of Israel? Jeroboam
slept with his ancestors, the kings of Israel;
his son Zechariah succeeded him.
In the twenty-seventh year of King
Jeroboam of Israel King Azariah son
of Amaziah of Judah began to reign. He was
sixteen years old when he began to reign, and
he reigned fty-two years in Jerusalem. His
mothers name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. He
did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just
as his father Amaziah had done. Nevertheless
the high places were not taken away; the people still sacriced and made oerings on the
high places. The Lord struck the king, so that
15
he was leprousa to the day of his death, and

lived in a separate house. Jotham the kings
son was in charge of the palace, governing the
people of the land. Now the rest of the acts
of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not
of Judah? Azariah slept with his ancestors;
they buried him with his ancestors in the city
of David; his son Jotham succeeded him.
In the thirty-eighth year of King Azariah
of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam reigned
over Israel in Samaria six months. He did
what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his
ancestors had done. He did not depart from
caused Israel to sin. Shallum son of Jabesh
conspired against him, and struck him down
in public and killed him, and reigned in place
of him. Now the rest of the deeds of Zechariah are written in the Book of the Annals of
the Kings of Israel. This was the promise
of the Lord that he gave to Jehu, Your sons
shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth
generation. And so it happened.
Shallum son of Jabesh began to reign in
the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah of Judah;
he reigned one month in Samaria. Then
Menahem son of Gadi came up from Tirzah
and came to Samaria; he struck down Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him;
he reigned in place of him. Now the rest of
the deeds of Shallum, including the cona A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning
uncertain
territory. 2329: Jeroboam II, who had an exceptionally long reign (ca. 788747 bce, probably including a coregency with his father), and who brought Israel to power and wealth, is treated very briey in the book of Kings;
the books of Hosea and Amos also refer to his rule. 25: Lebo-hamath, see 1 Kings 8.65n. The prophecy to which
this verse refers is not found elsewhere in the Bible and is aributed to a nationalistic prophet named Jonah son
of Amiai, whose name is given to the protagonist of the book of Jonah (see Jon 1.1). Gath-hepher is in southern
Galilee about 14 mi (23 km) northeast of Megiddo. 26: That the Lord sees Israels distress recalls 13.4 as well as Ex
3.7 and Deut 26.7. God cares for Israel in spite of its bad kings. 28: Jeroboam recovered . . . Damascus and Hamath,
this assertion of territorial expansion is puzzling, since neither city ever belonged to Israel.
15.17: Azariah of Judah. Also called Uzziah, which may be his throne name, this Judean king is presented
positively but very briey. Many scholars think that some of his long reign of y-two years (ca. 792740) included a coregency with his son. 5: He was struck with a skin disease (leprosy; see textual note a) and due to
his ritual impurity had to live in a separate house, in quarantine, and had to hand over regency to his son Jotham
during his lifetime. 5: People of the land, see 11.14n.
15.831: Israels last kings. 812: The assassination of Zechariah aer a brief reign (ca. 747 bce) is presented
as the fulllment of Gods oracle that Jehus dynasty would last four generations (compare v. 12 with 10.30).
1316: Shallum, Zechariahs murderer, holds power for only one month (747 bce), when he is killed by Menahem.
554 | hebrew bible
2 kings 15
ARARAT (URARTU)
ASSYRIA
Gozan
R. Habor
Nineveh
MEDES
R.
t
ra
ph
KIR
es
ARAM
Mediterranean
Sea
Eu
Hamath
Arvad
Damascus
Cuthah
ISRAEL
Samaria
Jerusalem
JUDAH
Lachish
R.
Ti
gri
Babylon
BABYLONIA
EDOM
Persian
Gulf
Elath
EGYPT
ile
R. N
Red
Sea
0
ETHIOPIA
100
100
200 Miles
200 Kilometers
Chs 1521: Assyria and Israel and Judah.
spiracy that he made, are written in the Book

of the Annals of the Kings of Israel. At that
time Menahem sacked Tiphsah, all who were
in it and its territory from Tirzah on; because
they did not open it to him, he sacked it. He
ripped open all the pregnant women in it.
In the thirty-ninth year of King Azariah
of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi began to
reign over Israel; he reigned ten years in Sa-
maria. He did what was evil in the sight of

the Lord; he did not depart all his days from
any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat,
which he caused Israel to sin. King Pul of
Assyria came against the land; Menahem
gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, so that
he might help him conrm his hold on the
royal power. Menahem exacted the money
from Israel, that is, from all the wealthy, fty
14: Tirzah was the former capital of the Northern Kingdom; see 1 Kings 14.1718n. 16: This verse, which stands
between the concluding formula of Shallums reign and the beginning of Menahems rule, reports the new
kings atrocities. Tiphsah is probably to be identied, as suggested by the LXX, with Tappuah, ca. 9 mi (15 km)
south of Shechem. The only Tiphsah known otherwise is located on the Euphrates (see 1 Kings 4.24). He ripped
open all the pregnant women, such horric action was a common feature of warfare in the ancient Near East (see
8.12; Am 1.13). 1722: Menahem (ca. 747737 bce) had to submit to the Assyrians. 19: King Pul, another name for
the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III (see v. 29); with the reign of this king (ca. 745727 bce) Assyrian domination
in the west was rmly established. A thousand talents of silver, ca. 75,000 lb (34,000 kg). 20: In order to pay this
hebrew bible | 555
2 kings 16
shekels of silver from each one, to give to the
king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned
back, and did not stay there in the land.
Now the rest of the deeds of Menahem,
and all that he did, are they not written in
Menahem slept with his ancestors, and his
son Pekahiah succeeded him.
In the ftieth year of King Azariah of
Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem began to
reign over Israel in Samaria; he reigned two
years. He did what was evil in the sight of
the Lord; he did not turn away from the sins
of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused
Israel to sin. Pekah son of Remaliah, his
captain, conspired against him with fty of
the Gileadites, and attacked him in Samaria,
in the citadel of the palace along with Argob
and Arieh; he killed him, and reigned in place
of him. Now the rest of the deeds of Pekahiah, and all that he did, are written in the
Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
In the fty-second year of King Azariah of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah began
to reign over Israel in Samaria; he reigned
twenty years. He did what was evil in the
sight of the Lord; he did not depart from
caused Israel to sin.
In the days of King Pekah of Israel, King
Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured
Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh,
Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of

Naphtali; and he carried the people captive
to Assyria. Then Hoshea son of Elah made
a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah,
attacked him, and killed him; he reigned in
place of him, in the twentieth year of Jotham
son of Uzziah. Now the rest of the acts of
Pekah, and all that he did, are written in the
Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
In the second year of King Pekah son of
Remaliah of Israel, King Jotham son of Uzziah
of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-ve
years old when he began to reign and reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mothers
name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. He
did what was right in the sight of the Lord,
just as his father Uzziah had done. Nevertheless the high places were not removed; the
people still sacriced and made oerings on
the high places. He built the upper gate of the
house of the Lord. Now the rest of the acts
of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not
of Judah? In those days the Lord began to
send King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of
Remaliah against Judah. Jotham slept with
his ancestors, and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, his ancestor; his son
Ahaz succeeded him.
In the seventeenth year of Pekah son
of Remaliah, King Ahaz son of Jotham
of Judah began to reign. Ahaz was twenty
16
tribute and to prevent the annexation of his kingdom, Menahem raises special taxes. Fiy shekels, ca. 20 oz
(570 gr). 2326: Pekahiah (737735 bce), too, is the victim of conspiracy, which illustrates the chaotic situation.
His murderer, Pekah, has a shortened form of the same name. 25: The usurper is supported by y Gileadites,
which suggests intertribal rivalry. Argob and Arieh (lion) may be place names transferred from v. 29; another
view is that these are the names of two sphinxlike statues at the entrance of the palace. 2731: There are several
problems concerning Pekahs reign, and some scholars wonder if this king really existed (see also the lack of
chronological precision in v. 29). If so, his reign must have been much shorter (ca. 735732). 29: The localities
mentioned here probably refer to dierent campaigns of Tiglath-pileser III. Important territories in the north
and the east of Israel were transformed into Assyrian provinces, and deportation of some of the population
also took place. 30: According to Assyrian sources, Hoshea conspired against Pekah with Assyrian support. In
the twentieth year of Jotham, this indication for Pekahs assassination is clumsy. According to 16.1 it was during
Pekahs reign that Jothams son acceded to the throne.
15.3216.20: Jotham and Ahaz, kings of Judah. 15.3238: Jotham (ca. 759743 bce) had already been exercising power in Judah during his fathers illness (15.5); the sixteen years of reign include this coregency. 33: His
mother was a daughter of Zadok, which may indicate a priestly lineage; see 1 Kings 1.3839; 2 Sam 8.17. 35:
He built the upper gate, it is not clear if this is a new construction or a rebuilding of a formerly damaged gate
(see 14.1314; the upper gate is also mentioned in Ezek 9.2). 2 Chr 27 adds much more building activity during
Jothams reign. 37: The aacks by the kings Rezin of Aram and Pekah of Israel (see 16.59) are the context of Isa
79. 16.120: Ahaz (ca. 743/735727/715 bce; the exact chronology of his reign is much debated) is described as
556 | hebrew bible
2 kings 16
years old when he began to reign; he reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do
what was right in the sight of the Lord his
God, as his ancestor David had done, but he
walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He
even made his son pass through re, according to the abominable practices of the nations
whom the Lord drove out before the people
of Israel. He sacriced and made oerings
on the high places, on the hills, and under
every green tree.
Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah
son of Remaliah of Israel came up to wage
war on Jerusalem; they besieged Ahaz but
could not conquer him. At that time the
king of Edoma recovered Elath for Edom,b
and drove the Judeans from Elath; and the
Edomites came to Elath, where they live
to this day. Ahaz sent messengers to King
Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, I am your
servant and your son. Come up, and rescue
me from the hand of the king of Aram and
from the hand of the king of Israel, who are
attacking me. Ahaz also took the silver and
gold found in the house of the Lord and in
the treasures of the kings house, and sent a
present to the king of Assyria. The king of
Assyria listened to him; the king of Assyria
marched up against Damascus, and took it,
carrying its people captive to Kir; then he
killed Rezin.
When King Ahaz went to Damascus
to meet King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, he
saw the altar that was at Damascus. King
Ahaz sent to the priest Uriah a model of the
altar, and its pattern, exact in all its details.
The priest Uriah built the altar; in accor-
dance with all that King Ahaz had sent from

Damascus, just so did the priest Uriah build
it, before King Ahaz arrived from Damascus.
When the king came from Damascus, the
king viewed the altar. Then the king drew
near to the altar, went up on it, and oered
his burnt oering and his grain oering,
poured his drink oering, and dashed the
blood of his oerings of well-being against
the altar. The bronze altar that was before
the Lord he removed from the front of the
house, from the place between his altar and
the house of the Lord, and put it on the north
side of his altar. King Ahaz commanded the
priest Uriah, saying, Upon the great altar
oer the morning burnt oering, and the
evening grain oering, and the kings burnt
oering, and his grain oering, with the
burnt oering of all the people of the land,
their grain oering, and their drink oering;
then dash against it all the blood of the burnt
oering, and all the blood of the sacrice; but
the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.
The priest Uriah did everything that King
Ahaz commanded.
Then King Ahaz cut o the frames of the
stands, and removed the laver from them;
he removed the sea from the bronze oxen
that were under it, and put it on a pediment
of stone. The covered portal for use on
the sabbath that had been built inside the
palace, and the outer entrance for the king he
removed fromc the house of the Lord. He did
a Cn: Heb King Rezin of Aram
b Cn: Heb Aram
c Cn: Heb lacks from
one of Judahs worst kings. 3: He is compared to the northern kings and accused of making his son pass through
re, which may allude to human sacrice (see 3.27; Jer. 7.31; 19.5). According to Lev 18.21 and Jer 32.35 such
sacrices were oered to a god Molech, whose identity is unclear. 59: The reason for the aack of Rezin and
Pekah was to force Ahaz to join an anti-Assyrian coalition. 6: During this military crisis Ahaz loses Elath (see
14.22) to the Edomites. 78: Ahazs behavior is similar to that of Menahem of Israel (15.20); he becomes a vassal
of the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser. 9: Tiglath-pileser deports the population of Damascus to Kir (its location
is unknown; in Aramaic it can also mean city), which according to Am 9.7 is the original Aramean homeland.
1016: This episode reports the introduction of a new Aramean-style altar to replace the former altar of the
Jerusalemite Temple (see 1 Kings 8.64). 1011: The altar is built by the priest Uriah, also mentioned in Isa 8.2,
according to a model of an altar that Ahaz had seen in Damascus. 15: The old bronze altar will serve from now
on to inquire by, perhaps by divination (such as reading the entrails of animals sacriced); see also 2 Chr 28.23.
17: Ahaz apparently removes precious elements of the Temple furnishings, like the bronze oxen supporting the
sea (1 Kings 7.2329). 18: Because of the king of Assyria suggests that Ahaz needed these objects in order to pay
tribute to his suzerain.
hebrew bible | 557
2 kings 17
this because of the king of Assyria. Now the
rest of the acts of Ahaz that he did, are they
not written in the Book of the Annals of the
Kings of Judah? Ahaz slept with his ancestors, and was buried with his ancestors in the
city of David; his son Hezekiah succeeded
him.
In the twelfth year of King Ahaz of
Judah, Hoshea son of Elah began to
reign in Samaria over Israel; he reigned nine
years. He did what was evil in the sight of
the Lord, yet not like the kings of Israel who
were before him. King Shalmaneser of Assyria came up against him; Hoshea became
his vassal, and paid him tribute. But the king
of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea; for he
had sent messengers to King So of Egypt, and
oered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he
had done year by year; therefore the king of
Assyria conned him and imprisoned him.
Then the king of Assyria invaded all the
land and came to Samaria; for three years he
besieged it. In the ninth year of Hoshea the
king of Assyria captured Samaria; he carried
the Israelites away to Assyria. He placed them
in Halah, on the Habor, the river of Gozan,
and in the cities of the Medes.
This occurred because the people of
Israel had sinned against the Lord their God,
who had brought them up out of the land of
Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of
Egypt. They had worshiped other gods and
walked in the customs of the nations whom
the Lord drove out before the people of Israel,
and in the customs that the kings of Israel had
introduced.a The people of Israel secretly did
things that were not right against the Lord
their God. They built for themselves high
places at all their towns, from watchtower
to fortied city; they set up for themselves
17
pillars and sacred polesb on every high hill

and under every green tree; there they made
oerings on all the high places, as the nations
did whom the Lord carried away before them.
They did wicked things, provoking the Lord
to anger; they served idols, of which the
Lord had said to them, You shall not do this.
Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by
every prophet and every seer, saying, Turn
from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with
all the law that I commanded your ancestors
and that I sent to you by my servants the
prophets. They would not listen but were
stubborn, as their ancestors had been, who
did not believe in the Lord their God. They
despised his statutes, and his covenant that he
made with their ancestors, and the warnings
that he gave them. They went after false idols
and became false; they followed the nations
that were around them, concerning whom
the Lord had commanded them that they
should not do as they did. They rejected all
the commandments of the Lord their God
and made for themselves cast images of two
calves; they made a sacred pole,c worshiped
all the host of heaven, and served Baal. They
made their sons and their daughters pass
through re; they used divination and augury;
and they sold themselves to do evil in the
sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight; none
was left but the tribe of Judah alone.
Judah also did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God but walked in
b Heb Asherim
c Heb Asherah
17.141: The end of the kingdom of Israel. 14: Hoshea, the last king of Israel (ca. 732722 bce) is not considered as bad as his predecessors (see v. 2), probably because of his anti-Assyrian politics. 34: Although at the
beginning of his reign he is a loyal vassal of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V (ca. 727722 bce), later he tries
to nd Egyptian support against the Assyrians. 4: King So of Egypt: no Pharaoh with this name is known. So
could be a reference to the Egyptian town of Sais, or an incorrect transcription of the Egyptian word for king.
56: Samaria was taken in 722 bce, and parts of the population deported to Halah and Habor in northwestern
Mesopotamia and to the cities of the Medes farther east. 723: This passage is a theological commentary from
the Deuteronomistic perspective explaining the reasons for the collapse of Israel. The main reason for the catastrophe is the worship of other gods and the rejection of the Lord and his messengers, the prophets. 1617:
For the two calves, see 1 Kings 12.2830; sacred pole, see 13.6n. The veneration of the host of heaven (the planets
and stars) and the practice of divination and augury will reappear under the reign of the Judean king Manasseh
558 | hebrew bible
2 kings 17
the customs that Israel had introduced. The
Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel; he
punished them and gave them into the hand
of plunderers, until he had banished them
from his presence.
When he had torn Israel from the house
of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat
king. Jeroboam drove Israel from following
the Lord and made them commit great sin.
The people of Israel continued in all the
sins that Jeroboam committed; they did not
depart from them until the Lord removed
Israel out of his sight, as he had foretold
through all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria
until this day.
The king of Assyria brought people
from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and
Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of
Samaria in place of the people of Israel; they
took possession of Samaria, and settled in its
cities. When they rst settled there, they
did not worship the Lord; therefore the Lord
sent lions among them, which killed some
of them. So the king of Assyria was told,
The nations that you have carried away and
placed in the cities of Samaria do not know
the law of the god of the land; therefore he
has sent lions among them; they are killing
them, because they do not know the law
of the god of the land. Then the king of
Assyria commanded, Send there one of the
priests whom you carried away from there;
let hima go and live there, and teach them
the law of the god of the land. So one of
the priests whom they had carried away from
Samaria came and lived in Bethel; he taught
them how they should worship the Lord.
But every nation still made gods of

its own and put them in the shrines of the
high places that the people of Samaria had
made, every nation in the cities in which
they lived; the people of Babylon made
Succoth-benoth, the people of Cuth made
Nergal, the people of Hamath made Ashima;
the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; the
Sepharvites burned their children in the re
to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods
of Sepharvaim. They also worshiped the
Lord and appointed from among themselves
all sorts of people as priests of the high
places, who sacriced for them in the shrines
of the high places. So they worshiped the
Lord but also served their own gods, after
the manner of the nations from among
whom they had been carried away. To this
day they continue to practice their former
customs.
They do not worship the Lord and they do
not follow the statutes or the ordinances or
the law or the commandment that the Lord
commanded the children of Jacob, whom
he named Israel. The Lord had made a
covenant with them and commanded them,
You shall not worship other gods or bow
yourselves to them or serve them or sacrice
to them, but you shall worship the Lord,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt
with great power and with an outstretched
arm; you shall bow yourselves to him, and
to him you shall sacrice. The statutes and
the ordinances and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall
always be careful to observe. You shall not
a Syr Vg: Heb them
(21.36). Pass through re, see 16.3n. 19: Judah also did not keep the commandments of the Lord, a later addition
informing the reader that Judah will nally have the same destiny as Israel. 2123: A summary of the history of
the Northern Kingdom of Israel from the Deuteronomistic perspective. 23: So Israel was exiled . . . until this day,
probably the original conclusion to the chapter. 2428: Assyrian policy was to mix conquered populations. 24:
These populations are said to come from Babylon; Cuthah, ca. 12 mi (20 km) northeast of Babylon; Avva, probably close to Hamath on the Orontes; and Sepharvaim, probably also in Syria. (See also 18.34; 19.13.) 25: The Lord
sent lions, this may either refer to a lion plague (such plagues are also aested in an Assyrian document) or is
perhaps a narrative motif (see 1 Kings 13.24; 20.36), which explains how the non-Israelite population adopted
the worship of the Lord. 28: Aer the destruction of Samaria, Bethel continued to be an important religious
center for the inhabitants of the former kingdom of Israel (see 1 Kings 12.2930). 2940: This passage denounces a syncretistic religion of the people of Samaria (now the name of the Assyrian province that replaced
the former Northern Kingdom) and is an origin of the Judean polemics against its inhabitants, who will later be
called Samaritans. 3031: Nergal was the Babylonian god of the underworld; lile is known about the other
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2 kings 18
Abel-bethmaacah
LE
Hazor
Janoah
33
R. Jordan
Samaria
GI
LE
AD
NAP
HT A
LI
GA
LI
ARAM
(SYRIA)
Kedesh
Mediterranean
Sea
18
Damascus
Ijon
32
Libnah
Lachish
PH
Gaza
IL
IS
TI
Jerusalem
JUDAH
Dead
Sea
0
0
20 Miles
31
20 Kilometers
EDOM
35
36
Chs 1820: Places associated with Sennacheribs

invasion of Judah.
worship other gods; you shall not forget the

covenant that I have made with you. You shall
not worship other gods, but you shall worship the Lord your God; he will deliver you
out of the hand of all your enemies. They
would not listen, however, but they continued to practice their former custom.
So these nations worshiped the Lord,
but also served their carved images; to this
day their children and their childrens children continue to do as their ancestors did.
In the third year of King Hoshea son

of Elah of Israel, Hezekiah son of
King Ahaz of Judah began to reign. He was
twenty-ve years old when he began to reign;
he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem.
His mothers name was Abi daughter of
Zechariah. He did what was right in the
sight of the Lord just as his ancestor David
had done. He removed the high places,
broke down the pillars, and cut down the
sacred pole.a He broke in pieces the bronze
serpent that Moses had made, for until those
days the people of Israel had made oerings
to it; it was called Nehushtan. He trusted in
the Lord the God of Israel; so that there was
no one like him among all the kings of Judah
after him, or among those who were before
him. For he held fast to the Lord; he did
not depart from following him but kept the
commandments that the Lord commanded
Moses. The Lord was with him; wherever he
went, he prospered. He rebelled against the
king of Assyria and would not serve him. He
attacked the Philistines as far as Gaza and its
territory, from watchtower to fortied city.
In the fourth year of King Hezekiah,
which was the seventh year of King Hoshea
son of Elah of Israel, King Shalmaneser of
Assyria came up against Samaria, besieged
it, and at the end of three years, took it. In
the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the
ninth year of King Hoshea of Israel, Samaria
was taken. The king of Assyria carried the
Israelites away to Assyria, settled them in
Halah, on the Habor, the river of Gozan,
and in the cities of the Medes, because
a Heb Asherah
deities mentioned. 41: This concluding verse resumes v. 33 and introduces the anti-Samaritan polemics into the
readers present (to this day).
18.119.37: King Hezekiah and the siege of Jerusalem. Together with David and Josiah, Hezekiah is one of the
most praised kings. The exact chronology of his reign is unclear (ca. 727/715698/687 bce are the most widely
accepted possibilities; perhaps he began as coregent in 729, and reigned alone in 715). The decisive event of his
reign is the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem in 701 bce, an event also described in Assyrian sources. 16: In the introduction, Hezekiah is described as a religious reformer. 4: He is the rst Judean king to remove the high places,
which had existed in Judah since the beginnings of the monarchy. He also removed from the Temple the sacred
pole (Heb asherah), a symbol of the goddess Asherah, who had been venerated as a consort of the Lord.
Nehushtan, a bronze serpent associated with Moses (see Num 21.19), which may be linked either to the veneration of Asherah or to the Egyptian worship of a snake goddess. 5: This verse ranks Hezekiah even higher than
Josiah (but see 23.25) and David. 718: Hezekiahs revolt against the Assyrians provokes the siege of Jerusalem
by King Sennacherib (ruled ca. 705681 bce). The narrative in 18.1320.19 also appears with some dierences in
560 | hebrew bible
2 kings 18
they did not obey the voice of the Lord
their God but transgressed his covenant
all that Moses the servant of the Lord had
commanded; they neither listened nor
obeyed.
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,
King Sennacherib of Assyria came up against
all the fortied cities of Judah and captured
them. King Hezekiah of Judah sent to the
king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, I have
done wrong; withdraw from me; whatever
you impose on me I will bear. The king of
Assyria demanded of King Hezekiah of Judah
three hundred talents of silver and thirty
talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all the
silver that was found in the house of the Lord
and in the treasuries of the kings house. At
that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from
the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from
the doorposts that King Hezekiah of Judah
had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria sent the Tartan,
the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh with a great
army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They went up and came to Jerusalem.
When they arrived, they came and stood by
the conduit of the upper pool, which is on
the highway to the Fullers Field. When they
called for the king, there came out to them
Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of
the palace, and Shebnah the secretary, and
Joah son of Asaph, the recorder.
The Rabshakeh said to them, Say to
Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the
king of Assyria: On what do you base this
condence of yours? Do you think that
mere words are strategy and power for war?
On whom do you now rely, that you have

rebelled against me? See, you are relying
now on Egypt, that broken reed of a sta,
which will pierce the hand of anyone who
leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to
all who rely on him. But if you say to me,
We rely on the Lord our God, is it not he
whose high places and altars Hezekiah has
removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem,
You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? Come now, make a wager with my
master the king of Assyria: I will give you two
thousand horses, if you are able on your part
to set riders on them. How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my
masters servants, when you rely on Egypt for
chariots and for horsemen? Moreover, is it
without the Lord that I have come up against
this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me,
Go up against this land, and destroy it.
Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and
Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh,
Please speak to your servants in the Aramaic
language, for we understand it; do not speak
to us in the language of Judah within the
hearing of the people who are on the wall.
But the Rabshakeh said to them, Has my
master sent me to speak these words to your
master and to you, and not to the people
sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you
to eat their own dung and to drink their own
urine?
Then the Rabshakeh stood and called
out in a loud voice in the language of Judah,
Hear the word of the great king, the king
of Assyria! Thus says the king: Do not
let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be
Isa 3639. 912: The summary of the fall of Samaria (see 17.16) is background to the siege of Jerusalem. 1316:
Astonishingly Hezekiah submits immediately to the Assyrian king, promising that he would be a loyal vassal,
and paying a tribute for which he has to plunder the Temple. 14: Lachish (see 14.19) had become the Assyrian
headquarters. 17: In spite of the payment of tribute the Assyrian king wants to take on Jerusalem. This discrepancy with vv. 1316 may indicate that this verse starts an alternative version of the Assyrian siege. The Tartan
(chief commander), the Rabsaris (lit. chief eunuch), and the Rabshakeh (lit. chief butler) are high Assyrian
ocials. Only the Rabshakeh plays a role in the following narrative. The upper pool, for the problem of its location see Isa 7.3n. 18: The three Assyrians are faced by three high Judean ocials (for the titles see 1 Kings 4.26).
1925: The Rabshakehs speech is an example of psychological warfare in the rst millennium bce. In the rst
part of this speech he alludes to Hezekiahs reform (v. 22) and claims that the Lord is on the Assyrian side (v. 25).
2627: These verses provide a transition between the two parts of the Rabshakehs speech. The Judean ocials
do not want him to speak in Hebrew (the language of Judah), but in Aramaic, the principal language of diplomacy
in the Assyrian empire, which was not understood by the ordinary people. 27: Eat their own dung, a crude description of the consequences of a long siege. 2835: Now the Rabshakeh insists on the impotence of Hezekiah
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2 kings 19
able to deliver you out of my hand. Do not
let Hezekiah make you rely on the Lord by
saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and
this city will not be given into the hand of the
king of Assyria. Do not listen to Hezekiah;
for thus says the king of Assyria: Make your
peace with me and come out to me; then
every one of you will eat from your own
vine and your own g tree, and drink water
from your own cistern, until I come and
take you away to a land like your own land,
a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and
vineyards, a land of olive oil and honey, that
you may live and not die. Do not listen to
Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying,
The Lord will deliver us. Has any of the
gods of the nations ever delivered its land out
of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where
are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where
are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?
Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
Who among all the gods of the countries
have delivered their countries out of my
hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem
out of my hand?
But the people were silent and answered
him not a word, for the kings command was,
Do not answer him. Then Eliakim son of
Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, and
Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph,
the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their
clothes torn and told him the words of the
Rabshakeh.
When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore
his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
And he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of
the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and
the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to
the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They said
to him, Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a
day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace;
19
children have come to the birth, and there is

no strength to bring them forth. It may be
that the Lord your God heard all the words of
the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of
Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and
will rebuke the words that the Lord your God
has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for
the remnant that is left. When the servants
of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, Isaiah said
to them, Say to your master, Thus says the
Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words
that you have heard, with which the servants
of the king of Assyria have reviled me. I
myself will put a spirit in him, so that he shall
hear a rumor and return to his own land; I
will cause him to fall by the sword in his own
land.
The Rabshakeh returned, and found the
king of Assyria ghting against Libnah; for
he had heard that the king had left Lachish.
When the kinga heard concerning King
Tirhakah of Ethiopia,b See, he has set out to
ght against you, he sent messengers again
to Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall you speak
to King Hezekiah of Judah: Do not let your
God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the
hand of the king of Assyria. See, you have
heard what the kings of Assyria have done to
all lands, destroying them utterly. Shall you
be delivered? Have the gods of the nations
delivered them, the nations that my predecessors destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph,
and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
Where is the king of Hamath, the king of
Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the
king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?
Hezekiah received the letter from the
hand of the messengers and read it; then
a Heb he
b Or Nubia; Heb Cush
and the Lord, claiming that no god of any country was able to resist the Assyrians and their gods (v. 33). 32:
Cf. Deut 8.79. 34: A list of cities conquered by the Assyrians; see 17.24. Arpad, the capital of an Aramean state,
which had joined an anti-Assyrian coalition. 3637: The people and the ocials do not react to these words.
The action now moves to Hezekiah. 37: Clothes torn (see also 19.1), an act of remorse. 19.17: Hezekiah consults
the prophet Isaiah who announces to the kings messengers an oracle of salvation. 7: The Lord will put a spirit
into the mind of the Assyrian king in order to entice him, ultimately to his death (cf. 1 Kings 22.2023). 813: The
withdrawal of the Assyrian army at this stage seems odd. Verses 89 may belong to a source older than the surrounding verses. 8: Libnah, see 8.22n. 9: Tirhakah of Ethiopia became the ruler of Egypt in 689 bce and was only
a young boy during the siege of Jerusalem in 701this suggests that this section is not historically accurate but
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2 kings 19
Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord
and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah
prayed before the Lord, and said: OLord the
God of Israel, who are enthroned above the
cherubim, you are God, you alone, of all the
kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven
and earth. Incline your ear, OLord, and
hear; open your eyes, OLord, and see; hear
the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent
to mock the living God. Truly, OLord, the
kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations
and their lands, and have hurled their gods
into the re, though they were no gods but the
work of human handswood and stone
and so they were destroyed. So now, OLord
our God, save us, I pray you, from his hand, so
that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that you, OLord, are God alone.
Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says the Lord, the God of
Israel: I have heard your prayer to me about
King Sennacherib of Assyria. This is the
word that the Lord has spoken concerning
him:
She despises you, she scorns you
virgin daughter Zion;
she tosses her headbehind your back,
daughter Jerusalem.
Whom have you mocked and reviled?
Against whom have you raised your
voice
and haughtily lifted your eyes?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
By your messengers you have mocked
the Lord,
and you have said, With my many
chariots
I have gone up the heights of the
mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon;
I felled its tallest cedars,

its choicest cypresses;
I entered its farthest retreat,
its densest forest.
I dug wells
and drank foreign waters,
I dried up with the sole of my foot
all the streams of Egypt.
Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what now I bring to pass,
that you should make fortied cities
crash into heaps of ruins,
while their inhabitants, shorn of
strength,
are dismayed and confounded;
they have become like plants of the eld
and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops,
blighted before it is grown.
But I know your risinga and your sitting,
your going out and coming in,
and your raging against me.
Because you have raged against me
and your arrogance has come to my
ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth;
I will turn you back on the way
by which you came.
And this shall be the sign for you: This
year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in
the second year what springs from that; then
in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards,
and eat their fruit. The surviving remnant
a Gk Compare Isa 37.27 Q Ms: MT lacks rising
is legendary. 1013: This new Assyrian propaganda repeats the arguments of 18.3235. 14: Hezekiah is informed
of this by a leer, a small scroll that he could spread out. 1519: Hezekiahs prayer depicts him as a pious king
who arms that the Lord is the only true God. 15: Cherubim: see 1 Kings 6.2328. 18: Have hurled their gods into
re, the Assyrians did indeed capture and sometimes destroy divine statues, not by burning them however, but
by breaking them into pieces. 2034: A second prophecy of Isaiah brings Gods response to Hezekiahs prayer.
2128: These verses contain an oracle against the Assyrian king Sennacherib, whose word (vv. 1013) is now
opposed to the Lords word. 21: Virgin daughter Zion, both Israelite and foreign cities are oen represented as
female, especially in poetry. 28: I will put my hook in your nose, it was Assyrian practice to humiliate vassals and
prisoners; here the Lord does this to Assyria. 2931: The second response is directed to Hezekiah. The theme
of a sign is oen linked with the prophet Isaiah (20.9; Isa 7.11; 8.1), as is the theme of a surviving remnant (Isa
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2 kings 20
of the house of Judah shall again take root
downward, and bear fruit upward; for from
Jerusalem a remnant shall go out, and from
Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of
the Lord of hosts will do this.
Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come
into this city, shoot an arrow there, come
before it with a shield, or cast up a siege ramp
against it. By the way that he came, by the
same he shall return; he shall not come into
this city, says the Lord. For I will defend
this city to save it, for my own sake and for
the sake of my servant David.
That very night the angel of the Lord set
out and struck down one hundred eightyve thousand in the camp of the Assyrians;
when morning dawned, they were all dead
bodies. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria
left, went home, and lived at Nineveh. As
he was worshiping in the house of his god
Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer
killed him with the sword, and they escaped
into the land of Ararat. His son Esar-haddon
succeeded him.
In those days Hezekiah became sick
and was at the point of death. The
prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him,
and said to him, Thus says the Lord: Set
your house in order, for you shall die; you
shall not recover. Then Hezekiah turned
his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord:
Remember now, OLord, I implore you,
how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done
20
what is good in your sight. Hezekiah wept

bitterly. Before Isaiah had gone out of the
middle court, the word of the Lord came
to him: Turn back, and say to Hezekiah
prince of my people, Thus says the Lord,
the God of your ancestor David: I have
heard your prayer, I have seen your tears;
indeed, I will heal you; on the third day you
shall go up to the house of the Lord. I will
add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver
you and this city out of the hand of the king
of Assyria; I will defend this city for my
own sake and for my servant Davids sake.
Then Isaiah said, Bring a lump of figs. Let
them take it and apply it to the boil, so that
he may recover.
Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What shall be
the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that
I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the
third day? Isaiah said, This is the sign to
you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the
thing that he has promised: the shadow has
now advanced ten intervals; shall it retreat
ten intervals? Hezekiah answered, It
is normal for the shadow to lengthen ten
intervals; rather let the shadow retreat ten
intervals. The prophet Isaiah cried to the
Lord; and he brought the shadow back the
ten intervals, by which the suna had declined
on the dial of Ahaz.
At that time King Merodach-baladan
son of Baladan of Babylon sent envoys with
letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had
a Syr See Isa 38.8 and Tg: Heb it
10.2122). 3234: The Lord rearms that he will defend Jerusalem, which is his home and the capital city of
the kingdom ruled by the dynasty founded by David, his servant; see 38.6; Ps 132.11,1318. 3537: The prophetic
word is fullled, and the Assyrian army abandons the siege. 35: The Lords angel striking Israels enemies recalls
Ex 12. One hundred eighty-ve thousand, an exaggerated number emphasizing the strength of the Assyrian army
and the Lords great power. 36: Assyrian records are silent about the circumstances under which the assault of
Jerusalem concluded. 37: The assassination of Sennacherib (in approximately 681 bce, twenty years later) is corroborated by Assyrian documents, which, however, do not give clear details. His successor Esar-haddon ruled
ca. 681669 bce. Ararat is in Armenia.
20.121: Isaiah heals Hezekiah and announces the Babylonian exile. The last story about Hezekiah brings
some ambiguity to his portrait because his actions appear to hasten the end of Judah. 17: Struck with a lifethreatening illness, Hezekiahs prayer receives a favorable response through Isaiah. 6: I will add een years, this
oracle led the redactors to date the siege of Jerusalem in the fourteenth year (18.13) of Hezekiahs twenty-nine
year reign (18.2). The verse also suggests that Hezekiahs illness happened during the Assyrian siege. 7: Isaiah
also has medical skills and heals the kings disease with a g-poultice. 811: Hezekiah seems to doubt that he
will recover complete health. He is given a sign: a shadows movement is reversed. 11: The dial of Ahaz, lit. the
steps of Ahaz. The expression may allude to an otherwise unknown construction with steps, perhaps used as
564 | hebrew bible
2 kings 21
heard that Hezekiah had been sick. Hezekiah welcomed them;a he showed them all
his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the
spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that
was found in his storehouses; there was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. Then the prophet
Isaiah came to King Hezekiah, and said to
him, What did these men say? From where
did they come to you? Hezekiah answered,
They have come from a far country, from
Babylon. He said, What have they seen in
your house? Hezekiah answered, They have
seen all that is in my house; there is nothing
in my storehouses that I did not show them.
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the
word of the Lord: Days are coming when all
that is in your house, and that which your ancestors have stored up until this day, shall be
carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says
the Lord. Some of your own sons who are
born to you shall be taken away; they shall be
eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The word of
the Lord that you have spoken is good. For
he thought, Why not, if there will be peace
and security in my days?
The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah, all his
power, how he made the pool and the conduit
and brought water into the city, are they not
of Judah? Hezekiah slept with his ancestors;
and his son Manasseh succeeded him.
Manasseh was twelve years old when
he began to reign; he reigned ftyve years in Jerusalem. His mothers name
was Hephzibah. He did what was evil in
21
the sight of the Lord, following the abominable practices of the nations that the Lord
drove out before the people of Israel. For
he rebuilt the high places that his father
Hezekiah had destroyed; he erected altars
for Baal, made a sacred pole,b as King Ahab
of Israel had done, worshiped all the host of
heaven, and served them. He built altars
in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord
had said, In Jerusalem I will put my name.
He built altars for all the host of heaven in
the two courts of the house of the Lord. He
made his son pass through re; he practiced
soothsaying and augury, and dealt with
mediums and with wizards. He did much evil
in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to
anger. The carved image of Asherah that he
had made he set in the house of which the
Lord said to David and to his son Solomon,
In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I
have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I
will put my name forever; I will not cause
the feet of Israel to wander any more out of
the land that I gave to their ancestors, if only
they will be careful to do according to all that
I have commanded them, and according to
all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. But they did not listen; Manasseh
misled them to do more evil than the nations
had done that the Lord destroyed before the
people of Israel.
The Lord said by his servants the
prophets, Because King Manasseh of
Judah has committed these abominations,
a Gk Vg Syr: Heb When Hezekiah heard about them
b Heb Asherah
a sanctuary for the sun-god and as a sundial. 1215: The strange episode about a Babylonian embassy recalls
the visit of the queen of Sheba to Solomon and thus establishes a parallel between Hezekiah and Solomon.
12: Merodach-baladan, a Babylonian king who ruled 721710 bce, and then briey in 703 (see Isa 39.1). 1619:
Isaiahs oracle aributes to this embassy a negative meaning, since he predicts the deportation of the Temples
treasures to Babylon, anticipating chs 2425. 19: Why not, Hezekiah receives the oracle ambiguously. 2021:
The short conclusion of Hezekiahs reign mentions a pool and a conduit. The so-called Hezekiahs Tunnel (the
Siloam Tunnel) is still extant under the city of David in Jerusalem.
21.126: The reigns of Manasseh and Amon. 118: For the redactors of the book of Kings, Manasseh is the
worst of all Judean kings and is explicitly compared to the northern king Ahab (v. 3). 1: His reign is said to have
lasted y-ve years, which does not exactly t the probable dates of his reign (698/687642 bce). 216: Although he had a long reign, the only thing we are told about him is his religious counterreform. He reintroduces
the worship of other deities into the Temple, as well as the sacred pole (see v. 7; 18.4n.). The long enumeration
of his religious failures shows that Manasseh contravened all the important laws of the book of Deuteronomy
(v. 2=Deut 18.9; vv. 3,7=Deut 16.21; v. 5=Deut 17.3; v. 6=Deut 18.1011; v. 16=Deut 19.10). 1015: In this anony-
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2 kings 22
has done things more wicked than all that
the Amorites did, who were before him, and
has caused Judah also to sin with his idols;
therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah
such evil that the ears of everyone who hears
of it will tingle. I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line for Samaria, and the
plummet for the house of Ahab; I will wipe
Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and
turning it upside down. I will cast o the
remnant of my heritage, and give them into
the hand of their enemies; they shall become
a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in my sight
and have provoked me to anger, since the
day their ancestors came out of Egypt, even
to this day.
Moreover Manasseh shed very much
innocent blood, until he had lled Jerusalem
from one end to another, besides the sin that
he caused Judah to sin so that they did what
was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, all
that he did, and the sin that he committed,
are they not written in the Book of the Annals
of the Kings of Judah? Manasseh slept with
his ancestors, and was buried in the garden
of his house, in the garden of Uzza. His son
Amon succeeded him.
Amon was twenty-two years old when

he began to reign; he reigned two years in
Jerusalem. His mothers name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. He
did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as
his father Manasseh had done. He walked
in all the way in which his father walked,
served the idols that his father served, and
worshiped them; he abandoned the Lord,
the God of his ancestors, and did not walk in
the way of the Lord. The servants of Amon
conspired against him, and killed the king in
his house. But the people of the land killed
all those who had conspired against King
Amon, and the people of the land made his
son Josiah king in place of him. Now the
rest of the acts of Amon that he did, are they
not written in the Book of the Annals of the
Kings of Judah? He was buried in his tomb
in the garden of Uzza; then his son Josiah
succeeded him.
Josiah was eight years old when he
began to reign; he reigned thirty-one
years in Jerusalem. His mothers name was
Jedidah daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. He
and walked in all the way of his father David;
he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
In the eighteenth year of King Josiah,
the king sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, son
22
mous prophetic oracle, Manasseh is presented as the main culprit responsible for the fall of Jerusalem and the
exile. 11: Amorites, traditional inhabitants of the land of Canaan before the Israelites arrival. 13: Jerusalem will
therefore be assessed by the divine architect (cf. Isa 34.11; Lam 2.8; Am 7.79), and, like a dangerous building,
condemned. It will be emptied of all that is in it, wiped clean like a dish aer a meal. This divine judgment parallels that on Samaria (ch 17; Am 7.79) and the house of Ahab (1 Kings 21.2122; 2 Kings 910). 1718: One may
reasonably guess that during Manassehs long reign some important events took place and that his reign was a
peaceful time. But the redactors of the book of Kings are not interested in these aspects. 18: Garden of Uzza, see
also v. 26; its precise location and signicance are debated. 1926: Amons short reign (ca. 641640 bce) ended
with his murder by his court ocials. 23: The only other information about his reign has to do with his religious
activities: he continued the syncretism of his father. 24: The people of the land (see 11.14n.), probably some of the
free landowners, opposed the rebellion and put Amons son Josiah on the throne.
22.123.30: Josiahs reign and reform. For the authors of the book of Kings Josiah (ca. 640609 bce) is the
perfect king, a new David, but also a new Moses and a new Joshua. In contrast to Hezekiah, Josiah is presented
entirely positively. He launches a religious, political, and economic reform and declares the Temple in Jerusalem to be the only legitimate place to worship the Lord. The story contains two dierent narratives, which are
intermingled: the discovery of the book of the law, and the religious reform. 22.1: Josiah was eight years old
when he came to the throne, which means that Judah was then governed by high ocials, probably those mentioned in the following narrative. 2: He did not turn aside to the right or to the le, see Deut 5.32; 17.20; Josh 1.7;
etc. 310: The report about Josiah repairing the Temple recalls 12.1016. 34: Shaphan and Hilkiah are the main
actors in the discovery of the book. Shaphan was a high ocial, ancestor of an important family of civil servants
at the Judean court (see Jer 36). Hilkiah (probably not to be identied with the father of the prophet Jeremiah)
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2 kings 23
of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of
the Lord, saying, Go up to the high priest
Hilkiah, and have him count the entire sum
of the money that has been brought into the
house of the Lord, which the keepers of the
threshold have collected from the people;
let it be given into the hand of the workers
who have the oversight of the house of the
Lord; let them give it to the workers who are
at the house of the Lord, repairing the house,
that is, to the carpenters, to the builders, to
the masons; and let them use it to buy timber
and quarried stone to repair the house. But
no accounting shall be asked from them for
the money that is delivered into their hand,
for they deal honestly.
The high priest Hilkiah said to Shaphan
the secretary, I have found the book of the
law in the house of the Lord. When Hilkiah
gave the book to Shaphan, he read it. Then
Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and
reported to the king, Your servants have
emptied out the money that was found in the
house, and have delivered it into the hand
of the workers who have oversight of the
house of the Lord. Shaphan the secretary
informed the king, The priest Hilkiah has
given me a book. Shaphan then read it aloud
to the king.
When the king heard the words of the
book of the law, he tore his clothes. Then
the king commanded the priest Hilkiah,
Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary, and the kings
servant Asaiah, saying, Go, inquire of the
Lord for me, for the people, and for all Judah,
concerning the words of this book that has
been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord
that is kindled against us, because our ances-
tors did not obey the words of this book, to

do according to all that is written concerning
us.
So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor,
Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetess
Huldah the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah,
son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; she
resided in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter,
where they consulted her. She declared to
them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel:
Tell the man who sent you to me, Thus says
the Lord, I will indeed bring disaster on this
place and on its inhabitantsall the words
of the book that the king of Judah has read.
Because they have abandoned me and have
made oerings to other gods, so that they
have provoked me to anger with all the work
of their hands, therefore my wrath will be
kindled against this place, and it will not be
quenched. But as to the king of Judah, who
sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall
you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God
of Israel: Regarding the words that you have
heard, because your heart was penitent,
and you humbled yourself before the Lord,
when you heard how I spoke against this
place, and against its inhabitants, that they
should become a desolation and a curse, and
because you have torn your clothes and wept
before me, I also have heard you, says the
Lord. Therefore, I will gather you to your
ancestors, and you shall be gathered to your
grave in peace; your eyes shall not see all the
disaster that I will bring on this place. They
took the message back to the king.
Then the king directed that all the
elders of Judah and Jerusalem should
be gathered to him. The king went up to
the house of the Lord, and with him went
23
is the high priest, an anachronistic expression (see 12.10n.). 810: The book, which reaches the king through
Shaphan and Hilkiah is meant to be some form of the book of Deuteronomy. 11: This becomes clear in the kings
reaction of despair and repentance (he tore his clothes), which is provoked by curses like Deut 28.61 and 29.21.
1220: The kings consultation of a prophetess through high ocials (v. 12) may seem surprising, since he had
understood already what the book was about (v. 13). 14: The prophetess Huldah was married to a Temple or court
ocer, the keeper of the wardrobe (see 10.22) and she lived in the Second Quarter, which refers to a new quarter
in the north, built when Jerusalem expanded at the end of the eighth or during the seventh century bce. 1518:
Huldahs word conrms the oracle of the unnamed prophets in 21.1015 (see also Jer 19.1415). 1920: Her oracle
concerning Josiah is inconsistent with what is reported later, since he did not die in peace but was killed by the
Egyptian king (23.29). Perhaps her prophecy meant that Josiah would be spared the agony of Judahs destruction and exile. 23.13: The king himself reads the book to all the people and renews the covenant with the Lord.
The book of the law can therefore also be called the book of the covenant. This ceremony begins the religious
hebrew bible | 567
2 kings 23
all the people of Judah, all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and all
the people, both small and great; he read in
their hearing all the words of the book of the
covenant that had been found in the house
of the Lord. The king stood by the pillar and
made a covenant before the Lord, to follow
the Lord, keeping his commandments, his
decrees, and his statutes, with all his heart
and all his soul, to perform the words of this
covenant that were written in this book. All
the people joined in the covenant.
The king commanded the high priest
Hilkiah, the priests of the second order,
and the guardians of the threshold, to bring
out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all
the host of heaven; he burned them outside
Jerusalem in the elds of the Kidron, and
carried their ashes to Bethel. He deposed
the idolatrous priests whom the kings of
Judah had ordained to make oerings in the
high places at the cities of Judah and around
Jerusalem; those also who made oerings
to Baal, to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and all the host of the heavens. He
brought out the image ofa Asherah from the
house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the
Wadi Kidron, burned it at the Wadi Kidron,
beat it to dust and threw the dust of it upon
the graves of the common people. He broke
down the houses of the male temple prostitutes that were in the house of the Lord,
where the women did weaving for Asherah.
He brought all the priests out of the towns
of Judah, and deled the high places where
the priests had made oerings, from Geba to
Beer-sheba; he broke down the high places of

the gates that were at the entrance of the gate
of Joshua the governor of the city, which were
on the left at the gate of the city. The priests
of the high places, however, did not come
up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but
ate unleavened bread among their kindred.
He deled Topheth, which is in the valley
of Ben-hinnom, so that no one would make
a son or a daughter pass through re as an
oering to Molech. He removed the horses
that the kings of Judah had dedicated to
the sun, at the entrance to the house of the
Lord, by the chamber of the eunuch Nathanmelech, which was in the precincts;b then
he burned the chariots of the sun with re.
The altars on the roof of the upper chamber
of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made,
and the altars that Manasseh had made in
the two courts of the house of the Lord, he
pulled down from there and broke in pieces,
and threw the rubble into the Wadi Kidron.
The king deled the high places that were
east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount
of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel
had built for Astarte the abomination of the
Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of
Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the
Ammonites. He broke the pillars in pieces,
cut down the sacred poles,c and covered the
sites with human bones.
Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high
place erected by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who
a Heb lacks image of
c Heb Asherim
reforms, which are described in vv. 420. 46: All symbols and statues of other deities are removed from the
Temple and destroyed. 4: The Kidron area, which is the valley to the east of the city of David, was used as a burial
and burning place (v. 6; see 1 Kings 15.13). 5: Idolatrous priests, a term borrowed from Assyrian where it designates a special type of priests. Host of the heavens, see 17.1617n. 79: This passage relates actions against the
religious personnel. 7: Male temple prostitutes, see 1 Kings 22.46n. 8: The priests of the local sanctuaries outside
Jerusalem (the towns of Judah) were expelled and the sanctuaries were deled, so that they could no longer
be used for the worship of the Lord. Geba, ca. 6 mi (10 km) north of Jerusalem, in Benjamin, which may indicate that the Benjaminite territory had become part of the kingdom of Judah. 9: The priests of the high places
(1 Kings 3.24) were not integrated into the personnel of the Temple in Jerusalem. 1014: Further destructions
are reported. 10: Topheth, a place used for human sacrices (see Jer 7.31). Molech, see 16.3n. 11: Horses, see 2.11n.
Precincts (see textual note b), perhaps a Persian word, which indicates that this passage was wrien during
the Persian period. 13: See 1 Kings 11.58n. Mount of Destruction, probably a sarcastic wordplay on mount of
oil, since it refers to the Mount of Olives, where the worship of other deities was practiced. 14: The sites were
covered with human bones (see also vv. 16 and 20) in order to make them ritually impure. 1520: The destruc-
568 | hebrew bible
Damascus
A R
A M
Ijon
Abel-maim
Dan
Mediterranean
Sea
J o r d a n
Sea of
Gennesaret
R i v e r
Ramoth-gilead
Gur-baal
A
Dead S
ea
Ephron
Zemaraim Bethel
Mizpah
Jabneh
Geba
Aijalon
Ramah
Zorah
Ashdod Beth-shemesh
Bethlehem
Azekah
Gath
Soco
Etam
Libnah
Adullam Tekoa
Mareshah
Beth-zur
Lachish
Adoraim Valley of
Ziph Beracah
En-gedi
Gerar
Jeshanah
M O A B
E D O M
0
0
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
Important cities in Judah in the late seventh and early sixth centuries bce.
hebrew bible | 569
2 kings 23
caused Israel to sinhe pulled down that altar
along with the high place. He burned the high
place, crushing it to dust; he also burned the
sacred pole.a As Josiah turned, he saw the
tombs there on the mount; and he sent and
took the bones out of the tombs, and burned
them on the altar, and deled it, according
to the word of the Lord that the man of God
proclaimed,b when Jeroboam stood by the altar
at the festival; he turned and looked up at the
tomb of the man of God who had predicted
these things. Then he said, What is that
monument that I see? The people of the city
told him, It is the tomb of the man of God who
came from Judah and predicted these things
that you have done against the altar at Bethel.
He said, Let him rest; let no one move his
bones. So they let his bones alone, with the
bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.
Moreover, Josiah removed all the shrines
of the high places that were in the towns of
Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger; he did to them just
as he had done at Bethel. He slaughtered on
the altars all the priests of the high places who
were there, and burned human bones on them.
Then he returned to Jerusalem.
The king commanded all the people,
Keep the passover to the Lord your God
as prescribed in this book of the covenant.
No such passover had been kept since the
days of the judges who judged Israel, even
during all the days of the kings of Israel and
of the kings of Judah; but in the eighteenth
year of King Josiah this passover was kept to
the Lord in Jerusalem.
Moreover Josiah put away the mediums,
wizards, teraphim,c idols, and all the abomi-
nations that were seen in the land of Judah

and in Jerusalem, so that he established the
words of the law that were written in the
book that the priest Hilkiah had found in the
house of the Lord. Before him there was no
king like him, who turned to the Lord with
all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his
might, according to all the law of Moses; nor
did any like him arise after him.
Still the Lord did not turn from the
erceness of his great wrath, by which his
anger was kindled against Judah, because of
all the provocations with which Manasseh
had provoked him. The Lord said, I will
remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have
removed Israel; and I will reject this city that
I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of
which I said, My name shall be there.
Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and
all that he did, are they not written in the
Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?
In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt
went up to the king of Assyria to the river
Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him; but
when Pharaoh Neco met him at Megiddo, he
killed him. His servants carried him dead
in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to
Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb.
The people of the land took Jehoahaz son of
Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in
place of his father.
Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old
when he began to reign; he reigned three
months in Jerusalem. His mothers name was
a Heb Asherah
b Gk: Heb proclaimed, who had predicted these things
c Or household gods
tion of the sanctuary of Bethel puts an end to the sin of Jeroboam (1 Kings 12.2930). 1718: Cf. 1 Kings 13.2,
3031. 2123: In celebrating the Passover according to the stipulations of Deut 16.18, Josiah not only surpasses
Hezekiah in faithfulness to the Lord, but even David himself, for such a Passover had not been observed since
the days of the judges who judged Israel. 2425: This outstanding praise continues in the following verses. Josiah
is the only king who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, a quotation of
Deut 6.45: Josiah was the only one who stood exactly by this law. 2627: But even Josiah cannot stop the
divine punishment, which is here seen as provoked by Manasseh. 2830: The laconic report of Josiahs death at
Megiddo (like Ahaziah in 9.2728) in 609 bce does not really explain why he was killed by Pharaoh Neco (ruled
610595 bce). Either Josiah wanted to prevent Neco from supporting Assyria in its struggle against Babylon, or
he had already become a vassal of the Egyptian king, who considered him to be disloyal.
23.3025.30: The end of Judah. The last four kings are a jarring contrast to Josiah and are all judged with the
same negative formula (23.32,37; 24.9,19), but no details about their religious faults are given. 3033: Jehoahaz,
anointed by the people of the land (see 11.14n.), ruled for three months in 609 bce. He was unacceptable to Neco,
570 | hebrew bible
2 kings 24
Hamath
Riblah
R. Euphrates
Mediterranean
Sea
BABYLONIA
Aram
Ju
da
Mizpah
Babylon
Ammon
Jerusalem
Moab
Edom
EGY P T
0
R.
le
Ni
Red Sea
100
100
200 Miles
200 Kilometers
Chs 2425: Babylon and Judah in the early sixth century bce.
Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. He

did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just
as his ancestors had done. Pharaoh Neco
conned him at Riblah in the land of Hamath,
so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and
imposed tribute on the land of one hundred
talents of silver and a talent of gold. Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in
place of his father Josiah, and changed his
name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz
away; he came to Egypt, and died there. Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to meet
Pharaohs demand for money. He exacted
the silver and the gold from the people of the
land, from all according to their assessment,
to give it to Pharaoh Neco.
Jehoiakim was twenty-ve years old
when he began to reign; he reigned eleven
Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. He
did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just
as all his ancestors had done.
24
In his days King Nebuchadnezzar of

Babylon came up; Jehoiakim became
his servant for three years; then he turned
and rebelled against him. The Lord sent
against him bands of the Chaldeans, bands
of the Arameans, bands of the Moabites,
and bands of the Ammonites; he sent them
against Judah to destroy it, according to the
word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. Surely this came upon
Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove
them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, for all that he had committed, and
also for the innocent blood that he had shed;
for he lled Jerusalem with innocent blood,
and the Lord was not willing to pardon.
Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim, and
all that he did, are they not written in the
Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? So
Jehoiakim slept with his ancestors; then his
son Jehoiachin succeeded him. The king of
Egypt did not come again out of his land, for
the king of Babylon had taken over all that
for a short time Judahs new overlord, who deported him temporarily to Riblah, an important town in northern
Syria, which later became headquarters of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar (25.6). 3435: When making
Eliakim the new king, Neco changes his name to Jehoiakim. 3637: Jehoiakim reigned ca. 608597 bce. 24.1: He
initially submits to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (ruled 605562 bce), who had defeated the Assyrians in
605, but then he rebels. 27: This rebellion provoked even more military pressure from the neighbors of Judah.
34: Sins of Manasseh, see 23.2627. 7: There is no escape from the king of Babylon who controls the Levant
hebrew bible | 571
2 kings 25
belonged to the king of Egypt from the Wadi
of Egypt to the River Euphrates.
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when
he began to reign; he reigned three months in
Jerusalem. His mothers name was Nehushta
daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. He did
what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as
his father had done.
At that time the servants of King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up to
Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city,
while his servants were besieging it; King
Jehoiachin of Judah gave himself up to the
king of Babylon, himself, his mother, his
servants, his ocers, and his palace ocials.
The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the
eighth year of his reign.
He carried o all the treasures of the
house of the Lord, and the treasures of the
kings house; he cut in pieces all the vessels
of gold in the temple of the Lord, which King
Solomon of Israel had made, all this as the
Lord had foretold. He carried away all Jerusalem, all the ocials, all the warriors, ten thousand captives, all the artisans and the smiths;
no one remained, except the poorest people
of the land. He carried away Jehoiachin to
Babylon; the kings mother, the kings wives,
his ocials, and the elite of the land, he took
into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. The
king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all
the men of valor, seven thousand, the artisans
and the smiths, one thousand, all of them
strong and t for war. The king of Babylon
made Mattaniah, Jehoiachins uncle, king in his
place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old

Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. Indeed,
Jerusalem and Judah so angered the Lord
that he expelled them from his presence.
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of
Babylon. And in the ninth year of
his reign, in the tenth month, on the
tenth day of the month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with all his army
against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it; they
built siegeworks against it all around. So
the city was besieged until the eleventh
year of King Zedekiah. On the ninth day
of the fourth month the famine became so
severe in the city that there was no food for
the people of the land. Then a breach was
made in the city wall;a the king with all the
soldiers edb by night by the way of the gate
between the two walls, by the kings garden,
though the Chaldeans were all around
the city. They went in the direction of the
Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans
pursued the king, and overtook him in the
plains of Jericho; all his army was scattered, deserting him. Then they captured
the king and brought him up to the king of
Babylon at Riblah, who passed sentence on
him. They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out the eyes
of Zedekiah; they bound him in fetters and
took him to Babylon.
In the fth month, on the seventh day of
the monthwhich was the nineteenth year
25
a Heb lacks wall

b Gk Compare Jer 39.4; 52.7: Heb lacks the king and
lacks ed
and Mesopotamia (from the Wadi of Egypt to the River Euphrates). 817: Jehoiachin has to pay the price for his
fathers rebellion, a siege of Jerusalem in 597 bce and his and the courts exile to Babylon. 12: Jehoiachins quick
surrender avoids the destruction of Jerusalem. 13: The Temple and the palace treasures are usually the primary
target for booty. 1416: The numbers of the deported population are probably not based on historical records.
Instead of ten thousand, Jer 52.28 has 3,023. 17: The Babylonian king establishes Maaniah, Jehoiachins uncle,
as king and changes his name to Zedekiah. 1820: Zedekiah is the last Judean ruler (597586 bce). His rebellion
provokes the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the Judean kingdom. Chapter 25: Most of ch 25 is also
found, with variations, in Jer 52. 17: The result of Zedekiahs disloyal behavior, most likely an alliance with
Egypt, was another siege of Jerusalem. 45: The king tries to ee with the soldiers (his bodyguard) and is captured in the plains of Jericho. The place of Israels rst victory when conquering the land becomes now a place of
defeat. 67: His breaking of the loyalty oath is sanctioned with harsh punishment. His sons are killed in order
to exterminate the Davidic dynasty. Riblah, see 23.33n. 812: Nebuzaradan, a high Babylonian ocer, whose
572 | hebrew bible
2 kings 25
of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon
Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard,
a servant of the king of Babylon, came to
Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord,
the kings house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.
All the army of the Chaldeans who were
with the captain of the guard broke down the
walls around Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan the
captain of the guard carried into exile the rest
of the people who were left in the city and
the deserters who had defected to the king
of Babylonall the rest of the population.
But the captain of the guard left some of the
poorest people of the land to be vinedressers
and tillers of the soil.
The bronze pillars that were in the
house of the Lord, as well as the stands and
the bronze sea that were in the house of the
Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and
carried the bronze to Babylon. They took
away the pots, the shovels, the snuers, the
dishes for incense, and all the bronze vessels
used in the temple service, as well as the
repans and the basins. What was made of
gold the captain of the guard took away for
the gold, and what was made of silver, for the
silver. As for the two pillars, the one sea,
and the stands, which Solomon had made for
the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these
vessels was beyond weighing. The height of
the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and on it
was a bronze capital; the height of the capital
was three cubits; latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were on the capital all
around. The second pillar had the same, with
the latticework.
The captain of the guard took the chief
priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah,
and the three guardians of the threshold;
from the city he took an ocer who had

been in command of the soldiers, and ve
men of the kings council who were found in
the city; the secretary who was the commander of the army who mustered the people
of the land; and sixty men of the people of
the land who were found in the city. Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them,
and brought them to the king of Babylon at
Riblah. The king of Babylon struck them
down and put them to death at Riblah in the
land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile out
of its land.
He appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam
son of Shaphan as governor over the people
who remained in the land of Judah, whom
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had left.
Now when all the captains of the forces
and their men heard that the king of Babylon
had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they
came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah,
namely, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan
son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the
Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite. Gedaliah swore to them and their
men, saying, Do not be afraid because of the
Chaldean ocials; live in the land, serve the
king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
But in the seventh month, Ishmael son of
Nethaniah son of Elishama, of the royal family,
came with ten men; they struck down Gedaliah so that he died, along with the Judeans
and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
Then all the people, high and low,a and the
captains of the forces set out and went to
Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
In the thirty-seventh year of the exile
of King Jehoiachin of Judah, in the twelfth
a Or young and old
title means literally chief of the butchers, destroys the Temple, the palace, and the city and its walls. He also
organizes a second deportation to Babylon, which does not aect the whole population. 1317: The authors
take great interest in the detailed description of the deported Temple furnishings (see 1 Kings 7.1551). 1821:
Some of the royal ocials are executed at Riblah, probably because they belonged to the anti-Babylonian party.
21: So Judah went into exile out of its land, this was perhaps the original conclusion of the edition of the book
of Kings in the Babylonian period. 2226: The episode of Gedaliahs appointment as a governor and his assassination by the nationalistic party is related in greater detail in Jer 4043. 22: Gedaliah, the grandson of Josiahs
secretary Shaphan (23.12). 23: Mizpah, ca. 7 mi (2 km) north of Jerusalem become the administrative center
during Babylonian occupation. 25: Ishmael, who kills Gedaliah, is said to be member of the royal family. He fails
however to reestablish the Davidic dynasty. 26: The remaining people ed to Egypt. This conclusion seems to
wipe out Israels whole history, which started with the Exodus out of Egypt and now ends with a return to
hebrew bible | 573
2 kings 25
month, on the twenty-seventh day of the
month, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, in
the year that he began to reign, released King
Jehoiachin of Judah from prison; he spoke
kindly to him, and gave him a seat above the
other seats of the kings who were with him
in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put aside his

prison clothes. Every day of his life he dined
regularly in the kings presence. For his
allowance, a regular allowance was given him
by the king, a portion every day, as long as he
lived.
Egypt. 2730: This epilogue relates the rehabilitation of Jehoiachin under the Babylonian king Evil-merodach
(Amel-marduk, 562560 bce), which may be understood as a faint hope for the renewal of the Davidic dynasty.
What happens to Jehoiachin also recalls such heroes of Diaspora narratives as Joseph, Mordecai, and Daniel: all
are exiles who are liberated from prison (see Gen 41.40: Dan 2.48; Esth 10.3) and become part of the court of the
foreign king. The accession to new status is symbolized by the changing of clothes (see Gen 41.24; Dan 5.29;
Esth 6.1011). Jehoiachin could therefore symbolize all the Jews who accepted that their exile had become
Diaspora, a place outside the land of Israel, where they could live their lives.
1 CHRONICLES
Like other books in the Bible, Chronicles was originally untitled. The title given to it by the early rabbis, the
book of the events of the days (seper dibre hayyamim), suggests that the book is a history, addressing past
events in chronological order; the same phrase is used oen in Kings (e.g., 1 Kings 14.19) for one of the sources
of the books of Kings. The name of Chronicles in the ancient Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures, the Septuagint, is Paraleipomena, meaning the things le out; this name suggests that Chronicles records the events
le out of earlier biblical history. These understandings of Chronicles are contested by most modern scholars.
It was the church father Jeromes description of the book as a chronicle, a summary of divine history, that has
proven to be most inuential in the history of modern interpretation.
Like the books of Samuel and Kings, Chronicles was originally one book. It was probably divided by the
Greek translators, perhaps because of its length. The break between the two books, however, comes at a natural point, with the notice of the death of King David at the end of 1 Chronicles, and the account of the reign of
his successor Solomon at the beginning of 2 Chronicles.
In printed Jewish Bibles, Chronicles is the last book in the third and nal division of the canon, the Writings (Ketubim), although in some manuscripts it occurs earlier, either as the rst of the Writings, or before
Ezra-Nehemiah, that is, in chronological order. In Christian Bibles, Chronicles is one of the Historical Books and
follows the books of Kings.

Most likely the anonymous author lived in Jerusalem and had great familiarity with the Temple and its assorted
traditions. Since the book of Ezra begins where Chronicles ends, with the decree of the Persian king Cyrus the
Great that allowed the exiled Jews to return home and rebuild the Temple (538 bce), some scholars have suggested that Chronicles, Ezra, and its continuation in Nehemiah, had a single author or editor. Other scholars
think that the linguistic, thematic, and historiographic dierences between Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah are
too great to posit a common author. In this view, which is followed here, the Chroniclers history, which begins
with the rst person (Adam) and ends with the Babylonian exile in 586 bce and Cyruss summons to the exiled
Jews to return home (2 Chr 36.2123), should be separated from the postexilic history of Ezra-Nehemiah. Although there are signicant similarities between the Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, the dierences outweigh
the similarities, and one individual is unlikely to have wrien all three works. Hence, in the following pages,
the Chronicler designates the author of Chronicles.
The Chronicler wrote aer much of the Hebrew Bible had already been wrien, and he draws extensively upon
this rich literary tradition. The dependence of Chronicles upon Genesis is evident in the genealogies (1 Chr 19); the
dependence upon Samuel is clear in the narration of Sauls demise and Davids reign (1 Chr 1029); and the dependence upon Kings is unmistakable in the narration of Solomon and the Judahite kingdom (2 Chr 136). The Chroniclers
work is also informed by a variety of other biblical texts. Citations from or allusions to the Torah and the books of
Joshua, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Psalms, and Ruth all appear in Chronicles. Scholars generally agree that the Chronicler also had access to sources that did not become part of the Bible, but their nature and extent are disputed.
It is dicult to date Chronicles precisely, beyond noting that it must be postexilic, since it begins with
Cyruss decree. A range of over three hundred and y years, from the late sixth to the mid-second century bce,
has been suggested for its time of composition. A date in the fourth century seems most plausible, because
it would account both for the authors references to other biblical writings and for literary features within
the work that anticipate similar features in Jewish Hellenistic writings. But there are no specic references,
no absolute synchronisms, and no extrabiblical citations that denitively date the book to a given decade or
quarter-century.
structure, contents, and interpretation

Chronicles has three major sections: the genealogies (1 Chr 19), the history of the United Monarchy (1 Chr 10
2 Chr 9), and the history of the Judahite monarchy (2 Chr 1036). The rst section, which forms the introduction
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1 chronicles
to the work, begins with Adam (1 Chr 1), but focuses upon the identity, interrelationships, and location of Israels
many tribes (1 Chr 29). In traditional societies such genealogies explain and justify the place and function of various individuals, people, and institutions. In the case of 1 Chr 18, the Chronicler stresses the ties between Israel
and the land. The very scope and structure of the Chroniclers genealogical system underscore the indivisibility of
Israel. Within this larger structure, Judah, Levi, and Benjamin receive by far the most extensive genealogies. In the
Chroniclers view, these three tribes are critical to preserving Israels distinctive legacy. The list of those Jews who
returned from exile (1 Chr 9) concludes these chapters by highlighting the continuity between earlier Israel and
postexilic Judah (the Persian province of Yehud). In the second section, aer briey addressing and condemning
the reign of Saul (1 Chr 10), the Chronicler devotes most of his aention to the highly successful reigns of David
(1 Chr 1129) and Solomon (2 Chr 19), which clearly represent a high point of the history. The rest of the book
relates the emergence, continuation, and fall of the kingdom of Judah (2 Chr 1036). Because Chronicles begins
with the rst person (Adam) and ends with the aermath of the Babylonian exile (2 Chr 36), it forms a parallel
story of Israels pastalbeit much shorter and laterto the story of Israels past found in Genesis through Kings.
It is no accident that the Chronicler places David and Solomons achievements at the center of Israelite
history. The author thereby underscores the prominence of those Israelite institutions he believed developed,
were consolidated, or were transformed during this periodthe priesthood, descended from Aaron; the Levites in all their responsibilities as singers, teachers, administrators, and ancillaries to the priests; the Davidic
dynasty; and, last but not least, the Temple itself. Having set the establishment of Israels normative political
and religious institutions in the time of David and Solomon, the Chronicler never reneges on their pertinence
to the lives of all Israelites in later centuries.
Following the death of Solomon and the ascension of his son Rehoboam, the ten northern tribes secede
from southern rule (2 Chr 11.117). Whereas the author of Kings follows the course of both the Northern and
the Southern Kingdoms, the Chronicler concentrates on the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, who make
up the Southern Kingdom of Judah (2 Chr 11.56,12,1317,23). In Chronicles the course of the Judahite monarchy is characterized by both defeats and successes. The Chronicler consistently documents the achievements
of Judahs best kingsAbijah (2 Chr 13.221), Asa (2 Chr 14.16; 15.815), Jehoshaphat (2 Chr 17.19; 19.411),
Hezekiah (2 Chr 2931), and Josiah (2 Chr 34.17)to institute reforms, reunite the people, and recover lost
territories. Major regressions occur in the reigns of Ahaz (2 Chr 28), Manasseh (2 Chr 33.111), and the nal
kings of Judah (2 Chr 36.113). In depicting their history, the Chronicler is largely dependent on Kings, but as the
episode concerning Manassehs repentance and restoration (2 Chr 33.1219; cf. 2 Kings 21.116) demonstrates,
he may revise these sources to t his theology, making both major and minor changes, additions, and deletions.
Throughout the work, God sends prophets to warn monarchs, leaders, and people alike about the consequences of their actions, imploring them to repent. Whereas in Kings, prophets are most oen a xture of life
in the Northern Kingdom (e.g., Elijah and Elisha) and are rare in the life of the Southern Kingdom (Isaiah being
a notable exception), in Chronicles prophets and prophetic gures, such as Shemaiah (2 Chr 12.56), Azariah
(2 Chr 15.17), Hanani (2 Chr 16.79), Jehu (2 Chr 19.23) and Zechariah (2 Chr 24.20), appear in the reign of
virtually every signicant southern king. In this way, the Chronicler stresses that Moses promise that the Lord
would create a prophetic succession, paerned aer the prophetic ministry of Moses himself (Deut 18.1522),
was fullled in the history of Judah. In his commentary on the defeat and exile of the Southern Kingdom, the
Chronicler adds that Judah was exiled only aer the Lord sent a steady supply of prophets to stir the people and
priestly leaders to reform, but their warnings went unheeded (2 Chr 36.1416).
Both Kings and Chronicles end by describing the Babylonian invasion and exile in the sixth century bce, but
Chronicles also includes Cyruss decree allowing the exiles to return to Judah (2 Chr 36.2223), oering a clearer
hope for the future than does the conclusion of Kings. In this way Chronicles contains and relativizes the tremendous tragedy of the Babylonian deportations soberly depicted in 2 Kings 2425. Thus Chronicles, with its
positive ending and emphasis on the power of repentance, may be seen as more optimistic than the history of
Samuel-Kings, which it has rewrien. As the beginning of Chronicles introduces the people of Israel and charts
their emergence in the land, the ending of the book anticipates their return.
guide to reading chronicles

If one begins to read Chronicles as one would any other book from beginning to end, one encounters some
formidable challenges. Because the rst nine chapters comprise lists and genealogies, they make for dicult
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1 chronicles 1
reading. In order to keep the overall structure in mind, note how the work starts with a universal genealogy
beginning with the rst person (Adam) and ending with the ancestor of Israel (Jacob) and his twelve sons
(1 Chr 1.12.1). The rest of the genealogies deal with the descendants of Jacobs sons, giving pride of place to
Judah, Levi, and Benjamin, the three tribes that dominated life in postexilic Judah. The rest of the book contains
mostly narratives about the history of the Davidic monarchy. Note also how much space the biblical author
devotes to the united monarchy of David and Solomon (1 Chr 11.12 Chr 9.31), presenting this period as the
apex of Israelite history. Because this material and that dealing with the history of the Judahite kingdom (2 Chr
10.136:23) both draw upon and dier from Samuel-Kings (with many deletions and additions), readers may
nd it helpful not only to read Chronicles on its own terms as a distinct literary work, but also to compare its
presentation of the past with that found in the older writing of Samuel-Kings.
Gary N. Knoppers
Adam, Seth, Enosh; Kenan, Mahalalel,

Jared; Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech;
Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
The descendants of Japheth: Gomer,
Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and
Tiras. The descendants of Gomer: Ashkenaz,
Diphath,a and Togarmah. The descendants of
Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.b
The descendants of Ham: Cush, Egypt,
Put, and Canaan. The descendants of Cush:
Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama, and Sabteca. The
descendants of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
Cush became the father of Nimrod; he was
the rst to be a mighty one on the earth.
Egypt became the father of Ludim,
Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim,
Casluhim, and Caphtorim, from whom the

Philistines come.c
Canaan became the father of Sidon his
rstborn, and Heth, and the Jebusites,
the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites,
the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the
Zemarites, and the Hamathites.
The descendants of Shem: Elam, Asshur,
Arpachshad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and
Meshech.d Arpachshad became the father
a Gen 10.3 Ripath; See Gk Vg
b Gen 10.4 Dodanim; See Syr Vg
c Heb Casluhim, from which the Philistines come,
Caphtorim; See Am 9.7, Jer 47.4
d Mash in Gen 10.23
1.122: From the rst person to Israel: a universal genealogy. Drawing upon numerous lineages in Genesis,
the author traces the development of and interrelationships among a variety of nations, ending with Israel
the focal point of his interest. 14: The ten names represent ten generations, beginning with Adam and ending
with Noah. The Chroniclers tally is a marvel of condensation, having been culled from the much longer and
more detailed narrative lineage of Adam in Gen 5.132. 4: Each of Noahs three sons can be associated with a
relatively large geographic area: Shem (peoples to the east of ancient Israel); Ham (peoples to the south and
southwest); Japheth (peoples to the north and west). Although most modern scholars believe that Canaan
was ethnically and linguistically Semitic, and thus should be descended from Shem, in the Bible Canaan is
descended from Ham, perhaps because of Canaans long political relationship to Egypt.
1.523: Descendants of Noah. These verses are largely drawn from Gen 10.129, the Table of Nations,
which enumerates some seventy descendants of Noahs sons, symbolizing seventy peoples of the world. This
creates both a genealogical tree and map by which all the worlds nations are related to each other through a
common ancestor, Noah. See map on p. 23. 57: The sons of Japheth represent Anatolia (e.g., Togarmah, Tubal,
Meshech), including Greek selements (Javan) and islands in the Mediterranean Sea, such as Elishah (Cyprus),
Kiim (Caphtor and other isles), and Rodanim (Rhodes). 5: Hams children represent peoples and areas in the
Egyptian political sphere: Cush to the south of Egypt (Sudan or Ethiopia), Egypt, Put to the west (Libya), and
Canaan to the north. 1116: These lists of Egypts and Canaans descendants closely follow Gen 10.1318. 11:
Philistines, see Jer 47.4; Am 9.7. 1315: The sons of Canaan inhabit Sidon (the Phoenician coast) and include
the traditional inhabitants of the land of Canaan (Heth [the Hiites] and those in v. 14), and those of coastal
(Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites) and inland (Hamathites) Syria. 17: Located in Mesopotamia (Elam, Asshur,
Arpachshad ), Asia Minor (Lud and Meshech), Syria (Aram); others cannot be identied. 1718: Although in v. 8
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1 chronicles 1
of Shelah; and Shelah became the father
of Eber. To Eber were born two sons: the
name of the one was Peleg (for in his days
the earth was divided), and the name of his
brother Joktan. Joktan became the father
of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,
Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Ebal, Abimael,
Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these
were the descendants of Joktan.
Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah; Eber,
Peleg, Reu; Serug, Nahor, Terah; Abram,
that is, Abraham.
The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.
These are their genealogies: the rstborn
of Ishmael, Nebaioth; and Kedar, Adbeel,
Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
These are the sons of Ishmael. The sons
of Keturah, Abrahams concubine: she bore
Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak,
and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and
Dedan. The sons of Midian: Ephah, Epher,
Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were
the descendants of Keturah.
Abraham became the father of Isaac.
The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel. The sons
of Esau: Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and
Korah. The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar,
Zephi, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek.
The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.
The sons of Seir: Lotan, Shobal,
Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.
The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam; and
Lotans sister was Timna. The sons of
Shobal: Alian, Manahath, Ebal, Shephi, and
Onam. The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah.

The sons of Anah: Dishon. The sons
of Dishon: Hamran, Eshban, Ithran, and
Cheran. The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan,
and Jaakan.a The sons of Dishan:b Uz and
Aran.
These are the kings who reigned in the
land of Edom before any king reigned over
the Israelites: Bela son of Beor, whose city
was called Dinhabah. When Bela died,
Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrah succeeded
him. When Jobab died, Husham of the
land of the Temanites succeeded him.
When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad,
who defeated Midian in the country of
Moab, succeeded him; and the name of his
city was Avith. When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah succeeded him. When
Samlah died, Shaulc of Rehoboth on the
Euphrates succeeded him. When Shaulc
died, Baal-hanan son of Achbor succeeded
him. When Baal-hanan died, Hadad succeeded him; the name of his city was Pai,
and his wifes name Mehetabel daughter
of Matred, daughter of Me-zahab. And
Hadad died.
The clansd of Edom were: clansd Timna,
Aliah,e Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,
Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and
Iram; these are the clansd of Edom.
a
b
c
d
e
Or and Akan; See Gen 36.27

See 1.38: Heb Dishon
Or Saul
Or chiefs
Or Alvah; See Gen 36.40
Canaan is descended from Ham, Eber, aer whom the Hebrews (gentilic ibri) are named, is a descendant of
Shem, indicating Israelite feelings of kinship to the Semitic peoples of the east. 19: The earth was divided, the
Hebrew puns on Pelegs name, which is derived from a verb meaning to divide, split. 20: Joktans descendants
inhabit the Arabian peninsula.
1.2427: Shems genealogy is extracted from Gen 11.1026. 27: Abram, this begins the second major unit in
the Chroniclers universal genealogy; the rst was dominated by the descendants of Noah (1 Chr 1.4b23). 28:
For Isaac and Ishmael, the Chronicler fashions a very brief genealogy from narrative materials in Genesis (16.11;
17.1819; 25.9); their mothers, Sarah and Hagar, are not mentioned. Ishmael is associated with the northern part
of the Sinai peninsula and northwestern Arabia (Gen 16.1012; 17.20; 21.13), as are the descendants of Keturah
(vv. 3233). 2931: Drawn from the Ishmaelite genealogy in Gen 25.1218. 3233: In the source text (Gen 25.113),
Keturah appears as Abrahams second wife, taken sometime aer the death of Sarah (Gen 25.13). The Chroniclers reference to her as a concubine may be based on his reading of Gen 25.12 in light of Gen 25.56. 3437:
The genealogy of Sarah and Abraham draws upon Gen 25.1926 and Gen 36.214. The Chronicler always refers
to Jacob as Israel (see Gen 32.2232). 3842: The sons of Seir, abridged and adapted from Gen 36.2028. 4354:
The lists of Edomite monarchs (1.4351a) and Edomite chieains (1.51b54) are adapted and slightly abridged
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1 chronicles 2
These are the sons of Israel: Reuben,

Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,
Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and
Asher. The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, and
Shelah; these three the Canaanite woman
Bath-shua bore to him. Now Er, Judahs
rstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord,
and he put him to death. His daughter-inlaw Tamar also bore him Perez and Zerah.
Judah had ve sons in all.
The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman,
Calcol, and Dara,a ve in all. The sons of
Carmi: Achar, the troubler of Israel, who
transgressed in the matter of the devoted
thing; and Ethans son was Azariah.
The sons of Hezron, who were born to
him: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai. Ram
became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
prince of the sons of Judah. Nahshon
became the father of Salma, Salma of Boaz,
Boaz of Obed, Obed of Jesse. Jesse became
the father of Eliab his rstborn, Abinadab
the second, Shimea the third, Nethanel the
fourth, Raddai the fth, Ozem the sixth,
David the seventh; and their sisters were
Zeruiah and Abigail. The sons of Zeruiah:
Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, three. Abigail
bore Amasa, and the father of Amasa was
Jether the Ishmaelite.
Caleb son of Hezron had children

by his wife Azubah, and by Jerioth; these
were her sons: Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. When Azubah died, Caleb married
Ephrath, who bore him Hur. Hur became
the father of Uri, and Uri became the father
of Bezalel.
Afterward Hezron went in to the
daughter of Machir father of Gilead, whom
he married when he was sixty years old; and
she bore him Segub; and Segub became the
father of Jair, who had twenty-three towns
in the land of Gilead. But Geshur and Aram
took from them Havvoth-jair, Kenath and its
villages, sixty towns. All these were descendants of Machir, father of Gilead. After the
death of Hezron, in Caleb-ephrathah, Abijah
wife of Hezron bore him Ashhur, father of
Tekoa.
The sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn
of Hezron: Ram his firstborn, Bunah, Oren,
Ozem, and Ahijah. Jerahmeel also had
another wife, whose name was Atarah;
she was the mother of Onam. The sons
of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel: Maaz,
Jamin, and Eker. The sons of Onam:
Shammai and Jada. The sons of Shammai: Nadab and Abishur. The name of
a Or Darda; Compare Syr Tg some Gk Mss; See
1 Kings 4.31
from Gen 36.3139 and Gen 36.4043, respectively. The Chronicler presents the history of Edom, Israels neighbor to the southeast, in capsule form up to the time of the inception of the Israelite monarchy, the beginning of
his own narrative history (ch 10). 2.12: This list of Israels descendants is the natural continuation of the progeny of Abraham (1.2833) and Isaac (1.3437) and serves as the introduction to the lineages of Israels many sons,
which follows in 2.39.1. The order of the sons is largely arranged according to motherLeah (Reuben, Simeon,
Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun); Rachel (Joseph, Benjamin); Bilhah (Dan, Naphtali); and Zilpah (Gad, Asher).
2.34.23: The descendants of Judah. The Chronicler rst oers a long genealogy of Judah, demonstrating Judahs importance to the Chroniclers History. 2.4: Daughter-in-law, an allusion to the sexual relationship
between Judah and Tamar (Gen 38.1226). Having earlier referred to the Canaanite status of Bath-shua (v. 3; cf.
Gen 38.15), the Chronicler presents another unusual feature of Judahs lineage, which did not disqualify it from
preeminence. 68: Drawn from two sources: Josh 7.1 (2.6a,7) and 1 Kings 5.11 (2.6b). 7: Achar, called Achan in
Josh 7, but cf. Josh 7.2425. 10: Amminadab, as the father of Nahshon, see Num 2.3. 11: Taken from Ruth 4.2021.
1317: The lineages of Jesses sons and daughters have been drawn, in part, from 1 Sam 16.123; 17.151; 2 Sam
2.18. 1820: The descendants of Caleb are a major interest of the Chronicler, taking up a sizable portion of Judahs lineages (2.1820,4250a,50b55; 4.17). This may be because some earlier sources suggest that he was a
Kenizzite (e.g., Num 32.12), and thus not part of Israel (the Chronicler is correcting this tradition). 21: Machir is
sometimes associated with Manasseh, most oen as Manassehs son (Gen 50.23; Num 32.3940; Deut 3.1415;
cf. Judg 5.14). The connection with Manasseh is armed in 7.1417. 2223: The subject shis back to Hezron,
last mentioned in v. 9. 22: Jair is a son of Manasseh in Num 32.41 and Deut 3.14, but he appears here as the
grandson of Hezron. 24: Father of Tekoa, Tekoa in earlier books is the name of a Judean city, but in genealogies,
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1 chronicles 3
Abishurs wife was Abihail, and she bore
him Ahban and Molid. The sons of Nadab:
Seled and Appaim; and Seled died childless.
The sona of Appaim: Ishi. The sona of Ishi:
Sheshan. The sona of Sheshan: Ahlai. The
sons of Jada, Shammais brother: Jether
and Jonathan; and Jether died childless.
The sons of Jonathan: Peleth and Zaza.
These were the descendants of Jerahmeel.
Now Sheshan had no sons, only daughters; but Sheshan had an Egyptian slave,
whose name was Jarha. So Sheshan gave
his daughter in marriage to his slave Jarha;
and she bore him Attai. Attai became the
father of Nathan, and Nathan of Zabad.
Zabad became the father of Ephlal, and
Ephlal of Obed. Obed became the father
of Jehu, and Jehu of Azariah. Azariah
became the father of Helez, and Helez of
Eleasah. Eleasah became the father of
Sismai, and Sismai of Shallum. Shallum
became the father of Jekamiah, and Jekamiah of Elishama.
The sons of Caleb brother of Jerahmeel: Meshab his firstborn, who was father
of Ziph. The sons of Mareshah father of
Hebron. The sons of Hebron: Korah,
Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. Shema
became father of Raham, father of Jorkeam;
and Rekem became the father of Shammai.
The son of Shammai: Maon; and Maon
was the father of Beth-zur. Ephah also,
Calebs concubine, bore Haran, Moza, and
Gazez; and Haran became the father of
Gazez. The sons of Jahdai: Regem, Jotham,
Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph. Maacah, Calebs concubine, bore Sheber and
Tirhanah. She also bore Shaaph father of
Madmannah, Sheva father of Machbenah
and father of Gibea; and the daughter of
Caleb was Achsah. These were the descendants of Caleb.

The sonsc of Hur the rstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal father of Kiriath-jearim, Salma
father of Bethlehem, and Hareph father of
Beth-gader. Shobal father of Kiriath-jearim
had other sons: Haroeh, half of the Menuhoth. And the families of Kiriath-jearim:
the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites,
and the Mishraites; from these came the
Zorathites and the Eshtaolites. The sons
of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites,
Atroth-beth-joab, and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites. The families also of
the scribes that lived at Jabez: the Tirathites,
the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. These
are the Kenites who came from Hammath,
father of the house of Rechab.
These are the sons of David who were
born to him in Hebron: the rstborn Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelite; the second
Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelite; the third
Absalom, son of Maacah, daughter of King
Talmai of Geshur; the fourth Adonijah, son
of Haggith; the fth Shephatiah, by Abital;
the sixth Ithream, by his wife Eglah; six were
born to him in Hebron, where he reigned for
seven years and six months. And he reigned
thirty-three years in Jerusalem. These were
born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab,
Nathan, and Solomon, four by Bath-shua,
daughter of Ammiel; then Ibhar, Elishama,
Eliphelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. All these
were Davids sons, besides the sons of the
concubines; and Tamar was their sister.
a Heb sons
b Gk reads Mareshah
c Gk Vg: Heb son
ethnic and geographic dimensions of names can overlap. 2541: Both the genealogy of Jerahmeel (vv. 2533),
the rst-born of Hezron (vv. 9,25) and the genealogy of Sheshan (vv. 3441) are unique to Chronicles. 4250:
The second of the genealogies for Calebs descendants (see vv. 1820n.). Many of the names listed also occur
in the Judahite town list of Josh 15. 50b55: Largely without parallel, this genealogy reverts to the line of Hur (v.
19). Each of Hurs three sons is depicted as a founder (lit. father) of a town. The Kenites (Num 24.2022; Judg
4.11,1721; 5.2427; 1 Sam 15.6; 30.29) ultimately descend from their eponymous ancestor, Cain (Gen 4.125).
3.124: The descendants of David. 19: Some names of Davids sons, and their order, are dierent in the
present text of 2 Samuel. 13: These verses are based on 2 Sam 3.24. Davids lineage follows naturally 2.917,
which enumerates the descendants of Ram, including David and the children of Davids two sisters Zeruiah
and Abigail. 4: This verse draws upon and reworks 2 Sam 5.5. Consistent with Davids rule over all Israel in chs
1129, the writer avoids the distinction between Israel and Judah found in his source. 59: These verses are
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1 chronicles 4
The descendants of Solomon: Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat
his son, Joram his son, Ahaziah his son,
Joash his son, Amaziah his son, Azariah
his son, Jotham his son, Ahaz his son,
Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, Amon
his son, Josiah his son. The sons of Josiah:
Johanan the rstborn, the second Jehoiakim,
the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. The
descendants of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son,
Zedekiah his son; and the sons of Jeconiah,
the captive: Shealtiel his son, Malchiram,
Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and
Nedabiah; The sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei; and the sons of Zerubbabel:
Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith
was their sister; and Hashubah, Ohel,
Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed, ve.
The sons of Hananiah: Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, his sona Rephaiah, his sona Arnan, his
sona Obadiah, his sona Shecaniah. The sonb
of Shecaniah: Shemaiah. And the sons of
Shemaiah: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and
Shaphat, six. The sons of Neariah: Elioenai,
Hizkiah, and Azrikam, three. The sons of
Elioenai: Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub,
Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani, seven.
The sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron,
Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. Reaiah son
of Shobal became the father of Jahath,
and Jahath became the father of Ahumai
and Lahad. These were the families of the
Zorathites. These were the sonsc of Etam:
Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of
their sister was Hazzelelponi, and Penuel
was the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father
of Hushah. These were the sons of Hur,
the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of
Bethlehem. Ashhur father of Tekoa had
two wives, Helah and Naarah; Naarah

bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and
Haahashtari.d These were the sons of Naarah. The sons of Helah: Zereth, Izhar,e and
Ethnan. Koz became the father of Anub,
Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel son
of Harum. Jabez was honored more than
his brothers; and his mother named him
Jabez, saying, Because I bore him in pain.
Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying,
Oh that you would bless me and enlarge
my border, and that your hand might be
with me, and that you would keep me from
hurt and harm! And God granted what
he asked. Chelub the brother of Shuhah
became the father of Mehir, who was the
father of Eshton. Eshton became the
father of Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah
the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men
of Recah. The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and
Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath
and Meonothai.f Meonothai became the
father of Ophrah; and Seraiah became the
father of Joab father of Ge-harashim,g socalled because they were artisans. The
sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah,
and Naam; and the sonb of Elah: Kenaz.
The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria,
and Asarel. The sons of Ezrah: Jether,
Mered, Epher, and Jalon. These are the sons
of Bithiah, daughter of Pharaoh, whom
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Gk Compare Syr Vg: Heb sons of

Heb sons
Gk Compare Vg: Heb the father
Or Ahashtari
Another reading is Zohar
Gk Vg: Heb lacks and Meonothai
That is Valley of artisans
largely dependent upon 2 Sam 5.1316. 1014: A een-generation genealogy from Solomon to Josiah, noting
only the Davidic king in each generation. 1518: A largely unparalleled genealogy from Josiah to Pedaiah. The
second half of ch 3 gives special aention to Josiah and his various ospring. 18: Shenazzar, some identify him
with Sheshbazzar of Ezra 1.8, who led a group of early returnees from exile. 1924: The list of Davidic descendants from Pedaiah to the sons of Elioenai is unique to the Chronicler and likely reects aspirations for a renewed
Davidic monarchy in the postexilic period. 19: Zerubbabel was a leader of the postexilic Judean community in
the late sixth century bce; see Ezra 3.2; Hag 1.1. 22: Haush returned from exile in Babylon (Ezra 8.2).
4.123: Descendants of Judah. The sons of Judah, in contrast to the largely linear genealogy of David (ch 3),
this chapter describes several unconnected branches of Judeans. It also narrates several short anecdotes about
individual Judeans (e.g., vv. 910,23). As in other genealogies, names of individuals here occur as place names
elsewhere. 1: The sequence Perez . . . Shobal signies a line of descent; these persons are not brothers. 4b7:
Return to the genealogy of Caleb; see 2.1820n. 910: There is a wordplay in Hebrew: yabets (Jabez), otseb
hebrew bible | 581
1 chronicles 5
Mered married;a and she conceived and
boreb Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah father of
Eshtemoa. And his Judean wife bore Jered
father of Gedor, Heber father of Soco, and
Jekuthiel father of Zanoah. The sons of the
wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the
fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa
the Maacathite. The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. The sons
of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben-zoheth. The sons
of Shelah son of Judah: Er father of Lecah,
Laadah father of Mareshah, and the families
of the guild of linen workers at Beth-ashbea;
and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and
Joash, and Saraph, who married into Moab
but returned to Lehemc (now the recordsd are
ancient). These were the potters and inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah; they lived
there with the king in his service.
The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib,
Zerah, Shaul;e Shallum was his son, Mibsam
his son, Mishma his son. The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei
his son. Shimei had sixteen sons and six
daughters; but his brothers did not have many
children, nor did all their family multiply
like the Judeans. They lived in Beer-sheba,
Moladah, Hazar-shual, Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,
Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth,
Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These
were their towns until David became king.
And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon,
Tochen, and Ashan, ve towns, along with
all their villages that were around these towns
as far as Baal. These were their settlements.
And they kept a genealogical record.
Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of

Amaziah, Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah son
of Seraiah son of Asiel, Elioenai, Jaakobah,
Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah,
Ziza son of Shiphi son of Allon son of
Jedaiah son of Shimri son of Shemaiah
these mentioned by name were leaders
in their families, and their clans increased
greatly. They journeyed to the entrance of
Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek
pasture for their ocks, where they found
rich, good pasture, and the land was very
broad, quiet, and peaceful; for the former
inhabitants there belonged to Ham. These,
registered by name, came in the days of King
Hezekiah of Judah, and attacked their tents
and the Meunim who were found there, and
exterminated them to this day, and settled
in their place, because there was pasture
there for their ocks. And some of them,
ve hundred men of the Simeonites, went to
Mount Seir, having as their leaders Pelatiah,
Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, sons of Ishi;
they destroyed the remnant of the Amalekites that had escaped, and they have lived
there to this day.
The sons of Reuben the rstborn of Israel. (He was the rstborn, but because
he deled his fathers bed his birthright was
a The clause: These are . . . married is transposed

b
c
d
e
from verse 18
Heb lacks and bore
Vg Compare Gk: Heb and Jashubi-lahem
Or matters
Or Saul
(pain), and otsbi (harm). 21: In referring to Shelah, the text returns to the original sons of Judah (2.34). 22:
Married into Moab, the Chronicler again posits some close links between Judah and its neighbors. Possible links
may be hinted at in Ezra 2.6; 8.4; 10.30. Intermarriage with Moabites in the postexilic period is also aested
(Ezra 9.1; Neh 13.23; Ruth), but in contrast to Chronicles, in Ezra and Nehemiah such marriages are banned.
4.2443: The descendants of Simeon. Here too, the Chronicler punctuates his genealogical prologue with
anecdotes about geography, migrations, and wars (vv. 2733,3843). The genealogy of Simeon immediately follows that of its neighbor, Judah. 2427: The lineage of Simeon is traced through his son Shaul. The names listed
in v. 24 (Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul) are derived from Gen 46.10; Ex 6.15; and esp. Num 26.1214.
The rest of the genealogy (vv. 2627) is unique to the Chronicler. 2833: Taken, with some changes, from Josh
19.28. 3343: A list of Simeonite leaders (v. 38) is followed by a description of the expansion of the tribe demographically and geographically. The ruthlessness displayed by the Simeonites recalls the intemperate behavior
of their eponymous ancestor (Gen 34.2529; 49.57). 41: Hezekiah, see 2 Chr 2932.
5.110: The descendants of Reuben. Reuben was rstborn (Gen 29.3130.21; 35.2326; 46.89; Ex 1.2; 6.14;
Num 26.5; Ezek 48.3135), but he does not appear rst in the Chroniclers genealogies. 1: Joseph, rstborn of
Rachel, rather than Reuben, rstborn of Leah, aained to the birthright because Reuben had sexual relations
582 | hebrew bible
1 chronicles 5
given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel,
so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy
according to the birthright; though Judah
became prominent among his brothers and
a ruler came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph.) The sons of Reuben, the
rstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron,
and Carmi. The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his
son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, Micah his
son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, Beerah
his son, whom King Tilgath-pilneser of Assyria carried away into exile; he was a chieftain of the Reubenites. And his kindred by
their families, when the genealogy of their
generations was reckoned: the chief, Jeiel,
and Zechariah, and Bela son of Azaz, son
of Shema, son of Joel, who lived in Aroer, as
far as Nebo and Baal-meon. He also lived to
the east as far as the beginning of the desert
this side of the Euphrates, because their
cattle had multiplied in the land of Gilead.
And in the days of Saul they made war on
the Hagrites, who fell by their hand; and
they lived in their tents throughout all the
region east of Gilead.
The sons of Gad lived beside them in
the land of Bashan as far as Salecah: Joel
the chief, Shapham the second, Janai, and
Shaphat in Bashan. And their kindred
according to their clans: Michael, Meshul-
lam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber, seven.

These were the sons of Abihail son of Huri,
son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael,
son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz;
Ahi son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was chief
in their clan; and they lived in Gilead,
in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the
pasture lands of Sharon to their limits. All
of these were enrolled by genealogies in the
days of King Jotham of Judah, and in the days
of King Jeroboam of Israel.
The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the
half-tribe of Manasseh had valiant warriors,
who carried shield and sword, and drew
the bow, expert in war, forty-four thousand
seven hundred sixty, ready for service. They
made war on the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish,
and Nodab; and when they received help
against them, the Hagrites and all who were
with them were given into their hands,
for they cried to God in the battle, and he
granted their entreaty because they trusted
in him. They captured their livestock: fty
thousand of their camels, two hundred fty
thousand sheep, two thousand donkeys, and
one hundred thousand captives. Many fell
slain, because the war was of God. And they
lived in their territory until the exile.
The members of the half-tribe of
Manasseh lived in the land; they were very
with Jacobs concubine Bilhah (Gen 35.22; 49.4). 2: A ruler came from him, the writer alludes to Davids kingship,
which eventually encompassed all twelve tribes (28.4; 1 Sam 13.14; 25.30; Mic 5.2). 3: The Chronicler derives this
list from Num 26.56. Carmi is one of the Reubenite clans with possible ties to Judah (Gen 46.9; Ex 6.14; Num
26.6; Josh 7.1,18,24,26; 1 Chr 2.7; 4.1). 6: In contrast to Kings, which largely loses its concentration upon individual tribes in its coverage of the dual monarchies, the Chroniclers history maintains a continuous interest in
the fate of individual tribes. Tilgath-pilneser, the Chroniclers spelling (5.26; 2 Chr 28.20) of Tiglath-pileser (III),
King of Assyria (745727 bce); cf. 2 Kings 15.29. 9: In this case, Gilead refers to the territory east of the Jordan,
which is south of the Jabbok and north of the Arnon. There is some overlap with Gads territorial holdings in
Josh 13. 10: The days of Saul, who was the rst king of Israel, in the late eleventh century bce.
5.1117: The descendants of Gad. Like the Reubenites, the Gadites were located east of the Jordan River. 16:
Rather than signifying a pasture land, Heb migrash means the belt of land or open space outside a town or a
sanctuary. Sharon refers here not to the (coastal) Sharon plain, the common designation of Sharon in the Bible,
but to the town of Sharon in Transjordan, a place also mentioned in the Moabite Mesha inscription (line 13). 17:
King Jotham of Judah (759743 bce) and King Jeroboam (II) of Israel (788747 bce).
5.1822: The wars of the Transjordan tribes. In some traditions (Num 32.142; Deut 3.1216; 29.67; Josh
13.831) and once elsewhere in Chronicles (1 Chr 12.38), Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh are treated as a larger
entity. These two and a half tribes join forces, share a common muster, partake in the spoils gained by ghting a
collective enemy, and experience a common fate (vv. 22,2526). The number forty-four thousand seven hundred
sixty (v. 18) is notable for its specicity, not for its magnitude.
5.2324: The descendants of Half-Manasseh. This part of the tribe of Manasseh was located east of the
Jordan River, to the north of Gad.
hebrew bible | 583
1 chronicles 6
numerous from Bashan to Baal-hermon,
Senir, and Mount Hermon. These were the
heads of their clans: Epher,a Ishi, Eliel, Azriel,
Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty
warriors, famous men, heads of their clans.
But they transgressed against the God of
their ancestors, and prostituted themselves
to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom
God had destroyed before them. So the God
of Israel stirred up the spirit of King Pul of Assyria, the spirit of King Tilgath-pilneser of Assyria, and he carried them away, namely, the
Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe
of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah,
Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan, to this day.
b The sons of Levi: Gershom,c Kohath,
and Merari. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The children
of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The
sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and
Ithamar. Eleazar became the father of
Phinehas, Phinehas of Abishua, Abishua
of Bukki, Bukki of Uzzi, Uzzi of Zerahiah,
Zerahiah of Meraioth, Meraioth of Amariah,
Amariah of Ahitub, Ahitub of Zadok, Zadok
of Ahimaaz, Ahimaaz of Azariah, Azariah
of Johanan, and Johanan of Azariah (it
was he who served as priest in the house
that Solomon built in Jerusalem). Azariah
became the father of Amariah, Amariah of
Ahitub, Ahitub of Zadok, Zadok of Shallum, Shallum of Hilkiah, Hilkiah of Azariah,
Azariah of Seraiah, Seraiah of Jehozadak;
and Jehozadak went into exile when the

Lord sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by
the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
d The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and
Merari. These are the names of the sons of
Gershom: Libni and Shimei. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The
sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the
clans of the Levites according to their ancestry.
Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son,
Zimmah his son, Joah his son, Iddo his son,
Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son. The sons of
Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son,
Assir his son, Tahath his son, Uriel his son,
Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. The sons of
Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth, Elkanah his
son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, Eliab his
son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. The
sons of Samuel: Joele his rstborn, the second
Abijah.f The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his
son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, Shimea
his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.
These are the men whom David put in
charge of the service of song in the house
a
b
c
d
e
f
Gk Vg: Heb and Epher

Ch 5.27 in Heb
Heb Gershon, variant of Gershom; See 6.16
Ch 6.1 in Heb
Gk Syr Compare verse 33 and 1Sam 8.2: Heb lacks Joel
Heb reads Vashni, and Abijah for the second Abijah,
taking the second as a proper name
5.2526: The exile of the Transjordanian tribes. The campaigns of 733732 bce by Tilgath-pilneser III (also
known as Pul ), were primarily directed against King Rezin of Damascus, but also resulted in the capture of
Gilead and Galilee (2 Kings 15.29). The list of sites in v. 26 is borrowed, however, from 2 Kings 17.6 (parallel
2 Kings 18.11), which details the destinations of the later Samarian deportees in the Assyrian exile of 722 bce.
6.181: The descendants of Levi take center stage in the genealogies of Chronicles. For the Chronicler, the
Levites are second in importance only to the Judeans, so their genealogy is especially long and detailed. As with
other tribes, aention is paid to issues of identity and location: who the Levites are (vv. 153) and where they
live (vv. 5481). 115: A priestly line is traced from Levi in the ancestral period (cf. Gen 46.11; Ex 6.1625; Num
3.1720) all the way to Jehozadak (v. 15), who was taken to Babylon in the exile of 586 bce. 8: Scholars debate the
origin of Davids main priest Zadok with some suggesting that he was originally Canaanite; this genealogy in
Chronicles is the rst source to explicitly connect him to the line of Aaron and Levi. Twelve generations of priests
precede Zadok and twelve generations of priests succeed him, hence the era of Zadok, which coincides with
the construction of the Temple, marks the halfway point between the ancestral era and the exile. 10: Azariah, cf.
1 Kings 4.2. 14: Seraiah, see 2 Kings 25.18. 1648: Lineages for three major groups within the Levitesthe Gershonites, the Kohathites, and the Merarites (vv. 1630)preface lineages of levitical singers from the same three
groups (vv. 3148). Levitical choirs are an intrinsic component of the Chroniclers system of worship, appearing
some thirty times in his history. The genealogies thus are not purely antiquarian, but in places justify the institutions of postexilic Judah. 28: Samuel, cf. 1 Sam 1.1; 8.2. 3132: Referring back to the three levitical clans, the writer
584 | hebrew bible
LI
TA
A S
H E
R
Kedesh
33
NA
PH
Abdon
MANASSEH
Rehob
Ashtaroth
Rimmon
Mediterranean
Sea
ZEBULUN
Golan
Hammath-dor
Daberath
BASHAN
ISSACHAR
Ramoth-gilead?
Jordan River
AS
HE
R
MANASSEH
Shechem
GILEAD
G A D
Mahanaim
32
Gath-rimmon
D
A
Jazer
EPHRAIM
Beth-horon
Geba
BENJAMIN
Aijalon
Anathoth
Gezer
Heshbon
Bezer?
Beth-shemesh
R E U B E N
Libnah
Hebron
Kedemoth?
J U D A H
Debir
Dead
Sea
Eshtemoa
Jair
Ashan
S I M E O N
31
0
0
35
10
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
36
The Levitical towns. Cities of refuge are highlighted with a star. The tribal boundaries are shown by a dashed line.
hebrew bible | 585
1 chronicles 6
of the Lord, after the ark came to rest
there. They ministered with song before
the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, until
Solomon had built the house of the Lord
in Jerusalem; and they performed their
service in due order. These are the men
who served; and their sons were: Of the
Kohathites: Heman, the singer, son of Joel,
son of Samuel, son of Elkanah, son of
Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, son of
Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of
Amasai, son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of
Azariah, son of Zephaniah, son of Tahath,
son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah,
son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi,
son of Israel; and his brother Asaph, who
stood on his right, namely, Asaph son of
Berechiah, son of Shimea, son of Michael,
son of Baaseiah, son of Malchijah, son of
Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, son
of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei,
son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi.
On the left were their kindred the sons
of Merari: Ethan son of Kishi, son of Abdi,
son of Malluch, son of Hashabiah, son of
Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, son of Amzi, son
of Bani, son of Shemer, son of Mahli, son of
Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi; and their
kindred the Levites were appointed for all the
service of the tabernacle of the house of God.
But Aaron and his sons made oerings
on the altar of burnt oering and on the altar
of incense, doing all the work of the most
holy place, to make atonement for Israel,
according to all that Moses the servant of

God had commanded. These are the sons
of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son,
Abishua his son, Bukki his son, Uzzi his
son, Zerahiah his son, Meraioth his son,
Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, Zadok his
son, Ahimaaz his son.
These are their dwelling places according to their settlements within their
borders: to the sons of Aaron of the families
of Kohathitesfor the lot fell to them rst
to them they gave Hebron in the land of
Judah and its surrounding pasture lands,
but the elds of the city and its villages
they gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh. To the
sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge:
Hebron, Libnah with its pasture lands, Jattir,
Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, Hilena
with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture
lands, Ashan with its pasture lands, and
Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands. From
the tribe of Benjamin, Geba with its pasture
lands, Alemeth with its pasture lands, and
Anathoth with its pasture lands. All their
towns throughout their families were thirteen.
To the rest of the Kohathites were given
by lot out of the family of the tribe, out of the
half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten towns.
To the Gershomites according to their
families were allotted thirteen towns out of
the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and
a Other readings Hilez, Holon; See Josh 21.15
summarizes the duties of the Gershonites, Kohathites, and Merarites adopted during the United Monarchy of
David and Solomon, the time in which the Temple was built. Three specic descendantsAsaph from Gershon
(vv. 3943), Heman from Kohath (vv. 3338), and Ethan from Merari (vv. 4447)took on ocial roles in the
state religion. 33: Heman, Asaph (v. 39), and Ethan (v. 42) represent three classes or guilds of singers. Because
Davids reign is denitive for the levitical singers, the patronyms Asaph, Heman, and Ethan serve as organizing
principles for them (2 Chr 5.12; 29.14; 35.15). 44: Ethan represents the Merarites (6.18,29; 15.17), but in many other
instances Jeduthun serves this role (16.41; 25.1,3,6; 2 Chr 5.12; 29.14; 35.15). 4953: The Aaronic priests ociate
within the sanctuary and make oerings (23.3032; Ex 3842; 30.110; Lev 8.19.24; 18.820; Ezek 44.13). 49:
The most holy place (lit. holy of holies) is the exclusive domain of the priests (Ex 26.3334; Num 18.15; Ezek
44.1516; 2 Chr 5.11; 29.7). Other members of the tribe of Levi may serve as Temple sta, but the priests alone
ociate at the inner sanctuary. To make atonement for Israel refers to the Day of Atonement ritual of Lev 16. This
festival, mentioned only in Priestly sources in the Torah, probably became especially signicant during the time
of the Chronicler. 5481: The list of levitical towns is drawn from an earlier version of Josh 21.342. 5560: The
location of Aaronide selements is limited to the traditional domains of three tribes: Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. On pasture lands, see 5.16n. 57: The creation of cities of refuge or asylum was demanded in Deuteronomic
(Deut 4.4143; 19.113) and Priestly law (Num 35.615,2528,32). Most, if not all, of the towns designated for
asylum (Josh 20.78) doubled as levitical selements.
586 | hebrew bible
1 chronicles 7
Manasseh in Bashan. To the Merarites according to their families were allotted twelve
towns out of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and
Zebulun. So the people of Israel gave the
Levites the towns with their pasture lands.
They also gave them by lot out of the tribes
of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin these towns
that are mentioned by name.
And some of the families of the sons of
Kohath had towns of their territory out of the
tribe of Ephraim. They were given the cities
of refuge: Shechem with its pasture lands in
the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its
pasture lands, Jokmeam with its pasture
lands, Beth-horon with its pasture lands,
Aijalon with its pasture lands, Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; and out of the
half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its pasture
lands, and Bileam with its pasture lands, for
the rest of the families of the Kohathites.
To the Gershomites: out of the halftribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its
pasture lands and Ashtaroth with its pasture
lands; and out of the tribe of Issachar:
Kedesh with its pasture lands, Daberatha
with its pasture lands, Ramoth with its
pasture lands, and Anem with its pasture
lands; out of the tribe of Asher: Mashal
with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture
lands, Hukok with its pasture lands, and
Rehob with its pasture lands; and out of
the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with
its pasture lands, Hammon with its pasture
lands, and Kiriathaim with its pasture lands.
To the rest of the Merarites out of the tribe
of Zebulun: Rimmono with its pasture lands,
Tabor with its pasture lands, and across
the Jordan from Jericho, on the east side of
the Jordan, out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer
in the steppe with its pasture lands, Jahzah
with its pasture lands, Kedemoth with its
pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture
lands; and out of the tribe of Gad: Ramoth
in Gilead with its pasture lands, Mahanaim
with its pasture lands, Heshbon with its

pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture
lands.
The sonsb of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub,
and Shimron, four. The sons of Tola:
Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and
Shemuel, heads of their ancestral houses,
namely of Tola, mighty warriors of their generations, their number in the days of David
being twenty-two thousand six hundred.
The sonc of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of
Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah,
ve, all of them chiefs; and along with
them, by their generations, according to their
ancestral houses, were units of the ghting
force, thirty-six thousand, for they had many
wives and sons. Their kindred belonging to
all the families of Issachar were in all eightyseven thousand mighty warriors, enrolled by
genealogy.
The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and
Jediael, three. The sons of Bela: Ezbon,
Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of
ancestral houses, mighty warriors; and their
enrollment by genealogies was twenty-two
thousand thirty-four. The sons of Becher:
Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri,
Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth.
All these were the sons of Becher; and
their enrollment by genealogies, according to their generations, as heads of their
ancestral houses, mighty warriors, was
twenty thousand two hundred. The sons
of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan:
Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan,
Tarshish, and Ahishahar. All these were
the sons of Jediael according to the heads
of their ancestral houses, mighty warriors,
seventeen thousand two hundred, ready for
service in war. And Shuppim and Hup-
a Or Dobrath
b Syr Compare Vg: Heb And to the sons
c Heb sons
7.15: The descendants of Issachar. Issachars progeny are traced through his eldest son Tola (Gen 46.13;
Num 26.2325; Judg 5.15). As in some other genealogies (4.4243; 5.710,1822; 7.912,40), large numbers,
growth, and military prowess are stressed.
7.612: The descendants of Benjamin. A genealogy of Zebulun may be missing here (Gen 46.1727; Num
26.2350), as another genealogy of Benjamin is found in 8.140. 12: Some commentators emend sons of Ir to
sons of Dan on the supposition that this verse contains a fragment of the apparently missing genealogy of
Dan (Gen 46.13; Num 26.42; Judg 5.17).
hebrew bible | 587
1 chronicles 8
pim were the sons of Ir, Hushim the sona of
Aher.
The descendants of Naphtali: Jahziel,
Guni, Jezer, and Shallum, the descendants of
Bilhah.
The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his
Aramean concubine bore; she bore Machir
the father of Gilead. And Machir took a wife
for Huppim and for Shuppim. The name of
his sister was Maacah. And the name of the
second was Zelophehad; and Zelophehad had
daughters. Maacah the wife of Machir bore
a son, and she named him Peresh; the name
of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were
Ulam and Rekem. The sona of Ulam: Bedan.
These were the sons of Gilead son of Machir,
son of Manasseh. And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem,
Likhi, and Aniam.
The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son,
Tahath his son, Zabad his son, Shuthelah
his son, and Ezer and Elead. Now the people
of Gath, who were born in the land, killed
them, because they came down to raid their
cattle. And their father Ephraim mourned
many days, and his brothers came to comfort
him. Ephraimb went in to his wife, and she
conceived and bore a son; and he named
him Beriah, because disasterc had befallen
his house. His daughter was Sheerah, who
built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon,
and Uzzen-sheerah. Rephah was his son,
Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his
son, Ladan his son, Ammihud his son,
Elishama his son, Nund his son, Joshua his
son. Their possessions and settlements

were Bethel and its towns, and eastward
Naaran, and westward Gezer and its towns,
Shechem and its towns, as far as Ayyah and
its towns; also along the borders of the
Manassites, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns,
Dor and its towns. In these lived the sons of
Joseph son of Israel.
The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi,
Beriah, and their sister Serah. The sons of
Beriah: Heber and Malchiel, who was the
father of Birzaith. Heber became the father
of Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister
Shua. The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal,
and Ashvath. These are the sons of Japhlet.
The sons of Shemer: Ahi, Rohgah, Hubbah,
and Aram. The sons of Heleme his brother:
Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. The
sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual,
Beri, Imrah, Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah,
Ithran, and Beera. The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. The sons of Ulla:
Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. All of these were
men of Asher, heads of ancestral houses,
select mighty warriors, chief of the princes.
Their number enrolled by genealogies, for
service in war, was twenty-six thousand men.
Benjamin became the father of Bela his
rstborn, Ashbel the second, Aharah the
third, Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fth.
8
a
b
c
d
e
Heb sons
Heb He
Heb beraah
Here spelled Non; see Ex 33.11
Or Hotham; see 7.32
7.13: The descendants of Naphtali. As in Gen 46.2325, Bilhah is the mother of Naphtali (where she is also
the mother of Dan).
7.1419: The descendants of Manasseh (cf. Num 26.2934). For the progeny of Manasseh east of the Jordan,
see 5.2324. 15: On the daughters of Zelophehad, see Num 27.111; 36.112; Josh 17.3.
7.2029: The descendants of Ephraim. Tradition (Gen 48.822; Deut 33.17) posits a close relationship between the two sons of JosephManasseh and Ephraim. This is why the Chronicler treats them sequentially and
considers their selements (vv. 2829; cf. Josh 1618) together. 2124: In depicting Ephraim, his wife, and his
sons living in the land, this short tale conicts with Genesis (chs 4150; cf. Ex 12.40) in which Ephraim is born in
Egypt and never enters the land. Here too the Chronicler emphasizes Israels long-term connection to the land.
27: Joshua, the hero of the book of Joshua; see Josh 1.1; 24.2930.
7.3040: The descendants of Asher. The genealogy may be compared with Gen 46.17 and Num 26.4447,
but much of its information is unparalleled elsewhere in the Bible.
8.19.1: The descendants of Benjamin. Another genealogy, fuller than that in 7.612. Along with Judah and
Levi, Benjamin receives substantial aention from the Chronicler. The great coverage these three tribes receive
588 | hebrew bible
1 chronicles 9
And Bela had sons: Addar, Gera, Abihud,a
Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram. These are the sons of
Ehud (they were heads of ancestral houses
of the inhabitants of Geba, and they were
carried into exile to Manahath): Naaman,b
Ahijah, and Gera, that is, Heglam,c who
became the father of Uzza and Ahihud. And
Shaharaim had sons in the country of Moab
after he had sent away his wives Hushim
and Baara. He had sons by his wife Hodesh:
Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, Jeuz, Sachia,
and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads
of ancestral houses. He also had sons by
Hushim: Abitub and Elpaal. The sons of
Elpaal: Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built
Ono and Lod with its towns, and Beriah
and Shema (they were heads of ancestral
houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who
put to ight the inhabitants of Gath); and
Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth. Zebadiah,
Arad, Eder, Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were
sons of Beriah. Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki,
Heber, Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the
sons of Elpaal. Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, Adaiah, Beraiah, and
Shimrath were the sons of Shimei. Ishpan,
Eber, Eliel, Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, Iphdeiah, and
Penuel were the sons of Shashak. Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, Jaareshiah, Elijah,
and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. These
were the heads of ancestral houses, according to their generations, chiefs. These lived in
Jerusalem.
Jeield the father of Gibeon lived in
Gibeon, and the name of his wife was Maacah. His rstborn son: Abdon, then Zur,
Kish, Baal,e Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zecher,
and Mikloth, who became the father of

Shimeah. Now these also lived opposite their
kindred in Jerusalem, with their kindred.
Ner became the father of Kish, Kish of
Saul,f Saulf of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal; and the son of Jonathan
was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal became the
father of Micah. The sons of Micah: Pithon,
Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. Ahaz became the
father of Jehoaddah; and Jehoaddah became
the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri;
Zimri became the father of Moza. Moza
became the father of Binea; Raphah was his
son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. Azel had
six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam,
Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and
Hanan; all these were the sons of Azel. The
sons of his brother Eshek: Ulam his rstborn,
Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third.
The sons of Ulam were mighty warriors,
archers, having many children and grandchildren, one hundred fty. All these were
Benjaminites.
So all Israel was enrolled by genealogies;
and these are written in the Book of the
Kings of Israel. And Judah was taken into
exile in Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. Now the rst to live again in their
possessions in their towns were Israelites,
priests, Levites, and temple servants.
And some of the people of Judah,
Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh lived in
a
b
c
d
e
f
Or father of Ehud; see 8.6

Heb and Naaman
Or he carried them into exile
Compare 9.35: Heb lacks Jeiel
Gk Ms adds Ner ; Compare 8.33 and 9.36
Or Shaul
reects both the authors interests and circumstances in postexilic Judah, into which sections of Benjamin were
incorporated. The authors interest in Benjamin is also reected in the narrative portions of the Chroniclers
work (2 Chr 11.1,3,12,23). 8.3340: Sauls genealogy is followed for eleven generations (cf. 10.114). 3334: Eshbaal and Merib-baal are probably earlier forms of Ishbosheth (2 Sam 2.8) and Mephibosheth (2 Sam 4.4). 9.1:
The reference to genealogical registrations concludes the Chroniclers introductions to Israels twelve tribes,
begun in 2.12. In the Chroniclers theology, the exile marks an important dividing line between monarchic Israel and Judah in the Persian period. Unfaithfulness is a Priestly term. Its use here, as the cause for exile, reects
the signicance of Priestly material to this author. The same term is also used in 1 Chr 10.13 (the death of Saul)
and 2 Chr 36.14 (the exile of Judah).
9.234: The genealogies of Jerusalem families in postexilic Judah. This rst section of this passage (vv.
218) is partially paralleled in Neh 11.319. By mentioning these families, ocials, and their interrelationships,
the author establishes links between the Israel of old (outlined in chs 28) and the Jerusalem community of
hebrew bible | 589
1 chronicles 9
Jerusalem: Uthai son of Ammihud, son of
Omri, son of Imri, son of Bani, from the sons
of Perez son of Judah. And of the Shilonites:
Asaiah the rstborn, and his sons. Of the
sons of Zerah: Jeuel and their kin, six hundred ninety. Of the Benjaminites: Sallu son
of Meshullam, son of Hodaviah, son of Hassenuah, Ibneiah son of Jeroham, Elah son
of Uzzi, son of Michri, and Meshullam son
of Shephatiah, son of Reuel, son of Ibnijah;
and their kindred according to their generations, nine hundred fty-six. All these were
heads of families according to their ancestral
houses.
Of the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin,
and Azariah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of
Ahitub, the chief ocer of the house of God;
and Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pashhur,
son of Malchijah, and Maasai son of Adiel,
son of Jahzerah, son of Meshullam, son of
Meshillemith, son of Immer; besides their
kindred, heads of their ancestral houses, one
thousand seven hundred sixty, qualied for
the work of the service of the house of God.
Of the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, of
the sons of Merari; and Bakbakkar, Heresh,
Galal, and Mattaniah son of Mica, son of
Zichri, son of Asaph; and Obadiah son of
Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun, and
Berechiah son of Asa, son of Elkanah, who
lived in the villages of the Netophathites.
The gatekeepers were: Shallum, Akkub,
Talmon, Ahiman; and their kindred Shallum was the chief, stationed previously in
the kings gate on the east side. These were
the gatekeepers of the camp of the Levites.
Shallum son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son
of Korah, and his kindred of his ancestral
house, the Korahites, were in charge of the
work of the service, guardians of the thresholds of the tent, as their ancestors had been
in charge of the camp of the Lord, guard-
ians of the entrance. And Phinehas son of

Eleazar was chief over them in former times;
the Lord was with him. Zechariah son of
Meshelemiah was gatekeeper at the entrance
of the tent of meeting. All these, who were
chosen as gatekeepers at the thresholds, were
two hundred twelve. They were enrolled by
genealogies in their villages. David and the
seer Samuel established them in their oce
of trust. So they and their descendants
were in charge of the gates of the house of the
Lord, that is, the house of the tent, as guards.
The gatekeepers were on the four sides,
east, west, north, and south; and their kindred who were in their villages were obliged
to come in every seven days, in turn, to be
with them; for the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were in charge of the
chambers and the treasures of the house of
God. And they would spend the night near
the house of God; for on them lay the duty of
watching, and they had charge of opening it
every morning.
Some of them had charge of the utensils
of service, for they were required to count
them when they were brought in and taken
out. Others of them were appointed over
the furniture, and over all the holy utensils,
also over the choice our, the wine, the oil,
the incense, and the spices. Others, of the
sons of the priests, prepared the mixing of
the spices, and Mattithiah, one of the Levites, the rstborn of Shallum the Korahite,
was in charge of making the at cakes. Also
some of their kindred of the Kohathites had
charge of the rows of bread, to prepare them
for each sabbath.
Now these are the singers, the heads
of ancestral houses of the Levites, living in
the chambers of the temple free from other
service, for they were on duty day and night.
These were heads of ancestral houses of
the Levites, according to their generations;
these leaders lived in Jerusalem.
his own time. 3: The detail of people of Ephraim and Manasseh living in Jerusalem is not found in Nehemiah,
and reects the Chroniclers interest in all of Israel. 1011: The list of priests should be read in light of the preexilic succession of priests found in 6.115. 1734: The list of levitical gatekeepers and singers, as well as the
description of their duties, is unparalleled in the list of Neh 11. The passage illustrates the Chroniclers interest
in continuity by insisting that the arrangements David (and here Samuel, v. 22) made on their behalf (chs 1517;
26) were followed when the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon. The gatekeepers perform multiple functions:
not only guard duty, but also administration and even baking. 20: Phinehas, cf. Num 25.1113. 32: Rows of bread,
590 | hebrew bible
1 chronicles 10
In Gibeon lived the father of Gibeon,
Jeiel, and the name of his wife was Maacah.
His rstborn son was Abdon, then Zur,
Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth; and Mikloth became the
father of Shimeam; and these also lived opposite their kindred in Jerusalem, with their
kindred. Ner became the father of Kish,
Kish of Saul, Saul of Jonathan, Malchishua,
Abinadab, and Esh-baal; and the son of
Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal
became the father of Micah. The sons of
Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz;a
and Ahaz became the father of Jarah, and
Jarah of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and
Zimri became the father of Moza. Moza became the father of Binea; and Rephaiah was
his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. Azel
had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah,
and Hanan; these were the sons of Azel.
Now the Philistines fought against
Israel; and the men of Israel ed
before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount
Gilboa. The Philistines overtook Saul and
his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan
and Abinadab and Malchishua, sons of Saul.
The battle pressed hard on Saul; and the
archers found him, and he was wounded by
the archers. Then Saul said to his armorbearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me
through with it, so that these uncircumcised
may not come and make sport of me. But
his armor-bearer was unwilling, for he was
terried. So Saul took his own sword and fell
10
on it. When his armor-bearer saw that Saul

was dead, he also fell on his sword and died.
Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all
his house died together. When all the men
of Israel who were in the valley saw that the
armyb had ed and that Saul and his sons
were dead, they abandoned their towns and
ed; and the Philistines came and occupied
them.
The next day when the Philistines came
to strip the dead, they found Saul and his
sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They stripped
him and took his head and his armor, and
sent messengers throughout the land of the
Philistines to carry the good news to their
idols and to the people. They put his armor
in the temple of their gods, and fastened
his head in the temple of Dagon. But when
all Jabesh-gilead heard everything that the
Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant
warriors got up and took away the body of
Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought
them to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones
under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven
days.
So Saul died for his unfaithfulness; he
was unfaithful to the Lord in that he did not
keep the command of the Lord; moreover,
he had consulted a medium, seeking guidance, and did not seek guidance from the
Lord. Therefore the Lordc put him to death
a Compare 8.35: Heb lacks and Ahaz
b Heb they
c Heb he
cf. Lev 24.59. 3544: A transition, repeating the genealogy of Saul from 8.2938 to introduce the rst king of
the United Monarchy (10.114).
10.114: The demise of Saul. Verses 112 are parallel to 1 Sam 31.113. Of the many incidents in Sauls career,
the Chronicler presents only the lastthe story of Sauls death, assuming that the reader is generally familiar
with the earlier part of the story from 1 Samuel. The evaluation of Sauls reignthe Chroniclers own addition
plays on both the Heb roots ml (to be unfaithful, disobedient; see 1.9) and drs (to seek out, consult),
which are key terms in Chronicles. Saul dies because of his indelity, even consulting a necromancer (1 Sam
28.3,725). Consultation with mediums to obtain contact with the dead is forbidden in legal texts (Lev 19.31;
20.6,27; Deut 18.11) and condemned in at least one prophetic text (Isa 8.1819). This addition typies the work of
the Chronicler, who oen searches his sources to nd a clear theological cause for national disaster. 45: Uncircumcised, unlike most of their contemporaries in the Near East, the Philistines did not practice circumcision. Fell
on his sword, suicide is infrequent, but not condemned, in the Bible; see 2 Sam 17.23; 1 Kings 16.18; and, in the New
Testament, Mt 27.5. 6: All his house died, a generalization, ignoring the continuing genealogy of Saul (cf. 8.3340;
9.3544). 10: Dagon, a Canaanite god of grain, adopted by the Philistines as one of their principal deities. 1112:
Jabesh-gilead, in 1 Sam 11, Saul is acclaimed king aer his rescue of this city east of the Jordan from Ammonite
oppression. 14: As elsewhere in Chronicles, the choice of kings belongs to God (e.g., 28.25; 29.1012).
hebrew bible | 591
Lebo-hamath
Beth-horon
Gezer
Gibeon
Gath?
Gilgal
Geba
Jerusalem
Bethlehem
ZOBAIT
ARAM (SYRIA)
Tekoa
Damascus
MAACAH
Hebron
Tyre
Abel-beth-maacah
Dan
GESHUR
Mediterranean
Sea
I S R A E L
Succoth
Mahanaim
Hill Country
of Ephraim
Joppa
IS
IL
J U D A H
PH
Gaza
Jerusalem
TI
Ashdod
Ashkelon
Rabbah
Ziklag
M O A B
Beer-sheba
Valley of Salt
AMALEK
EDOM
25
50
75 Miles
40
80
120 Kilometers
The kingdom of David according to Firsth Chronicles. The dashed line shows the approximate boundary
of the kingdom at its greatest extent.
592 | hebrew bible
1 chronicles 11
and turned the kingdom over to David son of
Jesse.
Then all Israel gathered together to
David at Hebron and said, See, we are
your bone and esh. For some time now,
even while Saul was king, it was you who
commanded the army of Israel. The Lord
your God said to you: It is you who shall be
shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall
be ruler over my people Israel. So all the
elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron,
and David made a covenant with them at
Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed
David king over Israel, according to the word
of the Lord by Samuel.
David and all Israel marched to Jerusalem, that is Jebus, where the Jebusites
were, the inhabitants of the land. The
inhabitants of Jebus said to David, You
will not come in here. Nevertheless David
took the stronghold of Zion, now the city of
David. David had said, Whoever attacks
the Jebusites rst shall be chief and commander. And Joab son of Zeruiah went up
rst, so he became chief. David resided in
the stronghold; therefore it was called the
city of David. He built the city all around,
from the Millo in complete circuit; and Joab
repaired the rest of the city. And David
became greater and greater, for the Lord of
hosts was with him.
Now these are the chiefs of Davids
warriors, who gave him strong support in his
11
kingdom, together with all Israel, to make

him king, according to the word of the Lord
concerning Israel. This is an account of
Davids mighty warriors: Jashobeam, son
of Hachmoni,a was chief of the Three;b he
wielded his spear against three hundred
whom he killed at one time.
And next to him among the three warriors was Eleazar son of Dodo, the Ahohite.
He was with David at Pas-dammim when
the Philistines were gathered there for battle.
There was a plot of ground full of barley.
Now the people had ed from the Philistines,
but he and David took their stand in the
middle of the plot, defended it, and killed
the Philistines; and the Lord saved them by a
great victory.
Three of the thirty chiefs went down
to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam,
while the army of Philistines was encamped
in the valley of Rephaim. David was then
in the stronghold; and the garrison of the
Philistines was then at Bethlehem. David
said longingly, Othat someone would give
me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem
that is by the gate! Then the Three broke
through the camp of the Philistines, and
drew water from the well of Bethlehem that
was by the gate, and they brought it to David.
a Or a Hachmonite
b Compare 2Sam 23.8: Heb Thirty or captains
11.147: The impressive beginnings of Davids reign. David does not seek out the kingship; the Israelites
gathered together to David to make him king (v. 1). Pan-Israelite assemblies are regular occurrences in Chronicles (13.2; 2 Chr 15.9; 20.4; 23.2; 24.5; 25.5; 32.4,6). In this case, the consequences are clear. David immediately becomes king over all of Israels tribes. In 2 Samuel David rst becomes king over two tribes and only
aer considerable struggle becomes king over the northern tribes as well (2 Sam 25), but this information,
which casts doubt on the greatness of David, is omied by the Chronicler. 49: David, leading all Israel (v. 4;
cf. 2 Sam 5.6), captures Jerusalem as his rst public act upon being made king. Such reorganizing of chronology typies the Chronicler. By situating the capture of Jerusalem (borrowed from 2 Sam 5.610) at this
point in the narrative, the author underscores the primacy of Jerusalem. 6: Joab became the head of the army
(see 18.15); his role in the capture of Jerusalem is not reported in 2 Sam 5 (cf. v. 8, another mention of Joab
not in 2 Sam). 8: Davids building projects consisted essentially of a palace and fortications in Jerusalem.
The Chronicler aributes more building activity to David than do the authors of 2 Samuel (2 Sam 5.9,11; 7.2;
1 Chr 17.1; 2 Chr 2.2). Millo, probably ll for articial terraces. 1047: The list of the chiefs of Davids warriors
largely follows an appendix to 2 Samuel (23.839). It is moved here, early in Davids reign, to illustrate the
consolidation of Davids kingship. Israels call to David to serve as king is followed by a visible demonstration of military support from various commanders, together with all Israel (v. 10). Lile is otherwise known
about these heroes. 18: He poured it out to the Lord as a libation (1 Sam 7.6; Jer 44.1618); such water libations
became especially important in the later Second Temple period, especially in connection with the festival of
hebrew bible | 593
1 chronicles 12
But David would not drink of it; he poured it
out to the Lord, and said, My God forbid
that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of
these men? For at the risk of their lives they
brought it. Therefore he would not drink it.
The three warriors did these things.
Now Abishai,a the brother of Joab, was
chief of the Thirty.b With his spear he fought
against three hundred and killed them, and
won a name beside the Three. He was the
most renownedc of the Thirty,b and became
their commander; but he did not attain to the
Three.
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant
mand of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he
struck down two sons ofe Ariel of Moab. He
also went down and killed a lion in a pit on a
day when snow had fallen. And he killed an
Egyptian, a man of great stature, ve cubits
tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear like
a weavers beam; but Benaiah went against
him with a sta, snatched the spear out of
the Egyptians hand, and killed him with his
own spear. Such were the things Benaiah
son of Jehoiada did, and he won a name beside the three warriors. He was renowned
among the Thirty, but he did not attain to the
Three. And David put him in charge of his
bodyguard.
The warriors of the armies were Asahel brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo of
Bethlehem, Shammoth of Harod,f Helez the
Pelonite, Ira son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer
of Anathoth, Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai
the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah, Heled
son of Baanah of Netophah, Ithai son of
Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjaminites, Benaiah
of Pirathon, Hurai of the wadis of Gaash,
Abiel the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Baharum,
Eliahba of Shaalbon, Hashemg the Gizonite,
Jonathan son of Shagee the Hararite, Ahiam
son of Sachar the Hararite, Eliphal son of
Ur, Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the
Pelonite, Hezro of Carmel, Naarai son of
Ezbai, Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar
son of Hagri, Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai

of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab son of
Zeruiah, Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,
Uriah the Hittite, Zabad son of Ahlai, Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite, a leader of the
Reubenites, and thirty with him, Hanan
son of Maacah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite,
Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel
sons of Hotham the Aroerite, Jediael son of
Shimri, and his brother Joha the Tizite, Eliel
the Mahavite, and Jeribai and Joshaviah sons
of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, Eliel,
and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.
The following are those who came to
David at Ziklag, while he could not
move about freely because of Saul son of
Kish; they were among the mighty warriors
who helped him in war. They were archers,
and could shoot arrows and sling stones with
either the right hand or the left; they were
Benjaminites, Sauls kindred. The chief was
Ahiezer, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah of
Gibeah; also Jeziel and Pelet sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu of Anathoth, Ishmaiah of Gibeon, a warrior among the Thirty
and a leader over the Thirty; Jeremiah,h Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah, Eluzai,i
Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the
Haruphite; Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer,
and Jashobeam, the Korahites; and Joelah
and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham of Gedor.
From the Gadites there went over to
David at the stronghold in the wilderness
12
a Gk Vg Tg Compare 2Sam 23.18: Heb Abshai

b Syr: Heb Three
c Compare 2Sam 23.19: Heb more renowned among
the two
Syr: Heb the son of a valiant man
See 2Sam 23.20: Heb lacks sons of
Compare 2Sam 23.25: Heb the Harorite
Compare Gk and 2Sam 23.32: Heb the sons of
Hashem
h Heb verse 5
i Heb verse 6
d
e
f
g
booths (Sukkot). 41a: Uriah, the only reference in Chronicles to the man known in 2 Sam 1112 as the husband
of Bathsheba before David. 41b47: These verses are unparalleled in 2 Sam 23.839.
12.140: Davids national prestige and power grow. Warriors from Benjamin (vv. 18), Gad (vv. 916), Benjamin and Judah (vv. 1719), and Manasseh (vv. 2023) rally to David, consolidating his rule. This is set during
an early stage of Davids career (v. 1), suggesting that the Benjaminites defected to David while Saul was still
alive (cf. 2 Sam 2.1232). This material has few parallels in 2 Samuel, and scholars debate whether it is based on
594 | hebrew bible
1 chronicles 12
mighty and experienced warriors, expert with
shield and spear, whose faces were like the
faces of lions, and who were swift as gazelles
on the mountains: Ezer the chief, Obadiah
second, Eliab third, Mishmannah fourth,
Jeremiah fth, Attai sixth, Eliel seventh,
Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, Jeremiah
tenth, Machbannai eleventh. These Gadites
were ocers of the army, the least equal to
a hundred and the greatest to a thousand.
These are the men who crossed the Jordan
in the rst month, when it was overowing
all its banks, and put to ight all those in the
valleys, to the east and to the west.
Some Benjaminites and Judahites came
to the stronghold to David. David went out
to meet them and said to them, If you have
come to me in friendship, to help me, then
my heart will be knit to you; but if you have
come to betray me to my adversaries, though
my hands have done no wrong, then may the
God of our ancestors see and give judgment.
Then the spirit came upon Amasai, chief of
the Thirty, and he said,
We are yours, ODavid;
and with you, Oson of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
and peace to the one who helps you!
For your God is the one who helps you.
Then David received them, and made them
ocers of his troops.
Some of the Manassites deserted to
David when he came with the Philistines
for the battle against Saul. (Yet he did not
help them, for the rulers of the Philistines
took counsel and sent him away, saying, He

will desert to his master Saul at the cost of
our heads.) As he went to Ziklag these
Manassites deserted to him: Adnah, Jozabad,
Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai,
chiefs of the thousands in Manasseh. They
helped David against the band of raiders,a
for they were all warriors and commanders
in the army. Indeed from day to day people
kept coming to David to help him, until there
was a great army, like an army of God.
These are the numbers of the divisions
of the armed troops who came to David in
Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to
him, according to the word of the Lord. The
people of Judah bearing shield and spear
numbered six thousand eight hundred armed
troops. Of the Simeonites, mighty warriors,
seven thousand one hundred. Of the Levites four thousand six hundred. Jehoiada,
leader of the house of Aaron, and with him
three thousand seven hundred. Zadok, a
young warrior, and twenty-two commanders from his own ancestral house. Of the
Benjaminites, the kindred of Saul, three
thousand, of whom the majority had continued to keep their allegiance to the house of
Saul. Of the Ephraimites, twenty thousand
eight hundred, mighty warriors, notables in
their ancestral houses. Of the half-tribe of
Manasseh, eighteen thousand, who were expressly named to come and make David king.
Of Issachar, those who had understanding
of the times, to know what Israel ought to
do, two hundred chiefs, and all their kindred
a Or as ocers of his troops
other sources or is an imaginative composition of the Chronicler. 1: Ziklag, see 1 Sam 27.6; 30. 2: Cf. Judg 20.16.
8: Like . . . lions, cf. Deut 33.20. 15: The rst month, in the spring. 18: The spirit came upon, lit. a spirit clothed; cf.
Judg 6.34; 2 Chr 24.20. The acclamation of Amasai, peace, peace to you, contrasts with the anti-David sentiment
sometimes found in 2 Samuel (e.g., 2 Sam 20.1). Because of the divine support for David, those who support
David may also be blessed. The language is reminiscent of the blessing bestowed on Abram (Gen 12.3) except
that there is no curse. 1920: The bale against Saul, this is the bale referred to in ch 10. The Chronicler here
summarizes 1 Sam 29.130.1. 22: An army (lit. camp) of God, either expressing the superlative (i.e., a very
great army), or referring to the heavenly armies (e.g., see Deut 33.2; Josh 5.14). 23: In Hebron, see 11.1. 2339a:
The beginning of v. 23, these are the numbers, introduces a long stylized list (vv. 2538) of Davids armed forces.
The tribal muster, totaling thirteen, is the most complete tally of the Israelite tribes in the Bible. The active allegiance shown by Israelite military ocials to David accords with divine will and results in a smooth transfer
of power (10.14; 11.3,10). The heroic portrayal of intertribal solidarity (v. 38) contrasts with the tribal disorganization and civil strife found in Judges. 28: Zadok, a young warrior, probably to be identied as the priest who
served with Abiathar at the court of David (15.11; 2 Sam 8.17) and who subsequently enjoyed Solomons exclu-
hebrew bible | 595
1 chronicles 13
under their command. Of Zebulun, fty
thousand seasoned troops, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help Davida
with singleness of purpose. Of Naphtali,
a thousand commanders, with whom there
were thirty-seven thousand armed with
shield and spear. Of the Danites, twentyeight thousand six hundred equipped for
battle. Of Asher, forty thousand seasoned
troops ready for battle. Of the Reubenites
and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh
from beyond the Jordan, one hundred twenty
thousand armed with all the weapons of war.
All these, warriors arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with full intent to make
David king over all Israel; likewise all the rest
of Israel were of a single mind to make David
king. They were there with David for three
days, eating and drinking, for their kindred
had provided for them. And also their
neighbors, from as far away as Issachar and
Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food
on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxenabundant provisions of meal, cakes of gs, clusters
of raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep, for
there was joy in Israel.
David consulted with the commanders
of the thousands and of the hundreds,
with every leader. David said to the whole
assembly of Israel, If it seems good to you,
and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us
send abroad to our kindred who remain in all
the land of Israel, including the priests and
Levites in the cities that have pasture lands,
that they may come together to us. Then let
13
us bring again the ark of our God to us; for we

did not turn to it in the days of Saul. The
whole assembly agreed to do so, for the thing
pleased all the people.
So David assembled all Israel from the
Shihor of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the
ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. And David
and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to
Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to
bring up from there the ark of God, the Lord,
who is enthroned on the cherubim, which
is called by hisb name. They carried the
ark of God on a new cart, from the house of
Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahioc were driving
the cart. David and all Israel were dancing
before God with all their might, with song
and lyres and harps and tambourines and
cymbals and trumpets.
When they came to the threshing oor of
Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to hold the
ark, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the
Lord was kindled against Uzzah; he struck
him down because he put out his hand to the
ark; and he died there before God. David
was angry because the Lord had burst out
against Uzzah; so that place is called Perezuzzahd to this day. David was afraid of God
that day; he said, How can I bring the ark of
God into my care? So David did not take
the ark into his care into the city of David; he
a
b
c
d
Gk: Heb lacks David

Heb lacks his
Or and his brother
That is Bursting Out Against Uzzah
sive patronage following Solomons purge of Abiathar (1 Kings 2.35; cf. 29.22). 3940: Elaborate feasts, like the
one celebrated by David and representatives from the various Israelite tribes, punctuate high points in Israelite
and Judean history (15.2516.3; 29.2022; 2 Chr 7.810; 20.2728; 29.3036; 30.2127) and also play a crucial role
in Esther, also from the Persian period. This nationwide celebration concludes the initial phase of Davids reign.
13.114: David and the ark, Part 1. Having been rmly and unanimously established as king, David leads
all Israel in the aempt to retrieve a national symbol of Israels religion and bring it to the new capital. 2: The
Chroniclers Levites live at various sites within Israels tribal territories (6.5481). Because this priestly tribe is
an essential component of Israel and Israels most sacred symbol to Jerusalem must be transferred properly to
Jerusalem, the Chronicler adds to his source participation of the priests and Levites, along with an emphasis
on all Israel. 3: No reference is made to the capture of the ark by the Philistines (cf. 1 Sam 4.117.1); here its
neglect is implicitly another example of Sauls unfaithfulness (see 10.1314). 5: From the Shihor of Egypt (probably the easternmost branch of the Nile) to Lebo-hamath (in Syria), the northern and southern limits of Israel
(cf. 2 Chr 7.8). 614: This material is largely drawn from 2 Sam 6.211. 6: The ark, a portable box, was a unifying
religious symbol in the premonarchic period (Josh 3.117; 4.118; 1 Sam 4.17.1). According to Ex 25.1021; 37.19,
its construction was ordained by God and implemented by Moses. Enthroned on the cherubim, see 1 Sam 4.4n.
11: Burst out, see note d. 13: The city of David refers to Mount Zion, the section of Jerusalem fortied by David
596 | hebrew bible
1 chronicles 15
took it instead to the house of Obed-edom
the Gittite. The ark of God remained with
the household of Obed-edom in his house
three months, and the Lord blessed the
household of Obed-edom and all that he had.
King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers
to David, along with cedar logs, and
masons and carpenters to build a house for
him. David then perceived that the Lord had
established him as king over Israel, and that
his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake
of his people Israel.
David took more wives in Jerusalem,
and David became the father of more sons
and daughters. These are the names of the
children whom he had in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, and Nathan; Solomon, Ibhar,
Elishua, and Elpelet; Nogah, Nepheg, and
Japhia; Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.
When the Philistines heard that David
had been anointed king over all Israel, all the
Philistines went up in search of David; and
David heard of it and went out against them.
Now the Philistines had come and made
a raid in the valley of Rephaim. David inquired of God, Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?
The Lord said to him, Go up, and I will give
them into your hand. So he went up to
14
Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there.

David said, God has burst outa against my
enemies by my hand, like a bursting ood.
Therefore that place is called Baal-perazim.b
They abandoned their gods there, and at
Davids command they were burned.
Once again the Philistines made a raid
in the valley. When David again inquired
of God, God said to him, You shall not go
up after them; go around and come on them
opposite the balsam trees. When you hear
the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle; for God has
gone out before you to strike down the army
of the Philistines. David did as God had
commanded him, and they struck down the
Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. The
fame of David went out into all lands, and the
Lord brought the fear of him on all nations.
Davidc built houses for himself in the
city of David, and he prepared a place
for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
Then David commanded that no one but
the Levites were to carry the ark of God, for
the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark
15
a Heb paraz
b That is Lord of Bursting Out
c Heb He
and renamed in his honor (11.7). In Chronicles Obed-edom is a Levite, who functions as a gatekeeper (15.18,24)
and a musician (15.21; 16.5; 26.48). 14: The blessing on Obed-edoms house hints that the setback suered by
David is only temporary.
14.17: Davids success in Jerusalem (cf. 2 Sam 5.1116). According to 1 Kings 5.1526 (cf. 2 Chr 2.215), Hiram
(called Huram in Chronicles) had very good relations with David. The link between blessings for David and
blessings for Israel anticipates Nathans dynastic oracle (17.117). 3: Accumulating wives and progeny is consistently a positive sign of stature in Chronicles (25.5; 26.45; 2 Chr 11.1823; 13.21; 14.37). For Davids sons, see
3.19.
14.817: Philistine a+acks (cf. 2 Sam 5.1725). If the mishandling of the ark (13.911) represented an internal
challenge to the establishment of Jerusalems worship, the Philistine aggressions were an external threat to
the viability of Davids rule. The two narratives detailing Davids exploits against the Philistines are replete with
holy-war phraseology, reecting the notion that the Lord ghts on behalf of his people and secures victory
for them (Ex 14.4,18; Josh 11.2,24; Judg 3.28; 4.7,17; 18.10; 20.28; 1 Sam 14.12,23; 23.4). 12: In 2 Sam 5.21, David
carries these images home. In having the images consigned to re, the Chronicler has David act in accordance
with Deuteronomic law (Deut 7.25; 12.3). 16: From Gibeon to Gezer, about 28 km (18 mi), a limited area. 17: International respect denotes divine blessing (2 Chr 9.58,23; 17.10; 26.8,15; 32.23).
15.116.3: David and the ark, Part 2. Having been successful in war and blessed by God, David turns his attention again to the maer of the ark. In the ancient Near East successful kings were expected to honor the
deities who led them by supporting and endowing places of worship. Much of chs 1516, which supplements
material from 2 Sam 6 with original material concerning the Levites, elaborates on this very point. 15.1: The
houses David builds for himself most likely refer to domiciles in addition to the palace built by Huram of Tyre
(14.1). Davids construction activity establishes a positive paern for other kings to follow (2 Chr 11.512; 14.6;
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1 chronicles 15
of the Lord and to minister to him forever.
David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem
to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place,
which he had prepared for it. Then David
gathered together the descendants of Aaron
and the Levites: of the sons of Kohath, Uriel
the chief, with one hundred twenty of his
kindred; of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the
chief, with two hundred twenty of his kindred; of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief,
with one hundred thirty of his kindred; of
the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief,
with two hundred of his kindred; of the
sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with eighty of
his kindred; of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with one hundred twelve of
his kindred.
David summoned the priests Zadok
and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah,
Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. He
said to them, You are the heads of families
of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and
your kindred, so that you may bring up the
ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the
place that I have prepared for it. Because
you did not carry it the first time,a the Lord
our God burst out against us, because we
did not give it proper care. So the priests
and the Levites sanctified themselves to
bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of
Israel. And the Levites carried the ark of
God on their shoulders with the poles, as
Moses had commanded according to the

word of the Lord.
David also commanded the chiefs of the
Levites to appoint their kindred as the singers
to play on musical instruments, on harps and
lyres and cymbals, to raise loud sounds of joy.
So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel;
and of his kindred Asaph son of Berechiah;
and of the sons of Merari, their kindred,
Ethan son of Kushaiah; and with them
their kindred of the second order, Zechariah,
Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab,
Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu,
and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obededom and Jeiel. The singers Heman, Asaph,
and Ethan were to sound bronze cymbals;
Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel,
Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to
play harps according to Alamoth; but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom,
Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres
according to the Sheminith. Chenaniah,
leader of the Levites in music, was to direct
the music, for he understood it. Berechiah
and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the
ark. Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel,
Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the
priests, were to blow the trumpets before the
ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah also were
to be gatekeepers for the ark.
26.2; 32.2730). 2: Davids command that no one but the Levites carry the ark responds to Uzzahs unfortunate
death (13.10) through the lens of the Priestly material (Num 4.415; 7.9), the implication being that the proper
personnel had not been involved in the rst aempt to bring the ark into the City of David (v. 13). The following
verses detail what personnel and actions David deems necessary to install the ark successfully. 3: The reference to a place for the ark of God implies a sacred precinct or sanctuary (Deut 12.5,11; 14.2325; 15.20; Josh 9.27;
1 Chr 21.22,25; 2 Chr 3.1). 11: The two priests Zadok and Abiathar appear together during the rst part of the
reign of David (15.29,35; 18.16; 19.11; 20.25). Each of these priests headed or represented major priestly houses.
See further 6.8n. 13: The Chronicler plays on Hebrew roots prs,
. to break out (13.3,11; 14.11; 15.13) and drs,
to seek. The earlier aempt to redress neglect of the arkfor we did not seek (drs) it in the days of Saul
(13.3)was brought to a swi end by the divine outbreak (burst out, Heb prs;
. 13.1011) against Uzzah. As later
events made clear, the problem was not Israels communal decision to seek the ark, but the manner in which
the people involved handled the arrangements. In the new aempt David insists on the intimate involvement
of the priests and Levites to rectify the deciency. 15: On their shoulders with the poles, the Chronicler asserts
that the law of Moses was followed (Num 7.9). 16: Musical instruments gure prominently in the Chroniclers
ritual liturgies (16.42; 2 Chr 5.13; 7.6; 23.13; 34.12). In some texts the instruments are associated with David himself (2 Chr 29.24,2627; Neh 12.36; cf. Am 6.5). Though David could not build the Temple (ch 17, 2 Sam 7), the
Chronicler emphasizes here and elsewhere that David initiated the project, in their case by establishing the
guilds of levitical Temple singers. 18: Many of these singers are mentioned again in vv. 2021 and 16.56. 2021:
Alamoth and Sheminith are obscure musical terms found in Psalms (6.1; 12.1; 46.1). 2528: The Chronicler re-
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1 chronicles 16
So David and the elders of Israel, and
the commanders of the thousands, went to
bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord
from the house of Obed-edom with rejoicing.
And because God helped the Levites who
were carrying the ark of the covenant of the
Lord, they sacriced seven bulls and seven
rams. David was clothed with a robe of ne
linen, as also were all the Levites who were
carrying the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers;
and David wore a linen ephod. So all Israel
brought up the ark of the covenant of the
Lord with shouting, to the sound of the horn,
trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music
on harps and lyres.
As the ark of the covenant of the Lord
came to the city of David, Michal daughter of
Saul looked out of the window, and saw King
David leaping and dancing; and she despised
him in her heart.
They brought in the ark of God, and
set it inside the tent that David had
pitched for it; and they oered burnt oerings and oerings of well-being before God.
When David had nished oering the burnt
oerings and the oerings of well-being,
he blessed the people in the name of the
Lord; and he distributed to every person
in Israelman and woman aliketo each a
loaf of bread, a portion of meat,a and a cake
of raisins.
He appointed certain of the Levites
as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to
invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the
God of Israel. Asaph was the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth,
Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obededom, and Jeiel, with harps and lyres; Asaph
was to sound the cymbals, and the priests
Benaiah and Jahaziel were to blow trumpets
16
regularly, before the ark of the covenant of

God.
Then on that day David rst appointed
the singing of praises to the Lord by Asaph
and his kindred.
Ogive thanks to the Lord, call on his
name,
make known his deeds among the
peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him,
tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the
Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength,
seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has
done,
his miracles, and the judgments he
uttered,
Oospring of his servant Israel,b
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
Remember his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a
thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with
Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he conrmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, To you I will give the land of
Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.
a Compare Gk Syr Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain

b Another reading is Abraham (compare Ps 105.6)
writes 2 Sam 6.1215 to underscore the broad support for Davids campaign to complete the transfer of the ark.
The elaborate apparel worn by the Levites in Chronicles contrasts markedly with that depicted in Samuel (see
Ex 28.614,3943; Sir 45.8).
15.2916.3: Michal and all Israel. A signicant abridgment of 2 Sam 6.1623, omiing the details of how
Michal mocked David.
16.443: Stang the national sanctuaries. With the ark successfully elevated to the place David prepared
for it, David designates certain Levites and priests to ociate there. He also stas the tabernacle at the high
place in Gibeon (vv. 3942). 736: The praises David instructs the Levites to sing are a medley of extracts, with
some variations, from the Psalms: vv. 822, cf. Ps 105.115; vv. 2333, cf. Ps 96; vv. 3436, cf. Ps 106.1,4748. By
the period of the Chronicler, some form of the book of Psalms probably already existed as a liturgical collec-
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1 chronicles 17
When they were few in number,
of little account, and strangers in the
land,a
wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
saying, Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm.
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the
peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be
praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.
Ascribe to the Lord, Ofamilies of the
peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his
name;
bring an oering, and come before him.
Worship the Lord in holy splendor;
tremble before him, all the earth.
The world is rmly established; it shall
never be moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth
rejoice,
and let them say among the nations,
The Lord is king!
Let the sea roar, and all that lls it;
let the eld exult, and everything in it.
Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes to judge
the earth.
Ogive thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever.
Say also:
Save us, OGod of our salvation,
and gather and rescue us from among
the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
and glory in your praise.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people said Amen! and praised
the Lord.
David left Asaph and his kinsfolk there
before the ark of the covenant of the Lord
to minister regularly before the ark as each
day required, and also Obed-edom and hisb
sixty-eight kinsfolk; while Obed-edom son
of Jeduthun and Hosah were to be gatekeepers. And he left the priest Zadok and his
kindred the priests before the tabernacle of
the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon,
to oer burnt oerings to the Lord on the
altar of burnt oering regularly, morning and
evening, according to all that is written in the
law of the Lord that he commanded Israel.
With them were Heman and Jeduthun, and
the rest of those chosen and expressly named
to render thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast
love endures forever. Heman and Jeduthun
had with them trumpets and cymbals for the
music, and instruments for sacred song. The
sons of Jeduthun were appointed to the gate.
Then all the people departed to their
homes, and David went home to bless his
household.
Now when David settled in his house,
David said to the prophet Nathan, I
am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of
17
a Heb in it
b Gk Syr Vg: Heb their
tion, and possibly was already aributed to David. 3743: David provides for both the ark in Jerusalem and the
tabernacle at Gibeon. The Chronicler does not deem the Gibeon shrine to be inherently illicit. The sacrices
performed there by Zadok and his priests accorded with all that is wrien in the law of the Lord (v. 40). Like the
newly dedicated ministry of praise associated with the ark in Jerusalem, the Gibeon precinct has its own singers and musicians, authorized to praise God (v. 42). Two guilds of singers, represented by Heman and Jeduthun,
serve at Gibeon, while the third guild of singers, represented by Asaph (v. 37) serves in Jerusalem. Only aer the
construction of the long-awaited Temple will worship outside Jerusalem be prohibited (2 Chr 1.36; 5.5). 43:
Taken from 2 Sam 6.1920, a continuation of v. 3.
17.115: The promises to David. The narration largely follows 2 Sam 7.116. Under a tent, see Ex 26.12,7; Num
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1 chronicles 17
the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.
Nathan said to David, Do all that you have
in mind, for God is with you.
But that same night the word of the Lord
came to Nathan, saying: Go and tell my
servant David: Thus says the Lord: You shall
not build me a house to live in. For I have
not lived in a house since the day I brought
out Israel to this very day, but I have lived in
a tent and a tabernacle.a Wherever I have
moved about among all Israel, did I ever
speak a word with any of the judges of Israel,
whom I commanded to shepherd my people,
saying, Why have you not built me a house
of cedar? Now therefore thus you shall say
to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of
hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people
Israel; and I have been with you wherever
you went, and have cut o all your enemies
before you; and I will make for you a name,
like the name of the great ones of the earth.
I will appoint a place for my people Israel,
and will plant them, so that they may live in
their own place, and be disturbed no more;
and evildoers shall wear them down no more,
as they did formerly, from the time that I
appointed judges over my people Israel; and I
will subdue all your enemies.
Moreover I declare to you that the Lord
will build you a house. When your days are
fullled to go to be with your ancestors, I will
raise up your ospring after you, one of your
own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.
He shall build a house for me, and I will es-
tablish his throne forever. I will be a father

to him, and he shall be a son to me. I will not
take my steadfast love from him, as I took it
from him who was before you, but I will
conrm him in my house and in my kingdom
forever, and his throne shall be established
forever. In accordance with all these words
and all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
Then King David went in and sat before
the Lord, and said, Who am I, OLord God,
and what is my house, that you have brought
me thus far? And even this was a small
thing in your sight, OGod; you have also spoken of your servants house for a great while
to come. You regard me as someone of high
rank,b OLord God! And what more can
David say to you for honoring your servant?
You know your servant. For your servants
sake, OLord, and according to your own
heart, you have done all these great deeds,
making known all these great things. There
is no one like you, OLord, and there is no
God besides you, according to all that we have
heard with our ears. Who is like your people
Israel, one nation on the earth whom God
went to redeem to be his people, making for
yourself a name for great and terrible things,
in driving out nations before your people
whom you redeemed from Egypt? And you
made your people Israel to be your people
forever; and you, OLord, became their God.
a Gk 2Sam 7.6: Heb but I have been from tent to tent
and from tabernacle
4.2128. 2: Nathan here is oering his personal opinion, which is corrected by God in the revelation that follows.
Davids lack of suitability for this project is explained later in 22.710. 5: Aer the Exodus, Israels system of worship was mobile. The roving nature of Gods presence with Israel was consistent with the mobility of Israel itself.
89: The Chronicler, like the Deuteronomist (1 Kings 5.1718), associates national stability and peace with the
establishment of a permanent sanctuary in the land. In this manner, Nathans oracle points forward to the reign
of Solomon, which according to biblical text is an unprecedented age of peace, prosperity, and international
prestige (1 Kings 4.20; 5.4; 8.66; 1 Chr 22.9,18; 2 Chr 1.718; 8.19,31). 10: In speaking of the Lord building a house
for David, the text develops a wordplay on the dierent connotations of Heb bayit (house, temple, dynasty). 13: I will be a father to him, a formula of adoption (2 Sam 7.14; Ps 2.78; Isa 9.6; cf. Ps 89.26). I will not take
my steadfast love from him, the guarantee of succession is not predicated upon the loyalty of the sons. In fact,
the second part of 2 Sam 7.14, which stresses that the individual Davidic king may be punished, is lacking here,
further highlighting the Chroniclers positive vision of Davidic kingship. 14: In my kingdom forever, God manifests
his kingship through the kingdom of David and his heirs (17.14; 28.5; 29.11; 2 Chr 13.8; cf. 2 Sam 7.16).
17.1627: Davids prayer. The narration largely follows 2 Sam 7.1729. 21: Gods incomparability and unique
status are linked to Israels unique status. 2324: Davids only petitions focus on the promises directed toward
his dynasty (cf. vv. 8b14).
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1 chronicles 18
And now, OLord, as for the word that
you have spoken concerning your servant
and concerning his house, let it be established forever, and do as you have promised.
Thus your name will be established and
magnied forever in the saying, The Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israels God;
and the house of your servant David will be
established in your presence. For you, my
God, have revealed to your servant that you
will build a house for him; therefore your
servant has found it possible to pray before
you. And now, OLord, you are God, and
you have promised this good thing to your
servant; therefore may it please you to
bless the house of your servant, that it may
continue forever before you. For you, OLord,
have blessed and are blesseda forever.
Some time afterward, David attacked
the Philistines and subdued them; he
took Gath and its villages from the Philistines.
He defeated Moab, and the Moabites
became subject to David and brought tribute.
David also struck down King Hadadezer
of Zobah, toward Hamath,b as he went to
set up a monument at the river Euphrates.
David took from him one thousand chariots, seven thousand cavalry, and twenty
thousand foot soldiers. David hamstrung all
the chariot horses, but left one hundred of
them. When the Arameans of Damascus
came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah,
David killed twenty-two thousand Arameans. Then David put garrisonsc in Aram
of Damascus; and the Arameans became
18
subject to David, and brought tribute. The

Lord gave victory to David wherever he
went. David took the gold shields that were
carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and
brought them to Jerusalem. From Tibhath
and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David
took a vast quantity of bronze; with it Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars
and the vessels of bronze.
When King Tou of Hamath heard that
David had defeated the whole army of King
Hadadezer of Zobah, he sent his son
Hadoram to King David, to greet him and
to congratulate him, because he had fought
against Hadadezer and defeated him. Now
Hadadezer had often been at war with Tou.
He sent all sorts of articles of gold, of silver,
and of bronze; these also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver
and gold that he had carried o from all the
nations, from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites,
the Philistines, and Amalek.
Abishai son of Zeruiah killed eighteen
thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
He put garrisons in Edom; and all the
Edomites became subject to David. And
the Lord gave victory to David wherever he
went.
So David reigned over all Israel; and he
administered justice and equity to all his people. Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder;
a Or and it is blessed
c Gk Vg 2Sam 8.6 Compare Syr: Heb lacks garrisons
18.120.8: The kingdom expanded. A new phase in Davids reign begins, one dominated by foreign military
campaigns. Davids success in war is evident in all directions: to the west against the Philistines (18.1; 20.48),
to the southeast against Edom (18.1213), to the east against Moab (18.2) and Ammon (19.119; 20.13), and to
the northeast against a variety of Aramean states (18.38; 19.619). (See map on p. 585.) In this way, David uses
the fulllment of one of Nathans promisesthe subjugation of all his enemiesto lay the foundations for the
fulllment of anotherthe construction of a temple by Davids son. The juxtaposition suggests that Davids
hands were bloodied by war, so he could not build the Temple (22.710). 18.113: Drawn from 2 Sam 8.114. 5:
The Arameans of Damascus, the defeat of one state by an invading power could upset the balance of power in
the entire region, especially aecting neighboring states of the defeated kingdom. 711: It was customary for
pious kings in the ancient world to dedicate war spoils to the temples of the deities who granted them victory.
In this instance, Davids plunder, which according to 2 Sam 8.7 was merely brought to Jerusalem, is incorporated
into the Temple built by Solomon (1 Kings 7.1347; 2 Chr 3.154.22; Josephus, Ant. 7.106). 8: Tibhath and Cun occur only here in the Bible; their exact locations are uncertain. 9: Tou, Toi in 2 Sam 8.9. 12: In 2 Sam 8.13 this victory is aributed to David himself. 1417: Taken from 2 Sam 8.1518, the list of ocials reects the growth of the
bureaucracy as the kingdom expanded. 16: Ahimelech probably became one of Davids priests as the replace-
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1 chronicles 19
Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of
Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was secretary; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the
Cherethites and the Pelethites; and Davids
sons were the chief ocials in the service of
the king.
Some time afterward, King Nahash
of the Ammonites died, and his son
succeeded him. David said, I will deal loyally with Hanun son of Nahash, for his father
dealt loyally with me. So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father.
When Davids servants came to Hanun in the
land of the Ammonites, to console him, the
ocials of the Ammonites said to Hanun,
Do you think, because David has sent consolers to you, that he is honoring your father?
Have not his servants come to you to search
and to overthrow and to spy out the land?
So Hanun seized Davids servants, shaved
them, cut o their garments in the middle at
their hips, and sent them away; and they departed. When David was told about the men,
he sent messengers to them, for they felt
greatly humiliated. The king said, Remain
at Jericho until your beards have grown, and
then return.
When the Ammonites saw that they had
made themselves odious to David, Hanun
and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents
of silver to hire chariots and cavalry from
Mesopotamia, from Aram-maacah and from
Zobah. They hired thirty-two thousand
chariots and the king of Maacah with his
army, who came and camped before Medeba.
And the Ammonites were mustered from
their cities and came to battle. When David
heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of
the warriors. The Ammonites came out and
19
drew up in battle array at the entrance of the

city, and the kings who had come were by
themselves in the open country.
When Joab saw that the line of battle was
set against him both in front and in the rear,
he chose some of the picked men of Israel
and arrayed them against the Arameans;
the rest of his troops he put in the charge of
his brother Abishai, and they were arrayed
against the Ammonites. He said, If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall
help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong
for you, then I will help you. Be strong, and
let us be courageous for our people and for
the cities of our God; and may the Lord do
what seems good to him. So Joab and the
troops who were with him advanced toward
the Arameans for battle; and they ed before
him. When the Ammonites saw that the
Arameans ed, they likewise ed before
Abishai, Joabs brother, and entered the city.
Then Joab came to Jerusalem.
But when the Arameans saw that they
had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought out the Arameans who
were beyond the Euphrates, with Shophach
the commander of the army of Hadadezer
at their head. When David was informed,
he gathered all Israel together, crossed the
Jordan, came to them, and drew up his forces
against them. When David set the battle in
array against the Arameans, they fought with
him. The Arameans ed before Israel; and
David killed seven thousand Aramean charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers, and
also killed Shophach the commander of their
army. When the servants of Hadadezer saw
that they had been defeated by Israel, they
made peace with David, and became subject
ment for his father Abiathar (15.11). 17: David employs his sons as high-ranking ocials in his cabinet instead of
as priests (2 Sam 8.18); two other kings make use of princes in managing state aairs (2 Chr 11.2223; 21.3). 19.1:
The death of a king could usher in a period of instability and uncertainty for his people. Because international
arrangements were made between the leaders of nations, and not between the nations themselves, the death
of a leader could signal the end of such agreements. 3: To spy out the land, to Hanuns counselors, Davids string
of victories against the Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, and Arameans establish an imperialistic paern that
they could ignore only at their own peril. 5: The quarantine furnishes Davids aides with the requisite time to
recover and regain their dignity. 7: Medeba, ca. 20 mi (30 km) south-southwest of the Ammonite capital of
Rabbah; not mentioned in 2 Sam 10, the source for this chapter. 16: The Euphrates, lit. the river. In biblical
narratives, the river usually designates the Euphrates (e.g., Gen 2.14; 15.18; Deut 1.7; 2 Kings 23.29; 24.7; 1 Chr
5.9), but the Jordan and the Yarmuk are also possibilities. 19: The new balance of power in the region, tilted in
Israels favor, leaves the Ammonites isolated from their former allies. The victories of Joab and David succeed
hebrew bible | 603
1 chronicles 20
to him. So the Arameans were not willing to
help the Ammonites any more.
In the spring of the year, the time
when kings go out to battle, Joab led
out the army, ravaged the country of the Ammonites, and came and besieged Rabbah. But
David remained at Jerusalem. Joab attacked
Rabbah, and overthrew it. David took the
crown of Milcoma from his head; he found
that it weighed a talent of gold, and in it was
a precious stone; and it was placed on Davids
head. He also brought out the booty of the
city, a very great amount. He brought out the
people who were in it, and set them to workb
with saws and iron picks and axes.c Thus
David did to all the cities of the Ammonites.
Then David and all the people returned to
Jerusalem.
After this, war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer; then Sibbecai the Hushathite
killed Sippai, who was one of the descendants of the giants; and the Philistines were
subdued. Again there was war with the Philistines; and Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi
the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of
whose spear was like a weavers beam. Again
there was war at Gath, where there was a man
of great size, who had six ngers on each
hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four
in number; he also was descended from the
20
giants. When he taunted Israel, Jonathan

son of Shimea, Davids brother, killed him.
These were descended from the giants in
Gath; they fell by the hand of David and his
servants.
Satan stood up against Israel, and
incited David to count the people of
Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, Go, number Israel,
from Beer-sheba to Dan, and bring me a
report, so that I may know their number.
But Joab said, May the Lord increase the
number of his people a hundredfold! Are they
not, my lord the king, all of them my lords
servants? Why then should my lord require
this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?
But the kings word prevailed against Joab.
So Joab departed and went throughout all
Israel, and came back to Jerusalem. Joab
gave the total count of the people to David. In
all Israel there were one million one hundred
thousand men who drew the sword, and in
Judah four hundred seventy thousand who
drew the sword. But he did not include
Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, for the
kings command was abhorrent to Joab.
21
a Gk Vg See 1Kings 11.5, 33: MT of their king

b Compare 2Sam 12.31: Heb and he sawed
c Compare 2Sam 12.31: Heb saws
in disrupting the traditional military ties between the Ammonites and the Arameans. 20.13: Verse 1 is taken
from 2 Sam 11.1, while vv. 23 are taken from 2 Sam 12.26a,3031. In Samuel the reference to Davids staying in
Jerusalem provides the background to the troubling story of Davids aair with Bathsheba. But in Chronicles,
the same notice is incidental, providing the reader an explanation as to Davids whereabouts. The Chronicler
omits completely the story of Davids liaison with Bathsheba and its aermath (2 Sam 11.212.25), which casts
David in a negative light. Milcom was the national deity of the Ammonites (1 Kings 11.5,7,33; 2 Kings 23.13). 48:
The nal exploits of David and his soldiers are taken from 2 Sam 21.1822. The stories in 2 Samuel about the
rape of Tamar, Absaloms rebellion, the execution of Sauls descendants, and the disaection of the northern
tribes, which cast David in a negative light, do not appear in Chronicles. 5: The text may harmonize two dierent claims found in Samuel: In 1 Sam 17.50 David kills the Philistine giant, identied earlier as Goliath of Gath
(1 Sam 17.4), but in 2 Sam 21.19 Elhanan kills Goliath the Giite. By having Elhanan kill the brother of Goliath the
Giite, and not Goliath himself, the Chronicler accommodates both claims.
21.122.1: David the repentant sinner. The Chronicler recasts and supplements a story also found in 2 Sam 24.
The guilt of David is pronounced in Chronicles (vv. 17), in which Joab warns David that it is sinful to count Israel
in a casual fashion (cf. Ex 31.1116); but so are his repentance and his eorts to intercede on behalf of Israel (vv.
817). David is thus forewarned before he is punished, reecting a major tendency of the Chronicler. 21.1: Satan,
Heb satan should be translated as an adversary rather than Satan (cf. 2 Sam 24.1; see Job 1.6n.; Zech 3.1n.).
Signicantly, it replaces the anger of the Lord of 2 Sam 24.1. Having just experienced a string of impressive
military victories against the Ammonites, Syrians, and Philistines (chs 1820), David uncritically falls prey to the
designs of one of his opponents. 2: From Beer-sheba to Dan, the southern and northern limits of Israel proper. 5:
The total is lower in 2 Sam 24.9, but the number for Judah is higher there. In both cases the gures are improb-
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1 chronicles 22
But God was displeased with this thing,
and he struck Israel. David said to God, I
have sinned greatly in that I have done this
thing. But now, I pray you, take away the guilt
of your servant; for I have done very foolishly. The Lord spoke to Gad, Davids seer,
saying, Go and say to David, Thus says the
Lord: Three things I oer you; choose one
of them, so that I may do it to you. So Gad
came to David and said to him, Thus says the
Lord, Take your choice: either three years
of famine; or three months of devastation by
your foes, while the sword of your enemies
overtakes you; or three days of the sword of
the Lord, pestilence on the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the
territory of Israel. Now decide what answer I
shall return to the one who sent me. Then
David said to Gad, I am in great distress;
let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his
mercy is very great; but let me not fall into
human hands.
So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel;
and seventy thousand persons fell in Israel.
And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but when he was about to destroy it,
the Lord took note and relented concerning
the calamity; he said to the destroying angel,
Enough! Stay your hand. The angel of the
Lord was then standing by the threshing oor
of Ornan the Jebusite. David looked up and
saw the angel of the Lord standing between
earth and heaven, and in his hand a drawn
sword stretched out over Jerusalem. Then
David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell
on their faces. And David said to God, Was
it not I who gave the command to count the
people? It is I who have sinned and done very
wickedly. But these sheep, what have they
done? Let your hand, I pray, OLord my God,
be against me and against my fathers house;
but do not let your people be plagued!
Then the angel of the Lord commanded
Gad to tell David that he should go up and
erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing

oor of Ornan the Jebusite. So David went
up following Gads instructions, which he
had spoken in the name of the Lord. Ornan
turned and saw the angel; and while his four
sons who were with him hid themselves,
Ornan continued to thresh wheat. As David
came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David;
he went out from the threshing oor, and
did obeisance to David with his face to the
ground. David said to Ornan, Give me the
site of the threshing oor that I may build
on it an altar to the Lordgive it to me at
its full priceso that the plague may be
averted from the people. Then Ornan said
to David, Take it; and let my lord the king do
what seems good to him; see, I present the
oxen for burnt oerings, and the threshing
sledges for the wood, and the wheat for a
grain oering. I give it all. But King David
said to Ornan, No; I will buy them for the
full price. I will not take for the Lord what is
yours, nor oer burnt oerings that cost me
nothing. So David paid Ornan six hundred
shekels of gold by weight for the site. David
built there an altar to the Lord and presented
burnt oerings and oerings of well-being.
He called upon the Lord, and he answered
him with re from heaven on the altar of
burnt oering. Then the Lord commanded
the angel, and he put his sword back into its
sheath.
At that time, when David saw that the
Lord had answered him at the threshing oor
of Ornan the Jebusite, he made his sacrices
there. For the tabernacle of the Lord, which
Moses had made in the wilderness, and the
altar of burnt oering were at that time in
the high place at Gibeon; but David could
not go before it to inquire of God, for he was
afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.
Then David said, Here shall be the
house of the Lord God and here the
altar of burnt oering for Israel.
22
able. 8: Take away, beer transfer, as in 2 Sam 12.13. In both cases, the sin of David is transferred elsewhere. 15:
Ornan, called Araunah in 2 Sam 24. 17: Along with the authors of Deut 7.910; 24.16; Jer 31.2830; Ezek 18; 33.12
20, David argues for limiting the scope of divinely administered punishment of humans to the guilty parties
themselves. 26: The addition of a divine conrmation of Davids sacrices by re, following the paern of Lev
9.24 and 1 Kings 18.3639, establishes Davids altar as an enduring xture in Israelite worship. 22.1: David raties
the divine action (21.2627) by declaring the site to be the home of the future Temple. Here and elsewhere (2 Chr
3.1), the Chronicler shows unusual interest in oering explanations why the Temple was built on its current site.
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1 chronicles 23
David gave orders to gather together the
aliens who were residing in the land of Israel,
and he set stonecutters to prepare dressed
stones for building the house of God. David
also provided great stores of iron for nails
for the doors of the gates and for clamps, as
well as bronze in quantities beyond weighing,
and cedar logs without numberfor the
Sidonians and Tyrians brought great quantities of cedar to David. For David said, My
son Solomon is young and inexperienced,
and the house that is to be built for the Lord
must be exceedingly magnicent, famous and
gloried throughout all lands; I will therefore
make preparation for it. So David provided
materials in great quantity before his death.
Then he called for his son Solomon and
charged him to build a house for the Lord,
the God of Israel. David said to Solomon,
My son, I had planned to build a house to
the name of the Lord my God. But the word
of the Lord came to me, saying, You have
shed much blood and have waged great wars;
you shall not build a house to my name,
because you have shed so much blood in my
sight on the earth. See, a son shall be born
to you; he shall be a man of peace. I will give
him peace from all his enemies on every side;
for his name shall be Solomon,a and I will
give peaceb and quiet to Israel in his days.
He shall build a house for my name. He
shall be a son to me, and I will be a father to
him, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever. Now, my son, the Lord be with
you, so that you may succeed in building the
house of the Lord your God, as he has spoken
concerning you. Only, may the Lord grant

you discretion and understanding, so that
when he gives you charge over Israel you may
keep the law of the Lord your God. Then
you will prosper if you are careful to observe
the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord
commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and
of good courage. Do not be afraid or dismayed. With great pains I have provided for
the house of the Lord one hundred thousand
talents of gold, one million talents of silver,
and bronze and iron beyond weighing, for
there is so much of it; timber and stone too I
have provided. To these you must add more.
You have an abundance of workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of
artisans without number, skilled in working
gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Now begin
the work, and the Lord be with you.
David also commanded all the leaders of
Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, Is
not the Lord your God with you? Has he not
given you peace on every side? For he has
delivered the inhabitants of the land into
my hand; and the land is subdued before the
Lord and his people. Now set your mind
and heart to seek the Lord your God. Go and
build the sanctuary of the Lord God so that
the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the
holy vessels of God may be brought into a
house built for the name of the Lord.
When David was old and full of days, he
made his son Solomon king over Israel.
23
a Heb Shelomoh
b Heb shalom
22.219: David prepares for the construction of the Temple. David wants the future Temple to be famous
and gloried throughout all the lands; palace-temple complexes communicated the power of a god and his
king to the god(s), populace, vassals, and foreign emissaries. But Solomon is young and inexperienced, so
David undertakes the preparations himself. Of Davids many sons (see 3.14; 14.37), Solomon was one of
the youngest (1 Sam 20.31; 2 Sam 13.21b [LXX; 4QSama]; 1 Kings 1.12,17; 2.22). 716: This learned passage,
which quotes from the dynastic promise (ch 17; cf. 2 Sam 7) and other texts, explains Davids inability to
build the Temple, suggesting that only Solomon (Heb shelomoh), understood as a man of peace (shalom), may build it, an issue not addressed by the books of Samuel and Kings. David, however, both here
and in the following chapters, does much preparation for the project. 8: Much blood, referring either to the
plague (1 Chr 21.1114) or to Davids various wars. 14: One hundred thousand talents of gold and one million
talents of silver, the point is not realism but extravagance; a talent weighed ca. 75 lb (34 kg). Davids gis
are deliberately excessive. 1719: Following the norms of Deut 12.814, only when peace is established may
the Temple be built. 18: Inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites are in view (Num 32.22,29; Josh 2.24; 18.1;
23.35,913; 24.11,18).
23.132: Establishing a national administration. David aains a venerable stage in his life (v. 1), full of days,
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David assembled all the leaders of Israel
and the priests and the Levites. The Levites,
thirty years old and upward, were counted,
and the total was thirty-eight thousand.
Twenty-four thousand of these, David
said, shall have charge of the work in the
house of the Lord, six thousand shall be
ocers and judges, four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand shall oer praises to
the Lord with the instruments that I have
made for praise. And David organized them
in divisions corresponding to the sons of
Levi: Gershon,a Kohath, and Merari.
The sons of Gershonb were Ladan and
Shimei. The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief,
Zetham, and Joel, three. The sons of Shimei:
Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These
were the heads of families of Ladan. And
the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and
Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.
Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second;
but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons,
so they were enrolled as a single family.
The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar,
Hebron, and Uzziel, four. The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart
to consecrate the most holy things, so that he
and his sons forever should make oerings
before the Lord, and minister to him and pronounce blessings in his name forever; but
as for Moses the man of God, his sons were
to be reckoned among the tribe of Levi. The
sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. The
sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. The

sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief; Eliezer
had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah
were very numerous. The sons of Izhar:
Shelomith the chief. The sons of Hebron:
Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel
the third, and Jekameam the fourth. The
sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah
the second.
The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.
The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. Eleazar died having no sons, but only daughters;
their kindred, the sons of Kish, married
them. The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and
Jeremoth, three.
These were the sons of Levi by their ancestral houses, the heads of families as they
were enrolled according to the number of the
names of the individuals from twenty years
old and upward who were to do the work for
the service of the house of the Lord. For
David said, The Lord, the God of Israel, has
given rest to his people; and he resides in
Jerusalem forever. And so the Levites no
longer need to carry the tabernacle or any
of the things for its service for according to the last words of David these were the
number of the Levites from twenty years old
and upward but their duty shall be to assist the descendants of Aaron for the service
a Or Gershom; See 1 Chr 6.1, note, and 23.15
b Vg Compare Gk Syr: Heb to the Gershonite
much like Abraham (Gen 25.8), Isaac (Gen 35.29), and Job (42.17) before him. He begins preparing for his death
and the reign of his son by convening his administrative leadership. This transition is smooth, in contrast to
2 Sam 151 Kings 2, much of which the Chronicler omits. The Chronicler will eventually return to the issue of
Solomons accession, but his rst priority is to detail Davids appointment of and instructions to the leaders of Israel, the priests, and the Levites (v. 2), who will help Solomon to succeed in his various tasks, especially completing the Temple. The summit of select leaders forms the background of Davids major administrative initiatives,
outlined in the narratives and the lists of 23.327.34. 5: The divisions and responsibilities of the gatekeepers
are outlined in ch 26. 6: The tripartite segmentation of the Levites in vv. 623 resembles that of earlier Priestly
sources (Ex 6.1619; Num 3.1739; cf. 1 Chr 6.1,1647). 723: The advent of the Temple, and the centralized worship that it represents, leads to the establishment of a system of divisions or courses among the Levites and
priests. Each division was to work its appointed turn in rotation until a round was completed and a new round
was begun. Although aributed to Davids initiative, this development, unaested in preexilic texts, is known
only in the Second Temple period. It persists to the Roman period (see Lk 1.5). Thus, here the Chronicler is legitimating worship as he knew it by aributing it to David. 13: The mandate for the sons of Aaron to make oerings
before the Lord is detailed in a number of contexts (Ex 29.3842; 30.110; Lev 8.19.24; 18.820). 18: Although
included in the earlier genealogy (6.37), the line of Korah is not mentioned here; this is probably connected with
the tradition of Korahs rebellion narrated in Num 16. 2532: The levitical job description is revised in light of
the move toward one permanent, stationary sanctuary. 28: The Heb means stand at the side of, rather than
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1 chronicles 24
of the house of the Lord, having the care of
the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of
all that is holy, and any work for the service
of the house of God; to assist also with the
rows of bread, the choice our for the grain
oering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the
baked oering, the oering mixed with oil,
and all measures of quantity or size. And
they shall stand every morning, thanking and
praising the Lord, and likewise at evening,
and whenever burnt oerings are oered
to the Lord on sabbaths, new moons, and
appointed festivals, according to the number
required of them, regularly before the Lord.
Thus they shall keep charge of the tent of
meeting and the sanctuary, and shall attend
the descendants of Aaron, their kindred, for
the service of the house of the Lord.
The divisions of the descendants of
Aaron were these. The sons of Aaron:
Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. But
Nadab and Abihu died before their father,
and had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar
became the priests. Along with Zadok of the
sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons
of Ithamar, David organized them according to the appointed duties in their service.
Since more chief men were found among
the sons of Eleazar than among the sons of
Ithamar, they organized them under sixteen
heads of ancestral houses of the sons of Eleazar, and eight of the sons of Ithamar. They
organized them by lot, all alike, for there
were ocers of the sanctuary and ocers
of God among both the sons of Eleazar and
the sons of Ithamar. The scribe Shemaiah
son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded them in
the presence of the king, and the ocers,
and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech son of
Abiathar, and the heads of ancestral houses
of the priests and of the Levites; one ancestral house being chosen for Eleazar and one
chosen for Ithamar.
24
The rst lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second

to Jedaiah, the third to Harim, the fourth to
Seorim, the fth to Malchijah, the sixth to
Mijamin, the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth
to Abijah, the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to
Shecaniah, the eleventh to Eliashib, the
twelfth to Jakim, the thirteenth to Huppah,
the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, the fteenth to
Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth
to Jehezkel, the twenty-rst to Jachin, the
twenty-second to Gamul, the twenty-third
to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.
These had as their appointed duty in their
service to enter the house of the Lord according to the procedure established for them
by their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord God of
Israel had commanded him.
And of the rest of the sons of Levi: of
the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons
of Shubael, Jehdeiah. Of Rehabiah: of the
sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah the chief. Of the
Izharites, Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. The sons of Hebron:a Jeriah
the chief,b Amariah the second, Jahaziel the
third, Jekameam the fourth. The sons of
Uzziel, Micah; of the sons of Micah, Shamir.
The brother of Micah, Isshiah; of the sons
of Isshiah, Zechariah. The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Jaaziah: Beno.c
The sons of Merari: of Jaaziah, Beno,c Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. Of Mahli: Eleazar,
who had no sons. Of Kish, the sons of Kish:
Jerahmeel. The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder,
and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the
Levites according to their ancestral houses.
These also cast lots corresponding to their
kindred, the descendants of Aaron, in the
a See 23.19: Heb lacks Hebron
b See 23.19: Heb lacks the chief
c Or his son: Meaning of Heb uncertain
to assist the descendants of Aaron. In Chronicles the Levites and the priests have dierent but complementary
responsibilities (see also Neh 12.45). 29: Rows of bread, cf. Lev 25.49; 2 Chr 13.11. 3031: The Levites are to praise
the Lord whenever burnt oerings are oered by the priests (16.4,738; 23.5). This contrasts with descriptions of
Tabernacle worship in the Torah, which depict a sanctuary of silence.
24.119: Davids priestly appointments. David organizes the priests into twenty-four divisions, which cast
lots for places. 3: The sons of Eleazar, and . . . Ithamar represent the two major priestly families (15.11; 18.1617;
25.1; cf. 2 Sam 8.1618). 2031: This list of Levites overlaps with that of 23.723. 31: The Levites rotate by courses
just as the priests do.
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1 chronicles 26
presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech,
and the heads of ancestral houses of the
priests and of the Levites, the chief as well as
the youngest brother.
David and the ocers of the army also
set apart for the service the sons of
Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who
should prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals. The list of those who did the work and
of their duties was: Of the sons of Asaph:
Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah,
sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph,
who prophesied under the direction of the
king. Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun:
Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,a Hashabiah,
and Mattithiah, six, under the direction
of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied
with the lyre in thanksgiving and praise to
the Lord. Of Heman, the sons of Heman:
Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and
Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. All these were the
sons of Heman the kings seer, according to
the promise of God to exalt him; for God had
given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. They were all under the direction of
their father for the music in the house of the
Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the
service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun,
and Heman were under the order of the king.
They and their kindred, who were trained in
singing to the Lord, all of whom were skillful,
numbered two hundred eighty-eight. And
they cast lots for their duties, small and great,
teacher and pupil alike.
The rst lot fell for Asaph to Joseph; the
second to Gedaliah, to him and his brothers
and his sons, twelve; the third to Zaccur, his
25
sons and his brothers, twelve; the fourth to

Izri, his sons and his brothers, twelve; the
fth to Nethaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons
and his brothers, twelve; the seventh to
Jesarelah,b his sons and his brothers, twelve;
the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and his
brothers, twelve; the ninth to Mattaniah,
his sons and his brothers, twelve; the tenth
to Shimei, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his
brothers, twelve; the twelfth to Hashabiah,
his sons and his brothers, twelve; to the
thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his brothers, twelve; to the fourteenth, Mattithiah,
fteenth, to Jeremoth, his sons and his brothers, twelve; to the sixteenth, to Hananiah,
seventeenth, to Joshbekashah, his sons and
his brothers, twelve; to the eighteenth, to
Hanani, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
to the nineteenth, to Mallothi, his sons and
his brothers, twelve; to the twentieth, to
Eliathah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
to the twenty-rst, to Hothir, his sons and
his brothers, twelve; to the twenty-second,
to Giddalti, his sons and his brothers, twelve;
to the twenty-third, to Mahazioth, his sons
and his brothers, twelve; to the twentyfourth, to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his
brothers, twelve.
As for the divisions of the gatekeepers:
of the Korahites, Meshelemiah son
of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. Meshelemiah
had sons: Zechariah the rstborn, Jediael
26
a One Ms: Gk: MT lacks Shimei

b Or Asarelah; see 25.2
25.131: The singers. Speaking of the singers as being set apart (v. 1) establishes a parallelism between Davids choice and investiture of the singers, the Levites, and the priests (cf. 23.13; Num 8.14; 16.9,21; Deut 10.8;
Ezra 10.8,16). On the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, see 6.33,44n. The allusion to music and song as a kind
of prophecy (vv. 13; cf. 2 Chr 24.1922) is striking and may be connected to the later tradition of David as a
prophet who composed the psalms through divine inspiration; cf. 2 Kings 3.15. 1: The ocers of the army, as part
of Davids governmental apparatus, have a say in the establishment of courses for the singers. 8: As with the
priests (24.5) and other Levites (24.31), a loery is held to determine the twenty-four divisions for the singers.
26.119: The gatekeepers. Part of Davids administrative organization involves the gatekeepers, whom the
Chronicler counts as Levites (cf. Ezra 2.42,70; Neh 11.19). Sanctuary guards were active in Davids earlier reign
when David transported the ark (15.18,2324; 16.38,42; 23.5). Along with performing guard duty, the gatekeepers open the Temple in the morning; administer the use of the vessels, including the holy utensils; take charge
of the our, wine, spices, and oil (9.1732); and perform administrative service on behalf of the king (2 Chr 31.14;
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1 chronicles 26
the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the
fourth, Elam the fth, Jehohanan the sixth,
Eliehoenai the seventh. Obed-edom had
sons: Shemaiah the rstborn, Jehozabad the
second, Joah the third, Sachar the fourth,
Nethanel the fth, Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth; for
God blessed him. Also to his son Shemaiah
sons were born who exercised authority in
their ancestral houses, for they were men of
great ability. The sons of Shemaiah: Othni,
Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers
were able men, Elihu and Semachiah. All
these, sons of Obed-edom with their sons
and brothers, were able men qualied for the
service; sixty-two of Obed-edom. Meshelemiah had sons and brothers, able men,
eighteen. Hosah, of the sons of Merari, had
sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was
not the rstborn, his father made him chief),
Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third,
Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brothers of Hosah totaled thirteen.
These divisions of the gatekeepers, corresponding to their leaders, had duties, just
as their kindred did, ministering in the house
of the Lord; and they cast lots by ancestral
houses, small and great alike, for their gates.
The lot for the east fell to Shelemiah. They
cast lots also for his son Zechariah, a prudent
counselor, and his lot came out for the north.
Obed-edoms came out for the south, and
to his sons was allotted the storehouse. For
Shuppim and Hosah it came out for the west,
at the gate of Shallecheth on the ascending
road. Guard corresponded to guard. On
the east there were six Levites each day,a
on the north four each day, on the south
four each day, as well as two and two at the
storehouse; and for the colonnadeb on the
west there were four at the road and two at
the colonnade.b These were the divisions of
the gatekeepers among the Korahites and the
sons of Merari.
And of the Levites, Ahijah had charge

of the treasuries of the house of God and the
treasuries of the dedicated gifts. The sons
of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of families belonging
to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehieli.c
The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and his
brother Joel, were in charge of the treasuries
of the house of the Lord. Of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and
the Uzzielites: Shebuel son of Gershom,
son of Moses, was chief ocer in charge of
the treasuries. His brothers: from Eliezer
were his son Rehabiah, his son Jeshaiah,
his son Joram, his son Zichri, and his son
Shelomoth. This Shelomoth and his
brothers were in charge of all the treasuries
of the dedicated gifts that King David, and
the heads of families, and the ocers of the
thousands and the hundreds, and the commanders of the army, had dedicated. From
booty won in battles they dedicated gifts for
the maintenance of the house of the Lord.
Also all that Samuel the seer, and Saul son
of Kish, and Abner son of Ner, and Joab son
of Zeruiah had dedicatedall dedicated
gifts were in the care of Shelomothd and his
brothers.
Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons
were appointed to outside duties for Israel,
as ocers and judges. Of the Hebronites,
Hashabiah and his brothers, one thousand
seven hundred men of ability, had the oversight of Israel west of the Jordan for all the
work of the Lord and for the service of the
king. Of the Hebronites, Jerijah was chief
of the Hebronites. (In the fortieth year of
Davids reign search was made, of whatever
genealogy or family, and men of great ability
a
b
c
d
Gk: Heb lacks each day

Heb parbar: meaning uncertain
The Hebrew text of verse 21 is confused
Gk Compare 26.28: Heb Shelomith
34.13). 13: Because the loery was held to determine which family was to serve at which gate, the number of
members within a particular family did not determine or aect the process of selection. 16: Shuppim, perhaps
a scribal error, repeating the previous word. Gate of Shallecheth, the name occurs only here, and may also be a
scribal error.
26.2032: Treasurers, regional ocials, and judges. Israels leadership makes the task of Solomon easier by
endowing the Temple and organizing its nances. The Levites also take on broad responsibilities, such as oversight of Israel west of the Jordan as ocers and judges (vv. 2930; cf. 23.35; 2 Chr 17.2; 19.5). 31: Fortieth year, i.e.,
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among them were found at Jazer in Gilead.)
King David appointed him and his brothers,
two thousand seven hundred men of ability,
heads of families, to have the oversight of the
Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of
the Manassites for everything pertaining to
God and for the aairs of the king.
This is the list of the people of Israel,
the heads of families, the commanders
of the thousands and the hundreds, and their
ocers who served the king in all matters
concerning the divisions that came and went,
month after month throughout the year, each
division numbering twenty-four thousand:
Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge
of the rst division in the rst month; in his
division were twenty-four thousand. He
was a descendant of Perez, and was chief of
all the commanders of the army for the rst
month. Dodai the Ahohite was in charge of
the division of the second month; Mikloth
was the chief ocer of his division. In his
division were twenty-four thousand. The
third commander, for the third month, was
Benaiah son of the priest Jehoiada, as chief;
in his division were twenty-four thousand.
This is the Benaiah who was a mighty man
of the Thirty and in command of the Thirty;
his son Ammizabad was in charge of his
division.a Asahel brother of Joab was fourth,
for the fourth month, and his son Zebadiah
after him; in his division were twenty-four
thousand. The fth commander, for the fth
month, was Shamhuth, the Izrahite; in his
division were twenty-four thousand. Sixth,
for the sixth month, was Ira son of Ikkesh
the Tekoite; in his division were twenty-four
thousand. Seventh, for the seventh month,
was Helez the Pelonite, of the Ephraimites;
27
Eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai

the Hushathite, of the Zerahites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. Ninth, for
the ninth month, was Abiezer of Anathoth,
a Benjaminite; in his division were twentyfour thousand. Tenth, for the tenth month,
was Maharai of Netophah, of the Zerahites;
Eleventh, for the eleventh month, was
Benaiah of Pirathon, of the Ephraimites;
Twelfth, for the twelfth month, was Heldai
the Netophathite, of Othniel; in his division
were twenty-four thousand.
Over the tribes of Israel, for the Reubenites, Eliezer son of Zichri was chief ocer; for
the Simeonites, Shephatiah son of Maacah;
for Levi, Hashabiah son of Kemuel; for Aaron, Zadok; for Judah, Elihu, one of Davids
brothers; for Issachar, Omri son of Michael;
for Zebulun, Ishmaiah son of Obadiah;
for Naphtali, Jerimoth son of Azriel; for
the Ephraimites, Hoshea son of Azaziah;
for the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel son of
Pedaiah; for the half-tribe of Manasseh in
Gilead, Iddo son of Zechariah; for Benjamin,
Jaasiel son of Abner; for Dan, Azarel son
of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the
tribes of Israel. David did not count those
below twenty years of age, for the Lord had
promised to make Israel as numerous as the
stars of heaven. Joab son of Zeruiah began
to count them, but did not nish; yet wrath
came upon Israel for this, and the number
was not entered into the account of the Annals of King David.
Over the kings treasuries was Azmaveth son of Adiel. Over the treasuries in
a Gk Vg: Heb Ammizabad was his division
Davids last; see 29.27. 32: The Persian-period distinction between maers pertaining to the king and maers
pertaining to God is found only in Chronicles (26.30,32; 2 Chr 19.11) and Ezra (7.26).
27.124: Military leaders. The orderly organization of the military, no less than the organization of the
priests and the Levites, is part of Davids legacy in Chronicles. The system establishedtwelve monthly relays of 24,000, each headed by a divisional leader (vv. 216)reects his standard administrative procedure
(23.623; 24.119; 25.831; 26.112). 1: The noun mispar may be translated as census (rather than as list) both
here and in vv. 2324 (cf. 23.3). 215: Many of the names in this list are also found in 11.1147; 2 Sam 23.839.
1622: Each of the tribes has its own chief ocer participate in the national government. See 5.6n. 23: The
enumeration of twelve military divisions (288,000) leads the writer to explain why no general census of Israel
is included (cf. Num 1.3,45). By counting Israelite males who were less than twenty years of age, David would
be casting aspersions on the validity of one of Gods solemn promises to Abraham (Gen 22.17). 24: See ch 21.
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1 chronicles 28
the country, in the cities, in the villages and
in the towers, was Jonathan son of Uzziah.
Over those who did the work of the eld,
tilling the soil, was Ezri son of Chelub. Over
the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite.
Over the produce of the vineyards for the
wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite. Over
the olive and sycamore trees in the Shephelah was Baal-hanan the Gederite. Over the
stores of oil was Joash. Over the herds that
pastured in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite.
Over the herds in the valleys was Shaphat
son of Adlai. Over the camels was Obil the
Ishmaelite. Over the donkeys was Jehdeiah
the Meronothite. Over the ocks was Jaziz
the Hagrite. All these were stewards of King
Davids property.
Jonathan, Davids uncle, was a counselor,
being a man of understanding and a scribe;
Jehiel son of Hachmoni attended the kings
sons. Ahithophel was the kings counselor,
and Hushai the Archite was the kings friend.
After Ahithophel came Jehoiada son of
Benaiah, and Abiathar. Joab was commander
of the kings army.
David assembled at Jerusalem all
the ocials of Israel, the ocials of
the tribes, the ocers of the divisions that
served the king, the commanders of the
thousands, the commanders of the hundreds,
the stewards of all the property and cattle
of the king and his sons, together with the
palace ocials, the mighty warriors, and all
28
the warriors. Then King David rose to his

feet and said: Hear me, my brothers and my
people. I had planned to build a house of rest
for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for
the footstool of our God; and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, You
shall not build a house for my name, for you
are a warrior and have shed blood. Yet the
Lord God of Israel chose me from all my
ancestral house to be king over Israel forever;
for he chose Judah as leader, and in the house
of Judah my fathers house, and among my
fathers sons he took delight in making me
king over all Israel. And of all my sons, for
the Lord has given me many, he has chosen
my son Solomon to sit upon the throne of the
kingdom of the Lord over Israel. He said to
me, It is your son Solomon who shall build
my house and my courts, for I have chosen
him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to
him. I will establish his kingdom forever if
he continues resolute in keeping my commandments and my ordinances, as he is today. Now therefore in the sight of all Israel,
the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing
of our God, observe and search out all the
commandments of the Lord your God; that
you may possess this good land, and leave it
for an inheritance to your children after you
forever.
And you, my son Solomon, know the
God of your father, and serve him with single
mind and willing heart; for the Lord searches
27.2532: Other administrators. The Davidic state is multifaceted. The king owns agricultural estates (v. 27),
operates storehouses in both urban and rural areas for agricultural produce (vv. 2728), and has an investment
in, if not some control over, trade (v. 30). The king employs a variety of high ocials who supervise his estates,
eldworkers, and storage facilities. The king also has advisers and ocers (vv. 3234) at his disposal. Some aspects of this complicated system may be anachronistic, but they are consistent with ancient Near Eastern royal
practice. 30: The camels and donkeys (or she-asses) are related directly not to agriculture, but to trade. Because
the major trade routes of the ancient Near East passed through the region, trade was an important sector of the
Israelite economy. 33: On Ahithophel and Hushai, see 2 Sam 15.12,2337.
28.110: All Israel raties accession. Having concluded his administrative organization, David assembles a
large national convocation to prepare the way for Solomons rule. 1: Assemblies are common in the Chroniclers
history (13.5; 15.3; 2 Chr 5.23; 11.1; 20.26). In this case, David convokes all of his nations dignitaries to Jerusalem
to witness his charge to Solomon and to enlist their support for Solomon. 2: On the ark as Gods footstool, cf.
Pss 99.5; 132.7. 3: See 22.68. 4: Chose me, in Chronicles the Levites (15.2; 2 Chr 29.11), the tribe of Judah, and
more specically David and Solomon are all elect of God. Emphasis on Solomons election contrasts sharply
with 1 Kings 12. 67: Cf. 17.1114; 22.910. 7: The perdurability of Davidic kingship is contingent on Solomons
obedience (cf. 17.11; 1 Kings 3.14; 8.61; 9.4), which the duty to build the Temple exemplies (v. 10). 8: The addressee is Israel. Much like the authors of Deuteronomy (4.2328; 28.5864; 30.18), the Chronicler conditions
Israels possession of the land upon its obedience to God.
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1 chronicles 29
every mind, and understands every plan and
thought. If you seek him, he will be found by
you; but if you forsake him, he will abandon
you forever. Take heed now, for the Lord
has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary; be strong, and act.
Then David gave his son Solomon the
plan of the vestibule of the temple, and of
its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms,
and its inner chambers, and of the room for
the mercy seat;a and the plan of all that
he had in mind: for the courts of the house
of the Lord, all the surrounding chambers,
the treasuries of the house of God, and the
treasuries for dedicated gifts; for the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, and all
the work of the service in the house of the
Lord; for all the vessels for the service in the
house of the Lord, the weight of gold for all
golden vessels for each service, the weight of
silver vessels for each service, the weight
of the golden lampstands and their lamps,
the weight of gold for each lampstand and its
lamps, the weight of silver for a lampstand
and its lamps, according to the use of each in
the service, the weight of gold for each table
for the rows of bread, the silver for the silver
tables, and pure gold for the forks, the basins, and the cups; for the golden bowls and
the weight of each; for the silver bowls and
the weight of each; for the altar of incense
made of rened gold, and its weight; also his
plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim
that spread their wings and covered the ark
of the covenant of the Lord.
All this, in writing at the Lords direction, he made clear to methe plan of all the
works.
David said further to his son Solomon,
Be strong and of good courage, and act. Do
not be afraid or dismayed; for the Lord God,
my God, is with you. He will not fail you or
forsake you, until all the work for the service

of the house of the Lord is nished. Here
are the divisions of the priests and the Levites
for all the service of the house of God; and
with you in all the work will be every volunteer who has skill for any kind of service; also
the ocers and all the people will be wholly
at your command.
King David said to the whole assembly, My son Solomon, whom alone
God has chosen, is young and inexperienced,
and the work is great; for the templeb will
not be for mortals but for the Lord God. So
I have provided for the house of my God, so
far as I was able, the gold for the things of
gold, the silver for the things of silver, and
the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron
for the things of iron, and wood for the things
of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and
stones for setting, antimony, colored stones,
all sorts of precious stones, and marble in
abundance. Moreover, in addition to all that
I have provided for the holy house, I have a
treasure of my own of gold and silver, and
because of my devotion to the house of my
God I give it to the house of my God: three
thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir,
and seven thousand talents of rened silver,
for overlaying the walls of the house, and for
all the work to be done by artisans, gold for
the things of gold and silver for the things of
silver. Who then will oer willingly, consecrating themselves today to the Lord?
Then the leaders of ancestral houses
made their freewill oerings, as did also the
leaders of the tribes, the commanders of
the thousands and of the hundreds, and the
ocers over the kings work. They gave for
the service of the house of God ve thousand
29
a Or the cover
b Heb fortress
28.1121: A plan for the Temple. Much as Moses received plans for the tabernacle (Ex 25.9), David has a
divinely composed wrien plan for the Temple (v. 19), which he presents to Solomon. 20: The transition from
David to Solomon is paerned aer Moses and Joshua; note especially Be strong and of good courage (Deut 31.7;
31.23; Josh 1.618).
29.19: Endowments for the Temple. To explain his own copious preparations, David contrasts young Solomons youthful vulnerability with the tremendous task that lies ahead (cf. 22.5). Davids generosity sets the
stage for Israels leadership to show similar benevolence (vv. 69). There are parallels with Israels gis to the
tabernacle (Ex 25.17; 35.49,2029). 4: Ophir, probably in southern Arabia, was famous for its gold; see Isa
13.12. On the quantities, see 22.14n. 7: The daric was a Persian coin, generally thought to be 8.4 gr, minted
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1 chronicles 29
talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten
thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand
talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. Whoever had precious
stones gave them to the treasury of the house
of the Lord, into the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because
these had given willingly, for with single
mind they had oered freely to the Lord;
King David also rejoiced greatly.
Then David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly; David said: Blessed
are you, OLord, the God of our ancestor
Israel, forever and ever. Yours, OLord,
are the greatness, the power, the glory, the
victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the
heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is
the kingdom, OLord, and you are exalted
as head above all. Riches and honor come
from you, and you rule over all. In your hand
are power and might; and it is in your hand to
make great and to give strength to all. And
now, our God, we give thanks to you and
praise your glorious name.
But who am I, and what is my people,
that we should be able to make this freewill
oering? For all things come from you, and
of your own have we given you. For we are
aliens and transients before you, as were all
our ancestors; our days on the earth are like
a shadow, and there is no hope. OLord
our God, all this abundance that we have
provided for building you a house for your
holy name comes from your hand and is all
your own. I know, my God, that you search
the heart, and take pleasure in uprightness;
in the uprightness of my heart I have freely
oered all these things, and now I have seen
your people, who are present here, oering

freely and joyously to you. OLord, the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors,
keep forever such purposes and thoughts
in the hearts of your people, and direct
their hearts toward you. Grant to my son
Solomon that with single mind he may keep
your commandments, your decrees, and your
statutes, performing all of them, and that he
may build the templea for which I have made
provision.
Then David said to the whole assembly,
Bless the Lord your God. And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and bowed their heads and prostrated
themselves before the Lord and the king.
On the next day they oered sacrices and
burnt oerings to the Lord, a thousand bulls,
a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with
their libations, and sacrices in abundance
for all Israel; and they ate and drank before
the Lord on that day with great joy.
They made Davids son Solomon king a
second time; they anointed him as the Lords
prince, and Zadok as priest. Then Solomon
sat on the throne of the Lord, succeeding his
father David as king; he prospered, and all
Israel obeyed him. All the leaders and the
mighty warriors, and also all the sons of King
David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. The Lord highly exalted Solomon in
the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him
such royal majesty as had not been on any
king before him in Israel.
Thus David son of Jesse reigned over
all Israel. The period that he reigned over
a Heb fortress
sometime aer 515 bce (cf. Ezra 8.27).

29.1019: Davids farewell prayer. The Chronicler follows a paradigm in which nal addresses are made by
great leadersJacob (Gen 49.128), Moses (Deut 32.144,4547; 33.129), Joshua (23.116; 24.128), Samuel
(1 Sam 12.125), and David (2 Sam 23.17; 1 Kings 2.110). Davids acclamation of the Lords sovereignty (vv.
1013) resonates with sentiments expressed earlier in the Psalm anthology (16.2426) and with the prayer that
he oered following Nathans dynastic oracle (17.1627). From Davids point of view, all that he and the people
donate to God ultimately stems from God himself (v. 14). Thus, following earlier biblical norms, these gis serve
as acknowledgments of Gods sovereignty. 15: Aliens and transients, cf. Lev 25.23.
29.2030: Davids death and the transition to Solomon. Davids nal blessing of Israel is coupled with the
anointing of Solomon as his chosen successor. In contrast to Samuel and Kings, the transition is smooth and
without incident. 22: Another all-Israelite feast (see 12.39n.). A second time, whereas David earlier designated
Solomon king over Israel (23.1), all of Israels leaders now publicly endorse Solomons enthronement. 24: Even
all the sons of King David acclaim Solomon, a clear polemic against the account in Samuel-Kings (2 Sam 15.1
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1 chronicles 29
Israel was forty years; he reigned seven
years in Hebron, and thirty-three years
in Jerusalem. He died in a good old age,
full of days, riches, and honor; and his son
Solomon succeeded him. Now the acts of
King David, from first to last, are written in
the records of the seer Samuel, and in the

records of the prophet Nathan, and in the
records of the seer Gad, with accounts of
all his rule and his might and of the events
that befell him and Israel and all the kingdoms of the earth.
16.14; 1 Kings 1.910,2526; 2.15). 25: In royal majesty Solomons reign is unparalleled. 27: Davids reign is dated
to ca. 1005965 bce. 28: David enjoys a long, productive, and respected life. Security and longevity are marks
of divine blessing (2 Chr 24.15; Deut 4.40; 5.16; Isa 52.10; 65.1719). Full of days, see 23.1n. 29: In the Chroniclers
time, Judeans thought of the prophets not only as great gures from Israels past but also authors of historical
writings about that past. That Davids reign is the subject of these three otherwise unknown accounts wrien
by prophets during his reign, is one more indication of the Chroniclers desire to enhance Davids legacy.
2 CHRONICLES
Second Chronicles is a continuation of First Chronicles, and the two originally formed one book, as they still do
in the traditional Hebrew text. (For an introduction to this work, see the Introduction to 1 Chronicles.)
The organization of 2 Chronicles falls into two major parts: the reign of Solomon (chs 19) and the kingdom
of Judah (chs 1036). In Chronicles the tenure of Solomon represents the apex of Israelite history, a time of
unprecedented glory, prosperity, and peace. If Davids reign was highly successful because David consolidated
Israels international position and prepared for the long-awaited Temple, Solomons reign was even more successful because he brought these plans to fruition. Accordingly, much space is devoted in chs 27 to the construction, furnishings, and dedication of this national edice. As the home of the ark of the covenant and the
tabernacle, the Temple represents the continuation and fulllment of earlier Israelite religious institutions. The
careful aention given to the Temple and its worship reects the importance that the Chronicler ascribed to
this institution in the postexilic era. For the author, the Temple is the divinely sanctioned place for both sacrice and prayer (6.17.22), a view also present in the book of Kings.
The Chroniclers account of the divided monarchy diers in many respects from that found in 1 and 2 Kings,
even though he draws heavily from Kings to write his own work. The writer excludes the independent history of
the Northern Kingdom because he regards both the kingship and the sanctuaries of this new state as an aront
to God (13.412). The choice not to recount the record of northern Israel also means that the stories of northern
prophets such as Elijah and Elisha are not found in Chronicles. The author does add, however, much coverage
to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, including a leer from Elijah to a southern king (2 Chr 21.1215). Some of the
material unique to Chronicles reects well on the reigns of major Judahite monarchs, such as Asa (chs 1416),
Jehoshaphat (chs 1720), and Hezekiah (chs 2932). Throughout his presentation, the Chronicler exhibits a
keen concern for all Israelite tribes. The Chronicler criticizes the Northern Kingdom and its monarchs, but he
still considers the northern tribes as Israelite and shows a sustained interest in their contacts with Judah. In
the laer part of its history, Judah lost ground to its enemies and was exiled from its land to Babylon (586 bce).
A major concern of the Chronicler is not only to trace this decline, but also to explain it and to commend the
reforms aimed at reversing it. On the whole, he presents a more optimistic version of this period than do the
authors of Kings. (See further the Introduction to 1 Chronicles, pp. 575-577 hb.)
Gary N. Knoppers
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2 chronicles 1
Solomon son of David established himself

in his kingdom; the Lord his God was with
him and made him exceedingly great.
Solomon summoned all Israel, the
commanders of the thousands and of the
hundreds, the judges, and all the leaders of all
Israel, the heads of families. Then Solomon,
and the whole assembly with him, went to
the high place that was at Gibeon; for Gods
tent of meeting, which Moses the servant of
the Lord had made in the wilderness, was
there. (But David had brought the ark of God
up from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David
had prepared for it; for he had pitched a tent
for it in Jerusalem.) Moreover the bronze
altar that Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, had
made, was there in front of the tabernacle
of the Lord. And Solomon and the assembly
inquired at it. Solomon went up there to the
bronze altar before the Lord, which was at
the tent of meeting, and oered a thousand
burnt oerings on it.
That night God appeared to Solomon,
and said to him, Ask what I should give you.
Solomon said to God, You have shown great
and steadfast love to my father David, and
have made me succeed him as king. OLord
God, let your promise to my father David now
be fullled, for you have made me king over a
people as numerous as the dust of the earth.
Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go

out and come in before this people, for who
can rule this great people of yours? God
answered Solomon, Because this was in your
heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who
hate you, and have not even asked for long
life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may rule my people
over whom I have made you king, wisdom
and knowledge are granted to you. I will also
give you riches, possessions, and honor, such
as none of the kings had who were before
you, and none after you shall have the like.
So Solomon came froma the high place at
Gibeon, from the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.
Solomon gathered together chariots and
horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots
and twelve thousand horses, which he
stationed in the chariot cities and with the
king in Jerusalem. The king made silver and
gold as common in Jerusalem as stone, and
he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore
of the Shephelah. Solomons horses were
imported from Egypt and Kue; the kings traders received them from Kue at the prevailing
price. They imported from Egypt, and then
a Gk Vg: Heb to
1.117: Solomon takes charge, journeys to Gibeon, and prospers. Solomon rules an Israel unied and unhampered by internal factions or strife. Solomons legitimacy is stressed by repeated references to him as
Davids rightful successor and king by divine choice (1 Chr 17.11; 23.1; 28.6; 29.2325; 2 Chr 1.1; 6.10; 7.1718). The
Chronicler presents the United Monarchy as the time when Israels authoritative institutions took shape. The
idealized presentation of David and Solomon eectively establishes a model by which later periods are judged.
1: Solomon ruled ca. 968928 bce. When Solomon took oce, he immediately established himself in his kingdom
and enjoyed the Lords blessings (v. 1). There was no need to pacify, eliminate, or exile his domestic foes (1 Kings
12) because David had already consolidated support for Solomon (1 Chr 2329). 213: The support of military,
local, and civil ocials enables the nation to embark on major new initiatives in a harmonious fashion (1 Chr
11.13; 13.14; 23.12; 28.1; 29.125). In this case, the author transforms a story about Solomons private pilgrimage to the high place at Gibeon (1 Kings 3.315) into a national pilgrimage, adding that the tent of meeting (see
Ex 3839) was located at Gibeon (1 Chr 16.3942). This type of addition, which harmonizes a variety of earlier
texts, typies Chronicles. 4: See 1 Chr 13; 15. 5: On Bezalel and the bronze altar, cf. Ex 27.12; 31.1; 1 Chr 2.20. The
emphasis here is on continuity. 1112: The divine gis of unprecedented wisdom and knowledge, as well as possessions, wealth and honor set the tone and tenor of Solomons reign. Nevertheless, the theme of Solomons
wisdom is not as pronounced in Chronicles as it is in Kings. 1417: These verses, drawn from 1 Kings 10.2629,
illustrate that Gods promises to Solomon at Gibeon are being realized. The rearrangement of earlier sources is
typical of the Chronicler. 15: The Shephelah, the foothills between the coastal plain and the Judean hill country.
16: Kue, in Cilicia, in southern Asia Minor. 17: A shekel weighed about 11.5 gr (.4 oz). The kings of the Hiites ruled
over northern Syria; Aram was southern Syria.
2.118: Solomon prepares to build the Temple. As Davids appointed successor, Solomon brings his fathers
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2 chronicles 2
exported, a chariot for six hundred shekels of
silver, and a horse for one hundred fty; so
through them these were exported to all the
kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.
a Solomon decided to build a temple for
the name of the Lord, and a royal palace
for himself. bSolomon conscripted seventy
thousand laborers and eighty thousand
stonecutters in the hill country, with three
thousand six hundred to oversee them.
Solomon sent word to King Huram of
Tyre: Once you dealt with my father David
and sent him cedar to build himself a house
to live in. I am now about to build a house
for the name of the Lord my God and dedicate it to him for oering fragrant incense
before him, and for the regular oering of
the rows of bread, and for burnt oerings
morning and evening, on the sabbaths and
the new moons and the appointed festivals
of the Lord our God, as ordained forever
for Israel. The house that I am about to
build will be great, for our God is greater
than other gods. But who is able to build
him a house, since heaven, even highest
heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to
build a house for him, except as a place to
make oerings before him? So now send
me an artisan skilled to work in gold, silver,
bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson,
and blue fabrics, trained also in engraving, to
join the skilled workers who are with me in
Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David
provided. Send me also cedar, cypress, and
algum timber from Lebanon, for I know
that your servants are skilled in cutting
Lebanon timber. My servants will work with
your servants to prepare timber for me in
abundance, for the house I am about to build
will be great and wonderful. I will provide
for your servants, those who cut the timber,

twenty thousand cors of crushed wheat,
twenty thousand cors of barley, twenty thousand bathsc of wine, and twenty thousand
baths of oil.
Then King Huram of Tyre answered in a
letter that he sent to Solomon, Because the
Lord loves his people he has made you king
over them. Huram also said, Blessed be
the Lord God of Israel, who made heaven and
earth, who has given King David a wise son,
endowed with discretion and understanding,
who will build a temple for the Lord, and a
royal palace for himself.
I have dispatched Huram-abi, a skilled
artisan, endowed with understanding, the
son of one of the Danite women, his father a
Tyrian. He is trained to work in gold, silver,
bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple,
blue, and crimson fabrics and ne linen, and
to do all sorts of engraving and execute any
design that may be assigned him, with your
artisans, the artisans of my lord, your father
David. Now, as for the wheat, barley, oil,
and wine, of which my lord has spoken, let
him send them to his servants. We will cut
whatever timber you need from Lebanon,
and bring it to you as rafts by sea to Joppa;
you will take it up to Jerusalem.
Then Solomon took a census of all the
aliens who were residing in the land of Israel,
after the census that his father David had taken; and there were found to be one hundred
fty-three thousand six hundred. Seventy
thousand of them he assigned as laborers,
eighty thousand as stonecutters in the hill
a Ch 1.18 in Heb
b Ch 2.1 in Heb
c A Hebrew measure of volume
hopes and designs to fruition by focusing much of his energy on constructing, equipping, and stang the Temple. Like David, Solomon is a devoted patron of his nations worship and makes this the rst priority of his reign.
110: These verses, largely drawn from 1 Kings 5.16,11, provide external conrmation of both Solomons gis
and the planto build a temple. Vv. 45, however, have no source in Kings, and reect later theological notions.
3: Huram (called Hiram in 1 Kings) had been an ally of David (see 2 Sam 5.11), sending him materials to build his
palace. 4: Rows of bread, see 1 Chr 9.32; Lev 24.59. Burnt oerings, see 1 Chr 16.40; Ex 29.3842; Lev 6.20. 8:
Algum (almug in 1 Kings), an unidentied species of tree. 10: A cor was about 230 l (6.5 bu); a bath about 23
l (6 gal). 1112: An elaborated version of 1 Kings 5.7. 1316: Cf. 1 Kings 7.1314. There Huram-abi is called Hiram
and hails from Naphtali. 1718: The census of aliens is a prelude to conscription for the Temples construction
(1 Kings 9.22). In Chronicles Solomon does not conscript Israelites to build the Temple and other public buildings as he does in Kings (1 Kings 5.1318; 12.4).
hebrew bible | 619
2 chronicles 3
20 cubits
20 cubits
40 cubits
Inner
Sanctuary
Nave
10 cubits
Pillar
Boaz
3-story
structure
N
W
Altar
Vestibule
20 cubits
10 cubits
60 cubits
E
Pillar
Jachin
Molten
Sea
The Temple of Solomon according to Second Chronicles.
country, and three thousand six hundred as

overseers to make the people work.
Solomon began to build the house of the
Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah,
where the Lord had appeared to his father
David, at the place that David had designated,
on the threshing oor of Ornan the Jebusite.
He began to build on the second day of the
second month of the fourth year of his reign.
These are Solomons measurementsa for
building the house of God: the length, in cubits of the old standard, was sixty cubits, and
the width twenty cubits. The vestibule in
front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, across the width of the house;b and
its height was one hundred twenty cubits.
He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold.
The nave he lined with cypress, covered it

with ne gold, and made palms and chains
on it. He adorned the house with settings of
precious stones. The gold was gold from Parvaim. So he lined the house with goldits
beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors;
and he carved cherubim on the walls.
He made the most holy place; its length,
corresponding to the width of the house,
was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty
cubits; he overlaid it with six hundred talents
of ne gold. The weight of the nails was
fty shekels of gold. He overlaid the upper
chambers with gold.
a Syr: Heb foundations
b Compare 1Kings 6.3: Meaning of Heb uncertain
3.117: Temple construction (see map above). A condensed and rewrien version of 1 Kings 6; 7.1522 (see
also the notes there). 1: Only here is Mount Moriah, the site of the binding of Isaac (Gen 22.2), explicitly identied with the Temple site. According to the Chronicler, it is also the location where David was instructed to
build an altar to God (1 Chr 21.1522.1) following his calamitous census (1 Chr 21.114). 3: House of God, like the
Tabernacle described in Exodus, Solomons Temple had three major sections, though some of these sections
have dierent names: a vestibule (v. 4), a nave (vv. 45), and a most holy place (v. 8). Of these the most
holy place was the most exclusive and sacred, but the nave (or sanctuary) was the largest and contained
an incense altar, the ten golden lampstands (v. 7), and the ten tables (v. 8). Archaeology has revealed a
variety of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the tripartite design depicted here. A cubit was about 45 cm (18 in);
the cubit of the old standard may have been slightly longer. 4: The measurement of one hundred twenty cubits
for the height of the main part of the building dwarfs the thirty cubits measurement of Solomons Temple in
1 Kings 6.2. 6: The location of Parvaim is unknown. 89: The Chronicler portrays Solomon, like David (1 Chr
29.15), as deliberately excessive in providing for the Temple. The six hundred talents of ne gold is the equivalent of over 20,000 kg (45,000 lbs). 1 Kings 6.1922 simply speaks of pure gold. 1014: Largely abridged from
1 Kings 6.2328. 10: Cherubim were winged, sphinxlike creatures with human faces (cf. Gen 3.24; 1 Kings 6.23;
Ezek 41.1819). In the ancient Near East, kings were sometimes represented as siing on a throne supported by
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2 chronicles 4
In the most holy place he made two
carved cherubim and overlaida them with
gold. The wings of the cherubim together
extended twenty cubits: one wing of the
one, ve cubits long, touched the wall of
the house, and its other wing, ve cubits
long, touched the wing of the other cherub;
and of this cherub, one wing, ve cubits
long, touched the wall of the house, and the
other wing, also ve cubits long, was joined
to the wing of the rst cherub. The wings
of these cherubim extended twenty cubits;
the cherubimb stood on their feet, facing the
nave. And Solomonc made the curtain of
blue and purple and crimson fabrics and ne
linen, and worked cherubim into it.
In front of the house he made two pillars
thirty-ve cubits high, with a capital of ve cubits on the top of each. He made encirclingd
chains and put them on the tops of the pillars;
and he made one hundred pomegranates, and
put them on the chains. He set up the pillars
in front of the temple, one on the right, the
other on the left; the one on the right he called
Jachin, and the one on the left, Boaz.
He made an altar of bronze, twenty
cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten
cubits high. Then he made the molten sea;
it was round, ten cubits from rim to rim, and
ve cubits high. A line of thirty cubits would

encircle it completely. Under it were panels
all around, each of ten cubits, surrounding
the sea; there were two rows of panels, cast
when it was cast. It stood on twelve oxen,
three facing north, three facing west, three
facing south, and three facing east; the sea
was set on them. The hindquarters of each
were toward the inside. Its thickness was a
handbreadth; its rim was made like the rim
of a cup, like the ower of a lily; it held three
thousand baths.e He also made ten basins
in which to wash, and set ve on the right
side, and ve on the left. In these they were
to rinse what was used for the burnt oering.
The sea was for the priests to wash in.
He made ten golden lampstands as
prescribed, and set them in the temple, ve
on the south side and ve on the north. He
also made ten tables and placed them in the
temple, ve on the right side and ve on the
left. And he made one hundred basins of
gold. He made the court of the priests, and
a
b
c
d
e
Heb they overlaid

Heb they
Heb he
Cn: Heb in the inner sanctuary
A Hebrew measure of volume
cherubim. In this case, however, the cherubim symbolized the invisible Lords enthronement in the most holy
place. 14: The reference to the curtain draws a parallel between the tabernacle (Ex 26.31) and the Temple. 1 Kings
6.31 instead mentions doors. The Chronicler oen buresses the antiquity of the Jerusalem Temple by stressing
the continuity between it and older religious institutions such as the tabernacle. 1517: On Jachin and Boaz, see
1 Kings 7.1522n. 15: Pillars, one pillar stood on each side of the Temples entrance. Their height of thirty-ve
cubits is nearly double that registered in 1 Kings 7.15.
4.122: The Temple furnishings. Largely taken from 1 Kings 7.2351 (excepting vv. 2737). 1: The reference to
the altar of bronze may have been drawn from 1 Kings 8.64 (cf. 2 Kings 16.14). See also 2 Chr 1.5 and Ezek 43.1317.
26: The molten sea, made from cast bronze, rested upon a foundation of twelve oxen or bulls, which were traditionally associated with strength and fertility in ancient Canaan. Given that one bath measured approximately 6
gal (23 l), this Temple furnishing was of monumental size. 1 Kings 7.2326 also describes the molten sea, but does
not mention that it was used for priestly ablutions. 4: The twelve oxen supporting the molten sea are grouped
in threes and face outward in each of the four directions of the compass. 6: Ten basins, see 1 Kings 7.3839. The
tabernacle had only one basin (Ex 30.17). To wash, the explanation is not found in Kings. It has been drawn from
the Priestly description of the tent of meeting (Ex 30.1721). 7: Ten golden lampstands, Chronicles, in conformity
with Kings, mentions multiple lampstands in the Temple (1 Chr 28.15; 2 Chr 4.20 || 1 Kings 7.49). In contrast, the
tabernacle has one lampstand (Ex 25.3140; 31.8; Lev 24.14; Num 8.24). As a statute forever throughout your
generations (Lev 24.3), the candelabrums lamps were to burn every evening (Ex 25.37; 30.78; Lev 24.3; Num
8.2; 2 Chr 13.11). 8: Ten tables, in contrast with the one table in the tabernacle (Ex 25.2330; 26.35; Lev 24.59;
2 Chr 13.11) and the one table in the Temple described by 1 Kings 7.48, the Chroniclers Temple had ten. On these
tables the bread of the Presence would be laid. 9: The reference to the court of the priests likely reects the Temple of the Chroniclers own day in which the inner court (1 Kings 6.36; 7.12) was reserved for priests and the outer
hebrew bible | 621
2 chronicles 5
the great court, and doors for the court; he
overlaid their doors with bronze. He set the
sea at the southeast corner of the house.
And Huram made the pots, the shovels,
and the basins. Thus Huram nished the
work that he did for King Solomon on the
house of God: the two pillars, the bowls,
and the two capitals on the top of the pillars;
and the two latticeworks to cover the two
bowls of the capitals that were on the top of
the pillars; the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of
pomegranates for each latticework, to cover
the two bowls of the capitals that were on
the pillars. He made the stands, the basins
on the stands, the one sea, and the twelve
oxen underneath it. The pots, the shovels,
the forks, and all the equipment for these
Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for
King Solomon for the house of the Lord. In
the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in
the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. Solomon made all these things in great
quantities, so that the weight of the bronze
was not determined.
So Solomon made all the things that
were in the house of God: the golden altar,
the tables for the bread of the Presence,
the lampstands and their lamps of pure
gold to burn before the inner sanctuary, as
prescribed; the owers, the lamps, and the
tongs, of purest gold; the snuers, basins,
ladles, and repans, of pure gold. As for the
entrance to the temple: the inner doors to the
most holy place and the doors of the nave of
the temple were of gold.
Thus all the work that Solomon did for
the house of the Lord was nished.
Solomon brought in the things that his father
David had dedicated, and stored the silver,

the gold, and all the vessels in the treasuries
of the house of God.
Then Solomon assembled the elders
of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the
leaders of the ancestral houses of the people
of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of
the covenant of the Lord out of the city of
David, which is Zion. And all the Israelites
assembled before the king at the festival that
is in the seventh month. And all the elders
of Israel came, and the Levites carried the
ark. So they brought up the ark, the tent of
meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in
the tent; the priests and the Levites brought
them up. King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before
him, were before the ark, sacricing so many
sheep and oxen that they could not be numbered or counted. Then the priests brought
the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its
place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in
the most holy place, underneath the wings
of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread
out their wings over the place of the ark, so
that the cherubim made a covering above
the ark and its poles. The poles were so long
that the ends of the poles were seen from the
holy place in front of the inner sanctuary;
but they could not be seen from outside; they
are there to this day. There was nothing
in the ark except the two tablets that Moses
put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a
covenanta with the people of Israel after they
came out of Egypt.
Now when the priests came out of
the holy place (for all the priests who were
a Heb lacks a covenant
court was for laity, at least on some occasions (1 Chr 28.12; 2 Chr 7.7; 29.16; Neh 8.16). See also Ezekiels restored
temple (Ezek 41.15; 42.714; 44.19; 45.19; 46.1). 11: Huram, see 2.1316n. The pots, the shovels, and the basins were
employed in sacricial rituals (Ex 27.3; 1 Kings 7.40). 17: Succoth and Zeredah (Zarethan in 1 Kings 7.46) were towns
situated east of the Jordan River. 19: Bread of the Presence, see Ex 25.30; Lev 24.59.
5.114: The ark and the tent of meeting ascend into the Temple. These verses, except vv. 11b13a, are largely
drawn from 1 Kings 8.113. The incorporation of both the tabernacle and the ark into the Temple means that
both of these older religious institutions nd their fulllment in the Jerusalem sanctuary. Like the authors of
Deuteronomy (ch 12) and the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua2 Kings), the Chronicler commends the centralization of Yahwistic worship and the abolition of all other sanctuaries. Sacrices are to be carried out only
at the Jerusalem Temple and prayers are to be oered at or toward this site (5.56.42), making the Temple the
focal point of national life. 2: On the importance of assemblies in Chronicles, see 1.213n. 4: That the Levites
carry the ark conforms to Davids instructions (1 Chr 15.2) and Deuteronomic law (Deut 10.8). In 1 Kings 8.3, the
622 | hebrew bible
2 chronicles 6
present had sanctied themselves, without
regard to their divisions), all the levitical
singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their
sons and kindred, arrayed in ne linen, with
cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the
altar with one hundred twenty priests who
were trumpeters. It was the duty of the
trumpeters and singers to make themselves
heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to
the Lord, and when the song was raised, with
trumpets and cymbals and other musical
instruments, in praise to the Lord,
For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever,
the house, the house of the Lord, was lled
with a cloud, so that the priests could not
stand to minister because of the cloud; for
the glory of the Lord lled the house of
God.
Then Solomon said, The Lord has said
that he would reside in thick darkness. I
have built you an exalted house, a place for
you to reside in forever.
Then the king turned around and blessed
all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. And he said, Blessed
be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his
hand has fullled what he promised with his
mouth to my father David, saying, Since
the day that I brought my people out of the
land of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from
any of the tribes of Israel in which to build a
house, so that my name might be there, and
I chose no one as ruler over my people Israel;
but I have chosen Jerusalem in order that
my name may be there, and I have chosen
David to be over my people Israel. My father

David had it in mind to build a house for the
name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the
Lord said to my father David, You did well
to consider building a house for my name;
nevertheless you shall not build the house,
but your son who shall be born to you shall
build the house for my name. Now the
Lord has fullled his promise that he made;
for I have succeeded my father David, and sit
on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised,
and have built the house for the name of the
Lord, the God of Israel. There I have set the
ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that
he made with the people of Israel.
Then Solomona stood before the altar
of the Lord in the presence of the whole
assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands.
Solomon had made a bronze platform ve
cubits long, ve cubits wide, and three cubits
high, and had set it in the court; and he stood
on it. Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of the whole assembly of Israel, and
spread out his hands toward heaven. He
said, OLord, God of Israel, there is no God
like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant in steadfast love with your servants who
walk before you with all their heart you
who have kept for your servant, my father
David, what you promised to him. Indeed,
you promised with your mouth and this day
have fullled with your hand. Therefore,
OLord, God of Israel, keep for your servant,
my father David, that which you promised
a Heb he
priests do so. 10: Two tablets, see Deut 10.15. Horeb is another name for Sinai. 1113: The Chroniclers addition to the Kings narrative points out that Davids levitical and priestly arrangements (1 Chr 1516; 2526) were
broadly implemented. Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, see 1 Chr 6.33n.,44n. 13: For the hymnic excerpt, see 7.3n.
Cloud, see 1 Kings 8.1011n.
6.142: Solomons blessing and Temple dedication prayer. With the exception of vv. 13 and 4142, this entire chapter is reproduced, with some signicant modications, from the authors version of 1 Kings 8.1252.
Solomons public speeches situate the Temples construction in Israels national lifepast, present, and future.
411: In his blessing, Solomon praises God that a number of the promises to David (1 Chr 17.115) have been fullled. 1240: The paern of divine delity recounted in Solomons blessing becomes the occasion for Solomon
to request that other divine promises be realized (vv. 1417). The heart of the prayer of dedication (vv. 2240)
consists of seven petitions detailing a variety of predicaments in which the nation may nd itself, including defeat by the enemy (vv. 2425), drought (vv. 2627), open pitched bales (vv. 3435), and even exile (vv. 3639).
In each case Solomon prays that God might listen from his heavenly dwelling and be aentive to the prayers
of his people. 13: The bronze platform is found only here. 16: My law (Heb torah), replacing before me of
1 Kings 8.25. This small change likely reects the new importance of the Torah-book in the postexilic commu-
hebrew bible | 623
2 chronicles 6
him, saying, There shall never fail you a
successor before me to sit on the throne of
Israel, if only your children keep to their way,
to walk in my law as you have walked before
me. Therefore, OLord, God of Israel, let
your word be conrmed, which you promised
to your servant David.
But will God indeed reside with mortals
on earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven
cannot contain you, how much less this house
that I have built! Regard your servants
prayer and his plea, OLord my God, heeding
the cry and the prayer that your servant prays
to you. May your eyes be open day and
night toward this house, the place where you
promised to set your name, and may you heed
the prayer that your servant prays toward this
place. And hear the plea of your servant and
of your people Israel, when they pray toward
this place; may you hear from heaven your
dwelling place; hear and forgive.
If someone sins against another and
is required to take an oath and comes and
swears before your altar in this house, may
you hear from heaven, and act, and judge
your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing their conduct on their own head, and
vindicating those who are in the right by
rewarding them in accordance with their
righteousness.
When your people Israel, having sinned
against you, are defeated before an enemy
but turn again to you, confess your name,
pray and plead with you in this house, may
you hear from heaven, and forgive the sin of
your people Israel, and bring them again to
the land that you gave to them and to their
ancestors.
When heaven is shut up and there is no
rain because they have sinned against you,
and then they pray toward this place, confess
your name, and turn from their sin, because
you punish them, may you hear in heaven,
forgive the sin of your servants, your people
Israel, when you teach them the good way in
which they should walk; and send down rain
upon your land, which you have given to your
people as an inheritance.
If there is famine in the land, if there is
plague, blight, mildew, locust, or caterpillar;
if their enemies besiege them in any of the
settlements of the lands; whatever suer-
624 | hebrew bible
ing, whatever sickness there is; whatever

prayer, whatever plea from any individual
or from all your people Israel, all knowing
their own suering and their own sorrows
so that they stretch out their hands toward
this house; may you hear from heaven,
your dwelling place, forgive, and render to all
whose heart you know, according to all their
ways, for only you know the human heart.
Thus may they fear you and walk in your
ways all the days that they live in the land
that you gave to our ancestors.
Likewise when foreigners, who are not
of your people Israel, come from a distant
land because of your great name, and your
mighty hand, and your outstretched arm,
when they come and pray toward this house,
may you hear from heaven your dwelling
place, and do whatever the foreigners ask of
you, in order that all the peoples of the earth
may know your name and fear you, as do
your people Israel, and that they may know
that your name has been invoked on this
house that I have built.
If your people go out to battle against
their enemies, by whatever way you shall
send them, and they pray to you toward this
city that you have chosen and the house that
I have built for your name, then hear from
heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.
If they sin against youfor there is no
one who does not sinand you are angry
with them and give them to an enemy, so that
they are carried away captive to a land far
or near; then if they come to their senses
in the land to which they have been taken
captive, and repent, and plead with you in
the land of their captivity, saying, We have
sinned, and have done wrong; we have acted
wickedly; if they repent with all their
heart and soul in the land of their captivity,
to which they were taken captive, and pray
toward their land, which you gave to their
ancestors, the city that you have chosen, and
the house that I have built for your name,
then hear from heaven your dwelling place
their prayer and their pleas, maintain their
cause and forgive your people who have
sinned against you. Now, Omy God, let
your eyes be open and your ears attentive to
prayer from this place.
2 chronicles 7
Now rise up, OLord God, and go to
your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
Let your priests, OLord God, be clothed
with salvation,
and let your faithful rejoice in your
goodness.
OLord God, do not reject your anointed
one.
Remember your steadfast love for your
servant David.
When Solomon had ended his prayer, re
came down from heaven and consumed
the burnt oering and the sacrices; and
the glory of the Lord lled the temple. The
priests could not enter the house of the
Lord, because the glory of the Lord lled the
Lords house. When all the people of Israel
saw the re come down and the glory of the
Lord on the temple, they bowed down on
the pavement with their faces to the ground,
and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord,
saying,
For he is good,
Then the king and all the people oered sacrice before the Lord. King Solomon oered
as a sacrice twenty-two thousand oxen and
one hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the
king and all the people dedicated the house
of God. The priests stood at their posts; the
Levites also, with the instruments for music
to the Lord that King David had made for giving thanks to the Lordfor his steadfast love
endures foreverwhenever David oered
praises by their ministry. Opposite them

the priests sounded trumpets; and all Israel
stood.
Solomon consecrated the middle of the
court that was in front of the house of the
Lord; for there he oered the burnt oerings and the fat of the oerings of well-being
because the bronze altar Solomon had made
could not hold the burnt oering and the
grain oering and the fat parts.
At that time Solomon held the festival
for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very
great congregation, from Lebo-hamath to the
Wadi of Egypt. On the eighth day they held
a solemn assembly; for they had observed
the dedication of the altar seven days and
the festival seven days. On the twenty-third
day of the seventh month he sent the people
away to their homes, joyful and in good
spirits because of the goodness that the Lord
had shown to David and to Solomon and to
his people Israel.
Thus Solomon nished the house of the
Lord and the kings house; all that Solomon
had planned to do in the house of the Lord
and in his own house he successfully accomplished.
Then the Lord appeared to Solomon
in the night and said to him: I have heard
your prayer, and have chosen this place for
myself as a house of sacrice. When I shut
up the heavens so that there is no rain, or
command the locust to devour the land, or
send pestilence among my people, if my
people who are called by my name humble
nity. 4142: Solomons prayer of 1 Kings 8 is given a new conclusion from Ps 132.810.
7.122: Divine consecration, national thanksgiving, and a warning. Both the Deuteronomist (1 Kings 9.19)
and the Chronicler mention a divine response to Solomons prayer (vv. 1622), but the Chronicler also includes
other material arming both the Temple (vv. 13,11) and King Solomons petitions (vv. 1315). The divine response to Solomon therefore explicitly validates Jerusalem as the site of Israels central sanctuary. 1: The divine
consecration of the burnt oering and the sacrices by re, not found in 1 Kings 89, dramatically legitimates the
Jerusalem Temple as an enduring xture of Israelite life (Lev 9.24; 1 Kings 18.3639; 1 Chr 21.26). 3: The peoples
liturgical refrainFor he is good, for his steadfast love endures foreveralso found in Ps 136 (and 1 Chr 16.34;
2 Chr 5.13; 7.6; 20.21; Ezra 3.11), was likely a signicant element of the postexilic Temple liturgy. 78: Taken in
part from 1 Kings 8.6566. From Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of Egypt, the northern and southern limits of Solomons rule. Lebo-hamath is probably in the southern Orontes valley in Lebanon. The Wadi of Egypt, either the
Wadi Besor or the Wadi el-Arish, both south of Gaza. See map on p. 592 hb. 910: The festivities last far longer
than in 1 Kings 8.66, in which the Priestly legislation is not a consideration (cf. Lev 23.36; Num 29.3538; Neh
8.18). 1314: The Temple is approved as an appropriate means of divine-human communications. Should king
or people nd themselves in duress, they may respond in four ways: humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and
turn from their wicked ways. For his part, the Lord will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land
hebrew bible | 625
I
AL
BA
SH
AN
VIII
AP
AS
HE
Mediterranean
Sea
33
IS S A C H A R
Socoh
III
VI
Jezreel
Taanach
Hepher
Ramoth-gilead
Beth-shean
Arubboth
Abel-meholah
IM
RA
H
I
EP
VII
32
Mahanaim
XI
Shaalbim
Makaz
Megiddo
G I L E
A
IV
NAP
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ATH
-DOR
IX
II
Elon
Beth-shemesh
BENJAMIN
JERUSALEM
XII
JUDAH
Dead
Sea
31
0
0
35
Chs 89. The kingdom of Solomon.
626 | hebrew bible
10
10
36
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
2 chronicles 8
themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn
from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal
their land. Now my eyes will be open and
my ears attentive to the prayer that is made
in this place. For now I have chosen and
consecrated this house so that my name may
be there forever; my eyes and my heart will
be there for all time. As for you, if you walk
before me, as your father David walked, doing
according to all that I have commanded you
and keeping my statutes and my ordinances,
then I will establish your royal throne, as I
made covenant with your father David saying, You shall never lack a successor to rule
over Israel.
But if youa turn aside and forsake my
statutes and my commandments that I have
set before you, and go and serve other gods
and worship them, then I will pluck youb
up from the land that I have given you;b and
this house, which I have consecrated for my
name, I will cast out of my sight, and will
make it a proverb and a byword among all
peoples. And regarding this house, now
exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished, and say, Why has the Lord done
such a thing to this land and to this house?
Then they will say, Because they abandoned the Lord the God of their ancestors
who brought them out of the land of Egypt,
and they adopted other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore he
has brought all this calamity upon them.
At the end of twenty years, during which
Solomon had built the house of the Lord
and his own house, Solomon rebuilt the cit-
ies that Huram had given to him, and settled

the people of Israel in them.
Solomon went to Hamath-zobah,
and captured it. He built Tadmor in the
wilderness and all the storage towns that
he built in Hamath. He also built Upper
Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars, and
Baalath, as well as all Solomons storage
towns, and all the towns for his chariots,
the towns for his cavalry, and whatever
Solomon desired to build, in Jerusalem, in
Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. All the people who were left of the
Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the
Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of
Israel, from their descendants who were
still left in the land, whom the people of
Israel had not destroyedthese Solomon
conscripted for forced labor, as is still the
case today. But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves for his work; they were
soldiers, and his officers, the commanders of his chariotry and cavalry. These
were the chief officers of King Solomon,
two hundred fifty of them, who exercised
authority over the people.
Solomon brought Pharaohs daughter
from the city of David to the house that he
had built for her, for he said, My wife shall
not live in the house of King David of Israel,
for the places to which the ark of the Lord
has come are holy.
a The word you in this verse is plural

b Heb them
(v. 14). 1922: Israels possession of the land, as well as the longevity of the Temple itself, are keyed to national
obedience (cf. 1 Chr 28.7).
8.118: Solomon the successful king. Following the Temples dedication, Solomon advances his program of
public works (vv. 36,11), continues his patronage of the nations worship (vv. 1215), employs the tribute from
a foreign king to good advantage (v. 2; cf. 1 Kings 9.1014), and engages in international trade (vv. 1718). 2: This
reects a remarkable reversal of the tradition recorded in 1 Kings 9.1113. 3: An otherwise unaested campaign.
Although in Chronicles Solomon (Heb shelomoh) is a man of peace (shalom; 1 Chr 22.9), he here expands his
kingdom through military means. No place named Hamath-zobah is known; elsewhere Hamath and Zobah are
separate kingdoms in Syria. 4: Solomons control reaches to Syria (see map on p. 626 hb). The system of twelve
prefects and the districts they governed (1 Kings 4.719) is not found in Chronicles, possibly because these
districts did not follow traditional tribal boundaries. Tadmor is later Palmyra, an important oasis in the desert
ca. 225 km (140 mi) northeast of Damascus. Some Hebrew texts of 1 Kings 9.18 read Tamar, a small place in
Judah, while others read Tadmor, as in Chronicles. 710: Largely derived from 1 Kings 9.2023. 7: These are
some of the traditional inhabitants of the land of Canaan; see Gen 15.20; Deut 20.17. 11: Compare 1 Kings 3.1;
hebrew bible | 627
2 chronicles 9
Then Solomon oered up burnt oerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord
that he had built in front of the vestibule,
as the duty of each day required, oering
according to the commandment of Moses for
the sabbaths, the new moons, and the three
annual festivalsthe festival of unleavened
bread, the festival of weeks, and the festival
of booths. According to the ordinance of his
father David, he appointed the divisions of
the priests for their service, and the Levites
for their oces of praise and ministry alongside the priests as the duty of each day required, and the gatekeepers in their divisions
for the several gates; for so David the man of
God had commanded. They did not turn
away from what the king had commanded the
priests and Levites regarding anything at all,
or regarding the treasuries.
Thus all the work of Solomon was accomplished froma the day the foundation
of the house of the Lord was laid until the
house of the Lord was nished completely.
Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and
Eloth on the shore of the sea, in the land of
Edom. Huram sent him, in the care of his
servants, ships and servants familiar with
the sea. They went to Ophir, together with
the servants of Solomon, and imported from
there four hundred fty talents of gold and
brought it to King Solomon.
When the queen of Sheba heard of the
fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem
to test him with hard questions, having a very
great retinue and camels bearing spices and
very much gold and precious stones. When
she came to Solomon, she discussed with him
all that was on her mind. Solomon answered

all her questions; there was nothing hidden
from Solomon that he could not explain to
her. When the queen of Sheba had observed
the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he
had built, the food of his table, the seating
of his ocials, and the attendance of his
servants, and their clothing, his valets, and
their clothing, and his burnt oeringsb that
he oered at the house of the Lord, there was
no more spirit left in her.
So she said to the king, The report was
true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom, but I
did not believe thec reports until I came and
my own eyes saw it. Not even half of the greatness of your wisdom had been told to me;
you far surpass the report that I had heard.
Happy are your people! Happy are these
your servants, who continually attend you
and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord
your God, who has delighted in you and set
you on his throne as king for the Lord your
God. Because your God loved Israel and would
establish them forever, he has made you king
over them, that you may execute justice and
righteousness. Then she gave the king one
hundred twenty talents of gold, a very great
quantity of spices, and precious stones: there
were no spices such as those that the queen of
Sheba gave to King Solomon.
Moreover the servants of Huram and the
servants of Solomon who brought gold from
a Gk Syr Vg: Heb to
b Gk Syr Vg 1Kings 10.5: Heb ascent
c Heb their
7.8; 9.24; Ezek 44.9. 1215: Solomon keeps the commandments of Moses in his oerings and keeps all of the
ordinances of his father David in his appointments of priests and Levites (1 Chr 22.716; 28.610,2021). 1718:
Largely taken from 1 Kings 9.2628. 17: Ezion-geber and Eloth (Eliat) are at the northern tip of the west arm of the
sea (the Red Sea). 18: Ophir, see 1Chr 29.4n.
9.131: Solomon in all of his glory. The earlier divine promise of unmatched wealth and wisdom (1.1112)
is realized. Solomon receives unprecedented international recognition (vv. 18,2324), continues his endowments of palace and Temple (vv. 1520), enjoys unsurpassed riches (vv. 22,27), shares in the benets of international trade (vv. 1011,1314,21,28), and presides over a substantial kingdom (vv. 2526). In Chronicles, the
era of David and Solomon (the United Monarchy) is the epitome in the history of Israel, the model of unity
and orthodoxy by which both earlier and later leaders, ocials, and people will be judged (7.10; 11.17; 30.26;
35.34). 112: Taken from 1 Kings 10.113. 1: Sheba is in Arabia. 4: No more spirit le, that is, she was breathless.
8: Solomon sits on his throne, that is, the Lords throne. The Chronicler draws a close link between Gods kingdom, kingship, and throne and those of the two major kings of the United MonarchyDavid and Solomon,
who discharge their responsibilities well as the Lords appointees (1 Chr 17.14; 28.5; 29.11; 2 Chr 13.8). 9: A talent
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2 chronicles 9
Ophir brought algum wood and precious
stones. From the algum wood, the king
made stepsa for the house of the Lord and for
the kings house, lyres also and harps for the
singers; there never was seen the like of them
before in the land of Judah.
Meanwhile King Solomon granted the
queen of Sheba every desire that she expressed, well beyond what she had brought to
the king. Then she returned to her own land,
with her servants.
The weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six
talents of gold, besides that which the
traders and merchants brought; and all the
kings of Arabia and the governors of the land
brought gold and silver to Solomon. King
Solomon made two hundred large shields of
beaten gold; six hundred shekels of beaten
gold went into each large shield. He made
three hundred shields of beaten gold; three
hundred shekels of gold went into each
shield; and the king put them in the House of
the Forest of Lebanon. The king also made
a great ivory throne, and overlaid it with
pure gold. The throne had six steps and a
footstool of gold, which were attached to the
throne, and on each side of the seat were arm
rests and two lions standing beside the arm
rests, while twelve lions were standing, one
on each end of a step on the six steps. The
like of it was never made in any kingdom.
All King Solomons drinking vessels were of

gold, and all the vessels of the House of the
Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver
was not considered as anything in the days
of Solomon. For the kings ships went to
Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once
every three years the ships of Tarshish used
to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and
peacocks.b
Thus King Solomon excelled all the
kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which
God had put into his mind. Every one of
them brought a present, objects of silver and
gold, garments, weaponry, spices, horses, and
mules, so much year by year. Solomon had
four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses, which he
stationed in the chariot cities and with the
king in Jerusalem. He ruled over all the
kings from the Euphrates to the land of the
Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. The
king made silver as common in Jerusalem as
stone, and cedar as plentiful as the sycamore
of the Shephelah. Horses were imported for
Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.
Now the rest of the acts of Solomon,
from rst to last, are they not written in the
a Gk Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Or baboons
weighed about 75 lb (34 kg). 11: Algum, see 2.8n. 1328: Largely drawn from 1 Kings 10.1428a. 15: Large shields,
these ornamental objects of great value were later taken by King Shishak of Egypt during his campaign through
parts of Canaan (12.911). 16: The House of the Forest of Lebanon, perhaps named because of the extensive use
of Lebanon cedar inside. This complex, which was probably located south of the Temple, actually contained
ve buildings. Being most interested in the Temple, the Chronicler does not elaborate on the description and
functions of this building (cf. 1 Kings 7.112). 17: Great ivory throne, both Solomons ocial seat and a symbol of
his prestige, wealth, and power (cf. Ex 11.5; 2 Sam 3.10). 18: Footstool, another royal symbol (cf. 1 Kings 10.1820).
The term is also used to represent defeated enemies (Ps 110.1), the ark (1 Chr 28.2), Zion (Lam 2.1), and the earth
itself (Isa 66.1). 21: Tarshish, probably the city of Tarsus on the southern coast of Turkey, or perhaps Tartessus
in southern Spain. 2529: Cf. 1.1416n. Verse 26 is drawn from 1 Kings 4.21; Solomon is the dominant ruler of
the region from northern Syria to the border of Egypt (cf. 7.8). 29: Nathan, see 1 Chr 17.115; Ahijah, see 1 Kings
11.2939; Iddo is not known apart from notices such as this (see 12.15; 13.22). 2931: Solomons reign ends as it
began with a unied nation under an exemplary king. Israel is unhampered by internal factions or strife. The nation enjoys unparalleled glory. Solomons tenure is untainted by sin or misadventure. Any information found in
Kings that would potentially tarnish Solomons reputation has been omied (1 Kings 9.1116; 11.138). Solomon
is not blamed for the later division of the kingdom (cf. 1 Kings 11.113,3138). Because the Chronicler heightens
the great benet of Davidic-Solomonic leadership for the people, those who might deviate from this norm
(10.3) will be suspect. It is unclear if the sources mentioned in v. 29 and elsewhere are nonbiblical sources, refer
to other sections of the Bible, or never existed. Some scholars believe that they are cited here as a way of justi-
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2 chronicles 10
Damascus
ER
Ijon
Abel-maim
Dan
ARA M
33
SH
N A P H TA L I
M A N A SS E H
ISSACHAR
Mediterranean
Sea
Ramoth-gilead
I S R A E L
Shechem
M
A I Jeshanah
HR
P
Ephron
E
Bethel
Zemaraim
Jabneh
Ashdod
IA
T
IS
IL
Mareshah
Lachish
H
P
32
AM M ON
Aijalon B E N J A M I N
Ramah Jerusalem
Gath?
Gerar
River Jordan
SH
ER
Samaria
J U DA H
Bethlehem
Azekah
Etam
Soco
Tekoa
Adullam
Beth-zur
Hebron
Ziph
Dead
Adoraim
Sea
En-gedi
Beer-sheba
20 Miles
M OAB
0
S I M EO N
35
36
E D OM
20 Kilometers
31
Chs 1012: The divided monarchy. The dashed line shows the approximate boundaries between
Israel, Judah, and Philistia.
history of the prophet Nathan, and in the

prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the
visions of the seer Iddo concerning Jeroboam
son of Nebat? Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. Solomon
slept with his ancestors and was buried in the
city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam succeeded him.
Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all
Israel had come to Shechem to make
him king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat
heard of it (for he was in Egypt, where he
10
fying the Chroniclers history, which diers in such signicant ways from Kings. In any case, it is a credit to Solomon that his reign is the subject of no less than three prophetic works. This is one indication of the high esteem
in which prophets and writings associated with prophets were held in the postexilic period (cf. 1 Chr 29.29n.).
10.118: The dicult beginning to Rehoboams reign (928911 bce). Compared with 1 Kings 12.124; 14.2131,
Chronicles almost doubles the amount of coverage devoted to Rehoboam and presents a much more complex
narration of his reign (10.112.16). Rehoboams accession is not characterized by the unanimity that both David
(1 Chr 11) and Solomon (2 Chr 1) enjoyed. 1: Rehoboam ascends to the throne and immediately nds himself
thrust into a national assembly at Shechem bargaining for the future of his nation with disaected representatives of the northern tribes (cf. 1 Kings 12.124). Shechem, in the later Northern Kingdom, was located in the hill
country of Ephraim between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. The national convocation was likely held here because
Shechem was an important and historic town in ancient Israel (Josh 8.3035; 20.7; 17.7; 21.21; 24.128; 1 Kings
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2 chronicles 11
had ed from King Solomon), then Jeroboam
returned from Egypt. They sent and called
him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came and
said to Rehoboam, Your father made our
yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard
service of your father and his heavy yoke
that he placed on us, and we will serve you.
He said to them, Come to me again in three
days. So the people went away.
Then King Rehoboam took counsel with
the older men who had attended his father
Solomon while he was still alive, saying,
How do you advise me to answer this
people? They answered him, If you will
be kind to this people and please them, and
speak good words to them, then they will
be your servants forever. But he rejected
the advice that the older men gave him, and
consulted the young men who had grown
up with him and now attended him. He
said to them, What do you advise that we
answer this people who have said to me,
Lighten the yoke that your father put on
us? The young men who had grown up
with him said to him, Thus should you
speak to the people who said to you, Your
father made our yoke heavy, but you must
lighten it for us; tell them, My little finger
is thicker than my fathers loins. Now,
whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke,
I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline
you with scorpions.
So Jeroboam and all the people came
to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had
said, Come to me again the third day. The
king answered them harshly. King Rehoboam
rejected the advice of the older men; he

spoke to them in accordance with the advice
of the young men, My father made your yoke
heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline
you with scorpions. So the king did not
listen to the people, because it was a turn of
aairs brought about by God so that the Lord
might fulll his word, which he had spoken
by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of
Nebat.
When all Israel saw that the king would
not listen to them, the people answered the
king,
What share do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of
Jesse.
Each of you to your tents, OIsrael!
Look now to your own house, ODavid.
So all Israel departed to their tents. But
Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel
who were living in the cities of Judah. When
King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was
taskmaster over the forced labor, the people
of Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam
hurriedly mounted his chariot to ee to
Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion
against the house of David to this day.
When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he
assembled one hundred eighty thousand chosen troops of the house of Judah and
Benjamin to ght against Israel, to restore the
kingdom to Rehoboam. But the word of the
Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God: Say
to King Rehoboam of Judah, son of Solomon,
and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,
Thus says the Lord: You shall not go up or
11
12.117; 1 Chr 6.52; 7.28). 23: Jeroboam, the head of the northern tribes (1 Kings 11.2643), is both present and
an active protagonist in the proceedings (also v. 12). In Chronicles both Jeroboam and Rehoboam are personally responsible for the events of the secession (13.412). 15: His word . . . by Ahijah, see 1 Kings 11.2939. Ultimately, the division is a turn of aairs that could not have occurred without divine assent. This verse assumes
familiarity on the part of the reader with 1 Kings 11.2939, even though the Chronicler, by means of omissions,
allusions, rearrangements, and additions, creates his own distinctive version of the division. 16: In Chronicles,
the northern Israelites cry of secession (1 Kings 12.16) constitutes an abrupt about-face from the allegiance
they had displayed since early in Davids reign (1 Chr 12.140). Because the Chronicler views both the kingship
and the worship of the northern realm as illegitimate, heunlike the author of Kingsdoes not recount the
independent history of the Northern Kingdom.
11.123: Rehoboams recovery. The Chronicler enumerates in great detail the delity he ascribes to the rst
three years of Rehoboams reign (11.17). The obedience before a prophet (11.14) and the fortication of various
cities (vv. 512) are two steps in this process of renewal. 14: Drawn from 1 Kings 12.2124. 3: The Chronicler
does not restrict the use of Israel strictly to the northern tribes (cf. 2 Sam 2.9; 1 Kings 12.18,20). He also regularly
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2 chronicles 12
ght against your kindred. Let everyone return home, for this thing is from me. So they
heeded the word of the Lord and turned back
from the expedition against Jeroboam.
Rehoboam resided in Jerusalem, and he
built cities for defense in Judah. He built up
Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth-zur, Soco,
Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, Adoraim,
Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon, and
Hebron, fortied cities that are in Judah and
in Benjamin. He made the fortresses strong,
and put commanders in them, and stores of
food, oil, and wine. He also put large shields
and spears in all the cities, and made them
very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.
The priests and the Levites who were in
all Israel presented themselves to him from
all their territories. The Levites had left
their common lands and their holdings and
had come to Judah and Jerusalem, because
Jeroboam and his sons had prevented them
from serving as priests of the Lord, and
had appointed his own priests for the high
places, and for the goat-demons, and for the
calves that he had made. Those who had
set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel
came after them from all the tribes of Israel
to Jerusalem to sacrice to the Lord, the God
of their ancestors. They strengthened the
kingdom of Judah, and for three years they
made Rehoboam son of Solomon secure,
for they walked for three years in the way of
David and Solomon.
Rehoboam took as his wife Mahalath
daughter of Jerimoth son of David, and of
Abihail daughter of Eliab son of Jesse. She
bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

After her he took Maacah daughter of
Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza,
and Shelomith. Rehoboam loved Maacah
daughter of Absalom more than all his other
wives and concubines (he took eighteen
wives and sixty concubines, and became
the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty
daughters). Rehoboam appointed Abijah
son of Maacah as chief prince among his
brothers, for he intended to make him king.
He dealt wisely, and distributed some of
his sons through all the districts of Judah and
Benjamin, in all the fortied cities; he gave
them abundant provisions, and found many
wives for them.
When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he grew strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, he and all Israel
with him. In the fth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the
Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up against
Jerusalem with twelve hundred chariots
and sixty thousand cavalry. A countless army
came with him from EgyptLibyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians.a He took the fortied
cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.
Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the ocers of Judah, who had
gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak,
and said to them, Thus says the Lord: You
abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to
the hand of Shishak. Then the ocers of
Israel and the king humbled themselves and
12
a Or Nubians; Heb Cushites
uses Israel to refer to those Israelites who reside in Judah and Benjamin. 512: These verses likely draw upon an
unknown source. See map on p. 630 hb. 1317: The wholesale exodus of priests and Levites from Israel to Judah
simultaneously strengthens Judah and indicts Jeroboam, who prevented them from serving as priests of the Lord.
On Jeroboams religious innovations, see 1 Kings 12.28; 13.33; 14.89. 15: Goat-demons, an obscure and polemical reference not found in the source text depicting Jeroboams religious innovations (1 Kings 12.28). Worship
of goat-demons is outlawed in Priestly legislation (Lev 17.7). 1821: Large families signify stature in Chronicles
(1 Chr 14.3; 2 Chr 11.1823; 13.21; 14.37; cf. Gen 1.28). 2223: Like his grandfather David, Rehoboam appoints his
sons to positions in his administration (1 Chr 18.17).
12.116: National decline and a reprieve. Aer a short recovery (11.123), Rehoboam and Judah abandon the
law of the Lord and therefore Egypt invades (cf. 1 Kings 14.25). The outlines of the Egyptian invasion are found
in 1 Kings 14.2528, but the Chronicler has elaborated them signicantly, especially in his addition of v. 1, which
suggests that the invasion was punishment for apostasy. 2: Shishak (Shoshenq I) ruled Egypt 945924 bce. 3:
Sukkiim, unknown. 5: The prophets speech, like many other biblical texts, invokes the principle of measure
for measure: Those who abandon God will be abandoned by God. 68: Because of their repentance (cf. 11.14),
Rehoboam and the people stave o complete disaster. Hence, Rehoboam is the rst of many kings to benet
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2 chronicles 13
said, The Lord is in the right. When the
Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the
word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying:
They have humbled themselves; I will not
destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured
out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
Nevertheless they shall be his servants, so
that they may know the dierence between
serving me and serving the kingdoms of
other lands.
So King Shishak of Egypt came up against
Jerusalem; he took away the treasures of the
house of the Lord and the treasures of the
kings house; he took everything. He also
took away the shields of gold that Solomon
had made; but King Rehoboam made in
place of them shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the ocers of the
guard, who kept the door of the kings house.
Whenever the king went into the house of
the Lord, the guard would come along bearing them, and would then bring them back
to the guardroom. Because he humbled
himself the wrath of the Lord turned from
him, so as not to destroy them completely;
moreover, conditions were good in Judah.
So King Rehoboam established himself
in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was
forty-one years old when he began to reign;
he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the
city that the Lord had chosen out of all the

tribes of Israel to put his name there. His
mothers name was Naamah the Ammonite.
He did evil, for he did not set his heart to
seek the Lord.
Now the acts of Rehoboam, from rst
to last, are they not written in the records of
the prophet Shemaiah and of the seer Iddo,
recorded by genealogy? There were continual
wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
Rehoboam slept with his ancestors and was
buried in the city of David; and his son Abijah
succeeded him.
In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah.
He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His
mothers name was Micaiah daughter of Uriel
of Gibeah.
Now there was war between Abijah and
Jeroboam. Abijah engaged in battle, having
an army of valiant warriors, four hundred
thousand picked men; and Jeroboam drew
up his line of battle against him with eight
hundred thousand picked mighty warriors.
Then Abijah stood on the slope of Mount
Zemaraim that is in the hill country of
Ephraim, and said, Listen to me, Jeroboam
and all Israel! Do you not know that the
Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over
Israel forever to David and his sons by a
covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat,
13
from Gods promises in response to Solomons Temple prayer (7.1215). 1316: Cf. 1 Kings 14.2124,2931. 15:
Iddo, see 9.29n.
13.122: The successful reign of Abijah (911908 bce). In Chronicles, as opposed to 1 Kings 15.18, Abijah
(called Abijam in 1 Kings) is one of Judahs beer monarchs. In a war against Jeroboam and all Israel, he defends
the standards established by David and Solomon as normative for all Israelites. Much of the chapter is an original composition of the Chronicler, elaborating on 1 Kings 15.6. The fundamental principle illustrated through
this narrative is the people of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors (v.
8). 2: Micaiah, there is a text-critical issue here. The Hebrew gives Abijahs mother a Yahwistic name (meaning
Who is like the Lord), whereas the ancient versions name her Maacah in conformity with 1 Kings 15.2 and
2 Chr 11.20. 3: Developing a theme of earlier holy-war narratives (Judg 7.28; 1 Sam 14.6; 17.4547), the Chronicler here and elsewhere stresses that great numbers do not guarantee victory (14.714; 20.130; 24.24; cf. Zech
4.6). Eight hundred thousand, the Chroniclers numbers here and elsewhere are sometimes stupendous (e.g.,
1 Chr 5.18; 23.35; 27.115; 2Chr 14.89; 17.1418; 25.56; 26.1213; 28.68). Some scholars have thought that
the Hebrew word for thousand refers simply to one military unit, meaning that the actual numbers involved
would be far less. But it is more likely that the incredible numbers are a literary convention or scribal embellishment to mark o (what is for the Chronicler) Israels classical past. The use of large, round numbers is also
sometimes found in earlier biblical sources (e.g., 1 Kings 8.5,6264). 5: In speaking to Jeroboam and all Israel (v.
4) of the kingship over Israel as belonging to the Davidic dynasty, Abijah plays on the dierent connotations of
Israel. Covenant of salt, the reference to salt indicates that the kingship that has been covenanted to David
will be enduring (Lev 2.13; Num 18.19). In v. 8, the kingdom of the Lord is itself said to be in the hands of David
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2 chronicles 13
a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up
and rebelled against his lord; and certain
worthless scoundrels gathered around him
and deed Rehoboam son of Solomon, when
Rehoboam was young and irresolute and
could not withstand them.
And now you think that you can withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand
of the sons of David, because you are a great
multitude and have with you the golden
calves that Jeroboam made as gods for you.
Have you not driven out the priests of the
Lord, the descendants of Aaron, and the
Levites, and made priests for yourselves like
the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes
to be consecrated with a young bull or seven
rams becomes a priest of what are no gods.
But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we
have not abandoned him. We have priests
ministering to the Lord who are descendants
of Aaron, and Levites for their service. They
oer to the Lord every morning and every
evening burnt oerings and fragrant incense,
set out the rows of bread on the table of pure
gold, and care for the golden lampstand so
that its lamps may burn every evening; for
we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but
you have abandoned him. See, God is with
us at our head, and his priests have their
battle trumpets to sound the call to battle
against you. OIsraelites, do not ght against
the Lord, the God of your ancestors; for you
cannot succeed.
Jeroboam had sent an ambush around

to come on them from behind; thus his
troopsa were in front of Judah, and the
ambush was behind them. When Judah
turned, the battle was in front of them and
behind them. They cried out to the Lord,
and the priests blew the trumpets. Then
the people of Judah raised the battle shout.
And when the people of Judah shouted,
God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before
Abijah and Judah. The Israelites ed
before Judah, and God gave them into their
hands. Abijah and his army defeated them
with great slaughter; ve hundred thousand
picked men of Israel fell slain. Thus the
Israelites were subdued at that time, and
the people of Judah prevailed, because they
relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors. Abijah pursued Jeroboam, and took
cities from him: Bethel with its villages and
Jeshanah with its villages and Ephronb with
its villages. Jeroboam did not recover his
power in the days of Abijah; the Lord struck
him down, and he died. But Abijah grew
strong. He took fourteen wives, and became
the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen
daughters. The rest of the acts of Abijah,
his behavior and his deeds, are written in
the story of the prophet Iddo.
a Heb they
b Another reading is Ephrain
and his descendants (cf. 1 Chr 17.14; 28.5; 2 Chr 9.8n). 67: Disunion occurred when Jeroboam and worthless
scoundrels exploited a young and inexperienced Rehoboam. This polemicizes against 1 Kings 11.1113,2938.
811: Abijahs enumeration of the proper religious practices of Judah is heavily indebted to the descriptions of
Temple worship during the United Monarchy (1 Chr 1516; 2329; 2 Chr 24) and the descriptions of tabernacle
worship during the era of Moses (Ex 25.3040; 29.19,3842; 30.710; Lev 24.39; Num 8.24; 28.38). 19: Judah
recaptures some of the territory it presumably lost in the secession. The Chronicler commends Judean kings
who exercise inuence in the northern realm (15.89; 17.2; 30.512; 34.67,33). 20: Here God himself struck
Jeroboam and he died; cf. 1 Kings 14.1920. 21: See 11.1821n. 22: The Hebrew word for story (midrash) can
also be translated as exposition, study, or commentary (24.27; cf. Sir 51.23). The reference thus designates a
writing or commentary of Iddo (rather than an annalistic account) on the early monarchy. See also 9.29n.; 12.15.
14.115.19: Reforms, victory, and expansion: the rst period of Asas reign (908867 bce). The Chroniclers
treatment of Asa (14.116.14), almost three times longer than that of 1 Kings 15.924, presents two distinct phases in Asas reign: a long thirty-four-year period of delity and a short seven-year period of indelity (16.112).
The shorter text of Kings is supplemented signicantly. Kings has a paern of piety followed by lack of trust in
God. The Chronicler subsumes elements of Kings to his retribution theology, creating a paern of piety and its
reward, then impiety and its punishment. Prophetic gures play a signicant role in these elaborations. 14.1: In
Chronicles rest from war is a sign of divine blessing (1 Chr 17.89; 22.9; 2 Chr 14.6; 32.22). 28: At the beginning
of his reign Asa takes advantage of peaceful conditions to institute religious reforms (cf. 1 Kings 15.1215) and
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2 chronicles 15
14
a So Abijah slept with his ancestors, and

they buried him in the city of David. His
son Asa succeeded him. In his days the land
had rest for ten years. bAsa did what was good
and right in the sight of the Lord his God.
He took away the foreign altars and the high
places, broke down the pillars, hewed down
the sacred poles,c and commanded Judah to
seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and
to keep the law and the commandment. He
also removed from all the cities of Judah the
high places and the incense altars. And the
kingdom had rest under him. He built fortied cities in Judah while the land had rest. He
had no war in those years, for the Lord gave
him peace. He said to Judah, Let us build
these cities, and surround them with walls and
towers, gates and bars; the land is still ours
because we have sought the Lord our God; we
have sought him, and he has given us peace on
every side. So they built and prospered. Asa
had an army of three hundred thousand from
Judah, armed with large shields and spears,
and two hundred eighty thousand troops from
Benjamin who carried shields and drew bows;
all these were mighty warriors.
Zerah the Ethiopiand came out against
them with an army of a million men and
three hundred chariots, and came as far as
Mareshah. Asa went out to meet him, and
they drew up their lines of battle in the valley
of Zephathah at Mareshah. Asa cried to the
Lord his God, OLord, there is no dierence
for you between helping the mighty and the
weak. Help us, OLord our God, for we rely
on you, and in your name we have come
against this multitude. OLord, you are our
God; let no mortal prevail against you. So
the Lord defeated the Ethiopianse before Asa
and before Judah, and the Ethiopianse ed.
Asa and the army with him pursued them
as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopianse fell until

no one remained alive; for they were broken
before the Lord and his army. The people of
Judahf carried away a great quantity of booty.
They defeated all the cities around Gerar,
for the fear of the Lord was on them. They
plundered all the cities; for there was much
plunder in them. They also attacked the
tents of those who had livestock,g and carried
away sheep and goats in abundance, and
camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
The spirit of God came upon Azariah
son of Oded. He went out to meet
Asa and said to him, Hear me, Asa, and all
Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you,
while you are with him. If you seek him, he
will be found by you, but if you abandon him,
he will abandon you. For a long time Israel
was without the true God, and without a
teaching priest, and without law; but when
in their distress they turned to the Lord, the
God of Israel, and sought him, he was found
by them. In those times it was not safe for
anyone to go or come, for great disturbances
aicted all the inhabitants of the lands.
They were broken in pieces, nation against
nation and city against city, for God troubled
them with every sort of distress. But you,
take courage! Do not let your hands be weak,
for your work shall be rewarded.
When Asa heard these words, the
prophecy of Azariah son of Oded,h he took
15
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Ch 13.23 in Heb
Ch 14.1 in Heb
Heb Asherim
Or Nubian; Heb Cushite
Or Nubians; Heb Cushites
Heb They
Compare Syr Vg: Heb the prophecy, the prophet Obed
embark on a series of public works. 89: On the large numbers, see 13.3n. 915: Another holy-war narrative
(cf. 13.220) in which an outnumbered Judah confronts a much more powerful foe (Zerah, who is otherwise
unknown). In the midst of bale, Asa calls out to the Lord for deliverance in accordance with the petitions of
Solomons prayer (6.3435). When king and people rely on God, they are able to achieve a major victory and
take enormous booty (vv. 1215). 9: Ethiopian, the Hebrew speaks of a Cushite. Cush was an area to the south of
Egypt. Sudan, Nubia, and Ethiopia are all possibilities. 10: Mareshah, ca. 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Jerusalem,
one of the southern cities fortied by Rehoboam (see 11.510). See map on p. 630 hb. 15.17: The prophet Azariah (whose name means the Lord has helped) appears only in this chapter. His oracle speaks of reciprocity
in divine-human relations. The Lord is with you, while you are with him (15.2), the corollary of the measure-formeasure principle articulated earlier by Shemaiah (12.5). Pointing to the chaos of the distant past, the prophet
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2 chronicles 16
courage, and put away the abominable idols
from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and
from the towns that he had taken in the hill
country of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of
the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of
the house of the Lord.a He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim,
Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing
as aliens with them, for great numbers had
deserted to him from Israel when they saw
that the Lord his God was with him. They
were gathered at Jerusalem in the third
month of the fteenth year of the reign of
Asa. They sacriced to the Lord on that
day, from the booty that they had brought,
seven hundred oxen and seven thousand
sheep. They entered into a covenant to
seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors,
with all their heart and with all their soul.
Whoever would not seek the Lord, the God
of Israel, should be put to death, whether
young or old, man or woman. They took
an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, and
with shouting, and with trumpets, and with
horns. All Judah rejoiced over the oath; for
they had sworn with all their heart, and had
sought him with their whole desire, and he
was found by them, and the Lord gave them
rest all around.
King Asa even removed his mother
Maacah from being queen mother because
she had made an abominable image for
Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed
it, and burned it at the Wadi Kidron. But
the high places were not taken out of Israel.
Nevertheless the heart of Asa was true all his
days. He brought into the house of God the
votive gifts of his father and his own votive

giftssilver, gold, and utensils. And there
was no more war until the thirty-fth year of
the reign of Asa.
In the thirty-sixth year of the reign
of Asa, King Baasha of Israel went up
against Judah, and built Ramah, to prevent
anyone from going out or coming into the
territory ofb King Asa of Judah. Then Asa
took silver and gold from the treasures of
the house of the Lord and the kings house,
and sent them to King Ben-hadad of Aram,
who resided in Damascus, saying, Let there
be an alliance between me and you, like
that between my father and your father; I
am sending to you silver and gold; go, break
your alliance with King Baasha of Israel, so
that he may withdraw from me. Ben-hadad
listened to King Asa, and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel.
They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and
all the store-cities of Naphtali. When Baasha
heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and
let his work cease. Then King Asa brought
all Judah, and they carried away the stones
of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha
had been building, and with them he built up
Geba and Mizpah.
At that time the seer Hanani came to
King Asa of Judah, and said to him, Because
you relied on the king of Aram, and did not
rely on the Lord your God, the army of the
king of Aram has escaped you. Were not
16
a Heb the vestibule of the Lord

b Heb lacks the territory of
warns Asa about the perils of abandoning God. 819: In response to Azariahs admonitions, Asa initiates a covenant renewal (vv. 815; cf. Ex 19.38) and institutes further religious reforms (vv. 1618; cf. 1 Kings 15.1315). 9:
From Ephriam, Manasseh, and Simeon. Even though Simeon is located south of Judah, it is oen counted among
the northern tribes in earlier biblical literature (Gen 29.33; 34.25,30; 35.23; 46.10). That members of these tribes
had defected to Asa is an indication of diving blessing.
16.114: Asas decline. The war with Baasha (cf. 1 Kings 15.1622) marks a turning point in Asas tenure because he enters an alliance with Ben-hadad of Aram to counter an invasion by Baasha of Israel. Even though Asa
enters this treaty in self-defense, the Chronicler considers such alliances as compromising Judahs commitment
to God, who can defend the powerless from the mighty. Opposition to pacts with foreign powers is also found
in earlier biblical literature (Deut 7.2; Hos 7.1013; 8.910; Isa 20; 28.1428; 30.15; Jer 2.1419,3337). 1: Ramah
was located just 9 km (6 mi) north of Jerusalem. 79: The judgment oracle of the seer Hanani (apparently the
father of the prophet Jehu; 19.2) heightens the disparity between the two periods of Asas rule. Whereas Asa
formerly relied on God and was able to defeat the vast armies of Ethiopia and Libya (14.714; 15.8), Asas reliance
on Ben-hadad is tantamount to nonreliance on the Lord (16.7). Ironically, Asa will now always be plagued by
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2 chronicles 17
the Ethiopiansa and the Libyans a huge army
with exceedingly many chariots and cavalry?
Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave
them into your hand. For the eyes of the
Lord range throughout the entire earth, to
strengthen those whose heart is true to him.
You have done foolishly in this; for from now
on you will have wars. Then Asa was angry
with the seer, and put him in the stocks, in
prison, for he was in a rage with him because
of this. And Asa inicted cruelties on some of
the people at the same time.
The acts of Asa, from rst to last, are
written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and
Israel. In the thirty-ninth year of his reign
Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease
became severe; yet even in his disease he did
not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians. Then Asa slept with his ancestors,
dying in the forty-rst year of his reign. They
buried him in the tomb that he had hewn out
for himself in the city of David. They laid him
on a bier that had been lled with various
kinds of spices prepared by the perfumers art;
and they made a very great re in his honor.
His son Jehoshaphat succeeded him,
and strengthened himself against
Israel. He placed forces in all the fortied
cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land
of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim that his
father Asa had taken. The Lord was with
Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier
ways of his father;b he did not seek the Baals,
but sought the God of his father and walked
in his commandments, and not according
17
to the ways of Israel. Therefore the Lord

established the kingdom in his hand. All
Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and
he had great riches and honor. His heart
was courageous in the ways of the Lord; and
furthermore he removed the high places and
the sacred polesc from Judah.
In the third year of his reign he sent
his ocials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah,
Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. With them were the Levites,
Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel,
Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah,
and Tob-adonijah; and with these Levites, the
priests Elishama and Jehoram. They taught in
Judah, having the book of the law of the Lord
with them; they went around through all the
cities of Judah and taught among the people.
The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands around Judah, and they did
not make war against Jehoshaphat. Some of
the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents,
and silver for tribute; and the Arabs also
brought him seven thousand seven hundred
rams and seven thousand seven hundred
male goats. Jehoshaphat grew steadily
greater. He built fortresses and storage cities
in Judah. He carried out great works in
the cities of Judah. He had soldiers, mighty
warriors, in Jerusalem. This was the muster
of them by ancestral houses: Of Judah, the
b Another reading is his father David
c Heb Asherim
wars (cf. 1 Kings 15.16). 12: The inrmity in Asas feet (1 Kings 15.23) becomes another indication of Asas unfaithfulness, because in his disease he did not seek the Lord. The comment that he relied on physicians reects an
ironic pun on Asas name, which the Chronicler likely construed (based on Aramaic) as healer or physician.
17.119: The promising beginning to the reign of Jehoshaphat (870846 bce). Both Kings and Chronicles commend Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22.4344; 2 Chr 17.34; 20.3233), but the Chroniclers depiction of Jehoshaphats reign is much more extensive and includes major events not recorded in Kings. Scholars continue
to debate whether these events were based on the additional sources that the Chronicler had, or were freely
composed. Most of the new material, such as Jehoshaphats civil, military, and judicial reforms (17.119; 19.4
11) and his war against the eastern coalition (20.130), reects well on Jehoshaphat. Upon taking oce, Jehoshaphat immediately takes charge of his kingdom. As he institutes reforms, deploys troops, and forties cities, Jehoshaphat only grows stronger and more widely respected. Prophetic material concerning the northern
prophet Elijah, which is embedded in Jehoshaphats reign in Kings, is absent here. 2: Cities of Ephraim, probably
referring to 13.19. 79: Jehoshaphat initiates a campaign to educate the Judean people in the book of the law of
the Lord (cf. Deut 17.1820; 2 Kings 22.813) by sending ocers, Levites, and priests throughout the cities of
Judah. This addition reects the growing importance in the postexilic era of the Torah-book, and of the Levites
as teachers (see esp. Neh 8). 11: Tribute from the nations is a sign of divine favor (1 Chr 18.6; 2 Chr 8.2; 9.19;
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2 chronicles 18
commanders of the thousands: Adnah the
commander, with three hundred thousand
mighty warriors, and next to him Jehohanan the commander, with two hundred
eighty thousand, and next to him Amasiah
son of Zichri, a volunteer for the service of
the Lord, with two hundred thousand mighty
warriors. Of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty
warrior, with two hundred thousand armed
with bow and shield, and next to him
Jehozabad with one hundred eighty thousand
armed for war. These were in the service of
the king, besides those whom the king had
placed in the fortied cities throughout all
Judah.
Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and
honor; and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. After some years he went
down to Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered
an abundance of sheep and oxen for him
and for the people who were with him, and
induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead.
King Ahab of Israel said to King Jehoshaphat
of Judah, Will you go with me to Ramothgilead? He answered him, I am with you,
my people are your people. We will be with
you in the war.
But Jehoshaphat also said to the king
of Israel, Inquire rst for the word of the
Lord. Then the king of Israel gathered the
prophets together, four hundred of them, and
said to them, Shall we go to battle against
Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain? They said,
Go up; for God will give it into the hand of
the king. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there
no other prophet of the Lord here of whom
we may inquire? The king of Israel said
to Jehoshaphat, There is still one other by
whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah
son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never
prophesies anything favorable about me, but
18
only disaster. Jehoshaphat said, Let the

king not say such a thing. Then the king of
Israel summoned an ocer and said, Bring
quickly Micaiah son of Imlah. Now the
king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah
were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their
robes; and they were sitting at the threshing
oor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria;
and all the prophets were prophesying before
them. Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made
for himself horns of iron, and he said, Thus
says the Lord: With these you shall gore the
Arameans until they are destroyed. All the
prophets were prophesying the same and saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph;
the Lord will give it into the hand of the
king.
The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, Look, the words
of the prophets with one accord are favorable
to the king; let your word be like the word
of one of them, and speak favorably. But
Micaiah said, As the Lord lives, whatever my
God says, that I will speak.
When he had come to the king, the
king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to
Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?
He answered, Go up and triumph; they will
be given into your hand. But the king said
to him, How many times must I make you
swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the
name of the Lord? Then Micaiaha said,
I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains,
like sheep without a shepherd; and the Lord
said, These have no master; let each one go
home in peace. The king of Israel said to
Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he would
not prophesy anything favorable about me,
but only disaster?
a Heb he
26.8). 1418: On the large numbers, see 13.3n.

18.119.3: Jehoshaphats rst misstep. The Chronicler relates two shortcomings of Jehoshaphat, both involving his relations with northern Israel. The rst involves Jehoshaphats ill-fated treaty with the king of Israel,
Ahab, in 1 Kings 22.140, which is reproduced with very few changes. 18.1: Presumably this marriage alliance
involved Jehoshaphats son, Jehoram, and Ahabs daughter, Athaliah (21.6; 22.2; cf. 2 Kings 8.18). In the reign
of Jehoshaphats successors, the relationship with Ahabs dynasty becomes the conduit for Judahs royalty to
adopt ill-advised and iniquitous policies (21.6; 22.35). 2: The lavish feast, during which Ahab incites his Judean
counterpart, does not appear in 1 Kings 22. 23: Ramoth-gilead was an Israelite city in northern Jordan that had
apparently been captured by the Arameans. 3: I am with you, the Chronicler depicts Jehoshaphat as a willing and
equal partner to his northern counterpart, Ahab. In Kings, Jehoshaphat appears as the junior partner in the coa-
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2 chronicles 19
Then Micaiaha said, Therefore hear
the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting
on his throne, with all the host of heaven
standing to the right and to the left of him.
And the Lord said, Who will entice King
Ahab of Israel, so that he may go up and fall
at Ramoth-gilead? Then one said one thing,
and another said another, until a spirit
came forward and stood before the Lord,
saying, I will entice him. The Lord asked
him, How? He replied, I will go out and be
a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.
Then the Lorda said, You are to entice him,
and you shall succeed; go out and do it. So
you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the
mouth of these your prophets; the Lord has
decreed disaster for you.
Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came
up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and
said, Which way did the spirit of the Lord
pass from me to speak to you? Micaiah
replied, You will nd out on that day when
you go in to hide in an inner chamber. The
king of Israel then ordered, Take Micaiah,
and return him to Amon the governor of the
city and to Joash the kings son; and say,
Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison,
and feed him on reduced rations of bread and
water until I return in peace. Micaiah said,
If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, you peoples,
all of you!
So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I
will disguise myself and go into battle, but
you wear your robes. So the king of Israel
disguised himself, and they went into battle.

Now the king of Aram had commanded
the captains of his chariots, Fight with no
one small or great, but only with the king of
Israel. When the captains of the chariots
saw Jehoshaphat, they said, It is the king of
Israel. So they turned to ght against him;
and Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord
helped him. God drew them away from him,
for when the captains of the chariots saw
that it was not the king of Israel, they turned
back from pursuing him. But a certain man
drew his bow and unknowingly struck the
king of Israel between the scale armor and
the breastplate; so he said to the driver of his
chariot, Turn around, and carry me out of
the battle, for I am wounded. The battle grew hot that day, and the king of Israel
propped himself up in his chariot facing the
Arameans until evening; then at sunset he
died.
King Jehoshaphat of Judah returned in
safety to his house in Jerusalem. Jehu
son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him
and said to King Jehoshaphat, Should you
help the wicked and love those who hate the
Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out
against you from the Lord. Nevertheless,
some good is found in you, for you destroyed
the sacred polesb out of the land, and have set
your heart to seek God.
Jehoshaphat resided at Jerusalem; then
he went out again among the people, from
Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim,
19
a Heb he
b Heb Asheroth
lition. 10: A symbolic action, as elsewhere in the prophetic repertoire. 18: The Lord is meeting with his heavenly
council (see Job 1.6; 2.1; Ps 82.1), and the prophet is a witness to the proceedings (see Jer 23.18,22). 2122: The
revelation that the prophets have received is itself false; cf. Deut 13.3. 31: The Lord helped him, this phrase, which
does not appear in 1 Kings 22, resonates with the divine promises of 7.1215. The Chronicler adds this phrase to
reinforce his theology: God, who is fair and compassionate, is in control of events.
19.120.30: In contrast to the previous Jehoshaphat material, this has no parallel in Kings. 19.13: This rebuke by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani (see 16.79n.) chastises Jehoshaphat for entering into a coalition with
Ahab of Israel (see ch 18). Jehoshaphat was disloyal to God in that he proposed to help the wicked and was loyal
to those who hate the Lord. Fidelity to one precludes delity to the other.
19.411: Recovery and further reforms. Jehoshaphat returns to and develops policies he instituted at the
beginning of his reign (17.119). The geographic scope of the restoration (v. 4) is extensive, reclaiming Jehoshaphats entire realm, including sections of the Northern Kingdom over which he held sway (17.12). Other
texts depict the juridical responsibilities of monarchs (e.g., 2 Sam 8.1518; 1 Kings 3.1628), but only with Jehoshaphat in Chronicles do we nd a full-blown judicial reform. He appoints judges . . . in all the fortied cities of
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2 chronicles 20
and brought them back to the Lord, the God
of their ancestors. He appointed judges in
the land in all the fortied cities of Judah, city
by city, and said to the judges, Consider
what you are doing, for you judge not on
behalf of human beings but on the Lords behalf; he is with you in giving judgment. Now,
let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care
what you do, for there is no perversion of
justice with the Lord our God, or partiality, or
taking of bribes.
Moreover in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed certain Levites and priests and heads
of families of Israel, to give judgment for the
Lord and to decide disputed cases. They had
their seat at Jerusalem. He charged them:
This is how you shall act: in the fear of the
Lord, in faithfulness, and with your whole
heart; whenever a case comes to you from
your kindred who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or ordinances, then you shall instruct
them, so that they may not incur guilt before
the Lord and wrath may not come on you
and your kindred. Do so, and you will not
incur guilt. See, Amariah the chief priest
is over you in all matters of the Lord; and
Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the governor of the
house of Judah, in all the kings matters; and
the Levites will serve you as ocers. Deal
courageously, and may the Lord be with the
good!
20
After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the
Meunites,a came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Messengersb came and told Jehoshaphat,
A great multitude is coming against you from
Edom,c from beyond the sea; already they
are at Hazazon-tamar (that is, En-gedi). Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek
the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout
all Judah. Judah assembled to seek help from
the Lord; from all the towns of Judah they
came to seek the Lord.
Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord,
before the new court, and said, OLord,
God of our ancestors, are you not God in
heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power
and might, so that no one is able to withstand
you. Did you not, Oour God, drive out the
inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of
your friend Abraham? They have lived in it,
and in it have built you a sanctuary for your
name, saying, If disaster comes upon us, the
sword, judgment,d or pestilence, or famine,
we will stand before this house, and before
a
b
c
d
Compare 26.7: Heb Ammonites

Heb They
One Ms: MT Aram
Or the sword of judgment
Judah and established a court of appeals in the capital city of Jerusalem. Some see this as reecting the creativity of the Chronicler, who derived this reform from the Heb word shaphat, to judge, in the kings name (cf.
16.12n.). 11: The distinction between maers of the Lord and the kings maers is found only in Chronicles (1 Chr
26.30,32; 2 Chr 19.11) and Ezra (7.26), suggesting that the contours of this reform reect Persian-period realities
during which the Judeans were subject to a foreign king.
20.130: Dramatic triumph in holy war. Sometime aer his judicial reformation, Jehoshaphat is confronted
with an international crisis that threatens to overwhelm his people, the invasion of Judah (see v. 2) by a southeastern coalition of powers. 1: Meunites, a textually dicult term. The Meunites are a group of disputed origin,
who are mentioned only in late biblical texts (1 Chr 4.41; 2 Chr 20.2; 26.7). In one theory the Meunites were a
Transjordanian or Arabian group, while in another the Meunites were from one of several sites or areas called
Maonmost likely either Maon 12 mi (20 km) south of Gaza or the Maon region of southwestern Edom. Given
the existence of another Maon in Judah (e.g., 1 Chr 2.45), more than one entity with the name Meunites
may be meant (see Ezra 2.50 || Neh 7.52). 34: Afraid, Jehoshaphat set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed
a national fast (cf. Judg 20.26 and 1 Sam 7.6; Jer 36.6,9; Zech 8.19; Joel 2.12; 2 Chr 1.5; 25.20). In resorting to
Jerusalem, the people honor the divine directive given at Solomons Temple dedication to seek the Lord in
times of need (7.14). 612: Jehoshaphats prayer, which laments Judahs plight and solicits a divine response,
recalls specic features of previous royal prayers (1 Chr 14.9,14; 29.1019; 2 Chr 14.1011). By contrasting divine
omnipotence with human helplessness, the king lays the foundation for the petition that follows (v. 12). 89:
Echoing Solomons prayer (see 6.28,34), Jehoshaphats appeal is based on the existence of the Temple, because
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2 chronicles 20
you, for your name is in this house, and cry
to you in our distress, and you will hear and
save. See now, the people of Ammon,
Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not
let Israel invade when they came from the
land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and
did not destroy they reward us by coming
to drive us out of your possession that you
have given us to inherit. Oour God, will you
not execute judgment upon them? For we are
powerless against this great multitude that is
coming against us. We do not know what to
do, but our eyes are on you.
Meanwhile all Judah stood before the
Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and
their children. Then the spirit of the Lord
came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son
of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah,
a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly. He said, Listen, all
Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to
you: Do not fear or be dismayed at this great
multitude; for the battle is not yours but
Gods. Tomorrow go down against them;
they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you
will nd them at the end of the valley, before
the wilderness of Jeruel. This battle is not
for you to ght; take your position, stand
still, and see the victory of the Lord on your
behalf, OJudah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or
be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them,
and the Lord will be with you.
Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with
his face to the ground, and all Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before
the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the
Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites,
stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
with a very loud voice.
They rose early in the morning and went
out into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they
went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Listen
to me, OJudah and inhabitants of Jerusalem!

Believe in the Lord your God and you will be
established; believe his prophets. When
he had taken counsel with the people, he
appointed those who were to sing to the Lord
and praise him in holy splendor, as they went
before the army, saying,
Give thanks to the Lord,
As they began to sing and praise, the Lord
set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab,
and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah,
so that they were routed. For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of
Mount Seir, destroying them utterly; and
when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one
another.
When Judah came to the watchtower
of the wilderness, they looked toward the
multitude; they were corpses lying on
the ground; no one had escaped. When
Jehoshaphat and his people came to take
the booty from them, they found livestocka
in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They
spent three days taking the booty, because
of its abundance. On the fourth day they
assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for
there they blessed the Lord; therefore that
place has been called the Valley of Beracahb
to this day. Then all the people of Judah
and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their
head, returned to Jerusalem with joy, for
the Lord had enabled them to rejoice over
their enemies. They came to Jerusalem,
with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the
house of the Lord. The fear of God came
on all the kingdoms of the countries when
a Gk: Heb among them
b That is Blessing
this sanctuary was accepted by God as the place where ecacious prayers could be oered (7.12,14). 1112: The
very nations spared by the Lord when the Israelites entered the land (Deut 2.122) are now threatening Judahs
existence within it. 1415: The levitical singer Jahaziel serves as a prophet and as the designate priest, as in other
sacral wars (cf. Deut 20.24; 1 Chr 25.18). His assurance of victory, evoked as elsewhere by faith in God, quotes
both Moses (Ex 14.1314) and David (1 Sam 17.47). 16: Ziz . . . Jeruel, occurring only here and precise location
unknown. 17: The residents of Jerusalem and Judah are to play the role of onlookers. 20: Cf. Isa 7.9. 2223: The
divine warrior throws Israels enemies into a panic (cf. Judg 7.22; 1 Sam 14.20) so that they aack each other.
29: As in other holy wars, the fear of God descends upon all the kingdoms of the countries (Ex 15.1416; Deut 2.25;
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2 chronicles 21
they heard that the Lord had fought against
the enemies of Israel. And the realm of
Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him
rest all around.
So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah.
He was thirty-ve years old when he began
to reign; he reigned twenty-ve years in
Jerusalem. His mothers name was Azubah
daughter of Shilhi. He walked in the way of
his father Asa and did not turn aside from it,
doing what was right in the sight of the Lord.
Yet the high places were not removed; the
people had not yet set their hearts upon the
God of their ancestors.
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat,
from rst to last, are written in the Annals of
Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the
Book of the Kings of Israel.
After this King Jehoshaphat of Judah
joined with King Ahaziah of Israel, who did
wickedly. He joined him in building ships
to go to Tarshish; they built the ships in
Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu
of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat,
saying, Because you have joined with
Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have
made. And the ships were wrecked and were
not able to go to Tarshish.
Jehoshaphat slept with his ancestors
and was buried with his ancestors
in the city of David; his son Jehoram succeeded him. He had brothers, the sons of
Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah,
Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these
were the sons of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.a
21
Their father gave them many gifts, of silver,

gold, and valuable possessions, together
with fortied cities in Judah; but he gave the
kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the
rstborn. When Jehoram had ascended the
throne of his father and was established, he
put all his brothers to the sword, and also
some of the ocials of Israel. Jehoram was
thirty-two years old when he began to reign;
he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He
walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as
the house of Ahab had done; for the daughter
of Ahab was his wife. He did what was evil
in the sight of the Lord. Yet the Lord would
not destroy the house of David because of the
covenant that he had made with David, and
since he had promised to give a lamp to him
and to his descendants forever.
In his days Edom revolted against the
rule of Judah and set up a king of their own.
Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots. He set out by
night and attacked the Edomites, who had
surrounded him and his chariot commanders. So Edom has been in revolt against the
rule of Judah to this day. At that time Libnah
also revolted against his rule, because he had
forsaken the Lord, the God of his ancestors.
Moreover he made high places in the hill
country of Judah, and led the inhabitants of
Jerusalem into unfaithfulness, and made Judah
go astray. A letter came to him from the
prophet Elijah, saying: Thus says the Lord, the
a Gk Syr: Heb Israel
11.25; Josh 2.9,11,24; 5.1; 10.12; 1 Sam 4.78; 14.15; 1 Chr 14.7; 2 Chr 14.13).
20.3137: Jehoshaphats second misstep. Following the concluding notices to Jehoshaphats reign (vv. 31
34; on Jehu see 16.7n.; cf. 1 Kings 22.4145), the author narrates a failure. Again (18.119.3), a pact with Israel (vv.
3537) marks a regression in Jehoshaphats rule. Here, aer the covenant is condemned by a prophet, the ships
were wrecked (cf. 1 Kings 22.4849). 36: Tarshish, see 9.21n. Ezion-geber was a port city on the Red Sea.
21.120: Decline under Jehoram (851843 bce). Like the Elijah material, the Elisha material, found in Kings
as part of the account of Jehorams reign, is lacking in Chronicles. Jehoram appears as a more wicked king in
Chronicles than in the briefer, but also negative, account of 2 Kings 8.1624. Jehoram intensies the paern
of close cooperation with the Northern Kingdom begun by his father (21.6; cf. 18.134; 20.3537). 24: Jehorams brothers, who had possessions and administrative responsibilities in their own right (cf. 11.2223n.), are
eliminated by the new king. 57: The divine promises (1 Chr 17.115) restrain the exercise of divine wrath against
the house of David (cf. 2 Kings 8.1719). 7: Lamp, ef or territorial dominion might be a beer translation of the
Hebrew. The promises are interpreted as involving continued rule for Davids descendants in Jerusalem. 810:
Largely taken from 2 Kings 8.2022. 10: The revolt of Libnah (see 2 Kings 8.22) is explained by the Chronicler as
another divine punishment. 1215: Elijahs leer, unparalleled in Kings, is remarkable. Elijah has not previously
been mentioned in Chronicles and, according to the chronology in Kings, may have already ascended at this
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2 chronicles 22
God of your father David: Because you have not
walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat
or in the ways of King Asa of Judah, but
have walked in the way of the kings of Israel,
and have led Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem into unfaithfulness, as the house
of Ahab led Israel into unfaithfulness, and
because you also have killed your brothers,
members of your fathers house, who were
better than yourself, see, the Lord will bring
a great plague on your people, your children,
your wives, and all your possessions, and
you yourself will have a severe sickness with a
disease of your bowels, until your bowels come
out, day after day, because of the disease.
The Lord aroused against Jehoram the
anger of the Philistines and of the Arabs who
are near the Ethiopians.a They came up
against Judah, invaded it, and carried away all
the possessions they found that belonged to
the kings house, along with his sons and his
wives, so that no son was left to him except
Jehoahaz, his youngest son.
After all this the Lord struck him in his
bowels with an incurable disease. In course
of time, at the end of two years, his bowels
came out because of the disease, and he died
in great agony. His people made no re in his
honor, like the res made for his ancestors.
He was thirty-two years old when he began
to reign; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He departed with no ones regret. They
buried him in the city of David, but not in the
tombs of the kings.
22
The inhabitants of Jerusalem made

his youngest son Ahaziah king as his
successor; for the troops who came with the
Arabs to the camp had killed all the older
sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram reigned as
king of Judah. Ahaziah was forty-two years
old when he began to reign; he reigned one
year in Jerusalem. His mothers name was
Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri. He also
walked in the ways of the house of Ahab,
for his mother was his counselor in doing
wickedly. He did what was evil in the sight
of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done;
for after the death of his father they were
his counselors, to his ruin. He even followed their advice, and went with Jehoram
son of King Ahab of Israel to make war
against King Hazael of Aram at Ramothgilead. The Arameans wounded Joram,
and he returned to be healed in Jezreel of
the wounds that he had received at Ramah,
when he fought King Hazael of Aram. And
Ahaziah son of King Jehoram of Judah went
down to see Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel,
because he was sick.
But it was ordained by God that the
downfall of Ahaziah should come about
through his going to visit Joram. For when
he came there he went out with Jehoram to
meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord
had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.
When Jehu was executing judgment on the
point. Furthermore, early prophecy was primarily oral. The leer might be used as a way for a northern prophet
to communicate with a southern king, but it also reects the increasing signicance of a wrien book-culture
in the Chroniclers time. 1617: A foreign invasion plunders Judah and leaves Jehoram with only his youngest
son still living in Jerusalem (cf. v. 14). On the Ethiopians, see 14.9n. 17: Jehoahaz, see 22.19n. 1819: A fulllment
of Elijahs prediction (v. 15). Disease, cf. 16.12. Fire, cf. 16.14. 20: Cf. 2 Kings 8.2324.
22.19: The brief and ill-fated reign of Ahaziah (843842 bce). Following the premature death of Jehoram
(21.1820), the inhabitants of Jerusalem install young Ahaziah (also called Jehoahaz in 21.17) as king (v. 1), but
this eort at restoration soon fails. The eects of Ahaziahs collaboration with the Northern Kingdom and
emulation of northern practices threaten to topple both the Davidic dynasty and the traditional paern of
Temple worship in Jerusalem (23.18; 24.7). 2: Forty-two years, there is a text-critical issue here. The more likely
gure is twenty-two years, as in 2 Kings 8.26. Ahaziahs father died at age forty (21.20). 34: The expansion
of Ahaziahs evaluation in 2 Kings 8.27 draws aention to the intimate involvement of the house of Ahab from
the Northern Kingdom in Judean royal aairs. Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab (18.1n.), son of Omri. Here too
the Chronicler assumes familiarity with the book of Kings. 59: The failure of the alliance with Joram (2 Kings
8.2829), the death of Ahaziahs kinsmen (2 Kings 10.1214), and the death of Ahaziah himself (2 Kings 9.27)
leaves a vacuum in Davidic leadership (v. 9). In Chronicles Ahaziahs demise is aributed to divine purpose (v.
7a). On the anointing of Jehu and the assassination of Joram, see 2 Kings 9.126.
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2 chronicles 23
house of Ahab, he met the ocials of Judah
and the sons of Ahaziahs brothers, who
attended Ahaziah, and he killed them. He
searched for Ahaziah, who was captured
while hiding in Samaria and was brought
to Jehu, and put to death. They buried him,
for they said, He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his
heart. And the house of Ahaziah had no one
able to rule the kingdom.
Now when Athaliah, Ahaziahs mother,
saw that her son was dead, she set about to
destroy all the royal family of the house of
Judah. But Jehoshabeath, the kings daughter, took Joash son of Ahaziah, and stole him
away from among the kings children who
were about to be killed; she put him and his
nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath,
daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the
priest Jehoiadabecause she was a sister of
Ahaziahhid him from Athaliah, so that she
did not kill him; he remained with them
six years, hidden in the house of God, while
Athaliah reigned over the land.
But in the seventh year Jehoiada took
courage, and entered into a compact
with the commanders of the hundreds,
Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of
Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri. They
went around through Judah and gathered the
Levites from all the towns of Judah, and the
heads of families of Israel, and they came to
Jerusalem. Then the whole assembly made
a covenant with the king in the house of God.
Jehoiadaa said to them, Here is the kings
son! Let him reign, as the Lord promised
concerning the sons of David. This is what
you are to do: one-third of you, priests and
Levites, who come on duty on the sabbath,
23
shall be gatekeepers, one-third shall be at

the kings house, and one-third at the Gate of
the Foundation; and all the people shall be
in the courts of the house of the Lord. Do
not let anyone enter the house of the Lord
except the priests and ministering Levites;
they may enter, for they are holy, but all the
otherb people shall observe the instructions
of the Lord. The Levites shall surround the
king, each with his weapons in his hand; and
whoever enters the house shall be killed. Stay
with the king in his comings and goings.
The Levites and all Judah did according to
all that the priest Jehoiada commanded; each
brought his men, who were to come on duty
on the sabbath, with those who were to go o
duty on the sabbath; for the priest Jehoiada
did not dismiss the divisions. The priest
Jehoiada delivered to the captains the spears
and the large and small shields that had been
King Davids, which were in the house of God;
and he set all the people as a guard for the
king, everyone with weapon in hand, from
the south side of the house to the north side
of the house, around the altar and the house.
Then he brought out the kings son, put the
crown on him, and gave him the covenant;c
they proclaimed him king, and Jehoiada and
his sons anointed him; and they shouted,
Long live the king!
When Athaliah heard the noise of
the people running and praising the king,
she went into the house of the Lord to the
people; and when she looked, there was the
king standing by his pillar at the entrance,
and the captains and the trumpeters beside
a Heb He
b Heb lacks other
c Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth
22.1023.15: The tenure and fall of Athaliah. Athaliahs reign (842836 bce; cf. 2 Kings 11.116) marks the
point of gravest threat in a long sequence of repeated blows to the Davidic dynasty. Her plan to eliminate all
potential heirs is thwarted, however, by Jehoshabeath, daughter of King Jehoram (vv. 1112; called Jehosheba
in Kings). 23.17: The rst steps in the plot against Athaliah (2 Kings 11.48) are rewrien according to the
Chroniclers characteristic interests in the Levites, priests, gatekeepers, the heads of the families of Israel, and
the people at large (cf. 1 Chr 1516; 2327). From the outset, the coup is the work of all the people, not just select
military ocers. 1: Compact, Heb berit, usually translated covenant. 3: The restoration honors the enduring political standards bequeathed to Israel during the United Monarchy. A return to normalcy aer a period
of apostasy or upheaval includes the restoration of the Davidic dynasty (22.1; 23.2021; 26.1; 33.25; 36.1). 7: On
the military dimension of levitical duties, see 1 Chr 26.119n. 11: The covenant, Heb edut, probably a list of
divinely given laws. 13: The pillar, probably Jachin or Boaz; see 3.1517. On the people of the land see 2 Kings 11.14n.
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2 chronicles 24
the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers
with their musical instruments leading in the
celebration. Athaliah tore her clothes, and
cried, Treason! Treason! Then the priest
Jehoiada brought out the captains who were
set over the army, saying to them, Bring her
out between the ranks; anyone who follows
her is to be put to the sword. For the priest
said, Do not put her to death in the house of
the Lord. So they laid hands on her; she
went into the entrance of the Horse Gate of
the kings house, and there they put her to
death.
Jehoiada made a covenant between
himself and all the people and the king that
they should be the Lords people. Then all
the people went to the house of Baal, and
tore it down; his altars and his images they
broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan, the
priest of Baal, in front of the altars. Jehoiada
assigned the care of the house of the Lord to
the levitical priests whom David had organized to be in charge of the house of the Lord,
to oer burnt oerings to the Lord, as it is
written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing
and with singing, according to the order of
David. He stationed the gatekeepers at the
gates of the house of the Lord so that no one
should enter who was in any way unclean.
And he took the captains, the nobles, the
governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king
down from the house of the Lord, marching
through the upper gate to the kings house.
They set the king on the royal throne. So all
the people of the land rejoiced, and the city

was quiet after Athaliah had been killed with
the sword.
Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; he reigned forty years in
Jerusalem; his mothers name was Zibiah of
Beer-sheba. Joash did what was right in the
sight of the Lord all the days of the priest Jehoiada. Jehoiada got two wives for him, and
he became the father of sons and daughters.
Some time afterward Joash decided to
restore the house of the Lord. He assembled
the priests and the Levites and said to them,
Go out to the cities of Judah and gather
money from all Israel to repair the house of
your God, year by year; and see that you act
quickly. But the Levites did not act quickly.
So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief,
and said to him, Why have you not required
the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses, the servant of
the Lord, ona the congregation of Israel for
the tent of the covenant?b For the children
of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken
into the house of God, and had even used all
the dedicated things of the house of the Lord
for the Baals.
So the king gave command, and they
made a chest, and set it outside the gate of
the house of the Lord. A proclamation was
made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to
bring in for the Lord the tax that Moses the
servant of God laid on Israel in the wilder-
24
a Compare Vg: Heb and

23.1621: The reformation of Jehoiada. This priest leads the people in undoing the damage inicted by
Athaliah and her predecessors (cf. 2 Kings 11.1720). His eorts result in the destruction of the temple of Baal,
the reinstitution of proper personnel at the Temple, and the enthronement of young Joah. 16: As in Asas reign,
a national covenant (Heb berit) is made or renewed (15.819). 1819: These verses are an addition by the
Chronicler in the middle of a narrative that otherwise largely follows Kings. They emphasize two issues that are
key to the Chronicler: the role of the law of Moses and the role of David in organizing the Temple service. 21: The
quiet that descends on Jerusalem is a sign of divine blessing (1 Chr 4.40; 22.9; 2 Chr 14.1,6; 20.30).
24.127: The Temple restoration of Joash (836798 bce) and his later regression. Following Kings, where the
kings name is Jehoash, the Chronicler devotes considerable aention to Joashs restoration of the Temple, but
in contrast to his source, limits it to the life of Jehoiada (cf. 2 Kings 12). Aer the good priest dies (vv. 1516),
Joash falls under the inuence of his ocers and backslides (vv. 1722). He subsequently confronts a disastrous
foreign invasion (vv. 2324) and a successful conspiracy (vv. 2526). 3: On large families, see 11.1821n. 414:
Joash expends great eort to rebuild the neglected Temple. He displays strong leadership in ensuring that the
renovations proceed rapidly (vv. 56). The Chronicler, in an aempt to bolster the signicance of the Temple,
adds to his source, insisting that all donated funds were given with great enthusiasm (v. 10). 6: The tax levied by
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2 chronicles 24
ness. All the leaders and all the people
rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped
it into the chest until it was full. Whenever
the chest was brought to the kings ocers by
the Levites, when they saw that there was a
large amount of money in it, the kings secretary and the ocer of the chief priest would
come and empty the chest and take it and
return it to its place. So they did day after day,
and collected money in abundance. The
king and Jehoiada gave it to those who had
charge of the work of the house of the Lord,
and they hired masons and carpenters to
restore the house of the Lord, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of
the Lord. So those who were engaged in the
work labored, and the repairing went forward
at their hands, and they restored the house
of God to its proper condition and strengthened it. When they had nished, they
brought the rest of the money to the king and
Jehoiada, and with it were made utensils for
the house of the Lord, utensils for the service
and for the burnt oerings, and ladles, and
vessels of gold and silver. They oered burnt
oerings in the house of the Lord regularly
all the days of Jehoiada.
But Jehoiada grew old and full of days,
and died; he was one hundred thirty years
old at his death. And they buried him in the
city of David among the kings, because he
had done good in Israel, and for God and his
house.
Now after the death of Jehoiada the ofcials of Judah came and did obeisance to the
king; then the king listened to them. They
abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of
their ancestors, and served the sacred polesa
and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah
and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. Yet
he sent prophets among them to bring them
back to the Lord; they testied against them,
but they would not listen.
Then the spirit of God took possession

ofb Zechariah son of the priest Jehoiada; he
stood above the people and said to them,
Thus says God: Why do you transgress the
commandments of the Lord, so that you
cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken
the Lord, he has also forsaken you. But
they conspired against him, and by command
of the king they stoned him to death in the
court of the house of the Lord. King Joash
did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada,
Zechariahs father, had shown him, but killed
his son. As he was dying, he said, May the
Lord see and avenge!
At the end of the year the army of Aram
came up against Joash. They came to Judah
and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the ocials
of the people from among them, and sent all
the booty they took to the king of Damascus.
Although the army of Aram had come with
few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a
very great army, because they had abandoned
the Lord, the God of their ancestors. Thus
they executed judgment on Joash.
When they had withdrawn, leaving him
severely wounded, his servants conspired
against him because of the blood of the sonc
of the priest Jehoiada, and they killed him on
his bed. So he died; and they buried him in the
city of David, but they did not bury him in the
tombs of the kings. Those who conspired
against him were Zabad son of Shimeath the
Ammonite, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith
the Moabite. Accounts of his sons, and
of the many oracles against him, and of the
rebuildingd of the house of God are written
in the Commentary on the Book of the Kings.
And his son Amaziah succeeded him.
a
b
c
d
Heb Asherim
Heb clothed itself with
Gk Vg: Heb sons
Heb founding
Moses, see Ex 30.1116; Lev 27.18. 1314: The collections for Temple renovation are so successful that funds are
le to fashion new utensils, ladles, and vessels. In this respect, the peoples generosity recalls that displayed in
the reign of David (1 Chr 29.1119). 1516: The highly positive evaluation of the priest Jehoiadas tenure resembles those wrien about Judahs beer kings. 1722: These episodes, not found in Kings, detail the extent of
Joashs regression. They follow typical paerns of the Chronicler: apostasy, prophets warning, lack of repentance, (a second warning,) and punishment. 2021: The assassination of the prophet Zechariah is the work of
both Joash and his ocials. 2526: Joash himself falls victim to assassination in retaliation for the murder of
Jehoiadas son(s) (v. 22; cf. 2 Kings 12.1921). 27: Commentary, see 13.22n.
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2 chronicles 25
25
Amaziah was twenty-ve years old

when he began to reign, and he
reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His
mothers name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
He did what was right in the sight of the
Lord, yet not with a true heart. As soon as
the royal power was rmly in his hand he
killed his servants who had murdered his
father the king. But he did not put their children to death, according to what is written in
the law, in the book of Moses, where the Lord
commanded, The parents shall not be put to
death for the children, or the children be put
to death for the parents; but all shall be put to
death for their own sins.
Amaziah assembled the people of
Judah, and set them by ancestral houses
under commanders of the thousands and
of the hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin.
He mustered those twenty years old and
upward, and found that they were three hundred thousand picked troops t for war, able
to handle spear and shield. He also hired
one hundred thousand mighty warriors from
Israel for one hundred talents of silver. But
a man of God came to him and said, Oking,
do not let the army of Israel go with you,
for the Lord is not with Israelall these
Ephraimites. Rather, go by yourself and
act; be strong in battle, or God will ing you
down before the enemy; for God has power
to help or to overthrow. Amaziah said to
the man of God, But what shall we do about
the hundred talents that I have given to the
army of Israel? The man of God answered,
The Lord is able to give you much more
than this. Then Amaziah discharged the
army that had come to him from Ephraim,
letting them go home again. But they became
very angry with Judah, and returned home in
erce anger.
Amaziah took courage, and led out his

people; he went to the Valley of Salt, and
struck down ten thousand men of Seir.
The people of Judah captured another ten
thousand alive, took them to the top of Sela,
and threw them down from the top of Sela,
so that all of them were dashed to pieces.
But the men of the army whom Amaziah
sent back, not letting them go with him to
battle, fell on the cities of Judah from Samaria
to Beth-horon; they killed three thousand
people in them, and took much booty.
Now after Amaziah came from the
slaughter of the Edomites, he brought the
gods of the people of Seir, set them up as his
gods, and worshiped them, making oerings
to them. The Lord was angry with Amaziah
and sent to him a prophet, who said to him,
Why have you resorted to a peoples gods
who could not deliver their own people from
your hand? But as he was speaking the
kinga said to him, Have we made you a royal
counselor? Stop! Why should you be put to
death? So the prophet stopped, but said, I
know that God has determined to destroy
you, because you have done this and have not
listened to my advice.
Then King Amaziah of Judah took counsel and sent to King Joash son of Jehoahaz
son of Jehu of Israel, saying, Come, let us
look one another in the face. King Joash of
Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah,
A thornbush on Lebanon sent to a cedar on
Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my
son for a wife; but a wild animal of Lebanon
passed by and trampled down the thornbush.
You say, See, I have defeated Edom, and
your heart has lifted you up in boastfulness.
Now stay at home; why should you provoke
a Heb he
25.128: The mixed record of Amaziah (789769 bce). The Chronicler expands the coverage devoted to
Amaziah (2 Kings 14.214,1720) through the addition of two sections (vv. 510 and vv. 1216), each of which
contains a prophetic gure. His reign is divided into two periods similar to other kings: In the rst half of his
tenure (vv. 113) Amaziah proves obedient to the prophetic word and enjoys success, while in the second half
of his reign Amaziah engages in idolatry and suers defeat (vv. 1428). 34: Amaziah avenges his fathers death
but does not violate Deut 24.16. 510: The kings aempt to supplement his countrys muster by hiring Israelite mercenaries encounters a prophetic reprimand. 56: On the large numbers, see 13.3n. A hundred talents
weighed about 3,400 kg (7,000 lb). The Chronicler regards any military alliance, whether with foreign powers
or with northern Israel, as illicit (see 16.114n.). 1113: The prophets counsel of complete reliance on God results
in Judahs victory (cf. 13.1321; 14.714; 20.130), but the alienated mercenaries wreak some havoc in Judah and
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2 chronicles 26
trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with
you?
But Amaziah would not listenit was
Gods doing, in order to hand them over,
because they had sought the gods of Edom.
So King Joash of Israel went up; he and King
Amaziah of Judah faced one another in battle
at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.
Judah was defeated by Israel; everyone
ed home. King Joash of Israel captured
King Amaziah of Judah, son of Joash, son of
Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh; he brought him to
Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner
Gate, a distance of four hundred cubits. He
seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God, and
Obed-edom with them; he seized also the
treasuries of the kings house, also hostages;
then he returned to Samaria.
King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah,
lived fteen years after the death of King
Joash son of Jehoahaz of Israel. Now the
rest of the deeds of Amaziah, from rst to
last, are they not written in the Book of the
Kings of Judah and Israel? From the time
that Amaziah turned away from the Lord
they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he ed to Lachish. But they sent
after him to Lachish, and killed him there.
They brought him back on horses; he was
buried with his ancestors in the city of David.
Then all the people of Judah took
Uzziah, who was sixteen years old,
and made him king to succeed his father
Amaziah. He rebuilt Eloth and restored it to
Judah, after the king slept with his ancestors.
Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began
26
to reign, and he reigned fty-two years in

Jerusalem. His mothers name was Jecoliah of
Jerusalem. He did what was right in the sight
of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had
done. He set himself to seek God in the days
of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear
of God; and as long as he sought the Lord,
God made him prosper.
He went out and made war against the
Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath
and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod; he built cities in the territory of Ashdod
and elsewhere among the Philistines. God
helped him against the Philistines, against
the Arabs who lived in Gur-baal, and against
the Meunites. The Ammonites paid tribute
to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the
border of Egypt, for he became very strong.
Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem
at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at
the Angle, and fortied them. He built towers in the wilderness and hewed out many
cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the
Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the
fertile lands, for he loved the soil. Moreover
Uzziah had an army of soldiers, t for war,
in divisions according to the numbers in
the muster made by the secretary Jeiel and
the ocer Maaseiah, under the direction of
Hananiah, one of the kings commanders.
The whole number of the heads of ancestral
houses of mighty warriors was two thousand
six hundred. Under their command was
an army of three hundred seven thousand
ve hundred, who could make war with
mighty power, to help the king against the
enemy. Uzziah provided for all the army the
Samaria. 20: The second part of the verse is an expansion of the Chroniclers source (2 Kings 14.11), emphasizing that this was not a whim, but the fair punishment of God. 2224: Amaziah and his kingdom suer further
defeat and humiliation. As the people experience military loss, some destruction to Jerusalem, the plunder of
the temples and royal palace, and the capture of some of their soldiers as prisoners of war, they enter into a type
of exilic situation (cf. 36.121) from which they need to be restored.
26.115: The builder and reformer, Uzziah (785733 bce). In Kings Uzziah (Azariah) is a minor gure (2 Kings
14.2122; 15.17), but the much longer account in Chronicles presents this monarch as a major reformer whose
fame extended all the way to Egypt (26.8). The additional material is of various types; some may be based
on sources, while other pieces are likely composed by the Chronicler. 14: Cf. 2 Kings 14.2122; 15.23. 5: The
Chronicler links Uzziahs good conduct to the inuence of Zechariah, an otherwise unaested prophet; cf.
24.22. 615: Uzziahs achievements include territorial expansion, victory in war, rebuilding towns, and amassing a large, well-equipped army. Like David (1 Chr 27.2531), Uzziah also enhances the condition of his royal
estates. 7: Meunites, see 20.2n. 1213: On the large numbers, see 13.3n.
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2 chronicles 27
shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows,
and stones for slinging. In Jerusalem he set
up machines, invented by skilled workers,
on the towers and the corners for shooting
arrows and large stones. And his fame spread
far, for he was marvelously helped until he
became strong.
But when he had become strong he grew
proud, to his destruction. For he was false
to the Lord his God, and entered the temple
of the Lord to make oering on the altar of
incense. But the priest Azariah went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who
were men of valor; they withstood King
Uzziah, and said to him, It is not for you,
Uzziah, to make oering to the Lord, but for
the priests the descendants of Aaron, who
are consecrated to make oering. Go out of
the sanctuary; for you have done wrong, and
it will bring you no honor from the Lord
God. Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had
a censer in his hand to make oering, and
when he became angry with the priests a
leprousa disease broke out on his forehead,
in the presence of the priests in the house
of the Lord, by the altar of incense. When
the chief priest Azariah, and all the priests,
looked at him, he was leprousa in his forehead. They hurried him out, and he himself
hurried to get out, because the Lord had
struck him. King Uzziah was leprousa to the
day of his death, and being leprousa lived in
a separate house, for he was excluded from
the house of the Lord. His son Jotham was in
charge of the palace of the king, governing
the people of the land.
Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from

rst to last, the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz
wrote. Uzziah slept with his ancestors; they
buried him near his ancestors in the burial
eld that belonged to the kings, for they said,
He is leprous.a His son Jotham succeeded
him.
Jotham was twenty-ve years old
when he began to reign; he reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mothers
name was Jerushah daughter of Zadok. He
did what was right in the sight of the Lord
just as his father Uzziah had doneonly he
did not invade the temple of the Lord. But
the people still followed corrupt practices.
He built the upper gate of the house of the
Lord, and did extensive building on the wall
of Ophel. Moreover he built cities in the
hill country of Judah, and forts and towers on the wooded hills. He fought with
the king of the Ammonites and prevailed
against them. The Ammonites gave him
that year one hundred talents of silver, ten
thousand cors of wheat and ten thousand
of barley. The Ammonites paid him the
same amount in the second and the third
years. So Jotham became strong because he
ordered his ways before the Lord his God.
Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all
his wars and his ways, are written in the
Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. He
was twenty-ve years old when he began to
reign; he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.
27

uncertain
26.1623: Uzziahs hubris. Having consolidated his rule and realm (1.1; 11.12; 17.1), Uzziah overreaches by turning against God and encroaching on the sacricial duties of the priests. Most of this material is lacking in Kings,
and it is likely a clever composition of the Chronicler, who imagined that the leprosy resulted from assuming
Priestly prerogatives and entering the sanctuary with incense. Leprosy caused serious impurity (Lev 1314), and
thus Uzziah could never enter the Temple again. 16: False to the Lord, lit. acted faithlessly (Heb ml) against
the Lord. 2123: Except for the reference to Isaiah, this material is taken from 2 Kings 15.57. The aribution
to Isaiah means that the Chronicler can lay claim to prophetic authority for at least some of the material in his
narration of Uzziahs reign (cf. 1 Chr 29.29; 2 Chr 9.29; 13.22). 22: Isaiah, on the prophets as ancestors of wrien
works, see 1 Chr 29.29n.
27.19: The accomplishments of Jotham (759743 bce). As in Kings, Jotham is rated positively (2 Kings 15.32
38), but the Chronicler adds more material about his reign, especially about his public works and military might.
4: Like Uzziah (26.610), Jotham does not conne his building initiatives to Jerusalem. He establishes towns in
the hill country of Judah, and he builds fortresses and towers in the wooded areas. 5: Ammonites, some scholars
emend to Meunites (20.1n), but no king of the Meunites is mentioned in other biblical texts. A talent weighed
about 75 lb (34 kg), and a cor was about 6.5 bu (230 l).
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2 chronicles 28
ASSYRIA
R. Habor
R.
Eu
tes
ra
ph
ARAM
Mediterranean
Sea
Damascus
R.
Dan
ISRAEL
Samaria
Jerusalem
Lachish
JUDAH
Beer-sheba
Ti
gri
s
Babylon
BABYLONIA
EDOM
Persian
Gulf
Elath
EGYPT
ile
R. N
Red
Sea
0
0
100
100
200 Miles
200 Kilometers
Chs 2833: Assyria and Israel and Judah.
Jotham slept with his ancestors, and they

buried him in the city of David; and his son
Ahaz succeeded him.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he
began to reign; he reigned sixteen
years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was
right in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestor
David had done, but he walked in the ways
of the kings of Israel. He even made cast images for the Baals; and he made oerings in
the valley of the son of Hinnom, and made
28
his sons pass through re, according to the

abominable practices of the nations whom
the Lord drove out before the people of
Israel. He sacriced and made oerings on
the high places, on the hills, and under every
green tree.
Therefore the Lord his God gave him
into the hand of the king of Aram, who defeated him and took captive a great number
of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the
28.127: Unending failure under Ahaz (743/753727/715 bce; the data are inconsistent). Unlike the reigns
of almost all monarchs in Chronicles, the reign of Ahaz is one of unmitigated disaster. The author draws on
2 Kings 16, but his own presentation is substantially longer and dierent. Ahazs refusal to turn from his wicked ways aords him the dubious distinction of being Judahs worst king (cf. 33.1217). 3: Pass through re, see
2 Kings 16.14n. 57: The Chronicler directly aributes the onslaughts by Assyria and Israel (2 Kings 16.5) to
divine retribution for Ahazs religious transgressions (2 Kings 16.24; 2 Chr 28.24). Chronicles depicts two
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2 chronicles 28
king of Israel, who defeated him with great
slaughter. Pekah son of Remaliah killed one
hundred twenty thousand in Judah in one
day, all of them valiant warriors, because
they had abandoned the Lord, the God
of their ancestors. And Zichri, a mighty
warrior of Ephraim, killed the kings son
Maaseiah, Azrikam the commander of the
palace, and Elkanah the next in authority to
the king.
The people of Israel took captive two
hundred thousand of their kin, women, sons,
and daughters; they also took much booty
from them and brought the booty to Samaria.
But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose
name was Oded; he went out to meet the
army that came to Samaria, and said to them,
Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah, he gave them into
your hand, but you have killed them in a rage
that has reached up to heaven. Now you
intend to subjugate the people of Judah and
Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves.
But what have you except sins against the
Lord your God? Now hear me, and send
back the captives whom you have taken from
your kindred, for the erce wrath of the Lord
is upon you. Moreover, certain chiefs of
the Ephraimites, Azariah son of Johanan,
Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son
of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai, stood
up against those who were coming from the
war, and said to them, You shall not bring
the captives in here, for you propose to bring
on us guilt against the Lord in addition to our
present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already
great, and there is erce wrath against Israel.
So the warriors left the captives and the
booty before the ocials and all the assembly. Then those who were mentioned by
name got up and took the captives, and with
the booty they clothed all that were naked
among them; they clothed them, gave them
sandals, provided them with food and drink,
and anointed them; and carrying all the
feeble among them on donkeys, they brought
them to their kindred at Jericho, the city of
palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.
At that time King Ahaz sent to the kinga
of Assyria for help. For the Edomites had
again invaded and defeated Judah, and carried away captives. And the Philistines had
made raids on the cities in the Shephelah and
the Negeb of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its
villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo
with its villages; and they settled there. For
the Lord brought Judah low because of King
Ahaz of Israel, for he had behaved without restraint in Judah and had been faithless to the
Lord. So King Tilgath-pilneser of Assyria
came against him, and oppressed him instead
of strengthening him. For Ahaz plundered
the house of the Lord and the houses of the
king and of the ocials, and gave tribute to
the king of Assyria; but it did not help him.
In the time of his distress he became
yet more faithless to the Lordthis same
King Ahaz. For he sacriced to the gods
of Damascus, which had defeated him, and
said, Because the gods of the kings of Aram
helped them, I will sacrice to them so that
they may help me. But they were the ruin of
him, and of all Israel. Ahaz gathered togetha Gk Syr Vg Compare 2Kings 16.7: Heb kings
separate and distinct invasions, whereas Kings presents Syria and Israel as acting in consort (2 Kings 16.56).
815: The people of Israel seize a vast number of captives, but this act brings a strong prophetic censure and
the prisoners are compassionately released. This section, most likely a free composition of the Chronicler, illustrates some of his basic concerns, including the need for prophetic warning before punishment, and the
complete ecacy of repentance. That the prophet was a northern Israelite and the Israelites themselves
repented indicates that the Northern and Southern Kingdoms still had an essential unity as kin (vv. 8,11).
1620: Invasions by the Edomites and the Philistines prompted Ahaz to send Temple tribute to the king of Assyria (Tiglath-pileser III, 745727 bce; here called Tilgath-pilneser) for help (cf. 2 Kings 16.78), but the Assyrian
king oppressed him instead. On the opposition to alliances, see 16.114n. 21: One more sign of Ahazs desperate
statehe plunders his own temple, palace, and ocial residences in an unsuccessful campaign to win relief
from the pressure exerted by the Assyrian king. 2225: Ahazs foreign policy disasters lead him to abandon his
own religious institutions and worship the gods of the lands who defeated him. In Chronicles this is but one
more indication of the ignominy that characterizes Ahazs rule.
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2 chronicles 29
er the utensils of the house of God, and cut
in pieces the utensils of the house of God. He
shut up the doors of the house of the Lord
and made himself altars in every corner of
Jerusalem. In every city of Judah he made
high places to make oerings to other gods,
provoking to anger the Lord, the God of his
ancestors. Now the rest of his acts and all
his ways, from rst to last, are written in the
Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. Ahaz
slept with his ancestors, and they buried
him in the city, in Jerusalem; but they did
not bring him into the tombs of the kings of
Israel. His son Hezekiah succeeded him.
Hezekiah began to reign when he
was twenty-ve years old; he reigned
twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mothers
name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He
just as his ancestor David had done.
In the rst year of his reign, in the rst
month, he opened the doors of the house of
the Lord and repaired them. He brought in
the priests and the Levites and assembled
them in the square on the east. He said to
them, Listen to me, Levites! Sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord,
the God of your ancestors, and carry out the
lth from the holy place. For our ancestors
have been unfaithful and have done what
was evil in the sight of the Lord our God;
they have forsaken him, and have turned
away their faces from the dwelling of the
Lord, and turned their backs. They also shut
the doors of the vestibule and put out the
lamps, and have not oered incense or made
burnt oerings in the holy place to the God of
Israel. Therefore the wrath of the Lord came
upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made
them an object of horror, of astonishment,
29
and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes.

Our fathers have fallen by the sword and our
sons and our daughters and our wives are in
captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to
make a covenant with the Lord, the God of
Israel, so that his erce anger may turn away
from us. My sons, do not now be negligent,
for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his
presence to minister to him, and to be his
ministers and make oerings to him.
Then the Levites arose, Mahath son of
Amasai, and Joel son of Azariah, of the sons
of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari,
Kish son of Abdi, and Azariah son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah son of
Zimmah, and Eden son of Joah; and of the
sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of
the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah
and Uzziel. They gathered their brothers,
sanctied themselves, and went in as the
king had commanded, by the words of the
Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. The
priests went into the inner part of the house
of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought
out all the unclean things that they found in
the temple of the Lord into the court of the
house of the Lord; and the Levites took them
and carried them out to the Wadi Kidron.
They began to sanctify on the rst day of
the rst month, and on the eighth day of
the month they came to the vestibule of the
Lord; then for eight days they sanctied the
house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day
of the rst month they nished. Then they
went inside to King Hezekiah and said, We
have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the
altar of burnt oering and all its utensils,
and the table for the rows of bread and all
29.136: Restoring the Temple: the beginning of Hezekiahs rule. The Chronicler devotes more aention to
Hezekiah (ruled 727/715698/687 bce; the data are inconsistent) than to any other king except David and Solomon (29.132.33); the Chronicler views Hezekiah as an ideal king of the post Davidic-Solomonic era, much like
Josiah in Kings. Sennacheribs invasion, which dominates the coverage of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18.919.37, thus
appears in condensed form (32.123). Instead, the Chronicler focuses on Hezekiahs reforms and restoration of
the Temple, which are described in much greater detail than in his sources (29.131.21; cf. 2 Kings 18.4,16,22).
311: Hezekiah begins by engaging a domestic policy crisisthe sorry legacy le by his predecessor (28.24).
He oversees the repair of the Temple (vv. 34) and encourages the Levites to resume their traditional tasks
(vv. 511). He makes a covenant with the Lord (v. 10; cf. 15.819) to move the nation from a state of wrath (v. 8)
to one of blessing. He does this immediately upon assuming the throne (v. 3), reecting his great righteousness. 1219: The priests and Levites complete the Temple purication (cf. 13.1011). 18: Rows of bread, see 2.4n.
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2 chronicles 30
its utensils. All the utensils that King Ahaz
repudiated during his reign when he was
faithless, we have made ready and sanctied;
see, they are in front of the altar of the Lord.
Then King Hezekiah rose early, assembled the ocials of the city, and went up to
the house of the Lord. They brought seven
bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven
male goats for a sin oering for the kingdom
and for the sanctuary and for Judah. He commanded the priests the descendants of Aaron
to oer them on the altar of the Lord. So
they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests
received the blood and dashed it against the
altar; they slaughtered the rams and their
blood was dashed against the altar; they also
slaughtered the lambs and their blood was
dashed against the altar. Then the male
goats for the sin oering were brought to the
king and the assembly; they laid their hands
on them, and the priests slaughtered them
and made a sin oering with their blood at
the altar, to make atonement for all Israel. For
the king commanded that the burnt oering
and the sin oering should be made for all
Israel.
He stationed the Levites in the house
of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres,
according to the commandment of David
and of Gad the kings seer and of the prophet
Nathan, for the commandment was from the
Lord through his prophets. The Levites
stood with the instruments of David, and the
priests with the trumpets. Then Hezekiah
commanded that the burnt oering be offered on the altar. When the burnt oering
began, the song to the Lord began also, and
the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of King David of Israel. The whole
assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and
the trumpeters sounded; all this continued

until the burnt oering was nished. When
the oering was nished, the king and all
who were present with him bowed down and
worshiped. King Hezekiah and the ocials
commanded the Levites to sing praises to the
Lord with the words of David and of the seer
Asaph. They sang praises with gladness, and
they bowed down and worshiped.
Then Hezekiah said, You have now consecrated yourselves to the Lord; come near,
bring sacrices and thank oerings to the
house of the Lord. The assembly brought
sacrices and thank oerings; and all who
were of a willing heart brought burnt oerings. The number of the burnt oerings
that the assembly brought was seventy bulls,
one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs;
all these were for a burnt oering to the Lord.
The consecrated oerings were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. But
the priests were too few and could not skin
all the burnt oerings, so, until other priests
had sanctied themselves, their kindred,
the Levites, helped them until the work was
nishedfor the Levites were more conscientiousa than the priests in sanctifying themselves. Besides the great number of burnt
oerings there was the fat of the oerings of
well-being, and there were the drink oerings for the burnt oerings. Thus the service
of the house of the Lord was restored. And
Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because
of what God had done for the people; for the
thing had come about suddenly.
Hezekiah sent word to all Israel
and Judah, and wrote letters also to
Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should
30
a Heb upright in heart
2036: As in the time of Solomons Temple dedication (5.27.6), the praises of the Levites follow the oering
of sacrices. The swi (re)establishment of the service of the house of the Lord (vv. 3536) eectively reverses
the neglect of the Temple in Ahazs reign. The restoration of the proper Temple service results in great joy (cf.
30.2526). 22: Cf. Num 18.17; Lev 17.6. 27: The coordination of Temple hymns and Temple sacrices is a consistent theme in Chronicles (1 Chr 23.3031n.). 34: Levites, the Chronicler has a special sympathy for the plight of
the Levites, even though he normally maintains a distinction between their roles and responsibilities and those
of the priests. The Chronicler stresses cooperation and complimentarity between the priests and Levites, not
competition and hierarchy (1 Chr 23.2832; 28.1213,21; 2 Chr 5.414; 13.912; 23.111; 35.3). In Chronicles, the
priests and Levites share a common genealogy (1 Chr 6.181).
30.131.1: National Passover and further religious reforms. The consecration and rededication of the Temple complete, Hezekiah leads the people in celebrating a national Passover. The restoration of proper worship
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2 chronicles 30
come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem,
to keep the passover to the Lord the God of
Israel. For the king and his ocials and all
the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel
to keep the passover in the second month
(for they could not keep it at its proper
time because the priests had not sanctied
themselves in sucient number, nor had the
people assembled in Jerusalem). The plan
seemed right to the king and all the assembly.
So they decreed to make a proclamation
throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to
Dan, that the people should come and keep
the passover to the Lord the God of Israel,
at Jerusalem; for they had not kept it in great
numbers as prescribed. So couriers went
throughout all Israel and Judah with letters
from the king and his ocials, as the king
had commanded, saying, Opeople of Israel,
return to the Lord, the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Israel, so that he may turn again
to the remnant of you who have escaped
from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do
not be like your ancestors and your kindred,
who were faithless to the Lord God of their
ancestors, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. Do not now be sti-necked
as your ancestors were, but yield yourselves
to the Lord and come to his sanctuary,
which he has sanctied forever, and serve
the Lord your God, so that his erce anger
may turn away from you. For as you return
to the Lord, your kindred and your children
will nd compassion with their captors, and

return to this land. For the Lord your God is
gracious and merciful, and will not turn away
his face from you, if you return to him.
So the couriers went from city to city
through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun; but they
laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.
Only a few from Asher, Manasseh, and
Zebulun humbled themselves and came to
Jerusalem. The hand of God was also on
Judah to give them one heart to do what the
king and the ocials commanded by the
word of the Lord.
Many people came together in Jerusalem
to keep the festival of unleavened bread in
the second month, a very large assembly.
They set to work and removed the altars
that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for
oering incense they took away and threw
into the Wadi Kidron. They slaughtered
the passover lamb on the fourteenth day
of the second month. The priests and the
Levites were ashamed, and they sanctied
themselves and brought burnt oerings into
the house of the Lord. They took their
accustomed posts according to the law of
Moses the man of God; the priests dashed
the blood that they receiveda from the hands
of the Levites. For there were many in the
assembly who had not sanctied themselves;
a Heb lacks that they received
moves from the Passover oering, to destroying illicit altars in Jerusalem (vv. 1314), to celebrating the Festival of Unleavened Bread (vv. 13,21; cf. Ex 23.1417; Deut 16.1617), to shaering the pillars, hacking apart the
sacred poles, and tearing down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim
and Manasseh (31.1). The alternation in Hezekiahs reforms is signicantfrom reestablishing ritual purity at
the Temple to enforcing ritual unity in both Judah and the former Northern Kingdom. 30.1: Wrote leers. The
distribution of royal declarations by missives was common in the Persian period. The Persian empire was renowned for its international postal system. 2: A somewhat similar delay in observing the Passover is legislated
in Num 9.913. 59: Hezekiah appeals to the remnant of the northern tribes and invites them to participate
in the Passover. In spite of the Assyrian exile (v. 6; cf. 2 Kings 18.912), the northerners are still Israelites, and
their positive response may elicit compassion for their relatives in exile (v. 9). 5: From Beer-sheba to Dan, the
traditional southern and northern limits of Israel; see 1 Chr 21.2. 1014: Hezekiahs oer meets with an enthusiastic response from Judah and a mixed response from the northern tribes. 1527: The national celebration is
reminiscent of the heady days of the United Monarchy. 1820: These verses suggest that the stereotypical view
of postexilic Judaism as legalistic and inexible is incorrect. 25: Resident aliens, cf. Num 9.14.
31.219: The priestly and levitical divisions reestablished. Hezekiah continues his reforms by reinstituting
the priestly and levitical divisions rst set out by David (1 Chr 2326; 28.13,21) and implemented by Solomon
(2 Chr 8.14). 410: Like David (1 Chr 22.1416; 29.25), the king contributes toward the support of the Temple
and its sta. As in Davids time (1 Chr 29.69), the people respond with their own generous gis. 1120: Heze-
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2 chronicles 31
therefore the Levites had to slaughter the
passover lamb for everyone who was not
clean, to make it holy to the Lord. For a
multitude of the people, many of them from
Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun,
had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the
passover otherwise than as prescribed. But
Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good
Lord pardon all who set their hearts to
seek God, the Lord the God of their ancestors, even though not in accordance with
the sanctuarys rules of cleanness. The
Lord heard Hezekiah, and healed the people.
The people of Israel who were present at
Jerusalem kept the festival of unleavened
bread seven days with great gladness; and the
Levites and the priests praised the Lord day
by day, accompanied by loud instruments for
the Lord. Hezekiah spoke encouragingly
to all the Levites who showed good skill in
the service of the Lord. So the people ate the
food of the festival for seven days, sacricing
oerings of well-being and giving thanks to
the Lord the God of their ancestors.
Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the festival for another seven
days; so they kept it for another seven days
with gladness. For King Hezekiah of Judah
gave the assembly a thousand bulls and seven
thousand sheep for oerings, and the ocials gave the assembly a thousand bulls and
ten thousand sheep. The priests sanctied
themselves in great numbers. The whole
assembly of Judah, the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out
of Israel, and the resident aliens who came
out of the land of Israel, and the resident
aliens who lived in Judah, rejoiced. There
was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time
of Solomon son of King David of Israel there
had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.
Then the priests and the Levites stood up
and blessed the people, and their voice was
heard; their prayer came to his holy dwelling
in heaven.
Now when all this was nished, all
Israel who were present went out to
the cities of Judah and broke down the pillars,
hewed down the sacred poles,a and pulled
down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim
and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them
31
all. Then all the people of Israel returned to

their cities, all to their individual properties.
Hezekiah appointed the divisions of
the priests and of the Levites, division by
division, everyone according to his service,
the priests and the Levites, for burnt oerings and oerings of well-being, to minister
in the gates of the camp of the Lord and to
give thanks and praise. The contribution of
the king from his own possessions was for
the burnt oerings: the burnt oerings of
morning and evening, and the burnt oerings
for the sabbaths, the new moons, and the
appointed festivals, as it is written in the law
of the Lord. He commanded the people who
lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to
the priests and the Levites, so that they might
devote themselves to the law of the Lord.
As soon as the word spread, the people of
Israel gave in abundance the rst fruits of
grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce
of the eld; and they brought in abundantly
the tithe of everything. The people of Israel
and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah
also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep,
and the tithe of the dedicated things that
had been consecrated to the Lord their God,
and laid them in heaps. In the third month
they began to pile up the heaps, and nished
them in the seventh month. When Hezekiah
and the ocials came and saw the heaps,
they blessed the Lord and his people Israel.
Hezekiah questioned the priests and the
Levites about the heaps. The chief priest
Azariah, who was of the house of Zadok,
answered him, Since they began to bring the
contributions into the house of the Lord, we
have had enough to eat and have plenty to
spare; for the Lord has blessed his people, so
that we have this great supply left over.
Then Hezekiah commanded them to
prepare store-chambers in the house of the
Lord; and they prepared them. Faithfully
they brought in the contributions, the tithes
and the dedicated things. The chief ocer in
charge of them was Conaniah the Levite, with
his brother Shimei as second; while Jehiel,
Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad,
Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were
overseers assisting Conaniah and his brother
a Heb Asherim
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2 chronicles 32
Shimei, by the appointment of King Hezekiah
and of Azariah the chief ocer of the house
of God. Kore son of Imnah the Levite, keeper
of the east gate, was in charge of the freewill
oerings to God, to apportion the contribution reserved for the Lord and the most holy
oerings. Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah were faithfully
assisting him in the cities of the priests, to
distribute the portions to their kindred, old
and young alike, by divisions, except those
enrolled by genealogy, males from three years
old and upwards, all who entered the house
of the Lord as the duty of each day required,
for their service according to their oces, by
their divisions. The enrollment of the priests
was according to their ancestral houses; that
of the Levites from twenty years old and upwards was according to their oces, by their
divisions. The priests were enrolled with all
their little children, their wives, their sons,
and their daughters, the whole multitude;
for they were faithful in keeping themselves
holy. And for the descendants of Aaron,
the priests, who were in the elds of common land belonging to their towns, town by
town, the people designated by name were to
distribute portions to every male among the
priests and to everyone among the Levites
who was enrolled.
Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah;
he did what was good and right and faithful
before the Lord his God. And every work
that he undertook in the service of the house
of God, and in accordance with the law and
the commandments, to seek his God, he did
with all his heart; and he prospered.
32
After these things and these acts of

faithfulness, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped
against the fortied cities, thinking to win
them for himself. When Hezekiah saw that
Sennacherib had come and intended to ght
against Jerusalem, he planned with his
ocers and his warriors to stop the ow of
the springs that were outside the city; and
they helped him. A great many people were
gathered, and they stopped all the springs
and the wadi that owed through the land,
saying, Why should the Assyrian kings come
and nd water in abundance? Hezekiaha
set to work resolutely and built up the entire
wall that was broken down, and raised towers
on it,b and outside it he built another wall;
he also strengthened the Millo in the city
of David, and made weapons and shields in
abundance. He appointed combat commanders over the people, and gathered them
together to him in the square at the gate of
the city and spoke encouragingly to them,
saying, Be strong and of good courage. Do
not be afraid or dismayed before the king of
Assyria and all the horde that is with him; for
there is one greater with us than with him.
With him is an arm of esh; but with us is
the Lord our God, to help us and to ght our
battles. The people were encouraged by the
words of King Hezekiah of Judah.
After this, while King Sennacherib of
Assyria was at Lachish with all his forces, he
sent his servants to Jerusalem to King Hezekia Heb He
b Vg: Heb and raised on the towers
kiah ensures that the contributions and tithes will be properly cared for and stored. 2021: A summation and
commendation of Hezekiahs reforms, which emphasize that anyone who serves God in accordance with the law
and the commandments . . . with all his heart will prosper.
32.123: Sennacheribs invasion of Judah and threat to Jerusalem. The Chronicler borrows from and abbreviates 2 Kings 18.1319.13, omiing Hezekiahs stripping of the Temple and his tribute to Sennacherib (2 Kings
18.1316), which might reect negatively on Hezekiah. The complex account of Kings is simplied, and some
parallel texts from the source have been conated to create a smoother depiction of the events. 1: Aer these . . .
acts of faithfulness, in Chronicles, Sennacheribs invasion is a complete shock. Some scholars explain this massive foreign invasion as a divinely administered test of Hezekiah (cf. Gen 22.1). It is a test of Hezekiah and Judah,
but the Chronicler never maintains that the Lord initiated this war (contrast 12.2; 21.16; 28.5; 33.1136.17). 28:
Sennacheribs campaign took place in 701 bce. Repairs to Jerusalems infrastructure, including the construction
of the Siloam water tunnel (see 32.30), are made to prepare for the eventuality of an aack by Sennacherib.
To this end, Hezekiah also initiates a program of urban mobilization. 5: Millo, see 1 Chr 11.8n. 919: As in Kings,
the Assyrians try to convince the Jerusalemites that their God is no dierent from the defeated deities of other
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2 chronicles 32
Damascus
Ijon
Abel-bethmaacah
Kedesh
Hazor
Janoah
33
R. Jordan
Samaria
GI
LE
AD
NAP
HT A
LI
GA
LI
LE
Mediterranean
Sea
ARAM
(SYRIA)
32
Gaza
IL
IS
TI
Jerusalem
JUDAH
Libnah
Lachish
PH
ah of Judah and to all the people of Judah that

were in Jerusalem, saying, Thus says King
Sennacherib of Assyria: On what are you relying, that you undergo the siege of Jerusalem?
Is not Hezekiah misleading you, handing
you over to die by famine and by thirst, when
he tells you, The Lord our God will save us
from the hand of the king of Assyria? Was
it not this same Hezekiah who took away his
high places and his altars and commanded
Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Before one altar
you shall worship, and upon it you shall make
your oerings? Do you not know what I
and my ancestors have done to all the peoples
of other lands? Were the gods of the nations
of those lands at all able to save their lands
out of my hand? Who among all the gods
of those nations that my ancestors utterly
destroyed was able to save his people from
my hand, that your God should be able to
save you from my hand? Now therefore do
not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you
in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no
god of any nation or kingdom has been able
to save his people from my hand or from the
hand of my ancestors. How much less will
your God save you out of my hand!
His servants said still more against the
Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah.
He also wrote letters to throw contempt
on the Lord the God of Israel and to speak
against him, saying, Just as the gods of the
nations in other lands did not rescue their
people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.
They shouted it with a loud voice in the
language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem
who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify
them, in order that they might take the city.
They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as if he
were like the gods of the peoples of the earth,
which are the work of human hands.
Then King Hezekiah and the prophet
Isaiah son of Amoz prayed because of this
Dead
Sea
0
0
20 Miles
31
20 Kilometers
EDOM
35
36
Ch 32: Places associated with Sennacheribs

invasion of Judah.
and cried to heaven. And the Lord sent an

angel who cut o all the mighty warriors and
commanders and ocers in the camp of the
king of Assyria. So he returned in disgrace to
his own land. When he came into the house
of his god, some of his own sons struck him
down there with the sword. So the Lord
saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of King Sennacherib of
Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies;
he gave them resta on every side. Many
brought gifts to the Lord in Jerusalem and
precious things to King Hezekiah of Judah, so
that he was exalted in the sight of all nations
from that time onward.
a Gk Vg: Heb guided them
peoples. From the perspective of the Chronicler, this is blasphemy because the deities of other nations are
the work of human hands (cf. 2 Kings 18.1735). 18: The language of Judah, later called Hebrew. 20: Like other pious kings before him, Hezekiah appeals to God in conformity with the precedent established by David (1 Chr
17.1627; 29.1019) and Solomon (2 Chr 5.136.42); cf. 2 Kings 19.134. 21: The Lords dramatic deliverance of
Hezekiah and Jerusalem responds directly to the prayer uered by Hezekiah and Isaiah (v. 20; cf. 2 Kings 19.114)
and accords with the Lords earlier promises to Solomon (7.1215; cf. 6.2830). 2223: Rest on every side is a sign
of divine favor (14.1n.), as is tribute from the nations (1 Chr 18.6; 2 Chr 8.2; 17.5,11).
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2 chronicles 33
and was at the point of death. He prayed to
the Lord, and he answered him and gave
him a sign. But Hezekiah did not respond
according to the benet done to him, for his
heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon
him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. Then
Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of
his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not
come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah had very great riches and
honor; and he made for himself treasuries
for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for
spices, for shields, and for all kinds of costly
objects; storehouses also for the yield of
grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds
of cattle, and sheepfolds.a He likewise
provided cities for himself, and ocks and
herds in abundance; for God had given him
very great possessions. This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of
Gihon and directed them down to the west
side of the city of David. Hezekiah prospered
in all his works. So also in the matter of the
envoys of the ocials of Babylon, who had
been sent to him to inquire about the sign
that had been done in the land, God left him
to himself, in order to test him and to know
all that was in his heart.
Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and
his good deeds, are written in the vision of
the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the Book
of the Kings of Judah and Israel. Hezekiah
slept with his ancestors, and they buried him
on the ascent to the tombs of the descendants of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death.
His son Manasseh succeeded him.
33
Manasseh was twelve years old when

he began to reign; he reigned fty-ve
years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in
the sight of the Lord, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the
Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
For he rebuilt the high places that his father
Hezekiah had pulled down, and erected altars
to the Baals, made sacred poles,b worshiped
all the host of heaven, and served them. He
built altars in the house of the Lord, of which
the Lord had said, In Jerusalem shall my
name be forever. He built altars for all the
host of heaven in the two courts of the house
of the Lord. He made his son pass through
re in the valley of the son of Hinnom, practiced soothsaying and augury and sorcery,
and dealt with mediums and with wizards.
He did much evil in the sight of the Lord,
provoking him to anger. The carved image of
the idol that he had made he set in the house
of God, of which God said to David and to his
son Solomon, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes
of Israel, I will put my name forever; I will
never again remove the feet of Israel from the
land that I appointed for your ancestors, if
only they will be careful to do all that I have
commanded them, all the law, the statutes,
and the ordinances given through Moses.
Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than
the nations whom the Lord had destroyed
before the people of Israel.
The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his
people, but they gave no heed. Therefore
a Gk Vg: Heb ocks for folds
b Heb Asheroth
32.2433: Hezekiahs sickness, recovery, and wealth. Even this pious king was not without his faults (32.24
26; cf. 2 Kings 20.119; Isa 3839); see 2 Chr 6.36. But like David (1 Chr 21.8,17) and Rehoboam (2 Chr 12.7) before
him, Hezekiah humbled himself before God (see 7.14). 2730: Most of these economic and political initiatives are
focused outside Jerusalem (cf. vv. 28). 27: Royal wealth indicates divine blessing in Chronicles, and Hezekiahs
assets rival those of Solomon (1.1112,1417; 9.18,2324). 31: Cf. 2 Kings 20.1219.
33.120: Manasseh: regression and repentance. As in Kings, for the Chronicler, Manasseh (ruled 698/687
642 bce; the data are inconsistent) is a wicked king (vv. 29). Nevertheless, aer Manasseh suers divine punishment in the form of exile (v. 11), he repents, changes course, and is forgiven (vv. 1219). In so doing, Manasseh
is presented as a model for Judean deportees living in other lands. These events have no source in Kings. 29:
Drawn from 2 Kings 21.29. 6: Pass through re, see 2 Kings 16.3n. 10: The long-range prophecy of terrible disaster in 2 Kings 21.1015 becomes a summons to repent, which temporarily goes unheeded. 1113: The exile of
Manasseh, which does not appear in Kings, leads the Judean king to entreat the favor of the Lord and humble
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2 chronicles 34
the Lord brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria,
who took Manasseh captive in manacles,
bound him with fetters, and brought him
to Babylon. While he was in distress he
entreated the favor of the Lord his God and
humbled himself greatly before the God of
his ancestors. He prayed to him, and God
received his entreaty, heard his plea, and
restored him again to Jerusalem and to his
kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the
Lord indeed was God.
Afterward he built an outer wall for the
city of David west of Gihon, in the valley,
reaching the entrance at the Fish Gate; he
carried it around Ophel, and raised it to a
very great height. He also put commanders
of the army in all the fortied cities in Judah.
He took away the foreign gods and the idol
from the house of the Lord, and all the altars
that he had built on the mountain of the
house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he
threw them out of the city. He also restored the altar of the Lord and oered on it
sacrices of well-being and of thanksgiving;
and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord
the God of Israel. The people, however, still
sacriced at the high places, but only to the
Lord their God.
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh,
his prayer to his God, and the words of the
seers who spoke to him in the name of the
Lord God of Israel, these are in the Annals
of the Kings of Israel. His prayer, and how

God received his entreaty, all his sin and his
faithlessness, the sites on which he built high
places and set up the sacred polesa and the
images, before he humbled himself, these
are written in the records of the seers.b So
Manasseh slept with his ancestors, and they
buried him in his house. His son Amon succeeded him.
Amon was twenty-two years old when
he began to reign; he reigned two years in
Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight
of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done.
Amon sacriced to all the images that his
father Manasseh had made, and served them.
He did not humble himself before the Lord,
as his father Manasseh had humbled himself,
but this Amon incurred more and more guilt.
His servants conspired against him and
killed him in his house. But the people of
the land killed all those who had conspired
against King Amon; and the people of the
land made his son Josiah king to succeed him.
Josiah was eight years old when he
began to reign; he reigned thirty-one
years in Jerusalem. He did what was right in
the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways
of his ancestor David; he did not turn aside to
the right or to the left. For in the eighth year
of his reign, while he was still a boy, he began
34
a Heb Asherim
b One Ms Gk: MT of Hozai
himself. 11: Babylon, the reference is not impossible, because the Assyrians maintained a major presence in Babylon at this time. Nevertheless, Assyrian records mention that Manasseh was a loyal vassal. Whether historical
or not, the story demonstrates how even one of Judahs worst kings, with Gods help, could reverse course
in exile, be brought back to his land, institute reforms, and make a new beginning. In this respect, the entire
episode oered hope and conrmation to members of the Judean postexilic community, some of whom had
ancestors who returned from the Babylonian exile. 13: Going beyond his earlier pledge to Solomon (7.14), God
restores Manasseh to his land. Manasseh becomes a model of how to deal with self-made adversity (6.3639).
1417: Like other reformer kings (11.512; 14.37; 17.119; 32.2730), Manasseh constructs fortications and enforces religious centralization. 1820: Cf. 2 Kings 21.1718. 1819: His prayer, this is the basis for the later composition The Prayer of Manasseh, now a book of the Apocrypha and a similar psalm in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
33.2125: Degeneracy under Amon (641640 bce). This monarch follows the model of the earlier, rather
than the later, Manasseh, who humbled himself (33.29). The account is adapted from 2 Kings 21.1926. 2325:
In refusing to correct his policies, Amon follows the obstinate course set by Ahaz (28.127), worsens Judahs
plight, and is punished. 25: People of the land, see 2 Kings 11.14n.
34.133: Josiah (640609 bce): the champion of centralization. Both Kings (2 Kings 22.123.30) and Chronicles (34.135.27) acclaim Josiahs many reforms throughout Jerusalem and the land of Israel and Judah, but the
Chronicler makes these reforms the work of all the people and not simply Josiah himself. 37: The Chronicler
restructures the account of the reform found in Kings in several ways, including the idea that Josiah began to
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2 chronicles 34
to seek the God of his ancestor David, and
in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah
and Jerusalem of the high places, the sacred
poles,a and the carved and the cast images.
In his presence they pulled down the altars
of the Baals; he demolished the incense altars
that stood above them. He broke down the
sacred polesa and the carved and the cast
images; he made dust of them and scattered
it over the graves of those who had sacriced
to them. He also burned the bones of the
priests on their altars, and purged Judah
and Jerusalem. In the towns of Manasseh,
Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali,
in their ruinsb all around, he broke down the
altars, beat the sacred polesa and the images
into powder, and demolished all the incense
altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then
he returned to Jerusalem.
In the eighteenth year of his reign, when
he had purged the land and the house, he
sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the
governor of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the house of the
Lord his God. They came to the high priest
Hilkiah and delivered the money that had
been brought into the house of God, which
the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had
collected from Manasseh and Ephraim and
from all the remnant of Israel and from all
Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They delivered it to the
workers who had the oversight of the house
of the Lord, and the workers who were
working in the house of the Lord gave it for
repairing and restoring the house. They
gave it to the carpenters and the builders to
buy quarried stone, and timber for binders,
and beams for the buildings that the kings
of Judah had let go to ruin. The people did
the work faithfully. Over them were ap-
pointed the Levites Jahath and Obadiah, of

the sons of Merari, along with Zechariah and
Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites,
to have oversight. Other Levites, all skillful with instruments of music, were over
the burden bearers and directed all who did
work in every kind of service; and some of
the Levites were scribes, and ocials, and
gatekeepers.
While they were bringing out the money
that had been brought into the house of the
Lord, the priest Hilkiah found the book of
the law of the Lord given through Moses.
Hilkiah said to the secretary Shaphan, I
have found the book of the law in the house
of the Lord; and Hilkiah gave the book to
Shaphan. Shaphan brought the book to the
king, and further reported to the king, All
that was committed to your servants they are
doing. They have emptied out the money
that was found in the house of the Lord
and have delivered it into the hand of the
overseers and the workers. The secretary
Shaphan informed the king, The priest
Hilkiah has given me a book. Shaphan then
read it aloud to the king.
When the king heard the words of the
law he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan,
Abdon son of Micah, the secretary Shaphan,
and the kings servant Asaiah: Go, inquire
of the Lord for me and for those who are left
in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words
of the book that has been found; for the
wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us is
great, because our ancestors did not keep the
word of the Lord, to act in accordance with
all that is written in this book.
a Heb Asherim
see the Lord in the eighth year of his reign, rather than later, as in Kings (2 Kings 22.3). In the twelh year he
initiates a number of national expeditions, which purge Judah and Jerusalem of all rival religious shrines to the
Temple. 6: The geographic extent of Josiahs interventions, from Simeon to Naphtali, are an addition to the
Kings source material. Josiah restores proper religious observance throughout all Israel. 821: Adapted in part
from 2 Kings 22.313. The discovery of the book of the law of the Lord, while Temple repairs are underway (vv.
814), becomes a maer of grave concern to Josiah because its contents bode ill for Judah. 9: Since Josiah has
already implemented reforms in North and South, it is no great surprise that funds for the Temple restoration
project do not merely stem from the people in Judah (2 Kings 22.4), but also from Manasseh and Ephraim and
from all the remnant of Israel. 14: Most scholars think that the book of the law of the Lord refers to Deuteronomy
in 2 Kings 22, but in Chronicles it may refer to the entire Pentateuch (or an earlier version of it). The Passover
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2 chronicles 35
So Hilkiah and those whom the king had
sent went to the prophet Huldah, the wife
of Shallum son of Tokhath son of Hasrah,
keeper of the wardrobe (who lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her
to that eect. She declared to them, Thus
says the Lord, the God of Israel: Tell the man
who sent you to me, Thus says the Lord: I
will indeed bring disaster upon this place and
upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are
written in the book that was read before the
king of Judah. Because they have forsaken
me and have made oerings to other gods,
so that they have provoked me to anger with
all the works of their hands, my wrath will
be poured out on this place and will not be
quenched. But as to the king of Judah, who
sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall
you say to him: Thus says the Lord, the God
of Israel: Regarding the words that you have
heard, because your heart was penitent
and you humbled yourself before God when
you heard his words against this place and its
inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself
before me, and have torn your clothes and
wept before me, I also have heard you, says
the Lord. I will gather you to your ancestors
and you shall be gathered to your grave in
peace; your eyes shall not see all the disaster
that I will bring on this place and its inhabitants. They took the message back to the
king.
Then the king sent word and gathered
together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. The king went up to the house of
the Lord, with all the people of Judah, the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the
Levites, all the people both great and small;
he read in their hearing all the words of the
book of the covenant that had been found
in the house of the Lord. The king stood
in his place and made a covenant before the

Lord, to follow the Lord, keeping his commandments, his decrees, and his statutes,
with all his heart and all his soul, to perform
the words of the covenant that were written in this book. Then he made all who
were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin
pledge themselves to it. And the inhabitants
of Jerusalem acted according to the covenant
of God, the God of their ancestors. Josiah
took away all the abominations from all the
territory that belonged to the people of Israel,
and made all who were in Israel worship the
Lord their God. All his days they did not turn
away from following the Lord the God of
their ancestors.
Josiah kept a passover to the Lord in
Jerusalem; they slaughtered the passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the rst
month. He appointed the priests to their
oces and encouraged them in the service of
the house of the Lord. He said to the Levites
who taught all Israel and who were holy to
the Lord, Put the holy ark in the house that
Solomon son of David, king of Israel, built;
you need no longer carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his
people Israel. Make preparations by your
ancestral houses by your divisions, following the written directions of King David of
Israel and the written directions of his son
Solomon. Take position in the holy place
according to the groupings of the ancestral
houses of your kindred the people, and let
there be Levites for each division of an ancestral house.a Slaughter the passover lamb,
sanctify yourselves, and on behalf of your
kindred make preparations, acting according
to the word of the Lord by Moses.
35
celebration (35.119) draws on more than one collection of earlier biblical law. 2228: Huldahs oracle, drawn
from 2 Kings 22.1420, portrays a bleak future for Judah. 2933: Like other noted Judean leaders who wish to
avoid or counter a period of decline (15.819; 23.16; 29.10), Josiah leads the nation in covenant renewal (cf.
2Kings 23.13). The ratication of the covenant leads to the implementation of reforms throughout his land (cf.
2 Kings 23.410). The result is religious unity for the nation all his days.
35.119: Passover celebration. As in 2 Kings (23.420), national reforms (34.33) lead to a national Passover
(2 Kings 23.2123). Josiahs Passover oering is described in much more detail than in Kings. 3: The only reference
to the ark during the Judahite monarchy (chs 1036). The pedagogical responsibility of the Levites, who taught
all Israel, is found elsewhere (Deut 33.811) but is more frequent in postexilic texts (e.g., 17.79; Neh 8.78). 46:
The provisions made during the United Monarchy are the model for the levitical and priestly divisions (31.2
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2 chronicles 35
Then Josiah contributed to the people, as
passover oerings for all that were present,
lambs and kids from the ock to the number
of thirty thousand, and three thousand bulls;
these were from the kings possessions. His
ocials contributed willingly to the people,
to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah,
Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief ocers of
the house of God, gave to the priests for the
passover oerings two thousand six hundred
lambs and kids and three hundred bulls.
Conaniah also, and his brothers Shemaiah
and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and
Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the
Levites for the passover oerings ve thousand lambs and kids and ve hundred bulls.
When the service had been prepared for,
the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their divisions according to the kings
command. They slaughtered the passover
lamb, and the priests dashed the blood that
they receiveda from them, while the Levites
did the skinning. They set aside the burnt
oerings so that they might distribute them
according to the groupings of the ancestral
houses of the people, to oer to the Lord, as
it is written in the book of Moses. And they
did the same with the bulls. They roasted
the passover lamb with re according to the
ordinance; and they boiled the holy oerings
in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and carried
them quickly to all the people. Afterward
they made preparations for themselves
and for the priests, because the priests the
descendants of Aaron were occupied in oering the burnt oerings and the fat parts until
night; so the Levites made preparations for
themselves and for the priests, the descen-
dants of Aaron. The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were in their place according
to the command of David, and Asaph, and
Heman, and the kings seer Jeduthun. The
gatekeepers were at each gate; they did not
need to interrupt their service, for their kindred the Levites made preparations for them.
So all the service of the Lord was prepared that day, to keep the passover and to
oer burnt oerings on the altar of the Lord,
according to the command of King Josiah.
The people of Israel who were present kept
the passover at that time, and the festival of
unleavened bread seven days. No passover
like it had been kept in Israel since the days
of the prophet Samuel; none of the kings of
Israel had kept such a passover as was kept
by Josiah, by the priests and the Levites, by
all Judah and Israel who were present, and
by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In the
eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this
passover was kept.
After all this, when Josiah had set the
temple in order, King Neco of Egypt went
up to ght at Carchemish on the Euphrates,
and Josiah went out against him. But Necob
sent envoys to him, saying, What have I to
do with you, king of Judah? I am not coming
against you today, but against the house with
which I am at war; and God has commanded
me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is
with me, so that he will not destroy you.
But Josiah would not turn away from him,
but disguised himself in order to ght with
him. He did not listen to the words of Neco
a Heb lacks that they received
b Heb he
19n.). 79: The contributions of king, ocials, and Levites (cf. 34.9) help make the Passover a civic event. 13:
The preparations of the Passover lamb are said to accord with the ordinance (cf. vv. 6,12). The beginning of the
verse, properly translated, reads, They boiled the Passover lamb with re. This dicult idea reects a combination of Ex 12.8, which prescribes that the lamb must be broiled on a re, and Deut 16.7, which prescribes that it
must be boiled. These reect dierent customs, which ultimately came into conict when the Torah was canonized. Chronicles and later rabbinic texts oen dealt with such problems through harmonization, thus boiling
with re. 18: The national Passover is unparalleled since the days of Samuel (cf. 2 Kings 23.22). Chronicles, like
2 Kings 23.2122, aributes to Josiah an incomparably successful Passover celebration. The Passover of Hezekiah
(30.122) was also important, but enjoyed more limited participation than Josiahs Passover, which was aended
by the priests and the Levites, by all Judah and Israel, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem (cf. 30.1011).
35.2027: Josiahs defeat and death by Pharaoh Neco. Unlike 2 Kings 23.2930, in Chronicles Neco acts
explicitly as a messenger and agent of God. The addition justies the death of the otherwise righteous Josiah;
he did not heed the prophetic voice. 20: Neco, it is unclear why Josiah intervened against one of the superpow-
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2 chronicles 36
Hamath
Riblah
R. Euphrates
Mediterranean
Sea
BABYLONIA
Aram
Ju
da
Mizpah
Babylon
Ammon
Jerusalem
Moab
Edom
E G Y PT
0
R.
le
Ni
Red Sea
100
100
200 Miles
200 Kilometers
Ch 36: Babylon and Judah in the early sixth century bce.
from the mouth of God, but joined battle

in the plain of Megiddo. The archers shot
King Josiah; and the king said to his servants,
Take me away, for I am badly wounded.
So his servants took him out of the chariot
and carried him in his second chariota and
brought him to Jerusalem. There he died,
and was buried in the tombs of his ancestors.
All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah,
and all the singing men and singing women
have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this
day. They made these a custom in Israel; they
are recorded in the Laments. Now the rest
of the acts of Josiah and his faithful deeds in
accordance with what is written in the law
of the Lord, and his acts, rst and last, are
written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and
Judah.
36
The people of the land took Jehoahaz

son of Josiah and made him king to
succeed his father in Jerusalem. Jehoahaz
was twenty-three years old when he began
to reign; he reigned three months in Jerusalem. Then the king of Egypt deposed him
in Jerusalem and laid on the land a tribute of
one hundred talents of silver and one talent
of gold. The king of Egypt made his brother
Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and
changed his name to Jehoiakim; but Neco
took his brother Jehoahaz and carried him to
Egypt.
Jehoiakim was twenty-ve years old
years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in
the sight of the Lord his God. Against him
a Or the chariot of his deputy
ers of his day. Josiah may have been in an alliance with Necos enemies (cf. 2 Kings 23.29). 23: Archers shot, in
conformity with Huldahs prophecy (34.2428), Josiah is gathered to his fathers (v. 24) and does not see great
calamity come to Jerusalem (36.1721). The Chronicler may understand Huldahs prophecy to mean that Josiah
would die in a time of peace for Judah, rathen that to mean the type of death Josiah would suer himself (cf.
2 Kings 22.20 || 2 Chr 34.28).
36.114: Judahs last four kings. The Chroniclers history of Judahs nal decades is much briefer and less
gruesome than that of 2 Kings 2425. Either the Chronicler had a shorter version of our book of Kings, or
living in the postexilic restoration community, he felt no need to dwell on the details of the disaster of the
exile. 14: The account of the reign of Jehoahaz (609 bce) is largely taken from 2 Kings 23.3034. In Chronicles
Jehoahaz receives no evaluation. 58: The reign of Jehoiakim (608598) is much abridged and adapted from
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2 chronicles 36
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up,
and bound him with fetters to take him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also carried some of
the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon.
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and
the abominations that he did, and what was
found against him, are written in the Book
of the Kings of Israel and Judah; and his son
Jehoiachin succeeded him.
Jehoiachin was eight years old when he
began to reign; he reigned three months and
ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil
in the sight of the Lord. In the spring of the
year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought
him to Babylon, along with the precious
vessels of the house of the Lord, and made
his brother Zedekiah king over Judah and
Jerusalem.
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when
he began to reign; he reigned eleven years
in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the
sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble
himself before the prophet Jeremiah who
spoke from the mouth of the Lord. He also
rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who
had made him swear by God; he stiened his
neck and hardened his heart against turning
to the Lord, the God of Israel. All the leading priests and the people also were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted the
house of the Lord that he had consecrated in
Jerusalem.
The Lord, the God of their ancestors,
sent persistently to them by his messengers,
because he had compassion on his people
and on his dwelling place; but they kept
mocking the messengers of God, despising
his words, and scong at his prophets, until
the wrath of the Lord against his people became so great that there was no remedy.
Therefore he brought up against them
the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their
youths with the sword in the house of their
sanctuary, and had no compassion on young
man or young woman, the aged or the
feeble; he gave them all into his hand. All
the vessels of the house of God, large and
small, and the treasures of the house of the
Lord, and the treasures of the king and of
his ocials, all these he brought to Babylon.
They burned the house of God, broke down
the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces
with re, and destroyed all its precious vessels. He took into exile in Babylon those
2 Kings 23.3624.6. See also Dan 1.12. 6: Nebuchadnezzar II who ruled Babylon from 605 to 562 bce, was one of
its most powerful and successful kings. Among his foreign policy accomplishments were the conquest of Tyre
(Ezek 27.12) and the invasion of Egypt (Ezek 29.1921). Both Chronicles and 2 Kings 24.117 mention a Babylonian
invasion, which aected both Jehoiakim and his son Jehoiachin (598/7 bce). But only Chronicles claims that
the Babylonian king came to Jerusalem to bring both Jehoiakim and later his son Jehoiachin, along with various precious Temple vessels, to Babylon (v. 10). 910: Jehoiachin (597) was eighteen years old, not eight years
old (see 2 Kings 24.8). He suers a personal exile, along with the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, but in
2 Kings 24.817 the exile of 597 bce is a much more widespread deportation. 1114: Taken in part from 2 Kings
25.1820. Like Ahaz (ch 28) and Amon (33.23), Zedekiah (597586) refused to humble himself. The Chronicler
criticizes Zedekiah, the leading priests, and the people for being exceedingly unfaithful (see 1 Chr 10.114n.). Thus,
the Chronicler, unlike the author of Kings, oers a specic reason for why the exile occurred under Zedekiah.
13: Rebelled, the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II took swi reprisal against vassals who chose to revolt. In
this case, the Chronicler nds fault with Zedekiah himself for violating his oath to God and refusing to reverse
his course. 14: The leading priests, the Chronicler blames not only royalty but also higher echelon priests and the
people themselves for the exile. 1722: The fall of Jerusalem took place in 586 bce.
36.1523: Exile and the call to return. The Deuteronomist places a great deal of blame for Judahs fall on the
sins of Manasseh (2 Kings 21.1015; 23.2627; 24.34), but this is impossible for the Chronicler, who narrated
Manassehs repentance (33.1213). Instead, the references to the gradual rise in divine wrath, the repeated lack
of repentance, and the succession of unheeded messengers and prophets (cf. 15.18; 21.1215; 25.1517) suggest
that the Chronicler aributes the exile to a preponderance of unrequited sins during the last generations of
Judahs independence (cf. 2 Kings 24.20). 1721: The record of Judahs exile in 586 bce is partially drawn from
2 Kings 25.121. This author does not depict an Egyptian exile of 582 bce (2 Kings 25.2226). 17: The Chaldeans,
the Babylonians. 20: The kingdom of Persia, under Cyrus the Great (v. 22), defeated the kingdoms of Media,
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2 chronicles 36
who had escaped from the sword, and they
became servants to him and to his sons until
the establishment of the kingdom of Persia,
to fulll the word of the Lord by the mouth
of Jeremiah, until the land had made up for
its sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it
kept sabbath, to fulll seventy years.
In the rst year of King Cyrus of Persia, in
fulllment of the word of the Lord spoken
by Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of

King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald
throughout all his kingdom and also declared
in a written edict: Thus says King Cyrus
of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has
given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and
he has charged me to build him a house at
Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is
among you of all his people, may the Lord his
God be with him! Let him go up.
Lydia, and Babylon, thus becoming one of the ancient worlds great empires. At the height of its power, Persia
ruled a vast territory stretching from Greece in the west to India in the east. 21: On the prophecies of Jeremiah, see Jer 25.1112; 29.10, which are here conated with Lev 26.3435,43. 2223: Kings ends with the mercies
shown to Jehoiachin in exile (2 Kings 25.2730), but Chronicles oers a clearer hope for the future: King Cyruss
decree in 538 bce of an end to exile. As Chronicles repeatedly demonstrates, exile need not be a nal conclusion,
but a condition from which it is possible to return (6.3639; 7.1215; 33.1213). Indeed, from the perspective
of the books of Ezra-Nehemiah, Cyruss decree marks the beginning of Persian-period Judah (Ezra 1.13). The
return is in fulllment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, emphasizing one last time, at the books conclusion, the power of the prophetic word. Some manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible end with Chronicles, in which
case the scriptures conclude with an optimistic note of anticipation.
EZRA
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah form a single book in early Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the Bible, but
are separated into two in later Christian tradition. The books are named for their principal characters, both
Jewish leaders of the h century bce. Ezra is featured in chs 710 of the book that bears his name, and in Neh
89; Nehemiah is prominent in the book that bears his name.
In the traditional order of books in the Hebrew Bible, Ezra-Nehemiah is found in the third division of the
canon, the Writings. In modern printed Jewish Bibles, following some ancient manuscripts, Ezra-Nehemiah is
near the end and comes just before the last book, Chronicles. In other ancient sources, Ezra-Nehemiah is the
last book in the Writings. In most Christian canons, Ezra-Nehemiah is located among the historical books and
immediately follows Chronicles. The Greek book of 1 Esdras, which includes sections of both Ezra and Nehemiah, is part of the Apocrypha; in Eastern Orthodox canons it precedes Ezra-Nehemiah. (See further Introduction to 1 Esdras.)
historical background
The unied book of Ezra-Nehemiah (Esdras b in Greek manuscripts) describes the return of exiles from Babylonia in 538 bce, and the reconstruction of Jewish life in Judah under Persian imperial rule between 538 and approximately 420. According to its account, the return, authorized by the edict of the Persian king Cyrus, marked
the beginning of a lengthy process of rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple. During this period Israel reconstituted itself as the people of the Book, with scripture, specically the rst ve books of the Bible (the Torah,
also known as the Law of Moses, or as the Pentateuch), becoming authoritative for communal and personal
life. These developments took place during the reign of several Persian kings and under the Jewish leadership
of Zerubbabel, Joshua, Ezra, and Nehemiah. While the Temple and its personnel gained unprecedented powers,
the community developed new criteria for identity and membership.
Cyruss edict permiing the return to Judah sets the agenda for the entire book of Ezra-Nehemiah, launching a national and religious rebirth and reconstruction that includes rebuilding the Temple, the community, and
Jerusalem. The edict also establishes ocial Persian legitimation of Jewish life in the Persian province of Yehud
(the name for Judah in Aramaic and other sources), claiming harmony between Persian imperial policies and the
will of Israels God, a position that pervades Ezra-Nehemiah.
It is dicult to reconstruct the actual history of this period. Based on additional information from the books
of Haggai and Zechariah, many scholars think that the return and rebuilding took place in four or more steps,
though this is uncertain. First, the earliest returnees, led by Sheshbazzar in 538, began to rebuild the Temple but
for some reason abandoned the project. Second, a later group of exiles, under the leadership of Zerubbabel and
Jeshua, resumed rebuilding during the reign of the Persian king Darius I (522486) and completed the Temple
reconstruction in 515. Third, a group led by Ezra in 458 during the reign of Artaxerxes I (465424) reestablished
the Torah, the law of Moses, as the authority for Jews in Yehud. Finally, a group led by Nehemiah beginning in
445, later in the reign of Artaxerxes I, restored Jerusalems walls and repopulated Jerusalem. Some scholars have
suggested that Ezras return, with its religious innovations, took place only aer Nehemiahs political improvements. Most scholars favor the reconstruction given above, which follows the biblical sequence and which will
be used in the annotations. Archaeological studies suggest only limited development in the province of Judah
during the Persian period. This raises questions about the extent and eectiveness of the reconstruction that
Ezra-Nehemiah describes.
date of composition, literary history, and structure

Ezra-Nehemiah was probably composed in Judah after 400 bce. It shares some themes and vocabulary
with Chronicles, another Persian-period book, and Ezra 1.13 overlaps the end of Chronicles, 2 Chr 36.22
23. However, the books use different vocabulary and have different ideologies, and were most likely composed by different authors (see Introduction to 1 Chronicles, pp. 575-577). Ezra-Nehemiah also shares
elements with several later books in antiquity under the name of Ezra that are preserved in the Apocry-
hebrew bible | 667
ezra
pha and Pseudepigrapha, including 1 Esdras, which contains all of Ezra 110 as well as Nehemiah 8, and
2 Esdras.
Ezra-Nehemiah has a complicated literary history. It incorporates what are presented as contemporary
sources into its account. These include rst-person memoirs of both Ezra (Ezra 7.279.15) and Nehemiah (Neh
1.17.5; 12.2713.31); leers of various ocials, oen wrien in Aramaic, the lingua franca of the Persian empire;
and assorted lists. Moreover, although most of Ezra-Nehemiah is wrien in Hebrew, Ezra 4.66.18 and 7.1226
are in Aramaic, including not only ocial documents but also the narrative in which they are quoted.
Despite this composite appearance, however, the nal form of Ezra-Nehemiah has a carefully developed
structure. The work opens with Gods promise and Cyruss decree allowing the Temple to be rebuilt (Ezra 1.14),
and continues with exiled Israels response (Ezra 1.5Neh 7.73), culminating in celebration of reconstruction
(Neh 813). Aer an anticipatory summary of enthusiastic reaction (Ezra 1.511) and a framing section of the list
of returnees (Ezra 2), the response takes place in three stages: Stage One describes the reconstruction of the
Temple in 538515 bce (Ezra 36); Stage Two describes the mission of Ezra and the formation of the community
according to Torah in 458 (Ezra 710); and Stage Three describes the rebuilding of Jerusalem under Nehemiahs
leadership in 445444 (Neh 1.17.5). These stages close with another framing section, the repeated list of returnees (Neh 7.673). The work concludes with celebration of renewal and reconstruction (Neh 813). This last
section describes the reading and implementation of the Torah (Neh 8); the confession and commitment of
the people (Neh 910); the repopulation of the city and review of the people (Neh 11.112.26); and a service of
dedication, including celebration, purication, procession, and separation (Neh 12.2713.3). The very end is a
coda in which Nehemiah recounts some of his reforms and invokes Gods remembrance (Neh 13.431).
interpretation and guide to reading

Because it has a continuous chronology, Ezra-Nehemiah should be read from beginning to end as a unied narrative. According to this narrative, the returned exiles were not only concerned with restoring preexilic institutions, such as the altar and the Temple, and restoring the city. They also adapted to changed circumstances by
establishing religious practices that conformed to their understanding of the book of the Torah, which likely
reached its nal form in the late postexilic period. To the author, the returned exiles were a godly remnant with
a renewed commitment to perpetuate the covenantal teachings that kept them distinct. The returned exiles
were also a minority within the vast, polytheistic, and multicultural Persian empire. Consequently, they sought
to protect their ethnic and religious identity by establishing rigorous religious boundaries between themselves
and their neighbors. The author was especially worried that the community might repeat the mistakes that
caused the exile, such as intermarriage, and a new destruction would follow.
Through its structure and narrative, Ezra-Nehemiah emphasizes the role of the people themselves in rebuilding, as well as the power of authoritative documents.
ezra 2
In the rst year of King Cyrus of Persia,

in order that the word of the Lord by the
mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished,
the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus
of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout
all his kingdom, and also in a written edict
declared:
Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The
Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the
kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged
me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of those among you who are of his
peoplemay their God be with them!are
now permitted to go up to Jerusalem in Judah,
and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God
of Israelhe is the God who is in Jerusalem;
and let all survivors, in whatever place they
reside, be assisted by the people of their place
with silver and gold, with goods and with animals, besides freewill oerings for the house
of God in Jerusalem.
The heads of the families of Judah and
Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites
everyone whose spirit God had stirredgot
ready to go up and rebuild the house of the
Lord in Jerusalem. All their neighbors aided

them with silver vessels, with gold, with
goods, with animals, and with valuable gifts,
besides all that was freely oered. King
Cyrus himself brought out the vessels of the
house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had
carried away from Jerusalem and placed in
the house of his gods. King Cyrus of Persia
had them released into the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to
Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. And this
was the inventory: gold basins, thirty; silver
basins, one thousand; knives,a twenty-nine;
gold bowls, thirty; other silver bowls, four
hundred ten; other vessels, one thousand;
the total of the gold and silver vessels was
ve thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up, when the exiles were
brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.
Now these were the people of the province who came from those captive exiles
whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had
carried captive to Babylonia; they returned to
a Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
1.14: Gods promise and Cyruss decree. The decree by the Persian king authorizes return to Judah and
rebuilding Gods house in Jerusalem, aer its destruction by the Babylonians and the deportation to Babylonia
in the early sixth century bce. The rest of the book describes three stages of return and rebuilding. Most of this
decree appears in 2 Chr 36.2223, and in a dierent form in Ezra 6.25. 1: King Cyrus, the Persian king (559530
bce) who conquered Babylon in 539 bce. This edict in 538 (the rst year of the text) is consistent with Persian
religious and political policy: ancient inscriptions depict Cyrus as restorer of several temples. Jeremiah, a sixthcentury bce prophet who lived through the destruction of Judah and repeatedly promised a restoration; see,
e.g., Jer 29.10. 2: God of heaven, a typical postexilic title (e.g., Neh 1.5; Dan 2.18). 3: His people, i.e., worshipers of
Israels God. Are now permied, beer translated as a command to go up (see 2 Chr 36.23; 1 Esd 2.5). Rebuild the
house of the Lord, the Temple had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 bce (see 2 Kings 25). But in EzraNehemiah, the notion of the house of the Lord encompasses more than the Temple and includes eventually the
city itself and its dedicated inhabitants. 4: Survivors, primarily referring to Jews still in exile and perhaps those
in the land who survived the crisis.
1.5Neh 7.73: The three stages of return and reconstruction.
1.58: These verses sum up the enthusiastic response by the people to the decree, a response that leads to
the reconstruction described in Ezra 2Neh 7. 5: Judah and Benjamin formerly constituted the kingdom of Judah
(destroyed by Babylon); the other tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (destroyed and exiled by Assyria in
722 bce; see 2 Kings 17) did not return. The Levites were religious functionaries; the priests were a subgroup of
Levites who according to tradition were descended from Aaron, the rst priest (see Ex 28.1) with unique responsibilities for the sanctuary. 711: The return of the sacred vessels symbolizes continuity with the destroyed
Temple, whose looting is described in 2 Kings 25:1317. The number of itemized vessels is smaller than the total
given of 5,400. 7: Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who destroyed the rst Temple in 586 bce (see 2 Kings
25.1). 8: Sheshbazzar, a leader of the early return (see also 5.1416); some scholars think that he was descended
from King David.
2.170: The list of returnees. With its repetition in Neh 7.673a, the list frames the three stages of reconstruction. It also reects combined waves of immigration, and is thus anachronistic here. It was expanded over
hebrew bible | 669
ezra 2
Jerusalem and Judah, all to their own towns.
They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan,
Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.
The number of the Israelite people: the
descendants of Parosh, two thousand one
hundred seventy-two. Of Shephatiah, three
hundred seventy-two. Of Arah, seven hundred seventy-ve. Of Pahath-moab, namely
the descendants of Jeshua and Joab, two
thousand eight hundred twelve. Of Elam, one
thousand two hundred fty-four. Of Zattu,
nine hundred forty-ve. Of Zaccai, seven
hundred sixty. Of Bani, six hundred fortytwo. Of Bebai, six hundred twenty-three. Of
Azgad, one thousand two hundred twenty-two.
Of Adonikam, six hundred sixty-six. Of
Bigvai, two thousand fty-six. Of Adin, four
hundred fty-four. Of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, ninety-eight. Of Bezai, three hundred
twenty-three. Of Jorah, one hundred twelve.
Of Hashum, two hundred twenty-three. Of
Gibbar, ninety-ve. Of Bethlehem, one hundred twenty-three. The people of Netophah,
fty-six. Of Anathoth, one hundred twentyeight. The descendants of Azmaveth, fortytwo. Of Kiriatharim, Chephirah, and Beeroth,
seven hundred forty-three. Of Ramah and
Geba, six hundred twenty-one. The people
of Michmas, one hundred twenty-two. Of
Bethel and Ai, two hundred twenty-three.
The descendants of Nebo, fty-two. Of
Magbish, one hundred fty-six. Of the other
Elam, one thousand two hundred fty-four.
Of Harim, three hundred twenty. Of Lod,
Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty-ve.
Of Jericho, three hundred forty-ve. Of
Senaah, three thousand six hundred thirty.
The priests: the descendants of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred
seventy-three. Of Immer, one thousand
fty-two. Of Pashhur, one thousand two
hundred forty-seven. Of Harim, one thousand seventeen.
The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the descendants of
Hodaviah, seventy-four. The singers: the
descendants of Asaph, one hundred twentyeight. The descendants of the gatekeepers:
of Shallum, of Ater, of Talmon, of Akkub,
of Hatita, and of Shobai, in all one hundred
thirty-nine.
The temple servants: the descendants of
Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, Keros, Siaha, Padon, Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, Hagab,
Shamlai, Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah,
Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah,
Besai, Asnah, Meunim, Nephisim, Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, Bazluth, Mehida,
Harsha, Barkos, Sisera, Temah, Neziah,
and Hatipha.
The descendants of Solomons servants: Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, Jaalah,
Darkon, Giddel, Shephatiah, Hattil,
Pochereth-hazzebaim, and Ami.
All the temple servants and the descendants of Solomons servants were three
hundred ninety-two.
The following were those who came up
from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan,
and Immer, though they could not prove
their families or their descent, whether they
belonged to Israel: the descendants of
Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda, six hundred
fty-two. Also, of the descendants of the
priests: the descendants of Habaiah, Hak-
decades and includes other members of the restored Judean community between 538 and 444 bce. The list is
organized according to three groups: Israelites (laity), Levites, and priests. 12: Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah,
of the list of leaders, only these three (if this Nehemiah is identical with the governor of Neh 1.1) will play a role
in Ezra-Nehemiah. Zerubbabel is among the last known descendants of David in the Hebrew Bible (see 1 Chr
3.19) and is elsewhere called governor (e.g., Hag 1.1). He is one of the two major leaders of Stage One of the
return and reconstruction. Jeshua the priest is elsewhere called high priest (e.g., Hag 1.1). He is the other major
leader of Stage One. 2b35: Lay Israelites are listed by family ancestral names (vv. 2b20) and towns of origin
(vv. 2135). Archaeology provides evidence of increased population during the Persian period at many of the
sites mentioned here. 3639: Priests include four families claiming descent from Aaron (cf. 1 Chr 24). 4042: Levites are listed according to their Temple functions in the postexilic period. 4358: Other Temple personnel and
miscellaneous groups. 5963: As a result of the books concern with communal identity, uncertain genealogies
jeopardize membership in the community. Several of these names, however, are later included as community
members. Some of the listed towns (like Tel Melah in v. 59) are in Babylonia. 6163: Priestly legitimacy depends
670 | hebrew bible
ezra 3
koz, and Barzillai (who had married one of
the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and
was called by their name). These looked for
their entries in the genealogical records, but
they were not found there, and so they were
excluded from the priesthood as unclean;
the governor told them that they were not
to partake of the most holy food, until there
should be a priest to consult Urim and Thummim.
The whole assembly together was fortytwo thousand three hundred sixty, besides
their male and female servants, of whom
there were seven thousand three hundred
thirty-seven; and they had two hundred male
and female singers. They had seven hundred thirty-six horses, two hundred forty-ve
mules, four hundred thirty-ve camels, and
six thousand seven hundred twenty donkeys.
As soon as they came to the house of
the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of
families made freewill oerings for the house
of God, to erect it on its site. According
to their resources they gave to the building
fund sixty-one thousand darics of gold, ve
thousand minas of silver, and one hundred
priestly robes.
The priests, the Levites, and some of the

people lived in Jerusalem and its vicinity;a
and the singers, the gatekeepers, and the
temple servants lived in their towns, and all
Israel in their towns.
When the seventh month came, and the
Israelites were in the towns, the people
gathered together in Jerusalem. Then Jeshua
son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and
Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel with his kin set
out to build the altar of the God of Israel, to
oer burnt oerings on it, as prescribed in
the law of Moses the man of God. They set
up the altar on its foundation, because they
were in dread of the neighboring peoples, and
they oered burnt oerings upon it to the
Lord, morning and evening. And they kept
the festival of booths,b as prescribed, and
oered the daily burnt oerings by number
according to the ordinance, as required for
each day, and after that the regular burnt
oerings, the oerings at the new moon and
at all the sacred festivals of the Lord, and the
a 1Esdras 5.46: Heb lacks lived in Jerusalem and its

vicinity
b Or tabernacles; Heb succoth
on descent from Aaron. Illegitimate priests threaten the sanctity of the Temple. 61: Barzillai the Gileadite, see
2 Sam 17.27; 19.31. The adoption of the father-in-laws name suggests that Barzillai did not have a male heir.
63: Urim and Thummim were a device, like casting lots, that priests used to ascertain divine guidance in certain
situations (Ex 28.30; Lev 8.8; Deut 33.8). Governor, Heb tirshata, a Persian title. 64: The total listed, 42,360,
exceeds the sum of the enumerated groups (around 30,000), one of several signs of the lists expansion or an
indication that the total includes women. 6567: The number of servants, as well as of singers and livestock,
suggests relatively modest economic means. 69: The precise monetary value of this contribution to the Temple
is uncertain because the value of the daric and the mina uctuated. Nevertheless, the passage suggests that
the community invested a great deal in restoring its Temple. The priestly robes are specialized garments for
ocial service. 70: All Israel in their towns, Ezra-Nehemiah emphasizes continuity, suggesting a return to preexilic selements. In reality, however, the Persian province of Yehud was considerably smaller than the earlier
kingdom of Judah.
3.16.22: Stage One of reconstruction: building the Temple. Ezra 3 emphasizes the determination of the
returnees to rebuild the Temple as soon as possible.
3.17: First step: rebuilding the altar. The restoration of the altar and a functioning priesthood indicates
the resumption of sacricial worship, a central means of religious expression in the ancient world. 1: The seventh month, Tishri (September-October). 2: Jeshua . . . and Zerubbabel, Ezra-Nehemiah assumes a paern of
dual leadership by a priest and a secular leader. The law (Heb torah) of Moses, most likely some form of the
Pentateuch (see notes to Neh 8). Ezra-Nehemiah is keen on describing conformity to the torah, or teaching,
of Moses (hence to Gods teachings) as the guiding principle in reconstruction. 36: The detailed catalogue of
sacrices conrms the resumption of worship according to authoritative traditions. 3: Dread of the neighboring peoples, tension with local inhabitants and neighboring peoples is a major theme in Ezra-Nehemiah. Some
scholars see in this tension a debate between returning Judeans and those Judeans who remained in the land
over who can represent postexilic Israel; others suggest that surrounding cultures saw Jewish renewal as a
hebrew bible | 671
ezra 4
oerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the Lord. From the rst day of the
seventh month they began to oer burnt offerings to the Lord. But the foundation of the
temple of the Lord was not yet laid. So they
gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians
and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from
Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the
grant that they had from King Cyrus of Persia.
In the second year after their arrival at
the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second
month, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak made a beginning, together
with the rest of their people, the priests and
the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the
Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to
have the oversight of the work on the house
of the Lord. And Jeshua with his sons and
his kin, and Kadmiel and his sons, Binnui and
Hodaviaha along with the sons of Henadad,
the Levites, their sons and kin, together took
charge of the workers in the house of God.
When the builders laid the foundation of
the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments were stationed to praise the Lord with
trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph,

with cymbals, according to the directions of
King David of Israel; and they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever
toward Israel.
And all the people responded with a great
shout when they praised the Lord, because
the foundation of the house of the Lord was
laid. But many of the priests and Levites
and heads of families, old people who had
seen the rst house on its foundations, wept
with a loud voice when they saw this house,
though many shouted aloud for joy, so that
the people could not distinguish the sound
of the joyful shout from the sound of the
peoples weeping, for the people shouted so
loudly that the sound was heard far away.
When the adversaries of Judah and
Benjamin heard that the returned exiles
were building a temple to the Lord, the God
of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and
the heads of families and said to them, Let
a Compare 2.40; Neh 7.43; 1Esdras 5.58: Heb sons of

Judah
threat, as Ezra 4 indicates. 4: The festival of booths, see Lev 23.34. 5: Oerings at the new moon, see Num 29.6. 7:
Sidon and Tyre helped build Solomons Temple (1 Kings 57).
3.813: Second step: founding the Second Temple. The laying of the foundation of the Temple provokes
opposition from the people in the land and causes a delay in building the Temple itself. According to Ezra-Nehemiah, this explains why the Temple was rebuilt only in the time of King Darius. The historical reality was likely
more complex; see the description of the peoples loss of interest depicted in the books of Haggai and Zechariah. 8: Second year, 537 or 536. Hag 2.18 dates the founding dierently, to 520 bce. Ezra 5.16 credits Sheshbazzar,
not Zerubbabel and Jeshua, with laying the foundations. Ezra-Nehemiah thus compresses various events in its
thematic presentation. 1013: Celebration of temple-foundings is a common ancient Near Eastern practice.
10: Davids crowning achievement for Ezra-Nehemiah (as for Chronicles) is the development of liturgy. 11: The
quoted words are a frequently occurring refrain in late Psalms (e.g., 106.1; 107.1; 118.1; 136.1). 12: The rst house,
Solomons Temple, destroyed in 586. Old people . . . wept, postexilic sources contrast the splendor of Solomons
Temple with the less glorious, postexilic Second Temple. King Herod renovated this Temple magnicently in
the rst century bce. 13: The sound was heard far away, the rejoicing alerts the neighbors and triggers the opposition.
4.16.22: Opposition and support (including Aramaic documents). The edict of Cyrus authorized rebuilding the Temple, which according to several biblical sources was completed in 515 bce, during the reign
of Darius I. Ezra 46 explains the delay in building by describing opposition from neighbors to the building
project.
4.124: Opposition from neighbors halts rebuilding. The opposition reects competition for political and
perhaps economic privileges within the Persian empire, as well as the denition of religious legitimacy. This
section uses material out of chronological order to explain persistent hostilities and thus to account for the
delay in rebuilding. 16: Initial opposition. Ezra 4 presents the would-be supporters, soon to become adversaries, as self-proclaimed foreigners, which accounts for their exclusion from this particular sacred project. 2: We
672 | hebrew bible
ezra 4
us build with you, for we worship your God as
you do, and we have been sacricing to him
ever since the days of King Esar-haddon of Assyria who brought us here. But Zerubbabel,
Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of families
in Israel said to them, You shall have no part
with us in building a house to our God; but we
alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel,
as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us.
Then the people of the land discouraged the
people of Judah, and made them afraid to build,
and they bribed ocials to frustrate their plan
throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and
until the reign of King Darius of Persia.
In the reign of Ahasuerus, in his accession year, they wrote an accusation against
the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and
Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to King Artaxerxes of Persia; the
letter was written in Aramaic and translated.a
Rehum the royal deputy and Shimshai the
scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King
Artaxerxes as follows (then Rehum the royal

deputy, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of
their associates, the judges, the envoys, the
ocials, the Persians, the people of Erech, the
Babylonians, the people of Susa, that is, the
Elamites, and the rest of the nations whom
the great and noble Osnappar deported and
settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest
of the province Beyond the River wroteand
now this is a copy of the letter that they sent):
To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the
people of the province Beyond the River,
send greeting. And now may it be known
to the king that the Jews who came up from
you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are
rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city;
they are nishing the walls and repairing the
foundations. Now may it be known to the
a Heb adds in Aramaic, indicating that 4.86.18 is in
Aramaic. Another interpretation is The letter was
written in the Aramaic script and set forth in the
Aramaic language
worship your God, according to 2 Kings 17, Assyria forcibly repopulated Samaria aer deporting the Israelites,
and these foreigners developed a syncretistic religion (2 Kings 17.41). Esar-haddon, king of Assyria (681669).
According to 2 Kings 17.3; 18.9, the king who reseled foreigners in northern Israel in 722 bce was Shalmaneser
(727722); see 2 Kings 17.24. 3: We alone will build . . . as King Cyrus . . . commanded us, the rebuilders claim that
Cyruss decree applies only to them, the sole legitimate remnant of Judah. Seeking to preserve ethnic and religious boundaries in the multicultural milieu of the Persian empire, as well as to protect the Temples sanctity,
the returnees initially refuse partnership with other groups. Once the Temple is built, however, Ezra-Nehemiah
shows some readiness to include outsiders (see 6.21). 4: The people of the land, local inhabitants. Although EzraNehemiah implies that these people were all of foreign descent, the groups may have included Judeans who
had not been in exile and did not share the ideology or practices of those who repatriated. Tension with the
people of the land is later expressed in the crisis of mixed marriages (Ezra 910). 5: King Darius of Persia ruled
522486 bce. The Temple was rebuilt in his time (see 6.15). 6: Ahasuerus, or Xerxes I (486465 bce), prominent
in the book of Esther. This document is not preserved. 724: Further opposition during the reign of Artaxerxes,
who reigned in the h century bce, aer King Darius. The record of this opposition, which focuses on the rebuilding of Jerusalems walls, is out of chronological order and serves to document how foreign adversaries (e.g.,
4.10) repeatedly sabotaged Jewish rebuilding. 7a: Artaxerxes I, king of Persia (465424). According to Ezra 7Neh
2, the missions of Ezra and Nehemiah took place during his reign. 7b11: The report to the king comes from
Persian ocials located around Judah and local inhabitants. 7b: Aramaic, the lingua franca of the Persian period.
The text continues in Aramaic until 6:18, suggesting a distinct Aramaic source for this information. 810: Various explanatory material. The leer begins only in v. 11. 10: Osnappar, Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria (669627).
Samaria, a designation for the northern Israelite region, named aer its capital. In the Persian period Samaria
emerged as a center of provincial administration as well. Province Beyond the River, the Persian satrapy west of
the Euphrates River, including Yehud (Judah) and Samaria. By the h century bce, Samaria and Yehud were
separate provinces, each with its own governor.
4.1116: The opponents le+er. 12: Rebuilding that . . . city, Neh 17 records the rebuilding of the city in the
twentieth year of Artaxerxes (444 bce). 1314: The opponents warn that Judean rebuilding will result in sedition
and loss of income to the king. Ironically, however, their leer proves the antiquity of the city and of Jewish
claims to it. Share the salt of the palace, an idiomatic expression of loyalty to the palace as well as of mutual
hebrew bible | 673
ezra 5
king that, if this city is rebuilt and the walls
nished, they will not pay tribute, custom,
or toll, and the royal revenue will be reduced.
Now because we share the salt of the palace
and it is not tting for us to witness the kings
dishonor, therefore we send and inform the
king, so that a search may be made in the
annals of your ancestors. You will discover in
the annals that this is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition
was stirred up in it from long ago. On that
account this city was laid waste. We make
known to the king that, if this city is rebuilt
and its walls nished, you will then have no
possession in the province Beyond the River.
The king sent an answer: To Rehum
the royal deputy and Shimshai the scribe
and the rest of their associates who live
in Samaria and in the rest of the province
Beyond the River, greeting. And now the
letter that you sent to us has been read in
translation before me. So I made a decree,
and someone searched and discovered that
this city has risen against kings from long
ago, and that rebellion and sedition have
been made in it. Jerusalem has had mighty
kings who ruled over the whole province
Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom,
and toll were paid. Therefore issue an order that these people be made to cease, and
that this city not be rebuilt, until I make a
decree. Moreover, take care not to be slack
in this matter; why should damage grow to

the hurt of the king?
Then when the copy of King Artaxerxes
letter was read before Rehum and the scribe
Shimshai and their associates, they hurried to the Jews in Jerusalem and by force
and power made them cease. At that time
the work on the house of God in Jerusalem
stopped and was discontinued until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.
Now the prophets, Haggaia and Zechariah son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews
who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the
name of the God of Israel who was over them.
Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua
son of Jozadak set out to rebuild the house
of God in Jerusalem; and with them were the
prophets of God, helping them.
At the same time Tattenai the governor of
the province Beyond the River and Shetharbozenai and their associates came to them and
spoke to them thus, Who gave you a decree to
build this house and to nish this structure?
Theyb also asked them this, What are the
names of the men who are building this building? But the eye of their God was upon the
elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them
until a report reached Darius and then answer
was returned by letter in reply to it.
a Aram adds the prophet

b Gk Syr: Aram We
interests. 15: Annals of your ancestors, the Assyrians and Babylonians kept careful records, and the Persians
inherited and enlarged their bureaucracy. Here, as elsewhere in Ezra-Nehemiah, wrien records play a crucial
role in establishing authority. 16: No possession, revolt in Jerusalem will endanger Persian rule throughout the
western region of the empire.
4.1724: Royal response, prohibiting building. This correspondence in Artaxerxes time in the h century
bce anachronistically explains the delay in rebuilding. 19: Rebellion and sedition, presumably a reference to earlier rebellions against Assyria and Babylonia. 21: Until I make a decree, this loophole will enable Nehemiah to
secure a new decree. 24: At that time, the narrative resumes the story about the Temple that was interrupted
aer 4.5. The second year of . . . Darius, i.e., 520 bce, when rebuilding resumes, as also in the books of Haggai
and Zechariah.
5.16.12: Third step: resumption of rebuilding of the Temple. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah inspire
the people to resume rebuilding, and the Temple is nally completed at the time of Darius, in 515 bce, aer King
Darius supports and extends King Cyruss permission. 5.12: Resumption of building begins with the urging of
two prophets. 1: Haggai . . . and Zechariah, in the books of Haggai and Zechariah, these prophets exhort leaders
and community to build, starting in the second year of Darius (520 bce). 2: Then Zerubbabel . . . and Jeshua, see
2.12n.
5.317: New ocial Persian inquiry and correspondence lead to renewal of building permit. 3: Taenai, a
Persian ocial mentioned in nonbiblical sources as governor of the entire province Beyond the River, of which
Yehud is a subunit (see 4.10n.).
674 | hebrew bible
ezra 6
The copy of the letter that Tattenai the
governor of the province Beyond the River
and Shethar-bozenai and his associates the
envoys who were in the province Beyond the
River sent to King Darius; they sent him a
report, in which was written as follows: To
Darius the king, all peace! May it be known
to the king that we went to the province of
Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built of hewn stone, and timber is laid in
the walls; this work is being done diligently
and prospers in their hands. Then we spoke
to those elders and asked them, Who gave
you a decree to build this house and to nish
this structure? We also asked them their
names, for your information, so that we
might write down the names of the men at
their head. This was their reply to us: We
are the servants of the God of heaven and
earth, and we are rebuilding the house that
was built many years ago, which a great king
of Israel built and nished. But because our
ancestors had angered the God of heaven,
he gave them into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who
destroyed this house and carried away the
people to Babylonia. However, King Cyrus
of Babylon, in the rst year of his reign,
made a decree that this house of God should
be rebuilt. Moreover, the gold and silver
vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in
Jerusalem and had brought into the temple
of Babylon, these King Cyrus took out of the
temple of Babylon, and they were delivered
to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he
had made governor. He said to him, Take

these vessels; go and put them in the temple
in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be
rebuilt on its site. Then this Sheshbazzar
came and laid the foundations of the house
of God in Jerusalem; and from that time until
now it has been under construction, and it is
not yet nished. And now, if it seems good
to the king, have a search made in the royal
archives there in Babylon, to see whether
a decree was issued by King Cyrus for the
rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem.
Let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.
Then King Darius made a decree, and
they searched the archives where the
documents were stored in Babylon. But it
was in Ecbatana, the capital in the province
of Media, that a scroll was found on which
this was written: A record. In the rst year
of his reign, King Cyrus issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the
house be rebuilt, the place where sacrices
are oered and burnt oerings are brought;a
its height shall be sixty cubits and its width
sixty cubits, with three courses of hewn
stones and one course of timber; let the cost
be paid from the royal treasury. Moreover,
let the gold and silver vessels of the house of
God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the
temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon,
be restored and brought back to the temple
in Jerusalem, each to its place; you shall put
them in the house of God.
a Meaning of Aram uncertain
5.617: New correspondence from sympathetic ocials reverses the leers of 4.716. Taenai the governor
does not stop the builders while waiting for further instructions from King Darius. 8: Judah, Yehud in the Aramaic text, is the name of the province in the Persian period, as is evident in extant seals and seal impressions.
Taenais report indicates building activities well in progress. 1116: This report generally parallels Ezra 1, but
emphasizes Sheshbazzars role as governor and does not mention Zerubbabel. 11: A great king, Solomon; see
2 Chr 34. 12: Nebuchadnezzar, see 1.7n. Chaldean, a late biblical term for the Babylonians. 13: King Cyrus of
Babylon, the Persian king who controlled Babylon, where the Temple treasures were stored; see Ezra 1. 14: Sheshbazzar, see 1.7n. 1 Esdras 6.18, which parallels this account, also mentions Zerubbabel. 17: Taenai seeks to
ascertain both whether Cyrus authorized building, and if Darius wishes it to continue.
6.112: Dariuss edict in support of the Temple. A discovery of Cyruss memorandum conrms the legitimacy
of the Temple in Jerusalem and brings additional support from King Darius. 2: Ecbatana, the summer residence
of Persian kings, now Hamadan in Iran. 35: This archival version of Cyruss decree emphasizes building size and
funding; it is more generous than the public version (Ezra 1.14), explicitly oering royal nancial support (v. 4).
The relation between the two versions is uncertain. 3: Sixty cubits, a cubit is about 18 in (45 cm). The measurements are incomplete, not mentioning length (unless a square building is intended). 612: Dariuss support of
hebrew bible | 675
ezra 6
Now you, Tattenai, governor of the
province Beyond the River, Shetharbozenai, and you, their associates, the
envoys in the province Beyond the River,
keep away; let the work on this house of
God alone; let the governor of the Jews and
the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of
God on its site. Moreover I make a decree
regarding what you shall do for these elders
of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house
of God: the cost is to be paid to these people, in full and without delay, from the royal
revenue, the tribute of the province Beyond
the River. Whatever is neededyoung
bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to
the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil,
as the priests in Jerusalem requirelet that
be given to them day by day without fail,
so that they may offer pleasing sacrifices
to the God of heaven, and pray for the life
of the king and his children. Furthermore
I decree that if anyone alters this edict, a
beam shall be pulled out of the house of
the perpetrator, who then shall be impaled
on it. The house shall be made a dunghill.
May the God who has established his
name there overthrow any king or people
that shall put forth a hand to alter this, or
to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I,

Darius, make a decree; let it be done with all
diligence.
Then, according to the word sent by King
Darius, Tattenai, the governor of the province
Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their
associates did with all diligence what King
Darius had ordered. So the elders of the
Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of the prophet Haggai and Zechariah
son of Iddo. They nished their building by
command of the God of Israel and by decree
of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia; and this house was nished on the third
day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of
the reign of King Darius.
The people of Israel, the priests and the
Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles,
celebrated the dedication of this house of
God with joy. They oered at the dedication of this house of God one hundred bulls,
two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and
as a sin oering for all Israel, twelve male
goats, according to the number of the tribes
of Israel. Then they set the priests in their
divisions and the Levites in their courses for
the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.
the Temple is extremely generous. If the information is reliable, it might indicate Persias aempt to stabilize
its hold in the Mediterranean area by securing the goodwill of the people of Yehud. Nonbiblical sources show
that Darius also supported Egypts religious institutions. 7: Governor, Taenai does not name a contemporary
governor of Yehud itself (presumably Zerubbabel). 8: The cost, Darius designates provincial revenue for the
Temple, although this may antagonize other local, taxpaying districts.
6.1318: The completion of the Temple. The Temple is nally completed, an accomplishment credited to
the Judeans guided by God and authorized by three Persian kings. This concludes Stage One of the return and
reconstruction. It will be followed by Stage Two, reconstructing the community in Ezra 710, and by Stage
Three, rebuilding Jerusalems walls in Neh 17. 14: The conclusion highlights the elders and prophetic inspiration. Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes, according to Ezra 16, the Temple itself was rebuilt during Cyruss and
Dariuss reigns, and completed in 515 bce, before the time of Artaxerxes (464424 bce); hence his name in the list
is at rst puzzling. It can be explained in terms of Ezra-Nehemiahs larger understanding that the fuller restoration of the house of God goes beyond the Temple to include the rebuilding of the community by Ezra and the
city by Nehemiah, culminating in Neh 7 under Artaxerxes. Ezra 6.14 thus suggests the unity of Ezra-Nehemiah.
The joint authorization, rst by God and then by kings, is crucial to Ezra-Nehemiahs historical and theological
understanding. 15: Finished on the third day . . . of Adar . . . sixth year, March 12, 515 bce.
6.1622: The concluding dedication. The dedication of the Temple is described briey. A more extensive
celebration in Ezra-Nehemiah will follow the rebuilding of the citys walls as the completion of the entire
house of God (Neh 813).16: People of Israel, i.e., the returned exiles (lit. sons of exile) who now represent
the fullness of Israel. 17: Sin oering, or purication oering; see Num 7. Twelve male goats . . . the number of the
tribes, the remnant that includes only Judah, Benjamin, and the Levites nevertheless worships on behalf of the
full house of Israel, which it now represents. 18: Wrien in the book of Moses, Ex 29; Lev 8; and Num 3; 4; and
8 designate priestly and levitical tasks. Ezra-Nehemiah stresses the religious legitimacy of the Temple, which
676 | hebrew bible
ezra 7
On the fourteenth day of the rst month
the returned exiles kept the passover. For
both the priests and the Levites had puried
themselves; all of them were clean. So they
killed the passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves.
It was eaten by the people of Israel who had
returned from exile, and also by all who had
joined them and separated themselves from
the pollutions of the nations of the land to
worship the Lord, the God of Israel. With
joy they celebrated the festival of unleavened
bread seven days; for the Lord had made them
joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of
Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the
work on the house of God, the God of Israel.
After this, in the reign of King Artaxerxes
of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, son of
Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, son
of Zadok, son of Ahitub, son of Amariah,
son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, son of
Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, son of
Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son
of the chief priest Aaron this Ezra went

up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled
in the law of Moses that the Lord the God of
Israel had given; and the king granted him all
that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his
God was upon him.
Some of the people of Israel, and some of
the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants also went
up to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of King
Artaxerxes. They came to Jerusalem in the
fth month, which was in the seventh year of
the king. On the rst day of the rst month
the journey up from Babylon was begun, and
on the rst day of the fth month he came to
Jerusalem, for the gracious hand of his God
was upon him. For Ezra had set his heart to
study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to
teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel.
This is a copy of the letter that King
Artaxerxes gave to the priest Ezra, the scribe,
a scholar of the text of the commandments of
the Lord and his statutes for Israel: Arta-
complements the political legitimacy granted by Cyrus and Darius. 1922: Celebrating the passover and the
festival of unleavened bread (some ve weeks aer the Temples dedication) has special signicance for the
reconstruction because the return from exile was viewed by some as a second Exodus (cf. Isa 52.1112). 20:
They killed, the priestly laws of Lev 23.46 are followed here. 21: All who had joined them, whereas the returnees
excluded others from the act of rebuilding, reserving the task to Gods people explicitly commissioned by
Cyrus (Ezra 1:24 and 4:3), others may join once the Temple is rebuilt, following Ex 12.48, which notes that circumcised non-Israelites may participate in the Passover oering. 22: King of Assyria, an anachronistic reference
to the Persian king, alluding to the earliest exile by Assyria, which is now reversed.
7.110.44: Stage Two of reconstruction: the mission of Ezra and the reformation of the community according to the Torah. Ezras mission focuses on the processes by which the community restructures itself to conform to an interpretation of the law that requires a separation from the people of the land. The implicit chronology in Ezra-Nehemiah places this event in 458 bce, during the reign of Artaxerxes I, though some scholars
believe that the date should be 398 bce, during the reign of Artaxerxes II.
7.110: The narrators introduction of Ezra. 16: Ezras long pedigree establishes his impeccable credentials
both as priest of the most distinguished line and as scribethe two roles that will account for his stature and
acceptance within the Jewish community. 1: Artaxerxes, probably Artaxerxes I (465424 bce); see Introduction.
5: Chief priest, Ezra is identied as one qualied to serve as a chief or high priest, even though he never undertakes this role in Ezra-Nehemiah. 6: Scribe, a highly educated person, oen in an important advisory position
to kings. Skilled in the law of Moses, knowledgeable about the Torah. 7: Israel . . . priests . . . Levites, Ezras caravan
includes the same basic groups as Ezra 2. The seventh year of king Artaxerxes, 458 bce. 8: The h month, Ab (JulyAugust). 9: The rst day of the rst month, i.e., Nisan (March-April), two weeks before Passover. The dates may
be symbolic, reecting the Exodus from Egypt in the rst month (Ex 12.2; Num 33.3) and the destruction of the
Temple in the h (2 Kings 25.8). However, ve months would be a reasonable time for a journey from Babylon
to Jerusalem. 10: Ezras goals of studying, teaching, and practicing Gods law account for his subsequent actions and model Jewish aspirations. These add to his credentials as priest and establish his qualications as an
authoritative teacher of Gods law.
7.1126: Royal introduction of Ezra and his mission. This Aramaic royal leer establishes Ezras credentials
within the Persian bureaucracy. It reauthorizes immigration to Judah (v. 13) and royal subsidy for the Temple (vv.
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ezra 7
xerxes, king of kings, to the priest Ezra, the
scribe of the law of the God of heaven: Peace.a
And now I decree that any of the people of
Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom who freely oers to go to Jerusalem may
go with you. For you are sent by the king
and his seven counselors to make inquiries
about Judah and Jerusalem according to the
law of your God, which is in your hand, and
also to convey the silver and gold that the
king and his counselors have freely oered
to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, with all the silver and gold that you
shall nd in the whole province of Babylonia,
and with the freewill oerings of the people
and the priests, given willingly for the house
of their God in Jerusalem. With this money,
then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls,
rams, and lambs, and their grain oerings
and their drink oerings, and you shall oer
them on the altar of the house of your God
in Jerusalem. Whatever seems good to you
and your colleagues to do with the rest of
the silver and gold, you may do, according to
the will of your God. The vessels that have
been given you for the service of the house
of your God, you shall deliver before the God
of Jerusalem. And whatever else is required
for the house of your God, which you are
responsible for providing, you may provide
out of the kings treasury.
I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the
treasurers in the province Beyond the River:
Whatever the priest Ezra, the scribe of the
law of the God of heaven, requires of you,
let it be done with all diligence, up to one
hundred talents of silver, one hundred cors of

wheat, one hundred bathsb of wine, one hundred bathsb of oil, and unlimited salt. Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let
it be done with zeal for the house of the God
of heaven, or wrath will come upon the realm
of the king and his heirs. We also notify
you that it shall not be lawful to impose
tribute, custom, or toll on any of the priests,
the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the
temple servants, or other servants of this
house of God.
And you, Ezra, according to the Godgiven wisdom you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the
people in the province Beyond the River who
know the laws of your God; and you shall
teach those who do not know them. All
who will not obey the law of your God and
the law of the king, let judgment be strictly
executed on them, whether for death or for
banishment or for conscation of their goods
or for imprisonment.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of our
ancestors, who put such a thing as this into
the heart of the king to glorify the house of
the Lord in Jerusalem, and who extended
to me steadfast love before the king and his
counselors, and before all the kings mighty
ocers. I took courage, for the hand of the
Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered
leaders from Israel to go up with me.
a Syr Vg 1Esdras 8.9: Aram Perfect

b A Heb measure of volume
1424). It seems to place the Torah on equal footing with royal law (v. 26). 14: Seven counselors, Persian royal advisers (see Esth 1.14 and Herodotus, Histories 3.84). The law of your God, referring in Ezra-Nehemiah to the book
of the Torah. 1519: The royal privileges include nancial support for the Temple by the king himself, voluntary
contributions from Babylonian Jews for the Temple, and a free hand to use the surplus. 20: Artaxerxes virtually
gives Ezra a blank check, showing great trust in Ezra. 2124: Artaxerxes assures a generous years supply of provisions for the Temple. 21: Additional support is to come from local ocials. 22: A talent was 75 lb (34 kg); a cor
6.5 bushels (230 l); and a bath about 6 gal (23 l). 24: Tax exemption for Temple personnel is unusual. 25: All the
people probably means Jews in the province. 26: The king arms Ezras comprehensive authority, as well as the
Torahs. The law of your God and the law of the king, this crucial phrase sets the Torah as legally authoritative for
the Jewish community in Yehud. It implies something akin to autonomy and self-rule in maers of religion and
the Temple. For some scholars, it suggests that the Torah was compiled by Ezra as a result of Persian authorization and encouragement, but this is not stated.
7.279.15: Ezras memoirs. The text resumes in Hebrew, with Ezra as narrator. He will describe the journey
and the crisis of mixed marriages.
7.278.36: Ezras journey and arrival. 7.2728: Ezra expresses gratitude to God, rather than to the king.
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ezra 8
These are their family heads, and this

is the genealogy of those who went up
with me from Babylonia, in the reign of King
Artaxerxes: Of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom. Of Ithamar, Daniel. Of David,
Hattush, of the descendants of Shecaniah.
Of Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were
registered one hundred fty males. Of the
descendants of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai
son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males. Of the descendants of Zattu,a
Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him three
hundred males. Of the descendants of Adin,
Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him fty
males. Of the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah
son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.
Of the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah
son of Michael, and with him eighty males.
Of the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son
of Jehiel, and with him two hundred eighteen males. Of the descendants of Bani,b
Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him one
hundred sixty males. Of the descendants of
Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him
twenty-eight males. Of the descendants
of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and
with him one hundred ten males. Of the
descendants of Adonikam, those who came
later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and
Shemaiah, and with them sixty males. Of
the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur,
and with them seventy males.
I gathered them by the river that runs
to Ahava, and there we camped three days.
As I reviewed the people and the priests, I
found there none of the descendants of Levi.
Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah,
Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah,
and Meshullam, who were leaders, and for
Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise, and
sent them to Iddo, the leader at the place

called Casiphia, telling them what to say to
Iddo and his colleagues the temple servants
at Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for
the house of our God. Since the gracious
hand of our God was upon us, they brought
us a man of discretion, of the descendants of
Mahli son of Levi son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and kin, eighteen; also
Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah of the
descendants of Merari, with his kin and their
sons, twenty; besides two hundred twenty
of the temple servants, whom David and his
ocials had set apart to attend the Levites.
These were all mentioned by name.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the
river Ahava, that we might deny ourselvesc
before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our
possessions. For I was ashamed to ask the
king for a band of soldiers and cavalry to protect us against the enemy on our way, since
we had told the king that the hand of our God
is gracious to all who seek him, but his power
and his wrath are against all who forsake him.
So we fasted and petitioned our God for
this, and he listened to our entreaty.
Then I set apart twelve of the leading
priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of
their kin with them. And I weighed out to
them the silver and the gold and the vessels,
the oering for the house of our God that the
king, his counselors, his lords, and all Israel
there present had oered; I weighed out
into their hand six hundred fty talents of silver, and one hundred silver vessels worth . . .
a Gk 1Esdras 8.32: Heb lacks of Zattu
b Gk 1Esdras 8.36: Heb lacks Bani
c Or might fast
8.120: Ezras caravan numbers about 1,500 men (women are not mentioned); like Ezra 2, the list mingles clan
names and place names, although some important individuals are also singled out. 2: Haush, 1 Chr 3.22 mentions a descendant of David with this name, although nothing further is reported about him. Apparently some
Davidic descendants remained in Babylonia aer the return to Judah had begun. 420: The additional members and clans in Ezras caravan include names that already appeared in Ezra 2 (e.g., Pahath-moab in Ezra 2.6
and 8.4). 15: Ahava, an unknown location along one of the canals of the river Euphrates. None of . . . Levi, Ezra
demonstrates concern for the proper maintenance of the Temple and broadens the scope of its personnel to
include the lesser ocials. 2130: Ezra requires of the community spiritual as well as physical preparations. 21:
Fast, a common preparation for beseeching God. All our possessions, even with the well-guarded royal roads,
a long journey was hazardous, especially when transporting gold and silver. 22: I was ashamed, Ezras timidity
and trust indicate that Gods power is ultimately greater than that of the Persian kings army. 2430: Further
hebrew bible | 679
ezra 9
talents,a and one hundred talents of gold,
twenty gold bowls worth a thousand darics,
and two vessels of ne polished bronze as
precious as gold. And I said to them, You
are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy;
and the silver and the gold are a freewill
oering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Guard them and keep them until you
weigh them before the chief priests and the
Levites and the heads of families in Israel at
Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house
of the Lord. So the priests and the Levites
took over the silver, the gold, and the vessels
as they were weighed out, to bring them to
Jerusalem, to the house of our God.
Then we left the river Ahava on the
twelfth day of the rst month, to go to Jerusalem; the hand of our God was upon us, and
he delivered us from the hand of the enemy
and from ambushes along the way. We
came to Jerusalem and remained there three
days. On the fourth day, within the house of
our God, the silver, the gold, and the vessels
were weighed into the hands of the priest
Meremoth son of Uriah, and with him was
Eleazar son of Phinehas, and with them were
the Levites, Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. The total was counted
and weighed, and the weight of everything

was recorded.
At that time those who had come from
captivity, the returned exiles, oered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all
Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs,
and as a sin oering twelve male goats; all this
was a burnt oering to the Lord. They also
delivered the kings commissions to the kings
satraps and to the governors of the province
Beyond the River; and they supported the
people and the house of God.
After these things had been done, the
ocials approached me and said, The
people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites
have not separated themselves from the
peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the
Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the
Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
For they have taken some of their daughters
as wives for themselves and for their sons.
Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the
peoples of the lands, and in this faithlessness
the ocials and leaders have led the way.
When I heard this, I tore my garment and
a The number of talents is lacking
preparations that empower the clergy. 26: Talents weigh about 75 lbs (34 kg) each. 27: Darics, see 2.69n. 28:
The vessels are holy, holiness is derived from their dedication to God; these are not vessels from the First Temple. 3136: Arrival and celebration. 31: Twelh day of the rst month (Nisan [March-April]), two days before the
Passover commemorating the Exodus. A new Exodus may be implicit; however, for reasons of weather, spring
was the season for expeditions (see 2 Sam 11.1). 33: Ezra ensures that the gis are transferred to both priests
and Levites. 35: Returned exiles, the restored community. 36: Satraps, high ocials in the Persian government,
usually provincial governors.
9.115: The crisis of mixed marriages. The crisis in Stage Two of the reconstruction comes when men, including Jewish leaders, marry foreign women. To ensure survival as a small (see Ezra 9.8) minority in the midst
of surrounding cultures, Ezra-Nehemiah advocates separatist policies. In this section, it calls for excluding foreign wives and their children from the community. The concern with intermarriages resembles the Athenian
laws of 451 bce, which demanded that both parents be Athenian if a person was to be considered a citizen. The
similar concern in Ezra-Nehemiah may, therefore, be also related to the greater power bestowed upon community members. 1: Have not separated, Deut 7.15 prohibits any relation with the people of Canaan, and Deut
20.15-18 further demands their annihilation on the ground that they lead to religious defection. Ezra-Nehemiah
substitutes separation for destruction. Their abominations, from the Canaanites, more accurately, their abominations like the Canaanites. The informants equate the religious practices of the present inhabitants with
those of the earlier nations at the time of Joshua. Canaanites . . . Amorites, Deut 7 specically prohibits relations
with Canaanites, Perizzites, Hiites, Jebusites, and Amorites. Deut 23.38 specically excludes Ammonites and
Moabites from the congregation, but permits the incorporation of Egyptians at some point. This verse has thus
extended the range of the earlier prohibition. The targeted prohibited families probably include Judeans who
had not gone into exile. 2: Holy seed is progeny dedicated through birth to God. The term probably reects Isa
6.13, in reference to the puried remnant.
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ezra 10
my mantle, and pulled hair from my head
and beard, and sat appalled. Then all who
trembled at the words of the God of Israel,
because of the faithlessness of the returned
exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrice.
At the evening sacrice I got up from my
fasting, with my garments and my mantle
torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my
hands to the Lord my God, and said,
Omy God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our
iniquities have risen higher than our heads,
and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our ancestors to this
day we have been deep in guilt, and for our
iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have
been handed over to the kings of the lands,
to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and
to utter shame, as is now the case. But now
for a brief moment favor has been shown by
the Lord our God, who has left us a remnant,
and given us a stake in his holy place, in order
that hea may brighten our eyes and grant us
a little sustenance in our slavery. For we are
slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our
slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast
love before the kings of Persia, to give us new
life to set up the house of our God, to repair
its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and
Jerusalem.
And now, our God, what shall we say
after this? For we have forsaken your com-
mandments, which you commanded by

your servants the prophets, saying, The land
that you are entering to possess is a land
unclean with the pollutions of the peoples
of the lands, with their abominations. They
have lled it from end to end with their
uncleanness. Therefore do not give your
daughters to their sons, neither take their
daughters for your sons, and never seek
their peace or prosperity, so that you may be
strong and eat the good of the land and leave
it for an inheritance to your children forever.
After all that has come upon us for our evil
deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you,
our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples
who practice these abominations? Would
you not be angry with us until you destroy us
without remnant or survivor? OLord, God
of Israel, you are just, but we have escaped as
a remnant, as is now the case. Here we are before you in our guilt, though no one can face
you because of this.
While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and throwing himself
down before the house of God, a very great
assembly of men, women, and children
gathered to him out of Israel; the people also
wept bitterly. Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the
10
a Heb our God
9.34: Ezra reacts with mourning and prayer. His penitence produces remorse and generates communal
action.
9.515: Ezras prayer. More a sermon than a confession, the prayer rehearses events of the past in order to
alter community behavior. Like the prophets and the Deuteronomistic History, Ezra interprets Israels political
devastation as the consequence of religious and moral failings by Israel, and uses the fear of a recurrence to
motivate the community to separate from the other inhabitants of the land. 7: As is now the case, the end of exile
is understood as a result of divine forgiveness, not Israels changed behavior. 8: Lile sustenance, Ezras confession expresses the vulnerability of a small remnant. 9: For we are slaves, i.e., a colonized people under Persian
control. Repair its ruins, i.e., physical and spiritual reconstruction. A wall, actually a fence, a metaphor for a
weak protective barrier. 1112: This paraphrase and blending of Priestly (Lev 18.2430) and Deuteronomic (Deut
7.34) material is characteristic of this period, when the Torah as a book became authoritative.
10.144: Resolution of crisis. The crisis is resolved through communal consensus to reinterpret earlier laws
and apply them to present circumstances, and therefore to oppose mixed marriages within the covenant community.
10.16: The impact of Ezras prayer. Ezras prayer (see the similar later prayer in Dan 9) aracts a crowd and
inspires remorse and repentance. 2: Have married, (lit. have seled), i.e., established on the land. Inheritance
of land is a concern (see Ezra 9.12; Deut 7). The proposal to exclude foreign wives comes from Shecaniah, a
community member (his fathers name, Jehiel, appears in 10.26 among the transgressors). The resolution will be
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ezra 10
0
0
10
20 Miles
Damascus
Sidon
1 0 20Kilometers
ARAM
(SYRIA)
Tyre
G AULAN
The
R. Jordan
EE
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Sea
G ILEA
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Great
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Bethel
(Mediterranean
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Meronoth
Mizpah
Ramah
Geba
Azmaveth
Gibeon
Beeroth
Hazor
Anathoth
(Berea)
Chephirah
Kiriath-jearim
Jerusalem
Joppa
Ono
Jerusalem
IN
ES
Ali
Aiath
Michmash
Shechem
Mt. Gerizim
IS
JUDAH
IL
(YEHUD)
Hebron (Kiriath-arba)
Ziklag?
En-rimmon
Jekabzeel?
Jeshua?
Moladah
Beer-sheba
I D
Zorah
S
Senaah
Jericho
Beth-Gilgal
(Gilgal)
Jerusalem
J U D A H (
LA
Neballat
Hadid
Lod
(L ydda)
Gath
(Gittaim)
Ashdod
Zanoah
Bethlehem
Azekah
Adullam
Harim
Keilah
YEHUD
Beth-haccherem
Netophah
Tekoa
Nebo
Beth-zur
Lachish
Judah and its neighbors in Ezra-Nehemia.
descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra, saying,

We have broken faith with our God and have
married foreign women from the peoples
of the land, but even now there is hope for
Israel in spite of this. So now let us make a
covenant with our God to send away all these
wives and their children, according to the
counsel of my lord and of those who tremble
at the commandment of our God; and let it be
done according to the law. Take action, for it

is your duty, and we are with you; be strong,
and do it. Then Ezra stood up and made
the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel
swear that they would do as had been said. So
they swore.
Then Ezra withdrew from before the
house of God, and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, where he spent the
determined by consensus. 3: The children of such marriages are to be sent away as well, thereby not separated
from their mothers. Let it be done according to the law, the Pentateuch does not include a law that demands
dissolving mixed marriages. The reference implies an interpretation, applying a prohibition against such marriages to these new circumstances. 4-5: The people authorize Ezra to act. Although authorized by the Persian
king, Ezra only assumes a leadership role when the community invites him to do so. 6: The chamber, an oce
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ezra 10
night.a He did not eat bread or drink water,
for he was mourning over the faithlessness
of the exiles. They made a proclamation
throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the
returned exiles that they should assemble
at Jerusalem, and that if any did not come
within three days, by order of the ocials
and the elders all their property should be
forfeited, and they themselves banned from
the congregation of the exiles.
Then all the people of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the
three days; it was the ninth month, on the
twentieth day of the month. All the people
sat in the open square before the house of
God, trembling because of this matter and
because of the heavy rain. Then Ezra the
priest stood up and said to them, You have
trespassed and married foreign women, and
so increased the guilt of Israel. Now make
confession to the Lord the God of your ancestors, and do his will; separate yourselves
from the peoples of the land and from the
foreign wives. Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, It is so; we must do
as you have said. But the people are many,
and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand
in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or
for two, for many of us have transgressed in

this matter. Let our ocials represent the
whole assembly, and let all in our towns who
have taken foreign wives come at appointed
times, and with them the elders and judges of
every town, until the erce wrath of our God
on this account is averted from us. Only
Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of
Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and
Shabbethai the Levites supported them.
Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra
the priest selected men,b heads of families,
according to their families, each of them designated by name. On the rst day of the tenth
month they sat down to examine the matter.
By the rst day of the rst month they had
come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.
There were found of the descendants of
the priests who had married foreign women,
of the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak
and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib,
and Gedaliah. They pledged themselves to
send away their wives, and their guilt oering
a 1Esdras 9.2: Heb where he went
b 1Esdras 9.16: Syr: Heb And there were selected
Ezra,
within the Temple complex that as a priest, Ezra may use. Jehohanan son of Eliashib appears in the priestly lists
(Neh 12.23), although both names are common in the postexilic period.
10.78: Steps toward resolution. These include an invitation to an assembly for the purpose of communal
decision, and a threat in case of noncompliance. Although Artaxerxes leer authorizes Ezra to issue decrees,
Ezra resorts to a communal process instead (see 10.5,16). Threats of conscation apply to those who refuse to
participate in the general assembly, not those who oer a dierent opinion as to what should be done.
10.915: A communal process for resolution. The report focuses on the process in which the entire community participates in deciding and enforcing criteria for membership. 9: Heavy rains are typical of the cold ninth
month, Chislev (November-December). 1011: Married (lit. seled); see 10.2n. This is Ezras rst directive; he
commands only at the invitation of the community. 1214: The community assents and oers the mechanism
for resolution. 14: Have taken (lit. have seled); see 10.2n. Again, the community is responsible for action,
devising a representative form (our ocials) of government. 15: A minority opposition is registered, establishing that majority decision carries even without unanimity. Meshullam could be Ezras companion in 8.16.
10.1644: Results: compliance with communal decision. The issue of mixed marriages constitutes the rst
test of the new, legal status of the Torah, illustrating how an ancient book may shape the present and future
through communal interpretive process. 16: The returned exiles did so on the basis of a democratic process. Ezra
. . . selected men, the Hebrew text states that the community selects the commiee, with Ezra serving as a member. This is consistent with the rest of Ezra-Nehemiah where the broader community plays a crucial role. 17:
By the rst day of the rst month, the commissions deliberations began in December 458 (v. 16) and concluded
three months later in March 457 bce, about one year aer Ezras caravan rst set out for Jerusalem (7.9). 18:
Had married (lit. had seled); see 10.2n. Jeshua son of Jozadak, the high priest in the early return. See 2.12n.
1819: The explicit report that the high priests family fully complied with the communal decision is crucial to
the books reforms. It arms the ultimate status of the Torah, as the priests, who have the most power, submit
hebrew bible | 683
ezra 10
was a ram of the ock for their guilt. Of the
descendants of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.
Of the descendants of Harim: Maaseiah,
Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah. Of the
descendants of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah,
Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
Of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah
(that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the gatekeepers:
Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
And of Israel: of the descendants of
Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin,
Eleazar, Hashabiah,a and Benaiah. Of the
descendants of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah,
Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah. Of the
descendants of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza. Of the
descendants of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah,
Zabbai, and Athlai. Of the descendants of
Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub,
Sheal, and Jeremoth. Of the descendants
of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah,
Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and

Manasseh. Of the descendants of Harim:
Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah,
Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. Of the descendants of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai,
Manasseh, and Shimei. Of the descendants
of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, Benaiah,
Bedeiah, Cheluhi, Vaniah, Meremoth,
Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.
Of the descendants of Binnui:b Shimei,
Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azarel, Shelemiah,
Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
Of the descendants of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
All these had married foreign women, and
they sent them away with their children.c
a 1Esdras 9.26 Gk: Heb Malchijah
b Gk: Heb Bani, Binnui
c 1Esdras 9.36; meaning of Heb uncertain
to its teachings. 2044: List of other oenders. There are more than a hundred oenders (the names are not
always distinct), including members of the high priests family (v. 18). 44: They sent them away with their children,
this sentence does not appear in Ezra 10, which ends abruptly, but comes from the later 1 Esdras. The Hebrew in
Ezra 10.44 states: Some had wives with whom they had sons. Ezra 10.44 thus does not report that the women
and children of nonpriestly families were expelled. The conclusion of Stage Two (Ezra 710) focuses, rather, on
establishing boundaries based on the Torah without resorting to military force (with emotional casualties that
are not reported).
NEHEMIAH
The book of Nehemiah was originally the second section of a single book (Ezra-Nehemiah, preserved as Esdras b
in the ancient Greek versions of the Bible); see further the Introduction to Ezra (pp. 667668).
The Nehemiah section of Ezra-Nehemiah depicts the nal stage of Jewish reconstruction aer exile, featuring Nehemiah as the Jewish governor under Persian rule, who rebuilds Jerusalems walls (1.17.5) and oversees
many reforms. Large portions of this book are called the Nehemiah memoir, a rst-person account of his activities. The books structure continues the narrative that began with Ezra 1. Nehemiah 1 begins with Stage Three
of the return from exile, when Nehemiah rebuilds Jerusalems walls (Neh 1.17.5). This is followed by the repetition of the list of returnees (7.673; see Ezra 2) that frames the three stages of return and reconstruction. The
book concludes with the grand celebration of the reconstruction by the rededicated community, now organized according to the Torah, the law of Moses (chs 813), with rebuilt Jerusalem as its holy city.
Nehemiah is presented as a dynamic, enterprising man who achieves his goal of rebuilding despite repeated
interference from other leaders such as the governor of Samaria (see 2.910). Although he does not appear
elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, Nehemiah is mentioned in 2 Macc 1.1936 and Sirach 49.13.
The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.

In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth
year, while I was in Susa the capital, one of
my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men
from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews
that survived, those who had escaped the
captivity, and about Jerusalem. They replied,
The survivors there in the province who
escaped captivity are in great trouble and
shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down,
and its gates have been destroyed by re.
When I heard these words I sat down
and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and
praying before the God of heaven. I said,
OLord God of heaven, the great and awe-
some God who keeps covenant and steadfast

love with those who love him and keep his
commandments; let your ear be attentive
and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your
servant that I now pray before you day and
night for your servants, the people of Israel,
confessing the sins of the people of Israel,
which we have sinned against you. Both I and
my family have sinned. We have oended
you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that
you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your
servant Moses, If you are unfaithful, I will
scatter you among the peoples; but if you
1.17.5: Stage Three of reconstruction: rebuilding Jerusalem under Nehemiahs leadership. These chapters
come from what scholars call the Nehemiah memoir, rst-person material in the name of Nehemiah (also
found in chs 1213). This section describes how Nehemiah, the kings cupbearer, becomes the governor of
Judah and rebuilds Jerusalems walls.
1:1-2:10: Nehemiahs commission. While serving the Persian king in Persia, Nehemiah learns about his peoples plight in Judah and asks permission to go and help them. 1.1: Nehemiah, a cupbearer (see 1.11n.) to King
Artaxerxes I (465424 bce). Words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, this is the beginning of the Nehemiah Memoir.
His fathers name and his family are otherwise unknown. Chislev (November-December). In the twentieth year,
most likely of Artaxerxes I (2.1), namely 445 bce. Susa, the winter residence of Persian kings in Persia (modern
Iran). Excavations have uncovered a magnicent palace there. 23: Jews that survived, this includes those who
remained in the land aer 586 bce, as well as those who had returned since (see Ezra 1.14). The wall of Jerusalem
was broken down by the Babylonians in 586 bce, and apparently suered further deterioration, possibly due to
later unrecorded conicts.
1.411: Nehemiahs prayer. The prayer incorporates themes from Deuteronomy about reasons for the dispersion and the possibility of restoration. It reects Nehemiahs piety and expresses postexilic hope for restoration. 5: God of heaven, a typical postexilic title (e.g., Ezra 1.2; Dan 2.18). 89: A paraphrase of ideas about God
hebrew bible | 685
Medieval & Turkish Jerusalem

City at the time of Nehemiah
V a l l e y
Tower
Tower of of the
Hananel Hundred
Te m p le
M ount
l l
V a
City of Da
vid
Valley Gate
Dung Gate
y
o f
Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah.
686 | hebrew bible
o m
n
n
H i
r o
n
K i d
Op
he
Broad Wall
Fountain Gate
0
0
100
100
200 Meters
200 Yards
nehemiah 2
return to me and keep my commandments
and do them, though your outcasts are under
the farthest skies, I will gather them from
there and bring them to the place at which I
have chosen to establish my name. They
are your servants and your people, whom you
redeemed by your great power and your strong
hand. OLord, let your ear be attentive to
the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer
of your servants who delight in revering your
name. Give success to your servant today, and
grant him mercy in the sight of this man!
At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.
In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth
year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was
served him, I carried the wine and gave it to
the king. Now, I had never been sad in his
presence before. So the king said to me,
Why is your face sad, since you are not sick?
This can only be sadness of the heart. Then
I was very much afraid. I said to the king,
May the king live forever! Why should my
face not be sad, when the city, the place of
my ancestors graves, lies waste, and its gates
have been destroyed by re? Then the
king said to me, What do you request? So I
prayed to the God of heaven. Then I said to
the king, If it pleases the king, and if your
servant has found favor with you, I ask that

you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors graves, so that I may rebuild it. The
king said to me (the queen also was sitting
beside him), How long will you be gone, and
when will you return? So it pleased the king
to send me, and I set him a date. Then I said
to the king, If it pleases the king, let letters
be given me to the governors of the province
Beyond the River, that they may grant me
passage until I arrive in Judah; and a letter to
Asaph, the keeper of the kings forest, directing him to give me timber to make beams
for the gates of the temple fortress, and for
the wall of the city, and for the house that I
shall occupy. And the king granted me what
I asked, for the gracious hand of my God was
upon me.
Then I came to the governors of the
province Beyond the River, and gave them the
kings letters. Now the king had sent ocers
of the army and cavalry with me. When
Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite ocial heard this, it displeased them
greatly that someone had come to seek the
welfare of the people of Israel.
So I came to Jerusalem and was there for
three days. Then I got up during the night,
from Deuteronomy (e.g., Deut 30.15). 11: This man, Artaxerxes I. Cupbearer, a trusted high royal courtier who
sampled wine for quality and safety (see 2.1).
2.18: Nehemiahs commission. Nehemiah uses an opportunity to propose a daring request, risking the
kings disapproval. 1: Nisan, March-April, the month of the Exodus from Egypt. The chronology of 1.1 (November-December) and 2.1 (March-April), both in the twentieth year, makes sense if Nehemiahs reckoning begins
the year in the fall. (Both a spring and a fall new year are found in the Bible.) 2: I was . . . afraid, because his
request could imply divided loyalties, even treason. 3: My ancestors graves, depicting Jerusalem as graveyard
dramatizes the importance of honoring ancestors and minimizes the threat that rebuilding Jerusalem might
otherwise suggest. Ezra 4.21 indicates that this king had prohibited rebuilding of Jerusalems walls until further
notice. 6: The queens presence may indicate an intimate seing of the conversation, perhaps accounting for
the kings benevolence. She is not named; according to Greek sources, Artaxerxes queen was Damaspia. I set
him a date, 5.14 and 13.6 indicate that Nehemiahs mission as governor lasted twelve years. 8: Temple fortress,
Nehemiah explicitly mentions plans for the Temples gates and fortications, including the citys walls, only
aer securing the kings consent.
2.910: Journey and opposition. Nehemiahs military escort visibly testies to royal support for his mission.
His arrival is met with opposition perhaps because it unseles the political and economic equilibrium, such
as control by Samaria or members of the aristocracy. Sanballat and Tobiah head the opposition against Nehemiahs renewal eorts. 10: Sanballat is mentioned in the Aramaic Elephantine documents from h-century bce
Egypt as a governor of Samaria, Judahs northern neighbor, the former Israelite state now a province named after its chief city; see Ezra 4.10. He was apparently also related by marriage to Jerusalems high priest (see 13.28n).
Tobiah the Ammonite ocial, probably a Jew. Nehemiah discredits him because of a connection to Ammon,
Judahs eastern neighbor and a group excluded from membership in Israel according to Deut 23.47. His name is
a compound Hebrew word for good (tob) and Yah, a reference to Israels God (see also 6.18 and 13.49n).
hebrew bible | 687
nehemiah 3
I and a few men with me; I told no one what
my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took was the animal
I rode. I went out by night by the Valley Gate
past the Dragons Spring and to the Dung
Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem
that had been broken down and its gates that
had been destroyed by re. Then I went on
to the Fountain Gate and to the Kings Pool;
but there was no place for the animal I was
riding to continue. So I went up by way of
the valley by night and inspected the wall.
Then I turned back and entered by the Valley
Gate, and so returned. The ocials did not
know where I had gone or what I was doing;
I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the
nobles, the ocials, and the rest that were to
do the work.
Then I said to them, You see the
trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in
ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us
rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we
may no longer suffer disgrace. I told
them that the hand of my God had been
gracious upon me, and also the words that
the king had spoken to me. Then they said,

Let us start building! So they committed themselves to the common good. But
when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah
the Ammonite official, and Geshem the
Arab heard of it, they mocked and ridiculed
us, saying, What is this that you are doing?
Are you rebelling against the king? Then
I replied to them, The God of heaven is the
one who will give us success, and we his
servants are going to start building; but you
have no share or claim or historic right in
Jerusalem.
Then the high priest Eliashib set to work
with his fellow priests and rebuilt the
Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set up its
doors; they consecrated it as far as the Tower
of the Hundred and as far as the Tower of
Hananel. And the men of Jericho built next
to him. And next to thema Zaccur son of Imri
built.
The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish
Gate; they laid its beams and set up its
a Heb him
2.1118: Nehemiahs initial work in Jerusalem. Nehemiah undertakes a nighime inspection of the walls,
assessing the damage. 12: I told no one (see v. 16), to avoid interference with his plans, Nehemiah keeps his initial inspection secret. 1315: Nehemiahs circuit of the walls conrms their dilapidated condition. Many of the
landmarks can no longer be identied. 13: The Valley Gate is in the western wall, the Dragons Spring is unknown,
and the Dung Gate is at the southern end of the wall (in a dierent location from the present Dung Gate in Jerusalem). 14: The location of the Fountain Gate is uncertain; the Kings Pool is probably the Pool of Siloam (3.15). No
place . . . to continue, earlier structures and pathways of the eastern slope have collapsed beyond repair, making
passage dicult. The damage on this side of the city seems beyond repair, which accounts for why the rebuilt
Jerusalem will be smaller. 1718: Nehemiah galvanizes the Jews of Judah to rebuild by appealing to communal
pride and disclosing divine and royal support.
2.1920: Opposition. Sanballat and his associates aempt to stop Nehemiah by implying that he is a rebel,
a charge that would antagonize Persian authorities. 19: Sanballat . . . and Tobiah, see 2.10n. Geshem, known
from nonbiblical sources as king of Qedar in Arabia, controlled territory south-southeast of Judah. Rebelling,
a trumped-up charge to arouse Persian authorities suspicion; cf. Ezra 4. 20: You have no share . . . in Jerusalem,
Nehemiah seeks to protect Judah from Samarias control and interference. At stake may be the status of Yehud
as a separate Persian province under Judean control. Like Zerubbabel earlier (Ezra 4), Nehemiah restricts nonJewish participation in rebuilding.
3.132: Building the walls despite opposition. Rebuilding Jerusalems walls reinforces the religious, political,
and commercial power of Jerusalem. The list of participants oers important information for discerning the
scope of Jerusalem, showing that it was considerably smaller than it had been before its destruction. The list
of builders (some of whom probably subsidized the project rather than physically participating in the building)
indicates strong communal support. In Ezra-Nehemiah, the rebuilding of the walls is presented as an extension
of rebuilding the Temple in accordance with King Cyruss edict in Ezra 1.
3.15: Restoring Jerusalems northern boundary. 1: The high priest Eliashib, grandson of the priest Jeshua
(12.10; Ezra 3.2). They consecrated it, consecrating the gates marks the project as a holy task: The city as a whole
is by extension as holy as a house of God (see Neh 11:1). The Tower of Hananel, a boundary in Zech 14.10 for a
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nehemiah 3
doors, its bolts, and its bars. Next to them
Meremoth son of Uriah son of Hakkoz
made repairs. Next to them Meshullam
son of Berechiah son of Meshezabel made
repairs. Next to them Zadok son of Baana
made repairs. Next to them the Tekoites
made repairs; but their nobles would not
put their shoulders to the work of their
Lord.a
Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam
son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate;
they laid its beams and set up its doors, its
bolts, and its bars. Next to them repairs
were made by Melatiah the Gibeonite and
Jadon the Meronothitethe men of Gibeon
and of Mizpahwho were under the jurisdiction ofb the governor of the province
Beyond the River. Next to them Uzziel son
of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made
repairs. Next to him Hananiah, one of the
perfumers, made repairs; and they restored
Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. Next to
them Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the
district ofc Jerusalem, made repairs. Next
to them Jedaiah son of Harumaph made
repairs opposite his house; and next to him
Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs.
Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son
of Pahath-moab repaired another section
and the Tower of the Ovens. Next to him
Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the
district ofc Jerusalem, made repairs, he and
his daughters.
Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah
repaired the Valley Gate; they rebuilt it and
set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and
repaired a thousand cubits of the wall, as far

as the Dung Gate.
Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the
district ofd Beth-haccherem, repaired the
Dung Gate; he rebuilt it and set up its doors,
its bolts, and its bars.
And Shallum son of Col-hozeh, ruler of
the district ofd Mizpah, repaired the Fountain
Gate; he rebuilt it and covered it and set up
its doors, its bolts, and its bars; and he built
the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the kings
garden, as far as the stairs that go down from
the City of David. After him Nehemiah son
of Azbuk, ruler of half the district ofc Bethzur, repaired from a point opposite the graves
of David, as far as the articial pool and the
house of the warriors. After him the Levites
made repairs: Rehum son of Bani; next to
him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district ofc
Keilah, made repairs for his district. After
him their kin made repairs: Binnui,e son of
Henadad, ruler of half the district ofc Keilah;
next to him Ezer son of Jeshua, rulerf of
Mizpah, repaired another section opposite
the ascent to the armory at the Angle. After
him Baruch son of Zabbai repaired another
section from the Angle to the door of the
a
b
c
d
e
f
Or lords
Or supervisor of half the portion assigned to
Or supervisor of the portion assigned to
Gk Syr Compare verse 24, 10.9: Heb Bavvai
Or supervisor
newly sanctied Jerusalem. Most of the gates and other places named in the chapter cannot be located with
certainty; see 2.1314n. 2: Men of Jericho, here and in vv. 911 volunteers from various districts of Yehud take
responsibility for specic segments of the wall. 4: Hakkoz, one of the families whose genealogy had been suspect initially (Ezra 2.61; Neh 7:63), but which has now been integrated. 5: The Tekoites, residents of Tekoa, 10
mi (16 km) south of Jerusalem. Their eorts, despite abstention by leaders, underscore the popular nature of
rebuilding.
3.614: Restoring Jerusalems western boundary. The individuals named here are otherwise unknown. 8:
Goldsmiths . . . perfumers, traders in luxury items oer evidence of growing commerce and urbanization. They
restored, more accurately they le out, suggesting that the rebuilt city was smaller than earlier Jerusalem.
The Broad Wall was probably originally built by King Hezekiah in the late eighth century bce (see 2 Chr 32.5) to
enlarge the citys defenses. An excavated portion of it can be seen in todays Jerusalem. 912: The task is divided
among leaders of ve districts, some outside Jerusalem. 12: His daughters, their role, like the mens, may have
entailed physical participation and nancial sponsorship.
3.1532: Restoring Jerusalems southern and eastern boundaries. 16: Graves of David, see 2 Chr 33.33. 2324:
Jerusalemites take charge of areas adjacent to their dwellings.
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nehemiah 4
house of the high priest Eliashib. After
him Meremoth son of Uriah son of Hakkoz
repaired another section from the door of the
house of Eliashib to the end of the house of
Eliashib. After him the priests, the men of
the surrounding area, made repairs. After
them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs
opposite their house. After them Azariah son
of Maaseiah son of Ananiah made repairs
beside his own house. After him Binnui son
of Henadad repaired another section, from
the house of Azariah to the Angle and to the
corner. Palal son of Uzai repaired opposite
the Angle and the tower projecting from the
upper house of the king at the court of the
guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh and
the temple servants livinga on Ophel made
repairs up to a point opposite the Water Gate
on the east and the projecting tower. After
him the Tekoites repaired another section
opposite the great projecting tower as far as
the wall of Ophel.
Above the Horse Gate the priests made
repairs, each one opposite his own house.
After them Zadok son of Immer made
repairs opposite his own house. After him
Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the
East Gate, made repairs. After him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun sixth son
of Zalaph repaired another section. After him
Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs
opposite his living quarters. After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs
as far as the house of the temple servants
and of the merchants, opposite the Muster
Gate,b and to the upper room of the corner.
And between the upper room of the corner
and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the
merchants made repairs.
c Now when Sanballat heard that we
were building the wall, he was angry and
greatly enraged, and he mocked the Jews. He
said in the presence of his associates and of

the army of Samaria, What are these feeble
Jews doing? Will they restore things? Will
they sacrice? Will they nish it in a day?
Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of
rubbishand burned ones at that? Tobiah
the Ammonite was beside him, and he said,
That stone wall they are buildingany fox
going up on it would break it down! Hear,
Oour God, for we are despised; turn their
taunt back on their own heads, and give them
over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do
not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin
be blotted out from your sight; for they have
hurled insults in the face of the builders.
So we rebuilt the wall, and all the wall
was joined together to half its height; for the
people had a mind to work.
dBut when Sanballat and Tobiah and the
Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites
heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the gaps were
beginning to be closed, they were very angry,
and all plotted together to come and ght
against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.
So we prayed to our God, and set a guard as a
protection against them day and night.
But Judah said, The strength of the burden bearers is failing, and there is too much
rubbish so that we are unable to work on
the wall. And our enemies said, They will
not know or see anything before we come
upon them and kill them and stop the work.
When the Jews who lived near them came,
they said to us ten times, From all the places
where they livee they will come up against
a
b
c
d
e
Cn: Heb were living

Or Hammiphkad Gate
Ch 3.33 in Heb
Ch 4.1 in Heb
Cn: Heb you return
4.16.14: Obstacles to reconstruction. Nehemiahs memoir about Sanballats opposition (2.19) resumes. Nehemiah, like the earlier returnees (Ezra 36 and Ezra 710), encounters problems that hamper progress. Three
types of threats to building activities are mentioned: intimidation by outsiders (4.123), economic hardships
(5.119), and plots against Nehemiah (6.114).
4.123: First obstacle: intimidation. The neighboring people under Sanballat of Samaria (see 2.10n.) use
taunts and threats. The tension with Samaria reproduces ancient competition between the two preexilic capital cities, Samaria of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Jerusalem, of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, both
now under Persian control. 45: Nehemiah punctuates his report with several invocations of God, oen with a
formulaic remember me (see 5.19n.). 1012: The builders temporarily succumb to the diculties of the work
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nehemiah 5
us.a So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the
people according to their families,b with their
swords, their spears, and their bows. After
I looked these things over, I stood up and
said to the nobles and the ocials and the
rest of the people, Do not be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and ght for your kin, your sons, your
daughters, your wives, and your homes.
When our enemies heard that their plot
was known to us, and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each
to his work. From that day on, half of my
servants worked on construction, and half
held the spears, shields, bows, and bodyarmor; and the leaders posted themselves
behind the whole house of Judah, who
were building the wall. The burden bearers
carried their loads in such a way that each
labored on the work with one hand and
with the other held a weapon. And each of
the builders had his sword strapped at his
side while he built. The man who sounded
the trumpet was beside me. And I said to
the nobles, the ocials, and the rest of the
people, The work is great and widely spread
out, and we are separated far from one
another on the wall. Rally to us wherever
you hear the sound of the trumpet. Our God
will ght for us.
So we labored at the work, and half of
them held the spears from break of dawn
until the stars came out. I also said to the

people at that time, Let every man and his
servant pass the night inside Jerusalem, so
that they may be a guard for us by night and
may labor by day. So neither I nor my
brothers nor my servants nor the men of the
guard who followed me ever took o our
clothes; each kept his weapon in his right
hand.c
Now there was a great outcry of the
people and of their wives against their
Jewish kin. For there were those who said,
With our sons and our daughters, we are
many; we must get grain, so that we may eat
and stay alive. There were also those who
said, We are having to pledge our elds, our
vineyards, and our houses in order to get
grain during the famine. And there were
those who said, We are having to borrow
money on our elds and vineyards to pay the
kings tax. Now our esh is the same as that
of our kindred; our children are the same
as their children; and yet we are forcing our
sons and daughters to be slaves, and some
of our daughters have been ravished; we are
powerless, and our elds and vineyards now
belong to others.
I was very angry when I heard their
outcry and these complaints. After thinking
a Compare Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain

c Cn: Heb each his weapon the water
and their opponents intimidation. 10: Judah, the Jewish community. 1314: Nehemiah reorganizes the builders
and provides them with military protection; he demonstrates readiness for physical combat, condent in Gods
help. 1523: Nehemiah aributes successful rallying of the Jewish builders to improved security measures as
well as to Gods support.
5.119: Second obstacle: economic hardships. The peoples burden of heavy taxes to the Persian king (5.4)
is aggravated by the wealthier Jews who exploit the situation for their own prot. To redress the balance, Nehemiah initiates economic reforms. He aempts to convince the wealthy that their Judean poor are also their kin,
thus creating a community despite class and economic dierences (see further at 6:1719n). The poor Judeans
describe their decline into slavery. Biblical laws about slavery are inconsistent (compare Ex 21.210 and Deut
15.1218 with Lev 25.3543) although they all provide for the release of Israelite slaves at some point. 2: We are
many, beer emended to we pledge (see v. 3), suggesting that sons and daughters are pledged as security for
loans and become slaves when loans are defaulted. 3: The problem is the default on loans during famine and the
consequent loss of property and family. 4: The kings tax, the heavy levy from the provinces extracted by the Persian government. 5: Results: Farmers are reduced to indentured slavery and lose their land and home (the basic
necessity for economic survival) to wealthier compatriots. Ravished, daughters were particularly vulnerable at
times of economic hardship. Moreover, unlike males, daughters (according to Ex 21:710) cannot be redeemed
when they become sexually aached to the masters household.
5.619: Nehemiahs response. Nehemiah combats economic hardships by reforming the practices of the
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nehemiah 6
it over, I brought charges against the nobles
and the ocials; I said to them, You are all
taking interest from your own people. And
I called a great assembly to deal with them,
and said to them, As far as we were able,
we have bought back our Jewish kindred
who had been sold to other nations; but now
you are selling your own kin, who must then
be bought back by us! They were silent,
and could not nd a word to say. So I said,
The thing that you are doing is not good.
Should you not walk in the fear of our God,
to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? Moreover I and my brothers and my
servants are lending them money and grain.
Let us stop this taking of interest. Restore
to them, this very day, their elds, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses,
and the interest on money, grain, wine, and
oil that you have been exacting from them.
Then they said, We will restore everything
and demand nothing more from them. We
will do as you say. And I called the priests,
and made them take an oath to do as they
had promised. I also shook out the fold of
my garment and said, So may God shake
out everyone from house and from property
who does not perform this promise. Thus
may they be shaken out and emptied. And
all the assembly said, Amen, and praised
the Lord. And the people did as they had
promised.
Moreover from the time that I was

appointed to be their governor in the land
of Judah, from the twentieth year to the
thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve
years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food
allowance of the governor. The former
governors who were before me laid heavy
burdens on the people, and took food and
wine from them, besides forty shekels of
silver. Even their servants lorded it over the
people. But I did not do so, because of the
fear of God. Indeed, I devoted myself to the
work on this wall, and acquired no land; and
all my servants were gathered there for the
work. Moreover there were at my table one
hundred fty people, Jews and ocials, besides those who came to us from the nations
around us. Now that which was prepared
for one day was one ox and six choice sheep;
also fowls were prepared for me, and every
ten days skins of wine in abundance; yet with
all this I did not demand the food allowance
of the governor, because of the heavy burden
of labor on the people. Remember for my
good, Omy God, all that I have done for this
people.
Now when it was reported to Sanballat
and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arab and
to the rest of our enemies that I had built
the wall and that there was no gap left in it
(though up to that time I had not set up the
doors in the gates), Sanballat and Geshem
wealthy and contributing personally to the economy from his own funds. 7: The nobles and the ocials, upperclass members exploiting the economic instability. Taking interest, more accurately, taking pledges, i.e., keeping items used as pledges (family members, elds, and houses); this practice is prohibited in Ex 22.2426; Deut
24.10. 8: We have bought back, the reference is to redeeming Israelite sold as slaves to foreigners (as in Lev
25:4748). 10: Nehemiah shows some sympathy for the nobles by admiing a measure of his own culpability at
an earlier stage but urges that the time has come for reform, and leads them by example. Nehemiahs measures
resemble the remission of debts in the jubilee year (Lev 25). 12: Like Ezra (see Ezra 10), Nehemiah extracts a public oath from leaders. The priests administer a religiously binding oath to ensure the ecacy of the appended
curses. 13: Symbolic actions could accompany curses in the ancient Near East. Fold, the equivalent of a pocket.
The gesture connotes removing all excessive maer (including wealth). 1419: The Persian government expected local populations to support the governors. Nehemiah foregoes such privileges and subsidizes the ofce with his own personal funds. He uses this generosity as model for the Jewish aristocracy. 14: Governor, this
is the rst we hear about Nehemiahs ocial position as governor, a title for several dierent ranks of ocials.
Twentieth year, see 1.1n. 15: The Bible does not preserve names of other governors aer Zerubbabel, although
some, possibly from the intervening period, have been found in archaeological discoveries. Forty shekels, about
1 lb (456 gr). 17: Those who to us came from the nations, the reference is to ocials and guests from the rest of the
empire. 19: Remember for my good, such prayers are typical of Nehemiah (e.g., 4.45; 6.14; 13.14,31).
6.114: Third obstacle: plots against Nehemiah. Nehemiah describes several aempts to harm him personally. 14: Aempts to harm Nehemiah in an unprotected place. 1: Sanballat and Tobiah and . . . Geshem, see
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nehemiah 6
sent to me, saying, Come and let us meet
together in one of the villages in the plain of
Ono. But they intended to do me harm. So I
sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing
a great work and I cannot come down. Why
should the work stop while I leave it to come
down to you? They sent to me four times
in this way, and I answered them in the same
manner. In the same way Sanballat for the
fth time sent his servant to me with an open
letter in his hand. In it was written, It is
reported among the nationsand Geshema
also says itthat you and the Jews intend
to rebel; that is why you are building the
wall; and according to this report you wish
to become their king. You have also set up
prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, There is a king in Judah! And now it
will be reported to the king according to these
words. So come, therefore, and let us confer
together. Then I sent to him, saying, No
such things as you say have been done; you
are inventing them out of your own mind
for they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, Their hands will drop from the work,
and it will not be done. But now, OGod,
strengthen my hands.
One day when I went into the house of
Shemaiah son of Delaiah son of Mehetabel,
who was conned to his house, he said, Let
us meet together in the house of God, within
the temple, and let us close the doors of
the temple, for they are coming to kill you;
indeed, tonight they are coming to kill you.
But I said, Should a man like me run away?

Would a man like me go into the temple
to save his life? I will not go in! Then I
perceived and saw that God had not sent him
at all, but he had pronounced the prophecy
against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had
hired him. He was hired for this purpose,
to intimidate me and make me sin by acting
in this way, and so they could give me a bad
name, in order to taunt me. Remember
Tobiah and Sanballat, Omy God, according to these things that they did, and also
the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the
prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
So the wall was nished on the twentyfth day of the month Elul, in fty-two days.
And when all our enemies heard of it, all
the nations around us were afraidb and fell
greatly in their own esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished
with the help of our God. Moreover in those
days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to
Tobiah, and Tobiahs letters came to them.
For many in Judah were bound by oath to
him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan
had married the daughter of Meshullam son
of Berechiah. Also they spoke of his good
deeds in my presence, and reported my words
to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate
me.
a Heb Gashmu
b Another reading is saw
2.10n.,19n. The opposition comes from several dierent groups. 2: Plain of Ono, in the northwest of the province
of Yehud, far from the safety of Jerusalem. 57: Aempts to frighten Nehemiah by threatening to report his
alleged rebellion to the king. 7: Prophets in Israel anointed kings (e.g., 1 Kings 1.34; 19.1516); such an act could
imply sedition on Nehemiahs part. 1013: Aempts to entice Nehemiah to discredit himself with religious authorities by entering the inner part of the Temple. 10: Shemaiah is a suspected enemy within the community.
13: Entering sections of the Temple reserved for priests would cast Nehemiah as a sinful usurper violating the
priestly domain and the Temples sanctity. 14: Nehemiahs repeated plea for divine remembrance (cf. 5.19). The
prophetess Noadiah, otherwise unknown, she is one of four named prophetesses in the Hebrew Bible (the others are Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah).
6.1519: The completion of the walls. The extraordinarily short time (y-two days) it took to restore the
wall reects the zeal of the community and Nehemiahs leadership abilities. 15: Elul, August-September. Fiytwo days, excavated remnants of Nehemiahs wall reect the haste of the builders. 1719: The opposition does
not fall silent, but only changes its tactics, unsuccessfully. Tobiahs family ties with distinguished Jerusalemites,
like Sanballats (see Neh 13.28n.) suggest a conict in Judah about the nature of the restored community. Nehemiah envisions a community based on Jewish kinship regardless of class; his opponents seek alliances along
economic position, with the upper classes uniting across ethnic boundaries. 17: Tobiah, see 2.10n. 19: Some
Jerusalemites seek rapprochement or compromise between Nehemiah and Tobiah.
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nehemiah 7
Now when the wall had been built and

I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had
been appointed, I gave my brother Hanani
charge over Jerusalem, along with Hananiah
the commander of the citadelfor he was
a faithful man and feared God more than
many. And I said to them, The gates of
Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun
is hot; while the gatekeepersa are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors.
Appoint guards from among the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, some at their watch posts, and
others before their own houses. The city
was wide and large, but the people within it
were few and no houses had been built.
Then my God put it into my mind to
assemble the nobles and the ocials and
the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And
I found the book of the genealogy of those
who were the rst to come back, and I found
the following written in it:
These are the people of the province who
came up out of the captivity of those exiles
whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had
carried into exile; they returned to Jerusalem
and Judah, each to his town. They came
with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah,
Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan,
Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah.
The number of the Israelite people: the
descendants of Parosh, two thousand one
hundred seventy-two. Of Shephatiah, three
hundred seventy-two. Of Arah, six hundred
fty-two. Of Pahath-moab, namely the
descendants of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand
eight hundred eighteen. Of Elam, one thousand two hundred fty-four. Of Zattu, eight
hundred forty-ve. Of Zaccai, seven hundred
sixty. Of Binnui, six hundred forty-eight. Of
Bebai, six hundred twenty-eight. Of Azgad,
two thousand three hundred twenty-two.
Of Adonikam, six hundred sixty-seven. Of
Bigvai, two thousand sixty-seven. Of Adin,
six hundred fty-ve. Of Ater, namely of
Hezekiah, ninety-eight. Of Hashum, three
hundred twenty-eight. Of Bezai, three hundred twenty-four. Of Hariph, one hundred
twelve. Of Gibeon, ninety-ve. The people
of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred
eighty-eight. Of Anathoth, one hundred
twenty-eight. Of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two.
Of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth,
seven hundred forty-three. Of Ramah and
Geba, six hundred twenty-one. Of Michmas,
one hundred twenty-two. Of Bethel and Ai,
one hundred twenty-three. Of the other
Nebo, fty-two. The descendants of the
other Elam, one thousand two hundred ftyfour. Of Harim, three hundred twenty. Of
Jericho, three hundred forty-ve. Of Lod,
Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty-one.
Of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred
thirty.
The priests: the descendants of Jedaiah,
namely the house of Jeshua, nine hundred
seventy-three. Of Immer, one thousand
fty-two. Of Pashhur, one thousand two
hundred forty-seven. Of Harim, one thousand seventeen.
a Heb while they
7.15: Se+ing up guards. Nehemiah places religious functionaries to guard the city gates, thereby establishing Jewish control as well as indicating that the city, like the Temple, is now under religious supervision. 1:
Gatekeepers . . . singers . . . Levites ordinarily ociated at the Temple. As guards of the citys gates, they symbolize
the new sanctity of the city as a whole (see 11.1). 2: Hanani, see 1.2. Citadel, fortress (see 2.8). 3: For reasons of
safety, the gates are to be open only during broad daylight. Although foreigners are not thereby excluded, their
coming and going is subject to Jewish control. 4: The people within it were few, most returnees had resumed
a largely agrarian life in the surrounding countryside. Nehemiahs measures encourage greater urbanization,
which is facilitated further in ch 11. 5: The sparse population of Jerusalem is used as an editorial device to repeat
this list from Ezra 2.
7.673: Frame: repeated list of returnees. Reproducing Ezra 2.170 with insignicant variations, the list
serves a twofold purpose here. First, it connects the last stage of reconstruction with the successful eorts
of the previous generations, as a continuous response to Cyruss original decree (Ezra 1). By repeating the list
from Ezra 2, Ezra-Nehemiah melds the three stages of return and reconstruction (Temple, community, city) into
a single, unied event, spanning nearly a century (538444 bce). Second, it identies who now legitimately
belongs to the restored community and is subject to the legal and religious practices, privileges, and respon-
694 | hebrew bible
nehemiah 7
The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua,
namely of Kadmiel of the descendants of
Hodevah, seventy-four. The singers: the descendants of Asaph, one hundred forty-eight.
The gatekeepers: the descendants of Shallum, of Ater, of Talmon, of Akkub, of Hatita,
of Shobai, one hundred thirty-eight.
The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, of Hasupha, of Tabbaoth,
of Keros, of Sia, of Padon, of Lebana, of
Hagaba, of Shalmai, of Hanan, of Giddel,
of Gahar, of Reaiah, of Rezin, of Nekoda,
of Gazzam, of Uzza, of Paseah, of Besai,
of Meunim, of Nephushesim, of Bakbuk, of
Hakupha, of Harhur, of Bazlith, of Mehida,
of Harsha, of Barkos, of Sisera, of Temah,
of Neziah, of Hatipha.
The descendants of Solomons servants:
of Sotai, of Sophereth, of Perida, of Jaala, of
Darkon, of Giddel, of Shephatiah, of Hattil,
of Pochereth-hazzebaim, of Amon.
All the temple servants and the descendants of Solomons servants were three
hundred ninety-two.
The following were those who came up
from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon,
and Immer, but they could not prove their
ancestral houses or their descent, whether
they belonged to Israel: the descendants of Delaiah, of Tobiah, of Nekoda, six
hundred forty-two. Also, of the priests:
the descendants of Hobaiah, of Hakkoz,
of Barzillai (who had married one of the
daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was
called by their name). These sought their
registration among those enrolled in the
genealogies, but it was not found there, so

they were excluded from the priesthood
as unclean; the governor told them that
they were not to partake of the most holy
food, until a priest with Urim and Thummim
should come.
The whole assembly together was fortytwo thousand three hundred sixty, besides
their male and female slaves, of whom there
were seven thousand three hundred thirtyseven; and they had two hundred forty-ve
singers, male and female. They had seven
hundred thirty-six horses, two hundred
forty-ve mules,a four hundred thirty-ve
camels, and six thousand seven hundred
twenty donkeys.
Now some of the heads of ancestral
houses contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand darics
of gold, fty basins, and ve hundred thirty
priestly robes. And some of the heads of
ancestral houses gave into the building fund
twenty thousand darics of gold and two
thousand two hundred minas of silver. And
what the rest of the people gave was twenty
thousand darics of gold, two thousand minas
of silver, and sixty-seven priestly robes.
So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the
temple servants, and all Israel settled in their
towns.
When the seventh month camethe people of Israel being settled in their towns
a Ezra 2.66 and the margins of some Hebrew Mss:
MT lacks They had . . . forty-ve mules
sibilities that follow. On the list itself, see the notes to Ezra 2. 66: Forty-two thousand three hundred sixty, same
total for the population as Ezra 2.64, although some numbers within the two lists do not match. 7072: The
parallel in Ezra 2.6869 diers. For the value of such contributions, see note there. 73: The seventh month, Tishri
(September-October; see Ezra 3.1), designated as a beginning of the new year in later Judaism. Lev 23.2324 and
Num 29.16 specify practices for this date without mention of reading the Torah (see ch 8).
8.113.31: Celebration of renewal and reconstruction. The celebration represents the completion of the
restoration that began in the time of King Cyrus nearly a century before. The reconstructed house of God
encompasses the rebuilt Temple (Ezra 36), the reformed community (Ezra 710), and Jerusalem as a holy city
(11.1), surrounded by a wall (Nehemiah 17). The rededication and celebration that this chapter inaugurates extend over several weeks, at least from the rst day of the seventh month (8.2) to the twenty-fourth (9.1), longer
than any other celebration in the Bible.
8.118: Celebrating by reading and implementing the Torah. The reconstruction culminates when the community summons Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses (8.1), i.e., the Torah. Neh 8 signals the historical
moment when the Torah, probably most of the Pentateuch, is publicly (re)introduced and receives communal
sanction. Thus the ceremony in Neh 8 recalls Sinai as the receiving of Gods teachings by the entire people,
hebrew bible | 695
nehemiah 8
all the people gathered together into the

square before the Water Gate. They told
the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law
of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel.
Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law
before the assembly, both men and women
and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the rst day of the seventh
month. He read from it facing the square
before the Water Gate from early morning
until midday, in the presence of the men and
the women and those who could understand;
and the ears of all the people were attentive
to the book of the law. The scribe Ezra stood
on a wooden platform that had been made for
the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah,
Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah
on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah,
and Meshullam on his left hand. And Ezra
opened the book in the sight of all the people,
for he was standing above all the people; and
when he opened it, all the people stood up.
Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God,
and all the people answered, Amen, Amen,
lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their
heads and worshiped the Lord with their
faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Shere-
biah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah,

Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan,
Pelaiah, the Levites,a helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained
in their places. So they read from the book,
from the law of God, with interpretation. They
gave the sense, so that the people understood
the reading.
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the
Levites who taught the people said to all the
people, This day is holy to the Lord your
God; do not mourn or weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the
law. Then he said to them, Go your way,
eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send
portions of them to those for whom nothing
is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord;
and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord
is your strength. So the Levites stilled all
the people, saying, Be quiet, for this day is
holy; do not be grieved. And all the people
went their way to eat and drink and to send
portions and to make great rejoicing, because
they had understood the words that were
declared to them.
a 1Esdras 9.48 Vg: Heb and the Levites
transforming them into the people of the Book. The account is no longer Nehemiahs memoir but an anonymous, third-person report. Some scholars argue that this section was originally aached to the Ezra material,
either before or aer Ezra 910.
8.112: The rst public reading of the book of Torah. This public reading of scriptures initiates a practice
that will continue in Jewish and Christian traditions. The narrative emphasizes through repetition the special
bond between the people and the book. Only in this and in the following section does Ezra appear as a contemporary of Nehemiah. 1: The water gate, this area is outside the Temple. Neither the Temple nor the priests
(except for Ezra) are mentioned in these celebrations until ch. 10. They told the scribe Ezra, the people, not Ezra,
initiate the ceremony. The book of the law of Moses, i.e., the Torah. From the peoples reaction and other details
in Ezra-Nehemiah, scholars conclude that some form of todays Pentateuch, especially Deuteronomy, is being
used. 2: Both men and women participate in this ceremony of hearing and receiving the Torah (see Deut 31.12).
The implicit date for the reading is September 444 (or perhaps 443). 4: Beside him stood . . ., Ezras assistants
include laity, as well as Levites, who are elsewhere connected to the study of the law. Their participation expresses broadened access to the authoritative teachings, a move away from exclusive control by priests (see
Jer 18.18). 5: When he opened it, i.e., unrolled the scroll. All the people stood up, in veneration of Gods presence
reected in the book. This signals a dramatic relocation of divine presence authority away from the Temple. 7:
Helped the people to understand, they either translate the Hebrew into the more familiar Aramaic or explain the
content for greater clarity. 9: Nehemiah . . . and Ezra, representing political and religious leadership, working
harmoniously. This is the only verse that mentions both together. The people wept, either because of the warnings in the Torah or because they were overwhelmed by the moment. Ezra and Nehemiah emphasize that Gods
law is ultimately a source of joy.
8.1318: Implementing Torah: the festival of booths. The people now take initiative to study and implement the Torah, in this case celebrating the festival commanded in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (see
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nehemiah 9
On the second day the heads of ancestral houses of all the people, with the priests
and the Levites, came together to the scribe
Ezra in order to study the words of the law.
And they found it written in the law, which
the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the
people of Israel should live in boothsa during the festival of the seventh month, and
that they should publish and proclaim in all
their towns and in Jerusalem as follows, Go
out to the hills and bring branches of olive,
wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy
trees to make booths,a as it is written. So
the people went out and brought them, and
made boothsa for themselves, each on the
roofs of their houses, and in their courts and
in the courts of the house of God, and in the
square at the Water Gate and in the square at
the Gate of Ephraim. And all the assembly
of those who had returned from the captivity made boothsa and lived in them; for from
the days of Jeshua son of Nun to that day the
people of Israel had not done so. And there
was very great rejoicing. And day by day,
from the rst day to the last day, he read
from the book of the law of God. They kept
the festival seven days; and on the eighth day
there was a solemn assembly, according to

the ordinance.
Now on the twenty-fourth day of this
month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and
with earth on their heads.b Then those of
Israelite descent separated themselves from
all foreigners, and stood and confessed their
sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.
They stood up in their place and read from
the book of the law of the Lord their God
for a fourth part of the day, and for another
fourth they made confession and worshiped
the Lord their God. Then Jeshua, Bani,
Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani,
and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites
and cried out with a loud voice to the Lord
their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah,
Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up
and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious
name, which is exalted above all blessing and
praise.

b Heb on them
v. 18). 14: They found it wrien, reading the Torah made them aware of the regulations for the festival. They . . .
should live in booths (Heb sukkot), see Lev 23.4243. The fast of the Day of Atonement (set for the tenth of the
month in Lev 23.2632) is not mentioned. 15: Lev 23.40 species types of tree branches, though it is not clear
that these were to be used for building booths. 17: Ezra-Nehemiah identies the community as those who had
returned from the captivity and links it with the rst selement of the land. Jeshua son of Nun, the leader of
conquest of the land aer the Exodus, and the hero of the book of Joshua. Josh 1.78 aributes ultimate successful survival to the study of the Torah, a practice that the restored community seeks to emulate. 18: Deut
31.1013 demands public readings of the Torah on the feast of booths (Sukkot) only every seventh year. As a
result of rabbinic interpretation of chs 89, public reading became a weekly feature of Jewish worship. The
ordinance, in Lev 23.36.
9.110.39: Celebration through confession and commitment. The lengthy prayer that follows restates Israelite history as a tale of divine faithfulness and Israelite faithlessness (Neh 9). To show their dierence from
their disloyal ancestors and in the hope of reversing the current plight, the postexilic community binds itself to
Gods Torah in oath and undertakes additional responsibilities to keep Gods teachings (Neh 10).
9.137: The great communal confession rehearses Israels history. The peoples prayer illustrates their
awareness of their tradition and their commitment to repair damage done to Israels relationship with God by
earlier generations. The historical review also functions as a pedagogical tool for a new generation, emphasizing important moments in that history. The Temple is never mentioned. 15: The preparations for prayer. 1:
Fasting as spiritual preparation is undertaken on the twenty-fourth day, a date elsewhere not specied for special worship. 2: The recitation of shared history and confession of ancestral sins apply only to the Israelites. This
may account for the separation; alternatively, this separation may be part of retaining ethnic boundaries and
excluding foreigners from participating in any joint worship. 3: The combination of prayer and Torah reading
will later characterize synagogue worship. 45: Some of the Levites who shared the platform with Ezra earlier
(8.4,7) now lead the congregation without him.
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nehemiah 9
And Ezra said:a You are the Lord, you
alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of
heavens, with all their host, the earth and all
that is on it, the seas and all that is in them.
To all of them you give life, and the host of
heaven worships you. You are the Lord,
the God who chose Abram and brought him
out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the
name Abraham; and you found his heart
faithful before you, and made with him a
covenant to give to his descendants the land
of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite,
the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite;
and you have fullled your promise, for you
are righteous.
And you saw the distress of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red
Sea.b You performed signs and wonders
against Pharaoh and all his servants and all
the people of his land, for you knew that they
acted insolently against our ancestors. You
made a name for yourself, which remains
to this day. And you divided the sea before
them, so that they passed through the sea on
dry land, but you threw their pursuers into
the depths, like a stone into mighty waters.
Moreover, you led them by day with a pillar
of cloud, and by night with a pillar of re,
to give them light on the way in which they
should go. You came down also upon Mount
Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and
gave them right ordinances and true laws,
good statutes and commandments, and you
made known your holy sabbath to them and
gave them commandments and statutes and
a law through your servant Moses. For their
hunger you gave them bread from heaven,
and for their thirst you brought water for

them out of the rock, and you told them to go
in to possess the land that you swore to give
them.
But they and our ancestors acted presumptuously and stiened their necks and
did not obey your commandments; they
refused to obey, and were not mindful of the
wonders that you performed among them;
but they stiened their necks and determined to return to their slavery in Egypt. But
you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and
merciful, slow to anger and abounding in
steadfast love, and you did not forsake them.
Even when they had cast an image of a
calf for themselves and said, This is your
God who brought you up out of Egypt, and
had committed great blasphemies, you
in your great mercies did not forsake them
in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud that
led them in the way did not leave them by
day, nor the pillar of re by night that gave
them light on the way by which they should
go. You gave your good spirit to instruct
them, and did not withhold your manna
from their mouths, and gave them water
for their thirst. Forty years you sustained
them in the wilderness so that they lacked
nothing; their clothes did not wear out and
their feet did not swell. And you gave them
kingdoms and peoples, and allotted to them
every corner,c so they took possession of
the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the
a Gk: Heb lacks And Ezra said
b Or Sea of Reeds
9.637: The communal prayer. This communal profession of faith articulates shared history and leads to renewed formal commitment to Gods teaching (in ch 10). The community recalls the cycles of Gods forbearance
despite Israels earlier indelities (vv. 631) and hopes to be worthy of it in the present dire circumstances (vv.
3237). As in the historical psalms, history is not invoked for its own sake (e.g., Pss 105106). 6: And Ezra said,
Ezras name does not appear in the Hebrew text but is inserted into the early Greek versions. Ezras role in the
Hebrew Bible concluded when he placed the Torah into the care of the community and trained others to guide
the community accordingly (8:13). The great prayer in the Hebrew Bible is thus assigned to the community and
its representatives.
9.731: Recitation of historical experience. A summary of traditions preserved in Genesis2 Kings in which
the Israelites repeatedly fail to honor God. 78: See Gen 1226. 8: Made with him a covenant, Abraham appears
as the paradigm of faithfulness.
923: Highlights of events in ExodusDeuteronomy describing Gods actions on behalf of Israel. 13: Unlike
some of the earlier historical summaries (e.g., Deut 26.59; Josh 24.213), this one mentions the revelation at
Sinai. 19: Pillar, see Ex 13.21. 20: Good spirit, perhaps a reference to the appointment of elders (Num 11.1729).
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nehemiah 9
land of King Og of Bashan. You multiplied
their descendants like the stars of heaven,
and brought them into the land that you had
told their ancestors to enter and possess.
So the descendants went in and possessed
the land, and you subdued before them the
inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and
gave them into their hands, with their kings
and the peoples of the land, to do with them
as they pleased. And they captured fortress cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses lled with all sorts of goods,
hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive orchards,
and fruit trees in abundance; so they ate,
and were lled and became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness.
Nevertheless they were disobedient
and rebelled against you and cast your law
behind their backs and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn
them back to you, and they committed great
blasphemies. Therefore you gave them into
the hands of their enemies, who made them
suer. Then in the time of their suering
they cried out to you and you heard them
from heaven, and according to your great
mercies you gave them saviors who saved
them from the hands of their enemies. But
after they had rest, they again did evil before
you, and you abandoned them to the hands
of their enemies, so that they had dominion
over them; yet when they turned and cried
to you, you heard from heaven, and many
times you rescued them according to your
mercies. And you warned them in order to
turn them back to your law. Yet they acted
presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your ordinances, by the observance of which a person
shall live. They turned a stubborn shoulder

and stiened their neck and would not obey.
Many years you were patient with them,
and warned them by your spirit through your
prophets; yet they would not listen. Therefore you handed them over to the peoples
of the lands. Nevertheless, in your great
mercies you did not make an end of them
or forsake them, for you are a gracious and
merciful God.
Now therefore, our Godthe great and
mighty and awesome God, keeping covenant
and steadfast lovedo not treat lightly all the
hardship that has come upon us, upon our
kings, our ocials, our priests, our prophets,
our ancestors, and all your people, since the
time of the kings of Assyria until today. You
have been just in all that has come upon us,
for you have dealt faithfully and we have
acted wickedly; our kings, our ocials,
our priests, and our ancestors have not kept
your law or heeded the commandments and
the warnings that you gave them. Even in
their own kingdom, and in the great goodness you bestowed on them, and in the large
and rich land that you set before them, they
did not serve you and did not turn from their
wicked works. Here we are, slaves to this
dayslaves in the land that you gave to our
ancestors to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts.
Its rich yield goes to the kings whom you
have set over us because of our sins; they
have power also over our bodies and over our
livestock at their pleasure, and we are in great
distress.
aBecause of all this we make a rm
agreement in writing, and on that sealed
a Ch 10.1 in Heb
22: Sihon . . . Og, kings defeated in the bales for the land of Canaan (Num 21.2135). 2425: This conquest is
described in Joshua. 2631: A summary interpretation of the period from Joshua to the destruction of Jerusalem
(see Judges2 Kings) in which Israelites repeatedly spurned God when they were prosperous. 27: Saviors, the
same Heb word is translated deliverer in Judg 3.9,15.
9.3237: The present distress. The community now contrasts its circumstances with those of past generations, hoping for Gods compassion. 32: Now therefore, aer reciting a history of Gods loyalty and Israels
disobedience, the community arms Gods righteousness. The time of the kings of Assyria, Assyria controlled
the land from the mid-eighth to the late seventh centuries bce, destroying the northern kingdom of Israel in 722
bce. 36: Here we are, slaves to this day, still subject to foreign rulers. In Ezra-Nehemiah, this criticism of Persian
rule is unique; elsewhere the book presents Persian rulers as benevolent.
9.3810.39: Commitment: the communal pledge. Notwithstanding its plight, the community pledges loyalty to Israels God and to Gods teachings, namely the Torah. 9.38: Because of all this, because of this history
hebrew bible | 699
nehemiah 10
document are inscribed the names of our ofcials, our Levites, and our priests.
a Upon the sealed document are the
names of Nehemiah the governor, son
of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah; Seraiah, Azariah,
Jeremiah, Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,
Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, Maaziah,
Bilgai, Shemaiah; these are the priests. And
the Levites: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of
the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; and their associates, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah,
Hanan, Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Bani,
Beninu. The leaders of the people: Parosh,
Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, Bunni,
Azgad, Bebai, Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, Ater,
Hezekiah, Azzur, Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, Ahiah,
Hanan, Anan, Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.
The rest of the people, the priests, the
Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the
temple servants, and all who have separated
themselves from the peoples of the lands to
adhere to the law of God, their wives, their
sons, their daughters, all who have knowl-
10
edge and understanding, join with their

kin, their nobles, and enter into a curse and
an oath to walk in Gods law, which was given
by Moses the servant of God, and to observe
and do all the commandments of the Lord
our Lord and his ordinances and his statutes. We will not give our daughters to the
peoples of the land or take their daughters
for our sons; and if the peoples of the land
bring in merchandise or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy it from them
on the sabbath or on a holy day; and we will
forego the crops of the seventh year and the
exaction of every debt.
We also lay on ourselves the obligation to charge ourselves yearly one-third of
a shekel for the service of the house of our
God: for the rows of bread, the regular
grain oering, the regular burnt oering,
the sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed
festivals, the sacred donations, and the sin
oerings to make atonement for Israel, and
for all the work of the house of our God.
We have also cast lots among the priests,
the Levites, and the people, for the wood
oering, to bring it into the house of our God,
by ancestral houses, at appointed times, year
by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our
God, as it is written in the law. We obligate
a Ch 10.2 in Heb
the community commits itself unilaterally by a binding pledge to obedience. 10.127: Signatories on behalf of
the entire community include persons and clan names from several previous lists (Ezra 2Neh 7; Ezra 8), but
also reects a broader religious and social participation. 28: The rest of the people, the entire people arm their
voluntary commitment to the pledge. Separated themselves, see 9.2; 13.3. 29: The purpose of the pledge is to
have all members bind themselves to Gods Torah. 3039: This section lists voluntarily assumed obligations
that reect practices important for Jewish identity in the h century bce. They express the seriousness with
which the community vows to uphold the Torah, and they combine various laws from the Pentateuch/Torah
as it now exists.
10.3031: Protecting religious and ethnic boundaries, an important theme throughout Ezra-Nehemiah. 30:
We will not give our daughters, see Ezra 910. 31: Buy . . . on the sabbath, sabbath laws prohibit work on this day
(e.g., Ex 31.1217); the pledge classies buying as work. The sabbath may have become especially important
during the Babylonian exile. Forego the crops, see Ex 23.11. Debt, see Deut 15.13 (although the vocabulary differs).
10.3239: Securing religious and social institutions. 32: We also lay on ourselves the obligation, the voluntary
Temple tax reects the commitment to undertake support of the Temple. One-third of a shekel, the Torah does
not require annual Temple tax (Ex 30.13 is a one-time requirement). This self-imposed tax endures throughout
the Second Temple period (see Mt 17.24). 3338: Provisions for regular Temple sacrices and worship. 33: Rows
of bread are placed on a special table at the sanctuary on the sabbath (Ex 25.29; Lev 24.59). Sin oerings, or purication oerings, regular sacrices in the Temple for public or personal transgression (Lev 4.1321). 34: Wood,
for the altars res. This obligation is also not prescribed by the Pentateuch/Torah. 35: First fruits, see Ex 22.29;
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nehemiah 11
ourselves to bring the rst fruits of our soil
and the rst fruits of all fruit of every tree,
year by year, to the house of the Lord; also
to bring to the house of our God, to the
priests who minister in the house of our God,
the rstborn of our sons and of our livestock,
as it is written in the law, and the rstlings
of our herds and of our ocks; and to bring
the rst of our dough, and our contributions,
the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil,
to the priests, to the chambers of the house
of our God; and to bring to the Levites the
tithes from our soil, for it is the Levites who
collect the tithes in all our rural towns. And
the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be
with the Levites when the Levites receive the
tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tithe
of the tithes to the house of our God, to the
chambers of the storehouse. For the people
of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the
contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the
storerooms where the vessels of the sanctuary are, and where the priests that minister,
and the gatekeepers and the singers are. We
will not neglect the house of our God.
Now the leaders of the people lived in
Jerusalem; and the rest of the people
cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the
holy city Jerusalem, while nine-tenths remained in the other towns. And the people
blessed all those who willingly oered to live
in Jerusalem.
These are the leaders of the province who
lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah
all lived on their property in their towns:
11
Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple

servants, and the descendants of Solomons
servants. And in Jerusalem lived some of
the Judahites and of the Benjaminites. Of
the Judahites: Athaiah son of Uzziah son of
Zechariah son of Amariah son of Shephatiah
son of Mahalalel, of the descendants of Perez;
and Maaseiah son of Baruch son of Colhozeh son of Hazaiah son of Adaiah son of
Joiarib son of Zechariah son of the Shilonite.
All the descendants of Perez who lived in
Jerusalem were four hundred sixty-eight
valiant warriors.
And these are the Benjaminites: Sallu son
of Meshullam son of Joed son of Pedaiah son of
Kolaiah son of Maaseiah son of Ithiel son of Jeshaiah. And his brothersa Gabbai, Sallai: nine
hundred twenty-eight. Joel son of Zichri was
their overseer; and Judah son of Hassenuah
was second in charge of the city.
Of the priests: Jedaiah son of Joiarib,
Jachin, Seraiah son of Hilkiah son of
Meshullam son of Zadok son of Meraioth
son of Ahitub, ocer of the house of God,
and their associates who did the work of
the house, eight hundred twenty-two; and
Adaiah son of Jeroham son of Pelaliah son of
Amzi son of Zechariah son of Pashhur son
of Malchijah, and his associates, heads of
ancestral houses, two hundred forty-two;
and Amashsai son of Azarel son of Ahzai son
of Meshillemoth son of Immer, and their
associates, valiant warriors, one hundred
a Gk Mss: Heb And after him
23.19; Num 18.1518. 36: Firstborn, see Ex 22.29. 37: Tithes, see Lev 27.30; Num 18.2532. The chambers were the
Temple storerooms (13.13; Ezra 8.29; 10.6). 38: The Levites and priests depended on contributions.
11.112.26: The repopulation of Jerusalem and a review. This section reviews the genealogical and geographical extent of the community as part of repopulating Jerusalem.
11.136: Repopulation. Aer identifying the various groups, the restored community requires ten percent
of its members to dwell in Jerusalem. The lists of chs 1112 are compiled from dierent sources. 1: Holy city, for
Ezra-Nehemiah, the entire city, not only the Temple, is now holy (see also Ezek 48.35). Nine-tenths remained,
see 11.324n.
11.324: Census of repopulated Jerusalem. The total of enumerated residents of Jerusalems population in
11.124 is slightly over 3,000. Taking this to represent 10 percent of the population indicates about 30,000 residents for the entire province. This number is considerably smaller than the number of returnees (42,360) in Ezra
2.64 and Neh 7.66, but conforms to estimates reached by archaeologists on the basis of nonbiblical data. It also
roughly corresponds to the sum total of numbers in the lists of Ezra 2 and Neh 7. See Ezra 2:64n. 46: Judahites
are traced back to their ancestor Judah through his three sons: Perez (11.4; cf. Gen 38.29); the Shilonite (11.5),
probably Shelah (Gen 38.4); and Zerah (11.24; Gen 38.30). 79: Benjaminites. The individual names are otherwise
unknown. 1014: Priests. The group includes three families. Some of these names appear also in Ezras pedigree
hebrew bible | 701
nehemiah 12
twenty-eight; their overseer was Zabdiel son
of Haggedolim.
And of the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub son of Azrikam son of Hashabiah son
of Bunni; and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of
the leaders of the Levites, who were over the
outside work of the house of God; and Mattaniah son of Mica son of Zabdi son of Asaph,
who was the leader to begin the thanksgiving
in prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among
his associates; and Abda son of Shammua son
of Galal son of Jeduthun. All the Levites in
the holy city were two hundred eighty-four.
The gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and
their associates, who kept watch at the gates,
were one hundred seventy-two. And the
rest of Israel, and of the priests and the
Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, all of
them in their inheritance. But the temple
servants lived on Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa
were over the temple servants.
The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem
was Uzzi son of Bani son of Hashabiah son of
Mattaniah son of Mica, of the descendants of
Asaph, the singers, in charge of the work of
the house of God. For there was a command
from the king concerning them, and a settled
provision for the singers, as was required
every day. And Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, of the descendants of Zerah son of Judah,
was at the kings hand in all matters concerning the people.
And as for the villages, with their elds,
some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriatharba and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekabzeel and its villages, and
in Jeshua and in Moladah and Beth-pelet, in
Hazar-shual, in Beer-sheba and its villages,
in Ziklag, in Meconah and its villages, in
En-rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth, Zanoah,
Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its

elds, and Azekah and its villages. So they
camped from Beer-sheba to the valley of
Hinnom. The people of Benjamin also lived
from Geba onward, at Michmash, Aija, Bethel
and its villages, Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, Hadid, Zeboim,
Neballat, Lod, and Ono, the valley of artisans. And certain divisions of the Levites in
Judah were joined to Benjamin.
These are the priests and the Levites
who came up with Zerubbabel son of
Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Shecaniah,
Rehum, Meremoth, Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah.
These were the leaders of the priests and of
their associates in the days of Jeshua.
And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel,
Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with
his associates was in charge of the songs of
thanksgiving. And Bakbukiah and Unno
their associates stood opposite them in the
service. Jeshua was the father of Joiakim,
Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada, Joiada the father of Jonathan,
and Jonathan the father of Jaddua.
In the days of Joiakim the priests,
heads of ancestral houses, were: of Seraiah,
Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; of Ezra,
Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; of
Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; of
Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah,
Piltai; of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah,
Jehonathan; of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah,
Uzzi; of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; of
Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
12
(Ezra 7.15). 19: Gatekeepers, see Ezra 2.42 Neh 7.45. 24: At the kings hand, i.e., directly accountable to the king.
11.2536: Census of other Jewish se+lements. The geographical area spanned by the villages extends beyond the known boundaries of the Persian province of Yehud (Judah). The list, then, is either an ideal echoing
Josh 15, envisioning a greater province, or (more likely) a register of Jews also in towns outside Yehud proper
or an expanded list from a considerably later time. (For the location of sites that can be identied, see the map
on p. 686.)
12.126: Review of priestly and levitical genealogies. The reconstituted community again (cf. ch 7) reviews
its Temple personnel, spanning the entire era of reconstruction (520444 bce). The list is articial and problematic, but its existence reects the importance of priests and Levites in this period, a concern also reected in the
books of Chronicles. Although many names are familiar from other lists, the information resists clear chronological schematization. 1: Came up with Zerubbabel . . . and Jeshua, i.e., the governor and priest leading Stage
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nehemiah 12
As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib,
Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, there were recorded the heads of ancestral houses; also the
priests until the reign of Darius the Persian.
The Levites, heads of ancestral houses,
were recorded in the Book of the Annals until
the days of Johanan son of Eliashib. And
the leaders of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, with their
associates over against them, to praise and to
give thanks, according to the commandment
of David the man of God, section opposite to
section. Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah,
Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses of
the gates. These were in the days of Joiakim
son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days
of the governor Nehemiah and of the priest
Ezra, the scribe.
Now at the dedication of the wall of
Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all
their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to
celebrate the dedication with rejoicing, with
thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. The companies of
the singers gathered together from the circuit
around Jerusalem and from the villages of the
Netophathites; also from Beth-gilgal and
from the region of Geba and Azmaveth; for
the singers had built for themselves villages
around Jerusalem. And the priests and the
Levites puried themselves; and they puried the people and the gates and the wall.
Then I brought the leaders of Judah up
onto the wall, and appointed two great companies that gave thanks and went in procession. One went to the right on the wall to the
Dung Gate; and after them went Hoshaiah
and half the ocials of Judah, and Aza-
riah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin,

Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, and some of the
young priests with trumpets: Zechariah son
of Jonathan son of Shemaiah son of Mattaniah son of Micaiah son of Zaccur son of
Asaph; and his kindred, Shemaiah, Azarel,
Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and
Hanani, with the musical instruments of
David the man of God; and the scribe Ezra
went in front of them. At the Fountain Gate,
in front of them, they went straight up by the
stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the
wall, above the house of David, to the Water
Gate on the east.
The other company of those who gave
thanks went to the left,a and I followed them
with half of the people on the wall, above the
Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, and
above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old
Gate, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of
Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to
the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at
the Gate of the Guard. So both companies
of those who gave thanks stood in the house
of God, and I and half of the ocials with
me; and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah,
Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and
Hananiah, with trumpets; and Maaseiah,
Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang
with Jezrahiah as their leader. They oered
great sacrices that day and rejoiced, for God
had made them rejoice with great joy; the
women and children also rejoiced. The joy of
Jerusalem was heard far away.
On that day men were appointed over
the chambers for the stores, the contribua Cn: Heb opposite
One of the return (see Ezra 2.12n.). 22: Until the reign of Darius the Persian, Darius I (522486). Some scholars
suggest that the reference is to Darius II (423404 bce). 24: David, see Ezra 3.10n. 26: Joiakim . . . Nehemiah . . .
Ezra, the three guresthe ociating priest, the governor, and the priest Ezra in his capacity as scribemark
the period of completion of the task. Now all is ready for the grand nale.
12.2713.3: Grand nale: a service of dedication: celebration, purication, procession, and separation.
12.27: The initiative again comes from the community (cf. 8.1). 30: This unique ceremony of purication signals
that the people are sanctied and Jerusalem is the holy city (11.1).
12.3142: The procession. Two groups circled the city on the wall and alongside it. On the gates named, see
2.1314n.; 3.1n. 31: Then I, Nehemiah. Two great companies, the groups marched in opposite directions and met
at the Temple. 36: The scribe Ezra, this nal appearance by Ezra is striking; as a priest (Ezra 7.15), he leads the
priests. 42: Antiphonal singing by the professional liturgical singers.
12.4313.3: Final communal actions on the day of dedication. These include sacrices and separation in
hebrew bible | 703
nehemiah 13
tions, the rst fruits, and the tithes, to gather
into them the portions required by the law for
the priests and for the Levites from the elds
belonging to the towns; for Judah rejoiced
over the priests and the Levites who ministered. They performed the service of their
God and the service of purication, as did
the singers and the gatekeepers, according to
the command of David and his son Solomon.
For in the days of David and Asaph long
ago there was a leader of the singers, and
there were songs of praise and thanksgiving
to God. In the days of Zerubbabel and in
the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the daily
portions for the singers and the gatekeepers.
They set apart that which was for the Levites;
and the Levites set apart that which was for
the descendants of Aaron.
On that day they read from the book
of Moses in the hearing of the people;
and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the
assembly of God, because they did not
meet the Israelites with bread and water,
but hired Balaam against them to curse
themyet our God turned the curse into
a blessing. When the people heard the
law, they separated from Israel all those of
foreign descent.
13
Now before this, the priest Eliashib, who

was appointed over the chambers of the
house of our God, and who was related to
Tobiah, prepared for Tobiah a large room
where they had previously put the grain
oering, the frankincense, the vessels, and
the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were
given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions
for the priests. While this was taking place I
was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second
year of King Artaxerxes of Babylon I went
to the king. After some time I asked leave of
the king and returned to Jerusalem. I then
discovered the wrong that Eliashib had done
on behalf of Tobiah, preparing a room for
him in the courts of the house of God. And I
was very angry, and I threw all the household
furniture of Tobiah out of the room. Then I
gave orders and they cleansed the chambers,
and I brought back the vessels of the house of
God, with the grain oering and the frankincense.
I also found out that the portions of
the Levites had not been given to them; so
that the Levites and the singers, who had
conducted the service, had gone back to
their elds. So I remonstrated with the
ocials and said, Why is the house of God
accordance with the Torah. 12.46: Asaph, see 7.44; 1 Chr 16.5. 47: The days of Zerubbabel and . . . Nehemiah,
the description of the celebration reckons from the beginning of the return (Ezra 2) to Nehemiah, the period
covered by the unied Ezra-Nehemiah. 13.13: The nal action on that day implements the Torah by separating
from foreigners. Although distinct from the issues of intermarriage (Ezra 910 and Neh 13.2328), the separation is part of the social and religious boundaries that the restored community seeks to maintain within the
multicultural seing of the Persian empire. The virtual quotation from Deut 23.47 indicates that Deuteronomy
was available to the postexilic community as part of its Torah or law of Moses. 1. No Ammonite or Moabite
should ever enter, see Deut 23.3. 2: Balaam, see Num 2224 and Deut 23.5-6.
13.431: Coda. Nehemiahs memoir (interrupted in 7.5) resumes with a retrospective from a time aer 433
bce, aer Nehemiah had served twelve years as governor (13.6; 5.14). At some point aer returning to King
Artaxerxes, Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem, discovered violations of the communal pledge of ch 10, and
took steps to restore order. These violations pertain to the purity of the Temple, observance of the sabbath,
and intermarriage. 49: Nehemiah evicts Tobiah from the desecrated Temple precinct. Nehemiah rst referred
to Tobiah as an Ammonite ocial (2.10), a national connection that may justify his expulsion (see 13.13). Apparently other Judeans considered Tobiah (whose name refers to Israels God; see 2.10n) a legitimate member
of the community. His connection with the priests and installation at the Temple support this conclusion. On
Tobiahs priestly relations, see 6.18. 4: The priest Eliashib, possibly, but not necessarily the high priest (of 3.1 and
13.28); the name was common in this era. Appointed over the chambers, hence controlling the storage and distribution of Temple resources). 6: The thirty-second year, 433 bce. 9: Cleansed, for Nehemiah, Tobiahs illegitimate
presence ritually contaminated the room.
13.1013: Nehemiah recties violations regarding Levites and singers (cf. 10.3739). 10: Levites . . . had gone,
Nehemiah may imply that Tobiahs presence hastened the departure of Levites who had not been paid. 11:
704 | hebrew bible
nehemiah 13
forsaken? And I gathered them together and
set them in their stations. Then all Judah
brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil
into the storehouses. And I appointed as
treasurers over the storehouses the priest
Shelemiah, the scribe Zadok, and Pedaiah of
the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan son
of Zaccur son of Mattaniah, for they were
considered faithful; and their duty was to
distribute to their associates. Remember
me, Omy God, concerning this, and do not
wipe out my good deeds that I have done for
the house of my God and for his service.
In those days I saw in Judah people
treading wine presses on the sabbath, and
bringing in heaps of grain and loading them
on donkeys; and also wine, grapes, gs, and
all kinds of burdens, which they brought into
Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I warned
them at that time against selling food. Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in sh
and all kinds of merchandise and sold them
on the sabbath to the people of Judah, and
in Jerusalem. Then I remonstrated with the
nobles of Judah and said to them, What is
this evil thing that you are doing, profaning
the sabbath day? Did not your ancestors
act in this way, and did not our God bring all
this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you
bring more wrath on Israel by profaning the
sabbath.
When it began to be dark at the gates of
Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded
that the doors should be shut and gave orders
that they should not be opened until after the
sabbath. And I set some of my servants over

the gates, to prevent any burden from being
brought in on the sabbath day. Then the
merchants and sellers of all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem
once or twice. But I warned them and said
to them, Why do you spend the night in
front of the wall? If you do so again, I will lay
hands on you. From that time on they did
not come on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep
the sabbath day holy. Remember this also in
my favor, Omy God, and spare me according
to the greatness of your steadfast love.
In those days also I saw Jews who had
married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and
Moab; and half of their children spoke
the language of Ashdod, and they could not
speak the language of Judah, but spoke the
language of various peoples. And I contended with them and cursed them and beat
some of them and pulled out their hair; and I
made them take an oath in the name of God,
saying, You shall not give your daughters to
their sons, or take their daughters for your
sons or for yourselves. Did not King Solomon of Israel sin on account of such women?
Among the many nations there was no king
like him, and he was beloved by his God, and
God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.
Shall we then listen to you and do all this
great evil and act treacherously against our
God by marrying foreign women?
Gathered them, i.e., the dispersed Levites. 12: The opening words should be translated All Judah had brought.
Nehemiah alleges that the desertion of Levites resulted less from lack of contributions than from mismanagement, possibly by Tobiah. 13: And I appointed, Nehemiahs chooses new supervisors. Considered faithful, an
important trait because of previous corruption under Tobiah and Eliashib. 14: Conclusion: Nehemiahs plea for
remembrance for these restoration eorts.
13.1522: Nehemiah recties sabbath violations (cf. 10.31). The sabbath constitutes another cultural and
religious boundary, one that gains importance in the postexilic period. 15: In those days, when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem for the second time, aer 433 bce. 16: Tyrians, merchants from Tyre, in modern Lebanon.
1922: Shuing the gates during the sabbath prevented foreign trading in the city during the sabbath. 22: They
should purify themselves, puried Levites guard the gates (7.13; 11.1) to secure sanctity, especially on the holy
sabbath. Such measures are unique to the book of Ezra-Nehemiah, underscoring the holiness of the entire city.
13.2329: Intermarriage problems (cf. 10.30). On marriage with foreigners in Ezra-Nehemiah, see Ezra 910,
especially Ezra 9.115n. The problem, as Nehemiah presents it, is dierent from Ezra 9.2; it concerns loss of
Jewish identity exemplied by the disappearance of Hebrew among children of mixed marriages. Intermarriage also signals for him turning away from Israels God. 23: Ashdod, a Philistine city on the southeast coast
of the Mediterranean. 26: King Solomons marriages corrupted his relations with God (1 Kings 11.18) and thus
hebrew bible | 705
nehemiah 13
And one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of
the high priest Eliashib, was the son-in-law
of Sanballat the Horonite; I chased him away
from me. Remember them, Omy God,
because they have deled the priesthood, the
covenant of the priests and the Levites.
Thus I cleansed them from everything

foreign, and I established the duties of the
priests and Levites, each in his work; and I
provided for the wood oering, at appointed
times, and for the rst fruits. Remember me,
Omy God, for good.
exemplify the danger to the present community. 28: Son of the high priest Eliashib, was the son-in-law of Sanballat, evidently, some Jews, including the high priests family, considered contracting marriage with Sanballats
family as appropriate. Eliashib consecrated the gates in 3.1. Sanballat, the family of Sanballat, the governor of
Samaria (see 2.10n.). His sons had Hebrew names. 2 Kings 17 describes the residents of Samaria as foreigners
who accepted some aspects of Yahwistic worship. Samarians, like the later Samaritans, may have claimed, instead, that they were a remnant of the northern kingdom of Israel and true ospring of Abraham through Jacob.
Like Ezra, Nehemiah vehemently objects to what he construes as intermarriage. I chased him away, Nehemiah
acts rmly to protect the Temples purity from illegitimate behavior by a priest. The Jewish historian Josephus
reports that the Samaritan Temple near Shechem was built in the fourth century bce for a priest expelled from
Jerusalem Ant. 11.8.2).
13.3031: Conclusion. The purication of the priesthood and Temple administration was dicult because
of the status of the opposing priests. Therefore, Nehemiah presents restoring order and sanctity to the worship system as the crown of his achievement. 31: I provided for the wood oering . . . and for the rst fruits, see
10.3435, in which the community pledges to provide these. For good, with good as the last word, Nehemiah
invokes a nal blessing.
ESTHER
name
The book of Esther takes its name from its heroine, the Jewish woman of the Diaspora who becomes queen of
Persia, saves her people from genocide, and with her guardian, Mordecai, inaugurates the new Jewish festival
of Purim. This title rst appears in the Greek translation (the Septuagint, LXX) of the story and thus may not
belong to the Hebrew original. According to 2.7, Esther has a Hebrew name, Hadassah, but is otherwise called
Esther, a name that is cognate with Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love and war, or with the Persian word
stara, star. The Latin (Vulgate) translation calls her Hester.
canonical status
Esther is the only book of the Hebrew Bible unaested among the Dead Sea Scrolls (third century bce to rst
century ce), nor does the New Testament ever allude to it. Like The Song of Solomon (on which the New Testament is similarly mute), the book of Esther provoked debate among rabbis and church fathers over its scriptural
status for reasons that were not always spelled out. Neither book so much as mentions God or such key Jewish
concepts as covenant, temple, sacrice, or prayer. Furthermore, both Esther and Song of Solomon celebrate,
albeit in dierent contexts, the power of feminine sexuality. Another factor in its late admission to the biblical
canon may have been the books enthusiastic account of the Jewish communities slaughter of their enemies,
an aspect of Esther that continues to trouble readers today.
Only by the third or fourth centuries ce does the scroll appear to have successfully overcome all rabbinical
reservations about its canonicity. Early Christians harbored similar doubts; as late as the fourth century when
the Western church had accepted Esther in its Bible, some Eastern Church authorities continued to question it.
The sixteenth-century Protestant reformer Martin Luther wished it had never been wrien.
In the Jewish scriptures (Tanakh), the book of Esther appears in the third section, the Writings (Ketubim); coming aer Ecclesiastes, it is the last of the ve festal scrolls (Megillot). Esther is read twice through
on the Jewish festival Purim. In Christian Bibles the book is grouped with the Historical Books, aer Ezra and
Nehemiah, in recognition of the storys seing in the Persian period (550333 bce).
Complicating Esthers place in the biblical canon are more than a hundred additional verses in the Greek
(Septuagint) version that do not appear in surviving Hebrew manuscripts. These verses are excluded from their
Bibles by Jews and Protestants, while Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians accept them. A translation of
the full Greek text of Esther, including these additions, is part of the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books in
most editions of this Bible.
authorship, date, and literary history

Esther contains some folktale motifs, but its many allusions to other biblical texts, most notably the Joseph
story (Gen 3748), suggest a literate and cultured author, probably from a socially prominent Jewish family
in Persia. The anonymous author makes a case for living a full Jewish life within the strictures imposed by the
alien Diaspora environment. The version of Esther contained in the Hebrew Bible was probably composed in
the early Hellenistic period (late fourth or early third century bce).
In light of the extra Greek verses mentioned above, as well as a slightly dierent version of Esther preserved
in a few Greek manuscripts, the existing biblical (canonical) version of Esther clearly evolved over time; many
scholars, for example, doubt that the Purim festival gured in earlier versions of the Esther story.
contents and interpretation

Although the action of Esther takes place over a period of ten years in the reign of the Persian King Ahasuerus,
the ten chapters of the story progress swily. The narrative relates how Esther came to be queen (in place of
the disgraced Vashti) and how a rivalry between her uncle Mordecai and his enemy Haman threatened the
entire Jewish community. Through Esthers cleverness and boldness the plot was foiled, and the Jews were
given permission to defend themselves. The story serves, perhaps secondarily, as the background for the Jewish holiday of Purim.
hebrew bible | 707
esther
Despite the seing and the authors familiarity with Persian customs, vocabulary, and names, Esther is not
a work of history but a historical novella, that is, a ctional story within a historical framework. Ahasuerus is
probably meant to be Xerxes I of Persia (486465 bce), but there is no historical evidence for a Queen Vashti or
for a Jewish queen, much less a Queen Esther. The concept of immutable laws of the Persians and the Medes
(1.19) appears only in Esther. The storys purpose is to entertain, but more importantly to demonstrate the
inevitability of retributive justice and, paradoxically, the need for oppressed minorities to act shrewdly and
boldly for that justice to prevail. In addition, the books historical tone legitimates the festival of Purim, which
was probably a Babylonian or Persian holiday adopted by Diaspora Jews. Purim is not mentioned in the rest of
the Bible.
As a woman, Esther herself mirrors the marginal and sometimes precarious status of Diaspora Jews. The
author, in fact, may be advocating a measure of accommodation with the larger Gentile world by ignoring the
question of how a good Jew like Esther can justify marrying a Gentile and inevitably violating Jewish dietary
rules.
The most intractable interpretive problem of Esther centers on God. Because God is never explicitly named
in Esther, scholars are divided as to whether the author excluded divine participation altogether or intended to
imply that God was active behind the scenes. The ambiguous reference in 4.14 to help from another quarter
has been invoked to argue both positions. The Greek additions to Esther took care to mention God frequently,
thereby resolving this interpretive dilemma and, incidentally, providing an instance of early Jewish biblical interpretation at work.
guide to reading
For the fullest appreciation of the story, readers should keep in mind that Esthers narrative style overows
with exaggeration and hyperbole: the duration of royal feasts, the silliness of the kings rst decree, Esthers
excessive beauty regimen, and the body count of the Jews victims. Furthermore, in Esther one encounters a
surprisingly modern tension between various forms of comedysuch as satire, irony, and farceand tragedy.
The author has adroitly bound these together and balanced them within the narrative by complex paerns
of symmetries, reversals, foreshadowing, and recurring motifs. For example, the story begins and ends with
a feast, while additional banquets punctuate the narrative at key moments. Royal edicts, oen highly ironic,
similarly mark the course of the action. At dierent moments leading characters mirror each other directly or in
reverse. The disobedient queen Vashti is deposed, but new queen Esther triumphantly dees royal law. Esther
successfully begs the king for the lives of her people whom Haman has doomed; Haman in vain supplicates Esther for his own life. The most cleverly constructed moment of the story occurs in ch 6 when Haman suddenly
nds himself in the humiliating position of presenting the royal reward he expected himself to his nemesis,
Mordecai, instead.
While the main characters in Esther are essentially stereotypes without distinctive personalities, one character does change over the course of the story. Esther begins as a passive gure, notable only for her beauty and
obedient nature. Since all the women in the harem are beautiful, presumably it is her exceptional sexual skills
that win her the crown. However, aer Mordecais challenge to Esther in 4.1314, Esther seems to embrace her
Jewishness; with this self-recognition, Esther becomes the decisive actor in the story, risking her life, issuing
orders to Mordecai, and, later, to the king himself. Ultimately, it is on Esthers authority, albeit in concert with
Mordecai, that Purim is established, making Esther the only woman to authorize a Jewish religious tradition.
Mary Joan Winn Leith
esther 1
This happened in the days of Ahasuerus,

the same Ahasuerus who ruled over one
hundred twenty-seven provinces from India
to Ethiopia.a In those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in the citadel of
Susa, in the third year of his reign, he gave
a banquet for all his ocials and ministers.
The army of Persia and Media and the nobles
and governors of the provinces were present,
while he displayed the great wealth of his
kingdom and the splendor and pomp of his
majesty for many days, one hundred eighty
days in all.
When these days were completed, the
king gave for all the people present in the
citadel of Susa, both great and small, a
banquet lasting for seven days, in the court
of the garden of the kings palace. There
were white cotton curtains and blue hangings tied with cords of ne linen and purple
to silver ringsb and marble pillars. There were
couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl,
and colored stones. Drinks were served in
golden goblets, goblets of dierent kinds,
and the royal wine was lavished according
to the bounty of the king. Drinking was by
agons, without restraint; for the king had
given orders to all the ocials of his palace to
do as each one desired. Furthermore, Queen
Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the
palace of King Ahasuerus.
On the seventh day, when the king was

merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman,
Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar
and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who attended
him, to bring Queen Vashti before the king,
wearing the royal crown, in order to show
the peoples and the ocials her beauty; for
she was fair to behold. But Queen Vashti
refused to come at the kings command conveyed by the eunuchs. At this the king was
enraged, and his anger burned within him.
Then the king consulted the sages
who knew the lawsc (for this was the kings
procedure toward all who were versed in
law and custom, and those next to him
were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish,
Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven
ocials of Persia and Media, who had access
to the king, and sat rst in the kingdom):
According to the law, what is to be done to
Queen Vashti because she has not performed
the command of King Ahasuerus conveyed by
the eunuchs? Then Memucan said in the
presence of the king and the ocials, Not
only has Queen Vashti done wrong to the
king, but also to all the ocials and all the
peoples who are in all the provinces of King
Ahasuerus. For this deed of the queen will
a Or Nubia; Heb Cush
b Or rods
c Cn: Heb times
1.19: King Ahasuerus holds a feast. 1: Ahasuerus (Ezra 4.6; not the same as in Dan 9.1 or Tob 14.15) is probably
Xerxes I (486465 bce) whose Persian Empire from India (Indus Valley) to Ethiopia (Heb Cush, modern Sudan
and Ethiopia) included some twenty satrapies (Herodotus 3.89) subdivided into provinces. 2: Susa, Ahasueruss
winter capital in northwestern Iran, 180 mi (400 km) east of ancient Babylon. The citadel was a fortied section
of the palace. 34: Greek writers mention sumptuous feasts held by Persian kings. The banquet, with its exaggerated length of one hundred and eighty days (see Jdt 1.16), is the rst of several that occur at key moments in
the story. 56: Garden . . . curtains . . . couches, the extravagance emphasizes power and wealth. 8: Drinking was
. . . without restraint, demonstrating the kings characteristic permissiveness, excess, and lack of control over
his court (cf. 3.11; 5.6; 7.2), which foreshadows his later inability to control Queen Vashti. 9: Vashti, a Persian
name meaning beloved. Xerxes Is queen was Amestris (Herodotus 7.61); no Vashti appears in any ancient
records. Vashtis banquet for the women emphasizes the separate, gendered spheres of king and queen, a factor
in Esthers later bravery.
1.1022: Queen Vashtis downfall. 10: A person merry with wine (Prov 15.15) may come to grief (see 5.9; 1 Sam
25.36; 2 Sam 13.28; Dan 5.2). Eunuchs were castrated males who served in the Persian court. The list of their
names lends the story an air of authenticity. 12: This episode occurs in reverse in 5.2 when Esther comes uninvited into the kings presence. 13-18: A satirical moment: the kings sages who knew the laws inate a domestic
dispute into a national crisis. 14: Only the closest royal advisers enjoyed free access to the king (see 4.11). The
seven ocials have Persian names. The fear of a feminine insurrection against patriarchal order lies just below
the surface of many ancient myths and legends. Contrary to Memucans dire imaginings, the real danger will
hebrew bible | 709
esther 2
be made known to all women, causing them
to look with contempt on their husbands,
since they will say, King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before
him, and she did not come. This very day
the noble ladies of Persia and Media who
have heard of the queens behavior will rebel
againsta the kings ocials, and there will be
no end of contempt and wrath! If it pleases
the king, let a royal order go out from him,
and let it be written among the laws of the
Persians and the Medes so that it may not be
altered, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her
royal position to another who is better than
she. So when the decree made by the king
is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom,
vast as it is, all women will give honor to their
husbands, high and low alike.
This advice pleased the king and the ocials, and the king did as Memucan proposed;
he sent letters to all the royal provinces,
to every province in its own script and to
every people in its own language, declaring
that every man should be master in his own
house.b
After these things, when the anger of

King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and
what had been decreed against her. Then
the kings servants who attended him said,
Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for
the king. And let the king appoint commissioners in all the provinces of his kingdom to
gather all the beautiful young virgins to the
harem in the citadel of Susa under custody of
Hegai, the kings eunuch, who is in charge of
the women; let their cosmetic treatments be
given them. And let the girl who pleases the
king be queen instead of Vashti. This pleased
the king, and he did so.
Now there was a Jew in the citadel of Susa
whose name was Mordecai son of Jair son of
Shimei son of Kish, a Benjaminite. Kishc had
been carried away from Jerusalem among
the captives carried away with King Jeconiah
of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of
a Cn: Heb will tell
b Heb adds and speak according to the language of
his people
c Heb a Benjaminite 6who
come in the form of a conspiracy by palace bodyguards (2.21). 19: To another who is beer than she uses the same
words as Samuels rejection of Saul in favor of David (1 Sam 15.28). No sources outside the Bible indicate that
the laws of the Persians and the Medes could not be altered (8.8; Dan 6.8,12), but here the phrase subtly contrasts
excessive legalism with true justice. This royal order is the rst in a series of edicts by the king. 20: An instance
of narrative irony: by decreeing that all women must give honor to their husbands, the king draws aention to his
own failure to control his wife. 22: Persian royal pronouncements were issued in Aramaic, the ocial language
of Persian diplomacy, as well as in the languages of subject peoples (see Ezra 4.7,17). Leers, the Persian postal
system was renowned (Herodotus 8.98).
2.118: Esther becomes queen. 14: The king agrees to seek a new queen. 1: Remembered (i.e., positively;
see Gen 40.14); the king may be regreing his treatment of Vashti but cannot risk losing face by reversing his
earlier decision (1.19). 2: Patriarchal societies insist on a virgin bride to ensure the paternity of children within
the marriage (see Ex 22.16; Lev 21.13). In fact, Persian kings could marry women only from certain noble Persian
families. 3: Let the king appoint commissioners echoes the Joseph story (see Gen 41.3435), a biblical text to which
the book of Esther oen alludes. Eunuch, see 1.10n. Eunuchs were especially needed as overseers of the kings
harem (lit. house of women). Cosmetic treatments (see vv. 9,12).
2.511: Introducing two Jewish heroes: Mordecai and Esther. 56: Mordecai, a name derived from the Babylonian god Marduk. Mordecais Benjaminite ancestry includes King Saul (1 Sam 9.12), while Hamans genealogy
(3.1) connects him to Sauls enemy, the Amalekite King Agag (1 Sam 15). Jew (Heb yehudi), originally anyone
from the kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 16.6), is used here in its usual later sense of an adherent to Judaism. Mordecais presence in the citadel (see 1.2n.) probably means he was a minor court ocial (see 2.19). The Hebrew
wording implies it was Mordecai who was exiled with Judahs last king, Jehoiachin (here called Jeconiah), when
the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah in 597 bce (2 Kings 24), over a hundred years earlier. To
avoid an unlikely century-old Mordecai, translators have oen emended the text to make Mordecais greatgrandfather, Kish, part of the original exile. Susa, see 1.2n. 7: Esthers Hebrew name Hadassah means myrtle.
Her Gentile name, Esther, derives from Ishtar, Babylonian goddess of sexual allure and war, or from the Persian
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esther 2
Babylon had carried away. Mordecaia had
brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, his cousin, for she had neither father nor mother; the
girl was fair and beautiful, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai adopted
her as his own daughter. So when the kings
order and his edict were proclaimed, and
when many young women were gathered in
the citadel of Susa in custody of Hegai, Esther
also was taken into the kings palace and put
in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the
women. The girl pleased him and won his
favor, and he quickly provided her with her
cosmetic treatments and her portion of food,
and with seven chosen maids from the kings
palace, and advanced her and her maids to
the best place in the harem. Esther did not
reveal her people or kindred, for Mordecai
had charged her not to tell. Every day Mordecai would walk around in front of the court
of the harem, to learn how Esther was and
how she fared.
The turn came for each girl to go in to
King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months
under the regulations for the women, since
this was the regular period of their cosmetic
treatment, six months with oil of myrrh and
six months with perfumes and cosmetics for
women. When the girl went in to the king
she was given whatever she asked for to take
with her from the harem to the kings palace.
In the evening she went in; then in the
morning she came back to the second harem
in custody of Shaashgaz, the kings eunuch,
who was in charge of the concubines; she did
not go in to the king again, unless the king
delighted in her and she was summoned by

name.
When the turn came for Esther daughter
of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had
adopted her as his own daughter, to go in to
the king, she asked for nothing except what
Hegai the kings eunuch, who had charge of
the women, advised. Now Esther was admired by all who saw her. When Esther was
taken to King Ahasuerus in his royal palace
in the tenth month, which is the month of
Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, the
king loved Esther more than all the other
women; of all the virgins she won his favor
and devotion, so that he set the royal crown
on her head and made her queen instead of
Vashti. Then the king gave a great banquet
to all his ocials and ministersEsthers
banquet. He also granted a holidayb to the
provinces, and gave gifts with royal liberality.
When the virgins were being gathered
together,c Mordecai was sitting at the kings
gate. Now Esther had not revealed her
kindred or her people, as Mordecai had
charged her; for Esther obeyed Mordecai
just as when she was brought up by him. In
those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the
kings gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the
kings eunuchs, who guarded the threshold,
became angry and conspired to assassinated
King Ahasuerus. But the matter came to
a
b
c
d
Heb He
Or an amnesty
Heb adds a second time
Heb to lay hands on
word for star, or both. Like other Jewish exiles (Dan 1.67) Esther has both a Hebrew and a Babylonian name.
9: In winning the favor of Hegai, Esther resembles Joseph in the house of Potiphar (Gen 39.26) and Daniel at
the Babylonian court (Dan 1.9). Unlike Daniel (1.8), Esther appears unconcerned with Jewish dietary rules.
2.1218: Esther becomes queen. 14: The impossibility of seeing the king again unless summoned by name
foreshadows Esthers dilemma in 4.1116. 15: As Esther takes her fateful step toward queenship, her fathers
name (Abihail) is supplied in the manner of preexilic queens of Judah (see 1 Kings 15.2; 22.42; 2 Kings 15.33). In
asking only for what Hegai advised, Esther demonstrates the characteristic prudence that will continue to serve
her well. 16: Tebeth, December-January. In the seventh year of his reign, Ahasuerus has been testing queen candidates now for about four years. 17: Cf. Gen 37.3. 18: Esthers banquet, probably a wedding feast, foreshadows
the two she gives later (5.5; 6.147.1), as well as the feast of Purim (9.22). A holiday, declared by a king on special
occasions, was primarily economic (see Jer 34.811), oen involving relief from tribute obligations, taxes, debtslavery, and military service (see Lev 25.1011). Gis foreshadows 9.22.
2.1923: Mordecai and Esther save the kings life. 19: The kings gate, the gathering place for royal ocials.
20: Esthers silence about her kindred or her people indicates her compliant nature and heightens suspense.
21: Some interpreters of Esther have seen divine intervention in this and later mysterious coincidences (see
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esther 3
the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it
to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in
the name of Mordecai. When the aair was
investigated and found to be so, both the men
were hanged on the gallows. It was recorded
in the book of the annals in the presence of
the king.
After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the
Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat
above all the ocials who were with him.
And all the kings servants who were at the
kings gate bowed down and did obeisance to
Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down
or do obeisance. Then the kings servants
who were at the kings gate said to Mordecai,
Why do you disobey the kings command?
When they spoke to him day after day
and he would not listen to them, they told
Haman, in order to see whether Mordecais
words would avail; for he had told them that
he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance to
him, Haman was infuriated. But he thought
it beneath him to lay hands on Mordecai
alone. So, having been told who Mordecais
people were, Haman plotted to destroy all the
Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the
whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
In the rst month, which is the month of
Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus,
they cast Purwhich means the lotbe-
fore Haman for the day and for the month,

and the lot fell on the thirteenth daya of the
twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.
Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, There
is a certain people scattered and separated
among the peoples in all the provinces of your
kingdom; their laws are dierent from those
of every other people, and they do not keep
the kings laws, so that it is not appropriate
for the king to tolerate them. If it pleases the
king, let a decree be issued for their destruction, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge
of the kings business, so that they may put it
into the kings treasuries. So the king took
his signet ring from his hand and gave it to
Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the
enemy of the Jews. The king said to Haman,
The money is given to you, and the people as
well, to do with them as it seems good to you.
Then the kings secretaries were summoned on the thirteenth day of the rst
month, and an edict, according to all that
Haman commanded, was written to the kings
satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the ocials of all the peoples,
to every province in its own script and every
people in its own language; it was written in
the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with
the kings ring. Letters were sent by couria Cn Compare Gk and verse 13 below: Heb the twelfth
month
4.14; 6.13). Conspired to assassinate, see 3.6n. 23: Hanged on the gallows (lit. on a tree), i.e., by impalement, a
disgraceful death, a foreshadowing of 5.14; 7.910; 9.1314. The book of the annals, an ocial record of royal acts
(cf. 10.2; 1 Kings 14.19,29; 2 Chr 25.26; 32.32).
3.115: Haman plots to annihilate the Jews. 1: Agagite, descended from King Agag the Amalekite (see 2.5n.).
2: Suggestions for why Mordecai did not bow down include ancestral enmity between Mordecai and Haman (see
2.5n.) or that Mordecai, like contemporary Greeks, abhorred as dishonorable the Persian custom of abasing
oneself on the ground to superiors. 4: Day aer day echoes Josephs rejection of Potiphars wife (Gen 39.10).
6: In 2.21 the Heb verb to destroy is translated assassinate and ploed as conspired. The identical wording
sets up a parallel between Hamans plot and that of the conspirators in 2.2123. 7: The twelh year, Esther has
been queen for ve years. The reference to pur, a Babylonian loanword for lot, may have been inserted by a
later editor to connect the plot of Esther more closely with the Purim festival (see 9.2032n.). Passover occurs
in Nisan (March-April), the rst month of the Babylonian and Jewish year. Traditional Jewish interpretation drew
elaborate parallels between the Esther story and Passover. Adar, February-March. 8: Haman begins with the
truth: the Jews were indeed scaered and separated (Zech 7.14) and, like other subject peoples, their statutes
(Deut 4.56) were dierent. He slides into falsehood in asserting that Jews do not keep the kings laws. 9: Ten
thousand talents of silver is an astronomical sum, the equivalent of hundreds of millions of US dollars. 10: The
signet ring authorizes Haman to sign documents in the kings name (3.12; 8.2,8; cf. Gen 41.4142; 1 Kings 21.89).
The rst appearance of Hamans epithet, enemy of the Jews (8.1; 9.10,24). 12: Another irony: the deadly edict goes
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esther 5
ers to all the kings provinces, giving orders
to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews,
young and old, women and children, in one
day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month,
which is the month of Adar, and to plunder
their goods. A copy of the document was
to be issued as a decree in every province
by proclamation, calling on all the peoples
to be ready for that day. The couriers went
quickly by order of the king, and the decree
was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and
Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Susa
was thrown into confusion.
When Mordecai learned all that had been
done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put
on sackcloth and ashes, and went through
the city, wailing with a loud and bitter cry;
he went up to the entrance of the kings gate,
for no one might enter the kings gate clothed
with sackcloth. In every province, wherever
the kings command and his decree came,
there was great mourning among the Jews,
with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and
most of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
When Esthers maids and her eunuchs
came and told her, the queen was deeply
distressed; she sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take o his sackcloth;
but he would not accept them. Then Esther
called for Hathach, one of the kings eunuchs,
who had been appointed to attend her, and
ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what
was happening and why. Hathach went out
to Mordecai in the open square of the city
in front of the kings gate, and Mordecai
told him all that had happened to him, and
the exact sum of money that Haman had
promised to pay into the kings treasuries for
the destruction of the Jews. Mordecai also

gave him a copy of the written decree issued
in Susa for their destruction, that he might
show it to Esther, explain it to her, and charge
her to go to the king to make supplication to
him and entreat him for her people.
Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a message for Mordecai, saying, All the kings servants and the people of
the kings provinces know that if any man or
woman goes to the king inside the inner court
without being called, there is but one lawall
alike are to be put to death. Only if the king
holds out the golden scepter to someone,
may that person live. I myself have not been
called to come in to the king for thirty days.
When they told Mordecai what Esther had
said, Mordecai told them to reply to Esther,
Do not think that in the kings palace you will
escape any more than all the other Jews. For
if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief
and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your fathers family
will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have
come to royal dignity for just such a time as
this. Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai,
Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa,
and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat
nor drink for three days, night or day. I and
my maids will also fast as you do. After that
I will go to the king, though it is against the
law; and if I perish, I perish. Mordecai then
went away and did everything as Esther had
ordered him.
On the third day Esther put on her royal
robes and stood in the inner court of the
kings palace, opposite the kings hall. The
out on the day before Passover (v. 7n.; Ex 12.6; Lev 23.5). It is issued in various languages; see 1.22n. 13: Couriers,
see 1.22n. 15: Citadel of Susa, see 1.2n.
4.117: Mordecai persuades Esther to risk her life to save her people. 1: Sackcloth and ashes and torn clothing were traditional signs of mourning and repentance (2 Sam 3.31; Job 42.6; Dan 9.3; Jon 3.6). 2: No one rendered ritually unclean by mourning could enter the kings gate. 3: Fasting was believed to inuence the deity
(Lev 16.2931; Judg 20.26; 2 Sam 12.16; 1 Kings 21.27; Jon 3.5,8; Ezra 8.2123; Joel 1.14; 2.1214; 1 Macc 3.47). 410:
Esther, her Jewish identity still secret, is unaware of the edict. 6: The city square is a traditional place of public
mourning (Amos 5.16; Isa 15.3; Jer 48.38). 8: Susa, see 1.2n. 11: Like other biblical heroes called upon to save
their people (Ex 3.11; 4.10; Judg 6.15; Jer 1.6), Esther initially objects. I myself have not been called to come in to
the king, see 2.14. 14: From another quarter, perhaps a reference to divine providence (see 2.21n.). Who knows?
Oen precedes an expression of hope for divine mercy (2 Sam 12.22; Joel 2.14; Jon 3.9). 16-17: Esthers request
for a community fast foreshadows her religious authority in 9.29. If I perish, Esther voices resignation or seless
dedication (see Gen 43.14).
hebrew bible | 713
esther 6
king was sitting on his royal throne inside
the palace opposite the entrance to the palace. As soon as the king saw Queen Esther
standing in the court, she won his favor and
he held out to her the golden scepter that
was in his hand. Then Esther approached
and touched the top of the scepter. The
king said to her, What is it, Queen Esther?
What is your request? It shall be given you,
even to the half of my kingdom. Then
Esther said, If it pleases the king, let the
king and Haman come today to a banquet
that I have prepared for the king. Then
the king said, Bring Haman quickly, so that
we may do as Esther desires. So the king
and Haman came to the banquet that Esther
had prepared. While they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, What is
your petition? It shall be granted you. And
what is your request? Even to the half of my
kingdom, it shall be fullled. Then Esther
said, This is my petition and request: If I
have won the kings favor, and if it pleases
the king to grant my petition and fulll
my request, let the king and Haman come
tomorrow to the banquet that I will prepare
for them, and then I will do as the king has
said.
Haman went out that day happy and in
good spirits. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the kings gate, and observed that he
neither rose nor trembled before him, he was
infuriated with Mordecai; nevertheless Haman restrained himself and went home. Then
he sent and called for his friends and his wife
Zeresh, and Haman recounted to them the
splendor of his riches, the number of his
sons, all the promotions with which the king

had honored him, and how he had advanced
him above the ocials and the ministers of
the king. Haman added, Even Queen Esther let no one but myself come with the king
to the banquet that she prepared. Tomorrow
also I am invited by her, together with the
king. Yet all this does me no good so long
as I see the Jew Mordecai sitting at the kings
gate. Then his wife Zeresh and all his
friends said to him, Let a gallows fty cubits
high be made, and in the morning tell the
king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go
with the king to the banquet in good spirits.
This advice pleased Haman, and he had the
gallows made.
On that night the king could not sleep,
and he gave orders to bring the book of
records, the annals, and they were read to
the king. It was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh,
two of the kings eunuchs, who guarded
the threshold, and who had conspired to
assassinatea King Ahasuerus. Then the king
said, What honor or distinction has been
bestowed on Mordecai for this? The kings
servants who attended him said, Nothing
has been done for him. The king said,
Who is in the court? Now Haman had just
entered the outer court of the kings palace
to speak to the king about having Mordecai
hanged on the gallows that he had prepared
for him. So the kings servants told him,
Haman is there, standing in the court. The
king said, Let him come in. So Haman
a Heb to lay hands on
5.18: Esther before the king. 2: Esther resembles women who plead on anothers behalf (1 Sam 25.2431;
2 Sam 14.417). Favor, see 2.9,17 (Ex 12.36). 3: Three times the king will oer half of my kingdom (v. 6; 7.2), exaggeration for emphasis. Typical of folktales, the third oer (7.2) succeeds. 4: Banquet, see 1.34n. Food, reassuring and nurturing, is a common motif in stories of women confronting powerful men; Esther works indirectly
to achieve her goal (Judg 5.25; Prov 9.15; see Jdt 10.5; 12.1,1720).
5.914: Hamans happiness is spoiled. 9: Good spirits, the same term is used of Ahasuerus (merry) in 1.10.
1014: Zeresh is an exemplary son-bearing wife (5.11; 9.710); as Esthers negative counterpart, Zeresh loyally
counsels her husband. Hamans boasting sets him up as an arrogant fool ripe for a fall, a theme also found in
wisdom literature (Prov 11.28; 13.3; 16.5,18; 27.1; 29.20). Gallows, see 2.23n. Fiy cubits, ca. 72 (22 m), an exaggerated height. Only the king can order an execution.
6.113: Mordecais triumph. This masterpiece of ironic narrative uses alliteration, repetition, understatement, and reversal. 12: The kings insomnia, a traditional folktale device (Dan 6.18; 1 Esd 3.3), is not explained
and is another instance of opportune fate in Esther (see 2.9,15,17,21; 3.7; 4.14; 5.2; 6.13). Annals, see 2.23n. Herodotus (8.85,90) notes that Persian kings kept records of courtiers noble deeds. 6: Whom the king wishes to
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esther 7
came in, and the king said to him, What
shall be done for the man whom the king
wishes to honor? Haman said to himself,
Whom would the king wish to honor more
than me? So Haman said to the king, For
the man whom the king wishes to honor,
let royal robes be brought, which the king
has worn, and a horse that the king has
ridden, with a royal crown on its head. Let
the robes and the horse be handed over to
one of the kings most noble ocials; let
hima robe the man whom the king wishes
to honor, and let hima conduct the man on
horseback through the open square of the
city, proclaiming before him: Thus shall it
be done for the man whom the king wishes
to honor. Then the king said to Haman,
Quickly, take the robes and the horse, as
you have said, and do so to the Jew Mordecai
who sits at the kings gate. Leave out nothing
that you have mentioned. So Haman took
the robes and the horse and robed Mordecai
and led him riding through the open square
of the city, proclaiming, Thus shall it be
done for the man whom the king wishes to
honor.
Then Mordecai returned to the kings
gate, but Haman hurried to his house,
mourning and with his head covered. When
Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his
friends everything that had happened to him,
his advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him,
If Mordecai, before whom your downfall has
begun, is of the Jewish people, you will not
prevail against him, but will surely fall before
him.
While they were still talking with him,

the kings eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman o to the banquet that Esther had prepared. So the king and Haman went in to
feast with Queen Esther. On the second
day, as they were drinking wine, the king
again said to Esther, What is your petition,
Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And
what is your request? Even to the half of my
kingdom, it shall be fullled. Then Queen
Esther answered, If I have won your favor,
Oking, and if it pleases the king, let my life
be given methat is my petitionand the
lives of my peoplethat is my request. For
we have been sold, I and my people, to be
destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.
If we had been sold merely as slaves, men
and women, I would have held my peace; but
no enemy can compensate for this damage
to the king.b Then King Ahasuerus said to
Queen Esther, Who is he, and where is he,
who has presumed to do this? Esther said,
A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman! Then
Haman was terried before the king and the
queen. The king rose from the feast in wrath
and went into the palace garden, but Haman
stayed to beg his life from Queen Esther,
for he saw that the king had determined to
destroy him. When the king returned from
the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman
had thrown himself on the couch where Esther was reclining; and the king said, Will he
even assault the queen in my presence, in my
a Heb them
honor, the phrase is repeated six times in vv. 611. The kings omission of the name parallels Hamans concealment of the identity of those he intended to annihilate (3.8). 8: Royal robes, a gesture of favor (Gen 37.3; 41.42;
1 Sam 18.4; 1 Kings 1.33). Crown, an ornament for the horses head depicted on Mesopotamian and Persian reliefs. 11: The open square, previously the site of Mordecais mourning (4.6), now witnesses his honor. 12: Head
covered, a sign of grief (2 Sam 15.30; 19.4; Jer 14.4), which foreshadows Hamans own downfall.
6.147.10: Esthers second banquet and Hamans fall. 7.2: Half of my kingdom, see 5.3n. 3: No longer selfeacing (see 2.20n.; 5.4n.) Esther seizes the right moment to speak directly of herself and of her people. 4: Sold,
probably a reference to Hamans bribe in 3.11 (see 4.7; but note the metaphorical use of the verb in Deut 32.30;
Judg 2.14; 3.8; 4.2,9; 10.7). To be destroyed, etc., Esther quotes from the royal edict (3.13). Damage to the king,
perhaps the king would be shamed if his queen were dishonored. 6: Like Esther before the king in 15.5, now
Haman is terried before the king and the queen. 8: Following common custom (8.3; 1 Sam 25.2324; 2 Kings 4.27),
Haman tries to supplicate the queen by falling at her feet. His gesture contrasts with Mordecais in 3.2. Assault
the queen, Ahasuerus mistakes Hamans posture as a sexual assault, an unpardonable aront to both male and
royal honor and, as such, a capital oense. They covered Hamans face probably to protect the king from ritual
pollution by association with a condemned criminal; access to the Persian king (1.14; 4.11) was restricted for
hebrew bible | 715
esther 8
own house? As the words left the mouth of
the king, they covered Hamans face. Then
Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance
on the king, said, Look, the very gallows that
Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose
word saved the king, stands at Hamans
house, fty cubits high. And the king said,
Hang him on that. So they hanged Haman
on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.
On that day King Ahasuerus gave to
Queen Esther the house of Haman, the
enemy of the Jews; and Mordecai came before
the king, for Esther had told what he was to
her. Then the king took o his signet ring,
which he had taken from Haman, and gave it
to Mordecai. So Esther set Mordecai over the
house of Haman.
Then Esther spoke again to the king; she
fell at his feet, weeping and pleading with
him to avert the evil design of Haman the
Agagite and the plot that he had devised
against the Jews. The king held out the golden scepter to Esther, and Esther rose and
stood before the king. She said, If it pleases
the king, and if I have won his favor, and if
the thing seems right before the king, and I
have his approval, let an order be written to
revoke the letters devised by Haman son of
Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote
giving orders to destroy the Jews who are in
all the provinces of the king. For how can I
bear to see the calamity that is coming on my
people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred? Then King Ahasuerus
said to Queen Esther and to the Jew Mordecai, See, I have given Esther the house of
Haman, and they have hanged him on the
gallows, because he plotted to lay hands on
the Jews. You may write as you please with
regard to the Jews, in the name of the king,

and seal it with the kings ring; for an edict
written in the name of the king and sealed
with the kings ring cannot be revoked.
The kings secretaries were summoned
at that time, in the third month, which is the
month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and
an edict was written, according to all that
Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the
satraps and the governors and the ocials
of the provinces from India to Ethiopia,a one
hundred twenty-seven provinces, to every
province in its own script and to every people
in its own language, and also to the Jews in
their script and their language. He wrote
letters in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed
them with the kings ring, and sent them by
mounted couriers riding on fast steeds bred
from the royal herd.b By these letters the
king allowed the Jews who were in every
city to assemble and defend their lives, to
destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed
force of any people or province that might
attack them, with their children and women,
and to plunder their goods on a single day
throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth
month, which is the month of Adar. A copy
of the writ was to be issued as a decree in
every province and published to all peoples,
and the Jews were to be ready on that day to
take revenge on their enemies. So the couriers, mounted on their swift royal steeds, hurried out, urged by the kings command. The
decree was issued in the citadel of Susa.
Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king, wearing royal robes of blue
religious as well as political reasons. 910: Gallows, see 2.23n. Poetic justice prevails (cf. Prov 26.27).
8.117: Mordecai rises to power and counteracts the anti-Jewish edict. Reversals abound in this chapter
(see 1 Sam 2.110). 1: In 3.9, Haman oered the king money; now the king gives Hamans wealth to Esther. 2:
Hamans exalted position becomes Mordecais with the transfer of the kings signet ring (see v. 8; 3.10n). 3: The
edict against the Jews still stands. 5: Devised by Haman, Esther diplomatically dissociates the king from the
royal edict. 8: The kings earlier edict cannot be revoked (see 1.19n.), but a new edict can neutralize the formers
intent. 9: The verse follows the same general structure as 3.1213 (see 1.1922) while reversing the eect. Sivan,
May-June. Language, see 1.22n. 11: Allowed, not commanded. Destroy . . . annihilate (the same wording appears
in 3.13). The hyperbolic style and the paern of reversals and retribution, rather than any real historical event,
account for the excess of bloodshed to come (9.516). 12: The date of the intended extermination (3.7,13) becomes a day of triumph and relates to the Purim festival (see 9.21). Adar, February-March. 14: See 1.22n. Citadel
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esther 9
and white, with a great golden crown and a
mantle of ne linen and purple, while the
city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. For the
Jews there was light and gladness, joy and
honor. In every province and in every city,
wherever the kings command and his edict
came, there was gladness and joy among the
Jews, a festival and a holiday. Furthermore,
many of the peoples of the country professed
to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had
fallen upon them.
Now in the twelfth month, which is the
month of Adar, on the thirteenth day,
when the kings command and edict were
about to be executed, on the very day when
the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain power
over them, but which had been changed to
a day when the Jews would gain power over
their foes, the Jews gathered in their cities
throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who had sought
their ruin; and no one could withstand them,
because the fear of them had fallen upon all
peoples. All the ocials of the provinces,
the satraps and the governors, and the royal
ocials were supporting the Jews, because
the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them.
For Mordecai was powerful in the kings
house, and his fame spread throughout all
the provinces as the man Mordecai grew
more and more powerful. So the Jews struck
down all their enemies with the sword,
slaughtering, and destroying them, and did
as they pleased to those who hated them.
In the citadel of Susa the Jews killed and
destroyed ve hundred people. They killed

Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha,
Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai,
Vaizatha, the ten sons of Haman son of
Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews; but
they did not touch the plunder.
That very day the number of those killed
in the citadel of Susa was reported to the
king. The king said to Queen Esther, In
the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed ve
hundred people and also the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the
kings provinces? Now what is your petition?
It shall be granted you. And what further is
your request? It shall be fullled. Esther
said, If it pleases the king, let the Jews who
are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do
according to this days edict, and let the ten
sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.
So the king commanded this to be done; a
decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons
of Haman were hanged. The Jews who were
in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day
of the month of Adar and they killed three
hundred persons in Susa; but they did not
touch the plunder.
Now the other Jews who were in the
kings provinces also gathered to defend their
lives, and gained relief from their enemies,
and killed seventy-ve thousand of those
who hated them; but they laid no hands on
the plunder. This was on the thirteenth day
of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth
day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness.
of Susa, see 1.2n. 1517: Mordecais aire contrasts with 4.1, as the Jews mourning in 4.14 turns to joy. 16: Light
and gladness, joy and honor contrast with 4.3. 17: Professed to be Jews, this translation is possible, but the Heb
may simply mean that Gentiles joined the Jews in their resistance (see 9.3), not that they converted to Judaism.
An earlier version of the book may have ended here with no mention of the festival.
9.110.3: The origins of Purim. 9.119: The Jews triumph over their enemies. 1: A reminder that the kings
edict against the Jews still stands; the terms of the second edict allow the Jews to defend themselves. Adar,
February-March. 24: The Jews victory is described in language reminiscent of holy war, the Exodus, and the
conquest of Canaan. Opposition to the Jews is implied by no one could withstand them (Josh 23.9). The fear
of them, a supernatural terror common in holy war (Ex 15.1416; Josh 2.812; Ps 105.38). 4: Mordecais power
resembles that of Moses (Ex 11.3). 6: Citadel of Susa, see 1.2n. 7-10: Haman boasted unwisely about his many
sons (5.11). Hebrew manuscripts arrange the names of Hamans ten sons in unusual formations. The names are
recited in a single breath during Purim synagogue services. 10: The note that the Jews did not plunder (as in
vv. 15,16; contrast 3.13 and 8.11) is a reminder of the Agag story (see 2.5; 3.1) where the Jews plundered to their
own hurt (1 Sam 15.9). 12-15: At Esthers request (5.3,6; 7.2) the king grants the Jews of Susa (as distinct from the
citadel of Susa) a second day of revenge and allows them to dishonor Haman further by hanging (impaling, see
2.23n.) the corpses of his sons in public (Josh 8.29; 10.26; 1 Sam 17.54; 31.10). Notice of the extra day is probably
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esther 10
But the Jews who were in Susa gathered
on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth,
and rested on the fteenth day, making that
a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore
the Jews of the villages, who live in the open
towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month
of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, a
holiday on which they send gifts of food to
one another.
Mordecai recorded these things, and
sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the
provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and
far, enjoining them that they should keep
the fourteenth day of the month Adar and
also the fteenth day of the same month,
year by year, as the days on which the Jews
gained relief from their enemies, and as the
month that had been turned for them from
sorrow into gladness and from mourning into
a holiday; that they should make them days
of feasting and gladness, days for sending
gifts of food to one another and presents to
the poor. So the Jews adopted as a custom
what they had begun to do, as Mordecai had
written to them.
Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite,
the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against
the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur
that is the lotto crush and destroy them;
but when Esther came before the king, he
gave orders in writing that the wicked plot
that he had devised against the Jews should
come upon his own head, and that he and
his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
Therefore these days are called Purim, from

the word Pur. Thus because of all that was
written in this letter, and of what they had
faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, the Jews established and accepted as a custom for themselves and their
descendants and all who joined them, that
without fail they would continue to observe
these two days every year, as it was written and at the time appointed. These days
should be remembered and kept throughout
every generation, in every family, province,
and city; and these days of Purim should
never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor
should the commemoration of these days
cease among their descendants.
Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along
with the Jew Mordecai, gave full written
authority, conrming this second letter about
Purim. Letters were sent wishing peace and
security to all the Jews, to the one hundred
twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of
Ahasuerus, and giving orders that these
days of Purim should be observed at their
appointed seasons, as the Jew Mordecai and
Queen Esther enjoined on the Jews, just as
they had laid down for themselves and for
their descendants regulations concerning
their fasts and their lamentations. The
command of Queen Esther xed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing.
King Ahasuerus laid tribute on the land
and on the islands of the sea. All the
acts of his power and might, and the full ac-
10
a device to explain why city Jews celebrated Purim for two days and country Jews only one (see vv. 1819). 1819:
Jews today observe Purim with feasting and gis of food (see 2.9, portion of food; Neh 8.10).
9.2032: The inauguration of the feast of Purim. The emphasis upon the wrien word, a particular concern
in postexilic Judaism, was probably intended to legitimize a festival not mentioned in the Torah (cf. the origin of
Hanukkah: 1 Macc 4.5659; 2 Macc 1.12.28; 10.18). 20: Near and far, Isa 57.19. 22: Purim occurs not on the day
of the Jews military triumph but on the day they obtained their relief. Sorrow into gladness, Isa 61.3; Jer 31.13. 23:
Ex 24.3. 2426: A plot summary that diers slightly from the book. Esthers name does not appear in the Heb
text of v. 25 and has been added by the translator. The festival came to be called Purim for the lot, Heb pur (pl.
purim), which Haman cast (see 3.7n.). 24: Crush (Heb hummam), a wordplay on Hamans name. 28: Remembered; commemoration, see Ex 13.3; 20.8. 2932: Probably added later. The Heb text is extremely corrupt and
the verses do not appear in some ancient versions. 30: Peace and security, the wording suggests Purim fullls
the prophecy of Zech 8.19 (see Isa 39.8; Jer 33.6) and therefore the humanly inaugurated festival is legitimate.
31: Fasts, not the Jewish Fast of Esther, which came to be universally observed on the thirteenth of Adar only
beginning in the ninth century ce. 32: Queen Esther is the only woman in the Bible credited with establishing
a religious observance.
10.13: Postscript: the greatness of Ahasuerus and Mordecai. 1: This seemingly irrelevant comment may
imply that the king prospered with Mordecais assistance (see Gen 47.126). 2: Wrien in the annals, a standard
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esther 10
count of the high honor of Mordecai, to which
the king advanced him, are they not written in
the annals of the kings of Media and Persia?
For Mordecai the Jew was next in rank to King
Ahasuerus, and he was powerful among the

Jews and popular with his many kindred, for
he sought the good of his people and interceded for the welfare of all his descendants.
formula for historical reports in Kings and Chronicles (1 Kings 14.19,29; 2 Chr 25.26; 32.32). 3: The book ends
without reference to Esther. Rather, Mordecai is the model of a successful Diaspora Jew and of Jews living harmoniously in the Gentile world.
INTRODUCTION TO THE
POETICAL AND WISDOM BOOKS
placement and contents
The poetical and wisdom books are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. The creation
of a canonical division called the Poetical Books is a relatively late development. In Jewish tradition these ve
books are included in the Writings, the third division of the canon; their order varies in dierent sources. The
earliest evidence for seeing these ve books as a unit comes from the second century ce, though it took many
centuries for these ve books, in the arrangement found here, to be recognized as the third section of the Bible.
The order of these books was variable, and some traditions placed them at the end of the Christian Old Testament, while others put them as the second part of that book immediately following the Torah or Pentateuch,
the rst ve books of the Bible. Its current placement in English Bibles follows some manuscript traditions,
which most likely sought to organize the rst section of the Bible by placing the Torah, the most authoritative
section, rst, followed by works about the past (the Historical Books), books about the present (the Poetical
Books), and books about the future (the Prophetic Books). This arrangement, which places the prophets last,
would be especially signicant once the Hebrew Bible became the Old Testament and was seen as an introduction to the New Testament. The Prophetic Books would then immediately precede the Gospels as prophecy
followed by fulllment.
The ve Poetical Books were wrien or collected at widely dierent times and consist of a number of literary types: love poetry (the Song of Solomon), Temple liturgy (most of Psalms), and wisdom literature (Job,
Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes). It is also likely that they entered the canon for quite dierent reasons: Psalms was
used for prayers; the Song of Solomon was probably rst canonized as an ancient love poem used in wedding
ceremonies; while Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes may have been placed together in the canon because all three
belong to a category of writings known as wisdom literature. These books thus do not form a coherent unit,
especially when compared to other canonical divisions, such as the Historical Books or the Prophetic Books.
Wisdom literature describes works that share, as their focus, reection on universal human concerns,
especially the understanding of individual experiences and the maintenance of ordered relationships that lead
both to success on the human plane and to divine approval. Books classied by scholars as wisdom literature
are thus in some ways a departure from the concerns of other biblical books. They do not focus primarily on
the nation of Israel and on its great formative historical memories, such as the Exodus from Egypt, on Jerusalem
and the Temple. They do not mention covenant, as the central theological notion that elsewhere in the Bible
binds together God, the people of Israel, and the land of Israel. In more recent scholarship, the concept of
wisdom has been criticized as too elastic and amorphous. Indeed, the three wisdom books in this collection
are remarkably dierent from one another: Proverbs suggests that the righteous are rewarded and do not suffer; the book of Job profoundly challenges this view; while Ecclesiastes, in contrast to both Job and Proverbs,
is deeply skeptical of the utility of wisdom. We must recognize that wisdom is a modern category, deriving from the beginning of the twentieth century, and thus Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes were not originally
grouped together on generic grounds. On the other hand, they share a thematic interdependence. Proverbs is
representative of a type of ancient Near Eastern thought that looked for paern and repetition in nature and in
the moral life. In this tradition, the regular recurrence of natural phenomena could provide an analogy to guide
human beings in their social interactions:
As charcoal is to hot embers and wood to re,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife (Prov 26.21).
The inevitability of the natural occurrence is mirrored in the inevitability of the social one. This kind of thinking
then was extended to moral behavior, with the argument that good behavior, like good farming practice, will
be rewarded:
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introduction to the poetical and wisdom books

Anyone who tends a g tree will eat its fruit,
and anyone who takes care of a master will be honored (Prov 27.18).
Job and Ecclesiastes relate to this widespread ancient Near Eastern tradition in dierent ways. Job denies the
inevitability of rewards for living an upright life and decisively refutes the idea that human suering is always
deserved. Ecclesiastes treats the idea of inevitability in a dierent way: The natural repetitions of seasons,
tasks, and occupations become an image of futility, in which people are like sh taken in a cruel net, and like
birds caught in a snare (9.12), powerless to understand their own destiny. The themes of the wisdom tradition
are continued in the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books of the Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), both of which combine didactic themes and style familiar especially from the book of Proverbs with
retrospective summaries of Israels history.
Although these ve books are loosely described as Poetical Books, they are not all poetry, nor are all biblical poetic works found in this canonical section. Although Ecclesiastes contains some poetical sections, such
as the poem of 3.18 (For everything there is a season), or quoted poetic proverbs (e.g., 7.16), the book is
predominantly prose. Additionally, the nature of the poetry in these books is very dierent, ranging from the
highly structured, largely static poetry of Proverbs, to the intensely erotic, more free-owing poetry of Song
of Solomon.
the characteristics of biblical poetry

These books do, as noted above, incorporate a large amount of poetry, so it is appropriate to here examine the
basic structures of biblical poetry. Poetry is a cross-cultural phenomenon: Most cultures distinguish between
an everyday type of discourse (prose), and heightened discourse (poetry). This heightening may be accomplished in a number of dierent ways, including the use of guration (e.g., metaphor, simile), meter, and certain
types of sound paerning, such as alliteration and rhyme. Yet there is no cross-cultural paern for poetry. Thus
Hebrew poetry, unlike its classical English counterpart, has neither (true) rhythm nor rhyme; nevertheless, it
is poetic in that it uses certain devices in signicant enough concentration to distinguish it from everyday
speech, or prose. The prose-poetry distinction is relative rather than absolute; as in English, we may speak of
poetic prose and prosaic poetry. Thus, pure prose and pure poetry should be seen as opposites on a continuum, within which a large variety of possibilities occur in the Bible as in other literary traditions.
The main shared characteristic between typical English poetry and biblical poetry is the use of guration.
This may be seen, for example, in Ps 23. The central image of this psalm is introduced by the metaphor, The
Lord is my shepherd (v. 1). The following verses unpack or detail the meaning of this metaphor, noting in vv.
23 how God, the ideal shepherd, tends his people/sheep:
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his names sake.
Psalm 1 is characterized by a set of two contrasting similes: the righteous
. . . are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither (v. 3),
while the wicked are like cha that the wind drives away (v. 4). The Song of Solomon is especially rich in
similes and metaphors, as in the beginning of ch 2:
I am a rose of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.
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As a lily among brambles,
so is my love among maidens.
As an apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my beloved among young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
The main characteristic of biblical poetry, nevertheless, is not guration, but parallelism, in which most poetic
lines may be divided into two (or sometimes three) parts; the second part of the line is intimately connected to
the rst part, and typically seconds it in some way. For example, Ps 6.2 reads:
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.
The verse clearly divides into two more or less equal sections, and each element in the rst part is mirrored,
seconded, or paralleled in the second: Be gracious to me || heal me; O Lord || O Lord; for I am languishing || for
my bones are shaking with terror. This parallelism, which is not typical of biblical prose, serves as the backbone
of biblical poetry.
Since the eighteenth century, it has been customary to see three main types of parallelism in the Bible:
synonymous, antithetical, and synthetic. The quotation above from Ps 6.2 is an example of synonymous parallelism. Antithetical parallelism can be seen in Prov 10.1:
A wise child makes a glad father,
but a foolish child is a mothers grief.
In this balanced, two-part line, a wise child is antithetical, or opposite, to a foolish child, and makes a glad
father is antithetical to is a mothers grief. In synthetic parallelism, the second part of the line completes
the thought of the rst part, and is neither the same nor the oppositeboth parts are needed to complete the
thought. For example, Song 1.9 reads:
I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaohs chariots.
Here the second part concludes the idea of the rst.
The appropriateness of the three labelssynonymous, antithetical, and syntheticwhich were accepted
in biblical scholarship for two centuries, has been called into question on several grounds. First, some have
noted that languages have no true synonyms; thus synonymous parallelism is a misleading term. Furthermore, very oen two parallel words can be similar, but are not truly synonymous, as may be seen in the example
from Ps 6.2: I am languishing || my bones are shaking with terror. The term antithetical parallelism has been
questioned because not all elements of part B are the antithesis of part A. This may be seen in the example from
Prov 10.1, where child is used in both parts A and B; a true antithesis might contrast a wise child with a foolish parent. Finally, synthetic has been criticized as too vague a term. These criticisms are fair. Nevertheless,
the three terms, if understood as ideal types from which actual lines may deviate to a greater or lesser extent,
remain useful.
A much more serious criticism of the classical model emerged in the middle 1980s. Before that, many scholars believed that parallelism is formulaic, and the second half of the poetic line typically adds lile to the line,
but merely seconds it. Several scholars have suggested just the opposite, that the second part heightens or
extends the rst. Thus, the typical biblical verse should be read A, and even more so, B. According to this
model, which has gained substantial support in the last three decades, we would not read Ps 6.2b, O Lord,
heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror as a type of ller that merely restates Be gracious to me, O
Lord, for I am languishing. Rather we would understand the verse as a whole as: Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for I am languishing, and moreover, O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror, where the claim
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for my bones are shaking with terror is a more vivid description that intensies the verses opening for I am
languishing. Sometimes it is quite clear that the second part of the verse does not merely parallel the rst
but does go beyond it in some signicant fashion, and thus justies this newer model. Yet there are cases in
which the second part actually does seem to function as a ller, carrying lile if any semantic weight, let alone
intensifying the rst. For example, the major image of Ps 121 is the ability of God to protect the individual. This
is expressed at the psalms center, where God is imagined metaphorically as a shade (v. 5) from the intense
Mediterranean sun. The psalm continues (v. 6): The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
Clearly, the second part, nor the moon by night is not an intensication; in fact, it makes no sense, since no
one in ancient Israel was aicted with moonburn or moonstroke. The second part here is a(n antithetical) ller
and carries no semantic weight. It should be seen as part of an ancient Near Eastern and biblical paern of
word pairs, where a particular word (e.g., sun or father) automatically evokes a related (synonymous or
antithetical) word (e.g., moon or mother).
Thus, parallelism is much more complicated than would appear on the surface. Clearly it is characterized by sets
of lines, each of which may be divided into two parts, typically of the same length and mirroring each other on the
semantic, syntactic, and phonological levels. It is unclear if the second should typically be read as an intensication
of the rst, or as a ller that carries lile or no semantic value. This uncertainty is extremely frustrating, not only
because it leaves us unsure how to read much of biblical poetry, especially the extent to which we do or do not need
to pay close aention to the second half of the line, but also because our understanding of biblical poetry will affect our reconstruction of many Israelite institutions. To return to Prov 10.1A wise child makes a glad father, but
a foolish child is a mothers griefif we follow the older understanding of parallelism, the second half is largely a
ller, indicating that the father had the major role in the childs upbringing in ancient Israel, while if we follow the
newer understanding, where the second intensies the rst, the mother was primarily responsible for the child.
Another area that has engendered signicant controversy over the last few decades concerns the extent
to which meter or rhythm existed in biblical poetry. Much of this debate concerns the denition of meter. In
English and other modern Western languages, meter is generally understood as a paern of stressed and unstressed syllables; if this is how we should understand it in biblical poetic texts, these texts in their current form
lack meter or rhythm. Metrical paerns can only be found in biblical texts if they are emended or reconstructed
extensively. There is, however, a tendency for the parts of each line, in most poetic works, to be approximately
the same length. There is some possibility that this reects the remnant of some metrical system, and that at
an earlier time, each part had not only the same length, but the same meter, but this paern of stressed and unstressed syllables has been lost as a result of changes in the pronunciation of ancient Hebrew over time. More
likely, the similarity of length is part of the larger system of parallelism, which encouraged each part to mirror
its counterpart in length, as well as in semantic, syntactic, and phonological structure.
Scholars have until recently been primarily concerned with the line as the main unit of biblical poetry. This is
not really surprising, given how foreign biblical parallelism is to the modern Western (but not the ancient Near
Eastern) ear. This interest in the line has obscured the signicance of the strophe or stanza and of the poem as a
whole. But the last few decades have seen a legitimate return to these larger units. For example, it had become
a habit when studying passages like Job 3 to concentrate solely on the parallelism of lines like v. 5:
Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.
Let clouds sele upon it;
let the blackness of the day terrify it.
Now, in addition to this type of analysis, scholars study how the poet uses images of day and night, light and
darkness, throughout the chapter, in order to create this exquisite poem. This is not, however, an either/or
proposition: By studying how the individual line functions as poetry and how these lines join together (sometimes) into stanzas, which combine into complete poems, we gain a much fuller appreciation and understanding of these Poetical Books.
authorship
At least four of the ve Poetical Books cohere in terms of their traditional authorship. Many of the Psalms contain superscriptions or titles incorporating of David, and many early Jewish and Christian traditions aribute
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all 150 of the Psalms to David. Proverbs 1.1 (The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel), 10.1, and
25.1 explicitly aribute (sections of) that book to Solomon. Ecclesiastes, in its opening chapter, presents itself
as the work of the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem (1.12; cf. 1.1); premodern Jewish and Christian
tradition understood this royal teacher to be Solomon, who is described in 1 Kings as being exceedingly rich,
just like the protagonist of Ecclesiastes. Finally, the Song of Solomon opens with an explicit (but secondary)
note concerning its author: the Song of Songs, which is Solomons. Given the clear connection of Psalms,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon to David and Solomon, it is not surprising that some early Christian interpreters connected Job as well to the period of Solomon. This canonical division of ve books thus
likely came into being as the compilations connected to the early kings David and his son Solomon, and was
only secondarily labeled the Poetical Books. The traditional aributions of authorship, however, have been
rejected by modern scholars; see the Introduction to each book for a detailed discussion.
JOB
The book bears the name of its principal character, Job, a righteous man who is aicted by God, apparently
unjustly, and who demands restitution. In Jewish tradition the book of Job belongs with the poetical books in
the division called the Writings (Ketubim). Printed Hebrew Bibles place Job aer Psalms and Proverbs, although
other positions are found in earlier Hebrew manuscripts and lists. In older Christian Bibles, Job was sometimes
placed with the historical books and sometimes with the poetical books; but its consistent place now is as the
rst of the poetical books, preceding Psalms.
authorship, date of composition, and historical context

The book is anonymous, and it oers few clues to its historical context or date of composition. Most scholars
would date it between the seventh and fourth centuries bce, but its story is set in much older times.
literary history, structure, and contents

Many scholars have proposed that the prose prologue and epilogue reect a tale about Job older than the
poetic dialogues. In the sixth century bce the prophet Ezekiel mentions Job, along with Noah, the hero of the
Flood story (Gen 69), and Danel, as heroes who saved others by their righteousness (Ezek 14.14,20).
The frame of the book is the prose prologue and epilogue (chs 12; 42.717). Within that frame are the poetic
dialogues: rst, three cycles of speeches by Job and his friends (chs 331) plus the Elihu speeches (chs 3237),
and second, two speeches by the Lord, each followed by a response from Job (38.142.6). The third cycle of
speeches by Job and his friends presents many problems, and it is possible that the original order of the book
is no longer correctly preserved. It has also commonly been thought that the speeches of Elihu (chs 3237) and
the poem on wisdom (ch 28) are later additions to the books rst edition, but a tendency among scholars to
regard the book as a unied whole is becoming noticeable.
interpretation
The book of Job is perhaps the most sustained piece of theological writing in the Hebrew Bible, and it is unique
in the Bible for its sympathetic portrayal of diering theological points of view. The theme of the book is often described as the problem of suering, but it is rather that of the injustice of undeserved suering. By the
standards of his day, Jobs suering can only be a sign that he is a great sinner; resisting that implication, he
demands that God explain why he, a righteous man, is being so badly treated. More than that, he reasons that
his case shows that God is not governing the world in justice, and he argues that the prosperity of the wicked
and the suering of the righteous in general are further evidence of Gods neglect of justice. When he replies to
Job, God speaks only of his designs in creating the universe and does not mention the issue of justice, no doubt
implying that Job is right, that justice is not a primary divine concern.
Among the books of the Bible, Job is highly unusual, and, unsurprisingly, its force has oen been misunderstood or evaded. In the older history of interpretation, the book was commonly viewed as a repository of wise
sayings, and its overall theme was lile appreciated. In our own time, it is recognized as a major work of world
literature, capable of diverse interpretations.
guide to reading
The chapters most essential for understanding the narrative and the argument are: chs 12 (the prologue);
311 (the rst cycle of dialogues between Job and the friends); 2931 (Jobs nal speech); 38.142.6 (the divine
speeches, with Jobs responses); 42.717 (the epilogue).
David J. A. Clines
726 | hebrew bible
job 1
There was once a man in the land of

Uz whose name was Job. That man was
blameless and upright, one who feared God
and turned away from evil. There were born
to him seven sons and three daughters. He
had seven thousand sheep, three thousand
camels, ve hundred yoke of oxen, ve hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so
that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold
feasts in one anothers houses in turn; and
they would send and invite their three sisters
to eat and drink with them. And when the
feast days had run their course, Job would
send and sanctify them, and he would rise
early in the morning and oer burnt oerings
according to the number of them all; for Job
said, It may be that my children have sinned,
and cursed God in their hearts. This is what
Job always did.
One day the heavenly beingsa came to
present themselves before the Lord, and
Satanb also came among them. The Lord
said to Satan,b Where have you come
from? Satanb answered the Lord, From
going to and fro on the earth, and from
walking up and down on it. The Lord said
to Satan,b Have you considered my servant
Job? There is no one like him on the earth,
a blameless and upright man who fears God
and turns away from evil. Then Satanb
answered the Lord, Does Job fear God for
nothing? Have you not put a fence around
him and his house and all that he has, on
every side? You have blessed the work of his
hands, and his possessions have increased
in the land. But stretch out your hand
now, and touch all that he has, and he will

curse you to your face. The Lord said to
Satan,b Very well, all that he has is in your
power; only do not stretch out your hand
against him! So Satanb went out from the
presence of the Lord.
One day when his sons and daughters
were eating and drinking wine in the eldest
brothers house, a messenger came to Job
and said, The oxen were plowing and the
donkeys were feeding beside them, and
the Sabeans fell on them and carried them
off, and killed the servants with the edge of
the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.
While he was still speaking, another came
and said, The fire of God fell from heaven
and burned up the sheep and the servants,
and consumed them; I alone have escaped
to tell you. While he was still speaking,
another came and said, The Chaldeans
formed three columns, made a raid on the
camels and carried them off, and killed
the servants with the edge of the sword;
I alone have escaped to tell you. While
he was still speaking, another came and
said, Your sons and daughters were eating
and drinking wine in their eldest brothers
house, and suddenly a great wind came
across the desert, struck the four corners of
the house, and it fell on the young people,
a Heb sons of God

b Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
1.12.13: Prologue. The prose prologue contains ve scenes, artistically arranged: the rst, third, and h
scenes (1.15,1322; 2.713) take place on earth, the second and fourth (1.612; 2.16) in heaven. All the earthly characters, including Job, remain ignorant throughout the book of what takes place on the heavenly plane.
1.15: The nave language, in the style of a folktale, evokes a distant past. The land of Uz is Edom, southeast of
Israel (cf. Jer 25.20; Lam 4.21). Job is not an Israelite; but he is a worshiper of the true God, although he, along
with his friends, calls him El, Eloah, and Elohim (all meaning God), and Shadday (the Almighty),
not Yahweh (the Lord). 2: Seven sons, a perfect number. 4: Hold feasts . . . in turn, lit. each on his day,
presumably on birthdays. 5: Cursed, the Heb text has the word blessed here, apparently as a euphemism or
pious scribal correction (so also in 1.11; 2.5,9; see also 1 Kings 21.13). 612: The gathering of the divine council
in heaven (cf. 1 Kings 22.1922; Ps 82.1) includes the Satan, i.e., the adversary of Job and other humans (cf.
Zech 3.1), not of God; he is not the devil of later Jewish and Christian literature (see textual note b). Here he
acts as Gods eyes and ears on earth. He questions whether Jobs righteousness is for its own sake or for the
sake of its reward. 1322: Four messengers announce four disasters, from all directions: Sabeans come from
the south (Sheba), Chaldeans from the north, the lightning (re of God) from the west, with storms sweeping
hebrew bible | 727
job 2
and they are dead; I alone have escaped to
tell you.
Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his
head, and fell on the ground and worshiped.
He said, Naked I came from my mothers
womb, and naked shall I return there; the
Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord.
In all this Job did not sin or charge God
with wrongdoing.
One day the heavenly beingsa came to
present themselves before the Lord, and
Satanb also came among them to present
himself before the Lord. The Lord said to
Satan,b Where have you come from? Satanc
answered the Lord, From going to and fro
on the earth, and from walking up and down
on it. The Lord said to Satan,b Have you
considered my servant Job? There is no
one like him on the earth, a blameless and
upright man who fears God and turns away
from evil. He still persists in his integrity,
although you incited me against him, to
destroy him for no reason. Then Satanb
answered the Lord, Skin for skin! All that
people have they will give to save their lives.d
But stretch out your hand now and touch
his bone and his esh, and he will curse
you to your face. The Lord said to Satan,b
Very well, he is in your power; only spare
his life.
So Satanb went out from the presence of
the Lord, and inicted loathsome sores on
Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of

his head. Jobe took a potsherd with which to
scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.
Then his wife said to him, Do you still
persist in your integrity? Cursef God, and
die. But he said to her, You speak as any
foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive
the good at the hand of God, and not receive
the bad? In all this Job did not sin with his
lips.
Now when Jobs three friends heard of
all these troubles that had come upon him,
each of them set out from his homeEliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and
Zophar the Naamathite. They met together
to go and console and comfort him. When
they saw him from a distance, they did not
recognize him, and they raised their voices
and wept aloud; they tore their robes and
threw dust in the air upon their heads.
They sat with him on the ground seven
days and seven nights, and no one spoke a
word to him, for they saw that his suering
was very great.
a
b
c
d
e
f
Heb sons of God

Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
Or The Accuser; Heb ha-satan
Or All that the man has he will give for his life
Heb He
Heb Bless
in from the Mediterranean, the great wind from the eastern desert. 21: Job praises the Lord for both good and
evil, proving Gods condence in him justied. The mothers womb to which Job will return is that of mother
earth (cf. Gen 3.19). 2.16: Now again in the heavenly council, the Lord remarks that Job still persists in his integrity, i.e., continues blameless as ever. 4: Skin for skin! Job has saved his own skin by piously accepting the death
of his children; if God now aacks Job himself, Job will aack God, by cursing him (see 1.5n.). 713: The fourth
scene dissolves into the h: God authorizes the suering, and immediately the Satan aicts Job. 7: Loathsome sores, some unspecied skin disease (cf. 7.5; 30.30). 8: To express his sense of desolation and isolation,
Job removes himself from society and sits on the rubbish heap outside his city, performing rituals of mourning
(cf. Ezek 27.30; Jon 3.6). He uses broken pieces of poery he nds there to scratch himself to relieve the itchiness. 9: The outcome of all Jobs piety has been to rob his wife of her ten children, her social standing, and her
livelihood. When she urges him to curse God (see 1.5n.), and so bring his misery to an end with death, he mildly
replies that she is speaking like any foolish woman, i.e., low-class, irreligious women, abandoning their familys
standards of formal and proper behavior. Job did not sin with his lips, it is not implied that he sinned in what he
thought. Job has disproved the Satans claim that Job would sin with his lips by cursing God. 1113: Job, being a
chieain of great importance (1.3), has other high-ranking friends. These three, all apparently from other towns
in Edom, have kindly intentions toward him, but when they see how badly he is suering they do not oer him
any consolation, but treat him as if he were already dead, throwing dust . . . upon their heads, a mourning ritual
(see Josh 7.6; Lam 2.10), and silently mourning him seven days and seven nights (see Gen 50.10; Sir 22.12).
728 | hebrew bible
job 3
After this Job opened his mouth and

cursed the day of his birth. Job said:
Let the day perish in which I was born,
and the night that said,
A man-child is conceived.
Let that day be darkness!
May God above not seek it,
or light shine on it.
Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.
Let clouds settle upon it;
let the blackness of the day terrify it.
That nightlet thick darkness seize it!
let it not rejoice among the days of the
year;
let it not come into the number of the
months.
Yes, let that night be barren;
let no joyful cry be hearda in it.
Let those curse it who curse the Sea,b
those who are skilled to rouse up
Leviathan.
Let the stars of its dawn be dark;
let it hope for light, but have none;
may it not see the eyelids of the
morning
because it did not shut the doors of my
mothers womb,
and hide trouble from my eyes.
Why did I not die at birth,

come forth from the womb and expire?
Why were there knees to receive me,
or breasts for me to suck?

Now I would be lying down and quiet;
I would be asleep; then I would be at
rest
with kings and counselors of the earth
who rebuild ruins for themselves,
or with princes who have gold,
who ll their houses with silver.
Or why was I not buried like a stillborn
child,
like an infant that never sees the light?
There the wicked cease from troubling,
and there the weary are at rest.
There the prisoners are at ease together;
they do not hear the voice of the
taskmaster.
The small and the great are there,
and the slaves are free from their
masters.
Why is light given to one in misery,
and life to the bitter in soul,
who long for death, but it does not come,
and dig for it more than for hidden
treasures;
who rejoice exceedingly,
and are glad when they nd the grave?
Why is light given to one who cannot see
the way,
a Heb come
b Cn: Heb day
3.142.6: The dialogues.

3.111.20: First cycle of speeches.
3.126: Jobs rst speech. Aer the grandeur and deliberateness of the prologue (chs 12), the reader is
suddenly plunged into the dramatic turmoil of the poem (3.142.6); the external description of suering gives
way to Jobs inner experience. Its three strophes express a wish he had never been born (vv. 310); failing that,
a wish he had died at birth (vv. 1119); failing that, a wish that he, and people suering as he does, could simply
die when they are ready (vv. 2026). 310: A curse naturally concerns the future, and a curse on the day of his
birth (cf. Jer 20.1418) is a futile curse, for the past cannot be changed. Job wishes that the day of his birth and
conception (viewed poetically as one event) could have been blacked out (vv. 46a) so that it would not have
entered into the calendar of the year (vv. 6b,c); he wishes that the sorcerers who put a curse on days could have
made it one of the unlucky days, in which it would have been impossible for his parents to have conceived him
or for his mother to have given birth to him (vv. 8a,10a). 8: Some ancient magicians obviously believed they
could rouse up Leviathan, the sea-monster (cf. Ps 104.26; Isa 27.1) and dragon of chaos (see 7.12; Ps 74.1314),
who would perhaps swallow up the sun, so causing the darkness of eclipse. 1119: If he had to be born, why
could he not have died at birth (v. 11a) or, at least, have been stillborn (v. 16)? Death has for him now become
sweeter than life, and he compares the quiet peacefulness of the underworld (Sheol; cf. Eccl 6.35; Sir 30.3) to
his present troubled and anxious lot (vv. 1319). 14. Near Eastern kings frequently boasted that they had rebuilt
famous ruined cities. 2026: Now Job not only asks why he himself has to go on living, but why people in general cannot simply die when they want to (vv. 2023). 23: Previously, Gods hedge of protection about his life (cf.
hebrew bible | 729
job 4
whom God has fenced in?
For my sighing comes likea my bread,
and my groanings are poured out like
water.
Truly the thing that I fear comes upon
me,
and what I dread befalls me.
I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
I have no rest; but trouble comes.
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

If one ventures a word with you, will
you be oended?
But who can keep from speaking?
See, you have instructed many;
you have strengthened the weak hands.
Your words have supported those who
were stumbling,
and you have made rm the feeble
knees.
But now it has come to you, and you are
impatient;
it touches you, and you are dismayed.
Is not your fear of God your condence,
and the integrity of your ways your
hope?
Think now, who that was innocent ever

perished?
Or where were the upright cut o ?
As I have seen, those who plow iniquity
and sow trouble reap the same.
By the breath of God they perish,
and by the blast of his anger they are
consumed.
The roar of the lion, the voice of the
erce lion,
and the teeth of the young lions are
broken.
The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,

and the whelps of the lioness are
scattered.
Now a word came stealing to me,
my ear received the whisper of it.
Amid thoughts from visions of the
night,
when deep sleep falls on mortals,
dread came upon me, and trembling,
which made all my bones shake.
A spirit glided past my face;
the hair of my esh bristled.
It stood still,
but I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
there was silence, then I heard a voice:
Can mortals be righteous beforeb God?
Can human beings be pure beforeb their
Maker?
Even in his servants he puts no trust,
and his angels he charges with error;
how much more those who live in
houses of clay,
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth.
Between morning and evening they are
destroyed;
they perish forever without any
regarding it.
Their tent-cord is plucked up within
them,
and they die devoid of wisdom.
a Heb before
b Or more than
1.10) had ensured his well-being; but now that he wants to die, Gods preservation of his life seems an articial
prolongation of his misery, and the hedge has become a prison wall rather than a wall of defense. 26: Unlike the
restfulness of the underworld, which is what he desires, his life has no rest, but only trouble.
4.15.27: Eliphazs rst speech. Eliphaz regards Job as a pious man and urges him not to lose heart, since the
innocent never nally suer. Even the pious are not perfect, however, and may experience reproof and discipline (5.17); but they will soon come to an end (4.6). 4.26: Eliphaz is not scornful in reminding Job how he has
comforted others; he believes that Jobs good deeds are a reason why God will soon restore him. 711: Eliphaz
describes the fate of the wicked, as a contrast to what Job can expect since he is not one of them. 8: Cf. Hos
10.13; Gal 6.7. 10: Cf. Ps 58.6. 1221: However, not even the angels are perfect (v. 18), still less the righteous (v. 17;
cf. 15.1416; 25.46). They are mere mortals, who, unlike the angels, can expire within a single day (v. 20a) and
be so insignicant that they can die without anyone noticing (v. 20b) and without their ever aaining wisdom
(v. 21b). Eliphazs dream or waking vision terried him because of its supernatural source, but the message it
730 | hebrew bible
job 5
Call now; is there anyone who will

answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Surely vexation kills the fool,
and jealousy slays the simple.
I have seen fools taking root,
but suddenly I cursed their dwelling.
Their children are far from safety,
they are crushed in the gate,
and there is no one to deliver them.
The hungry eat their harvest,
and they take it even out of the thorns;a
and the thirstyb pant after their wealth.
For misery does not come from the earth,
nor does trouble sprout from the
ground;
but human beings are born to trouble
just as sparksc y upward.
As for me, I would seek God,

and to God I would commit my cause.
He does great things and unsearchable,
marvelous things without number.
He gives rain on the earth
and sends waters on the elds;
he sets on high those who are lowly,
and those who mourn are lifted to
safety.
He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
He takes the wise in their own craftiness;
and the schemes of the wily are brought
to a quick end.
They meet with darkness in the daytime,
and grope at noonday as in the night.
But he saves the needy from the sword of
their mouth,
from the hand of the mighty.
So the poor have hope,

and injustice shuts its mouth.
How happy is the one whom God
reproves;
therefore do not despise the discipline
of the Almighty.d
For he wounds, but he binds up;
he strikes, but his hands heal.
He will deliver you from six troubles;
in seven no harm shall touch you.
In famine he will redeem you from
death,
and in war from the power of the
sword.
You shall be hidden from the scourge of
the tongue,
and shall not fear destruction when it
comes.
At destruction and famine you shall
laugh,
and shall not fear the wild animals of
the earth.
For you shall be in league with the
stones of the eld,
and the wild animals shall be at peace
with you.
You shall know that your tent is safe,
you shall inspect your fold and miss
nothing.
You shall know that your descendants
will be many,
a
b
c
d

Aquila Symmachus Syr Vg: Heb snare
Or birds; Heb sons of Resheph
brought was obvious. Appeals to revelatory experience are unusual in wisdom books, but see 33.1518. 5.17:
Suering, in fact, has to be expected. Not believing that Job really wants to die (as in ch 3), Eliphaz assumes Job
is hoping to escape his suering. But that is wishful thinking, for suering is natural for humans; they always
bring trouble upon themselves (v. 7 may be beer translated Humans beget suering for themselves). Even
the angels (the holy ones, v. 1) cannot prevent the cycle of cause and eect when humans sin and bring punishment upon themselves. The fools whose vexation or resentment and jealousy bring them to ruin are a case in
point (cf. Prov 12.16; 14.30; Sir 30.24). 816: As in 4.26, Eliphaz regards Job as an essentially pious man, who
should patiently leave his cause, or case, in divine hands (v. 8), since God is a great reverser of fortunes (vv. 11
16). 1015: The destructive acts of God (vv. 1214) are enclosed within the frame of his saving acts (vv. 1011,15),
so the chief eect of this picture of Gods working is to give hope to the poor (v. 16; contrast Lk 1.5153). 1727:
Eliphaz interprets Jobs suering as Gods disciplining (cf. Ps 94.12; Prov 3.1112; Hos 6.1), which is a blessing in
itself (v. 17) and that he who wounds is he who soothes the sore (v. 18, jb). Job must only recognize and not
reject (despise, v. 17) Gods discipline, and apply it to yourself (v. 27, niv).
hebrew bible | 731
job 6
and your ospring like the grass of the
earth.
You shall come to your grave in ripe old
age,
as a shock of grain comes up to the
threshing oor in its season.
See, we have searched this out; it is true.
Hear, and know it for yourself.
And what is my end, that I should be

patient?
Is my strength the strength of stones,
or is my esh bronze?
In truth I have no help in me,
and any resource is driven from me.
Those who withholdc kindness from a
friend
forsake the fear of the Almighty.a
My companions are treacherous like a
torrent-bed,
like freshets that pass away,
that run dark with ice,
turbid with melting snow.
In time of heat they disappear;
when it is hot, they vanish from their
place.
The caravans turn aside from their
course;
they go up into the waste, and perish.
The caravans of Tema look,
the travelers of Sheba hope.
They are disappointed because they
were condent;
they come there and are confounded.
Such you have now become to me;d
you see my calamity, and are afraid.
Have I said, Make me a gift?
Or, From your wealth oer a bribe for
me?
Or, Save me from an opponents hand?
Or, Ransom me from the hand of
oppressors?
Then Job answered:

Othat my vexation were weighed,
and all my calamity laid in the
balances!
For then it would be heavier than the
sand of the sea;
therefore my words have been rash.
For the arrows of the Almightya are in me;
my spirit drinks their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against
me.
Does the wild ass bray over its grass,
or the ox low over its fodder?
Can that which is tasteless be eaten
without salt,
or is there any avor in the juice of
mallows?b
My appetite refuses to touch them;
they are like food that is loathsome to
me.b
Othat I might have my request,

and that God would grant my
desire;
that it would please God to crush me,
that he would let loose his hand and cut
me o!
This would be my consolation;
I would even exultb in unrelenting pain;
for I have not denied the words of the
Holy One.
What is my strength, that I should wait?
a
b
c
d

Syr Vg Compare Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
Cn Compare Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
6.17.21: Jobs second speech. 6.113: A soliloquy, addressed to no one. In ch 3 Job had only asked why sufferers like him must go on living; but here he actively yearns for immediate death (vv. 89). If he could die
now, before his suering leads him into blasphemy, he could at least have the consolation of not having denied
the words, the commandments, of the Holy One. Eliphaz has called on Job to be patient, but patience needs a
strength that Job does not have (vv. 1113). He begins to think of God as his enemy, armed with poisoned arrows and with terrors as his army (v. 4; cf. Deut 32.23; Lam 2.4). 1430: Turning now to the friends, Job accuses
them of defrauding him of friendships debt of kindness or, rather, loyalty (v. 14), afraid that if they identify
themselves too closely with Job they too will come under Gods judgment (v. 21). 1517: The torrent-bed and
freshets are the wadis that are full of water during the rainy seasons but are dry during the summer when water
is most needed (cf. Jer 15.18). 1820: Tema and Sheba, areas in northern and southwestern Arabia, respectively.
732 | hebrew bible
job 7
Teach me, and I will be silent;
make me understand how I have gone
wrong.
How forceful are honest words!
But your reproof, what does it reprove?
Do you think that you can reprove
words,
as if the speech of the desperate were
wind?
You would even cast lots over the
orphan,
and bargain over your friend.
But now, be pleased to look at me;
for I will not lie to your face.
Turn, I pray, let no wrong be done.
Turn now, my vindication is at stake.
Is there any wrong on my tongue?
Cannot my taste discern calamity?
Do not human beings have a hard

service on earth,
and are not their days like the days of a
laborer?
Like a slave who longs for the shadow,
and like laborers who look for their
wages,
so I am allotted months of emptiness,
and nights of misery are apportioned
to me.
When I lie down I say, When shall I
rise?
But the night is long,
and I am full of tossing until dawn.
My esh is clothed with worms and dirt;
my skin hardens, then breaks out
again.
My days are swifter than a weavers
shuttle,
and come to their end without hope.a
Remember that my life is a breath;
my eye will never again see good.
The eye that beholds me will see me no
more;
while your eyes are upon me, I shall be
gone.
As the cloud fades and vanishes,
so those who go down to Sheol do not
come up;
they return no more to their houses,
nor do their places know them any
more.
Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my
soul.
Am I the Sea, or the Dragon,
that you set a guard over me?
When I say, My bed will comfort me,
my couch will ease my complaint,
then you scare me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,
so that I would choose strangling
and death rather than this body.
I loathe my life; I would not live forever.
Let me alone, for my days are a breath.
What are human beings, that you make
so much of them,
that you set your mind on them,
visit them every morning,
test them every moment?
Will you not look away from me for a
while,
let me alone until I swallow my
spittle?
If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher
of humanity?
Why have you made me your target?
Why have I become a burden to you?
Why do you not pardon my
transgression
and take away my iniquity?
a Or as the thread runs out
7.121: Turning now to God, Job interweaves his own death-wish with his experience of the futility and misery
of human life generally. 9: Sheol, the abode of the dead. 12: God, far from leing him alone, treats him like one
of the legendary monsters of the deep, Yam (the Sea) or Tannin (the Dragon), who had to be muzzled by God at
creation (cf. 3.8n.; 38.811; Isa 51.9). 1718: A bier parody of Ps 8.4. The psalm expresses wonder at the high
status humans have been given as rulers of the earth despite their apparent insignicance on the cosmic scale.
Jobs language is a reproof of God for the disproportionate aention God gives to mortals, subjecting them to
perpetual hostile scrutiny.
hebrew bible | 733
job 8
For now I shall lie in the earth;
you will seek me, but I shall not be.
Such are the paths of all who forget God;

the hope of the godless shall perish.
Their condence is gossamer,
a spiders house their trust.
If one leans against its house, it will not
stand;
if one lays hold of it, it will not endure.
The wicked thriveb before the sun,
and their shoots spread over the garden.
Their roots twine around the stoneheap;
they live among the rocks.c
If they are destroyed from their place,
then it will deny them, saying, I have
never seen you.
See, these are their happy ways,d
and out of the earth still others will
spring.
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:

How long will you say these things,
and the words of your mouth be a great
wind?
Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almightya pervert the
right?
If your children sinned against him,
he delivered them into the power of
their transgression.
If you will seek God
and make supplication to the Almighty,a
if you are pure and upright,
surely then he will rouse himself for
you
and restore to you your rightful place.
Though your beginning was small,
your latter days will be very great.
For inquire now of bygone generations,

and consider what their ancestors have
found;
for we are but of yesterday, and we know
nothing,
for our days on earth are but a shadow.
Will they not teach you and tell you
and utter words out of their
understanding?
Can papyrus grow where there is no
marsh?
Can reeds ourish where there is no
water?
While yet in ower and not cut down,
they wither before any other plant.
See, God will not reject a blameless

person,
nor take the hand of evildoers.
He will yet ll your mouth with laughter,
and your lips with shouts of joy.
Those who hate you will be clothed with
shame,
and the tent of the wicked will be no
more.
9
a
b
c
d
Then Job answered:

Indeed I know that this is so;
but how can a mortal be just before
God?

Heb He thrives
Gk Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
8.122: Bildads rst speech. Like all the friends, Bildad believes that suering is punishment, and that the
death of Jobs children is proof of their sin. Bildad has less condence in Jobs righteousness than Eliphaz did,
and his encouragement to Job depends on a condition, if you are pure and upright (v. 6). 27: Jobs children are
dead, so they must have sinned (v. 4). By contrast, Job himself is not dead, so he must be innocent of anything
deserving of death. He has only to seek God in prayer (v. 5), and if he is pure and upright his prayer will be heard.
819: No eect without a cause, as the case of the wicked shows. 810: Bildads trust in the wisdom of bygone
generations instead of we [who] know nothing is contrasted with Jobs reliance on his own experience (6.47,30).
2022: Bildad believes Job may yet prove to be a blameless person (v. 20).
9.110.22: Jobs third speech. Here is Jobs strongest statement so far of his feeling of powerlessness (e.g.
9.34,1420,3031), his sense of being trapped (9.15,20,2731), and his belief that Gods apparent concern for
him throughout his life has not really been for his benet, but in order to fasten guilt upon him (10.1314). Novel
in this speech is the question of how Job is to be vindicated, that is, shown publicly to be in the right aer all. It
is a hopeless task to make God declare him innocent (9.2), which eventually throws Job into despair (10.1516).
734 | hebrew bible
job 9
I do not believe that he would listen to
my voice.
For he crushes me with a tempest,
and multiplies my wounds without
cause;
he will not let me get my breath,
but lls me with bitterness.
If it is a contest of strength, he is the
strong one!
If it is a matter of justice, who can
summon him?c
Though I am innocent, my own mouth
would condemn me;
though I am blameless, he would prove
me perverse.
I am blameless; I do not know myself;
I loathe my life.
It is all one; therefore I say,
he destroys both the blameless and the
wicked.
When disaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamityd of the
innocent.
The earth is given into the hand of the
wicked;
he covers the eyes of its judges
if it is not he, who then is it?
If one wished to contend with him,

one could not answer him once in a
thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in
strength
who has resisted him, and succeeded?
he who removes mountains, and they do
not know it,
when he overturns them in his anger;
who shakes the earth out of its place,
and its pillars tremble;
who commands the sun, and it does not
rise;
who seals up the stars;
who alone stretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the Sea;a
who made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the chambers of the
south;
who does great things beyond
understanding,
and marvelous things without number.
Look, he passes by me, and I do not see
him;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
He snatches away; who can stop him?
Who will say to him, What are you
doing?
God will not turn back his anger;
the helpers of Rahab bowed beneath
him.
How then can I answer him,
choosing my words with him?
Though I am innocent, I cannot answer
him;
I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.b
If I summoned him and he answered me,
My days are swifter than a runner;

they ee away, they see no good.
a
b
c
d
Or trampled the back of the sea dragon

Or for my right
Compare Gk: Heb me
But it has become an ambition that will only grow in araction for him as the book progresses (cf. 13.1323;
16.1821; 19.2327; 23.214). 9.2: Job is not saying that no one can actually be just in the sight of God, but complaining that because God has such power and wisdom he can defeat any humans aempt to be declared righteous or win his case (reb) against God; God will not give humans the satisfaction of hearing their innocence
armed. 513: Job focuses upon the more negative aspects of Gods power (vv. 57) not in order to picture him
as a God of chaos but to emphasize his freedom to act, whether for good or ill. His freedom makes him incomprehensible (v. 10), unaccountable (v. 12), and uncontrollable (v. 13). 9: Bear, Orion, Pleiades, in the translation the
familiar names of the star groups in Greek tradition are substituted for the Heb terms; cf. 38.3133; Am 5.8. 13:
Rahab, the legendary sea-monster of chaos, similar to or identical with Leviathan, with whom God did bale at
creation (see also 26.12; Ps 89.10; Isa 51.9). 1424: Job believes that even if he could bring God to court he would
not get vindication. 15: Job is not going to appeal for mercy for that might sound like an admission of guilt. What
he wants is vindication, not relief from his suerings. 17: Tempest, beer storm. 22: God destroys both the
blameless and the wicked because he is determined upon hostility to humans. 2535: The monologue has turned
hebrew bible | 735
job 10
They go by like skis of reed,
like an eagle swooping on the prey.
If I say, I will forget my complaint;
I will put o my sad countenance and
be of good cheer,
I become afraid of all my suering,
for I know you will not hold me
innocent.
I shall be condemned;
why then do I labor in vain?
If I wash myself with soap
and cleanse my hands with lye,
yet you will plunge me into lth,
and my own clothes will abhor me.
For he is not a mortal, as I am, that I
might answer him,
that we should come to trial together.
There is no umpirea between us,
who might lay his hand on us both.
If he would take his rod away from me,
and not let dread of him terrify me,
then I would speak without fear of him,
for I know I am not what I am thought
to be.b
10
I loathe my life;
I will give free utterance to my
complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
I will say to God, Do not condemn me;
let me know why you contend against me.
Does it seem good to you to oppress,
to despise the work of your hands
and favor the schemes of the wicked?
Do you have eyes of esh?
Do you see as humans see?
Are your days like the days of mortals,
or your years like human years,
that you seek out my iniquity
and search for my sin,
although you know that I am not guilty,
and there is no one to deliver out of
your hand?
Your hands fashioned and made me;

and now you turn and destroy me.c
Remember that you fashioned me like
clay;
and will you turn me to dust again?
Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?
You clothed me with skin and esh,
and knit me together with bones and
sinews.
You have granted me life and steadfast
love,
and your care has preserved my
spirit.
Yet these things you hid in your heart;
I know that this was your purpose.
If I sin, you watch me,
and do not acquit me of my iniquity.
If I am wicked, woe to me!
If I am righteous, I cannot lift up my
head,
for I am lled with disgrace
and look upon my aiction.
Bold as a lion you hunt me;
you repeat your exploits against me.
You renew your witnesses against me,
and increase your vexation toward me;
you bring fresh troops against me.d
Why did you bring me forth from the
womb?
Would that I had died before any eye
had seen me,
and were as though I had not been,
carried from the womb to the grave.
a Another reading is Would that there were an
umpire
b Cn: Heb for I am not so in myself

c Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb made me together all
around, and you destroy me
d Cn Compare Gk: Heb toward me; changes and a

troop are with me
into an address to God. 3235: A legal confrontation with God is doomed because the two parties cannot be on
the same level (v. 32). Job needs an umpire or arbitrator, one who would lay his hand upon both parties as a gesture of reconciliation. Since there is no such umpire, Job will have to conduct his lawsuit himself. 10.12: Jobs
intention to begin a legal controversy with God. 37: Speculation about Gods motives for his treatment of Job.
817: The contradiction between Gods real and apparent purposes in creating Job and keeping him alive. 9: Cf.
33.6; Gen 2.7; 3.19; Isa 64.8. 10: Human conception is pictured as cheese-making: semen, a milk-like substance,
is poured into the womb, where, like cheese, it coagulates into the embryo (cf. Ps 139.1316; Wis 7.2). 1822: An
appeal for release from Gods oppressive presence.
736 | hebrew bible
job 12
Are not the days of my life few?a
Let me alone, that I may nd a little
comfortb
before I go, never to return,
to the land of gloom and deep darkness,
the land of gloomc and chaos,
where light is like darkness.
But a stupid person will get understanding,

when a wild ass is born human.f
If you direct your heart rightly,
you will stretch out your hands toward
him.
If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
and do not let wickedness reside in
your tents.
Surely then you will lift up your face
without blemish;
you will be secure, and will not fear.
You will forget your misery;
you will remember it as waters that
have passed away.
And your life will be brighter than the
noonday;
its darkness will be like the morning.
And you will have condence, because
there is hope;
you will be protectedi and take your rest
in safety.
You will lie down, and no one will make
you afraid;
many will entreat your favor.
But the eyes of the wicked will fail;
all way of escape will be lost to them,
and their hope is to breathe their last.
11
Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:

Should a multitude of words go
unanswered,
and should one full of talk be
vindicated?
Should your babble put others to silence,
and when you mock, shall no one
shame you?
For you say, My conductd is pure,
and I am clean in Godse sight.
But O that God would speak,
and open his lips to you,
and that he would tell you the secrets of
wisdom!
For wisdom is many-sided.f
Know then that God exacts of you less
than your guilt deserves.
Can you nd out the deep things of

God?
Can you nd out the limit of the
Almighty?g
It is higher than heavenhwhat can you
do?
Deeper than Sheolwhat can you
know?
Its measure is longer than the earth,
and broader than the sea.
If he passes through, and imprisons,
and assembles for judgment, who can
hinder him?
For he knows those who are worthless;
when he sees iniquity, will he not
consider it?
12
Then Job answered:

No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
a Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb Are not my days few? Let

b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
him cease!
Heb that I may brighten up a little
Heb gloom as darkness, deep darkness
Gk: Heb teaching
Heb your
Heb The heights of heaven
Or you will look around
11.120: Zophars rst speech. Zophar is the least sympathetic of the three friends. His message to Job is
simple: you are suering because God knows that you are a secret sinner (v. 6); therefore repent (vv. 1314)! 46:
Zophar agrees with Job that the real issue is the question of sin. Since it is not obvious that Job is a sinner, his
sin must be secret. So bad a sinner is Job that even with all his punishment God is leing Job o lightly (v. 6).
712: Gods wisdom is focused on the detection of wrongdoing. 8: Sheol, the abode of the dead. 1320: Restoration depends entirely on Jobs complete repentance. He must stretch out his hands in prayer and renounce his
present sinfulness. The result will be a clear conscience (you will li up your face) and a sense of security (v. 15).
12.120.29: Second cycle of speeches.
hebrew bible | 737
job 13
But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as
these?
I am a laughingstock to my friends;
I, who called upon God and he
answered me,
a just and blameless man, I am a
laughingstock.
Those at ease have contempt for
misfortune,a
but it is ready for those whose feet are
unstable.
The tents of robbers are at peace,
and those who provoke God are secure,
who bring their god in their hands.b
But ask the animals, and they will teach
you;
the birds of the air, and they will tell
you;
ask the plants of the earth,c and they will
teach you;
and the sh of the sea will declare to
you.
Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done
this?
In his hand is the life of every living
thing
and the breath of every human being.
Does not the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
Is wisdom with the aged,
and understanding in length of days?
With Godd are wisdom and strength;
he has counsel and understanding.
If he tears down, no one can rebuild;
if he shuts someone in, no one can
open up.
If he withholds the waters, they dry up;

if he sends them out, they overwhelm
the land.
With him are strength and wisdom;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.
He leads counselors away stripped,
and makes fools of judges.
He looses the sash of kings,
and binds a waistcloth on their loins.
He leads priests away stripped,
and overthrows the mighty.
He deprives of speech those who are
trusted,
and takes away the discernment of the
elders.
He pours contempt on princes,
and looses the belt of the strong.
He uncovers the deeps out of darkness,
and brings deep darkness to light.
He makes nations great, then destroys
them;
he enlarges nations, then leads them
away.
He strips understanding from the
leaderse of the earth,
and makes them wander in a pathless
waste.
They grope in the dark without light;
he makes them stagger like a drunkard.
13
Look, my eye has seen all this,

my ear has heard and understood it.
What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.

b Or whom God brought forth by his hand; Meaning
of Heb uncertain
c Or speak to the earth

d Heb him
e Heb adds of the people
12.114.22: Jobs fourth speech. In the rst part, Job addresses his friends (12.213.19) and in the second, God
(13.2014.22). The essence of the whole speech is: I want nothing to do with you worthless physicians (13.4); I desire
to speak to the Almighty (13.3). 12.213.19: For the rst time Job shows himself contemptuous of the friends. He
believes his wisdom is superior to theirs (12.2), for he knows something they do not: that it is possible for a righteous person to be aicted and, equally, that the deeds of the wicked can go unpunished (vv. 46). 712: Job is not
addressing the friends, but ironically imagining what they might say to him. 1325: This hymn to the destructive
power of the Almighty presents Jobs new wisdom: God is no calm governor of a well-ordered universe, but an
eccentric deity who cannot be comprehended or tamed. His chief characteristic is his upseing of stable order.
13.13: Nevertheless, Job is determined to argue a lawsuit with God. 412: The friends have been speaking as false
witnesses on behalf of God. Although Job has many doubts about Gods justice, he does not doubt that God will
738 | hebrew bible
job 14
But I would speak to the Almighty,a
and I desire to argue my case with God.
As for you, you whitewash with lies;
all of you are worthless physicians.
If you would only keep silent,
that would be your wisdom!
Hear now my reasoning,
and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
Will you speak falsely for God,
and speak deceitfully for him?
Will you show partiality toward him,
will you plead the case for God?
Will it be well with you when he searches
you out?
Or can you deceive him, as one person
deceives another?
He will surely rebuke you
if in secret you show partiality.
Will not his majesty terrify you,
and the dread of him fall upon you?
Your maxims are proverbs of ashes,
your defenses are defenses of clay.
Let me have silence, and I will speak,
and let come on me what may.
I will take my esh in my teeth,
and put my life in my hand.b
See, he will kill me; I have no hope;c
but I will defend my ways to his face.
This will be my salvation,
that the godless shall not come before
him.
Listen carefully to my words,
and let my declaration be in your ears.
I have indeed prepared my case;
I know that I shall be vindicated.
Who is there that will contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die.
Only grant two things to me,
then I will not hide myself from your
face:
withdraw your hand far from me,

and do not let dread of you terrify me.
Then call, and I will answer;
or let me speak, and you reply to me.
How many are my iniquities and my
sins?
Make me know my transgression and
my sin.
Why do you hide your face,
and count me as your enemy?
Will you frighten a windblown leaf
and pursue dry cha ?
For you write bitter things against me,
and make me reapd the iniquities of my
youth.
You put my feet in the stocks,
and watch all my paths;
you set a bound to the soles of my feet.
One wastes away like a rotten thing,
like a garment that is moth-eaten.
14
A mortal, born of woman, few of days

and full of trouble,
comes up like a ower and withers,
ees like a shadow and does not last.
Do you x your eyes on such a one?
Do you bring me into judgment with
you?
Who can bring a clean thing out of an
unclean?
No one can.
Since their days are determined,
and the number of their months is
known to you,
and you have appointed the bounds
that they cannot pass,
a
b
c
d

Gk: Heb Why should I take . . . in my hand?
Or Though he kill me, yet I will trust in him
Heb inherit
punish the friends for their partiality toward himself (v. 10) and their lack of objectivity. 1319: Ending his address
to the friends, Job explains what he will ask of God. Unlike chs 7 and 910, where he asked God to stop paying attention to him, he now deliberately calls God into disputation with him (v. 22). It is dangerous (v. 14), suicidal in fact
(v. 15); but Job is sure that right is on his side (v. 18). 15: The traditional translation of the verse (see textual note c)
is based on an alternate reading of the Hebrew. 2027: Job rst insists that God bring out in the open what he has
against Job, but with two conditions for fairness (v. 20): God must withdraw his hand of punishment from him, and
he must not terrify him (v. 21). 24: Enemy (Heb oyeb, possibly a wordplay on Jobs name (iyyob). 14.122: The
focus changes from Job himself to the lot of humanity. Humans are too unimportant for God to scrutinize them as
he does Job; he could reasonably overlook their sins. 1: The expression born of woman is simply a synonym for any
human being (see 15.14). 712: The hopes of a tree and of humankind are contrasted. A tree that is cut down can
hebrew bible | 739
job 15
look away from them, and desist,a
that they may enjoy, like laborers, their
days.
For there is hope for a tree,
if it is cut down, that it will sprout
again,
and that its shoots will not cease.
Though its root grows old in the earth,
and its stump dies in the ground,
yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth branches like a young
plant.
But mortals die, and are laid low;
humans expire, and where are they?
As waters fail from a lake,
and a river wastes away and dries up,
so mortals lie down and do not rise
again;
until the heavens are no more, they will
not awake
or be roused out of their sleep.
O that you would hide me in Sheol,
that you would conceal me until your
wrath is past,
that you would appoint me a set time,
and remember me!
If mortals die, will they live again?
All the days of my service I would wait
until my release should come.
You would call, and I would answer you;
you would long for the work of your
hands.
For then you would notb number my
steps,
you would not keep watch over my sin;
my transgression would be sealed up in
a bag,
and you would cover over my iniquity.
But the mountain falls and crumbles

away,
and the rock is removed from its place;
the waters wear away the stones;
the torrents wash away the soil of the
earth;
so you destroy the hope of mortals.
You prevail forever against them, and
they pass away;
you change their countenance, and
send them away.
Their children come to honor, and they
do not know it;
they are brought low, and it goes
unnoticed.
They feel only the pain of their own
bodies,
and mourn only for themselves.
15

Should the wise answer with windy
knowledge,
and ll themselves with the east wind?
Should they argue in unprotable talk,
or in words with which they can do no
good?
But you are doing away with the fear of
God,
and hindering meditation before God.
For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
Your own mouth condemns you, and
not I;
your own lips testify against you.
Are you the rstborn of the human race?

Were you brought forth before the hills?
a Cn: Heb that they may desist
b Syr: Heb lacks not
hope for new life; for humans there is none until the heavens are no more, i.e., never. If only Sheol, the underworld,
could be, not a nal resting place without an exit, but a temporary hiding-place from Gods scrutiny and anger (v.
13). 14: A rhetorical question, expecting the answer No! 1819: The only expectation humans can have is that God
will nal. 18-19: The only expectation humans can have is that God will nally prevail against them.
15.135: Eliphazs second speech. 216: Eliphaz regards Jobs faults as both intellectual and moral. His intellectual mistake is not to realize that even the most perfect human is tainted in Gods sight (vv. 1416). His moral
fault is not to bear his suering with bravery and patience. Whatever Jobs original fault, it was minor compared
with the sin of his present behavior; it is a sin against himself (v. 6) and against God (v. 13) to speak so onesidedly and bierly about God. The very passion of Jobs speech is proof that he is in the wrong (vv. 1213). 2:
East wind, the oppressively hot wind from the desert. 4: Fear of God is the emotion of fear proper to a human
being in the presence of God. Jobs charges against God imply he has lost his due sense of creatureliness. 7:
740 | hebrew bible
job 15
Have you listened in the council of God?
And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not
clear to us?
The gray-haired and the aged are on our
side,
those older than your father.
Are the consolations of God too small
for you,
or the word that deals gently with you?
Why does your heart carry you away,
and why do your eyes ash,a
so that you turn your spirit against God,
and let such words go out of your
mouth?
What are mortals, that they can be
clean?
Or those born of woman, that they can
be righteous?
God puts no trust even in his holy ones,
and the heavens are not clean in his
sight;
how much less one who is abominable
and corrupt,
one who drinks iniquity like water!
I will show you; listen to me;
what I have seen I will declare
what sages have told,
and their ancestors have not hidden,
to whom alone the land was given,
and no stranger passed among
them.
The wicked writhe in pain all their days,
through all the years that are laid up for
the ruthless.
Terrifying sounds are in their ears;
in prosperity the destroyer will come
upon them.
They despair of returning from
darkness,
and they are destined for the sword.
They wander abroad for bread, saying,
Where is it?
They know that a day of darkness is

ready at hand;
distress and anguish terrify them;
they prevail against them, like a king
prepared for battle.
Because they stretched out their hands
against God,
and bid deance to the Almighty,b
running stubbornly against him
with a thick-bossed shield;
because they have covered their faces
with their fat,
and gathered fat upon their loins,
they will live in desolate cities,
in houses that no one should inhabit,
houses destined to become heaps of
ruins;
they will not be rich, and their wealth
will not endure,
nor will they strike root in the earth;c
they will not escape from darkness;
the ame will dry up their shoots,
and their blossomd will be swept awaye
by the wind.
Let them not trust in emptiness,
deceiving themselves;
for emptiness will be their recompense.
It will be paid in full before their time,
and their branch will not be green.
They will shake o their unripe grape,
like the vine,
and cast o their blossoms, like the
olive tree.
For the company of the godless is barren,
and re consumes the tents of bribery.
They conceive mischief and bring forth
evil
and their heart prepares deceit.
a
b
c
d
e

Gk: Heb mouth
Cn: Heb will depart
Council of God, see 1.612n. 14: Born of woman, see 14.1n. 16: An extreme generalization about humans as compared with Gods purity (cf. 25.46). 1735: This depiction of the miserable life and fearsome fate of the wicked
(cf. 18.521; 20.429) concerns, rst, their life-long fear of death (vv. 2026), and, second, their nal destiny (vv.
2735), that they will die prematurely (vv. 3133). As always, Eliphaz believes Job is not one of the truly wicked,
so this is a depiction of what does not apply to him. But he had beer take care that he does not join them in
his hostility toward God (v. 25).
hebrew bible | 741
job 16
16
Then Job answered:

I have heard many such things;
miserable comforters are you all.
Have windy words no limit?
Or what provokes you that you keep on
talking?
I also could talk as you do,
if you were in my place;
I could join words together against you,
and shake my head at you.
I could encourage you with my mouth,
and the solace of my lips would assuage
your pain.
If I speak, my pain is not assuaged,

and if I forbear, how much of it leaves
me?
Surely now God has worn me out;
he hasa made desolate all my
company.
And he hasa shriveled me up,
which is a witness against me;
my leanness has risen up against me,
and it testies to my face.
He has torn me in his wrath, and hated
me;
he has gnashed his teeth at me;
my adversary sharpens his eyes against
me.
They have gaped at me with their
mouths;
they have struck me insolently on the
cheek;
they mass themselves together against
me.
God gives me up to the ungodly,
and casts me into the hands of the
wicked.
I was at ease, and he broke me in two;
he seized me by the neck and dashed

me to pieces;
he set me up as his target;
his archers surround me.
He slashes open my kidneys, and shows no
mercy;
he pours out my gall on the ground.
He bursts upon me again and again;
he rushes at me like a warrior.
I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin,
and have laid my strength in the dust.
My face is red with weeping,
and deep darkness is on my eyelids,
though there is no violence in my hands,
and my prayer is pure.
Oearth, do not cover my blood;
let my outcry nd no resting place.
Even now, in fact, my witness is in
heaven,
and he that vouches for me is on high.
My friends scorn me;
my eye pours out tears to God,
that he would maintain the right of a
mortal with God,
asb one does for a neighbor.
For when a few years have come,
I shall go the way from which I shall not
return.
My spirit is broken, my days are extinct,
the grave is ready for me.
Surely there are mockers around me,
and my eye dwells on their provocation.
17
a Heb you have

b Syr Vg Tg: Heb and
16.117.16: Jobs %h speech. This is the most disjointed of Jobs speeches so far. Several earlier themes recur: he criticizes the friends (16.26); he then soliloquizes, lamenting the aacks of God (vv. 717); he imagines
his possible vindication (vv. 1822); he makes a lament about the friends (17.110); he fears that he will die without being vindicated (vv. 1116). Unlike his previous speech (chs 1214), the subject here is always Job himself
and not humanity in general. 16.717: Job depicts Gods assaults as if they were the aacks by various kinds of
opponents, a wild animal (vv. 910), a traitor (v. 11), a wrestler (v. 12), an archer (vv. 12c13a), a swordsman (vv.
13b14). Cf. Lam 3.120. 1822: Gods wrongful aack on Job will probably lead to Jobs death. So he appeals to
the earth to take blood revenge for him once he is deadupon God! 18: O earth, do not cover my blood, is the
same kind of cry as Abels who was unlawfully killed (Gen 4.10). 19: Even now, while he is still alive, he has a
witness . . . in heaven, which cannot be God, since God has been nothing but his enemy (vv. 714). His witness is
his own innocence. 20: My friends scorn me, beer translated It is my cry that is my spokesman. 17.116: Job
is condent that he is in the right, but he does not expect he will live to see his innocence vindicated. 1: He is
742 | hebrew bible
job 18
Lay down a pledge for me with yourself;
who is there that will give surety for
me?
Since you have closed their minds to
understanding,
therefore you will not let them triumph.
Those who denounce friends for
reward
the eyes of their children will fail.
He has made me a byword of the
peoples,
and I am one before whom people spit.
My eye has grown dim from grief,
and all my members are like a shadow.
The upright are appalled at this,
and the innocent stir themselves up
against the godless.
Yet the righteous hold to their way,
and they that have clean hands grow
stronger and stronger.
But you, come back now, all of you,
and I shall not nd a sensible person
among you.
My days are past, my plans are broken
o,
the desires of my heart.
They make night into day;
The light, they say, is near to the
darkness.a
If I look for Sheol as my house,
if I spread my couch in darkness,
if I say to the Pit, You are my father,
and to the worm, My mother, or
My sister,
where then is my hope?
Who will see my hope?
Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?
Shall we descend together into the

dust?
18

How long will you hunt for words?
Consider, and then we shall speak.
Why are we counted as cattle?
Why are we stupid in your sight?
You who tear yourself in your anger
shall the earth be forsaken because of
you,
or the rock be removed out of its place?
Surely the light of the wicked is put out,

and the ame of their re does not shine.
The light is dark in their tent,
and the lamp above them is put out.
Their strong steps are shortened,
and their own schemes throw them
down.
For they are thrust into a net by their own
feet,
and they walk into a pitfall.
A trap seizes them by the heel;
a snare lays hold of them.
A rope is hid for them in the ground,
a trap for them in the path.
Terrors frighten them on every side,
and chase them at their heels.
Their strength is consumed by hunger,b
and calamity is ready for their
stumbling.
By disease their skin is consumed,c

b Or Disaster is hungry for them
c Cn: Heb It consumes the limbs of his skin
not literally at deaths door (cf. 16:22) but psychologically he is already in the grip of death. 3: Since no one will
guarantee his innocence, he must ask God to accept his own person as his pledge. 89: Job adopts the point
of view of the friends. 1116: Job falls again into despair, not a despair that robs him of his belief in his own innocence; but a despair that he can ever be shown to be innocent. 1314: The Pit, another term for Sheol. Job has
lost his family and can only expect to join the family of worms in the underworld.
18.121: Bildads second speech. Aer an opening address to Job (vv. 24), this speech contains nothing but
a description of the fate of the wicked. This is probably not Bildads prediction of Jobs future but a description
of the kind of fate that does not await him (as in his rst speech, Bildad does not think Job one of the wicked).
Yet he does see in Job, who is ghting a bale between doctrine and experience, someone who is tearing himself to pieces. And he nds Jobs demand for a new theology deeply disturbing: shall . . . the rock be removed out
of its place? (v. 4). 521: Eliphazs picture of the fate of the wicked in ch 15 focused on how they experience terror
and insecurity all their life; but Bildad concentrates on the nal days of the wicked, describing how they are
trapped by death (vv. 810), torn from their dwellings (v. 14), and brought before the lord of the underworld (v.
hebrew bible | 743
job 19
the rstborn of Death consumes their
limbs.
They are torn from the tent in which
they trusted,
and are brought to the king of terrors.
In their tents nothing remains;
sulfur is scattered upon their
habitations.
Their roots dry up beneath,
and their branches wither above.
Their memory perishes from the earth,
and they have no name in the street.
They are thrust from light into darkness,
and driven out of the world.
They have no ospring or descendant
among their people,
and no survivor where they used to live.
They of the west are appalled at their
fate,
and horror seizes those of the east.
Surely such are the dwellings of the
ungodly,
such is the place of those who do not
know God.
19
Then Job answered:

How long will you torment me,
and break me in pieces with words?
These ten times you have cast reproach
upon me;
are you not ashamed to wrong me?
And even if it is true that I have erred,
my error remains with me.
If indeed you magnify yourselves against
me,
and make my humiliation an argument
against me,
know then that God has put me in the
wrong,
and closed his net around me.

Even when I cry out, Violence! I am not
answered;
I call aloud, but there is no justice.
He has walled up my way so that I cannot
pass,
and he has set darkness upon my paths.
He has stripped my glory from me,
and taken the crown from my head.
He breaks me down on every side, and I
am gone,
he has uprooted my hope like a tree.
He has kindled his wrath against me,
and counts me as his adversary.
His troops come on together;
they have thrown up siegeworksa
against me,
and encamp around my tent.
He has put my family far from me,
and my acquaintances are wholly
estranged from me.
My relatives and my close friends have
failed me;
the guests in my house have forgotten
me;
my serving girls count me as a stranger;
I have become an alien in their eyes.
I call to my servant, but he gives me no
answer;
I must myself plead with him.
My breath is repulsive to my wife;
I am loathsome to my own family.
Even young children despise me;
a Cn: Heb their way
14). 1314: Death was represented in ancient mythology as a king ruling over the underworld; Deaths rstborn
will be one of his ospring, such as disease, and the terrors are his agents who drag people from life down into
his kingdom.
19.129: Jobs sixth speech. In this speech there is an address to the friends at beginning, middle, and end
(vv. 26,2122,2829). Between these addresses there is a complaint (vv. 720) and an expression of wish,
knowledge, and desire (vv. 2327). 26: Job begins to recognize the friends as his enemies. 3: Ten times, i.e.,
many times. 4: Job does not admit to any sin. But if he had sinned, it would not have been a sin against the
friends; so it is unfair of them to aack him. 712: To depict the wrongs God has done him, Job deploys a range
of images of assault (cf. 16.9,1214): he is like a townsman who has been robbed (v. 7), a traveler who nds his
path blocked and nightfall overtaking him (v. 8), a prince humiliated by a foreign ruler (v. 9), a tree pulled out of
the ground (v. 10), a person who nds his friend has become his enemy (v. 11), a city besieged by enemies (v. 12).
1320: Here is the literal truth of what Job is experiencing, as distinct from the feelings his experience provoked
744 | hebrew bible
job 20
when I rise, they talk against me.
All my intimate friends abhor me,
and those whom I loved have turned
against me.
My bones cling to my skin and to my
esh,
and I have escaped by the skin of my
teeth.
Have pity on me, have pity on me, Oyou
my friends,
for the hand of God has touched me!
Why do you, like God, pursue me,
never satised with my esh?
Othat my words were written down!
Othat they were inscribed in a book!
Othat with an iron pen and with lead
they were engraved on a rock forever!
For I know that my Redeemera lives,
and that at the last heb will stand upon
the earth;c
and after my skin has been thus
destroyed,
then ind my esh I shall see God,e
whom I shall see on my side,f
and my eyes shall behold, and not
another.
My heart faints within me!
If you say, How we will persecute him!
and, The root of the matter is found in
him;
be afraid of the sword,
for wrath brings the punishment of the
sword,
so that you may know there is a

judgment.
20
Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:

Pay attention! My thoughts urge me to
answer,
because of the agitation within me.
I hear censure that insults me,
and a spirit beyond my understanding
answers me.
Do you not know this from of old,
ever since mortals were placed on
earth,
that the exulting of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the godless is but for a
moment?
Even though they mount up high as the
heavens,
and their head reaches to the clouds,
they will perish forever like their own
dung;
those who have seen them will say,
Where are they?
They will y away like a dream, and not
be found;
a
b
c
d
e
f
Or Vindicator
Or that he the Last
Heb dust
Or without
Meaning of Heb of this verse uncertain
Or for myself
in vv. 712. He is isolated and alienated, because his suering is understood as punishment for sin. 20: Normally
bones are the bodys framework, and the esh and skin cling to them; Job feels so weak that it seems his bones
need support. Escaped by the skin of my teeth, or rather, with the skin of my teeth, means that Job feels he has
been ayed alive, his skin being stripped from every part of his body except his teeth, which of course have no
skin. 21: Have pity on me, i.e., stop persecuting me. 2327: If his words, his claim to innocence, could be chiseled
in stone in an inscription (not a book, v. 23), God would eventually rise last (rather than at the last, v. 25) in the
court case to deliver his verdict that would clear Job, even aer his death (v. 26a). Nevertheless, what Job really
desires is to see his name cleared while he is still alive (v. 26b should probably be translated Yet, to behold God
while still in my eshthat is my desire, to see him with my own eyes). 25: The word Redeemer or Vindicator
should not be capitalized, since the kinsman or champion (as the Heb goel means) is not God (God is his
enemy). The only champion Job has is his own innocence, which he has spoken of in 16.1821 as his witness,
his advocate (he that vouches for me), and his spokesman. 2829: Job turns to the friends again. They say the
root of the maer is found in him, i.e., he is the author of his own misfortunes; he says they should be afraid of the
sword, since they have accused him unjustly, and that is a crime.
20.129: Zophars second speech. It is mostly devoted to the theme of the doom of the wicked. But unlike
Eliphaz (ch 15), for whom the fate of the wicked is a picture of what Job is not, or Bildad (ch 18), for whom it is a
picture of what Job may become, for Zophar it is a picture of what Job will not avoid unless he changes radically.
hebrew bible | 745
job 21
they will be chased away like a vision of
the night.
The eye that saw them will see them no
more,
nor will their place behold them any
longer.
Their children will seek the favor of the
poor,
and their hands will give back their
wealth.
Their bodies, once full of youth,
will lie down in the dust with them.
Though wickedness is sweet in their
mouth,
though they hide it under their tongues,
though they are loath to let it go,
and hold it in their mouths,
yet their food is turned in their
stomachs;
it is the venom of asps within them.
They swallow down riches and vomit
them up again;
God casts them out of their bellies.
They will suck the poison of asps;
the tongue of a viper will kill them.
They will not look on the rivers,
the streams owing with honey and
curds.
They will give back the fruit of their toil,
and will not swallow it down;
from the prot of their trading
they will get no enjoyment.
For they have crushed and abandoned
the poor,
they have seized a house that they did
not build.
They knew no quiet in their bellies;
in their greed they let nothing escape.
There was nothing left after they had
eaten;
therefore their prosperity will not
endure.
In full suciency they will be in distress;
all the force of misery will come upon

them.
To ll their belly to the full
Goda will send his erce anger into
them,
and rain it upon them as their food.b
They will ee from an iron weapon;
a bronze arrow will strike them
through.
It is drawn forth and comes out of their
body,
and the glittering point comes out of
their gall;
terrors come upon them.
Utter darkness is laid up for their
treasures;
a re fanned by no one will devour
them;
what is left in their tent will be
consumed.
The heavens will reveal their iniquity,
and the earth will rise up against them.
The possessions of their house will be
carried away,
dragged o in the day of Godsc wrath.
This is the portion of the wicked from
God,
the heritage decreed for them by God.
21
Then Job answered:

Listen carefully to my words,
and let this be your consolation.
Bear with me, and I will speak;
then after I have spoken, mock on.
As for me, is my complaint addressed to
mortals?
Why should I not be impatient?
Look at me, and be appalled,
and lay your hand upon your mouth.
When I think of it I am dismayed,
a Heb he
b Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Heb his
411: The key image here is the disappearance of the wicked. 1223: The key image here is eating: nothing the
wicked eat brings them lasting benet. 2429: A nightmarish collection of images (weapons, law court, re,
ood) of how inescapable is the nal doom of the wicked.
21.127.23: Third cycle of speeches.
21.134: Jobs seventh speech. Job denies the friends belief that the wicked do not prosper but come to an
early grave. 616: The wicked prosper; why is that so? Within three verses Job contradicts Zophar (v. 7; cf. 20.11),
746 | hebrew bible
job 21
and shuddering seizes my esh.
Why do the wicked live on,
reach old age, and grow mighty in
power?
Their children are established in their
presence,
and their ospring before their eyes.
Their houses are safe from fear,
and no rod of God is upon them.
Their bull breeds without fail;
their cow calves and never miscarries.
They send out their little ones like a
ock,
and their children dance around.
They sing to the tambourine and the
lyre,
and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
They spend their days in prosperity,
and in peace they go down to Sheol.
They say to God, Leave us alone!
We do not desire to know your ways.
What is the Almighty,a that we should
serve him?
And what prot do we get if we pray to
him?
Is not their prosperity indeed their own
achievement?b
The plans of the wicked are repugnant
to me.
How often is the lamp of the wicked put
out?
How often does calamity come upon
them?
How often does Godc distribute pains in
his anger?
How often are they like straw before the
wind,
and like cha that the storm carries away?
You say, God stores up their iniquity for
their children.
Let it be paid back to them, so that they

may know it.
Let their own eyes see their destruction,
and let them drink of the wrath of the
Almighty.a
For what do they care for their
household after them,
when the number of their months is
cut o ?
Will any teach God knowledge,
seeing that he judges those that are on
high?
One dies in full prosperity,
being wholly at ease and secure,
his loins full of milk
and the marrow of his bones moist.
Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having tasted of good.
They lie down alike in the dust,
and the worms cover them.
Oh, I know your thoughts,
and your schemes to wrong me.
For you say, Where is the house of the
prince?
Where is the tent in which the wicked
lived?
Have you not asked those who travel the
roads,
and do you not accept their testimony,
that the wicked are spared in the day of
calamity,
and are rescued in the day of wrath?
Who declares their way to their face,
and who repays them for what they
have done?
a Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai

b Heb in their hand
c Heb he
Bildad (v. 8; cf. 18.19), and Eliphaz (v. 9; cf. 5.24). 13: Sheol, the abode of the dead. 1721: Only rarely do the wicked
suer. If the friends say, Well, their children suer (v. 19), Job replies: Retribution should strike the people who
deserve it! 17: Job challenges the notion that the wicked do not live long (cf. 18.5; Prov 13.9; 24.20). 18: Job disputes the axiom that the wicked are straw before the wind (cf. Ps 35.5) or like cha that the storm carries away
(cf. Ps 1.4). 1921: You say is not in the Hebrew; alternatively, the sentence may be translated, Is God storing up
punishment for their children? 2226: Being good or bad makes no dierence; the same fate happens to all.
2734: I know your thoughts, the friends have been thinking: the wicked suer, Job is suering, therefore Job
belongs with the wicked. But the wicked do not suer, says Job; ask any traveler, who will tell tales of famous
wicked persons who are spared retribution (v. 30), are never denounced (v. 31), and whose tombs are watched
over to protect them from grave robbers (v. 32).
hebrew bible | 747
job 22
When they are carried to the grave,
a watch is kept over their tomb.
The clods of the valley are sweet to
them;
everyone will follow after,
and those who went before are
innumerable.
How then will you comfort me with
empty nothings?
There is nothing left of your answers
but falsehood.
Is not God high in the heavens?

See the highest stars, how lofty they
are!
Therefore you say, What does God
know?
Can he judge through the deep
darkness?
Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he
does not see,
and he walks on the dome of heaven.
Will you keep to the old way
that the wicked have trod?
They were snatched away before their
time;
their foundation was washed away by
a ood.
They said to God, Leave us alone,
and What can the Almightya do to us?c
Yet he lled their houses with good
things
but the plans of the wicked are
repugnant to me.
The righteous see it and are glad;
the innocent laugh them to scorn,
saying, Surely our adversaries are cut
o,
and what they left, the re has
consumed.
22

Can a mortal be of use to God?
Can even the wisest be of service to
him?
Is it any pleasure to the Almightya if you
are righteous,
or is it gain to him if you make your
ways blameless?
Is it for your piety that he reproves you,
and enters into judgment with you?
Is not your wickedness great?
There is no end to your iniquities.
For you have exacted pledges from your
family for no reason,
and stripped the naked of their
clothing.
You have given no water to the weary to
drink,
and you have withheld bread from the
hungry.
The powerful possess the land,
and the favored live in it.
You have sent widows away emptyhanded,
and the arms of the orphans you have
crushed.b
Therefore snares are around you,
and sudden terror overwhelms you,
or darkness so that you cannot see;
a ood of water covers you.
Agree with God,d and be at peace;

in this way good will come to you.
Receive instruction from his
mouth,
and lay up his words in your heart.
a
b
c
d

Gk Syr Tg Vg: Heb were crushed
Gk Syr: Heb them
Heb him
22.130: Eliphazs third speech. 211: As in his rst speech (chs 45), Eliphaz believes that Job will be delivered because of the cleanness of your hands (v. 30). Surprisingly, however, he here apparently accuses Job of
untold wickedness (v. 5), mainly social injustice (vv. 69). But he cannot believe that Job has actually exacted
pledges . . . for no reason, and stripped the naked of their clothing (v. 6), withheld water and bread, i.e., food, from
the hungry (v. 7), and rejected the pleas of widows and orphans (v. 9). He must mean that, since Job is suering
for some cause, and since the cause cannot be found in any wrong that Job has done, his sin must lie in what he
has failed to do. 1220: God can see Jobs secret sins; they are sins of omission. 2130: How Job can be delivered.
The speech ends on an upliing note: Job has only to return to God (v. 23), pray and full his vows (v. 27); then
748 | hebrew bible
job 23
If you return to the Almighty,a you will
be restored,
if you remove unrighteousness from
your tents,
if you treat gold like dust,
and gold of Ophir like the stones of the
torrent-bed,
and if the Almightya is your gold
and your precious silver,
then you will delight yourself in the
Almighty,a
and lift up your face to God.
You will pray to him, and he will hear
you,
and you will pay your vows.
You will decide on a matter, and it will be
established for you,
and light will shine on your ways.
When others are humiliated, you say it
is pride;
for he saves the humble.
He will deliver even those who are
guilty;
they will escape because of the
cleanness of your hands.b
Would he contend with me in the

greatness of his power?
No; but he would give heed to me.
There an upright person could reason
with him,
and I should be acquitted forever by my
judge.
If I go forward, he is not there;
or backward, I cannot perceive him;
on the left he hides, and I cannot behold
him;
I turne to the right, but I cannot see
him.
But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I shall come out
like gold.
My foot has held fast to his steps;
I have kept his way and have not turned
aside.
I have not departed from the
commandment of his lips;
I have treasured inf my bosom the
words of his mouth.
But he stands alone and who can
dissuade him?
23
Then Job answered:

Today also my complaint is bitter;c
hisd hand is heavy despite my groaning.
Oh, that I knew where I might nd him,
that I might come even to his dwelling!
I would lay my case before him,
and ll my mouth with arguments.
I would learn what he would answer me,
and understand what he would say to me.
a
b
c
d
e
f

Syr Vg Tg: Heb rebellious
Gk Syr: Heb my
Syr Vg: Heb he turns
Gk Vg: Heb from
everything he does will prosper (v. 28). Cf. Zophars advice in 11:1320. 24: There is a pun involving the words for
gold (Heb batser) and like the stones (Heb betsur) and the words dust (Heb apar) and Ophir (Heb opir).
Ophir was an Arabian city famous for its high-quality gold (Gen 10.29; 1 Kings 9.28; 1 Chr 29.4).
23.124.25: Jobs eighth speech. This speech is a soliloquy, addressed neither to the friends nor to God. In ch
23 Job is concerned mainly with himself and his sense of how inaccessible God is to him. In ch 24 his concern is
with others, especially the innocent poor, who seem to be neglected by God. If he could gain access to God, he
would be vindicated; but he despairs of ever receiving such vindication, since God plainly does not hold regular
times for judgment when wrongs are righted (24.1). 23.317: Oh, that I knew where I might nd him . . . ! God is
plainly not entering into the lawsuit that Job desires (cf. 19.26), so Job must search him out. But his quest is a
failure (vv. 89). God is not acting fairly or legally; what he desires, that he does (v. 13), and that is only to harm
Job. 47: When Job rst imagined a lawsuit with God (9.34), he immediately recognized that he could not succeed. But the more he considers the idea, the more it becomes a reality. In a later speech, even though he has no
hope of success (13.15), he craves to enter into dispute with him (13.3). In his next speech he announces that he
already has a witness stationed in heaven, his cry that is his spokesman (16.1920). Still later, he expresses
his conviction that his case will be heard, even if aer his death (19.27). Now he believes that he would get
justice from God if only he could locate him. 89: Forward, backward, le, and right designate the four cardinal
hebrew bible | 749
job 24
What he desires, that he does.
For he will complete what he appoints
for me;
and many such things are in his mind.
Therefore I am terried at his presence;
when I consider, I am in dread of him.
God has made my heart faint;
the Almightya has terried me;
If only I could vanish in darkness,
and thick darkness would cover my
face!b
24
Why are times not kept by the

Almighty,a
and why do those who know him never
see his days?
The wickedc remove landmarks;
they seize ocks and pasture them.
They drive away the donkey of the
orphan;
they take the widows ox for a pledge.
They thrust the needy o the road;
the poor of the earth all hide
themselves.
Like wild asses in the desert
they go out to their toil,
scavenging in the wasteland
food for their young.
They reap in a eld not their own
and they glean in the vineyard of the
wicked.
They lie all night naked, without clothing,
and have no covering in the cold.
They are wet with the rain of the mountains,
and cling to the rock for want of shelter.
There are those who snatch the orphan
child from the breast,
and take as a pledge the infant of the
poor.
They go about naked, without clothing;

though hungry, they carry the sheaves;
between their terracesd they press out
oil;
they tread the wine presses, but suer
thirst.
From the city the dying groan,
and the throat of the wounded cries for
help;
yet God pays no attention to their
prayer.
There are those who rebel against the
light,
who are not acquainted with its ways,
and do not stay in its paths.
The murderer rises at dusk
to kill the poor and needy,
and in the night is like a thief.
The eye of the adulterer also waits for
the twilight,
saying, No eye will see me;
and he disguises his face.
In the dark they dig through houses;
by day they shut themselves up;
they do not know the light.
For deep darkness is morning to all of
them;
for they are friends with the terrors of
deep darkness.
Swift are they on the face of the waters;
their portion in the land is cursed;

b Or But I am not destroyed by the darkness; he has
concealed the thick darkness from me
c Gk: Heb they

d Meaning of Heb uncertain
directions: east, west, south, and north. 24.125: Why does God not hold regular assize days, i.e., judicial proceedings (times, v. 1), during which the injustices in the worlds government could be cleared up? 212: Why is
the injustice of the suering of the innocent poor allowed to go on for so long? God pays no aention to their
prayer (v. 12). 2: Landmarks, i.e., boundary stones; removing a neighbors landmarks in order to increase the
size of ones own property is prohibited (cf. Deut 9.14; 27.17; Prov 22.28; 23.10; Hos 5.10). 3: The orphan, i.e., the
fatherless, and the widow are examples of the poor and underprivileged. Those pictured here are not as poor
as the homeless daylaborers of vv. 56. 6: Glean, those who owned elds and vineyards were supposed to leave
some produce for the poor to gather (Lev 19.910; 23.22; Deut 24.1; Ruth 2.110). 9: Children could be taken as
slaves until parents paid debts to creditors (2 Kings 4:17; Neh 5.15). 1011: See v.6n. 1317: Why is the injustice
of the successful evildoer allowed to continue? Three typical rebels against the light (v. 13)the murderer, the
adulterer, and the thiefare allowed to live, though their friends are the terrors of deep darkness (v. 17) and they
750 | hebrew bible
job 26
no treader turns toward their vineyards.
Drought and heat snatch away the snow
waters;
so does Sheol those who have sinned.
The womb forgets them;
the worm nds them sweet;
they are no longer remembered;
so wickedness is broken like a tree.
how much less a mortal, who is a maggot,

and a human being, who is a worm!
26
Then Job answered:

How you have helped one who has
no power!
How you have assisted the arm that has
no strength!
How you have counseled one who has no
wisdom,
and given much good advice!
With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose spirit has come forth from
you?
The shades below tremble,
the waters and their inhabitants.
Sheol is naked before God,
and Abaddon has no covering.
He stretches out Zaphone over the void,
and hangs the earth upon nothing.
He binds up the waters in his thick
clouds,
and the cloud is not torn open by them.
He covers the face of the full moon,
and spreads over it his cloud.
He has described a circle on the face of
the waters,
They harma the childless woman,

and do no good to the widow.
Yet Godb prolongs the life of the mighty
by his power;
they rise up when they despair of life.
He gives them security, and they are
supported;
his eyes are upon their ways.
They are exalted a little while, and then
are gone;
they wither and fade like the mallow;c
they are cut o like the heads of grain.
If it is not so, who will prove me a liar,
and show that there is nothing in what
I say?
25

Dominion and fear are with God;d
he makes peace in his high heaven.
Is there any number to his armies?
Upon whom does his light not arise?
How then can a mortal be righteous
before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?
If even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his
sight,
a
b
c
d
e
Gk Tg: Heb feed on or associate with

Heb he
Gk: Heb like all others
Heb him
Or the North
should by rights be with them in the underworld. 1825: These verses about the early death of the wicked are
so unlike Jobs views that they must be either a quotation by Job of the friends (rsv adds You say at the beginning of v. 16), or, possibly part of the missing third speech of Zophar. See also 27.710n.
25.126.14: Bildads third speech. As it stands, Bildads speech is uncommonly short (25.26) but although
26.114 is now assigned to Job, it was probably originally part of Bildads speech. Such a rearrangement would
help remove the problem of having three speeches of Job in a row (chaps. 26, 2728, 2931) without any intervening words from the friends. The theme of Bildads speech would then be the power of God, in three spheres:
in the heavens (25.26), in the underworld (26.56), and in creation (26.713). The speech is an address to Job
(cf. 25.4,6; 26.14), beliling him (26.24), denying his claim to innocence (25.26), and puing him in his place
by focusing exclusively on Gods untrammeled power (26.514). 25.23: He makes peace in his high heaven, probably an allusion to Gods defeat at creation of the powers of chaos (cf. 9.13; 26.1113; Isa 51.9). Peace through terror is Gods style, according to Bildad. 26.5: Shades, i.e., the inhabitants of the underworld. 6: Abaddon (meaning
destruction), another name for Sheol, the abode of the dead. 7: At creation, God stretched out the heavens
(here called Zaphon, the north) like a tent without a center pole and suspended the earth from nothing. 8:
The clouds are conceived as waterskins (cf. 38.37). 10: The circle on the face of the waters appears to be both the
hebrew bible | 751
job 27
at the boundary between light and
darkness.
The pillars of heaven tremble,
and are astounded at his rebuke.
By his power he stilled the Sea;
by his understanding he struck down
Rahab.
By his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced the eeing serpent.
These are indeed but the outskirts of his
ways;
and how small a whisper do we hear of
him!
But the thunder of his power who can
understand?
27
Job again took up his discourse and

said:
As God lives, who has taken away my
right,
and the Almighty,a who has made my
soul bitter,
as long as my breath is in me
and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
my lips will not speak falsehood,
and my tongue will not utter deceit.
Far be it from me to say that you are right;
until I die I will not put away my
integrity from me.
I hold fast my righteousness, and will not
let it go;
my heart does not reproach me for any

of my days.
May my enemy be like the wicked,
and may my opponent be like the
unrighteous.
For what is the hope of the godless when
God cuts them o,
when God takes away their lives?
Will God hear their cry
when trouble comes upon them?
Will they take delight in the Almighty?a
Will they call upon God at all times?
I will teach you concerning the hand of
God;
that which is with the Almightya I will
not conceal.
All of you have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether
vain?
This is the portion of the wicked with
God,
and the heritage that oppressors receive
from the Almighty:a
If their children are multiplied, it is for
the sword;
horizon where the sky meets the earth and the boundary between day and night. 11: The pillars of heaven are
envisaged as supporting the solid canopy of heaven; they are the same as the foundations of the heavens
(2 Sam 22.8). 12: The depiction is still of the creation of the world, when according to some biblical myths God
waged a bale against a monster known as Sea or Rahab (cf. 9.13n.; Ps 89.11; Isa 51.9). 13: The eeing serpent is
another of Gods primordial enemies, called Leviathan in 3.8 and Isa 27.1. 14: These visible and reputed proofs
of Gods greatness are but the outskirts of his ways, and convey only a faint whisper of the thunder of his actual
power. Humans cannot hope to comprehend the real God, but can catch only a glimpse of him.
27.16,1112: Jobs ninth speech. Although chs 2728 are traditionally ascribed to Job, some of their contents
seem more natural in the mouths of other speakers. Chs 27.710,1123 should probably be assigned to Zophar
(who otherwise does not have a third speech), and ch 28 may well be the conclusion of Elihus speeches displaced from this point (see notes on 32.137.24), although many think it is an independent poem, not spoken
by any of the characters in the book of Job. 16: Jobs speech here is short and to the point: for the rst time, he
swears an oath to his innocence. 2: Job swears by the life of Goda bold move, for to do so is eectively a curse
upon God if the oath is not true. 5: If he were to accept the friends reproaches, he would be denying what he
knows to be true about himself. 1112: Job himself, not the stories of the slaying of the dragon at creation, is the
best testimony to the power of God and to his intentions.
27.710,1317; 24.1824; 27.1823: Zophars third speech. The remainder of ch 27 is similar to Zophars second speech in ch 20, except that here the focus is on the fact of the destiny of the wicked, whereas there it had
been on the behavior that marks them out as wicked. He does not mean that Job is one of the wicked; rather, he
paints this picture of their destiny to frighten Job into amendment of life so as to avoid the fate of the wicked.
752 | hebrew bible
job 28
and their ospring have not enough to
eat.
Those who survive them the pestilence
buries,
and their widows make no lamentation.
Though they heap up silver like dust,
and pile up clothing like clay
they may pile it up, but the just will
wear it,
and the innocent will divide the silver.
They build their houses like nests,
like booths made by sentinels of the
vineyard.
They go to bed with wealth, but will do
so no more;
they open their eyes, and it is gone.
Terrors overtake them like a ood;
in the night a whirlwind carries them
o.
The east wind lifts them up and they are
gone;
it sweeps them out of their place.
Ita hurls at them without pity;
they ee from itsb power in headlong
ight.
Ita claps itsb hands at them,
and hisses at them from itsb place.
They open shafts in a valley away from

human habitation;
they are forgotten by travelers,
they sway suspended, remote from
people.
As for the earth, out of it comes bread;
but underneath it is turned up as by
re.
Its stones are the place of sapphires,d
and its dust contains gold.
That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcons eye has not seen it.
The proud wild animals have not trodden
it;
the lion has not passed over it.
They put their hand to the inty rock,
and overturn mountains by the
roots.
They cut out channels in the rocks,
and their eyes see every precious
thing.
The sources of the rivers they probe;e
hidden things they bring to light.
But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of
understanding?
28
Surely there is a mine for silver,

and a place for gold to be rened.
Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
Miners putc an end to darkness,
and search out to the farthest
bound
the ore in gloom and deep
darkness.
a
b
c
d
e
Or He (that is God)
Or his
Heb He puts
Or lapis lazuli
Gk Vg: Heb bind
Ironically, much of the fate of the wicked has already befallen Job. 27.18: Nests and booths are fragile, temporary
structures. 21: The east wind is the sirocco, the hot, violent wind that blew down the house of Jobs children
(1.19).
28.128: A poem on wisdom, or conclusion of Elihus speeches. Although as it stands ch 28 is part of a
speech of Job, it is hard to see why Job, who is focused on the question of justice, should be interested in the
issue of how wisdom is to be acquired. Most scholars therefore regard the chapter as an independent poem,
not spoken by any of the characters in the book of Job, which has found its way into it. Alternatively, its theme
of the desirability of wisdom might be seen as most suitable in the mouth of Elihu (and its nal sentence is
very like 37.24, the nal sentence of Elihus other speeches). Quite possibly, the speeches of Elihu, now in chs
3237, originally preceded this poem in ch 28. 111: The poem begins, in the fashion of a riddle, with a topic far
dierent from the actual subject of the poem, which is the acquisition of wisdom. The opening topic is that
of mining minerals, its theme being the extreme eorts humans will go to in order to acquire things that are
precious. In remote places (forgoen by travelers, v. 4) miners dig shas where they dangle from ropes (sway
suspended). Their lamps put an end to darkness underground (v. 3). Their tunnels are a path no bird of prey knows
hebrew bible | 753
job 29
Mortals do not know the way to it,a
and it is not found in the land of the
living.
The deep says, It is not in me,
and the sea says, It is not with me.
It cannot be gotten for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed out as its
price.
It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.b
Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of
ne gold.
No mention shall be made of coral or of
crystal;
the price of wisdom is above pearls.
The chrysolite of Ethiopiac cannot
compare with it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
and apportioned out the waters by

measure;
when he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt;
then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
And he said to humankind,
Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is
understanding.
29
Job again took up his discourse and

said:
O that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over
me;
when his lamp shone over my head,
and by his light I walked through
darkness;
when I was in my prime,
when the friendship of God was upon
my tent;
when the Almightyd was still with me,
when my children were around me;
when my steps were washed with milk,
and the rock poured out for me streams
of oil!
Where then does wisdom come from?

And where is the place of
understanding?
It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
and concealed from the birds of the air.
Abaddon and Death say,
We have heard a rumor of it with our
ears.
God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
For he looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees everything under the heavens.
When he gave to the wind its weight,
a
b
c
d
Gk: Heb its price

Or lapis lazuli
Or Nubia; Heb Cush
(v. 7). 12: Wisdom is even more desirable, but harder to get at than the precious metals. 1319: Wisdom is apparently impossible to nd or to buy (but see v. 28!). 14: The Deep and the Sea are, unusually, personied, as
ancient powers that might know the location of valuable objects like wisdom. 1519: Even if it could be found,
wisdom could not be bought, being more valuable than the most expensive items, gold, silver, precious stones,
and glass. 16: Ophir, known as a source of gold; see 22.24n. 17: Glass in pre-Roman times was as expensive as
precious stones; it was used in jewelry and inlays. 2027: Wisdom is apparently inaccessible to humans, its
place being known only to God (v. 23), who determined its nature at creation (vv. 2427). 2022: Abaddon and
Death, see 26.6n. 28: Surprisingly, it turns out, although wisdom is desirable and precious, and cannot be found
in any place or bought for any price, there is no secret about its essence. It consists of the fear of the Lord, i.e.,
the emotion of fear in the presence of God, and of shunning evilthat is, a proper aitude both to religion and
to ethics. It is the aitude of Job in 1.1.
29.131.40: Jobs tenth speech. The speech consists of three sections: in the rst Job surveys, in nostalgic
mood, his happy former life (ch 29); in the second he portrays, in pathetic mood, his present isolation and
degradation (ch 30); in the third, he uers, in deant mood, a series of self-curses that climax with a desperate
appeal to be heard and vindicated (ch 31). The presence of the friends is ignored completely, and, except for
30.2023, God is not addressed: the focus is entirely on Jobs own experience. 29.225: Job wishes he were still
living his former life. 26: A picture of his domestic bliss, realistic description mingling with metaphors like my
754 | hebrew bible
job 30
When I went out to the gate of the city,
when I took my seat in the square,
the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose up and stood;
the nobles refrained from talking,
and laid their hands on their mouths;
the voices of princes were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of
their mouths.
When the ear heard, it commended me,
and when the eye saw, it approved;
because I delivered the poor who cried,
and the orphan who had no helper.
The blessing of the wretched came upon
me,
and I caused the widows heart to sing
for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed
me;
my justice was like a robe and a turban.
I was eyes to the blind,
and feet to the lame.
I was a father to the needy,
and I championed the cause of the
stranger.
I broke the fangs of the unrighteous,
and made them drop their prey from
their teeth.
Then I thought, I shall die in my nest,
and I shall multiply my days like the
phoenix;a
my roots spread out to the waters,
with the dew all night on my branches;
my glory was fresh with me,
and my bow ever new in my hand.
They listened to me, and waited,
and kept silence for my counsel.
After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word dropped upon them like

dew.b
They waited for me as for the rain;
they opened their mouths as for the
spring rain.
I smiled on them when they had no
condence;
and the light of my countenance they
did not extinguish.c
I chose their way, and sat as chief,
and I lived like a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
30
But now they make sport of me,

those who are younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to set with the dogs of my ock.
What could I gain from the strength of
their hands?
All their vigor is gone.
Through want and hard hunger
they gnaw the dry and desolate ground,
they pick mallow and the leaves of
bushes,
and to warm themselves the roots of
broom.
They are driven out from society;
people shout after them as after a thief.
In the gullies of wadis they must live,
in holes in the ground, and in the rocks.
Among the bushes they bray;
under the nettles they huddle together.
A senseless, disreputable brood,
they have been whipped out of the land.
a Or like sand
b Heb lacks like dew
steps were washed with milk (v. 6), signifying a superabundance of wealth. 725: A picture of his social worth, its
principal ingredient being the honor accorded by his fellow citizens. 7: The town square at the gate of the city
was the place where men would transact business and sele maers of law (cf. Ruth 4.112). 8: Young men saw
me and withdrew as a mark of deference. 1217: Job remembers his main role as protector of the underprivileged:
the poor, orphans, the dying, widows, the blind, the lame, strangers. 14: Righteousness adorned him, bringing
him honor as a costly garment would. 17: Enemies of the underprivileged, the unrighteous, are pictured as wild
animals. 18: Phoenix, a mythical bird that lives for 500 years or more and thought to be reborn from its ashes. 25:
Job claims to have held an almost royal status. 30.131: Job depicts his present situationhis dishonor (vv. 115)
and his inner suering (vv. 1623)and concludes with an address to God (vv. 2023), and a lament (vv. 2431).
1: The young men who despise him are scorned as low-born. Contrast Jobs words in 24.112. 28: Their fathers
are imagined by Job as without honor (disreputable, v. 8), excluded from ordinary society (v. 5) and living rough
in the wild (v. 6), and with only leaves and roots to eat (v. 4). 4: Mallow, or saltwort, a leafy plant eaten by the
hebrew bible | 755
job 31
And now they mock me in song;
I am a byword to them.
They abhor me, they keep aloof from
me;
they do not hesitate to spit at the sight
of me.
Because God has loosed my bowstring
and humbled me,
they have cast o restraint in my
presence.
On my right hand the rabble rise up;
they send me sprawling,
and build roads for my ruin.
They break up my path,
they promote my calamity;
no one restrainsa them.
As through a wide breach they come;
amid the crash they roll on.
Terrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my prosperity has passed away like
a cloud.
And now my soul is poured out within
me;
days of aiction have taken hold of me.
The night racks my bones,
and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.
With violence he seizes my garment;b
he grasps me byc the collar of my tunic.
He has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like dust and ashes.
I cry to you and you do not answer me;
I stand, and you merely look at me.
You have turned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you
persecute me.
You lift me up on the wind, you make me
ride on it,
and you toss me about in the roar of the
storm.
I know that you will bring me to death,

and to the house appointed for all
living.
Surely one does not turn against the
needy,d
when in disaster they cry for help.e
Did I not weep for those whose day was
hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
But when I looked for good, evil came;
and when I waited for light, darkness
came.
My inward parts are in turmoil, and are
never still;
days of aiction come to meet me.
I go about in sunless gloom;
I stand up in the assembly and cry for
help.
I am a brother of jackals,
and a companion of ostriches.
My skin turns black and falls from me,
and my bones burn with heat.
My lyre is turned to mourning,
and my pipe to the voice of those who
weep.
31
I have made a covenant with my eyes;

how then could I look upon a virgin?
What would be my portion from God
above,
and my heritage from the Almightyf on
high?
a
b
c
d
e
f
Cn: Heb helps

Gk: Heb my garment is disgured
Heb like
Heb ruin
very poor. Broom, the largest bush in the desert; its roots made good charcoal. 915: The same young men as in
v. 1, who in happier days would have deferred to him (29.6), now scorn Job as a sinner suering Gods punishment. 1114: He depicts them as military enemies, aacking him like a besieged city (cf. 16.1214; 19.12). 1623:
Worse even than his loss of honor is his sense that God has become his torturer, who intends his death (v. 23).
16: My soul is poured out within me, i.e., his life force is running away like liquid from a vessel. 2431: Jobs misery
is a compound of his loss of former dignity, inner turmoil, physical pain. He is in mourning for the loss of what he
once had. 29: Jobs miserable cries are like those of jackals and ostriches, creatures that inhabit desolate places.
31.140: For the last time, Job summons God to a lawsuit, demanding he state what the charges against him are
(v. 35). He imagines himself composing a document arming his innocence, an oath of clearance, in the form
of a curse upon himself that is meant to come into eect if he is lying. He declares his innocence against seven
756 | hebrew bible
job 31
Does not calamity befall the
unrighteous,
and disaster the workers of iniquity?
Does he not see my ways,
and number all my steps?
If I have walked with falsehood,
and my foot has hurried to
deceit
let me be weighed in a just balance,
and let God know my
integrity!
if my step has turned aside from the way,
and my heart has followed my eyes,
and if any spot has clung to my hands;
then let me sow, and another eat;
and let what grows for me be rooted
out.
If my heart has been enticed by a
woman,
and I have lain in wait at my neighbors
door;
then let my wife grind for another,
and let other men kneel over her.
For that would be a heinous crime;
that would be a criminal
oense;
for that would be a re consuming down
to Abaddon,
and it would burn to the root all my
harvest.
If I have rejected the cause of my male
or female slaves,
when they brought a complaint against
me;
what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he makes inquiry, what shall I
answer him?
Did not he who made me in the womb
make them?
And did not one fashion us in the

womb?
If I have withheld anything that the
poor desired,
or have caused the eyes of the widow
to fail,
or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the orphan has not eaten from it
for from my youth I reared the orphana
like a father,
and from my mothers womb I guided
the widowb
if I have seen anyone perish for lack of
clothing,
or a poor person without covering,
whose loins have not blessed me,
and who was not warmed with the
eece of my sheep;
if I have raised my hand against the
orphan,
because I saw I had supporters at the
gate;
then let my shoulder blade fall from my
shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its
socket.
For I was in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his
majesty.
If I have made gold my trust,
or called ne gold my condence;
if I have rejoiced because my wealth was
great,
or because my hand had gotten much;
if I have looked at the sunc when it
shone,
a Heb him
b Heb her
c Heb the light
possible charges: deceit (vv. 58), adultery (vv. 912), disregard of servants (vv. 1315), disregard of the poor (vv.
1623), trust in wealth (vv. 2428), rejoicing at the misfortune of others (vv. 2934), and assault on the land (vv.
3840b). 1: He has kept himself so far from sexual misconduct that he has even forbidden his desires. 910: In
Jobs world, a mans adultery with a married woman is an oense against the womans husband, so the punishment he would deserve is to suer the multiple adultery of other men with his wife aer she had become a
prostitute. The verb kneel has a sexual overtone. 12: Abaddon, the abode of the dead (see 26.6n). 1315: Job goes
far beyond the obligations of his time in admiing that slaves have any rights and in arming their common
humanity with him. 1623: Jobs humanitarian deeds are implicitly a rebual of Eliphazs claims (24.69). Cf.
29.1217. 21: At the gate, see 29.7n. 2428: Condence in ones wealth and the devotion paid to heavenly bodies
hebrew bible | 757
job 32
or the moon moving in splendor,
and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my mouth has kissed my hand;
this also would be an iniquity to be
punished by the judges,
for I should have been false to God
above.
If I have rejoiced at the ruin of those
who hated me,
or exulted when evil overtook them
I have not let my mouth sin
by asking for their lives with a curse
if those of my tent ever said,
Othat we might be sated with his
esh!a
the stranger has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my doors to the
traveler
if I have concealed my transgressions as
others do,b
by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
because I stood in great fear of the
multitude,
and the contempt of families terried
me,
so that I kept silence, and did not go out
of doors
O that I had one to hear me!
(Here is my signature! Let the Almightyc
answer me!)
O that I had the indictment written by
my adversary!
Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;

I would bind it on me like a crown;
I would give him an account of all my
steps;
like a prince I would approach him.
If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept together;
if I have eaten its yield without payment,
and caused the death of its owners;
let thorns grow instead of wheat,
and foul weeds instead of barley.
The words of Job are ended.
32
So these three men ceased to answer

Job, because he was righteous in his
own eyes. Then Elihu son of Barachel the
Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He
was angry at Job because he justied himself
rather than God; he was angry also at Jobs
three friends because they had found no answer, though they had declared Job to be in the
wrong.d Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job,
because they were older than he. But when
Elihu saw that there was no answer in the
mouths of these three men, he became angry.
a
b
c
d

Or as Adam did
Another ancient tradition reads answer, and had
put God in the wrong
are two forms of false worship. 27: My mouth has kissed my hand, to throw a kiss as a gesture of worship. 31: O
that we might be sated with his esh!, or beer, O that there were someone not yet satised with his meat!
There is no chance of nding anyone who has not beneted from Jobs hospitality. 3537: These verses are the
climax to the speech, and it is strange that they are not at the end; perhaps vv. 3840 have been misplaced and
should follow v. 34. 35: One to hear me, i.e., God. 36: Job would be proud to display the sheet of charges God has
against him, for it would be blank (or else lled with falsehoods).
32.137.24: Elihus speeches. Many scholars think that the Elihu speeches (chs. 3237) are a later addition to the
book, partly because Elihu is not mentioned in the prologue or epilogue. It may be, however, that the Elihu speeches originally followed directly aer the last of the friends third speeches, i.e., aer chap. 27, and that chap. 28 was
the last of Elihus speeches. This rearrangement would make beer sense of the phrase these three men in 32.1, and it
would also mean that the Lord addresses Job immediately aer Jobs last speech (chaps. 2931) is concluded. In any
case, the Elihu speeches are part of the book we now have, and Elihu has a distinctive contribution to make to its
argument. Elihu, who professes himself opposed both to Job and to his friends (32.23,1012; 33.112) is oering a
middle way between them. Against the friends, he argues that suering is not necessarily the penalty for sin already
commied, but may be a warning, to keep a person back from sin; it is beer understood as discipline or education.
32.133.33: Elihus rst speech. 32.614: Elihu has hitherto deferred to the other friends on account of their
greater age, but he realizes that all humans have an equal access to wisdom, since all have in them the breath of
the Almighty (v. 8; cf. Gen 2.7). He feels he must speak because the friends have not answered Job adequately (vv.
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job 33
Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered:
I am young in years,
and you are aged;
therefore I was timid and afraid
to declare my opinion to you.
I said, Let days speak,
and many years teach wisdom.
But truly it is the spirit in a mortal,
the breath of the Almighty,a that makes
for understanding.
It is not the oldb that are wise,
nor the aged that understand what is
right.
Therefore I say, Listen to me;
let me also declare my opinion.
See, I waited for your words,
I listened for your wise sayings,
while you searched out what to say.
I gave you my attention,
but there was in fact no one that
confuted Job,
no one among you that answered his
words.
Yet do not say, We have found wisdom;
God may vanquish him, not a
human.
He has not directed his words against
me,
and I will not answer him with your
speeches.
They are dismayed, they answer no
more;
they have not a word to say.
And am I to wait, because they do not
speak,
because they stand there, and answer
no more?
I also will give my answer;
I also will declare my opinion.
For I am full of words;
the spirit within me constrains me.
My heart is indeed like wine that has no

vent;
like new wineskins, it is ready to burst.
I must speak, so that I may nd relief;
I must open my lips and answer.
I will not show partiality to any person
or use attery toward anyone.
For I do not know how to atter
or my Maker would soon put an end to
me!
33
But now, hear my speech, OJob,

and listen to all my words.
See, I open my mouth;
the tongue in my mouth speaks.
My words declare the uprightness of my
heart,
and what my lips know they speak
sincerely.
The spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almightya gives
me life.
Answer me, if you can;
set your words in order before me; take
your stand.
See, before God I am as you are;
I too was formed from a piece of clay.
No fear of me need terrify you;
my pressure will not be heavy on you.
Surely, you have spoken in my hearing,

and I have heard the sound of your
words.
You say, I am clean, without
transgression;
I am pure, and there is no iniquity in
me.
Look, he nds occasions against me,
he counts me as his enemy;
he puts my feet in the stocks,
and watches all my paths.
b Gk Syr Vg: Heb many
1114). 7: I said, i.e., to myself. 9: It is not the old that are wise, he must mean that it is not always the old who have
wisdom. 15: From here to the end of ch 33 Elihu addresses Job, referring to the friends as they. 1722: Elihus
third reason for speaking is that he feels he will explode with frustration if he does not. 19: It is not his heart but
his belly that is like a wineskin that the new fermenting wine will burst if it is not vented. 33.17: Elihu challenges Job to prepare for debate. 833: Job believes, says Elihu, that he is faultless (v. 9), that Gods treatment of
him is pure malice (vv. 1011), and that God refuses to answer his complaints of injustice (v. 13). Elihus response
is that God has various ways of speaking to humans, e.g., dreams (vv. 1517) and suering (vv. 1928). In both
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job 34
But in this you are not right. I will
answer you:
God is greater than any mortal.
Why do you contend against him,
saying, He will answer none of mya
words?
For God speaks in one way,
and in two, though people do not
perceive it.
In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on mortals,
while they slumber on their beds,
then he opens their ears,
and terries them with warnings,
that he may turn them aside from their
deeds,
and keep them from pride,
to spare their souls from the Pit,
their lives from traversing the River.
They are also chastened with pain upon
their beds,
and with continual strife in their bones,
so that their lives loathe bread,
and their appetites dainty food.
Their esh is so wasted away that it
cannot be seen;
and their bones, once invisible, now
stick out.
Their souls draw near the Pit,
and their lives to those who bring
death.
Then, if there should be for one of them
an angel,
a mediator, one of a thousand,
one who declares a person upright,
and he is gracious to that person, and
says,
Deliver him from going down into the
Pit;
I have found a ransom;
let his esh become fresh with youth;

let him return to the days of his
youthful vigor;
then he prays to God, and is accepted by
him,
he comes into his presence with joy,
and Godb repays him for his
righteousness.
That person sings to others and says,
I sinned, and perverted what was right,
and it was not paid back to me.
He has redeemed my soul from going
down to the Pit,
and my life shall see the light.
God indeed does all these things,
twice, three times, with mortals,
to bring back their souls from the Pit,
so that they may see the light of life.c
Pay heed, Job, listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
If you have anything to say, answer me;
speak, for I desire to justify you.
If not, listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.
34
Then Elihu continued and said:

Hear my words, you wise men,
and give ear to me, you who know;
for the ear tests words
as the palate tastes food.
Let us choose what is right;
let us determine among ourselves what
is good.
For Job has said, I am innocent,
and God has taken away my right;
a Compare Gk: Heb his

b Heb he
c Syr: Heb to be lighted with the light of life
cases, Gods purpose is not to punish but to rescue humans from their sin (vv. 2930). 18: The Pit, another term
for Sheol, the abode of the dead. The River, the underworld stream the dead must cross before they reach Sheol,
like the Greek river Styx. 23: An angel, a mediator, one of a thousand, probably the thousand were a group of
supportive angels (unlike the accusatory angel the Satan), who would take up the cause of humans in the
divine court (cf. 5.1, where Eliphaz denies that Job can expect any help from such angels). 24: Ransom is usually
money paid to release a guilty person from punishment, but here some unspecied ground for forgiveness. 32:
Elihus ultimate purpose, to justify Job, is like that of the supportive angels.
34.137: Elihus second speech. In vv. 215 Elihu addresses the friends, in vv. 1637 Job. God, he argues, cannot do wrong by failing to execute retribution; but Job is doing wrong by claiming that God has acted unjustly
toward him. All of Elihus criticism of Job concerns Jobs speeches; he does not hold against him anything he
may have said or done before the book opened. His focus is not on what Job deserves but on the infamy of his
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job 34
in spite of being right I am counted a liar;
my wound is incurable, though I am
without transgression.
Who is there like Job,
who drinks up scong like water,
who goes in company with evildoers
and walks with the wicked?
For he has said, It prots one nothing
to take delight in God.
In a moment they die;

at midnight the people are shaken and
pass away,
and the mighty are taken away by no
human hand.
For his eyes are upon the ways of
mortals,
and he sees all their steps.
There is no gloom or deep darkness
where evildoers may hide themselves.
For he has not appointed a timed for
anyone
to go before God in judgment.
He shatters the mighty without
investigation,
and sets others in their place.
Thus, knowing their works,
he overturns them in the night, and
they are crushed.
He strikes them for their wickedness
while others look on,
because they turned aside from
following him,
and had no regard for any of his ways,
so that they caused the cry of the poor to
come to him,
and he heard the cry of the aicted
When he is quiet, who can condemn?
When he hides his face, who can behold
him,
whether it be a nation or an
individual?
Therefore, hear me, you who have

sense,
far be it from God that he should do
wickedness,
and from the Almightya that he should
do wrong.
For according to their deeds he will repay
them,
and according to their ways he will
make it befall them.
Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
and the Almightya will not pervert
justice.
Who gave him charge over the earth
and who laid on himb the whole world?
If he should take back his spiritc to
himself,
and gather to himself his breath,
all esh would perish together,
and all mortals return to dust.
If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.
Shall one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn one who is righteous
and mighty,
who says to a king, You scoundrel!
and to princes, You wicked men!;
who shows no partiality to nobles,
nor regards the rich more than the poor,
for they are all the work of his hands?
a
b
c
d

Heb lacks on him
Heb his heart his spirit
Cn: Heb yet
complaints against God. 7: Scong is blasphemy against God, which is how Elihu regards Jobs criticism of God.
8: Goes in company with evildoers, metaphorically, by questioning the divine justice, Job puts himself in bad
company. 9: According to Job in 21.15, it is the wicked who say that there is no prot in religion, but Elihu asserts
that Jobs words, such as those in 9.22 and 21.7, amount to the same thing. Yet if Job were to say that religion is
indeed protable, he would deny that his piety is disinterested and he would accept the calumny of the Satan!
1015: God acts justly, for the righteous remain alive; if he did not, they might well be dead, for he has only to
gather to himself his breath and mortals die. 1637: Turning to Job, Elihu makes the same argument: God, as the
universal ruler, cannot act wrongly, and Jobs suggestion that he can is itself a wickedness. 21: Although Elihu
speaks of mortals generally, his concern is purely with rulers. 2428: Elihu does not refer to all rulers, only to
those who have behaved unjustly.
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job 35
so that the godless should not reign,
or those who ensnare the people.
For has anyone said to God,
I have endured punishment; I will not
oend any more;
teach me what I do not see;
if I have done iniquity, I will do it no
more?
Will he then pay back to suit you,
because you reject it?
For you must choose, and not I;
therefore declare what you know.a
Those who have sense will say to me,
and the wise who hear me will say,
Job speaks without knowledge,
his words are without insight.
Would that Job were tried to the limit,
because his answers are those of the
wicked.
For he adds rebellion to his sin;
he claps his hands among us,
and multiplies his words against God.
35
Elihu continued and said:

Do you think this to be just?
You say, I am in the right before God.
If you ask, What advantage have I?
How am I better o than if I had sinned?
I will answer you
and your friends with you.
Look at the heavens and see;
observe the clouds, which are higher
than you.
If you have sinned, what do you
accomplish against him?
And if your transgressions are
multiplied, what do you do to him?
If you are righteous, what do you give to
him;
or what does he receive from your
hand?
Your wickedness aects others like you,

and your righteousness, other human
beings.
Because of the multitude of oppressions
people cry out;
they call for help because of the arm of
the mighty.
But no one says, Where is God my
Maker,
who gives strength in the night,
who teaches us more than the animals of
the earth,
and makes us wiser than the birds of
the air?
There they cry out, but he does not
answer,
because of the pride of evildoers.
Surely God does not hear an empty cry,
nor does the Almightyb regard it.
How much less when you say that you do
not see him,
that the case is before him, and you are
waiting for him!
And now, because his anger does not
punish,
and he does not greatly heed
transgression,c
Job opens his mouth in empty talk,
he multiplies words without
knowledge.
36
Elihu continued and said:

Bear with me a little, and I will show
you,
a Meaning of Heb of verses 29-33 uncertain

b Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
c Theodotion Symmachus Compare Vg: Meaning of
Heb uncertain
35.116: Elihus third speech. 28: Elihu takes up Jobs complaints, that he is no beer o than if he had
sinned (v. 3b), and that there is no benet in righteousness (v. 3a). Elihu responds that piety should be assessed
in terms of benet, and that justice is not a maer of ones own rights and deserts, but of others beneting
from ones virtue. 6: Reminiscent of Job in 7.20; but whereas Job meant that any sin he may have done is hardly
worth retribution since he himself will soon be dead, Elihu means that the important thing is the eect of sin or
righteousness upon humans rather than upon God. 916: The absence of a response from God does not mean
that God cares nothing about humans, as Job claimed (24.12). God responds to the cries of the oppressed only
if they deserve justice, for being oppressed is no proof of innocence, and crying out in pain is not the same as
crying to God for deliverance.
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job 36
for I have yet something to say on Gods
behalf.
I will bring my knowledge from far away,
and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
For truly my words are not false;
one who is perfect in knowledge is with
you.
Surely God is mighty and does not
despise any;
he is mighty in strength of
understanding.
He does not keep the wicked alive,
but gives the aicted their right.
He does not withdraw his eyes from the
righteous,
but with kings on the throne
he sets them forever, and they are
exalted.
And if they are bound in fetters
and caught in the cords of aiction,
then he declares to them their work
and their transgressions, that they are
behaving arrogantly.
He opens their ears to instruction,
and commands that they return from
iniquity.
If they listen, and serve him,
they complete their days in prosperity,
and their years in pleasantness.
But if they do not listen, they shall perish
by the sword,
and die without knowledge.
The godless in heart cherish anger;
they do not cry for help when he binds
them.
They die in their youth,
and their life ends in shame.a
He delivers the aicted by their
aiction,
and opens their ear by adversity.
He also allured you out of distress

into a broad place where there was no
constraint,
and what was set on your table was full
of fatness.
But you are obsessed with the case of
the wicked;
judgment and justice seize you.
Beware that wrath does not entice you
into scong,
and do not let the greatness of the
ransom turn you aside.
Will your cry avail to keep you from
distress,
or will all the force of your strength?
Do not long for the night,
when peoples are cut o in their place.
Beware! Do not turn to iniquity;
because of that you have been tried by
aiction.
See, God is exalted in his power;
who is a teacher like him?
Who has prescribed for him his way,
or who can say, You have done wrong?
Remember to extol his work,
of which mortals have sung.
All people have looked on it;
everyone watches it from far away.
Surely God is great, and we do not know
him;
the number of his years is unsearchable.
For he draws up the drops of water;
he distillsb his mist in rain,
which the skies pour down
and drop upon mortals abundantly.
Can anyone understand the spreading of
the clouds,
a Heb ends among the temple prostitutes
b Cn: Heb they distill
36.137.24: Elihus fourth speech. It has two parts: 36.225, continuing the theme of the justice of God, and
36.2637.24, an instruction on the theme of the God of nature, its subtext being that Gods energies in creation and world governance are vehicles of his righteous judgments. 36.515: The topic is how God treats those
righteous people who fall into sin (vv. 712,15) in comparison with how he treats the truly wicked (vv. 6,14). By
allowing that the righteous are sometimes sinful, Elihu transcends the traditional dogma that drew a rm line
between righteous and wicked. 1625: Now Elihu oers his personal advice to Job. Finding himself subject to
Gods punishment, what he should do is not to complain about the injustice of it, but to discover in it Gods
instruction. 36.2637.24: Suering is education, says Elihu, and God is the great Teacher. He has built into the
order of creation lessons for the improvement of humans. Rain, for example, is a means of exhibiting divine
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job 37
the thunderings of his pavilion?
See, he scatters his lightning around him
and covers the roots of the sea.
For by these he governs peoples;
he gives food in abundance.
He covers his hands with the lightning,
and commands it to strike the mark.
Its crashinga tells about him;
he is jealousa with anger against
iniquity.
37
At this also my heart trembles,

and leaps out of its place.
Listen, listen to the thunder of his voice
and the rumbling that comes from his
mouth.
Under the whole heaven he lets it loose,
and his lightning to the corners of the
earth.
After it his voice roars;
he thunders with his majestic voice
and he does not restrain the lightningsb
when his voice is heard.
God thunders wondrously with his voice;
he does great things that we cannot
comprehend.
For to the snow he says, Fall on the
earth;
and the shower of rain, his heavy
shower of rain,
serves as a sign on everyones hand,
so that all whom he has made may
know it.c
Then the animals go into their lairs
and remain in their dens.
From its chamber comes the whirlwind,
and cold from the scattering winds.
By the breath of God ice is given,
and the broad waters are frozen fast.
He loads the thick cloud with moisture;
the clouds scatter his lightning.
They turn round and round by his

guidance,
to accomplish all that he commands
them
on the face of the habitable world.
Whether for correction, or for his land,
or for love, he causes it to happen.
Hear this, OJob;
stop and consider the wondrous works
of God.
Do you know how God lays his command
upon them,
and causes the lightning of his cloud to
shine?
Do you know the balancings of the
clouds,
the wondrous works of the one whose
knowledge is perfect,
you whose garments are hot
when the earth is still because of the
south wind?
Can you, like him, spread out the skies,
hard as a molten mirror?
Teach us what we shall say to him;
we cannot draw up our case because of
darkness.
Should he be told that I want to speak?
Did anyone ever wish to be swallowed
up?
Now, no one can look on the light
when it is bright in the skies,
when the wind has passed and cleared
them.
Out of the north comes golden splendor;
around God is awesome majesty.

b Heb them
c Meaning of Heb of verse 7 uncertain
municence toward humans. 29: Pavilion, Gods heavenly dwelling (cf. 2 Sam 22.12). 30: Covers the roots of the
sea, the verb should rather mean uncovers. 32: It is here bolt lightning, as distinct from sheet lightning in v.
30. 36.3337.5: Thunder and lightning are further examples of how God teaches humans. 37.68: The snows
and rains of winter are both mysterious (v. 5b) and a further communication of the divine, so that all may recognize that he is at work (as v. 7b should probably be translated). 913: Other meteorological phenomena. 9:
The winds are stored in heavenly chambers. Whirlwind, or rather tempest (a whirlwind is properly a tornado).
13: Rain can have various signicances: it may be a punishment (a correction), a sign of Gods love (or rather,
loyalty), or a token of his care for his world (as when it falls on uninhabited land; cf. 38.26). In any case, it
tells humans something about Gods workings. 1424: Some of the most obscure verses in the whole book. 22:
The north sometimes means the heavens (as in 26.7), and the golden splendor may be simply the sun. For the
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job 38
The Almightyawe cannot nd him;
he is great in power and justice,
and abundant righteousness he will not
violate.
Therefore mortals fear him;
he does not regard any who are wise in
their own conceit.
38
Then the Lord answered Job out of

the whirlwind:
Who is this that darkens counsel by
words without knowledge?
Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall
declare to me.
Where were you when I laid the

foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements
surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone
when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beingsb shouted
for joy?
Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb?
when I made the clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed bounds for it,

and set bars and doors,
and said, Thus far shall you come, and
no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be
stopped?
Have you commanded the morning
since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
so that it might take hold of the skirts of
the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?
It is changed like clay under the seal,
and it is dyedc like a garment.
Light is withheld from the wicked,
and their uplifted arm is broken.
Have you entered into the springs of
the sea,
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
Have the gates of death been revealed to
you,
or have you seen the gates of deep
darkness?
Have you comprehended the expanse of
the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.
b Heb sons of God
c Cn: Heb and they stand forth
possibility that the speeches of Elihu originally ended with the poem about wisdom, see 32.137.24n; 28.128n.
38.142.6: The Lords speeches and Jobs responses.
38.140.2: The Lords rst speech. Between the proem in 38.23 and the peroration in 40.12, the speech
is divided into two almost equal halves: 38.438 concerning the physical universe, and 38.3939.30 concerning the world of animals. The divine speeches are notable for their silence over Jobs complaint of injustice, as
if God means to say that administering justice is not part of his cosmic plan. 38.1: Whirlwind, beer storm,
see 37.9. 2: Counsel, or rather the plan, the set of divine principles according to which the creation is run. Job
darkens, or obscures, them by focusing on his quest for justice, which is not included in the divine plan. 3: Gird
up your loins like a man, as a warrior does in preparation for combat. Job had beer understand that summoning God to trial will not lead to a calm, rational, orderly legal process. 438: In ten strophes, the Lord sketches
his design, or plan, for the universe. 47: Creation is conceived as the erection of a building. For the creator as
architect, see Prov 8.2730. The earth was built on foundations (vv. 46; see Pss 78.69; 102.25; 104.5; Isa 48.13),
and strict limits were set for the primeval waters of chaos (vv. 811; 26.10; Pss 104.9; 148.6). 5: The line, the measuring line for its foundations. 6: Cornerstone should properly be capstone, the last and topmost stone laid.
Sinking the bases and laying the capstone mark the beginning and end of the work. 7: The stars are regarded
as heavenly beings. 811: The separation of sea and land at creation. There is allusion to the ancient myth of a
primordial divine struggle with the sea (cf. 7.12; 9.13), although the imagery uncharacteristically treats the sea as
a newborn baby. 1215: The daily renewal of creation as each day is created afresh. As in 24.1317, it is assumed
that the wicked prefer the cover of darkness for their activities. 1618: The extent of the world, together with
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job 38
Where is the way to the dwelling of
light,
and where is the place of darkness,
that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to
its home?
Surely you know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
Have you entered the storehouses of
the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the
hail,
which I have reserved for the time of
trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
What is the way to the place where the
light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered
upon the earth?
Who has cut a channel for the torrents
of rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt,
to bring rain on a land where no one
lives,
on the desert, which is empty of human
life,
to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground put forth grass?
Has the rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew?
From whose womb did the ice come
forth,
and who has given birth to the
hoarfrost of heaven?
The waters become hard like stone,

and the face of the deep is frozen.
Can you bind the chains of the
Pleiades,
or loose the cords of Orion?
Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in
their season,
or can you guide the Bear with its
children?
Do you know the ordinances of the
heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the
earth?
Can you lift up your voice to the
clouds,
so that a ood of waters may cover you?
Can you send forth lightnings, so that
they may go
and say to you, Here we are?
Who has put wisdom in the inward
parts,a
or given understanding to the mind?a
Who has the wisdom to number the
clouds?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the
heavens,
when the dust runs into a mass
and the clods cling together?
Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or satisfy the appetite of the young
lions,
the underworld, death being regarded as a city with gates. 1921: Light and darkness are thought of as dwelling
in the same home, using it each day in turns. 2224: Snow, hail, and heat are kept in heavenly storehouses. 24:
It is probably heat, rather than light that is distributed over the earth, oen by the hot, violent east wind or
sirocco. 2527: Rainstorms travel via an unseen channel through the air from the clouds to the earth. 2830:
Rain, dew, ice, hoarfrost are more placid forms of moisture than torrents (v. 25). 28: Has the rain a father? No, it
has no mythological ancestry, it is not supernatural. 29: Ice is properly rime formed when water droplets in
fog freeze, as on trees, as distinct from hoarfrost formed when water vapor seles, as on the ground. 3133: The
four constellations, the Pleiades, Orion, Mazzaroth (perhaps the Hyades), and the Bear (or beer, Aldebaran),
were all regarded as bringers of rain; see 9.9n. Binding and loosing would be interfering with their rain-making.
3438: The clouds and lightning do not fall of their own accord, but in obedience to their masters voice. 36:
The verse should be translated: Who gave the ibis its wisdom or endowed the rooster with its intelligence?
Both birds were regarded as foretellers of rain, which is depicted as stored in great jars (v. 37; not waterskins)
in the clouds. 38.3939.30: In seven strophes, nine animals are depicted. They are all undomesticated animals,
which live independently of humans. 38.3941: The lion and the ravenone huge, the other smallboth need
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job 39
when they crouch in their dens,
or lie in wait in their covert?
Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God,
and wander about for lack of food?
39
Do you know when the mountain

goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?
Can you number the months that they
fulll,
and do you know the time when they
give birth,
when they crouch to give birth to their
ospring,
and are delivered of their young?
Their young ones become strong, they
grow up in the open;
they go forth, and do not return to
them.
Who has let the wild ass go free?

Who has loosed the bonds of the swift
ass,
to which I have given the steppe for its
home,
the salt land for its dwelling place?
It scorns the tumult of the city;
it does not hear the shouts of the driver.
It ranges the mountains as its pasture,
and it searches after every green thing.
Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will it spend the night at your crib?
Can you tie it in the furrow with ropes,
or will it harrow the valleys after you?
Will you depend on it because its
strength is great,
and will you hand over your labor to it?
Do you have faith in it that it will return,
and bring your grain to your threshing
oor?a
The ostrichs wings ap wildly,
though its pinions lack plumage.b
For it leaves its eggs to the earth,

and lets them be warmed on the
ground,
forgetting that a foot may crush them,
and that a wild animal may trample
them.
It deals cruelly with its young, as if they
were not its own;
though its labor should be in vain, yet it
has no fear;
because God has made it forget wisdom,
and given it no share in understanding.
When it spreads its plumes aloft,b
it laughs at the horse and its rider.
Do you give the horse its might?
Do you clothe its neck with mane?
Do you make it leap like the locust?
Its majestic snorting is terrible.
It pawsc violently, exults mightily;
it goes out to meet the weapons.
It laughs at fear, and is not dismayed;
it does not turn back from the sword.
Upon it rattle the quiver,
the ashing spear, and the javelin.
With erceness and rage it swallows the
ground;
it cannot stand still at the sound of the
trumpet.
When the trumpet sounds, it says Aha!
From a distance it smells the battle,
the thunder of the captains, and the
shouting.
Is it by your wisdom that the hawk
soars,
and spreads its wings toward the south?
Is it at your command that the eagle
mounts up
a Heb your grain and your threshing oor

c Gk Syr Vg: Heb they dig
to hunt to feed their young. 39.14: Mountain goats or ibexes, unlike lions and ravens, are shy and elusive. 58:
The wild ass or onager was famous for its independence and freedom, in contrast to its domesticated cousin
the ass. 912: The wild ox or aurochs was a massive animal with long thick horns; it too is contrasted with its
obedient and hard-working domesticated counterpart. 1318: The ostrich is a paradoxical creature: it is a bird
that cannot y, and while reputedly foolish, it is clever enough to escape its predators. 1925: The war horse is
not exactly wild, but it has a will of its own and is not a servant of humans. 2630: The hawk and the eagle are
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job 40
and makes its nest on high?
It lives on the rock and makes its home
in the fastness of the rocky crag.
From there it spies the prey;
its eyes see it from far away.
Its young ones suck up blood;
and where the slain are, there it is.
40
And the Lord said to Job:

Shall a faultnder contend with the
Almighty?a
Anyone who argues with God must
respond.
Then Job answered the Lord:

See, I am of small account; what shall I
answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but will proceed no further.
Then the Lord answered Job out of the
whirlwind:
Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you declare to
me.
Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be
justied?
Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like
his?
Deck yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
Pour out the overowings of your anger,

and look on all who are proud, and
abase them.
Look on all who are proud, and bring
them low;
tread down the wicked where they
stand.
Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.b
Then I will also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can give you
victory.
Look at Behemoth,
which I made just as I made you;
it eats grass like an ox.
Its strength is in its loins,
and its power in the muscles of its belly.
It makes its tail sti like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are knit
together.
Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like bars of iron.
It is the rst of the great acts of God
only its Maker can approach it with the
sword.
For the mountains yield food for it
where all the wild animals play.

b Heb the hidden place
birds of prey. 26: The wisdom of the hawk is its instinct for its seasonal migration. 27: Eagle, probably vulture.
30: Vultures feed on the dead slain in bale. 40.12: Despite the didactic language of the divine speech, this
challenge shows that the ruling metaphor is still that of the lawsuit, in which Job must now either concede the
case or oer new arguments.
40.35: Jobs rst response. Strikingly, Job does not capitulate; he says only that he will not repeat what he
has already said. He defers his response until he speaks again in 42.26.
40.641.34: The Lords second speech. 40.714: Gods question Will you even put me in the wrong? (v. 8)
means that he has correctly heard Jobs speeches as not merely a demand for personal vindication but as a
far-reaching critique of Gods government of the world and as a demand for an alternative world order. God is
obviously not going to change his world order, so his ironic response is: let Job re-order the world to his own
taste by crushing the wicked (vv. 1113); then he will have nothing to complain about. 1524: Behemoth is an
ambiguous gure. It is dangerous, and yet to try capturing it is so absurd that it is beyond being a danger. It is
powerful but actually does lile except sleep, eat, and procreate. Unlike the animals of the rst divine speech,
it is a beast without qualities. Yet it is Gods showpiece (v. 19a). Is it because it so well represents Gods freedom
to refuse rules and rationality and principles of utility? Behemoth is literally the plural of the common Heb term
for animal. Scholarly opinion is divided as to whether it is a primeval monster (v. 19) or is to be identied with
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job 41
Under the lotus plants it lies,
in the covert of the reeds and in the
marsh.
The lotus trees cover it for shade;
the willows of the wadi surround it.
Even if the river is turbulent, it is not
frightened;
it is condent though Jordan rushes
against its mouth.
Can one take it with hooksa
or pierce its nose with a snare?
Who can open the doors of its face?

There is terror all around its teeth.
Its backk is made of shields in rows,
shut up closely as with a seal.
One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be
separated.
Its sneezes ash forth light,
and its eyes are like the eyelids of the
dawn.
From its mouth go aming torches;
sparks of re leap out.
Out of its nostrils comes smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning
rushes.
Its breath kindles coals,
and a ame comes out of its mouth.
In its neck abides strength,
and terror dances before it.
The folds of its esh cling together;
it is rmly cast and immovable.
Its heart is as hard as stone,
as hard as the lower millstone.
When it raises itself up the gods are
afraid;
at the crashing they are beside
themselves.
Though the sword reaches it, it does not
avail,
nor does the spear, the dart, or the
javelin.
41
b Can you draw out Leviathanc with a

shhook,
or press down its tongue with a cord?
Can you put a rope in its nose,
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
Will it make many supplications to you?
Will it speak soft words to you?
Will it make a covenant with you
to be taken as your servant forever?
Will you play with it as with a bird,
or will you put it on leash for your girls?
Will traders bargain over it?
Will they divide it up among the
merchants?
Can you ll its skin with harpoons,
or its head with shing spears?
Lay hands on it;
think of the battle; you will not do it
again!
dAny hope of capturing ite will be
disappointed;
were not even the godsf overwhelmed
at the sight of it?
No one is so erce as to dare to stir it up.
Who can stand before it?g
Who can confront itg and be safe?h
under the whole heaven, who?i
I will not keep silence concerning its

limbs,
or its mighty strength, or its splendid
frame.
Who can strip o its outer garment?
Who can penetrate its double coat of
mail?j
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
Cn: Heb in his eyes

Ch 40.25 in Heb
Or the crocodile
Ch 41.1 in Heb
Heb of it
Cn Compare Symmachus Syr: Heb one is
Heb me
Gk: Heb that I shall repay
Heb to me
Gk: Heb bridle
Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb pride
the hippopotamus. It is otherwise not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible; see 2 Esd 6.49,51. 41.134: The depiction of Leviathan treats, rst, the impossibility of capturing it (vv. 111), second, its physical characteristics (vv.
1224), and third, the creature in motion (vv. 2532). Unlike Behemoth, who was indolent and unthreatening,
Leviathan is nothing but violence and turmoil. Leviathan is described in terms that evoke the crocodile; some
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job 42
It counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make it ee;
slingstones, for it, are turned to cha.
Clubs are counted as cha;
it laughs at the rattle of javelins.
Its underparts are like sharp potsherds;
it spreads itself like a threshing sledge
on the mire.
It makes the deep boil like a pot;
it makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
It leaves a shining wake behind it;
one would think the deep to be whitehaired.
On earth it has no equal,
a creature without fear.
It surveys everything that is lofty;
it is king over all that are proud.
42
Then Job answered the Lord:

I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be
thwarted.
Who is this that hides counsel without
knowledge?
Therefore I have uttered what I did not
understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I
did not know.
Hear, and I will speak;

I will question you, and you declare to
me.
I had heard of you by the hearing of the
ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.
After the Lord had spoken these words
to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite:
My wrath is kindled against you and against
your two friends; for you have not spoken of
me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now
therefore take seven bulls and seven rams,
and go to my servant Job, and oer up for
yourselves a burnt oering; and my servant
Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his
prayer not to deal with you according to your
folly; for you have not spoken of me what
is right, as my servant Job has done. So
Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite
and Zophar the Naamathite went and did
what the Lord had told them; and the Lord
accepted Jobs prayer.
And the Lord restored the fortunes
of Job when he had prayed for his friends;
and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he
had before. Then there came to him all his
scholars understand it as the mythical chaos monster. (See 3.8n.) 34: As king of beasts, Leviathan is a source of
pleasure and pride for its maker.
42.16: Jobs second response. Job abandons his lawsuit against God, but his charges have not been answered. He says: (1) I know that you can do all things (v. 2). He has always known that, but he means that he now
recognizes that for God questions of justice are collapsed into the issue of his power. Job can only ever confront
Gods power, a sphere where he will inevitably be a loser. (2) I have uered . . . things too wonderful for me (v. 3),
Job means that he now realizes that cosmic justice is a marvel beyond human comprehension, like the structure
of the universe. Justice is not a principle or value to which God is subject. (3) Now that he has heard God for
himself and his eye sees him (a metaphor for his experience of God), he submits and accepts consolation.
I despise myself, no object of the verb is expressed, and the verb is probably not Heb maas, despise, but
masas, melt, be discouraged, as in Josh 2.11 (reb rightly translates I yield). Repent, Job has never acknowledged any sin, so he cannot be repenting; the verb means rather be comforted. Job means he will now end his
period of mourning (in dust and ashes) and resume his normal life.
42.717: Epilogue. The nave narrative of the folktale world of the prologue resumes, as Job is vindicated in
the eyes of his friends (vv. 79) and his extended family (vv. 1017). 7: Surprisingly, the Lord is angry with the
friends and their folly (v. 8), but says Job has spoken of me what is right. He must be referring to Jobs conclusion
that God does not execute justice in the realm of humans, which the friends always denied but which God
himself has eectively admied in his speeches. 1017: Jobs lost possessions are restored to him twice over
perhaps an acknowledgment that what he had lost at the beginning of the story had actually been stolen from
him by God (cf. Ex 22.4, where a thief must pay double restitution). He acquires a new family to replace his dead
children, and he is feted by his family and friends. The pious man Job once again becomes the wealthiest man in
all the east; so is the doctrine of retributionwhich the book of Job has seemed so concerned to refutehere
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job 42
brothers and sisters and all who had known
him before, and they ate bread with him in
his house; they showed him sympathy and
comforted him for all the evil that the Lord
had brought upon him; and each of them
gave him a piece of moneya and a gold ring.
The Lord blessed the latter days of Job
more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels,
a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand
donkeys. He also had seven sons and three
daughters. He named the rst Jemimah, the

second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.
In all the land there were no women so
beautiful as Jobs daughters; and their father
gave them an inheritance along with their
brothers. After this Job lived one hundred
and forty years, and saw his children, and his
childrens children, four generations. And
Job died, old and full of days.
a Heb a qesitah
armed? 11: Bread means food. The piece of money is not a coin but a piece of silver of guaranteed weight.
14: Jemimah probably means turtledove, Keziah cassia or cinnamon, Keren-happuch antinomy, a black eyecosmetic, the three names invoking the three senses of hearing, taste, and sight. 15: Along with his sons, Jobs
daughters are given an inheritance, an unusual practice.
PSALMS
name, location in canon, and numbering
The word Psalms derives from the Greek name of the book, Psalmoi, which means songs played on a
stringed instrument. This title reects the musical character of the Psalms as hymns that were sung, accompanied by strings. The books name in Hebrew is Tehillim, praises, which reects the religious character of
the psalms.
In Jewish Bibles today the book of Psalms is the rst book of the Writings, the third part of the canon. In
Christian Bibles it is one of the poetical books, coming aer the book of Job. In older manuscripts these books
oen occur in a slightly dierent order.
There have been two systems of numbering the psalms, one dependent on the Hebrew text and the other
on the Greek Septuagint (LXX). The LXX counted Pss 910 and 114115 as single poems and divided Pss 116
and 148 into two poems, resulting in a discrepancy of one from the Hebrew numbering of Pss 8147; in the
case of Pss 910 the LXX is clearly correct: they form a single acrostic (alphabetic) psalm. The Latin Vulgate
and older Roman Catholic translations follow the Septuagint numbering; all modern translations follow the
Hebrew numbering. There are also two systems of numbering psalm verses. The most common system, used
by the NRSV and several other translations, assigns no verse number to the superscription or title, so that v. 1
is always the rst line of the psalm poem. The other system follows printed Hebrew Bibles in assigning a verse
number to the superscription and thus oen is one verse behind the NRSV verse number.
date and authorship

The book of Psalms is an anthology, or more properly an anthology of anthologies, comprising several collections of hymns that were composed at various times and places in ancient Israel, mostly in the rst half of
the rst millennium bce. Although many are aributed to King David, and some to other individuals, scholars
agree that few if any were actually wrien by them. Rather, their authors, like those of many of the books of the
Hebrew Bible, are anonymous.
structure and superscriptions

The book of Psalms is divided into ve books, a deliberate parallel to the ve books of the Torah or
Pentateuch. Each of these ve partsPsalms 141; 4272; 7389; 90106; 107150ends with a doxology
or word of praise. Psalm 1 introduces this collection by explicitly mentioning the law (Heb torah) of the
Lord. Psalm 150 serves as a megadoxology, concluding both the h part and the book of Psalms as a
whole. In it everything that breathes praises the Lord in heaven and on earth, using a wide variety of musical instruments.
Both within the ve parts, and sometimes ignoring that division, which occurred relatively late in the books
formation, we nd evidence of other collections. A note at the end of Ps 72 states The prayers of David son
of Jesse are ended, but there follows another eighteen psalms aributed to David. Psalms 4249; 84; 85; 87;
and 88 are aributed to the Korahites, members of a priestly family whose ancestor was Korah. Psalms 50
and 7383 are aributed to Asaph, one of Korahs sons, and Ps 88 to Heman, another of his sons. Psalms 9399,
clustered together, share the theme of divine kingship. Each of Pss 120134 is called A Song of Ascents, apparently another collection, perhaps sung by pilgrims as they made their way up to Jerusalem or into the Temple
precincts. There are repetitions in the psalms as well (e.g., Ps 14 = Ps 53), further showing that the book in its
nal form is an anthology of collections, some of which contained the same texts.
Scholars have also identied another collection. Psalms 4383 are called the Elohistic Psalter, because in
these psalms there is a preference for the divine name Elohim (God) over Yahweh (the Lord), which is
much more frequent in the other psalms.
Many of the psalms have superscriptionstitles or prefatory verses that were added over the centuries.
They are aempts to align the event to a biblical character, especially to David, or more oen to inform the
reader about the origin of the psalm or its melodies. Unfortunately, few of the technical terms can be identied
with any certainty. The phrase To the leader occurs y-ve times, usually with the ascription of the psalm
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psalm
Of David. Some terms may be the names of melodies, for example, Do not Destroy (Pss 5759; 75), and The
Deer of the Dawn (Ps 22). Other terms that occur are Prayer (Heb tepillah), Maskil (instructive poem?),
Psalm (Heb mizmor), Miktam, and Song (shir). Many of these and other terms in the superscriptions are
obscure or uncertain, as is the term Selah, a Hebrew word occurring seventy-one times in the body of thirtynine psalms, perhaps to mark stanza divisions.
genres
More than eighty psalms fall into one of three main types or genres: hymn, petition (used in these notes for the
customary lament, that being only one component of the petition), and thanksgiving.
Hymn (approximately twenty-eight psalms). The structure is simple: a call to worship, oen with the
subject named (e.g., Praise the Lord, all you nations, Ps 117.1), sometimes with musical instruments
mentioned (e.g., Praise him with trumpet sound, Ps 150.3). The invitatory is oen repeated in the nal
verse. The body of the poem is normally introduced by the preposition for, because, giving the basis
for the praise. This is typically something God has done, oen the act by which Israel came into being as
a people: the Exodus from Egypt and entry into Canaan. References to this one event can be in historical
terms with human characters prominent (e.g., Ps 105) or in mythical terms with God portrayed as acting
directly rather than through human agency (e.g., Ps 114).
Individual petition. Petitionary psalms begin with an unadorned cry to the Lord (e.g., Help, O Lord! Ps
12.1). This is followed by a complaint, namely a description of a diculty facing the psalmist such as sickness, unfair legal accusation, treachery of former friends, or ostracism from the community as a consequence of sin. Usually there is a statement of trust, uered despite the trouble, which is oen described
hyperbolically (e.g., I am not afraid of ten thousands of people, Ps 3:6). The worshiper prays for rescue
and sometimes also for the downfall of the enemy. Some contain confessions of guilt, while others
suggest that the psalmist is persecuted for unclear or unfair reasons. Each petition is a mini-drama with
three actors: the psalmist, the enemies (the wicked), and God. Psalmists portray themselves as loyal
followers of the Lord who are victims of a serious aiction (oen personied) from which their Lord,
their patron, should rescue them.
Community petitions complain that the Lord has abandoned the nation to its enemies. They oen remember or recite before God the event that brought Israel into existence in the hope that God will
reactivate that event. Can the Lord allow that founding event to be annulled by an enemy? The foundational event can be described in various ways, for example, transplanting a vine from Egypt (Ps 80.8,14)
or defeating Sea and installing the people in their land (Ps 77).
Individual thanksgiving. Such psalms presume that the Lord has answered the petition and now give
thanks to the Lord. In a sense they are a continuation of the individual petition, for they report to the
community how God has heard the petition, a biblical way of giving thanks.
About thirty psalms are grouped together by scholars according to their subject: royal songs, Zion songs, festival songs, and liturgies. According to style or tone, others are reckoned songs of trust (e.g., Pss 23; 91; 121) and
instructions (e.g., Pss 37; 49; 73). Three psalms have torah (law or instruction) as their subject (Pss 1; 19; 119).
interpretation
For nearly three thousand years the 150 Psalms have been a lovingly memorized and well-thumbed prayer
book, transposing to the daily life of Jews and Christians the meeting of Israel and its Lord. Many were familiar
to the prophet Isaiah and to other biblical writers and editors. They were prayed from antiquity onward, by the
founders of rabbinic Judaism, the early Christians, the fathers of the church, and the medieval synagogue and
church. They are today a treasure shared by Jews and Christians. The psalms power lies not only in being sacred
scripture but in reecting human feelings before God and expressing them directly, concretely, and skillfully.
As prayers and schools of prayer, the psalms guide modern believers in their relationship to God. Their range
and honesty encourage people to come before God in their weakness and need as well as in their strength.
Against a modern tendency to make a relationship to God completely private, most of the poems are communal; even individual petitions and songs of trust display a vivid sense of belonging to a people chosen and
blessed by God. Against self-centered worshipers, the psalms are unhesitatingly theocentricthe world is
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psalm 2
made for and by Godthough they balance it with the conviction that the Lord loves the people of Israel
and is passionate about their ourishing. Psalms is the most cited Old Testament book in the New Testament.
Christians praying the psalms have traditionally linked their prayer with that of Jesus, whose prayer becomes
the prayer of the church.
Despite the psalms splendor and humanity, people oen nd it dicult to pray them, for many of the
psalms seem violent and vindictive. We must remember, however, that the chief issue for biblical worshipers is
Gods power to save. Can God save from lifes dangers and grant protection and prosperity? Since the arena in
which power was displayed most vividly is the baleeld, it is not surprising that the Lord was oen portrayed
as a warrior, ruling with power. The war imagery is, however, secondary to the main point: God is a just ruler and
judge, who upholds the faithful and righteous and puts down the wicked and rebellious.
So-called vindictive psalms are especially dicult for those who simplistically view Christianity as uniformly gentle and concerned primarily with the individual soul. Yet these psalms are not interested in punishment
for its own sake but in redressing a wrong in the present. The psalmists think concretely rather than abstractly:
they view evil as embodied in unjust people and pray for their elimination, including their potential for living
on in their children. The psalms generally entrust the carrying out of these wishes into Gods hands in the conviction that only God can make the world truly just and good. Suerers can, however, cry out to God to take
action, and even use words that appear extreme. Those who trust in God (see Ps 37.56) can pray these psalms
by leaving everythingexecution and timetablein Gods hands.
Richard J. Cliord
BOOK I psalms 141

Psalm 1
Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the
wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoers;
but their delight is in the law of the
Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and
night.
They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked are not so,

but are like cha that the wind drives
away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in
the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the
righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the
righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 2
Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
Ps 1: The two ways. A torah or instructional psalm serving as an introduction to the Psalms. Pss 1 and 2 are
introductory to the book of Psalms in that both celebrate the saving presence of GodPs 1 for the individual
and Ps 2 for the Davidic kingwho oers protection from the wicked. Unlike the following psalms, these introductory works lack a Davidic superscription, suggesting their secondary, editorial function. Using the metaphor of the two ways, one leading to life and the other to death, Psalm 1 declares that reciting Gods saving
torah or teaching (in this case, including the psalms) keeps one on the path of life. There are themes of wisdom
literature in this psalm. 13: Any individual who adheres to the torah (law) and rejects the views of the wicked
is fortunate. 1: Scoers, like the wicked and sinners, they contemptuously dismiss Gods capacity to rule of the
world. 2: Meditate, lit. recite; ancients usually read aloud. 3: Trees, possibly the trees in the Temple garden
(Pss 52.8; 92.1215) on Mount Zion, abundantly watered, symbolizing life (Pss 46.4; 65.9; Ezek 47.12). 46: In
contrast to the well-watered and deeply rooted tree (a vertical image; cf. Jer 17.78) is the dry and wind-driven
cha (a horizontal image).
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psalm 3
Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us.
Psalm 3
A Psalm of David, when he ed from his son
Absalom.
He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the Lord has them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.
OLord, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me;
many are saying to me,
There is no help for youb in
God.
I will tell of the decree of the Lord:

He said to me, You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations
your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your
possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potters
vessel.
But you, OLord, are a shield around me,

my glory, and the one who lifts up my
head.
I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his
holy hill.
Selah
Selah
I lie down and sleep;

I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.
I am not afraid of ten thousands of
people
who have set themselves against me all
around.
Now therefore, Okings, be wise;

be warned, Orulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
with trembling kiss his feet,a
or he will be angry, and you will perish in
the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
a Cn: Meaning of Heb of verses 11b and 12a is
Happy are all who take refuge in him.
b Syr: Heb him
Rise up, OLord!

Deliver me, Omy God!
uncertain
Ps 2: The Israelite king, instrument of Gods rule. In this royal psalm, a court poet asks incredulously why
the nations dare to threaten the Davidic king (vv. 13) when the Most High has stated that the king is his son
and representative, hence in principle the most high among earthly kings. Like Ps 1, Ps 2 is introductory, and
there are links between the two psalms, which are considered a single unit in some traditions: Ps 2.11 ends with
happy, echoing the rst word in Ps 1; the way [of the wicked] will perish in 1.6 is echoed in 2.11, you will perish in the way; thematically, the divine instruction of the psalms protects from evil just as the divine promise
protects the Israelite king and people from evil kings. 13: In describing hostile nations, the speaker quotes
their deluded speech as in Pss 48.48; 76; and Ezek 3839. 2: Anointed (Heb mashiah),
. is always used in the
Hebrew Bible of an actual ruler rather than of a future king. 49: Dismissing the vain posturing of the kings, the
Davidic king cites Gods adoption formula (see 2 Sam 7.14; Ps 89.2627) and promise of universal sovereignty. 6:
Zion, my holy hill, Jerusalem, where the royal palace and the Temple were part of the same architectural complex.
1011: In the light of the divine promise, the poet warns the kings to end their rebellion and submit. 12: The
exact meaning of the words translated kiss his feet is debated.
Ps 3: Threatened by many but trusting still. An individual petition. Threatened by many enemies (v. 1) who
deny that the Lord can provide help and deliverance (vv. 2,8), the psalmist calmly arms Gods presence.
Each of the three sections (vv. 13; 46; 78) begins with a prayer and ends with a statement of condence.
Superscription: The superscription, secondarily inserted here, situates the psalm with David eeing from his
rebellious son Absalom (2 Sam 1518). 1: The psalmist responds to the enemies by addressing God as you (v.
3) and using divine titles expressing power to save. 2: Selah (also vv. 4,8) is a musical notation, used a total of
seventy-eight times in the Bible, only in Psalms and Hab 3. Its exact meaning is uncertain, but it is typically used
aer a section of a psalm, perhaps indicating an interlude. 3: My glory, one who restores ones glory or dignity.
4: His holy hill, Mount Zion, where some psalmists believed God was most present (but contrast, e.g., Ps 2.4,
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psalm 5
For you strike all my enemies on the
cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
may your blessing be on your people!
Selah
Psalm 4
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of
David.
Answer me when I call, OGod of my

right!
You gave me room when I was in
distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
How long, you people, shall my honor
suer shame?
How long will you love vain words, and
seek after lies?
Selah
But know that the Lord has set apart the
faithful for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
When you are disturbed,a do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
Selah
Oer right sacrices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
There are many who say, Othat we
might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us,
OLord!
You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and wine
abound.
I will both lie down and sleep in peace;

for you alone, OLord, make me lie
down in safety.
Psalm 5
To the leader: for the utes. A Psalm of David.
Give ear to my words, OLord;

give heed to my sighing.
Listen to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
OLord, in the morning you hear my
voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you,
and watch.
For you are not a God who delights in
wickedness;
evil will not sojourn with you.
The boastful will not stand before your
eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and
deceitful.
But I, through the abundance of your
steadfast love,
will enter your house,
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in awe of you.
Lead me, OLord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
For there is no truth in their mouths;
their hearts are destruction;
a Or are angry
He who sits in the heavens). 5: I lie down, calmly sleeping as enemies lurk is an act of trust. 7: God striking the
enemies on the mouth for their words is poetic justice, punishment ing the crime. The psalmist, however,
leaves the actual punishment to God.
Ps 4: Rescue me so I can be an example to sinners. An individual petition, with a strong emphasis on trust.
13: Condent in the care God lavishes on the faithful (vv. 1a, 3b), the psalmist boldly demands that the slanderers cease their lies. 2: Selah (also v. 4), see Ps 3.2n. 4: Ponder it on your beds, reect in private in contrast to
public worship, as in v. 5, oer right sacrices. 6: Unlike many who demand divine gis as a right, the psalmist
quietly relies upon the Lord to grant joy and security. Light . . . shine, cf. Num 6.2426.
Ps 5: Prayer for access to the Temple. An individual petition for protection from the wicked who seem to
be keeping the psalmist away from the presence of God in the Temple. Two themes alternate: seeking and
enjoying Gods presence (vv. 13,78,1112), and the threat of the wicked (vv. 46,910). 7: But I . . . will enter
your house, emphatically states the psalmists intent to visit the Temple, and thus asks for Gods help through
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psalm 6
their throats are open graves;
they atter with their tongues.
Make them bear their guilt, OGod;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of their many transgressions cast
them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
so that those who love your name may
exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, OLord;
you cover them with favor as with a
shield.
Psalm 6
To the leader: with stringed instruments; according
to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
OLord, do not rebuke me in your anger,

or discipline me in your wrath.
Be gracious to me, OLord, for I am
languishing;
OLord, heal me, for my bones are
shaking with terror.
My soul also is struck with terror,
while you, OLordhow long?
Turn, OLord, save my life;

deliver me for the sake of your steadfast
love.
For in death there is no remembrance of
you;
in Sheol who can give you praise?
I am weary with my moaning;
every night I ood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
My eyes waste away because of grief;
they grow weak because of all my foes.
Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my
weeping.
The Lord has heard my supplication;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and
struck with terror;
they shall turn back, and in a moment
be put to shame.
Psalm 7
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord
concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.
OLord my God, in you I take refuge;

save me from all my pursuers, and
deliver me,
divine steadfast love (Heb hesed,

a major theme in the Psalms) to travel there safely (v. 8). 9: Mouths, hearts,
.
throats, tongues, the enemies are characterized by their perverted organs of speech and the inconsistency of
their words and their intentions. 1112: The mixing of private longing and public celebration and joy shows that
the psalmist hopes to join fellow Israelites in worshiping God.
Ps 6: Plea for Gods help in sickness. An individual petition consisting of petition (vv. 12,45), complaint
(vv. 23,67), mention of enemies (v. 8), and statement of trust (vv. 910). Tightly structured in two major
parts, vv. 15 address God, and vv. 610 address God and the enemies. The psalm is one of the seven penitential psalms in Christian tradition (Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143). Superscription: Sheminith, the eighth (cf.
octave), a musical term of uncertain signicance. 3: The suerer interprets physical illness and emotional exhaustion as divine abandonment and asks how long the estrangement will last. 4: The opening imperative verb
turn (to me), addressed to God, is matched by the imperative verb in v. 8, depart from me, addressed to the
enemies, whose exact nature is unclear here, as in many psalms. Separation from the God whom the psalmist
delights in praising is intolerable. 5: Sheol is the underworld, where all reside aer death. The psalmists death
will diminish the praise due to God; cf. Pss 30.9; 88.1012; 115.17. 8: A sudden change of mood, caused by renewed condence in Gods help, which may have been intimated by a sign or oracle that the psalmist perceived.
Ps 7: Prayer for deliverance from enemies and for justice. This individual petition begins with the psalmist seeking refuge, perhaps in the Temple, and taking an oath of innocence (vv. 18); it continues by a plea for
justice for the entire world (vv. 916), and ends with a statement of trust (v. 17). Superscription: This incident
in Davids life is otherwise unknown, suggesting that these superscriptions are based on events beyond those
narrated in the books of Samuel. Shiggaion, a musical term of unknown meaning, occurring only here. 15: An
innocent person could claim sanctuary at the altar (Ex 21.14; 1 Kings 2.2835), though an oath of innocence involved risk if one did not tell the truth. Job 31 contains a much longer negative oath of self-imprecation, which
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psalm 8
or like a lion they will tear me apart;
they will drag me away, with no one to
rescue.
OLord my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
if I have repaid my ally with harm
or plundered my foe without cause,
then let the enemy pursue and overtake
me,
trample my life to the ground,
and lay my soul in the dust.
Selah
Rise up, OLord, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my
enemies;
awake, Omy God;a you have appointed
a judgment.
Let the assembly of the peoples be
gathered around you,
and over it take your seatb on high.
The Lord judges the peoples;
judge me, OLord, according to my
righteousness
and according to the integrity that is
in me.
Olet the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous,
you who test the minds and hearts,
Orighteous God.
God is my shield,
who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
and a God who has indignation every
day.
If one does not repent, Godc will whet
his sword;
he has bent and strung his bow;
he has prepared his deadly weapons,

making his arrows ery shafts.
See how they conceive evil,
and are pregnant with mischief,
and bring forth lies.
They make a pit, digging it out,
and fall into the hole that they have
made.
Their mischief returns upon their own
heads,
and on their own heads their violence
descends.
I will give to the Lord the thanks due to
his righteousness,
and sing praise to the name of the Lord,
the Most High.
Psalm 8
To the leader: according to The Giith. A Psalm of
David.
OLord, our Sovereign,

how majestic is your name in all the
earth!
You have set your glory above the
heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and
infants
you have founded a bulwark because of
your foes,
to silence the enemy and the
avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of
your ngers,
a Or awake for me
b Cn: Heb return
c Heb he
was used by ancients to protest their innocence. 5: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 68: The psalmist urgently appeals for
protection to the divine judge surrounded, it seems, by members of the heavenly court having responsibility
over the nations. 1516: That the wicked are caught in the traps they set is a common idea in wisdom literature
(e.g., Prov 26.27; see also Pss 9.1516; 35.78; 141.10). 17: Thanks given for the anticipated rescue.
Ps 8: Wonder at the Lords creation of humans. This memorable hymn praises God who has given such honor and responsibility to humans. Superscription: Giith, an unknown musical term, also in Pss 81; 84. 1: Name,
parallel to glory (of God). As oen in hymns, the opening invitation is reprised in the nal line (v. 9), forming an
inclusio or envelope structure. 2: The text is unclear; it may refer to the Lords victory over chaotic forces (see
Pss 89; 93). 38: Looking at the vast universe, the poet is awed by the Lords aentiveness to one small element
in that universe: humans, who have been given the honor of ruling the three domains of sky, earth, and sea.
The picture is much like Gen 1.2628, where humans rule over the three domains and enjoy the dignity of being
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psalm 9
the moon and the stars that you have
established;
what are human beings that you are
mindful of them,
mortalsa that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower
than God,b
and crowned them with glory and
honor.
You have given them dominion over the
works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the eld,
the birds of the air, and the sh of the
sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the
seas.
OLord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the
earth!
Psalm 9
To the leader: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm
of David.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my

whole heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, OMost
High.
When my enemies turned back,
they stumbled and perished before
you.
For you have maintained my just cause;

you have sat on the throne giving
righteous judgment.
You have rebuked the nations, you have
destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name forever
and ever.
The enemies have vanished in everlasting
ruins;
their cities you have rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
But the Lord sits enthroned forever,
he has established his throne for
judgment.
He judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with equity.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put
their trust in you,
for you, OLord, have not forsaken
those who seek you.
Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in
Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.
For he who avenges blood is mindful of
them;
he does not forget the cry of the
aicted.
a Heb ben adam, lit. son of man

b Or than the divine beings or angels: Heb elohim
created in the image of God. 4: Contrast Ps 144.3; Job 7.17. 5: God, beer, heavenly beings (Heb elohim, [lit.
gods]; see textual note b). As the heavenly world is ruled by heavenly beings, so the earthly world, parallel to
it, is ruled by earthly beings.
Ps 910: Thanks, petition, and pain at Gods delay in coming. Hebrew tradition handed down Pss 910
as two poems, but together they form one unit with an acrostic structure: Each section begins with a successive leer of the Hebrew alphabet, though this psalm is poorly transmied and some of this structure is
broken. The Greek text also shows it is a single poem. As in other acrostic poems (Pss 25; 34; 37; 111; 112; 119;
145; Lam 14; Prov 31.1031), the alphabetic structure provides a formal unity, and the content is less systematically structured. The psalm records three successive experiences of God: joyous recognition of benets to
the singer (9.34) and the nation (9.58), a cry for help during an aack (9.1314), and a deeply felt desire for
justice (10.118). Superscription: Muth-labben, a musical term of unknown meaning; see also Ps 48.15n. 9.1: A
promise to tell others what God has done for the psalmist (vv. 34) and for the nation (vv. 58). 710: The Lord
as righteous judge and defender of the oppressed, a common theme in the Psalms (e.g., 98.9). 1320: Awareness of Gods salvation inspires fresh petitions (vv. 1314,1920) and a serene statement that divine justice will
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psalm 10
Be gracious to me, OLord.
See what I suer from those who hate
me;
you are the one who lifts me up from
the gates of death,
so that I may recount all your praises,
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.
The nations have sunk in the pit that
they made;
in the net that they hid has their own
foot been caught.
The Lord has made himself known, he
has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of
their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
For the needy shall not always be
forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
Rise up, OLord! Do not let mortals
prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.
Put them in fear, OLord;
let the nations know that they are only
human.
Selah
Psalm 10
Why, OLord, do you stand far o ?
Why do you hide yourself in times of
trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the
poor
let them be caught in the schemes they
have devised.
For the wicked boast of the desires of
their heart,
those greedy for gain curse and
renounce the Lord.
In the pride of their countenance the

wicked say, God will not seek it out;
all their thoughts are, There is no
God.
Their ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of their
sight;
as for their foes, they sco at them.
They think in their heart, We shall not
be moved;
throughout all generations we shall not
meet adversity.
Their mouths are lled with cursing and
deceit and oppression;
under their tongues are mischief and
iniquity.
They sit in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places they murder the
innocent.
Their eyes stealthily watch for the
helpless;
they lurk in secret like a lion in its
covert;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
they seize the poor and drag them o in
their net.
They stoop, they crouch,
and the helpless fall by their might.
They think in their heart, God has
forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never
see it.
Rise up, OLord; OGod, lift up your
hand;
do not forget the oppressed.
Why do the wicked renounce God,
and say in their hearts, You will not
call us to account?
prevail (vv. 1518). 14: A signicant theme of the Psalms is that God enjoys being praised; cf. 6.45. 1516: See Ps
7.1516n. Higgaion, a musical term of unknown meaning, occurring only here. Selah (also v. 20), see Ps 3.2n. 17:
Sheol, the underworld, the abode of the dead. 10.118: With the question Why? (v. 1), the psalmist complains of
the eects of Gods absencethe persecution of the poor by the wealthy (v. 2a)and gives an unusually long
description of the wicked who devote all their energy to evil (vv. 311). Rather than requesting only his help,
the psalmist here oers a broader argument about the power of evildoers and the suering of the righteous.
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psalm 11
But you do see! Indeed you note trouble
and grief,
that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
you have been the helper of the
orphan.
Break the arm of the wicked and
evildoers;
seek out their wickedness until you nd
none.
The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations shall perish from his land.
OLord, you will hear the desire of the
meek;
you will strengthen their heart, you will
incline your ear
to do justice for the orphan and the
oppressed,
so that those from earth may strike
terror no more.a
Psalm 11
To the leader. Of David.
In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say

to me,
Flee like a bird to the mountains;b
for look, the wicked bend the bow,
they have tted their arrow to the
string,
to shoot in the dark at the upright in
heart.
If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?
The Lord is in his holy temple;

the Lords throne is in heaven.
His eyes behold, his gaze examines
humankind.
The Lord tests the righteous and the
wicked,
and his soul hates the lover of violence.
On the wicked he will rain coals of re
and sulfur;
a scorching wind shall be the portion of
their cup.
For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.
Psalm 12
To the leader: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm
of David.
Help, OLord, for there is no longer

anyone who is godly;
the faithful have disappeared from
humankind.
They utter lies to each other;
with attering lips and a double heart
they speak.
May the Lord cut o all attering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, With our tongues we will
prevail;
our lips are our ownwho is our
master?

b Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb ee to your mountain, Obird
Ps 11: Trust in the Lord and do not panic. A song of trust, which develops one aspect of the individual petition, the statement of trust in the Lord in the Temple (as in Pss 27.89,13; 42.2). 1: Flee like a bird to the mountains!
Disaster in the form of invading armies and moral collapse has struck and people are urging ight. A eeing
bird is a symbol of panic-stricken ight as in Isa 16.2; Prov 27.8. 47: Rejecting the advice of others, the psalmist
chooses instead to trust in the Lords protective presence in the Temple, condent that the Lord is a just judge
who scrutinizes human conduct, curbs the wicked, upholds the loyal. 4: It is uncertain if the psalmist means
Gods heavenly temple, in which case the initial ideas are synonymous, or if God is being depicted as present
both in heaven and in the earthly temple in Jerusalem. 6: Coals of re and sulfur and a scorching wind, divine
weapons (see Gen 19.24; Am 7.4). 7: The upright see the Lords face, i.e., experience the divine presence in the
Temple; see Pss 27.89; 42.2.
Ps 12: Prayer in a time of moral disorder and lawlessness. An individual petition provoked by the destructive
speech of the powerful (vv. 14); it is answered by a promise of divine intervention (v. 5) that invites the psalmists trust (vv. 68). Like Ps 60.68, this psalm seems to preserve an oracle of salvation (v. 5), perhaps uered by
a Temple ocial in response to a petition (cf. 1 Sam 1.1118). Superscription: Sheminith, see Ps 6n. 3: Cut o all
aering lips, victimized by an ungodly group using lies to control the community (vv. 12), the psalmist begs
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psalm 14
Because the poor are despoiled, because
the needy groan,
I will now rise up, says the Lord;
I will place them in the safety for
which they long.
The promises of the Lord are promises
that are pure,
silver rened in a furnace on the
ground,
puried seven times.
You, OLord, will protect us;
you will guard us from this generation
forever.
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among
humankind.
Psalm 13
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
How long, OLord? Will you forget me

forever?
How long will you hide your face from
me?
How long must I bear paina in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day
long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over
me?
Consider and answer me, OLord my
God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the
sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, I have prevailed;
my foes will rejoice because I am
shaken.
But I trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully
with me.
Psalm 14
To the leader. Of David.
Fools say in their hearts, There is no

God.
They are corrupt, they do abominable
deeds;
there is no one who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven on
humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.
They have all gone astray, they are all
alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.
Have they no knowledge, all the
evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon the Lord?
There they shall be in great terror,
for God is with the company of the
righteous.
You would confound the plans of the
poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.
a Syr: Heb hold counsels

God to destroy their capacity to speak. 67: The psalmist takes the promises as already operating.
Ps 13: How long will the enemy threaten my life? An individual petition. 1: How long? A request to know
exactly how much longer the suering is destined to last, or perhaps a rhetorical complaint. Hide your face, God
has refused to look benecently at the psalmist, causing his grief. 2: The psalmists blend internal anguish and
external danger; oen not distinguishing psychological, physical, and social suering. 3: Consider and answer
me, a contemporary paraphrase might be, Look at me! Talk to me! Give light to my eyes, i.e., give me joy and
vitality (see Prov 29.13). 5: But I trusted, anxiety shis to trust in the Lord, as is typical of individual petitions.
Ps 14: Refusal to be silenced by those who deny Gods justice. A condemnation of those who deny that God
is active in the world and a declaration of trust in the God who cares for the poor (among whom the psalmist wants to be counted). Psalm 53 is a near duplicate of this psalm. 1: There is no God, denies Gods ability to
govern, not necessarily Gods existence; see Ps 10.4. 2: Gods scrutiny lays bare the deniers folly and malice. In
the style of wisdom literature, the rebellious are contrasted with the wise, who seek aer God. 4: Evildoers will
nally learn that God defends those whom they exploit. 5: There, evidently a reference to Mount Zion as in Pss
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psalm 15
Othat deliverance for Israel would come
from Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of
his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
Psalm 15
A Psalm of David.
OLord, who may abide in your tent?

Who may dwell on your holy hill?
Those who walk blamelessly, and do
what is right,
and speak the truth from their heart;
who do not slander with their
tongue,
and do no evil to their friends,
nor take up a reproach against their
neighbors;
in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
but who honor those who fear the
Lord;
who stand by their oath even to their
hurt;
who do not lend money at interest,
and do not take a bribe against the
innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be
moved.
Psalm 16
A Miktam of David.
Protect me, OGod, for in you I take

refuge.
I say to the Lord, You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.a
As for the holy ones in the land, they are
the noble,
in whom is all my delight.
Those who choose another god multiply
their sorrows;b
their drink oerings of blood I will not
pour out
or take their names upon my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in
pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall
not be moved.
a Jerome Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
48.6; 76.3. 7: A generalized conclusion, moving from the individual to the community, as Israel lives in the hope
that salvation comes from Zion. When the Lord restores may refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 bce.
Ps 15: Who will be admi+ed into Gods presence? The psalm seems to reect a ritual admiing worshipers
to the Temple (cf. Ps 24 and Isa 33.14b16). Ten actions describe the righteousness expected of a genuine
worshiper: the rst two are positive (v. 2), the second three, negative (v. 3), the third three, negative and positive (v. 4), and the last two negative (v. 5b). 1: Tent, a poetic designation for the Temple (Pss 27.5; 61.4). 25b:
The ten clauses describing the ideal worshiper overlap and make their eect cumulative. 2: Walk, conduct
oneself. Speak the truth from their heart, one does not say one thing while intending another. 4: In whose eyes
the wicked are despised, the righteous reject anyone rejected by God. 5: Do not lend money at interest, forbidden by Ex 22.25 and Lev 25.37. Money (i.e., silver that was weighed out) was not regarded as a commodity. 5c:
Aer the confession, an ociant, perhaps a priest or Levite, presumably admied worshipers to the security
of the Temple.
Ps 16: The Lord dwells in the Temple. A declaration of trust in the one God of Israel, though others worship many gods: a daunting yet joyous commitment. Superscription: Miktam, a technical term of unknown
meaning. 12: Though seemingly a cry for rescue from an immediate danger, the verses are most probably a
declaration of trust in a particular Godthe Lordin traditional client-patron language. 3: NRSV interprets
the unclear verse as referring to Israelites whose fellowship one gains when one professes faith in the Lord. 4:
Drink oerings of blood, blood oerings are not oen aested in biblical religion; see Ps 50.13, and cf. Ex 24.6.
56: Portion, lot, boundary lines, heritage, references to the distribution and possession of the land of Israel
(Josh 1319). Possibly the psalmist was a priest; see Num 18.20; Josh 18.7. 711: The response of the individual
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psalm 17
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul
rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures
forevermore.
Psalm 17
A Prayer of David.
Hear a just cause, OLord; attend to my cry;

give ear to my prayer from lips free of
deceit.
From you let my vindication come;
let your eyes see the right.
If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,
if you test me, you will nd no
wickedness in me;
my mouth does not transgress.
As for what others do, by the word of
your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
I call upon you, for you will answer me,
OGod;
incline your ear to me, hear my words.
Wondrously show your steadfast love,
Osavior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
Guard me as the apple of the eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings,
from the wicked who despoil me,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak
arrogantly.
They track me down;a now they
surround me;
they set their eyes to cast me to the
ground.
They are like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.
Rise up, OLord, confront them,
overthrow them!
By your sword deliver my life from the
wicked,
from mortalsby your hand,
OLord
from mortals whose portion in life is in
this world.
May their bellies be lled with what you
have stored up for them;
may their children have more than
enough;
may they leave something over to their
little ones.
As for me, I shall behold your face in
righteousness;
when I awake I shall be satised,
beholding your likeness.
a One Ms Compare Syr: MT Our steps

whose God is now the Lord, giving praise (v. 8) and rejoicing in Gods nearness (vv. 911). 10: Sheol . . . the Pit,
the abode of the dead.
Ps 17: Rescue me, your loyal client, and let me see your face. An individual petition stressing the psalmists
past loyalty (vv. 15), present need (vv. 614), and ardent hope to see God in the Temple (v. 15). 15: Wishing to
gain a fair hearing, the psalmist claims to have passed every testing and been proven loyal. 6: You will answer
me, the result of the long-established trust between divine patron and human client. The psalmist personalizes lifes many dangers as human enemies. 7: Steadfast love (Heb hesed),
a covenantal term here, referring to
.
the loving obligations assumed by each partner. 8: Apple of the eye, the pupil. Shadow of your wings (Pss 36.7;
57.1; etc.), either disembodied wings representing divine protection as in Egyptian religion, or the wings of
the composite animals guarding the deitys throne in the Temple, the cherubim. 13: Confront them (lit. come
before their face), anticipating the conclusion of the psalm where the supplicant wants to see Gods face. 14:
Expresses the wish that the wicked and their families undergo what they have tried to inict on others. 15:
Though presumably still in danger, the psalmist speaks with the certainty that the opening petition has been
granted. Although the Priestly source of the Pentateuch depicts the Temple as aniconic, without statue or image, language such as I shall behold your face may suggest that at one point the Temple had an image of God.
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psalm 18
Psalm 18
To the leader. A Psalm of David the servant of the
Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the
Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from
the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of
Saul. He said:
I love you, OLord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my
deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be
praised,
so I shall be saved from my enemies.
The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of perdition assailed me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains
trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring re from his mouth;
glowing coals amed forth from him.
He bowed the heavens, and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
He rode on a cherub, and ew;
he came swiftly upon the wings of the
wind.
He made darkness his covering around
him,
his canopy thick clouds dark with

water.
Out of the brightness before him
there broke through his clouds
hailstones and coals of re.
The Lord also thundered in the
heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice.a
And he sent out his arrows, and
scattered them;
he ashed forth lightnings, and routed
them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were
laid bare
at your rebuke, OLord,
at the blast of the breath of your
nostrils.
He reached down from on high, he took
me;
he drew me out of mighty waters.
He delivered me from my strong
enemy,
and from those who hated me;
for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my
calamity;
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a broad place;
he delivered me, because he delighted
in me.
The Lord rewarded me according to my
righteousness;
he recompensed me.
a Gk See 2Sam 22.14: Heb adds hailstones and coals
ofre
Ps 18: A royal thanksgiving. A report of the kings rescue (vv. 119) is followed by reections on his intimate
relationship with the Lord and his primacy among earths kings (vv. 2045); the psalm ends with a fresh acknowledgment of the Lords aid (vv. 4650). Some scholars think that Ps 18 may have been sung at the coronation of the Davidic king to ground his authority in the Lords creation victory (cf. Ps 89.528). An alternate
version of the psalm appears in 2 Sam 22. Superscription: Rescues of David from foreign kings and domestic
enemies including Saul (e.g., 1 Sam 18.1030). 2: An unusually long list of divine epithets. 45: The enemies
from which the Lord delivered the king are cosmic, both the chaotic torrents of the primordial sea, and the
power of death, in Sheol, the underworld, the abode of the dead. 715: Answering the appeal of the king was
a divine appearance or theophany, with the Lord described as a storm god. 10: Cherub, one of the bearers of
the divine throne (see Ex 25.18120; Ezek 1; Ps 17.8n.). 1619: Deliverance from a tight spot (v. 6) into a broad,
unconned place (see also v. 36). 2024: According to my righteousness (vv. 20,24), having fullled his covenant
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psalm 18
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from
my God.
For all his ordinances were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from
me.
I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me
according to my righteousness,
in his sight.
With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
with the blameless you show yourself
blameless;
with the pure you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you show yourself
perverse.
For you deliver a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
It is you who light my lamp;
the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
By you I can crush a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This Godhis way is perfect;
the promise of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all who take refuge in
him.
For who is God except the Lord?
And who is a rock besides our God?
the God who girded me with strength,
and made my way safe.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer,
and set me secure on the heights.
He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of
bronze.
You have given me the shield of your
salvation,
and your right hand has supported me;
your helpa has made me great.
You gave me a wide place for my steps
under me,
and my feet did not slip.
I pursued my enemies and overtook
them;
and did not turn back until they were

consumed.
I struck them down, so that they were
not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
For you girded me with strength for the
battle;
you made my assailants sink under me.
You made my enemies turn their backs
to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
They cried for help, but there was no one
to save them;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not
answer them.
I beat them ne, like dust before the
wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the
streets.
You delivered me from strife with the
peoples;b
you made me head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served
me.
As soon as they heard of me they obeyed
me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
Foreigners lost heart,
and came trembling out of their
strongholds.
The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my
salvation,
the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me;
who delivered me from my enemies;
indeed, you exalted me above my
adversaries;
you delivered me from the violent.
For this I will extol you, OLord, among
the nations,
and sing praises to your name.
a Or gentleness
b Gk Tg: Heb people
responsibilities, the king counts on his patrons loyal response. 2545: A new section with fresh topics: the
Lord as loyal supporter (vv. 2531), arming the king and granting him victory (vv. 3242), and installing him as
head of the kings of the world (vv. 4345). 4648: Repetition of the epithets of the Lord from vv. 13, rock and
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psalm 19
Great triumphs he gives to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.
the fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much ne gold;
sweeter also than honey,
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Psalm 19
The heavens are telling the glory of God;

and the rmamenta proclaims his
handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voiceb goes out through all the
earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In the heavensc he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom from
his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course
with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and nothing is hid from its heat.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
enlightening the eyes;
Moreover by them is your servant

warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from the
insolent;d
do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
OLord, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 20
The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!

The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
a
b
c
d
Or dome
Gk Jerome Compare Syr: Heb line
Heb In them
Or from proud thoughts
deliverer, bring the psalm to a close. 50: The Lords eternal commitment to the dynasty of David (see 2 Sam
7.13; Ps 89.2737).
Ps 19: Divine instruction gives light and life to humans. Like Pss 1 and 119, this psalm insists that divine
instruction (Heb torah) transforms humans. Though many scholars divide the psalm into two distinct parts,
a hymn to the sun in vv. 16 and a meditation on wisdom in vv. 714, the poem is coherent. Divine wisdom,
discernible in the daily movements of the heavens (vv. 14b), particularly in the suns steady course (vv. 4c6),
is also visible in the teaching (vv. 79) to which humans have access; the psalm concludes with a prayer to fulll
these teachings (vv. 1014). 14: Without a word being said, the sun leads the day-night rhythm of the heavens
that manifests divine control. 4: A tent for the sun, God has given authority to the sun to lead the course of the
heavens. In comparable religious literature, the head of the pantheon authorized lesser deities to build their
tent dwellings. The sun symbolizes divine justice and wisdom because nothing is hid from its rays. 710: There
are six synonyms for instruction or law (Heb torah) in vv. 79. The rst four describe the laws benecial effects on humans; the nal two are instead concerned with the teaching itself (v. 9). 1113: May the wisdom
contained in the law instruct the psalmists heart. 12: Errors and hidden faults may refer to inadvertent sins.
Ps 20: Prayer for the kings victory. A communal petition for the kings victory, connected with Ps 21. The
rst part (vv. 15) prays that the king will be victorious in bale, and the second (vv. 69) gives an assurance
that he will be successful. 1: The Lord answer you, occurs as petition in v. 1, assurance in v. 6, and petition in v. 9.
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psalm 21
May he send you help from the
sanctuary,
and give you support from Zion.
May he remember all your oerings,
and regard with favor your burnt
sacrices.
Selah
May he grant you your hearts desire,
and fulll all your plans.
May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God set up our
banners.
May the Lord fulll all your petitions.
Now I know that the Lord will help his
anointed;
he will answer him from his holy
heaven
with mighty victories by his right hand.
Some take pride in chariots, and some in
horses,
but our pride is in the name of the Lord
our God.
They will collapse and fall,
but we shall rise and stand upright.
Give victory to the king, OLord;
answer us when we call.a
Psalm 21
In your strength the king rejoices, OLord,

and in your help how greatly he exults!
You have given him his hearts desire,
and have not withheld the request of
his lips.
Selah
For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of ne gold on his head.
He asked you for life; you gave it to him

length of days forever and ever.
His glory is great through your help;
splendor and majesty you bestow on
him.
You bestow on him blessings forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your
presence.
For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the
Most High he shall not be moved.
Your hand will nd out all your
enemies;
your right hand will nd out those who
hate you.
You will make them like a ery furnace
when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his
wrath,
and re will consume them.
You will destroy their ospring from the
earth,
and their children from among
humankind.
If they plan evil against you,
if they devise mischief, they will not
succeed.
For you will put them to ight;
you will aim at their faces with your
bows.
Be exalted, OLord, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
a Gk: Heb give victory, OLord; let the King answer us

when we call
Day of trouble, a military crisis requiring the king to act as military commander. 3: Oerings and sacrices could
be oered to gain divine favor. Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 6: Now I know, the phrase elsewhere expresses great condence (Job 19.25; Pss 41.11; 56.9); it may reect a positive oracle that the king received. 78: Victory lies with God
rather than superior military technology; cf. Ps 44.3.
Ps 21: Thanksgiving for the kings victory. A royal thanksgiving, a companion piece to Ps 20, reporting a victory gained with the Lords help (vv. 17); it is followed by an assurance of future help (vv. 812) and concluded
by a prayer (v. 13). The kings military role was understood to implement divine justice in an oen hostile world.
1: Rejoices and exults, refers not only to the inner feelings of the king but to the public celebration that would
follow a major victory. 2: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 47: The kings divine-like qualities are not intrinsic to him, but are
bestowed by God. 4: Life, not only the kings life but the peoples as well, for the victory has brought security
and prosperity. 5: Glory . . . splendor and majesty, the nimbus of light surrounding gods and kings. 10: Destroy
their ospring, no one should be le to carry on the enemies nefarious work. 13: Such a victory is an occasion
for the entire community to rejoice in God.
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psalm 22
Psalm 22
Many bulls encircle me,

strong bulls of Bashan surround
me;
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
To the leader: according to The Deer of the Dawn.

A Psalm of David.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken

me?
Why are you so far from helping me,
from the words of my groaning?
Omy God, I cry by day, but you do not
answer;
and by night, but nd no rest.
I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
my moutha is dried up like a
potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried, and were saved;
in you they trusted, and were not put to
shame.
For dogs are all around me;

a company of evildoers encircles
me.
My hands and feet have shriveled;b
I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me;
they divide my clothes among
themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
But I am a worm, and not human;

scorned by others, and despised by the
people.
All who see me mock at me;
they make mouths at me, they shake
their heads;
Commit your cause to the Lord; let him
deliver
let him rescue the one in whom he
delights!
Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mothers breast.
On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have
been my God.
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
But you, OLord, do not be far away!

Omy help, come quickly to my aid!
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my lifec from the power of the dog!
Save me from the mouth of the
lion!
From the horns of the wild oxen you have
rescuedd me.
a
b
c
d
Cn: Heb strength

Heb my only one
Heb answered
Ps 22: Plea to be delivered from relentless enemies. An individual petition remarkable for its intense expressions of anguish (vv. 12,68,1218), vivid recollections of Gods healing presence (vv. 35,911), lively gratitude
for rescue (vv. 2226), and trust in Gods universal sovereignty (vv. 2731). Superscription: According to the Deer
of the Dawn, a musical term, perhaps indicating the melody to which the words were sung. 121: The complaint
is that the Lord, the patron of Israels ancestors (vv. 35) has not rescued one who suers even though he
has been faithful (vv. 911). 6: The dehumanized psalmist is mocked by his enemies. 1221: The extensive and
diverse metaphors for the supplicants trouble express the great extent of his trouble. 1213: Enemies stalk the
psalmist like wild beasts (Ps 7.2; Isa 56.9). The subhuman bestial world is contrasted with the human worshipers
in the Temple (v. 22). 12: Bashan, a fertile region in northern Transjordan famous for its cale. 14: Poured out like
water, tears were conceived as welling up from the abdomen, that is, coming from the physical center of the
person. 16: My hands and feet have shriveled, textually obscure: (lit. like a lion my hands and feet); see textual
note b. 1718: I can count all my bones (lit. ribs), robbers have stripped the psalmist of his clothes and he is
790 | hebrew bible
psalm 23
I will tell of your name to my brothers
and sisters;a
in the midst of the congregation I will
praise you:
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you ospring of Jacob, glorify him;
stand in awe of him, all you ospring of
Israel!
For he did not despise or abhor
the aiction of the aicted;
he did not hide his face from me,b
but heard when Ic cried to him.
andi proclaim his deliverance to a people

yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.
Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;j
he restores my soul.k
He leads me in right pathsl
for his names sake.
From you comes my praise in the great

congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who
fear him.
The poord shall eat and be satised;
those who seek him shall praise the
Lord.
May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth shall
remember
and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.e
For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
To him,f indeed, shall all who sleep ing
the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down
to the dust,
and I shall live for him.h
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about
the Lord,
Even though I walk through the darkest

valley,m
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your sta
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Or kindred
Heb him
Heb he
Or aicted
Gk Syr Jerome: Heb you
Cn: Heb They have eaten and
Cn: Heb all the fat ones
Compare Gk Syr Vg: Heb and he who cannot keep
himself alive
i Compare Gk: Heb it will be told about the Lord to
the generation, 31they will come and
j Heb waters of rest
k Or life
l Or paths of righteousness
m Or the valley of the shadow of death
emaciated. 2231: The psalmist aempts to motivate God to rescue him by promising that he will then give
thanks among humans, in the great congregation (v. 25), likely the Temple in Jerusalem; the rescue of a single
individual will then have larger, even universal (see v. 27) and future (vv. 3031) ramications. 22: Tell of your
name, declare to others what God has done, thereby encouraging them to praise God. 27: On praise of God by
the nations, see, e.g., Pss 67.24; 86.9; 117.1. 29: On worship by the dead, contrast Pss 6.5; 30.9; 88.1012; 115.17.
Ps 23: The Lord as shepherd and host. The most beloved of the psalms, a song of trust. Though seemingly
idyllic, evil lurks at the margin (vv. 4a, 5b), and nature is sometimes dangerous (v. 4). The poem transposes to
individual experience the Exodus traditions of the divine shepherd guiding Israel (e.g., Ps 78.4355). There are
two distinct images of God in the psalm: shepherd (vv. 14), and host of a banquet (v. 5); and two grammatical persons used of God: he in vv. 13, you in vv. 46. 1: Shepherd, a favorite title of ancient Near Eastern kings,
symbolizing especially the kings compassionate care for his people (Pss 80.1; 95.7; 100.3; Isa 40.11; Jer 10.21;
Ezek 34.1116). Verse 1 can be paraphrased: It is the Lord who is my shepherd; that is why I lack nothing. 2: Still
waters, not swily running, so the sheep can keep their footing as they drink from the pool. 5: Prepare a table,
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psalm 24
Lift up your heads, Ogates!
and be lifted up, Oancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, Ogates!
and be lifted up, Oancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.
Selah
you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overows.
Surelya goodness and mercyb shall follow
me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.c
Psalm 24
Of David. A Psalm.
The earth is the Lords and all that is

in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure
hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what
is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
They will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of their
salvation.
Such is the company of those who seek
him,
who seek the face of the God
Selah
of Jacob.d
Psalm 25
Of David.
To you, OLord, I lift up my soul.

Omy God, in you I trust;
do not let me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult over me.
Do not let those who wait for you be put
to shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly
treacherous.
Make me to know your ways, OLord;
teach me your paths.
a
b
c
d
Or Only
Or kindness
Heb for length of days
Gk Syr: Heb your face, OJacob
the image of shepherd changes to that of host of a meal; cf. Ps 78.19. In the presence of my enemies, the Lords
invitation to dine vindicates the psalmist as just, whereas the enemies are not invited. 6: My whole life long, the
Hebrew suggests simply long life, not forever. Residing in the house of the Lord implies divine protection.
Ps 24: The holiness of the house of the Lord. A hymn celebrating the Lords enthronement that begins, like
Ps 15, with a demand of right conduct. The psalm proceeds in three stages: the proclamation of the cosmic victory of the Lord (vv. 12), a scrutiny to make certain that only the loyal enter and welcome the Divine Warrior to
his dwelling (vv. 36), and a call to the Temple gates to welcome God the king. 12: Presupposed is the combat
myth in which the storm god defeats chaotic Sea, creates the universe, and erects a palace (temple) to commemorate the victory. Israel likely borrowed and transformed this myth from its Canaanite predecessors. 36:
Only those loyal to the victorious Lord are t to share the fruits of victory; the questions determine whether
worshipers have been loyal. 4: Li up their souls to what is false, similar to the commandment of the Decalogue,
You shall have no other gods before you (Ex 20.3; Deut 5.7). 5: Blessing from the Lord, the deity shares the
fruits of victory. 6: Selah (also v. 10), see Ps 3.2n. 7: Li up your heads, O gates! Personied, the Temple gates are
invited to li up their heads in joy and join the chorus welcoming the triumphant warrior; some scholars emend
gates to gatekeepers.
Ps 25: Prayer for forgiveness and guidance. An individual petition in acrostic form (see Ps 910n.), divided
into three parts (vv. 17; 814; 1522). The rst and third parts are lengthy petitions in which I (the singer) addresses you (God); the middle part (with the exception of v. 11) is a hymn-lesson, speaking of God in the third
person. 1: My soul, Heb nepesh, the throat, face, and breast area, oen rendered soul or life because ones
vital signs are palpable in that part of the body; the Hebrew Bible does not recognize a body-soul dichotomy.
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psalm 26
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.
Be mindful of your mercy, OLord, and of
your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth or
my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love
remember me,
for your goodness sake, OLord!
Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the
way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast
love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his
decrees.
For your names sake, OLord,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
Who are they that fear the Lord?
He will teach them the way that they
should choose.
They will abide in prosperity,
and their children shall possess the
land.
The friendship of the Lord is for those
who fear him,
and he makes his covenant known to
them.
My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and aicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart,

and bring mea out of my distress.
Consider my aiction and my
trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate
me.
Oguard my life, and deliver me;
do not let me be put to shame, for I take
refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness preserve
me,
for I wait for you.
Redeem Israel, OGod,
out of all its troubles.
Psalm 26
Of David.
Vindicate me, OLord,

for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without
wavering.
Prove me, OLord, and try me;
test my heart and mind.
For your steadfast love is before my
eyes,
and I walk in faithfulness to you.b
I do not sit with the worthless,
nor do I consort with hypocrites;
I hate the company of evildoers,
and will not sit with the wicked.
I wash my hands in innocence,
and go around your altar, OLord,
a Or The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me
b Or in your faithfulness
814: Apart from v. 11, the middle section is a hymn-lesson about divine guidance with allusions to the Exodus
(way, he leads, paths, covenant). Even the petition for forgiveness in v. 11, pardon my guilt, cites Moses plea in Ex
34.9. 1522: As motives to move God to help, the psalmist simply says I am lonely (v. 16), my foes are many (v. 19),
and I wait for you (v. 21). 22: At its conclusion, the psalm is generalized to the community.
Ps 26: Plea for salvation and for a declaration of righteousness. An individual petition, probably of a priest
(presumably only a priest could go around your altar, v. 6) who is awed by the demands of his oce. Since a
priest represented all Israel (e.g., Ex 28.2930) and Israel was a priestly people among the nations, a priests
psalm could be used by any individual. Walking occurs at the psalms beginning and end, suggesting participation in sacred processions. 1: The priest asks God to vindicate his claims of right conduct, for no ones
self-assessment is valid without Gods acceptance. 45: As in Pss 1 and 101, the worshiper hates (rejects) the
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psalm 27
singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
and telling all your wondrous deeds.
OLord, I love the house in which you
dwell,
and the place where your glory abides.
Do not sweep me away with sinners,
nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
those in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.
But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground;
in the great congregation I will bless the
Lord.
Psalm 27
Of David.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strongholda of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me
to devour my esh
my adversaries and foes
they shall stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be condent.
One thing I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his
tent;
he will set me high on a rock.
Now my head is lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will oer in his tent
sacrices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, OLord, when I cry aloud,
be gracious to me and answer me!
Come, my heart says, seek his face!
Your face, Lord, do I seek.
Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in
anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not cast me o, do not forsake me,
OGod of my salvation!
If my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will take me up.
Teach me your way, OLord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
a Or refuge
company and the projects of the wicked. 4: Sit with, implies partnering (1 Sam 2.8; Ps 101.6). 6: I wash my hands,
washing is commanded by priestly rituals (Ex 30.21). 810: In contrast to hating the wicked in vv. 45, the
psalmist loves, in the sense of choosing, Gods house and ways. 11: Condent of Gods acceptance, the psalmist resolves to continue walking the right path.
Ps 27: Longing to nd the Lord in the Temple despite obstacles. Two psalm genres, song of trust (vv. 16)
and individual petition (vv. 714), have been combined to express intense desire and courageous journeying.
Mention of enemies and the desire to see Gods face in the Temple unify these two parts. 13: Light is associated
with the sanctuary as in Pss 36.9; 43.3; 56.13; in antiquity kings and divinities were oen depicted as emanating light. 2: Devour my esh, the enemies are compared to wild animals (Pss 7.2; 17.12). 4: Three metaphors for
desiring God: living in Gods house (Ps 84.4), beholding Gods beauty (Ex 24.11), and seeking (inquire) an oracle.
5: There are three metaphors for hope; all refer to the Temple: shelter, tent (Am 9.11; Ps 18.11), and rock (Ps 61.2).
6: Now, the psalmist can now look down from a secure place upon the enemies that once posed a threat. 710:
A sudden shi to petition/lament as the psalmist becomes aware that enemies still pose a threat. 8: My heart
says, a unique variant of the idiom to say in ones heart, connoting uer sincerity. On Gods face, see Ps 17.15n.
10: The image of God as parent is rare in Psalms (see, e.g., 103.13). 11: Lead me on a level path, the psalmist asks
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psalm 29
Do not give me up to the will of my
adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against
me,
and they are breathing out violence.
Because they do not regard the works of

the Lord,
or the work of his hands,
he will break them down and build them
up no more.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of

the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take
courage;
wait for the Lord!
Blessed be the Lord,

for he has heard the sound of my
pleadings.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
Psalm 28
Of David.
To you, OLord, I call;

my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
I shall be like those who go down to the
Pit.
Hear the voice of my supplication,
as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.a
Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors,
while mischief is in their hearts.
Repay them according to their work,
and according to the evil of their deeds;
repay them according to the work of their
hands;
render them their due reward.
The Lord is the strength of his people;

he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
Osave your people, and bless your
heritage;
be their shepherd, and carry them
forever.
Psalm 29
A Psalm of David.
Ascribe to the Lord, Oheavenly beings,b

ascribe to the Lord glory and
strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
worship the Lord in holy splendor.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over mighty waters.
a Heb your innermost sanctuary
b Heb sons of gods
to be protected on the journey. 13: In the land of the living, beer rendered in the land of life, an idiom for the
Temple as in Pss 52.5; 56.13. 14: Perhaps recited in response, as encouragement to the psalmist.
Ps 28: Plea for the vindication of one falsely accused. An individual petition that asks God to indicate the
innocence of a person in the absence of reliable witnesses. The psalmist prays that God not be silent (v. 1) and
allow false accusers to win the day. 1: The Pit, a synonym for Sheol, the abode of the dead. 2: Li up my hands
was a posture of prayer. 3: Those . . . who speak peace, false accusers. 68: Blessed be the Lord, the Lord has spoken, perhaps through an oracle, and the psalmist responds with intense joy. 7: Strength and shield complement
rock (v. 1). 89: As in other psalms (e.g., 14; 20; 25), the conclusion moves from the individual to the community, and to its leader, the anointed king. 9: Shepherd . . . carry, the nal prayer may evoke Isa 40.11, where God
carries [the lambs] in his bosom, and gently leads the mother sheep.
Ps 29: Acknowledging the Lords might in the storm. A hymn in which heavenly beings praise the Lord of
the storm who brings life-giving rain; many scholars think that this was a Canaanite psalm adapted by early
Israel. 1: The heavenly beings (lit. sons of gods) are summoned to acknowledge the Lord returning victorious
to the assembly (cf. Pss 82.1; 89.57). 2: In holy splendor, perhaps when the Holy One appears. 39: The symbol
of a cosmic event, a massive storm roars in from the Mediterranean and hits the coast with deafening thunderclaps (the voice of the Lord, used seven times in this section), drenching rain, and lightning ashes. The lumi-
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psalm 30
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord ashes forth ames
of re.
The voice of the Lord shakes the
wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of
Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to
whirl,a
and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, Glory!
The Lord sits enthroned over the ood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
Psalm 30
A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the temple.
Of David.
I will extol you, OLord, for you have

drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
OLord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
OLord, you brought up my soul from
Sheol,
restored me to life from among those

gone down to the Pit.b
Sing praises to the Lord, Oyou his
faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
I shall never be moved.
By your favor, OLord,
you had established me as a strong
mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
To you, OLord, I cried,
and to the Lord I made
supplication:
What prot is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, OLord, and be gracious
to me!
OLord, be my helper!
You have turned my mourning into
dancing;
a Or causes the deer to calve
b Or that I should not go down to the Pit
nous thundercloud is imagined as the Lords chariot, and the thunder, rain, and lightning are his soldiers. They
sweep across the trees and appear to shaer and shake the forested mountain; earthquake also accompanies
a divine appearance or theophany (e.g., Pss 18.7; 114.7). 6: Sirion, Mount Hermon (see Deut 3.9), at the southern
border of Lebanon. 8: Wilderness of Kadesh, the desert east of the city of Kadesh in central western Syria. 10:
Enthroned over the ood, ancient myths sometimes depicted the storm god defeating hostile Sea and building
his palace upon its body. The heavenly beings pray that the divine king would extend the fruits of victory to
Israel, the Lords special people.
Ps 30: Praise for deliverance. A thanksgiving with a persistent metaphor system: going down, death, silence; and rising up, life, praise. God moves the psalmist from one state to the other. The divine names (the
Lord and God) add up to twelve, the number of the tribes of Israel, suggesting that the healing is a type of
what God does for all the tribes. Superscription: The words at the dedication of the temple were added when
this psalm was sung at the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) commemorating the cleansing of the Temple by
Judas Maccabeus in 164 bce. 3: Language of death and recovery is used by people who were saved by God from
life-threatening problems. Sheol . . . the Pit, the abode of the dead. 6: I shall never be moved, the psalmists smugness preceded the crisis. Withdrawal of divine support led to collapse (cf. Ps 104.2730). 9: The theme that God
should save a psalmist because the dead do not praise God is common in the Psalms (see Ps 6.5n.). 1112: The
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psalm 31
you have taken o my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soula may praise you and not
be silent.
OLord my God, I will give thanks to
you forever.
For my life is spent with sorrow,

and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery,c
and my bones waste away.
I am the scorn of all my adversaries,
a horrord to my neighbors,
an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street ee from
me.
I have passed out of mind like one who
is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
For I hear the whispering of many
terror all around!
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.
Psalm 31
In you, OLord, I seek refuge;

do not let me ever be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.
Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me.
You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
for your names sake lead me and guide
me,
take me out of the net that is hidden for
me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, OLord, faithful
God.
But I trust in you, OLord;

I say, You are my God.
My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my
enemies and persecutors.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.
Do not let me be put to shame, OLord,
for I call on you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.
Let the lying lips be stilled
that speak insolently against the
righteous
with pride and contempt.
You hateb those who pay regard to

worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.
I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast
love,
because you have seen my aiction;
you have taken heed of my adversities,
and have not delivered me into the hand
of the enemy;
you have set my feet in a broad place.
Be gracious to me, OLord, for I am in
distress;
my eye wastes away from grief,
my soul and body also.
Ohow abundant is your goodness

that you have laid up for those who fear
you,
a
b
c
d
Heb that glory

One Heb Ms Gk Syr Jerome: MT I hate
Gk Syr: Heb my iniquity
Cn: Heb exceedingly
psalmist casts o the mourning garments (sackcloth) to dance with joy.

Ps 31: Prayer for deliverance, and thanksgiving. An individual petition that combines features of a petition
(vv. 14,918) and a thanksgiving (vv. 58,1924). 24: The metaphors for refuge are spatial: rock, fortress (lit.
safe house), crag (v. 3, NRSV rock). The psalmist asks to be led to those places. 918:The psalm returns to
direct petition. Sickness, or perhaps old age, has cut o the suerer from family and friends (vv. 913). 16: Let
your face shine, a likely reference to the Priestly blessing (Num 6.25), meaning to adopt an open countenance
that looks directly at the other person (see also Pss 4.6; 80.3). 17: Sheol, the underworld, the abode of the dead.
19: A major change in mood: leaving behind complaints, the psalmist expresses thanks. God hides the loyal in
a shelter (a reference to the Temple as in Am 9.11; Pss 18.11; 27.5). The quest for a safe house in v. 2 has been
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psalm 32
and accomplished for those who take
refuge in you,
in the sight of everyone!
In the shelter of your presence you hide
them
from human plots;
you hold them safe under your shelter
from contentious tongues.
for he has wondrously shown his
steadfast love to me
when I was beset as a city under siege.
I had said in my alarm,
I am driven fara from your sight.
But you heard my supplications
when I cried out to you for help.
Love the Lord, all you his saints.
The Lord preserves the faithful,
but abundantly repays the one who acts
haughtily.
Be strong, and let your heart take
courage,
all you who wait for the Lord.
Psalm 32
Of David. A Maskil.
Happy are those whose transgression is

forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Happy are those to whom the Lord
imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no
deceit.
While I kept silence, my body wasted

away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy
upon me;
my strength was dried upb as by the
heat of summer.
Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, I will confess my transgressions to
the Lord,
and you forgave the guilt of
my sin.
Selah
Therefore let all who are faithful
oer prayer to you;
at a time of distress,c the rush of mighty
waters
shall not reach them.
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of
deliverance.
Selah
I will instruct you and teach you the way
you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon
you.
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without
understanding,
a Another reading is cut o

c Cn: Heb at a time of nding only
answered by Gods granting admission to the Temple. 2324: As is oen the case in Psalms, at the end the
petitioner moves from himself to the broader community. 23: Saints is a misleading translation; it is elsewhere
translated faithful or loyal ones.
Ps 32: Happy the one whose sin is forgiven. An individual thanksgiving, though in Christian tradition it
is classed among the seven penitential psalms (Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143). The psalm has three mutually
reinforcing metaphors for sin and three for forgiveness: sin is a burden one has to bear or carry, forgiveness occurring when God bears it away; sin is an act that God keeps on seeing (it is in Gods face), forgiveness occurring when God covers it so it can no longer be seen; sin is imputing iniquity, judging someone is a sinner and
withholding blessing, and forgiveness consists in changing that judgment. Superscription: Maskil, a technical
term of uncertain signicance. 1: Whose transgression is forgiven, an indirect way of expressing Gods action. The
psalmists feverish aempts to cover (lit. hide) the sin prevented God from covering it (looking away from it).
4: Your hand was heavy upon me is an idiom for punishment (see 1 Sam 5.6). Selah (also vv. 5,7), see Ps 3.2n. 611:
Deeply moved by the experience of Gods mercy, the singer tells the faithful what they may not realize: sin need
not destroy you or separate you from God. 9: Like a horse or a mule, people can turn away like work animals who
do not understand human speech, but joy follows forgiveness.
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psalm 33
whose temper must be curbed with bit
and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.
Many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who
trust in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice,
Orighteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in
heart.
Psalm 33
Rejoice in the Lord, Oyou righteous.
Praise bets the upright.
Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of
ten strings.
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud
shouts.
For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of
the Lord.
By the word of the Lord the heavens were
made,
and all their host by the breath of his
mouth.
He gathered the waters of the sea as in a
bottle;
he put the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world
stand in awe of him.
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood rm.
The Lord brings the counsel of the

nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the
peoples.
The counsel of the Lord stands
forever,
the thoughts of his heart to all
generations.
Happy is the nation whose God is the
Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his
heritage.
The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all humankind.
From where he sits enthroned he
watches
all the inhabitants of the earth
he who fashions the hearts of them all,
and observes all their deeds.
A king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great
strength.
The war horse is a vain hope for
victory,
and by its great might it cannot save.
Truly the eye of the Lord is on those
who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast
love,
to deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and shield.
Our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, OLord, be
upon us,
even as we hope in you.
Ps 33: Praise of the Lord who created the universe. A hymn praising the divine word that made the threetiered universe and guides it even when humans try to pervert it to their ends. 111: The conjunction for in vv.
4 and 9 introduces the motive for giving praise, in this case, Gods upright and powerful word that has brought
the universe into being (vv. 67; cf. Gen 1.6). That creative word determines the course of history, and no human word can contravene it (vv. 1011). 7: Storehouses, cf. Ps 135.7; Job 38.22. 1222: Though not mentioned by
name, Israel is declared happy or fortunate (v. 12) simply by being chosen out of all the nations. When the Lord
scrutinizes humanity, all purely human sources of strength are relativized (vv. 1617; cf. v. 10; Ps 20.7). Israels
(and the nations) task is not to rely on human strength but to wait on the Lords goodness and power. 2022:
These verses are connected causally and suggest that God should save Israel because of Israels trust in God.
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psalm 34
Psalm 34
Depart from evil, and do good;

seek peace, and pursue it.
Of David, when he feigned madness before

Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went
away.
The eyes of the Lord are on the

righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
to cut o the remembrance of them
from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the
Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their
troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.
I will bless the Lord at all times;

his praise shall continually be in my
mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Omagnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him, and be radiant;
so youra faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor soul cried, and was heard by
the Lord,
and was saved from every trouble.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and
delivers them.
Otaste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
Ofear the Lord, you his holy ones,
for those who fear him have no want.
The young lions suer want and
hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack no
good thing.
Come, Ochildren, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Which of you desires life,
and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Many are the aictions of the righteous,

but the Lord rescues them from them
all.
He keeps all their bones;
not one of them will be broken.
Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will
be condemned.
The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him
will be condemned.
Psalm 35
Of David.
Contend, OLord, with those who

contend with me;
ght against those who ght against me!
Take hold of shield and buckler,
and rise up to help me!
a
Gk Syr Jerome: Heb their
Ps 34: Praise and acknowledgment of deliverance from danger. An individual thanksgiving in acrostic form
(see Ps 910n.). Individual thanksgivings publicize the deliverance to encourage others to remain loyal to God.
The didactic element is underlined in this psalm. Superscription: According to 1 Sam 21.1015, David feigned
madness before Achish, not Abimelech. The ascription of this psalm to that particular historical situation is
likely secondary. 8: Taste, a metaphor for experience. 1122: Borrowing from the portrait of personied Wisdom
(especially Prov 9), the healed psalmist teaches others how to gain life. Life here is long life resulting from
righteous conduct, in contrast to the brief life of the wicked, who die prematurely. 11: Fear of the Lord, best
rendered revering the Lord. 1617: The psalm reads beer if this order of the two verses is reversed, following
the order of the alphabet found in Lam 2; 3; 4.
Ps 35: Prayer for deliverance from enemies. An individual petition in three sections (vv. 110; 1118; 1928).
It uses many metaphors for enemiessoldiers (vv. 13), hunters (v. 7), and lions (v. 17)and the imagery of
war, lawsuit, and conspiracy to show that the whole world is arrayed against a lone individual. Positive petitions (vv. 13,17,2224,27) alternate with imprecations (vv. 46,8,19,2526), promises of thanksgiving (vv.
910,18,28), and complaints (vv. 7,1116). Each of the psalms three sections concludes with a promise of praise
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psalm 35
Draw the spear and javelin
against my pursuers;
say to my soul,
I am your salvation.
But at my stumbling they gathered in

glee,
they gathered together against me;
ruans whom I did not know
tore at me without ceasing;
they impiously mocked more and more,d
gnashing at me with their teeth.
Let them be put to shame and dishonor

who seek after my life.
Let them be turned back and confounded
who devise evil against me.
Let them be like cha before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving
them on.
Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing
them.
How long, OLord, will you look on?

Rescue me from their ravages,
my life from the lions!
Then I will thank you in the great
congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you.
Do not let my treacherous enemies
rejoice over me,
or those who hate me without cause
wink the eye.
For they do not speak peace,
but they conceive deceitful words
against those who are quiet in the
land.
They open wide their mouths against
me;
they say, Aha, Aha,
our eyes have seen it.
For without cause they hid their neta for

me;
without cause they dug a pitb for my life.
Let ruin come on them unawares.
And let the net that they hid ensnare
them;
let them fall in itto their ruin.
Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord,
exulting in his deliverance.
All my bones shall say,
OLord, who is like you?
You deliver the weak
from those too strong for them,
the weak and needy from those who
despoil them.
Malicious witnesses rise up;
they ask me about things I do not know.
They repay me evil for good;
my soul is forlorn.
But as for me, when they were sick,
I wore sackcloth;
I aicted myself with fasting.
I prayed with head bowedc on my bosom,
as though I grieved for a friend or a
brother;
I went about as one who laments for a
mother,
bowed down and in mourning.
You have seen, OLord; do not be silent!

OLord, do not be far from me!
Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defense,
for my cause, my God and my Lord!
Vindicate me, OLord, my God,
according to your righteousness,
and do not let them rejoice over me.
Do not let them say to themselves,
Aha, we have our hearts desire.
Do not let them say, We have swallowed
youe up.
a
b
c
d
Heb a pit, their net

The word pit is transposed from the preceding line
Or My prayer turned back
Cn Compare Gk: Heb like the profanest of mockers
of a cake
e Heb him
(vv. 910,18,28). 4: Be put to shame and dishonor, God is asked to bring about the rescue in full view of others.
56: The angel of the Lord is Gods emissary, eecting punishment. 78: See Ps 7.1516n. 23: Wake up, the demand reects the ancient Near Eastern view that God rested aer a great deed (as in Gen 2.3) and required a
fresh summons (Pss 44.23; 59.5; Isa 51.9).
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psalm 36
Let all those who rejoice at my calamity
be put to shame and confusion;
let those who exalt themselves against me
be clothed with shame and dishonor.
Let those who desire my vindication
shout for joy and be glad,
and say evermore,
Great is the Lord,
who delights in the welfare of his
servant.
Then my tongue shall tell of your
righteousness
and of your praise all day long.
Psalm 36
To the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
before their eyes.
For they atter themselves in their own
eyes
that their iniquity cannot be found out
and hated.
The words of their mouths are mischief
and deceit;
they have ceased to act wisely and do
good.
They plot mischief while on their beds;
they are set on a way that is not good;
they do not reject evil.
Your steadfast love, OLord, extends to
the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty
mountains,
your judgments are like the great deep;

you save humans and animals alike,
OLord.
How precious is your steadfast love,
OGod!
All people may take refuge in the
shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your
house,
and you give them drink from the river
of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
Ocontinue your steadfast love to those
who know you,
and your salvation to the upright of heart!
Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread
on me,
or the hand of the wicked drive me away.
There the evildoers lie prostrate;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.
Psalm 37
Of David.
Do not fret because of the wicked;

do not be envious of wrongdoers,
for they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will live in the land, and enjoy
security.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your
heart.
Ps 36: God sustains the faithful. An individual petition that develops the statement of trust to an unusual
degree. Instead of complaining about the aacks of the wicked, the psalmist gives a vivid portrait of the wicked
person (vv. 14). The statement of trust (vv. 59) enlarges on the Lords saving power, and the petition is extended (vv. 1012). 14: The self-ruled individual is contrasted with the God-ruled world. 4: While on their beds,
i.e., privately, at night; cf. Mic 2.1. 59: The wicked are unaware that God works in all parts of the universesky,
mountains (earth), and sea (vv. 56)and especially in the Temple (your house) from which ows the river of
your delights (v. 8); cf. Ps 46.4; Ezek 47.12. 7: Shadow of your wings, see Ps 17.8n. 9: In your light we see light, enjoy
life (Job 3.16; Ps 49.19), which is made possible by the luminous God present in the Temple. 12: There, possibly a
reference to Zion and its Temple as in Pss 48.6; 76.3; 87.4.
Ps 37: Exhortation to courage and endurance. An instructional poem in acrostic form (see Ps 910n.), using
aphorisms and exhortations to encourage people to a faithful life (see Pss 49; 78; 127; 128). 111: One should
maintain ones equanimity when the wicked prosper and are admired. Retribution is inevitable, however, for
the wicked will be shamed (their hopes will prove empty) and the righteous rewarded, typically with the pre-
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psalm 37
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make your vindication shine like
the light,
and the justice of your cause like the
noonday.
The Lord knows the days of the

blameless,
and their heritage will abide forever;
they are not put to shame in evil times,
in the days of famine they have
abundance.
Be still before the Lord, and wait

patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in
their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.
But the wicked perish,

and the enemies of the Lord are like the
glory of the pastures;
they vanishlike smoke they vanish
away.
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.

Do not fretit leads only to evil.
For the wicked shall be cut o,
but those who wait for the Lord shall
inherit the land.
The wicked borrow, and do not

pay back,
but the righteous are generous and keep
giving;
for those blessed by the Lord shall
inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be
cut o.
Yet a little while, and the wicked will be

no more;
though you look diligently for their
place, they will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land,
and delight themselves in abundant
prosperity.
Our stepsa are made rm by the Lord,

when he delights in ourb way;
though we stumble,c wed shall not fall
headlong,
for the Lord holds use by the hand.
The wicked plot against the righteous,

and gnash their teeth at them;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that their day is coming.
I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous
forsaken
or their children begging bread.
They are ever giving liberally and
lending,
and their children become a blessing.
The wicked draw the sword and bend

their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to kill those who walk uprightly;
their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.
Better is a little that the righteous person
has
than the abundance of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be
broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
Depart from evil, and do good;

so you shall abide forever.
a
b
c
d
e
Heb A mans steps

Heb his
Heb he stumbles
Heb he
Heb him
cious gi of the land (vv. 3,9,11,22,29,34). 1220: The wicked try to aack the righteous, but the Lord defends
them. 2126: The same Heb word in vv. 21 and 26 marks o the section (NRSV borrow, lending). To give to others
is to show condence in the Lord and eventually leads to a share in the Lords land (vv. 2122). 25: I have not
seen the righteous forsaken, a statement of how the universe runs under divine rule, not necessarily an empirical
observation. 2740: Three imperative verbs dominate the section: Depart (v. 27), Wait (v. 34), and Mark (v. 37).
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psalm 38
For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his faithful ones.
The righteous shall be kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be
cut o.
The righteous shall inherit the land,
and live in it forever.
The mouths of the righteous utter
wisdom,
and their tongues speak justice.
The law of their God is in their hearts;
their steps do not slip.
The wicked watch for the righteous,
and seek to kill them.
The Lord will not abandon them to their
power,
or let them be condemned when they
are brought to trial.
Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on the destruction of the
wicked.
I have seen the wicked oppressing,
and towering like a cedar of
Lebanon.a
Again Ib passed by, and they were no
more;
though I sought them, they could not
be found.
Mark the blameless, and behold the
upright,
for there is posterity for the peaceable.
But transgressors shall be altogether
destroyed;
the posterity of the wicked shall be cut
o.
The salvation of the righteous is from

the Lord;
he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked, and
saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
Psalm 38
A Psalm of David, for the memorial oering.
OLord, do not rebuke me in your anger,

or discipline me in your wrath.
For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down
on me.
There is no soundness in my esh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my
head;
they weigh like a burden too heavy
for me.
My wounds grow foul and fester
because of my foolishness;
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all day long I go around mourning.
For my loins are lled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my esh.
I am utterly spent and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my
heart.
OLord, all my longing is known to you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
My heart throbs, my strength fails me;
as for the light of my eyesit also has
gone from me.
b Gk Syr Jerome: Heb he
3536: Like wisdom literature, this psalm emphasizes experience and observation.
Ps 38: Confession of sin and plea for forgiveness. An individual petition notable for its vivid portrayal of
anguish resulting from sin and of patient waiting for healing. People have interpreted the psalmists illness
as divine rejection and therefore keep their distance. An individual lament in the Hebrew Bible, this psalm in
Christian tradition is one of the seven penitential psalms (Pss 6; 32; 51; 102; 130; 143). Superscription: For the
memorial oering (also Ps 70), meaning uncertain. 1: Compare 6.1, suggesting that this was a stereotypical way
of beginning a petition psalm. Psalms 6 and 38 are quite dierent, however: the petitioner in Ps 6 assumes
that he is being unjustly punished, while this psalmist confesses his guilt. 910: The verses echo the anguish
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psalm 39
My friends and companions stand aloof
from my aiction,
and my neighbors stand far o.
Those who seek my life lay their
snares;
those who seek to hurt me speak of
ruin,
and meditate treachery all day long.
But I am like the deaf, I do not hear;
like the mute, who cannot speak.
Truly, I am like one who does not hear,
and in whose mouth is no retort.
But it is for you, OLord, that I wait;
it is you, OLord my God, who will
answer.
For I pray, Only do not let them rejoice
over me,
those who boast against me when my
foot slips.
For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
Those who are my foes without causea
are mighty,
and many are those who hate me
wrongfully.
Those who render me evil for good
are my adversaries because I follow
after good.
Do not forsake me, OLord;
Omy God, do not be far from me;
make haste to help me,
OLord, my salvation.
Psalm 39
To the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
I said, I will guard my ways

that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.
I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse,
my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the re burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
Lord, let me know my end,
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how eeting my life is.
You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your
sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere
breath.
Selah
Surely everyone goes about like a
shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up, and do not know who will
gather.
And now, OLord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blowsb of your
hand.
a Q Ms: MT my living foes

b Heb hostility
described in vv. 38. 11: Cf. Ps 31.918n. 1516: The verses echo the anguish in vv. 1114. 15: The psalmist trusts
God rather than humans. 2122: The closing petitions are similar in syntax to the opening petitions (vv. 12). 21:
Do not forsake me is also a stereotypical expression in petitions, e.g., Ps 27.9.
Ps 39: Plea that suering might end. An individual petition. Forced to remain silent because enemies misinterpret any uerance (vv. 13), the psalmist asks God how much longer the suering will continue (vv. 46).
Since the suering comes from God, only God can end it (vv. 713). Superscription: Jeduthun (also in the superscriptions of Pss 62 and 77), a Temple singer (1 Chr 25.1; etc.). 1: Sin with my tongue, beer, oend by my
speech; since ones words might convince others that the suering is just retribution for rebellion, the psalmist resolves to complain only to God. 4: Let me know my end, beer , Let me know the term (of my aiction),
what the length of my days (of suering) is, expressing the belief that aictions lasted for a predetermined
period. To the psalmist, it is unfair of God to burden an already short life span with a lengthy aiction. 5: Selah
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psalm 40
You chastise mortals
in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to
them;
surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah
Hear my prayer, OLord,
and give ear to my cry;
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
an alien, like all my forebears.
Turn your gaze away from me, that I may
smile again,
before I depart and am no more.
Psalm 40
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
I waited patiently for the Lord;

he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,a
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Happy are those who make
the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false
gods.
You have multiplied, OLord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your
thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be
counted.
Sacrice and oering you do not desire,

but you have given me an open ear.b
Burnt oering and sin oering
you have not required.
Then I said, Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of
me.c
I delight to do your will, Omy God;
your law is within my heart.
I have told the glad news of
deliverance
in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, OLord.
I have not hidden your saving help
within my heart,
I have spoken of your faithfulness and
your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love
and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.
Do not, OLord, withhold
your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your
faithfulness
keep me safe forever.
For evils have encompassed me
without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.
Be pleased, OLord, to deliver me;
OLord, make haste to help me.
a Cn: Heb pit of tumult
b Heb ears you have dug for me
(also v. 11), see Ps 3.2n. 7: And now, signals the shi from complaint to petition. 12: See Lev 25.23; 1 Chr 29.15. 13:
A similar image is found in Job 7.19; in both cases, the suerer asks God to look less closely, for if God scrutinizes
people, they will surely be found guilty.
Ps 40: A thanksgiving with a plea for further help. A hybrid psalm of thanksgiving (vv. 110) and individual
petition (vv. 1117). Aer experiencing salvation, the psalmist faces further adversity. Vv. 1317 are duplicated in
Ps 70. 13b: Report of the rescue. 3: New song, new refers to the startling new action celebrated in the song.
68: Instead of the customary sacrice oering, God asks for a self-oering through obedience; cf. 1 Sam 15.22;
Ps 50.89; Mic 6.67. 7: Here I am, the psalmist is completely available for the task (cf. Isa 6.8), in this case, to
tell of the deliverance and its signicance (vv. 910). The scroll of the book, what is decreed from on high and
immutable; cf. Pss 69.28; 139.16. 8: Observing Gods word is internalized. 1117: Acceptance of the task of proc-
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psalm 42
Let all those be put to shame and
confusion
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to
dishonor
who desire my hurt.
Let those be appalled because of their
shame
who say to me, Aha, Aha!
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, Great is the Lord!
As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, Omy God.
Psalm 41
Happy are those who consider the poor;a

the Lord delivers them in the day of
trouble.
The Lord protects them and keeps them
alive;
they are called happy in the land.
You do not give them up to the will of
their enemies.
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
in their illness you heal all their
inrmities.b
As for me, I said, OLord, be gracious to
me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.
My enemies wonder in malice
when I will die, and my name perish.
And when they come to see me, they

utter empty words,
while their hearts gather mischief;
when they go out, they tell it abroad.
All who hate me whisper together about
me;
they imagine the worst for me.
They think that a deadly thing has
fastened on me,
that I will not rise again from where I lie.
Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel
against me.
But you, OLord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them.
By this I know that you are pleased with
me;
because my enemy has not triumphed
over me.
But you have upheld me because of my
integrity,
and set me in your presence forever.
Amen and Amen.
BOOK II psalms 4272

Psalm 42
To the leader. A Maskil of the Korahites.
As a deer longs for owing streams,

so my soul longs for you, OGod.
a Or weak
b Heb you change all his bed
lamation puts the psalmist in fresh danger and in need of Gods help. 14: Shame, violating accepted morality
brought dishonor upon the violator. The prayer is that the enemies schemes be publicly frustrated. 15: Aha,
Aha, malicious cries of triumph that the psalmist hopes will be proved foolish by Gods judgment. 16: Gods help
will encourage other righteous people. 17: Psalms oen depicts the supplicant as poor and needy.
Ps 41: Thanksgiving for rescue. A thanksgiving in which the psalmist in vv. 410 cites an earlier prayer as a
kind of verbal votive oering. 1: Happy are those who consider the poor (i.e., those who are aentive to the poor)
is the psalmists conclusion aer a profound deliverance (like Ps 32.1). Those who help the needy are themselves
helped in their need. 410: The psalmists earlier prayer shows fear of enemies who wanted the psalmist to die
and leave behind no name, i.e., no children to carry on the family. 4: The psalmist believes that sin is the cause
of illness. 10: To be raised from the sickbed constitutes a declaration of the psalmists innocence to the enemies
who wish the psalmist dead. 12: Forever is hyperbolic. 13: Not a part of the psalm, but a doxology or blessing
concluding Book I, the rst of ve editorial sections of the Psalms. The vast majority of the previous psalms
were ascribed to David; the following nine are not.
hebrew bible | 807
psalm 43
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
Where is your God?
I say to God, my rock,

Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?
As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
Where is your God?
These things I remember,

as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,a
and led them in procession to the house
of God,
with glad shouts and songs of
thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, Omy soul,
and why are you disquieted within
me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.

and why are you disquieted within me?
my help and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;

therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast
love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
Psalm 43
Vindicate me, OGod, and defend my
cause
against an ungodly people;
from those who are deceitful and
unjust
deliver me!
For you are the God in whom I take
refuge;
why have you cast me o ?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because of the oppression of the
enemy?
Osend out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy;
Ps 4243: Longing to join the community in the Temple. Though handed down as two poems, the psalm is
actually one poem (see the identical refrain in 42.6,11 and 43.5), an individual petition to be in the Temple (like
Pss 27, 62, and 84). Here the suerer, away from the protection of the Temple, complains of taunts by unbelievers (42.910) and pleads for a guide for the journey home. Distinctive is the psalmists inner dialogue between
discouragement and resolve, despair and hope. Superscription: Maskil, a technical term of uncertain signicance. Korahites, lit. sons of Korah, also in Pss 4249; 8485; and 8788). Korah was a Levite priest (see Num
16) and his descendants were Temple singers (2 Chr 20.19) who favored phrases such as the living God (Pss 42.2;
84.2) the face of God (Pss 42.2; 44.24; 88.14) and refuge (Pss 43.2; 46.1,7; 48.3) 42.15: The taunts of those who
reject God depress the psalmist and awaken painful memories of past worship with believers. Verses 15 are
unied by water imagery. 611: Even in anger against God, the psalmist is able to hope (vv. 8,11b) and pray (vv.
8,9). 6: Land of Jordan and of Hermon, northern sites, near the headwaters of the Jordan and far from Jerusalem.
Mizar, precise location unknown. 7: Deep calls to deep, the subterranean cosmic waters that symbolize chaos
and death (cf. Jon 2.34; Ps 18.46). Being distant from the dwelling of the saving God is like being in the power
of the chaotic sea. 43.15: The tone changes and the prayer becomes more robust, asking God to send your light
and your truth, qualities personied as heavenly beings able to lead the psalmist to Gods shrine.
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psalm 44
and I will praise you with the harp,
OGod, my God.
and why are you disquieted within
me?
my help and my God.
Psalm 44
To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Maskil.
We have heard with our ears, OGod,

our ancestors have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:
you with your own hand drove out the
nations,
but them you planted;
you aicted the peoples,
but them you set free;
for not by their own sword did they win
the land,
nor did their own arm give them
victory;
but your right hand, and your arm,
and the light of your countenance,
for you delighted in them.
You are my King and my God;
you commanda victories for Jacob.
Through you we push down our foes;
through your name we tread down our
assailants.
For not in my bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
But you have saved us from our foes,
and have put to confusion those who
hate us.
In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name
forever.
Selah
Yet you have rejected us and abased us,
and have not gone out with our armies.
You made us turn back from the foe,

and our enemies have gotten spoil.
You have made us like sheep for
slaughter,
and have scattered us among the
nations.
You have sold your people for a trie,
demanding no high price for them.
You have made us the taunt of our
neighbors,
the derision and scorn of those around
us.
You have made us a byword among the
nations,
a laughingstockb among the peoples.
All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face
at the words of the taunters and revilers,
at the sight of the enemy and the
avenger.
All this has come upon us,
yet we have not forgotten you,
or been false to your covenant.
Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from your
way,
yet you have broken us in the haunt of
jackals,
and covered us with deep darkness.
If we had forgotten the name of our God,
or spread out our hands to a strange
god,
would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
Because of you we are being killed all
day long,
and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
a Gk Syr: Heb You are my King, OGod; command

b Heb a shaking of the head
Ps 44: Prayer for recovery from national defeat. A communal petition on the occasion of a military defeat.
Like similar communal petitions (Pss 77 and 89), it recalls the seling of the people in Canaan (vv. 13) to remind
God to be faithful to that original moment. Not conscious of having sinned, the community asks why God let
them fall into the hands of their enemies. Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 4243n. Maskil, a technical term of
uncertain signicance. 18: Israels founding moment was the Exodus-Conquest, though the singer singles
out the Conquest. Then, as now, the people trusted entirely in Gods protection. 8: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 916:
The complaint: You have given us into the hand of our enemies. 1722: We have done nothing to warrant your
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psalm 45
Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep,
OLord?
Awake, do not cast us o forever!
Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our aiction and
oppression?
For we sink down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
Rise up, come to our help.
Redeem us for the sake of your
steadfast love.
Psalm 45
To the leader: according to Lilies. Of the Korahites.
A Maskil. A love song.
My heart overows with a goodly theme;

I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a ready
scribe.
You are the most handsome of men;
grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
Gird your sword on your thigh, Omighty
one,
in your glory and majesty.
In your majesty ride on victoriously
for the cause of truth and to defenda the
right;
let your right hand teach you dread
deeds.
Your arrows are sharp

in the heart of the kings enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
Your throne, OGod,b endures forever and
ever.
Your royal scepter is a scepter of
equity;
you love righteousness and hate
wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed
you
with the oil of gladness beyond your
companions;
your robes are all fragrant with myrrh
and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments
make you glad;
daughters of kings are among your
ladies of honor;
at your right hand stands the queen in
gold of Ophir.
Hear, Odaughter, consider and incline
your ear;
forget your people and your fathers
house,
and the king will desire your beauty.
a Cn: Heb and the meekness of

b Or Your throne is a throne of God, it
abandoning us. 22: The community struggles with being Gods people when God is silent before their pain. 23:
As in Pss 35.23; 59.4; Isa 51.9, the psalmist expresses frustration at Gods inaction using the ancient Near Eastern
motif of the God who needs to be awakened. 2627: In conclusion, the psalmist oers two motivations for God:
Israels terrible state, and Gods steadfast love (Heb hesed)
toward Israel.
.
Ps 45: Celebration of the kings wedding. A song for the kings wedding to a foreign princess, applied in
later interpretation to the messianic king. Jewish tradition sees the singer as a model Torah scholar and the
king as messiah. Christianity too sees a messianic reference; see Heb 1.8. Superscription: According to Lilies,
probably refers to a melody (also Pss 69; 80; cf. 60). Korahites, see Ps 4243n. Maskil, a technical term of uncertain signicance. 16: Aer an invocation (v. 1), the court poet praises the kings beauty (most handsome of
men, v. 2), which implies divine favor (as in Gen 39.6; 1 Sam 16.12; 17.42). Similarly, grace is poured upon your lips
in v. 2 means to uer decisions made by a wise heart (as in Prov 22.11). Verses 36 speak of the kings military
prowess: by his wisdom and military skill, the king is an instrument of divine justice. 6: O God, if a reference
to the king, the only time in the Bible that the Davidic king is divinized in this fashion; see also textual note b
and v. 17n. 716: As vv. 26 focused on the king as defender of the land, vv. 716 emphasize the virility of the
king to beget an heir, an ancient and modern concern. 7: The anointing of the king was the central act of the
coronation ritual. Gladness, elsewhere associated with marriage as in Jer 7.34; 16.9; 25.10; 33.11. 8: Myrrh and
aloes and cassia, evoke a sensuous and erotic mood (Prov 7.1718; Song 1.13; 5.13). 9: The queen, most likely the
queen mother, since according to vv. 1314 the bride is in her chamber from which she will be led to the king.
According to 1 Kings 2.19, the queen mother sat on the kings right as in Ps 45.9, so it is she who addresses the
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psalm 46
Since he is your lord, bow to him;
the peoplea of Tyre will seek your
favor with gifts,
the richest of the people with all kinds
of wealth.
There is a river whose streams make glad

the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most
High.
God is in the midst of the city;e it shall
not be moved;
God will help it when the morning
dawns.
The nations are in an uproar, the
kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
Selah
the God of Jacob is our refuge.f
The princess is decked in her chamber

with gold-woven robes;b
in many-colored robes she is led to
the king;
behind her the virgins, her companions,
follow.
With joy and gladness they are led along
as they enter the palace of the king.
Come, behold the works of the Lord;

see what desolations he has brought on
the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the
earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the
spear;
he burns the shields with re.
Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
Selah
the God of Jacob is our refuge.f
In the place of ancestors you, Oking,c

shall have sons;
you will make them princes in all the
earth.
I will cause your name to be celebrated
in all generations;
therefore the peoples will praise you
forever and ever.
Psalm 46
To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to
Alamoth. A Song.
God is our refuge and strength,

a very presentd help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the
earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the
heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its
tumult.
Selah
a Heb daughter
b Or people. 13All glorious is the princess within, gold
c
d
e
f
embroidery is her clothing

Heb lacks Oking
Or well proved
Heb of it
Or fortress
bride in vv. 1012. Ophir, in southern Arabia (see Gen 10.29), a famous source of gold. 12: Tyre, in Phoenicia, was
known for its luxury items and ne crasmanship. 17: The court poet fullls his task of making the kings name
known, remarkably aributing to the king the type of praise elsewhere associated with God (e.g., Ps 145.21).
Ps 46: The glory of Mount Zion, residence of the Lord. A song of Zion, like Pss 48, 76, 84, and 122. The rst
of a cluster of three psalms about the Lord reigning in Jerusalem. Three refrains (vv. 1,7,11) structure the poem.
Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 4243n. Alamoth, probably a melody; see 1 Chr 15.20. 13: The psalmist trusts
in Zion, which many Israelites believed was the center of the world and residence of the Lord, which remains
unshaken though the earth toer (NRSV change) and plunge into pre-creation chaos. 3: Selah (also vv. 7,11),
see Ps 3.2n. 47: In contrast to the tumultuous and dangerous waters in vv. 23, the calm river of v. 4 is controlled by God to provide water and fertility for the holy city. The aacks of the rebellious nations in v. 6 function
as a historical complement to the cosmic disaster in vv. 23. Yet Gods voice, thunder, defeats them. 9: Rather
than just defeating the enemies, as in most psalms, God ends war. 10: Stop what you are doing and embrace
the peace the Lord has achieved. Zion is the place where Gods victory is most visible and most appropriately
praised.
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psalm 47
Psalm 47
To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.
Clap your hands, all you peoples;

shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome,
a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us,
the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
God has gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the king of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm.a
God is king over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted.
Psalm 48
A Song. A Psalm of the Korahites.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised

in the city of our God.
His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,

the city of the great King.
Within its citadels God
has shown himself a sure defense.
Then the kings assembled,
they came on together.
As soon as they saw it, they were
astounded;
they were in panic, they took to ight;
trembling took hold of them there,
pains as of a woman in labor,
as when an east wind shatters
the ships of Tarshish.
As we have heard, so have we seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in the city of our God,
which God establishes forever.
Selah
We ponder your steadfast love, OGod,
in the midst of your temple.
Your name, OGod, like your praise,
reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is lled with victory.
Let Mount Zion be glad,
let the townsb of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments.
a Heb Maskil
b Heb daughters
Ps 47: Acclaim the Lord the king of heaven and earth! An enthronement hymn, like Pss 93; 9599, celebrating the Lord reigning over heaven and earth. The occasion for the recitation of this psalm is uncertain.
Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 4243n. 14: Presupposed is the Lords universal victory also celebrated in Pss
2, 46, 48, 76, 93. Israels task is to oer a suitable welcome and receive the territory (our heritage, v. 4) that the
victorious Lord assigns. 2: A great king, beer the Great King, a title of suzerains in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and
the Hiite kingdom. 4: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 5: Gone up, ascended the throne as in 2 Sam 6.15; Isa 14.13. The shout
and trumpet were part of the ritual proclaiming the new king (see 1 Kings 1.3949). 68: The threefold repetition
of king makes clear the psalms theme. 9: Gather as the people of the God of Abraham, a possible translation is
The princes of the people assemble with the people of the God of Abraham. Shields, i.e., rulers (by metonymy).
Ps 48: A hymn to Zion, the place of Gods peace. A song of Zion, like Pss 46; 76; 84; 122. Comparable Near
Eastern texts describe how a particular god became the most high god by defeating chaos and then, aer receiving the acclaim of the other heavenly beings, constructed a palace to memorialize the victory. Ps 48 seems
to see the kings (v. 4) as representing the same disorderly power. Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 4243n.
13: Seven epithets are applied to Zion. The description is highly idealized. In the far north, beer the heights
of Zaphon, the mountain home of the storm god Baal (modern Jebel el-Aqra on the coast of northern Syria).
The Lord has taken over Baals domain. 48: Rather than referring to a specic historical bale, the verses
probably refer to a symbolic gathering of rebellious kingdoms against the Lords governance of the universe.
But this is no normal military victory: the nations needed only to see the magnicent Jerusalem, and they capitulated. 7: East wind, the weapon of the storm god. Tarshish, location uncertain; it may be Tarsus in southern
Turkey or Tartessus in southern Spain. 8: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 914: The Temple buildings memorialize the Lords
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psalm 49
When we look at the wise, they die;
fool and dolt perish together
and leave their wealth to others.
Their gravesc are their homes forever,
their dwelling places to all
generations,
though they named lands their own.
Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
they are like the animals that perish.
Walk about Zion, go all around it,

count its towers,
consider well its ramparts;
go through its citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
He will be our guide forever.
Psalm 49
Such is the fate of the foolhardy,

the end of thosed who are pleased with
their lot.
Selah
Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend,e
and their form shall waste away;
Sheol shall be their home.f
But God will ransom my soul from the
power of Sheol,
for he will receive me.
Selah
Hear this, all you peoples;

give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
both low and high,
rich and poor together.
My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be
understanding.
I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the
harp.
Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of my persecutors
surrounds me,
those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their
riches?
Truly, no ransom avails for ones life,a
there is no price one can give to God
for it.
For the ransom of life is costly,
and can never suce,
that one should live on forever
and never see the grave.b
Do not be afraid when some become

rich,
when the wealth of their houses
increases.
For when they die they will carry
nothing away;
a
b
c
d
e
f
Another reading is no one can ransom a brother

Heb the pit
Gk Syr Compare Tg: Heb their inward (thought)
Tg: Heb after them
Cn: Heb the upright shall have dominion over them
in the morning
steadfast love (Heb hesed)

manifested in the victory that brought order and justice to the world. Military
.
might is a means to justice, the right governance of the world. The psalm begins and ends (vv. 13,1214) with
the mountains and the buildings that remind visitors of the mercy and grandeur of God. 1213: Walk about Zion
. . . consider well its ramparts, a command to contemplate the result of the divine victory just won, perhaps referring to a ritual procession through the city. 14: The nal word, forever (Heb al-mut), may be out of place here
and belong with the superscription of the following psalm as Alamot (Heb alamot; see Ps 46n.).
Ps 49: An instruction on the limits of wealth. Though oen classed as a wisdom psalm, instruction is a more
apt term, in this case instruction about the folly of relying on wealth rather than God. Two sets of refrains tie the
poem together and highlight its theme (vv. 7 and 15, 12 and 20). The text is oen obscure, as the textual notes
aest. Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 4243n. 14: A formal call for aention like Deut 32.13 and Ps 78.14.
512: As in individual petitions, this psalmist has enemies (the arrogant wealthy), but instead of calling on God
for rescue, reects on the folly of relying on wealth. 12: The psalmists well-considered conclusion: wealth
cannot stave o death. 1320: As the poem progresses, the tone grows bolder. 13: Selah (also v. 15), see Ps 3.2n.
14: Sheol, the abode of the dead. 15: Though the wealthy seem to triumph, God will ransom and take (NRSV
receive) the psalmist from the clutches of the underworld. The Hebrew word for take elsewhere describes
hebrew bible | 813
psalm 50
their wealth will not go down after
them.
Though in their lifetime they count
themselves happy
for you are praised when you do well
for yourself
theya will go to the company of their
ancestors,
who will never again see the light.
Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
they are like the animals that perish.
Psalm 50
A Psalm of Asaph.
The mighty one, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
Our God comes and does not keep
silence,
before him is a devouring re,
and a mighty tempest all around him.
He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his
people:
Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by
sacrice!
The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge.
Selah
Hear, Omy people, and I will speak,
OIsrael, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
Not for your sacrices do I rebuke you;

your burnt oerings are continually
before me.
I will not accept a bull from your house,
or goats from your folds.
For every wild animal of the forest is
mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the air,b
and all that moves in the eld is mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all that is in it is
mine.
Do I eat the esh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
Oer to God a sacrice of thanksgiving,c
and pay your vows to the Most High.
Call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify
me.
But to the wicked God says:
What right have you to recite my
statutes,
or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
You make friends with a thief when you
see one,
and you keep company with adulterers.
a Cn: Heb you

b Gk Syr Tg: Heb mountains
c Or make thanksgiving your sacrice to God
Gods liing loyal servants to the safety of heaven (see Ps 73.24; Gen 5.24; 2 Kings 2.10). 20: Repeating v. 12.
Ps 50: A covenant renewal liturgy. A covenant liturgy like Pss 81 and 95. The poem is the rst aributed
to Asaph, one of Davids musicians (1 Chr 6.39; 15.17; 16.57); the other Asaph psalms appear together as a
collection in 7383. 16: Appearing in the storm at Mount Sinai (Ex 19), God made a covenant with Israel and
now invites Israel to renew it on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. 4: Heavens . . . earth, ancient treaties and covenants
invoked such primal pairs as witnesses, and they are appropriately invoked here as the people are questioned
about their delity to the covenant. 5: My faithful ones, beer, consecrated ones, those who have become
Gods people by entering into the covenant. 6: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 715: On Gods rejection of animal sacrice,
see Isa 1.1017; Jer 6.20; Am 5.2124. Aggressive rebukes and questions oen preceded renewal of vows, e.g.,
Ps 81; Josh 24; 1 Sam 12. The goal was positive: to encourage repentance. 7: I am God, your God, a paraphrase of
the beginning of the Decalogue (Ex 20.2); perhaps the entire Decalogue was meant to be repeated at this point
in the ritual. 14: A sacrice of thanksgiving was mostly eaten by the worshiper, and thus would not be construed
as feeding God in the same way as a burnt oering; contrast Ps 66.1315. 1623: Though not everyone is guilty
of the sins named in this section, the whole congregation must listen to the rebukes, for each is a member of
the community. Verses 813 rebuked sacrices that were a substitute for sincere calling unto God; vv. 1621
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psalm 51
You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your kin;
you slander your own mothers child.
These things you have done and I have
been silent;
you thought that I was one just like
yourself.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge
before you.
Indeed, I was born guilty,

a sinner when my mother conceived me.
You desire truth in the inward being;b
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret
heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be
clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than
snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed
rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Mark this, then, you who forget God,

or I will tear you apart, and there will be
no one to deliver.
Those who bring thanksgiving as their
sacrice honor me;
to those who go the right waya
I will show the salvation of God.
Create in me a clean heart, OGod,

and put a new and rightc spirit within
me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from
me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willingd spirit.
Psalm 51
To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet
Nathan came to him, aer he had gone in to
Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, OGod,

according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my
iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justied in your sentence
and blameless when you pass
judgment.
Then I will teach transgressors your

ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodshed, OGod,
OGod of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your
deliverance.
a
b
c
d
Heb who set a way

Or steadfast
Or generous
condemns the sins themselves. 2223: A nal warning and blessing.

Ps 51: Prayer of repentance and renewal. An individual petition, one of the most profound of the seven penitential psalms in Christian tradition (Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143). It is aributed to David aer the prophet
Nathan confronted him over his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah (2 Sam 12), a reminder that
all humans, even the most revered, must ask God for forgiveness. The rst section (vv. 19) is marked by the
repetition of blot out in vv. 1 and 9, and wash in vv. 2 and 7. Repetition of heart, God, and spirit in vv. 10 and 17
frame the second section (vv. 1019). As in Ps 50, contrition is considered more valuable than sacrices. 18:
The psalmist asks forgiveness as bets your faithfulness (NRSV according to your abundant mercy, v. 1), i.e.,
because of who God is. Since the metaphor here for sin is stain, the psalmist asks for cleansing and purifying
what is soiled or deled. 5: I was born guilty, the psalmist was never without sin (cf. Ps 88.15). The sense here,
as in some other psalms, is that people are inherently sinful and therefore deserve divine compassion. 7: The
branches of hyssop, a wild shrub, were used for sprinkling liquids in purication rituals (Lev 14.4; Nu 19.6).
917: The eects of forgivenessinterior renewal, nearness to God, an enlivened spirit, joywill inspire the
hebrew bible | 815
psalm 52
OLord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you have no delight in sacrice;
if I were to give a burnt oering, you
would not be pleased.
The sacrice acceptable to Goda is a
broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, OGod, you
will not despise.
But God will break you down forever;

he will snatch and tear you from your
tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the
living.
Selah
The righteous will see, and fear,
and will laugh at the evildoer,c saying,
See the one who would not take
refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
and sought refuge in wealth!d
Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
then you will delight in right sacrices,
in burnt oerings and whole burnt
oerings;
then bulls will be oered on your altar.
But I am like a green olive tree

in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
I will thank you forever,
because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
I will proclaime your name, for it is
good.
Psalm 52
To the leader. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the
Edomite came to Saul and said to him, David has
come to the house of Ahimelech.
Why do you boast, Omighty one,

of mischief done against the godly?b
All day long you are plotting
destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
you worker of treachery.
You love evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking the truth.
Selah
You love all words that devour,
Odeceitful tongue.
Psalm 53
To the leader: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of
David.
Fools say in their hearts, There is no

God.
a
b
c
d
e
Or My sacrice, OGod,
Cn Compare Syr: Heb the kindness of God
Heb him
Syr Tg: Heb in his destruction
Cn: Heb wait for
psalmist to teach sinners (vv. 1315), which is of more value than sacrice (v. 17). 1819: Apparently an addition
inspired by the statement that a broken spirit is an acceptable sacrice (v. 17): the Temple will be rebuilt and
then there will be sacrices again. As in other psalms, a personal petition is turned into a national psalm, here
reecting the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 bce.
Ps 52: True condence. A contrast between the self-condent, wicked warrior and the person who trusts
God. The psalmist denounces the wicked (vv. 14) and condently awaits Gods punishment of them (vv. 57),
and concludes with a declaration of trust in God (vv. 89). It is similar to Ps 36. Superscription: Maskil, a technical term of uncertain signicance. On Doegs betrayal of David, see 1 Sam 21.18; 22.619. 14: The psalm uses
types, typical ways of behaving (e.g., the wicked plot against the good person), common in wisdom literature.
1: O mighty one, oen applied to God (e.g., Ps 50.1), it is ironically applied to the self-important deceiver whose
days are numbered. 3: Selah (also v. 5), see Ps 3.2n. 57: Justice must be seen to be done. 5: Land of the living,
beer, the land of life, i.e., the Temple, as in Pss 27.13; 116.9. The sinner will be excluded from the Temple, but
the psalmist will be like a green olive tree in the house of God (v. 8). 6: A common theme in Psalms: by applying
justice in the world, God encourages people to act justly. 8: But I, abruptly shis aention to the psalmist who
enjoys the protection of the Temple. Ancient temples had gardens that symbolized the life-giving capacity of
the god worshiped there.
Ps 53: Refusal to be silenced by those who deny Gods justice. A condemnation of those who deny that God
is active in the world, and a declaration of trust in the God who cares for the poor (among whom the psalmist
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psalm 54
They are corrupt, they commit
abominable acts;
there is no one who does good.
Psalm 54
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of
David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, David
is in hiding among us.
God looks down from heaven on

humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.
Save me, OGod, by your name,

and vindicate me by your might.
Hear my prayer, OGod;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
They have all fallen away, they are all

alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.
For the insolent have risen against me,

the ruthless seek my life;
they do not set God before them. Selah
Have they no knowledge, those

evildoers,
who eat up my people as they eat
bread,
and do not call upon God?
There they shall be in great terror,
in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the
ungodly;a
they will be put to shame,b for God has
rejected them.
Othat deliverance for Israel would come
from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his
people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
But surely, God is my helper;

the Lord is the upholder ofc my life.
He will repay my enemies for their evil.
In your faithfulness, put an end to
them.
With a freewill oering I will sacrice to
you;
I will give thanks to your name, OLord,
for it is good.
For he has delivered me from every
trouble,
and my eye has looked in triumph on
my enemies.
a Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb him who encamps against
you
b Gk: Heb you have put (them) to shame

c Gk Syr Jerome: Heb is of those who uphold or is
with those who uphold
wants to be counted). This psalm is a near duplicate of Ps 14. A major dierence is that this psalm is part of
the Elohistic Psalter (Pss 4283), which prefers the divine name Elohim, translated God rather than the
Lord, and thus replaces many of the Lords of Ps 14 with God. Superscription: Mahalath, Maskil, technical
terms of uncertain signicance. 1: There is no God, denies Gods ability to govern, not necessarily Gods existence; see Ps 10.4. 2: Gods scrutiny lays bare the deniers folly and malice. In the style of wisdom literature, the
rebellious are contrasted with the wise, who seek aer God. 4: Evildoers will nally learn that God defends those
whom they exploit. 5: Divine judgment will scaer the bones of the wicked to the four winds and they will
be deprived of proper burial. There, evidently a reference to Mount Zion as in Pss 48.6; 76.3. 6: A generalized
conclusion, moving from the individual to the community, as Israel lives in the hope that salvation comes from
Zion. When God restores may refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 bce.
Ps 54: Gods saving power. An individual petition that focuses on the power of Gods name (vv. 1,6). Superscription: Maskil, a technical term of uncertain signicance. On Davids betrayal by the residents of Ziph, see
1 Sam 23.1529. 1: Name, when a person is presented to others, the name is a pledge, in this case that help is
on the way. The psalmist wants to be vindicated, that is, shown to be in the right in a conict with foes. In addition name is important in Psalms since the body of most psalms starts with a divine name or title, as here,
where the Heb reads O God, save me. 3: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 4: A strong statement of trust in God as helper and
upholder who will punish the enemies. 6: The psalmist oers God two motivations to help: a freewill oering,
and a promise to thank God publicly, thereby encouraging others.
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psalm 55
Psalm 55
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil
of David.
Give ear to my prayer, OGod;

do not hide yourself from my
supplication.
Attend to me, and answer me;
I am troubled in my complaint.
I am distraught by the noise of the enemy,
because of the clamor of the wicked.
For they bringa trouble upon me,
and in anger they cherish enmity
against me.
My heart is in anguish within me,
the terrors of death have fallen upon
me.
Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
And I say, Othat I had wings like a dove!
I would y away and be at rest;
truly, I would ee far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
I would hurry to nd a shelter for myself
from the raging wind and tempest.
Confuse, OLord, confound their speech;
for I see violence and strife in the city.
Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.
It is not enemies who taunt me
I could bear that;
it is not adversaries who deal insolently
with me
I could hide from them.
But it is you, my equal,

my companion, my familiar friend,
with whom I kept pleasant company;
we walked in the house of God with the
throng.
Let death come upon them;
let them go down alive to Sheol;
for evil is in their homes and in their
hearts.
But I call upon God,
and the Lord will save me.
Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he will hear my voice.
He will redeem me unharmed
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.
God, who is enthroned from of old, Selah
will hear, and will humble them
because they do not change,
and do not fear God.
My companion laid hands on a
friend
and violated a covenant with meb
with speech smoother than butter,
but with a heart set on war;
with words that were softer than oil,
but in fact were drawn swords.
Cast your burdenc on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.
a Cn Compare Gk: Heb they cause to totter

b Heb lacks with me
c Or Cast what he has given you
Ps 55: Plea to be delivered from violence and false friends. The petition of an individual emotionally distraught (vv. 48) by the violence of the community (the city, v. 9) and the deceit of a friend (vv. 1215,2223).
In the second part (vv. 1623), the psalmist nds solace in the hope that God will bring justice. Superscription:
Maskil, a technical term of uncertain signicance. 12: The Hebrew words rendered O God . . . I am troubled are
repeated in vv. 2223 by moved and O God, which conclude the psalm. 67: In contrast to most psalms, the
supplicant does not feel he can nd security in the Temple and wants to move far away. 7: Selah (also v. 19),
see Ps 3.2n. 1215: Harder to bear than societal corruption is the betrayal of a friend, a thought repeated in vv.
2223. 12: Not merely crying for revenge; the psalmist wants judgment on the wicked to be visible. 15: Alive, in
the prime of life (cf. Num 16.30; Ps 124.3). Sheol, the underworld, the abode of the dead. 17: Either a reference to
praying three times a day, as in later Judaism, or a gure of speech, meaning perpetual prayer. 22: The psalmist
is assured, perhaps by a priest or prophet, of divine protection.
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psalm 57
But you, OGod, will cast them down
into the lowest pit;
the bloodthirsty and treacherous
shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.
Psalm 56
To the leader: according to The Dove on Far-o
Terebinths. Of David. A Miktam, when the Philistines
seized him in Gath.
Be gracious to me, OGod, for people

trample on me;
all day long foes oppress me;
my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many ght against me.
OMost High, when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid;
what can esh do to me?
All day long they seek to injure my
cause;
all their thoughts are against me for
evil.
They stir up strife, they lurk,
they watch my steps.
As they hoped to have my life,
so repaya them for their crime;
in wrath cast down the peoples, OGod!
You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your record?
Then my enemies will retreat
in the day when I call.
This I know, thatb God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise,

in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?
My vows to you I must perform, OGod;
I will render thank oerings to you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
and my feet from falling,
so that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
Psalm 57
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam,
when he ed from Saul, in the cave.
Be merciful to me, OGod, be merciful to

me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take
refuge,
until the destroying storms pass by.
I cry to God Most High,
to God who fullls his purpose for me.
He will send from heaven and save me,
he will put to shame those who trample
on me.
Selah
God will send forth his steadfast love and
his faithfulness.
I lie down among lions
that greedily devourc human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongues sharp swords.
a Cn: Heb rescue
b Or because
c Cn: Heb are aame for
Ps 56: Trust in the midst of oppression. Petition of a victim of oppression, notable for its assertions of trust
(vv. 2c4,813). The poem is structured by its two refrains, vv. 34 and 1011, and is characterized by repetition.
Superscription: The Dove on Far-o Terebinths, probably the name of a melody. Miktam, a technical term of
unknown meaning. The psalm is associated with David when the Philistines seized him in Gath (1 Sam 21.1115).
8: My tears in your bole, as a shepherd keeps track of his animals by puing pebbles in a bag. Record, the same
Heb word is translated book elsewhere; see Ps 40.7n. With that statement, the tone changes to serene trust
in God. 13: In the light of life, in contrast to Sheol, the dark underworld.
Ps 57: A petition for Gods faithfulness and a promise of praise. An individual petition divided by refrains (vv.
5,11) into two parts and unied by mention of Gods steadfast love and faithfulness (vv. 3,10). Superscription: Do
Not Destroy, perhaps a melody. Miktam, a technical term of unknown meaning. The psalm is related to Davids
being pursued by Saul (1 Sam 2224). 1: The shadow of your wings, either the wings of the cherubim, protectors
of the throne of God in the Temple (1 Kings 6.27; 8.6; Ps 17.8n.) or possibly a comparison of the deity to a bird
hovering protectively over its nestlings as in Deut 32.11 and some Egyptian divine images. 3: Steadfast love . . .
faithfulness (also v. 10), commonly paired, the two words express one concept, Gods loving delity. Selah (also v. 6),
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psalm 58
Be exalted, OGod, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.
They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path,
but they have fallen into it
themselves.
Selah
My heart is steadfast, OGod,
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make melody.
Awake, my soul!
Awake, Oharp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn.
I will give thanks to you, OLord, among
the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the
nations.
For your steadfast love is as high as the
heavens;
your faithfulness extends to the
clouds.
Be exalted, OGod, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.
Psalm 58
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David.
A Miktam.
Do you indeed decree what is right, you

gods?a
Do you judge people fairly?
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.
The wicked go astray from the womb;
they err from their birth,
speaking lies.
They have venom like the venom of a

serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
so that it does not hear the voice of
charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
OGod, break the teeth in their
mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions,
OLord!
Let them vanish like water that runs
away;
like grass let them be trodden downb
and wither.
Let them be like the snail that dissolves
into slime;
like the untimely birth that never sees
the sun.
Sooner than your pots can feel the heat
of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep
them away!
The righteous will rejoice when they see
vengeance done;
they will bathe their feet in the blood of
the wicked.
People will say, Surely there is a reward
for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on
earth.
a Or mighty lords
see Ps 3.2n. 4: The images of lions and weapons combine to express great danger, as do those of hunters in v. 6.
6: See 7.1516n. 710: With the light of dawn, danger disappears, and the psalmist sings a song of thanksgiving
in anticipation of salvation. 9: The psalmists declaration of a desire to acknowledge God widely is meant to
motivate God to save him. 1011: The psalmist is asking God to act according to his character.
Ps 58: The importance of divine justice. Beginning with a contemptuous dismissal of evil gods who sponsor evil humans (vv. 15), the psalmist petitions God to break their power (vv. 69) and enable the just to enjoy
peace (vv. 1011), encouraging people to recognize that a just deity controls the world. Superscription: Do Not
Destroy, see Ps 57n. Miktam, a technical term of unknown meaning. 1: You gods, refers either to wicked humans
behaving arrogantly (as in 2 Kings 24.15; Ezek 17:13) or, more likely, to heavenly beings who rebelled against the
Lords absolute authority to incite humans to act wickedly (vv. 35). Ps 82 is similar. 69: Break the teeth, with
a wealth of images the psalmist asks for a divine intervention that will restore Gods original intentions. 1011:
A successful intervention will let everyone know that there is a just god. Bathe . . . in the blood, the gory image
expresses the totality of Gods victory; cf. Ps 68.23; Isa 63.16.
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psalm 59
Psalm 59
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam,
when Saul ordered his house to be watched in order
to kill him.
Deliver me from my enemies, Omy God;

protect me from those who rise up
against me.
Deliver me from those who work evil;
from the bloodthirsty save me.
Even now they lie in wait for my life;
the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine,
OLord,
for no fault of mine, they run and
make ready.
Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
You, Lord God of hosts, are God of
Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously
plot evil.
Selah
Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
There they are, bellowing with their
mouths,
with sharp wordsa on their lips
for Who, they think,b will hear us?
But you laugh at them, OLord;
you hold all the nations in derision.
Omy strength, I will watch for you;
for you, OGod, are my fortress.
My God in his steadfast love will
meet me;
my God will let me look in triumph on

my enemies.
Do not kill them, or my people may
forget;
make them totter by your power, and
bring them down,
OLord, our shield.
For the sin of their mouths, the words of
their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
consume them in wrath;
consume them until they are no
more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the
earth
that God rules over Jacob.
Selah
Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
They roam about for food,
and growl if they do not get their ll.
But I will sing of your might;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love
in the morning.
For you have been a fortress for me
and a refuge in the day of my
distress.
Omy strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, OGod, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast
love.
a Heb with swords
b Heb lacks they think
Ps 59: Prayer against the enemies of the community. The designation of the enemies as all the nations (vv.
5,8), the city (vv. 6,14), and known to the ends of the earth (v. 13) suggests that the poem is a petition of the
community, perhaps uered by the king. The doubled structure of the poem (vv. 110,1117; note the refrains in
vv. 6,14 and 9,17) enables the suerer to change from a simple desire for personal rescue to a passion for justice,
hope, and eagerness to sing praise. Superscription: Do Not Destroy, see Ps 57n. Miktam, a technical term of unknown meaning. The episode is related in 1 Sam 19.1117. 4: Rouse yourself, God is imagined as a sleeping warrior
needing to be awakened by his frightened people as in Pss 44.23; 78.65; 121.4; Isa 51.9. 5: Selah (also v. 13), see
Ps 3.2n. 67,1415: The enemies are like dogs, not aacking but constantly yelping, and their cry is Who . . . will
hear us? i.e., God is unable to save the city. 8: But you introduces the statement of praise in vv. 810 just as but
I (v. 16) introduces the statement of praise in vv. 1617. This verse is similar to Ps 2.4, in a similar context of God
mocking the nations for believing that he is powerless to save Israel. 1113: The psalmist wants God to make
an object lesson out of the enemies. 1617: As is appropriate to this psalm, God is depicted metaphorically as
fortress, refuge, and strength; see Ps 18.12. 16: In the morning, see Ps 57.910.
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psalm 60
Psalm 60
To the leader: according to the Lily of the Covenant.
A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he
struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aramzobah, and when Joab on his return killed twelve
thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
OGod, you have rejected us, broken our

defenses;
you have been angry; now restore us!
You have caused the land to quake; you
have torn it open;
repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.
You have made your people suer hard
things;
you have given us wine to drink that
made us reel.
You have set up a banner for those who
fear you,
Selah
to rally to it out of bowshot.a
Give victory with your right hand, and
answer us,b
so that those whom you love may be
rescued.
God has promised in his sanctuary:c
With exultation I will divide up
Shechem,
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
Moab is my washbasin;
on Edom I hurl my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.
Who will bring me to the fortied city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
Have you not rejected us, OGod?
You do not go out, OGod, with our
armies.
Ogrant us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Psalm 61
To the leader: with stringed instruments.
Of David.
Hear my cry, OGod;

listen to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I call to you,
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I;
for you are my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
a Gk Syr Jerome: Heb because of the truth

b Another reading is me
c Or by his holiness
Ps 60: May God grant victory! A community petition that God would be faithful to his ancient promise of
protection (vv. 68) and support the beleaguered army (vv. 911). Verses 512 also appear in Ps 108.613. Superscription: According to the Lily of the Covenant, see Ps 45n.; cf. Ps 80. Miktam, a technical term of unknown
meaning. Israels struggles with Aram-naharaim (in northeastern Syria) and Aram-zobah (an Aramean citystate) are told in 2 Sam 8.38 and 10.613; Joab was Davids general. 15: Complaint and petition. 4: You have set
up a banner, best rendered as a petition: Set up a banner so that we may rally to it. Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 68: The
psalmist cites an ancient oracle, probably uered aer a victory, in order to remind God to be faithful to it in
the present crisis. Shechem, a major city in central Israel (Ephraim, the northern kingdom). The Vale of Succoth,
in the east Jordan Valley. Gilead and Manasseh, Israelite territory in Transjordan. Judah, the southern kingdom.
Moab and Edom, in southern Transjordan, and Philistia, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast, were areas
subjected to Israel as vassals (see 2 Sam 8.1112). I hurl my shoe, probably a reference to the legal gesture of
claiming ownership aested in Ruth 4.7. 912: Complaint and petition. 9: Who will bring me to the fortied city?
A prayer that God lead the commander of Israels armies (perhaps the king) against their foes. Fortied city, a
seemingly impregnable fort, probably referring to Bozrah, the capital of Edom. 10: Reprises v. 1. Go out . . . with
our armies, according to 1 Sam 4, the Israelites could carry the ark with them to bring God along in bale; in later
times, divine support was imagined without the arks presence. 1112: A common biblical theme, that victory
depends on God alone, not on human might.
Ps 61: Plea to be in Gods Temple. An individual, far away from the Temple, prays to be led there and enjoy
its protection and nourishment. 24: From the end of the earth, a remote place, far from the center in Jerusalem.
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psalm 63
Let me abide in your tent forever,
nd refuge under the shelter of
your wings.
Selah
For you, OGod, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those
who fear your name.
Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness
to watch over him!
So I will always sing praises to your name,
as I pay my vows day after day.
Psalm 62
To the leader: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of
David.
For God alone my soul waits in

silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
How long will you assail a person,
will you batter your victim, all of you,
as you would a leaning wall, a tottering
fence?
Their only plan is to bring down a person
of prominence.
They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse.
Selah
For God alone my soul waits in silence,

for my hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my deliverance and my
honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, Opeople;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
Selah
Those of low estate are but a breath,
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a
breath.
Put no condence in extortion,
and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, do not set your heart
on them.
Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
and steadfast love belongs to you,
OLord.
For you repay to all
according to their work.
Psalm 63
A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of
Judah.
OGod, you are my God, I seek you,

my soul thirsts for you;
Rock, refuge, tower, tent, shelter of your wings, all can refer to the Temple and its precincts; see also Ps 57.1n. 4:
Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 58: You . . . have heard my vows, best understood as a prayer of one still far from the Temple,
condent that God has heard his vows. 6: The sudden mention of the king is surprising, but the king, as Gods
anointed, was closely associated with the Temple; he also represented the people and so the psalmists request
is to join the people in their worship as in Pss 4243.
Ps 62: Trust in God the stronghold. A song of trust, recording the feelings of an individual beset by enemies.
Various synonyms for salvation and for God as a fortress predominate. Superscription: Jeduthun, see Ps 39n.
34: Instead of speaking about the enemies, the psalmist speaks to the enemies (as in Pss 2.1011; 4.2; 75.47);
this is likely a literary conceit. 4: Selah (also v. 8), see Ps 3.2n. 5: For God alone my soul waits in silence, reprises v. 1;
the psalmists aitude diers totally from that of the evildoers (v. 4). 810: Lest others be intimidated and cease
trusting, the psalmist shares the hard-won conviction that nothing but God suces. 9: The good deeds of the
evildoers are so unsubstantial, they are weightless. 11: Once . . . twice, numerical parallelism, where a number X
is paralleled by X+1. This verse thus means that I heard the one thing that God spoke, that power belongs to God.
Ps 63: Longing for God. A song of desire to be protected from enemies (vv. 910) and be in Gods house (vv.
25), like Pss 27; 4243; 61; and 84. The superscription associates the poem with David hiding from Saul in the
wilderness of Judah (1 Sam 23.1415; 24.1). 1: My soul thirsts, communion with God is expressed in metaphors of
hebrew bible | 823
psalm 64
my esh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there
is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the
sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than
life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your
name.
Psalm 64
Hear my voice, OGod, in my complaint;

preserve my life from the dread enemy.
Hide me from the secret plots of the
wicked,
from the scheming of evildoers,
who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
shooting from ambush at the blameless;
they shoot suddenly and without fear.
They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, Who can see us?b
Who can search out our crimes?c
We have thought out a cunningly
conceived plot.
For the human heart and mind are
deep.
My soul is satised as with a rich feast,a

and my mouth praises you with joyful
lips
when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of
the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing
for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the
earth;
they shall be given over to the power of
the sword,
they shall be prey for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be
stopped.
But God will shoot his arrow at them;

they will be wounded suddenly.
Because of their tongue he will bring
them to ruin;d
all who see them will shake with horror.
Then everyone will fear;
they will tell what God has brought about,
and ponder what he has done.
a
b
c
d
Heb with fat and fatness

Syr: Heb them
Cn: Heb They search out crimes
Cn: Heb They will bring him to ruin, their tongue
being against them
eating, seeing (v. 2), and praising (vv. 35). In Hebrew, the word for soul also means throat, so the verse is punning. 2: I have looked, the NRSV translation assumes the psalmist is already in the Temple, but in similar psalms
being in the Temple is in the future. Thus one can translate, I shall look upon. 3: Beer than life, experiencing
God in the Temple is beer than mere existence elsewhere. 6: On my bed, spontaneous private prayer by the
sleepless individual, in contrast to commanded ritual performance as in Pss 4:4b5a; 149:5b,611. 611: In contrast to the rst part of the psalm (vv. 15), which expresses the hope of being in the Temple, the second part
(vv. 611) acknowledges that God has never ceased being the psalmists God. Shadow of your wings, see Ps 57.1n.
11: For a similar concluding prayer mentioning the king, see Ps 61.6n.
Ps 64: Protection from enemies plots. A carefully constructed individual petition to be protected from people who deny that God rules society. The second part (vv. 610), the statement of hope and trust, reverses the
key words of the rst part (vv. 15): arrows/arrow in vv. 3b and 7a; tongues/tongue in vv. 3a and 8a; suddenly in
vv. 4b and 7b; shoot in vv. 4a, 4b, and 7a; fear in vv. 4b and 9a; and see in vv. 5c and 8b. God will shoot his arrow
at those who have shot arrows at the righteous; those who use their tongues to aack the righteous and assert Gods impotence will be ruined because of their tongue, that is, their words. The second part expresses
the rm hope that God will undo each malicious act. 9: Then everyone will fear, like many individual petitions,
the conclusion moves from the single person to the community, here stating that people will be in awe as they
824 | hebrew bible
psalm 66
Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord
and take refuge in him.
Let all the upright in heart glory.
Psalm 65
To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.
Praise is due to you,

OGod, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
Oyou who answer prayer!
To you all esh shall come.
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
Happy are those whom you choose and
bring near
to live in your courts.
We shall be satised with the goodness of
your house,
your holy temple.
By awesome deeds you answer us with
deliverance,
OGod of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
By youra strength you established the
mountains;
you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earths farthest bounds
are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and
the evening shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;

you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overow with
richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with
ocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
Psalm 66
To the leader. A Song. A Psalm.
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;

sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise.
Say to God, How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power, your
enemies cringe before you.
All the earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
sing praises to your name.
Selah
Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds among
mortals.
He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
who rules by his might forever,
a Gk Jerome: Heb his
recognize Gods just action.

Ps 65: Thanksgiving for Gods enlivening the world. 14: In Hebrew, the opening lines begin with to you,
underlining the centrality of God, to whom every liturgical act performed on Mount Zion is directed. 2: All esh
shall come, see Pss 22.27n.; 100n. 34: Forgive . . . bring near, liturgical vocabulary. 5: Awesome deeds, deeds that
elicit wonder. In Ps 106.22 the phrase refers to the Exodus miracles, and in Isa 5.8 to creation victory. 67: The
divine victory associated with creation: the mountains are placed in their bases (see Pss 89.12; 90.2) and the
chaotic primeval waters are defeated (see Ps 89.913). 913: One benet of Gods creation victory is that the
once-dangerous waters now fertilize the earth. The psalmist focuses on the waters that make the earth bloom
and give nurture to humans. 9: River of God, see Ps 36.59n. 1213: Implicitly compares the earth to human
beings, beautifully aired and singing joyous songs. The abundance of the harvest has a mythological quality.
Ps 66: Thanksgiving to God for help in danger. In this community thanksgiving, an individual calls upon the
whole world (vv. 14,1619) to acknowledge Gods rescue of the people from danger (vv. 812) and promises to
fulll a vow made in that time of danger (vv. 1315). 4: Selah (also vv. 7,15), see Ps 3.2n. 56: Come and see, when
hebrew bible | 825
psalm 67
whose eyes keep watch on the nations
let the rebellious not exalt themselves.
Selah
But truly God has listened;

he has given heed to the words of my
prayer.
Bless our God, Opeoples,

let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept us among the living,
and has not let our feet slip.
For you, OGod, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
you laid burdens on our backs;
you let people ride over our heads;
we went through re and through
water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious
place.a
Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me.
I will come into your house with burnt

oerings;
I will pay you my vows,
those that my lips uttered
and my mouth promised when I was in
trouble.
I will oer to you burnt oerings of
fatlings,
with the smoke of the sacrice of rams;
I will make an oering of bulls and goats.
Selah
Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
I cried aloud to him,
and he was extolled with my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
Psalm 67
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A
Song.
May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face to shine upon us,
Selah
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, OGod;
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
Let the peoples praise you, OGod;
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.
Psalm 68
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm. A Song.
Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;

let those who hate him ee before him.
a Cn Compare Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb to a saturation
grave danger threatened, the psalmist called people to remember the great formative event of the Exodus (see
Ex 14.2122; Josh 4.23), assuming that God will be faithful to that past act. 10: Silver ore was tried or rened by
heat, which separated the pure silver from other minerals. 1620: Ritual thanksgiving is not enough; the psalmist must proclaim Gods mighty works to the world.
Ps 67: May the nations acknowledge God in our prosperity! In this communal petition, the psalmist prays
that the nations may see how God has caused Israel to prosper, has protected the people, and will judge them
equitably, and that the nations will therefore praise him. Bless and praise are key words, repeated several
times, emphasizing the theme of the psalm. 1: Make his face to shine upon us, a reworking of the priestly blessing
in Num 6.2426. Like the sun and moon, the face is a light shining in favor upon the people (Pss 31.16; 80.3,7,19).
Selah (also v. 4), see Ps 3.2n. 35: The center of the poem is v. 4, the only three-line verse: it is framed by vv. 3
and 5. 6: The earth has yielded, best translated as a prayer, May the earth yield its increase: the people pray for
their prosperity so that their God might receive more honor.
Ps 68: The victorious Lord comes to the aid of Israel. Psalm 68 is the most dicult psalm in the book, and
scholars do not agree on what kind of poem Psalm 68 is, as well as what many of its words or phrases mean. It
is perhaps best taken as a communal thanksgiving for defending the people against infertility and aack. The
826 | hebrew bible
psalm 68
As smoke is driven away, so drive them
away;
as wax melts before the re,
let the wicked perish before God.
But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.
Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the
cloudsa
his name is the Lord
be exultant before him.
Father of orphans and protector of
widows
is God in his holy habitation.
God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.
OGod, when you went out before your
people,
when you marched through the
wilderness,
Selah
the earth quaked, the heavens poured
down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of
Israel.
Rain in abundance, OGod, you showered
abroad;
you restored your heritage when it
languished;
your ock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, OGod, you provided
for the needy.
The Lord gives the command;
great is the company of thoseb who bore
the tidings:
The kings of the armies, they ee,
they ee!
The women at home divide the spoil,
though they stay among the
sheepfolds
the wings of a dove covered with silver,

its pinions with green gold.
When the Almightyc scattered kings
there,
snow fell on Zalmon.
Omighty mountain, mountain of
Bashan;
Omany-peaked mountain, mountain of
Bashan!
Why do you look with envy, Omanypeaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his
abode,
where the Lord will reside forever?
With mighty chariotry, twice ten
thousand,
thousands upon thousands,
the Lord came from Sinai into the holy
place.d
You ascended the high mount,
leading captives in your train
and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the
Lord Gods abiding there.
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Selah
Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belongs escape
from death.
But God will shatter the heads of his
enemies,
the hairy crown of those who walk in
their guilty ways.
The Lord said,
I will bring them back from Bashan,
a Or cast up a highway for him who rides through the
deserts
b Or company of the women

c Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
d Cn: Heb The Lord among them Sinai in the holy
(place)
bale-victory is described in cosmic terms, waged against the depths of the sea (v. 22), wild animals, and
the herd of bulls (v. 30), as well as the kings of the armies (v. 12). 13: A summons for God to act. 46: Invitation to sing to the God of justice. 4: Who rides upon the clouds, Gods storm-cloud chariot; see also v. 33. 714:
Gods victorious campaign to make the earth fertile and safe. 7: Selah (also vv. 19,32), see Ps 3.2n. 78: Cf. Judg
5.45. 1523: The Lord returns to his holy mountain residence, Mount Zion, having earlier appeared at Sinai
hebrew bible | 827
psalm 69
I will bring them back from the depths of
the sea,
so that you may bathea your feet in blood,
so that the tongues of your dogs may
have their share from the foe.
Your solemn processions are seen,b
OGod,
the processions of my God, my King,
into the sanctuary
the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them girls playing
tambourines:
Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, Oyou who are of Israels
fountain!
There is Benjamin, the least of them, in
the lead,
the princes of Judah in a body,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of
Naphtali.
Ascribe power to God,

whose majesty is over Israel;
and whose power is in the skies.
Awesome is God in hisf sanctuary,
the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his
people.
Blessed be God!
Psalm 69
To the leader: according to Lilies. Of David.
Save me, OGod,

for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the ood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God.
Summon your might, OGod;

show your strength, OGod, as you have
done for us before.
Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings bear gifts to you.
Rebuke the wild animals that live among
the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the
peoples.
Tramplec under foot those who lust after
tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.d
Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
let Ethiopiae hasten to stretch out its
hands to God.
Sing to God, Okingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
Orider in the heavens, the ancient
heavens;
listen, he sends out his voice, his
mighty voice.
More in number than the hairs of my

head
are those who hate me without cause;
many are those who would destroy me,
my enemies who accuse me falsely.
What I did not steal
must I now restore?
OGod, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden
from you.
Do not let those who hope in you be put
to shame because of me,
OLord God of hosts;
a
b
c
d
e
f
Gk Syr Tg: Heb shatter

Or have been seen
Cn: Heb Trampling
Meaning of Heb of verse 30 is uncertain
Or Nubia; Heb Cush
Gk: Heb from your
(v. 8). 1415: Zalmon, precise location unknown; perhaps a mountain in Bashan, in northern Transjordan. 23: Bathe
. . . in blood, see 58.10n. 2431: The tribes of Israel follow in procession. 3235. The nations are to bring tribute to
the victorious Lord in the Temple and acknowledge God. 3335: Cf. Ps 29.13,11. Rider in the heavens, see v. 4n.
Ps 69: A loyal servants prayer for deliverance. An individual petition, marked by deep commitment to Gods
cause. Verses 13d29 repeat words occurring in vv. 113a, unifying the poem and lending it intensity. Another
stylistic feature of the poem is the alternation between I (the psalmist) and you (God). Superscription: According to Lilies, probably refers to a melody (also Pss 45; 80). 14: References to waters unify vv. 13, and references
828 | hebrew bible
psalm 69
do not let those who seek you be
dishonored because of me,
OGod of Israel.
It is for your sake that I have borne
reproach,
that shame has covered my face.
I have become a stranger to my kindred,
an alien to my mothers children.
It is zeal for your house that has
consumed me;
the insults of those who insult you have
fallen on me.
When I humbled my soul with fasting,a
they insulted me for doing so.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
I am the subject of gossip for those who
sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs
about me.
But as for me, my prayer is to you,
OLord.
At an acceptable time, OGod,
in the abundance of your steadfast love,
answer me.
With your faithful help rescue me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
Do not let the ood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the Pit close its mouth over me.
Answer me, OLord, for your steadfast
love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn
to me.
Do not hide your face from your
servant,
for I am in distressmake haste to
answer me.
Draw near to me, redeem me,
set me free because of my enemies.
You know the insults I receive,

and my shame and dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
Insults have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none;
and for comforters, but I found none.
They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me vinegar
to drink.
Let their table be a trap for them,
a snare for their allies.
Let their eyes be darkened so that they
cannot see,
and make their loins tremble
continually.
Pour out your indignation upon them,
and let your burning anger overtake
them.
May their camp be a desolation;
let no one live in their tents.
For they persecute those whom you have
struck down,
and those whom you have wounded,
they attack still more.b
Add guilt to their guilt;
may they have no acquittal from you.
Let them be blotted out of the book of
the living;
let them not be enrolled among the
righteous.
But I am lowly and in pain;
let your salvation, OGod, protect me.
I will praise the name of God with a
song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
a Gk Syr: Heb I wept, with fasting my soul, or I made
my soul mourn with fasting
b Gk Syr: Heb recount the pain of

to bodily organs (throat, eyes, hairs of my head) unify vv. 34. 512: The psalmist asks for help promoting the
honor of Gods house (v. 7), though freely conceding personal weakness and folly (v. 5). 8: See Ps 38.11; Job
19.1315. 2229: The psalmist is less interested in personal vengeance than in being publicly vindicated as Gods
innocent and loyal servant. 28: The book of the living was a scroll containing the fates of individuals. In postbiblical Judaism, the book was inscribed at the New Year, and sealed and nalized on Yom Kippur. 3031: A verbal
hebrew bible | 829
psalm 70
For the Lord hears the needy,
and does not despise his own that are
in bonds.
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in
them.
For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall livea there and
possess it;
the children of his servants shall
inherit it,
and those who love his name shall live
in it.
Psalm 70
To the leader. Of David, for the memorial
oering.
Be pleased, OGod, to deliver me.

OLord, make haste to help me!
Let those be put to shame and
confusion
who seek my life.
Let those be turned back and brought to
dishonor
who desire to hurt me.
Let those who say, Aha, Aha!
turn back because of their shame.
Let all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you.
Let those who love your salvation
say evermore, God is great!
But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, OGod!
You are my help and my deliverer;
OLord, do not delay!
Psalm 71
In you, OLord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me and
rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress,b to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
Rescue me, Omy God, from the hand of
the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
For you, OLord, are my hope,
my trust, OLord, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
it was you who took me from my
mothers womb.
My praise is continually of you.
I have been like a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is lled with your praise,
and with your glory all day long.
Do not cast me o in the time of old age;
do not forsake me when my strength is
spent.
For my enemies speak concerning me,
and those who watch for my life consult
together.
They say, Pursue and seize that person
whom God has forsaken,
for there is no one to deliver.
a Syr: Heb and they shall live

b Gk Compare 31.3: Heb to come continually you have
commanded
oering is superior to an animal one; cf. Ps 51.1617. 3236: The salvation of the supplicant is not for his own
sake, but so others will praise God. 35: Perhaps a reference to the aack of the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701
bce, or to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 bce.
Ps 70: A prayer that the psalmists persecutors would be defeated. An individual petition, which is also
found with a few variants in Ps 40.1317. Superscription: For the memorial oering (also Ps 38), meaning uncertain. 13: God, help, and make haste, the words are echoed in the nal lines, bringing closure to the poem.
2: Shame, violating accepted morality brought dishonor upon the violator. The prayer is that the enemies
schemes be publicly frustrated. 3: Aha, Aha, malicious cries of triumph that the psalmist hopes will be proved
foolish by Gods judgment. 4: Gods help of this individual will encourage other righteous people. 5: Psalms
oen depicts the supplicant as poor and needy.
Ps 71: An elderly persons plea for help. An individual petition that recycles material from Pss 22 and 31. Vv.
113 and 1424 seem to constitute its two parts. 3: Rock of refuge, a massive rock formation, a frequent metaphor
830 | hebrew bible
psalm 72
OGod, do not be far from me;
Omy God, make haste to help me!
Let my accusers be put to shame and
consumed;
let those who seek to hurt me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
But I will hope continually,
and will praise you yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all day long,
though their number is past my
knowledge.
I will come praising the mighty deeds of
the Lord God,
I will praise your righteousness, yours
alone.
OGod, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous
deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,
OGod, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might
to all the generations to come.a
Your power and your righteousness, OGod,
reach the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
OGod, who is like you?
You who have made me see many
troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
You will increase my honor,
and comfort me once again.
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

OHoly One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have rescued.
All day long my tongue will talk of your
righteous help,
for those who tried to do me harm
have been put to shame, and disgraced.
Psalm 72
Of Solomon.
Give the king your justice, OGod,

and your righteousness to a kings son.
May he judge your people with
righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for
the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
May he defend the cause of the poor of
the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
May he liveb while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all
generations.
May he be like rain that falls on the
mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
In his days may righteousness ourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no
more.
a Gk Compare Syr: Heb to a generation, to all that
I will also praise you with the harp

for your faithfulness, Omy God;
come
b Gk: Heb may they fear you
for God saving and helping someone. 7: A portent to many, an example of Gods merciful care for loyal servants.
1416: The psalmist is unusually buoyant despite the troubles. 1721: The psalmist looks back at a long life,
nds that God has always been faithful, and is inspired by such delity. 24: As in many petitions, the person
praying imagines that the prayer has already been heard and the problem rectied.
Ps 72: Prayer that the king may prosper and extend Gods rule to all lands. A royal psalm that may have been
used at the kings coronation or anniversary. It views the Israelite king as the instrument of divine justice and
protector of the poor (vv. 14,1214), ensuring that the riches of creation are available to all (vv. 57); and he is
the icon of Gods universal rule (vv. 811). Nonetheless, he is still a human being in constant need of divine help
(vv. 1,1517). It is one of two psalms aributed to King Solomon (see also Ps 127), probably because an editor
imagined that the land boundaries in v. 8 reected the boundaries of Solomons kingdom (see 1 Kings 4.24). 12:
Justice, righteousness, conformity to the divine will, which leads to prosperity (v. 3). 2: Your poor, the existence of
the poor (vv. 2, 4) is contrary to the divine will, so the king is to be an instrument of the more equitable distribu-
hebrew bible | 831
psalm 73
May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the
earth.
May his foesa bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
May the kings of Tarshish and of the
isles
render him tribute,
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts.
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.

who alone does wondrous things.
Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may his glory ll the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.
The prayers of David son of Jesse are
ended.
BOOK III psalms 7389

Psalm 73
A Psalm of Asaph.
For he delivers the needy when they call,

the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he
redeems their life;
and precious is their blood in his sight.
Truly God is good to the upright,c

to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost
stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Long may he live!

May gold of Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be made for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all day
long.
May there be abundance of grain in the
land;
may it wave on the tops of the
mountains;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
like the grass of the eld.
May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;b
may they pronounce him happy.
For they have no pain;

their bodies are sound and sleek.
They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overow with follies.
They sco and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.
a Cn: Heb those who live in the wilderness

b Or bless themselves by him
c Or good to Israel
tion of the worlds goods. 811: As representative of the Lord of the world, the Israelite king receives the tribute
of all the kings of the world in Gods name. 8: The River, the Euphrates. 10: Tarshish, location uncertain; it may be
Tarsus in southern Turkey or Tartessus in southern Spain. The isles, the islands of the eastern Aegean Sea. Sheba
and Seba, both in southwestern Arabia. 1214: A repetition of the royal responsibilities, emphasizing the poor,
similar to 24. 1517: Another cycle of blessings, similar to 511. 1819: A doxology, not part of the psalm, which
marks the conclusion of Book Two of the Psalter. 20: This verse suggests that at one time the book of Psalms,
or at least the psalms aributed to David, ended here. (Other psalms also aributed to David will follow; e.g.,
86; 101; 103.) This is important evidence for the growth of the book of Psalms over time.
Ps 73: Declaration of trust. Though sometimes classed as a wisdom psalm because it explores the problem
of evil, the psalm actually records the psalmists passage from despair at the apparent triumph of the wicked
(vv. 312), through various stratagems to solve the problem (vv. 1317), to a nal appreciation of Gods justice,
nearness, and care (vv. 1828). The psalm suggests that the wicked may triumph, but only temporarily. It opens
a collection of psalms aributed to Asaph (7383; see Ps 50n.). 1: A statement of faith, paraphrased in the nal
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psalm 74
My esh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strengthe of my heart and
my portion forever.
Therefore the people turn and praise

them,a
and nd no fault in them.b
And they say, How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?
Such are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
All in vain I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
For all day long I have been plagued,
and am punished every morning.
If I had said, I will talk on in this way,
I would have been untrue to the circle
of your children.
But when I thought how to understand
this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.
Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
They arec like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.
When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast toward you.
Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me with
honor.d
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I
desire other than you.
Indeed, those who are far from you will

perish;
you put an end to those who are false
to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
to tell of all your works.
Psalm 74
A Maskil of Asaph.
OGod, why do you cast us o forever?

Why does your anger smoke against the
sheep of your pasture?
Remember your congregation, which you
acquired long ago,
which you redeemed to be the tribe of
your heritage.
Remember Mount Zion, where you
came to dwell.
Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in
the sanctuary.
Your foes have roared within your holy
place;
they set up their emblems there.
At the upper entrance they hacked
the wooden trellis with axes.f
a
b
c
d
e
f
Cn: Heb his people return here

Cn: Heb abundant waters are drained by them
Cn: Heb Lord
Or to glory
Heb rock
Cn Compare Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
verse (v. 28). The verses in between tell how the psalmist came to such trust. 311: Verses 37 tell what the
psalmist sees (evildoers well-fed bodies) and vv. 811 tell what the psalmist hears (their arrogant words). 17: I
went into the sanctuary, rejecting such strategies as criticizing Gods injustice like Job (v. 15) or trying to reason
about it (v. 16), the psalmist resolves to confront God in the sanctuary (v. 17) and there comes to understand
their (the wicked) end: they are eventually swept away suddenly (vv. 1820). 2122: An admission of guilt and
an encouragement for others not to entertain such stupid and brutish thoughts. 24: Receive me, elevate to the
security of Gods domain, like Enoch (Gen 5.24), Elijah (2 Kings 2.1112), and the psalmist in Ps 49.15.
Ps 74: The community begs God to restore the devastated Temple. A community petition that expresses
pain over the immense punishment and abandonment symbolized by the ruined Temple (111), remembers in
liturgical prayer Gods primordial victory that created the world of which the Temple is a central part (vv. 1217),
and turns the experience into a triple prayer that God act now for his own sake (vv. 1819,2021,2223). Superscription: Maskil, a technical term of uncertain signicance. Asaph, see Ps 73n. 4: Emblems, beer, signs, as
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psalm 75
And then, with hatchets and hammers,
they smashed all its carved work.
They set your sanctuary on re;
they desecrated the dwelling place of
your name,
bringing it to the ground.
They said to themselves, We will utterly
subdue them;
they burned all the meeting places of
God in the land.
Remember this, OLord, how the enemy

scos,
and an impious people reviles your
name.
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to
the wild animals;
do not forget the life of your poor
forever.
Have regard for yourd covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of
the haunts of violence.
Do not let the downtrodden be put to
shame;
let the poor and needy praise your
name.
Rise up, OGod, plead your cause;
remember how the impious sco at you
all day long.
Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of your adversaries that goes
up continually.
We do not see our emblems;

there is no longer any prophet,
and there is no one among us who
knows how long.
How long, OGod, is the foe to sco ?
Is the enemy to revile your name
forever?
Why do you hold back your hand;
why do you keep your hand ina your
bosom?
Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the earth.
You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the dragons in
the waters.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as foodb for the creatures
of the wilderness.
You cut openings for springs and
torrents;
you dried up ever-owing streams.
Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you established the luminariesc and the
sun.
You have xed all the bounds of the
earth;
you made summer and winter.
Psalm 75
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph.
A Song.
We give thanks to you, OGod;

we give thanks; your name is near.
People tell of your wondrous deeds.
At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
When the earth totters, with all its
inhabitants,
it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah
a
b
c
d
Cn: Heb do you consume your right hand from

Heb food for the people
Or moon; Heb light
Gk Syr: Heb the
also in v. 9, a prophetic word telling when divine rescue will come. The psalmist complains in v. 9 that there is no
one to give such an assuring word. 1217: Since God created the Temple as part of the universe, its devastated
state calls into question Gods ability to rule the universe. The psalmist therefore reminds God of the triumphant act of creation, using a variant of a Canaanite creation story known from Ugarit about Baal defeating
the watery chaos. 14: The mythological creature Leviathan, known from Ugarit, is a manifestation of primeval
watery chaos; see also Isa 27.1; Job 3.8; 26.1213; 41.1). 19: Your dove, unclear; it may be an aectionate term for
the king, or the dove may be a symbol of vulnerability (Pss 11.1; 102.7; 124.7). 20: The covenant assured Israels
perpetual existence. 2223: In order to motivate God, the psalmist calls Israels enemies your [Gods] foes.
Ps 75: The community thanks God for pu+ing down the wicked. A thanksgiving praising God (v. 1) for doing
just deeds, in this case, punishing the wicked (vv. 25,68). The actual punishment is announced in an oracle
of judgment with God speaking (vv. 25). Superscription: Do Not Destroy, see Ps 57n. Asaph, see Ps 73n. 3: The
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psalm 76
I say to the boastful, Do not boast,
and to the wicked, Do not lift up your
horn;
do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with insolent neck.
For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes
lifting up;
but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up
another.
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed;
he will pour a draught from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.
But I will rejoicea forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
All the horns of the wicked I will cut o,
but the horns of the righteous shall be
exalted.
Psalm 76
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of
Asaph. A Song.
In Judah God is known,

his name is great in Israel.
His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
There he broke the ashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons
of war.
Selah
Glorious are you, more majestic

than the everlasting mountains.b
The stouthearted were stripped of their
spoil;
they sank into sleep;
none of the troops
was able to lift a hand.
At your rebuke, OGod of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.
But you indeed are awesome!
Who can stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
From the heavens you uttered
judgment;
the earth feared and was still
when God rose up to establish
judgment,
to save all the oppressed of the
earth.
Selah
Human wrath serves only to praise you,
when you bind the last bit of yourc
wrath around you.
Make vows to the Lord your God, and
perform them;
let all who are around him bring gifts
to the one who is awesome,
who cuts o the spirit of princes,
who inspires fear in the kings of the
earth.
a Gk: Heb declare
b Gk: Heb the mountains of prey
c Heb lacks your
earth toers, when God speaks, the earth trembles. Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 4: Liing up a horn represents pride, arrogance, and victory. 68: Expansion of the divine command, spoken perhaps by the king, the envoy of God. 8:
The cup (of the Lords wrath in Isa 51.17; Jer 25.15) is a metaphor for punishment. 910: The speaker accepts with
joy the divine task of implementing justice.
Ps 76: God is acknowledged as victorious in the holy city. A song of Zion, celebrating Zion as the site where
God won the victory that established the world as just and prosperous. Superscription: Asaph, see Ps 73n. 13:
By the creation-victory described in vv. 410, God is now recognized by all Israel as supreme over all other powers, and dwelling in Salem (an alternate name for Jerusalem, as in Gen 14.18). 3: Selah (also v. 9), see Ps 3.2n. 710:
The psalm presumes that the cosmic bale was fought at the base of Mount Zion; comparable religious texts
also tell how the storm god defeated his enemies at the base of his holy mountain. Aer the bale, God established the rules or justice to which the universe must conform (89); even the typically noisy rider and horse (v.
6), and the earth (v. 8) were still and quiet. 10: Human wrath serves only to praise you, beer Even wrathful Edom
praises you, the remnant of Hamath keeps your feast, referring to frequent enemies of Israel to the southeast
and to the north, respectively. 1112: Because Zion is the site of the Lords victory and of his dwelling, all nations must come there to pay homage. The pilgrimage of the nations is a signicant theme in the Bible (Isa 2.14
|| Mic 4.13; Isa 6062; 66.2021).
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psalm 77
Psalm 77
To the leader: according to Jeduthun. Of Asaph.
A Psalm.
I cry aloud to God,

aloud to God, that he may hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out
without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
I think of God, and I moan;
I meditate, and my spirit faints. Selah
You keep my eyelids from closing;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
and remember the years of long ago.
I communea with my heart in the night;
I meditate and search my spirit:b
Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love ceased forever?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his
compassion?
Selah
And I say, It is my grief
that the right hand of the Most High
has changed.
I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;
I will remember your wonders of old.
I will meditate on all your work,
and muse on your mighty deeds.
Your way, OGod, is holy.

What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
you have displayed your might among
the peoples.
With your strong arm you redeemed
your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
When the waters saw you, OGod,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
the very deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered;
your arrows ashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the
whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
your path, through the mighty waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a ock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 78
A Maskil of Asaph.
Give ear, Omy people, to my teaching;

incline your ears to the words of my
mouth.
a Gk Syr: Heb My music
b Syr Jerome: Heb my spirit searches
Ps 77: The mighty acts of God in national trouble. Though oen classed as an individual lament or petition,
the psalm is a community petition in which a speaker expresses the personal distress of all (vv. 110) and recalls
Gods past delity to the nation (vv. 1120). Superscription: Jeduthun, see Ps 39n. Asaph, see Ps 73n. 3: Selah
(also vv. 9,15), see Ps 3.2n. 10: The right hand of the Most High has changed, right hand connotes supreme power.
That the Lord seems unable to save the people depresses the singer. 1112: Call to mind, remember, meditate,
muse, the verbs here mean to recite aloud as in a ritual, as if the very recital in Gods hearing would spur God to
renew the acts that established the community. 1120: Combining historical and cosmic language, the psalmist
describes the Exodus from Egypt, Israels great founding event, noting that even then no visible trace of Gods
power was seen (v. 19c). 15: The descendants of Jacob and Joseph, i.e., the Israelites. 1619: Cf. Pss 18.715; 114.36.
Ps 78: A lesson from history. Ps 78 juxtaposes two series of events in Israels history (vv. 1239,4072) to
demonstrate that the peoples sin has triggered divine punishment, but, even more important, the oer of a
new beginning. The rst series of events is limited to those that took place in the wilderness . . . in the desert
(v. 40; cf. Ex 14Num 11); the second set is broader, embracing the entire Exodus including the conquest of
Canaan, the founding of the national shrine at Shiloh, its rejection, and the choice of Zion and of David. The
psalmists aempt to persuade the northern kingdom of Israel (the Ephraimites, v. 9) to accept the Davidic
king suggests a time of composition in the eighth or seventh century bce when the Northern and Southern
Kingdoms were separated. The psalm makes clear that history is not recalled for its own sake, but for didactic
reasons (see vv. 68). Superscription: Maskil, a technical term of uncertain signicance. Asaph, see Ps 73n. 111:
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psalm 78
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
that our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their
children;
we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his
might,
and the wonders that he has done.
In the daytime he led them with

a cloud,
and all night long with a ery light.
He split rocks open in the wilderness,
and gave them drink abundantly as
from the deep.
He made streams come out of the
rock,
and caused waters to ow down like
rivers.
He established a decree in Jacob,

and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children;
that the next generation might know
them,
the children yet unborn,
and rise up and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in
God,
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
and that they should not be like their
ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not
steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Yet they sinned still more against him,

rebelling against the Most High in the
desert.
They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
They spoke against God, saying,
Can God spread a table in the
wilderness?
Even though he struck the rock so that
water gushed out
and torrents overowed,
can he also give bread,
or provide meat for his people?
The Ephraimites, armed witha the bow,

turned back on the day of battle.
They did not keep Gods covenant,
but refused to walk according to
his law.
They forgot what he had done,
and the miracles that he had shown
them.
In the sight of their ancestors he worked
marvels
in the land of Egypt, in the elds of
Zoan.
He divided the sea and let them pass
through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was

full of rage;
a re was kindled against Jacob,
his anger mounted against Israel,
because they had no faith in God,
and did not trust his saving power.
Yet he commanded the skies
above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
he rained down on them manna to
eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
He caused the east wind to blow in the
heavens,
and by his power he led out the south
wind;
a Heb armed with shooting
Like Moses in Deut 5 and 18.1819, the psalmist promises to interpret the national tradition so that the hearers
might respond properly to Gods new gracious act: choosing David as king and Zion as the national shrine. 2:
Parable, beer, lessons. 1240: Casting the wilderness traditions in a dierent order from the Pentateuch,
the psalm mentions gracious act (vv. 1216), rebellion (vv. 1720), divine anger and punishment (vv. 2131),
and then, surprisingly, Gods forgiveness and fresh invitation (vv. 3239). 12: Zoan, a city in northern Egypt.
13: Ex 14.21, 29; 15.8. 14: Ex 13.2122; 14.1920. 1516: Ex 17.6; Num 20.11; Isa 48.21. The deep, the chaotic waters
hebrew bible | 837
psalm 78
he rained esh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
he let them fall within their camp,
all around their dwellings.
And they ate and were well lled,
for he gave them what they craved.
But before they had satised their
craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
the anger of God rose against them
and he killed the strongest of them,
and laid low the ower of Israel.
In spite of all this they still sinned;
they did not believe in his wonders.
So he made their days vanish like a
breath,
and their years in terror.
When he killed them, they sought for
him;
they repented and sought God
earnestly.
They remembered that God was their
rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
But they attered him with their
mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
Their heart was not steadfast toward
him;
they were not true to his covenant.
Yet he, being compassionate,
forgave their iniquity,
and did not destroy them;
often he restrained his anger,
and did not stir up all his wrath.
He remembered that they were but
esh,
a wind that passes and does not come
again.
How often they rebelled against him in
the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!
They tested God again and again,
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They did not keep in mind his power,
or the day when he redeemed them
from the foe;
when he displayed his signs in Egypt,

and his miracles in the elds of Zoan.
He turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their
streams.
He sent among them swarms of ies,
which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
He gave their crops to the caterpillar,
and the fruit of their labor to the
locust.
He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamores with frost.
He gave over their cattle to the hail,
and their ocks to thunderbolts.
He let loose on them his erce anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of destroying angels.
He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
He struck all the rstborn in Egypt,
the rst issue of their strength in the
tents of Ham.
Then he led out his people like sheep,
and guided them in the wilderness like
a ock.
He led them in safety, so that they were
not afraid;
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
And he brought them to his holy hill,
to the mountain that his right hand had
won.
He drove out nations before them;
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their
tents.
Yet they tested the Most High God,
and rebelled against him.
They did not observe his decrees,
but turned away and were faithless like
their ancestors;
they twisted like a treacherous bow.
For they provoked him to anger with
their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their
idols.
vanquished by God, which served Israels need for water; cf. Ps 104.514. 1831: The provisioning of the people
with food aer the Exodus is drawn from Ex 16 and Num 11. 4054: Dierent traditions but the same order:
gracious act (vv. 4055), rebellion (vv. 5658), divine anger and punishment (vv. 5964), forgiveness and oer
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psalm 79
When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among
mortals,
and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.
He gave his people to the sword,
and vented his wrath on his heritage.
Fire devoured their young men,
and their girls had no marriage song.
Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no
lamentation.
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a warrior shouting because of wine.
He put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting disgrace.
He rejected the tent of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.
He built his sanctuary like the high
heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded
forever.
He chose his servant David,
and took him from the sheepfolds;
from tending the nursing ewes he
brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel, his inheritance.
With upright heart he tended them,
and guided them with skillful hand.
Psalm 79
A Psalm of Asaph.
OGod, the nations have come into your

inheritance;
they have deled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have given the bodies of your
servants
to the birds of the air for food,
the esh of your faithful to the wild
animals of the earth.
They have poured out their blood like
water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.
We have become a taunt to our
neighbors,
mocked and derided by those
around us.
How long, OLord? Will you be angry
forever?
Will your jealous wrath burn like re?
Pour out your anger on the nations
that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name.
For they have devoured Jacob
and laid waste his habitation.
Do not remember against us the
iniquities of our ancestors;
let your compassion come speedily to
meet us,
for we are brought very low.
(vv. 6572). Here too the traditions are not identical to what is preserved in the books of Exodus and Numbers.
4551: The plagues (Ex 711; Ps 105.2636). 51: Ham, Egypt; see Gen 10.6. 5255: Cf. Ex 15.13; Ps 77.20. 60: The
ark of the covenant was in Shiloh according to 1 Sam 34 before it was brought to Jerusalem. It is uncertain
when Shiloh was destroyed, even though Jeremiah also mentions this event (26.6,9). 61: His power . . . his glory,
referring to the ark, captured by the Philistines (1 Sam 46). 6768: God rejected the Northern Kingdom of Israel
(Joseph, Ephraim) in favor of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. 7172: The image of the king as shepherd of the
people is common in the ancient Near East.
Ps 79: A community petition for punishment for those dishonoring God. Though the prayer might seem
concerned only with revenge, it actually seeks to maintain the communitys relationship to God and uphold
the divine honor. The initial verses suggest that it reects the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the
Babylonian army in 586 bce. Superscription: Asaph, see Ps 73n. 1: Your inheritance, the land given by God. 2: The
bodies . . . to the wild animals, leaving bodies unburied shows the disrespect of victors and created grief for those
defeated. 5: How long? not necessarily a rhetorical question; people in antiquity sought to know how long an
aiction would last. 8: Do not remember . . . the iniquities of our ancestors, more accurately, our past iniquities.
The people do not deny they have sinned and deserve punishment, but object that their enemies have sinned
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psalm 80
Help us, OGod of our
salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and forgive our sins,
for your names sake.
Why should the nations say,
Where is their God?
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of
your servants
be known among the nations before our
eyes.
Let the groans of the prisoners come
before you;
according to your great power preserve
those doomed to die.
Return sevenfold into the bosom of our
neighbors
the taunts with which they taunted you,
OLord!
Then we your people, the ock of your
pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will
recount your praise.
Psalm 80
To the leader: on Lilies, a Covenant. Of Asaph.
A Psalm.
Give ear, OShepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like
a ock!
You who are enthroned upon the
cherubim, shine forth
before Ephraim and Benjamin and
Manasseh.
Stir up your might,

and come to save us!
Restore us, OGod;
let your face shine, that we may be
saved.
OLord God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your
peoples prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
and given them tears to drink in full
measure.
You make us the scorna of our neighbors;
our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, OGod of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.
You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and lled the land.
The mountains were covered with its
shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
it sent out its branches to the sea,
and its shoots to the River.
Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck
its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the eld feed on it.
a Syr: Heb strife
much more by aacking the Lords Temple and deserve immediate and severe punishment. 913: A set of reasons why God should respond. 1113: Keep us as your people and defend your Temple and you are guaranteed
praise forever! Like Pss 77 and 78, Ps 79 ends withand Ps 80 begins withthe image of the divine shepherd,
connecting these psalms of Asaph.
Ps 80: Prayer that the shepherd of Israel would restore the people. A community petition: vv. 17 ask God
to aid the northern tribes suering from the eects of Gods anger, vv. 813 recall Israels founding event (the
Exodus and selement of Canaan) called into question by the enemies triumph, and vv. 1219 pray that God
act now. The psalm imagines the founding event as the transplanting of a vine to Canaan; cf. Isa 5.17; Ezek
17.110. Superscription: On Lilies, probably refers to a melody (cf. Pss 45; 69). Covenant, cf. Ps 60. Asaph, see Ps
73n. 1: Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, northern tribes separated from Judah since the schism of ca. 922
bce. In 722, Assyria defeated the Northern Kingdom and seized its territory. God is imagined as enthroned upon
the cherubim, namely present above the ark of the covenant in the Temple. 4: The epithet God of hosts, which
refers to God with his heavenly army, is especially suitable here, since God is asked to ght on behalf of Israel.
813: Ex 15.17; Ps 44.2; and Ezek 19.1014 also speak of the founding of Israel as a planting. 11: The River, the
Euphrates. 1419: May God protect the vine and the one at your right hand (v. 17, the Davidic king). Then we will
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psalm 81
In distress you called, and I rescued you;
I answered you in the secret place of
thunder;
I tested you at the waters of
Meribah.
Selah
Hear, Omy people, while I admonish you;
OIsrael, if you would but listen to me!
There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of
Egypt.
Open your mouth wide and I will ll it.
Turn again, OGod of hosts;

look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
the stock that your right hand
planted.a
They have burned it with re, they have
cut it down;b
may they perish at the rebuke of your
countenance.
But let your hand be upon the one at
your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for
yourself.
Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your
name.
But my people did not listen to my

voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn
hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
Othat my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
Then I would quickly subdue their
enemies,
and turn my hand against their foes.
Those who hate the Lord would cringe
before him,
and their doom would last forever.
I would feed youe with the nest of the
wheat,
Restore us, OLord God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be
saved.
Psalm 81
To the leader: according to The Giith. Of Asaph.
Sing aloud to God our strength;

shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
Raise a song, sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our festal day.
For it is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
He made it a decree in Joseph,
when he went out overc the land of
Egypt.
I hear a voice I had not known:
I relieved yourd shoulder of the burden;
yourd hands were freed from the basket.
a Heb adds from verse 17 and upon the one whom you
b
c
d
e
made strong for yourself

Cn: Heb it is cut down
Or against
Heb his
Cn Compare verse 16b: Heb he would feed him
be restored and faithful to God.

Ps 81: Invitation to renew the covenant. A covenant renewal liturgy like Ps 50 in which the community is
invited to renew the covenant (vv. 15b) and is confronted with the consequences of disobedience (vv. 5c16).
Superscription: Giith, see Ps 8n. Asaph, see Ps 73n. 3: Festal day, the exact reference is uncertain; lile is known
about the covenant renewal ceremony in ancient Israel. 5: Joseph, referring to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the principal constituents of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. I hear a voice I had not known, introduces
an oracle in which God, speaking in the rst person (vv. 610), describes the peoples liberation from Egyptian
bondage, their encounter with the Lord at Sinai, and guidance in the wilderness (vv. 67), and reminds the people of the commandment of loving the Lord alone (vv. 810). 7: The secret place of thunder, Mount Sinai where
God appeared in thunder (Ex 19.16,18; 20.18). For the waters of Meribah, see Ex 17.17; Num 20.13. Selah, see Ps 3.2n.
910: A restatement of the beginning of the Decalogue. 9: Foreign god, see Deut 32.12. 10: Open your mouth wide
and I will ll it, to accept the Lords food in the wilderness is equivalently to accept the Lord as their God. 1116:
A similar harsh scrutiny is found in Josh 24.1921. Such language is meant to explain why all is not well with Is-
hebrew bible | 841
psalm 82
and with honey from the rock I would
satisfy you.
Rise up, OGod, judge the earth;

for all the nations belong to you!
Psalm 82
Psalm 83
A Psalm of Asaph.
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
God has taken his place in the divine

council;
in the midst of the gods he holds
judgment:
How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
maintain the right of the lowly and the
destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the
wicked.
They have neither knowledge nor
understanding,
they walk around in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are
shaken.
I say, You are gods,
children of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,
and fall like any prince.a
OGod, do not keep silence;

do not hold your peace or be still, OGod!
Even now your enemies are in tumult;
those who hate you have raised their
heads.
They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against those you
protect.
They say, Come, let us wipe them out as
a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered
no more.
They conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
Assyria also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children
of Lot.
Selah
a Or fall as one man, Oprinces

rael in the psalmists period. 16: Finest of the wheat, see Deut 32.14; Ps 147.14. Honey from the rock, see Deut 32.13.
Ps 82: Petition for divine justice. As in Ps 29, and to a lesser extent Pss 58 and 75, the seing is the assembly
of the heavenly beings, who were thought to rule the nations of the earth under Gods supervision (cf. Deut
32.89). This psalm tells how these beings lost their authority by ruling unjustly, and how God took over their
rule. The psalm shares mythic and historical material with Gen 6.12; Isa 14.1221; and Ezek 28.119. A variant
of this judgment scene is Ps 58. Superscription: Asaph, see Ps 73n. 1: Divine council, in 1 Kings 22.1922; Isa 6;
40.19, the assembly is thoroughly obedient to God. In Ps 82, the gods are summoned to trial, found guilty of
misrule, and punished with mortality, i.e., loss of divine status and expulsion from heaven. 24: Acting both
as prosecuting aorney and judge, God accuses them of not giving justice to the weak, i.e., not aiding them. 2:
Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 5: Either a comment of the psalmist or of the heavenly prosecutor. 67: The verdict. 8: The
implication of what precedes: A call for God, now acting alone, to judge fairly.
Ps 83: A plea that God would protect the community. A community petition that God might protect the
people from ten nations bent on annihilating Israel. Ten is symbolic for many as in Gen 5 (ten individuals before
the Flood); Gen 31.7; Num 14.22; Job 19.3. The list reects no single historical reality but is cumulative, like the
listing of enemies in Ezek 3839, designating all enemies of Gods people. In structure, v. 1 is the opening plea,
vv. 28 the complaint (a conspiracy against Israel), and vv. 918 the plea that God wipe out all enemies (vv. 912)
using the weapons of storm (vv. 1317), so Gods holy name may be exalted on earth (v. 18). Superscription:
Asaph, see Ps 73n. 48: The psalmist cites the speech of conspirators (v. 4) as in Ex 1.10 and Ps 2.3. 6: The tents of
Edom, the territory south and east of the Dead Sea. Ishmaelites, nomads (Gen 37.25) related to the Edomites (Gen
36.3, 910). Moab, east of the Dead Sea. Hagrites, their territory was east of Gilead (1 Chr 5.10,1920). 7: Gebal,
later known as Byblos, on the coast of Lebanon. Ammon, in central Transjordan. Amalek, a people dispossessed
by Israel in Ex 17.816; they disappear from the Bible aer the time of David (1 Sam 15 and 30:1325). 8: Assyria
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psalm 84
Do to them as you did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the Wadi
Kishon,
who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and
Zalmunna,
who said, Let us take the pastures of
God
for our own possession.
Omy God, make them like whirling
dust,a
like cha before the wind.
As re consumes the forest,
as the ame sets the mountains ablaze,
so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane.
Fill their faces with shame,
so that they may seek your name, OLord.
Let them be put to shame and dismayed
forever;
let them perish in disgrace.
Let them know that you alone,
whose name is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 84
To the leader: according to The Giith. Of the
Korahites. A Psalm.
How lovely is your dwelling place,

OLord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my esh sing for joy
to the living God.
Even the sparrow nds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, OLord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.
Selah
Happy are those whose strength is in
you,
in whose heart are the highways to
Zion.b
As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
OLord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, OGod of Jacob!
Selah
Behold our shield, OGod;
look on the face of your anointed.
For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the
house of my God
than live in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
OLord of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you.
a Or a tumbleweed
b Heb lacks to Zion
conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 bce and thereaer harassed Judah. The children of Lot were
Moab and Ammon (Gen 19.3638). Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 918: May you show your enemies that you are supreme.
The events in vv. 1012 are narrated in Judg 48. 9: Midian, a confederation of desert tribes. 10: En-dor, near
Mount Tabor in central Israel. 11: Oreb and Zeeb, Midianite captains slain by Ephraimites (Judg 7.25; 8.3). Zebah
and Zalmunna, Midianite kings slain by Gideon (Judg 8.421). 1314: These verses may have been accompanied
by symbolic actions.
Ps 84: Longing for the Temple and a prayer for the Davidic king. A song of Zion, with emphasis on the desire to participate in its worship (cf. Pss 4243; 63). Superscription: Giith, see Ps 8n. Korahites, see Ps 4243n.
1: Lovely, beer, beloved as in Isa 5.1 and Deut 33.12. 3: At your altars, NRSV wrongly assumes birds nests are
at the altar, where birds nests would never be allowed. The comparison is to a homeless bird nding a home
for its young. It is unclear, however, if people could live on the Temple grounds, as suggested here and in Ps
23.6. 4: Selah (also v. 8), see Ps 3.2n. 57: The joyous nal stage of the journey to Zion. 6: Baca, precise location
unknown. 9: Our shield, your anointed, the Davidic king played an important role in the ceremonies in Zion.
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psalm 85
Psalm 85
Psalm 86
A Prayer of David.
Lord, you were favorable to your land;

you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you pardoned all their sin.
Selah
You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
Restore us again, OGod of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward
us.
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all
generations?
Will you not revive us again,
so that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, OLord,
and grant us your salvation.
Let me hear what God the Lord will
speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him
in their hearts.a
Surely his salvation is at hand for those
who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each
other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the
ground,
and righteousness will look down from
the sky.
The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.
Incline your ear, OLord, and answer me,

for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; be gracious to me, OLord,
for to you do I cry all day long.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, OLord, I lift up my soul.
For you, OLord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who
call on you.
Give ear, OLord, to my prayer;
listen to my cry of supplication.
In the day of my trouble I call on you,
for you will answer me.
There is none like you among the gods,
OLord,
nor are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come
and bow down before you, OLord,
and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
Teach me your way, OLord,
that I may walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart to revere
your name.
I give thanks to you, OLord my God,
with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward
me;
you have delivered my soul from the
depths of Sheol.
a Gk: Heb but let them not turn back to folly
Ps 85: A prayer for forgiveness. A community petition that God would be merciful as in the past (vv. 13)
and forgive this discouraged generation (vv. 413). Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 4243n. 2: Pardoned, lit.
covered. Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 8: Though the exact mechanisms are unclear, worshipers expected to be able to
discern the divine will, especially at the Temple. 1013: The eects of divine forgiveness on land and people are
expressed in memorable metaphors and personications: courtiers greeting each other with exquisite courtesy
(v. 10), the land itself growing righteousness like a plant (vv. 1112), and messengers preparing for the Lords
arrival (v. 13); cf. Ps 89.14.
Ps 86: Desire for God as helper. An individual petition that expresses the psalmists desire to be Gods loyal
servant (vv. 17); it celebrates Gods incomparability (vv. 813) prior to asking for help in a particular need (vv.
1417). 1: Incline your ear . . . answer me, repeated in v. 7 (NRSV call . . . answer), which concludes the section. The
poet is proud to be the servant of so responsive a Lord. Poor and needy, to express ones poverty makes a claim
844 | hebrew bible
psalm 88
OGod, the insolent rise up against
me;
a band of ruans seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.
But you, OLord, are a God merciful and
gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in
steadfast love and faithfulness.
Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the child of your serving girl.
Show me a sign of your favor,
so that those who hate me may see it
and be put to shame,
because you, Lord, have helped me and
comforted me.
Psalm 87
Of the Korahites. A Psalm. A Song.
On the holy mount stands the city he

founded;
the Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of you,
Ocity of God.
Selah
Among those who know me I mention
Rahab and Babylon;
Philistia too, and Tyre, with Ethiopiaa
This one was born there, they say.
And of Zion it shall be said,
This one and that one were born in it;
for the Most High himself will

establish it.
The Lord records, as he registers the
peoples,
This one was born there.
Selah
Singers and dancers alike say,
All my springs are in you.
Psalm 88
A Song. A Psalm of the Korahites. To the leader:
according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of
Heman the Ezrahite.
OLord, God of my salvation,

when, at night, I cry out in your
presence,
let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
I am counted among those who go down
to the Pit;
I am like those who have no help,
like those forsaken among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no
more,
for they are cut o from your hand.
You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
against God, for God wants the faithful to enjoy the goods of creation. 8: Cf. Pss 71.19; 89.67; Ex 15.11. 9: See Ps
22.27n. 1417: Having praised the Lords graciousness in vv. 17 and 813, the psalmist now asks for the same
compassion and justice in the present need. 13: Sheol, the abode of the dead. 15: Citing the aributes of Gods
compassionate nature from Ex 34.6.
Ps 87: Zion, Gods chosen city. A song of Zion, probably from the sixth or h century bce, assuring exiled
Israelites their true home is Zion and welcoming the nations who bring them home. Superscription: Korahites,
see Ps 4243n. 3: Glorious things, hymns sung in the city of God, as in Pss 48.1; 76.1. Selah (also v. 6), see Ps 3.2n.
4: Rahab, probably Egypt (see Isa 30.7). Philistia, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast. Tyre, an important
coastal city north of Israel, standing for Phoenicia (modern Lebanon). This one was born there, either Zion or the
country where the exiles dwell. In the similar phrases in vv. 5 and 6, the referent is clearly Zion. Birth in a foreign
country does not prevent one from calling Zion mother; cf. Isa 4055 where Zion regains her husband and
children. 7: All my springs, citation of a song celebrating Zion as a source of fertility as in Ps 46.4.
Ps 88: The prayer of a near-hopeless individual. Perhaps the bleakest individual petition in the Psalms, with
no expressions of trust and, strikingly, no mention of enemies; in a sense God is regarded as the enemy. The
poem has three sections (vv. 19a, 9b12, 1318), each introduced by a verb of crying and a mention of the Lord
(vv. 1a, 9b, 13a). The middle section develops the theme of Gods withdrawal through six questions. Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 4243n. Mahalath Leannoth, probably a melody. Maskil, a technical term of uncertain signicance. Heman the Ezrahite, a legendary wise man (1 Kings 4.31) or Temple musician (see, e.g., 1 Chr 6.33); only
hebrew bible | 845
psalm 89
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your
waves.
Selah
You have caused my companions to shun
me;
you have made me a thing of horror to
them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call on you, OLord;
I spread out my hands to you.
Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the shades rise up to praise you?
Selah
Is your steadfast love declared in the
grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your saving help in the land of
forgetfulness?
But I, OLord, cry out to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before
you.
OLord, why do you cast me o ?
Why do you hide your face from me?
Wretched and close to death from my
youth up,
I suer your terrors; I am desperate.a
Your wrath has swept over me;
your dread assaults destroy me.
They surround me like a ood all day
long;
from all sides they close in on me.
You have caused friend and neighbor to

shun me;
my companions are in darkness.
Psalm 89
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
I will sing of your steadfast love, OLord,b

forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your
faithfulness to all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is
established forever;
your faithfulness is as rm as the
heavens.
You said, I have made a covenant with
my chosen one,
I have sworn to my servant David:
I will establish your descendants
forever,
and build your throne for all
generations.
Selah
Let the heavens praise your wonders,
OLord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the
holy ones.
For who in the skies can be compared to
the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like
the Lord,

b Gk: Heb the steadfast love of the Lord
this psalm is ascribed to him. 34: Sheol . . . the Pit, the underworld where all go upon death; the psalmist is seeing that he is almost dead. 7: Your wrath, more impersonal than in English, something like away from your favor
and blessing. Your waves, Sheol was sometimes imagined as a watery place (e.g., Ps 42.7; Jon 2.3). Selah (also v.
10), see Ps 3.2n. 8: The psalmist feels that God is the direct cause of all of his problems. 1112: If I die, the psalmist is saying, I will be in the underworld where you are not praised; see Ps 6.5n. Abaddon (lit. destruction),
another name for the abode of the dead. 1318: Extending the thought of the rst section, these verses detail
the cruel behavior of God, asking Why? (v. 14). Yet the psalmist holds out the hope that God will return to him.
Ps 89: A plea that God will remain faithful to the covenant with David. Wrien when the king was important to national life (the tenth to the sixth centuries bce), the community petition asks God to honor the
ancient promise to give victory to the Davidic king (vv. 137) since that promise has been called into question
by an unspecied defeat (vv. 3851). Superscription: Maskil, a technical term of uncertain signicance. Ethan
the Ezrahite, according to 1 Kings 4.31 a sage, and according to 1 Chr 15.17,19, a Temple musician. Only this psalm
is ascribed to him. 1: Steadfast love, occurring seven times, the Heb word hesed
underscores Gods close
.
relationship to the Davidic king. 14: Gods promise to David is no less rooted in creation than the never-failing
cycle of the heavens. 4: Selah (also vv. 37,45,48), see Ps 3.2n. 514: According to several biblical passages (e.g.,
Ps 74.1217), at the time of the creation of the universe, the heavenly assembly acknowledges the supremacy
846 | hebrew bible
psalm 89
a God feared in the council of the holy
ones,
great and awesomea above all that are
around him?
OLord God of hosts,
who is as mighty as you, OLord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.
You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your
mighty arm.
The heavens are yours, the earth also is
yours;
the world and all that is in ityou have
founded them.
The north and the southbyou created
them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your
name.
You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right
hand.
Righteousness and justice are the
foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go
before you.
Happy are the people who know the
festal shout,
who walk, OLord, in the light of your
countenance;
they exult in your name all day long,
and extolc your righteousness.
For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
Then you spoke in a vision to your
faithful one, and said:
I have set the crownd on one who is
mighty,
I have exalted one chosen from the
people.
I have found my servant David;

with my holy oil I have anointed him;
my hand shall always remain with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not outwit him,
the wicked shall not humble him.
I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
My faithfulness and steadfast love shall
be with him;
and in my name his horn shall be
exalted.
I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
He shall cry to me, You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!
I will make him the rstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
Forever I will keep my steadfast love for
him,
and my covenant with him will stand
rm.
I will establish his line forever,
and his throne as long as the heavens
endure.
If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my
ordinances,
if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
then I will punish their transgression
with the rod
and their iniquity with scourges;
but I will not remove from him my
steadfast love,
or be false to my faithfulness.
I will not violate my covenant,
or alter the word that went forth from
my lips.
a
b
c
d
Gk Syr: Heb greatly awesome

Or Zaphon and Yamin
Cn: Heb are exalted in
Cn: Heb help
of the God who defeated Sea (vv. 910), arranged heaven and earth (vv. 1112), and ascended to the throne (vv.
1314). 6: Cf. Pss 71.19; 86.8; Ex 15.11. 10: Rahab, a name for the primeval chaos monster; Job 26.12; Isa 51.9. 12:
Tabor and Hermon, two prominent mountains, in southern and northern Galilee respectively. 14: Cf. Ps 85.1014.
1518: Paralleling the celebration in the heavens is the celebration of Gods victory on earth. 1937: Time is
collapsed, and David is chosen as king and anointed immediately aer the conquest of chaos, as a human
king who represents the divine. 25: The king shares the divine task of controlling the primeval forces of watery
chaos. 2837: The promise to David is unconditional: as in 2 Sam 7, on which this is based, if one of Davids
hebrew bible | 847
psalm 90
Once and for all I have sworn by my
holiness;
I will not lie to David.
His line shall continue forever,
and his throne endure before me like
the sun.
It shall be established forever like the
moon,
an enduring witness in the skies. Selah
But now you have spurned and rejected
him;
you are full of wrath against your
anointed.
You have renounced the covenant with
your servant;
you have deled his crown in the dust.
You have broken through all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
All who pass by plunder him;
he has become the scorn of his
neighbors.
You have exalted the right hand of his
foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
Moreover, you have turned back the
edge of his sword,
and you have not supported him in
battle.
You have removed the scepter from his
hand,a
and hurled his throne to the ground.
You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame. Selah
How long, OLord? Will you hide
yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like re?
Remember how short my time isb
for what vanity you have created all

mortals!
Who can live and never see death?
Who can escape the power of Sheol?Selah
Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore
to David?
Remember, OLord, how your servant is
taunted;
how I bear in my bosom the insults of
the peoples,c
with which your enemies taunt, OLord,
with which they taunted the footsteps
of your anointed.
Blessed be the Lord forever.
Amen and Amen.
BOOK IV psalms 90106

Psalm 90
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
Lord, you have been our dwelling placed

in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and
the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are
God.
You turn use back to dust,
and say, Turn back, you mortals.
a
b
c
d
e
Cn: Heb removed his cleanness

Cn: Heb bosom all of many peoples
Another reading is our refuge
Heb humankind
descendants is unfaithful to the covenant, that king will be punished but the dynasty will not be rejected.
2627: Language of (divine) adoption; see 2 Sam 7.14; Ps 2.9. 3851: A Davidic king has suered defeat, and the
community speaker insists that God remember the promise of delity. 48: Sheol, the abode of the dead. 52: This
doxology or praise of God is not part of the psalm, but was inserted by an editor to mark the end of the third
book of psalms. It is possible that the book of Psalms at one point began with Psalm 2 and ended with this
psalm, focusing on Davidic kingship.
Ps 90: A prayer that God would rein in his wrath. Though scholars interpret the psalm as a meditation on
human frailty and Gods eternity, it is best viewed as a community petition complaining that Gods wrath has
lasted beyond the human life span and asking how much longer this unhappy state will continue (vv. 1112).
This interpretation rests on two pieces of evidence: ancients sought to know exactly how long tribulations
were fated to last (Jer 25.11,12; 2 Sam 24.13; Pss 39.4; 74.9); and the proper translation of vv. 1112: Who knows
the [predetermined] extent of your anger, . . . Teach us how to calculate our days [of aiction], let us bring that
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psalm 91
For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past,
or like a watch in the night.
You sweep them away; they are like a
dream,
like grass that is renewed in the
morning;
in the morning it ourishes and is
renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
For we are consumed by your anger;
by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your
countenance.
For all our days pass away under your
wrath;
our years come to an enda like a sigh.
The days of our life are seventy
years,
or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their spanb is only toil and
trouble;
they are soon gone, and we y
away.
Who considers the power of your
anger?
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is
due you.
So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.
Turn, OLord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your
steadfast love,
so that we may rejoice and be glad all

our days.
Make us glad as many days as you have
aicted us,
and as many years as we have seen evil.
Let your work be manifest to your
servants,
and your glorious power to their
children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be
upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our
hands
Oprosper the work of our hands!
Psalm 91
You who live in the shelter of the Most
High,
who abide in the shadow of the
Almighty,c
will say to the Lord, My refuge and my
fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.
For he will deliver you from the snare of
the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will nd
refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that ies by day,
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at
noonday.
a Syr: Heb we bring our years to an end

b Cn Compare Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb pride
c Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
awareness into our minds. Superscription: Only this psalm is aributed to Moses, who oen asked God to turn
and have compassion (e.g., Ex 32.12) as in Ps 90.13. 16: Divine eternity is contrasted with human mortality. 3:
Turn back, God decreed mortality and a short life span for humans. 56: Like grass, cf. Ps 102.11; Isa 40.68. 712:
The psalmist complains that it is unfair to live ones entire life span in a period of divine wrath, i.e., withdrawal
of divine blessing. Seventy years . . . eighty, even an exceptionally old person would never have enjoyed a period
of blessing; an example of numerical parallelism (see Ps 62.11n.). 1317: May God turn from wrath so the community might experience God as being near and favorable.
Ps 91: Trust in God as protector. A song of trust that makes three promises of assistance, each of progressively decreasing length: vv. 18; 913; 1416. Through v. 13, a person speaks in Gods name; in vv. 1416, God
speaks in the rst person. Striking imagery is used to show how the person who trusts God is protected, even
when surrounded by death. 4: Pinions . . . wings, possibly a reference to the winged cherubim guarding the Holy
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psalm 92
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord your
refuge,a
the Most High your dwelling place,
no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
For he will command his angels
concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot
against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the
adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will
trample under foot.
Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
When they call to me, I will answer
them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honor them.
With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.
Psalm 92
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

to sing praises to your name, OMost
High;
to declare your steadfast love in the

morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, OLord, have made me glad by
your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for
joy.
How great are your works, OLord!
Your thoughts are very deep!
The dullard cannot know,
the stupid cannot understand this:
though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers ourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever,
but you, OLord, are on high forever.
For your enemies, OLord,
for your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.
But you have exalted my horn like that of
the wild ox;
you have poured over meb fresh oil.
My eyes have seen the downfall of my
enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil
assailants.
The righteous ourish like the palm
tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
a Cn: Heb Because you, Lord, are my refuge; you have
made
of Holies in the Temple (Ex 25.20; 1 Kings 6.2328,32; Ezek 1.49), but more likely a reference to a protecting bird
as in Egyptian iconography and Ex 19.4; Deut 32.1012. 7: Thousand . . . ten thousand, an example of numerical
parallelism; see Ps 62.11n. 913: His angels, angels (divine messengers) lead one through perils, as in Ex 23.20,23
and 32.34. Here they serve to explain how the lone individual is saved from the surrounding destruction: God
has appointed protective angels for him. 1416: The last assurance is the most intense, for God speaks in the
rst person; there are seven verbs depicting Gods protection. It is striking that there is no demand for absolute
righteousness in order to be saved, only love and trust of God.
Ps 92: Thanksgiving for Gods governance of the world. A thanksgiving for Gods governance has been developed into a hymn. which according to the superscription was recited on the Sabbath Day, perhaps because
it deals with creation and uses the name of God seven times. 1: It is good to give thanks, perhaps in the sense of
Come let us give thanks. 611: Gods just rule works in hidden ways that the foolish do not grasp. 8: The exact
center of the poem, asserting Gods triumph in a short, indirect and reverential manner. 10: Horn, a metaphor
for strength. 1215: The righteous person is compared to a tree as in Pss 1.3; 52.8; Jer 17.8. The tree grows in the
garden within the Jerusalem Temple. Ancient temples had orchards that symbolized the fertility that comes
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psalm 94
They are planted in the house of the
Lord;
they ourish in the courts of our God.
In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,
showing that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no
unrighteousness in him.
Psalm 93
The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed, he is girded with
strength.
He has established the world; it shall never
be moved;
your throne is established from of
old;
you are from everlasting.
The oods have lifted up, OLord,
the oods have lifted up their voice;
the oods lift up their roaring.
More majestic than the thunders of
mighty waters,
more majestic than the wavesa of the
sea,
majestic on high is the Lord!
Your decrees are very sure;
holiness bets your house,
OLord, forevermore.
Psalm 94
OLord, you God of vengeance,
you God of vengeance, shine forth!
Rise up, Ojudge of the earth;

give to the proud what they deserve!
OLord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?
They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
They crush your people, OLord,
and aict your heritage.
They kill the widow and the stranger,
they murder the orphan,
and they say, The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.
Understand, Odullest of the people;
fools, when will you be wise?
He who planted the ear, does he not
hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
He who disciplines the nations,
he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
does he not chastise?
The Lord knows our thoughts,b
that they are but an empty breath.
Happy are those whom you discipline,
OLord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
giving them respite from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
a Cn: Heb majestic are the waves
b Heb the thoughts of humankind
from God. The ourishing of the righteous, like creation, testies to Gods power and righteousness.
Ps 93: The Lord is enthroned as supreme. Like Pss 9599, Ps 93 praises the Lord as sole king of the universe.
Early Israel shared the ancient view that a deity became supreme by defeating chaos and creating a stable and
fertile world. In hymns such as this, the Lord defeats chaos (vv. 34), and the victory brings an orderly world
into being (v. 1c). It is unclear if these psalms celebrating Gods kingship were recited at a particular festival
commemorating these events. 1: On his return a victorious warrior would be robed in magnicent garments
symbolizing the victory. 34: In the cosmic bale, the Lord, using the weapons of a storm (lightning, thunder,
wind, rain), defeats Sea (referring to the Canaanite myth in which Baal, the storm god, defeats Sea) aempting
to encroach upon the land; cf. Pss 29; 48; 76.1214; 89.910; 104.16. 5: The victorious king proclaims the decrees
that will govern the new universe.
Ps 94: Rise up, O Lord, to bring justice. A community petition that God would directly rectify wrongs
against Israel. The Hebrew word for such rectifying or vindication is naqam (v. 1), upholding the rights of the
poor; NRSV vengeance is misleading. The poem has a petition (vv. 12), complaint (vv. 37), questioning of God
(vv. 3,20), challenge to the wicked (vv. 910,16), and statements of trust (vv. 1718,22). The psalmist models
condence in God (vv. 1718), boldly addressing God (vv. 13,1213) and the wicked (vv. 811). 6: God is called
upon here as father of orphans and protector of widows (Ps 68.5). 12: As in Prov 3.12, a justication for the
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psalm 95
for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will
follow it.
Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against
evildoers?
If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the
land of silence.
When I thought, My foot is slipping,
your steadfast love, OLord, held me up.
When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who contrive mischief by statute?
They band together against the life of the
righteous,
and condemn the innocent to death.
But the Lord has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my refuge.
He will repay them for their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
Psalm 95
Ocome, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of
our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with
thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with
songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his
also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have

formed.
Ocome, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Othat today you would listen to his voice!
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your ancestors tested me,
and put me to the proof, though they
had seen my work.
For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, They are a people whose
hearts go astray,
and they do not regard my ways.
Therefore in my anger I swore,
They shall not enter my rest.
Psalm 96
Osing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the
peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be
praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his
sanctuary.
suering of the seemingly innocent.

Ps 95: Worship and obedience to the glorious Lord. A hymn celebrating the Lord enthroned as supreme
(see Ps 93n.). It invites Israel to sing (vv. 15), bow down before the Lord (vv. 67c), and obey (vv. 7d11). Themes
and phrases of Pss 9599 overlap and interchange. 1: The rock, a common metaphor for Goda massive cli or
mesa that serves as a refuge (salvation). 3: A great King, a title of suzerains in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Hittite kingdom. 7: The sheep of his hand, connotes special love in that God does not delegate the care of Israel to
hirelings. 7d11: The tone and speaker change, and the community is told that as the Lords own ock, they are
held to a high standard (cf. Pss 50; 81.89). 8: Meribah, a place in the wilderness, related by popular etymology
to place of strife; Massah, another place in the wilderness, in popular etymology, place of testing; for both
see Ex 17.17; Num 21.19. 1011: Gods refusal to allow the rst generation to enter the land (my rest) is told in
Num 14 and Deut 1.342.15; here it serves as a reminder for the community to obey God.
Ps 96: Praise of the Lord who comes to judge the world. A hymn celebrating the Lords kingship (see Ps
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psalm 98
Ascribe to the Lord, Ofamilies of the
peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his
name;
bring an oering, and come into his
courts.
Worship the Lord in holy splendor;
tremble before him, all the earth.
Say among the nations, The Lord is
king!
The world is rmly established; it shall
never be moved.
He will judge the peoples with equity.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth
rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that lls it;
let the eld exult, and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing
for joy
before the Lord; for he is coming,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with
righteousness,
and the peoples with his truth.
Psalm 97
The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
Clouds and thick darkness are all around
him;
righteousness and justice are the
foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him,
and consumes his adversaries on every
side.
His lightnings light up the world;

the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the
Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
and all the peoples behold his glory.
All worshipers of images are put to
shame,
those who make their boast in
worthless idols;
all gods bow down before him.
Zion hears and is glad,
and the townsa of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgments, OGod.
For you, OLord, are most high over all
the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
The Lord loves those who hateb evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful;
he rescues them from the hand of the
wicked.
Light dawnsc for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, Oyou righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!
Psalm 98
A Psalm.
Osing to the Lord a new song,

for he has done marvelous things.
a Heb daughters
b Cn: Heb You who love the Lord hate
c Gk Syr Jerome: Heb is sown
93n.) in which vv. 16 invite the whole world to sing, vv. 710 the family of nations, and vv. 1113 heaven and
earth. 1: New song, celebrating Gods arrival as a just king. 7: O families of the peoples, the nations are to turn
from their own deities to worship the Lord who has become king (v. 10). How the nations are meant to know
this is unclear, but many of these psalms address peoples who are not physically present. Verses 79 quote
Ps 29.12, with changes in the groups addressed. 10: The Lord has gained royal supremacy by his powerful
deeds. 13: Only God, rather than any human king can judge the world with righteousness; this is the cause of
great rejoicing.
Ps 97: Rejoice in the Lord who reigns over heaven and earth! A hymn celebrating the Lord who comes to
rule the earth (v. 1; see Ps 93n.). The Lords triumph is manifested in storm and theophany imagery (vv. 25).
Worshipers of other deities are shamed as they see the Lord triumphant (vv. 67). Zion and its surrounding
towns rejoice at the coming of so exalted a God (vv. 89). The psalm ends with an exhortation to show reverence to the powerful Lord, who, as in the previous psalm, will be manifest in justice (vv. 1012).
Ps 98: Praise of the Lord, just and victorious ruler of the world. A hymn celebrating the victory of the Lord
over the forces of evil, a victory that brought peace and justice to the world; see Ps 93n. Verses 13 invite Israel
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psalm 99
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory.
The Lord has made known his
victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the
sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love
and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the
earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing
praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the
lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of
melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the
horn
make a joyful noise before the King,
the Lord.
Let the sea roar, and all that lls it;
the world and those who live in it.
Let the oods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for
joy
at the presence of the Lord, for he is
coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with
righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
Psalm 99
The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim;
let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome
name.
Holy is he!
Mighty King,a lover of justice,
you have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
Extol the Lord our God;
worship at his footstool.
Holy is he!
Moses and Aaron were among his
priests,
Samuel also was among those who
called on his name.
They cried to the Lord, and he
answered them.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
they kept his decrees,
and the statutes that he gave them.
OLord our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Extol the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy.
a Cn: Heb And a kings strength
to sing praise, vv. 46 invite the inhabitants of the earth to join in the song, and vv. 79 invite the inanimate
elements of the world. The poem begins by announcing that the Lord has won a great victory and ends by
introducing the Lord to his new subjects. 1: On a new song, see Ps 96.1. 48: The noisy acclamation of God as
king mimics the human coronation ceremony. 9: Judge, not judgment at the end of time but judgment in the
biblical sense of ruling justly now.
Ps 99: Announcement that the Lord the king rules with justice. The last of the enthronement hymns (Pss
93; 9599) celebrates the Lords victory, enthronement, and authoritative decrees. Verses 15 call on the nations to recognize the Lord who establishes justice in the world, and vv. 69 describe how divine justice is
mediated by Israels traditions. Each section is concluded by the exhortation Extol the Lord our God. 1: The
cherubim form a throne, on which God is enthroned; cf. 1 Sam 4.4; Ps 17.8n. 3: Holy is he! the phrase appears
again in v. 5 and is repeated climactically in v. 9, the Lord our God is holy. 4: As in the other psalms about Gods
kingship, the emphasis is on divine justice. Human kings served as a type of supreme court; here God the king
takes over this role, but unlike human kings he adjudicates fairly and impartially. 5: The footstool of the cherubim throne (see v. 1) was the ark of the covenant. 6: Moses and Aaron . . . Samuel, these ancient leaders mediated
Gods decrees to Israel. 9: A variant of v. 5, forming a refrain.
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psalm 102
Psalm 100
A Psalm of thanksgiving.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he that made us, and we are his;a
we are his people, and the sheep of his
pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name.
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 101
Of David. A Psalm.
I will sing of loyalty and of justice;

to you, OLord, I will sing.
I will study the way that is blameless.
When shall I attain it?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
anything that is base.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
Perverseness of heart shall be far from

me;
I will know nothing of evil.
One who secretly slanders a neighbor
I will destroy.
A haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not tolerate.
I will look with favor on the faithful in
the land,
so that they may live with me;
whoever walks in the way that is
blameless
shall minister to me.
No one who practices deceit
shall remain in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue in my presence.
Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting o all evildoers
from the city of the Lord.
Psalm 102
A prayer of one aicted, when faint and pleading
before the Lord.
Hear my prayer, OLord;

let my cry come to you.
a Another reading is and not we ourselves
Ps 100: A call to the nations to worship the Lord. A hymn echoing the call to the nations in the enthronement psalms (Pss 93; 9599). There are seven invitations to worship: make a joyful noise, worship, come, know,
enter, give thanks, and bless. The motives for giving praise are introduced by that in v. 3a and for in v. 5a. Vv. 13
and 45 are parallel sections, expressing a similar sentiment in dierent words. The pilgrimage of the nations
to Mount Zion is also found in Pss 22.27; 76.1112; Isa 2.14; 6062; 66.1823. 3: Sheep of his pasture, sheep that
the Lord personally pastures, not delegating it to anyone else, as in Pss 74.1; 79.13; 95.7; Jer 23.1; Ezek 34.31.
Ps 101: Commitment to executing justice. Although explicitly stated, the psalm was most likely recited by
the king, who proclaimed a commitment to rule in a manner being his divine patron. Acknowledging the
divine loyalty and . . . justice (v. 1) that brought him to his throne, the king prays for the strength to fulll his
duties (v. 2ab). He makes twelve promises (I will . . . ), being loyal (vv. 2c4), forbidding abuses by members of
the court (v. 5), appointing only God-fearing administrators (v. 6), expelling the wicked (v. 7), and administering a fair judicial system (v. 8). Underlying the kings vows is the desire to be a good servant and ruler, blessed
by his divine patron. 8: Morning by morning, that is, each morning. At night sin is rampant; justice comes with
the morning sun as in Job 38.1213. Ps 19 also associates the law with the all-seeing sun. The city of the Lord is
Jerusalem, also the royal city.
Ps 102: A plea for the restoration of the psalmist and of Zion. This individual petition blends personal and
national complaints into a single prayer. It is one of the seven penitential psalms in Christian tradition (Pss 6;
32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143). Drawing a contrast between fragile mortal humans (vv. 311,2324b) and the eternal
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psalm 102
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I
call.
He will regard the prayer of the destitute,

and will not despise their prayer.
Let this be recorded for a generation to
come,
so that a people yet unborn may praise
the Lord:
that he looked down from his holy
height,
from heaven the Lord looked at the
earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to
die;
so that the name of the Lord may be
declared in Zion,
and his praise in Jerusalem,
when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
For my days pass away like smoke,

and my bones burn like a furnace.
My heart is stricken and withered like
grass;
I am too wasted to eat my bread.
Because of my loud groaning
my bones cling to my skin.
I am like an owl of the wilderness,
like a little owl of the waste places.
I lie awake;
I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who deride me use my name for
a curse.
For I eat ashes like bread,
and mingle tears with my drink,
because of your indignation and anger;
for you have lifted me up and thrown
me aside.
My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
He has broken my strength in

midcourse;
he has shortened my days.
Omy God, I say, do not take me away
at the midpoint of my life,
you whose years endure
throughout all generations.
But you, OLord, are enthroned

forever;
your name endures to all generations.
You will rise up and have compassion on
Zion,
for it is time to favor it;
the appointed time has come.
For your servants hold its stones dear,
and have pity on its dust.
The nations will fear the name of the
Lord,
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
For the Lord will build up Zion;
he will appear in his glory.
Long ago you laid the foundation of the

earth,
and the heavens are the work of your
hands.
They will perish, but you endure;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they
pass away;
but you are the same, and your years
have no end.
The children of your servants shall live
secure;
their ospring shall be established in
your presence.
Lord (vv. 1222, 24c27), the psalm begs for the healing that will win for the Lord the praise of the nations (vv.
15,1822) and nurture a new generation of Israelite worshipers (v. 28). There are three parallel sections: vv. 111:
Hear me, for my days swily pass away; vv. 1222: When you show compassion, all will honor you in your Temple; vv. 2328: Do not make my short life (shorten my days) even briefer, O Eternal One. The mixture of private
petition and request for the restoration of Zion may suggest that private prayer is more ecacious if it includes
broader, communal requests. The superscription, A prayer of one aicted, when faint and pleading before the
Lord, suggests that anyone beset with woes or aicted may recite this prayer. 311: The diverse gures of
speech combine to express the psalmists desperation. 13: Implies that this is the time to rebuild the Temple,
which would date the psalm in the early postexilic period (late h century bce). 11: Like grass, cf. Ps 90.56; Isa
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psalm 104
Psalm 103
Of David.
Bless the Lord, Omy soul,

and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, Omy soul,
and do not forget all his benets
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and
mercy,
who satises you with good as long as
you livea
so that your youth is renewed like the
eagles.
The Lord works vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
steadfast love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to
our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward
those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions
from us.
As a father has compassion for his children,

so the Lord has compassion for those
who fear him.
For he knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.
As for mortals, their days are like grass;
they ourish like a ower of the eld;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to childrens
children,
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The Lord has established his throne in
the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the Lord, Oyou his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
obedient to his spoken word.
Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers that do his will.
Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, Omy soul.
Psalm 104
OLord my God, you are very great.
40.68. 22: For the idea of all nations worshiping at the Temple, see Ps 100n.
Ps 103: Praise to the Lord for forgiveness. As Ps 102 combined national and personal complaints into one
petition, so Ps 103 blends personal and national benets into one hymn. The poem draws two distinct parallels:
God heals individuals (vv. 15) and the nation (vv. 614); God summons earthly beings (vv. 1518) and heavenly
beings (vv. 1922) to give praise. 15: The opening verses match the closing verses (1922) in length and in the
repeated Bless! 35: The six blessings are essentially one: the healing of life-threatening forces. The rst blessing mentioned, who forgives all your iniquity, is the key: God is fundamentally forgiving. The Pit, the abode of
the dead. Having been personally healed, the psalmist hopes that the nation will be similarly healed (vv. 614).
5: Renewed like the eagles, like the vigor that seems to come with the annual molting of the eagle. 8: Echoes Ex
34.6, when God forgave Israel aer their apostasy with the golden calf. The psalm views the Exodus more as
the forgiveness of Israel rather than the defeat of Egypt. 14: As dust (see Gen 2.7), people cannot be judged too
harshly, and deserve divine compassion. 1518: Even though they are grass (see Ps 102.11n.), they receive Gods
steadfast love (Heb hesed)
and righteousness. 22: the psalm ends as it began, the words Bless the Lord, O my
.
soul forming an inclusio.
Ps 104: Praise to the Lord who made the universe beautiful and life-giving. The hymn praises divine wisdom through a series of vignees (vv. 19,1012,1318,1923,2426), a reection (vv. 2730) and a prayer (vv.
hebrew bible | 857
psalm 104
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
you set the beams of youra chambers
on the waters,
you make the clouds youra chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
you make the winds youra messengers,
re and ame youra ministers.
You set the earth on its foundations,
so that it shall never be shaken.
You cover it with the deep as with a
garment;
the waters stood above the
mountains.
At your rebuke they ee;
at the sound of your thunder they take
to ight.
They rose up to the mountains, ran down
to the valleys
to the place that you appointed for
them.
You set a boundary that they may not
pass,
so that they might not again cover the
earth.
You make springs gush forth in the
valleys;
they ow between the hills,
giving drink to every wild animal;
the wild asses quench their thirst.
By the streamsb the birds of the air have
their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the
mountains;
the earth is satised with the fruit of
your work.
You cause the grass to grow for the
cattle,
and plants for people to use,c
to bring forth food from the earth,

and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
and bread to strengthen the human heart.
The trees of the Lord are watered
abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has its home in the r trees.
The high mountains are for the wild
goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.
You have made the moon to mark the
seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.
You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the animals of the forest come
creeping out.
The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises, they withdraw
and lie down in their dens.
People go out to their work
and to their labor until the evening.
OLord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport
in it.
These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
a Heb his
b Heb By them
c Or to cultivate
3135). God, luminous and triumphant (vv. 14), organizes the primordial waters (vv. 518,2426) and darkness
(vv. 1923) into a harmonious whole that supports life (vv. 2735). The depiction owes much to the mythology
of neighboring cultures: the storm god who vanquishes Sea (vv. 118), and the Egyptian sun-disk Aten whose
rays illuminate the world (vv. 1930); it also shares language and themes with Job 3839. Psalms 103 and 104
begin and end similarly, but are very dierent in theme and tone. 1: Honor and majesty are royal qualities. God is
depicted in the psalm as a king who has constructed the superlative building project: the world. 2: Stretch out
the heavens, cf. Job 9.8; Isa 40.22; 42.5; Zech 12.1. 4: Cf. Ps 148.8. 9: Cf. Job 38.811; Prov 8.29; Jer 5.22. 13: See Pss
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psalm 105
when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are
lled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are
dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they
die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit,a they
are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.
May the glory of the Lord endure
forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they
smoke.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have
being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 105
Ogive thanks to the Lord, call on his
name,
make known his deeds among the
peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the
Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has

done,
his miracles, and the judgments he has
uttered,
Oospring of his servant Abraham,b
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
He is mindful of his covenant forever,
of the word that he commanded, for a
thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with
Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he conrmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, To you I will give the land of
Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.
When they were few in number,
of little account, and strangers in it,
wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
saying, Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm.
When he summoned famine against the
land,
and broke every sta of bread,
he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
His feet were hurt with fetters,
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
a Or your breath
b Another reading is Israel (compare 1Chr 16.13)
36.8n.; 65.9. 21: See Job 38.39. 24: The psalms key verse, summarizing the wonder of the world. 26: Leviathan,
see Ps 74.14n. 2730: The world continues to depend on God. 2930: Cf. Gen 1.30; 2.7; 3.19. 3132: A prayer that
God will continue to act benecently. Mountains . . . smoke, see Ps 144.5. 35: Sinners and the wicked destroy the
harmony of the world.
Ps 105: Praise of the Lord who has acted wonderfully toward Israel. A hymn to Gods wondrous guidance
of Israel, like Pss 135 and 136. Ps 105 makes the land of Canaan a symbol of Gods generosity and delity. The
promise is realized dierently in each of the four historical periods selected. From v. 7 forward, a form of the key
words word/promise, land, and servant occurs in each section. Aer an invitation to praise (vv. 16) and
mention of the covenant promise of land (vv. 711; see Gen 15; 17; 28.1314), the psalm follows the traditional
historical periods: Abraham in Canaan (vv. 1215; Gen 1226), Joseph in the land of Egypt (vv. 1622; Gen 3747);
Israel in Egypt (vv. 2338; Ex 115); and Israel in the wilderness (vv. 3945; Ex 1617). 15: Abraham is called a
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psalm 106
until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord kept testing him.
The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house,
and ruler of all his possessions,
to instructa his ocials at his pleasure,
and to teach his elders wisdom.
Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of
Ham.
And the Lord made his people very
fruitful,
and made them stronger than their
foes,
whose hearts he then turned to hate his
people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
They performed his signs among them,
and miracles in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness, and made the land
dark;
they rebelledb against his words.
He turned their waters into blood,
and caused their sh to die.
Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
He spoke, and there came swarms of
ies,
and gnats throughout their country.
He gave them hail for rain,
and lightning that ashed through their
land.
He struck their vines and g trees,
and shattered the trees of their
country.
He spoke, and the locusts came,
and young locusts without number;
they devoured all the vegetation in their

land,
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
He struck down all the rstborn in their
land,
the rst issue of all their strength.
Then he brought Israelc out with silver
and gold,
and there was no one among their
tribes who stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
He spread a cloud for a covering,
and re to give light by night.
They asked, and he brought quails,
and gave them food from heaven in
abundance.
He opened the rock, and water gushed
out;
it owed through the desert like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.
So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the wealth
of the peoples,
that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 106
Praise the Lord!
Ogive thanks to the Lord, for he is
good;
a Gk Syr Jerome: Heb to bind
b Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb they did not rebel
c Heb them
prophet in Gen 20.7; none of the patriarchs are ever called anointed (Heb mashiah)
. elsewhere (except for 1 Chr
16.23, which quotes this psalm). 18: This is one of many cases in this psalm where the retelling of the past diers
in detail from the narratives in the Torah. 2736: In terms of number and order, this diers strikingly from the
plague narrative in Exodus. 38: This contrasts with the account in Ex 1415 of the Egyptians chasing aer the
Israelites and drowning in the Reed Sea. 42: The relation between Israel and its land is permanent and unalterable, predicated on his holy promise. 45: But the gi of the land depends on obedience to God. If wrien in the
exilic period, this psalm would remind the people to return to God so that they might return to the land, and to
remind God of his absolute, unalterable promise.
Ps 106: A confession of sin and record of divine forgiveness. A storytelling poem, describing seven occa-
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psalm 106
Who can utter the mighty doings of the
Lord,
or declare all his praise?
Happy are those who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times.
Remember me, OLord, when you show
favor to your people;
help me when you deliver them;
that I may see the prosperity of your
chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of
your nation,
that I may glory in your heritage.
Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
we have committed iniquity, have done
wickedly.
Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wonderful
works;
they did not remember the abundance of
but rebelled against the Most Higha at
the Red Sea.b
Yet he saved them for his names sake,
so that he might make known his
mighty power.
He rebuked the Red Sea,b and it became
dry;
he led them through the deep as
through a desert.
So he saved them from the hand of the
foe,
and delivered them from the hand of
the enemy.
The waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.
But they soon forgot his works;

they did not wait for his counsel.
But they had a wanton craving in the
wilderness,
and put God to the test in the desert;
he gave them what they asked,
but sent a wasting disease among
them.
They were jealous of Moses in the
camp,
and of Aaron, the holy one of the
Lord.
The earth opened and swallowed up
Dathan,
and covered the faction of Abiram.
Fire also broke out in their
company;
the ame burned up the wicked.
They made a calf at Horeb
and worshiped a cast image.
They exchanged the glory of Godc
for the image of an ox that eats
grass.
They forgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in
Egypt,
wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.b
Therefore he said he would destroy
them
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying
them.
a Cn Compare 78.17, 56: Heb rebelled at the sea

b Or Sea of Reeds
c Compare Gk Mss: Heb exchanged their glory
sions of sin and forgiveness (vv. 646). Seven seems to symbolize completeness. Each occasion is identied by
a place name (noted in italics): Rebellion and rescue at the Red Sea (vv. 612; Ex 1415); testing God in the desert
(vv. 1315; Ex 1617); jealousy of Moses in the camp (vv. 1618; Num 16); the calf at Horeb and Moses intercession
(vv. 1923; Ex 32); refusal to aack from the south and divine threat (vv. 2327; Num 14), the sin with Baal of
Peor and Phinehas intercession (vv. 2831; Num 25); sin at the waters of Meribah (vv. 3233; Num 20); sacrice of
children in Canaan (vv. 3446). The seventh and climactic occasion is complex, for the sin is typical rather than
a single act: the sacrice of infants (vv. 3439) representing the peoples adoption of corrupt native ways. The
punishment is also typical, a series of punishments (v. 41) and mercies. In terms of theme (history) and opening
(Praise the Lord), it is connected to the previous psalm, although its theme and understanding of the Israelite
past is quite dierent from it. The past, presented in cycles of Israelite sin and divine forgiveness, is recounted
hebrew bible | 861
psalm 107
Then they despised the pleasant land,
having no faith in his promise.
They grumbled in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
Therefore he raised his hand and swore
to them
that he would make them fall in the
wilderness,
and would dispersea their descendants
among the nations,
scattering them over the lands.
Then they attached themselves to the
Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrices oered to the dead;
they provoked the Lord to anger with
their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
and the plague was stopped.
And that has been reckoned to him as
righteousness
from generation to generation forever.
They angered the Lordb at the waters of
Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their
account;
for they made his spirit bitter,
and he spoke words that were rash.
They did not destroy the peoples,
as the Lord commanded them,
but they mingled with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
They sacriced their sons
and their daughters to the demons;
they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacriced to the idols of
Canaan;
and the land was polluted with blood.
Thus they became unclean by their acts,

and prostituted themselves in their
doings.
Then the anger of the Lord was kindled
against his people,
and he abhorred his heritage;
he gave them into the hand of the nations,
so that those who hated them ruled
over them.
Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were brought into subjection
under their power.
Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes,
and were brought low through their
iniquity.
Nevertheless he regarded their distress
when he heard their cry.
For their sake he remembered his
covenant,
and showed compassion according to the
abundance of his steadfast love.
He caused them to be pitied
by all who held them captive.
Save us, OLord our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.
And let all the people say, Amen.
Praise the Lord!
BOOK V psalms 107150

Psalm 107
a Syr Compare Ezek 20.23: Heb cause to fall
b Heb him
in order to call upon God to forgive again (v. 47). 19: Horeb, an alternate name for Sinai. 22: Ham, see Ps 78.51n.
24: In other words, they heeded the spies who recommended against ghting against the Canaanites. 3738:
Exile is blamed on child-sacrice, which made the land ritually impure; see 2 Kings 16.3; 21.6; Jer 19.5; Ezek
20.31; 23.37. 47: A reference to the exile to Babylon in the early sixth century bce. 48: The plea of v. 47 was the
original end of the psalm; the doxology in v. 48 was inserted by an editor when the Psalms were divided into
ve books or sections.
Ps 107: Thanksgiving for bringing back the people from exile. This community thanksgiving logically fol-
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psalm 107
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.a
Some wandered in desert wastes,
nding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their
trouble,
and he delivered them from their
distress;
he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast
love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satises the thirsty,
and the hungry he lls with good
things.
Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words
of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most
High.
Their hearts were bowed down with hard
labor;
they fell down, with no one to help.
trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;
he brought them out of darkness and
gloom,
and broke their bonds asunder.
love,
For he shatters the doors of bronze,

and cuts in two the bars of iron.
Some were sickb through their sinful
ways,
and because of their iniquities endured
aiction;
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of
death.
trouble,
and he saved them from their
distress;
he sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from destruction.
love,
for his wonderful works to
humankind.
And let them oer thanksgiving
sacrices,
and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.
Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the
stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven, they went
down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their
calamity;
they reeled and staggered like
drunkards,
and were at their wits end.
a Cn: Heb sea
b Cn: Heb fools
lows the two pleas for the exile to end in the previous Pss 105 and 106. Ps 107 provides four examples of divine
deliverance (vv. 49; 1016; 1722; 2332), followed by a nal section (vv. 3343) transposing the deliverance
of vv. 432 into the daily governance of the land. The number four may suggest totality; cf. Isa 11.12. In each
panel a danger occurs (vv. 45; 1012; 1718; 2327), the aicted cry out to the Lord (vv. 6; 13; 19; 28) who rescues them (vv. 6b7; 13b14; 19b10; 28b30), prompting them to respond with thanksgiving (vv. 89; 1516;
2122; 3132). Verse 33 marks a new section with its initial verb (he turns). Vv. 13 invited the returned exiles to
give praise; vv. 432 depict the four rescued groups: those hungering and thirsting in the wilderness (vv. 49);
prisoners (vv. 1016); the sick (vv. 1722); those caught in an ocean storm (vv. 2332); these are all metaphorical for the tribulations of the Babylonian exile of the sixth century bce, and the diculties of returning by foot
from Babylon. Vv. 3343 describe the Lords rescue and governance of Israel. 2: The redeemed of the Lord, in its
hebrew bible | 863
psalm 108
trouble,
and he brought them out from their
distress;
he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they had
quiet,
and he brought them to their desired
haven.
love,
Let them extol him in the congregation
of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the
elders.
He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its
inhabitants.
He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
And there he lets the hungry live,
and they establish a town to live in;
they sow elds, and plant vineyards,
and get a fruitful yield.
By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle decrease.
When they are diminished and brought
low
through oppression, trouble, and
sorrow,
he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless
wastes;
but he raises up the needy out of
distress,
and makes their families like ocks.
The upright see it and are glad;
and all wickedness stops its mouth.
Let those who are wise give heed to

these things,
and consider the steadfast love of the
Lord.
Psalm 108
A Song. A Psalm of David.
My heart is steadfast, OGod, my heart is

steadfast;a
I will sing and make melody.
Awake, my soul!b
Awake, Oharp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn.
I will give thanks to you, OLord, among
the peoples,
and I will sing praises to you among the
nations.
For your steadfast love is higher than the
heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the
clouds.
Be exalted, OGod, above the heavens,
and let your glory be over all the earth.
Give victory with your right hand, and
answer me,
so that those whom you love may be
rescued.
God has promised in his sanctuary:c
With exultation I will divide up
Shechem,
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
Moab is my washbasin;
on Edom I hurl my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.
a Heb Mss Gk Syr: MT lacks my heart is steadfast

b Compare 57.8: Heb also my soul
c Or by his holiness
one other biblical use, the inhabitants of restored Zion (Isa 62.12). 11: The exile was a punishment for Israels
behavior. 35: Cf. Isa 41.18; 43.19. 4142: Two main themes of psalms: the vindication of the needy, which leads
to public recognition of Gods greatness. 43: The wise understand that the Lords steadfast love (Heb hesed)
.
allows for periods of tribulation and defeat, but Israel will always be restored.
Ps 108: A prayer for victory. A community petition using material from other psalms; vv. 15 appear also
in Ps 57.711 and vv. 613 appear in Ps 60.512. For detailed comments, see the annotations to those texts. In
vv. 16, the psalmist resolves to praise Gods love and faithfulness; vv. 79 cite an ancient oracle; and vv. 1013
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psalm 109
Who will bring me to the fortied city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
Have you not rejected us, OGod?
You do not go out, OGod, with our
armies.
Ogrant us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
May his posterity be cut o;

may his name be blotted out in the
second generation.
May the iniquity of his fatherd be
remembered before the Lord,
and do not let the sin of his mother be
blotted out.
Let them be before the Lord
continually,
and may hise memory be cut o from
the earth.
For he did not remember to show
kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy
and the brokenhearted to their
death.
He loved to curse; let curses come on
him.
He did not like blessing; may it be far
from him.
He clothed himself with cursing as his
coat,
may it soak into his body like water,
like oil into his bones.
May it be like a garment that he wraps
around himself,
like a belt that he wears every day.
Psalm 109
Do not be silent, OGod of my praise.

For wicked and deceitful mouths are
opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
They beset me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause.
In return for my love they accuse me,
even while I make prayer for them.a
So they reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
They say,b Appoint a wicked man against
him;
let an accuser stand on his right.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty;
let his prayer be counted as sin.
May his days be few;
may another seize his position.
May his children be orphans,
and his wife a widow.
May his children wander about and beg;
may they be driven out ofc the ruins
they inhabit.
May the creditor seize all that he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his
toil.
May there be no one to do him a
kindness,
nor anyone to pity his orphaned
children.
May that be the reward of my accusers

from the Lord,
of those who speak evil against my
life.
But you, OLord my Lord,
act on my behalf for your names sake;
because your steadfast love is good,
deliver me.
a
b
c
d
e
Syr: Heb I prayer

Heb lacks They say
Gk: Heb and seek
Cn: Heb fathers
Gk: Heb their
complain and pray.

Ps 109: Prayer for vindication. An urgent petition of an individual accused of exploiting the poor (v. 16) and
who has therefore been cursed by enemies (vv. 619). Petitioners typically complain to God of their perilous
plight; in this case the complaint is in the form of a quotation of the enemies curses (twelve curses in vv. 619).
NRSV adds They (the enemies) say in v. 6a to make clear the psalmist is citing the enemys curses rather than
personally cursing; other translations understand the curses to be those of the psalmist against his enemies. 6:
The word for accuser, Heb satan, later means Satan, the devil. 14: Following Ex 34.7 (visiting the iniquity of
the parents upon the children) and other texts, may he be subject to intergenerational punishment. 20: May
that be the reward, a prayer that the curses fall on the enemies so as to demonstrate to all that the Lord has
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psalm 110
For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is pierced within me.
I am gone like a shadow at evening;
I am shaken o like a locust.
My knees are weak through fasting;
my body has become gaunt.
I am an object of scorn to my
accusers;
when they see me, they shake their
heads.
Help me, OLord my God!
Save me according to your steadfast
love.
Let them know that this is your hand;
you, OLord, have done it.
Let them curse, but you will bless.
Let my assailants be put to shame;a may
your servant be glad.
May my accusers be clothed with
dishonor;
may they be wrapped in their own
shame as in a mantle.
With my mouth I will give great thanks
to the Lord;
I will praise him in the midst of the
throng.
For he stands at the right hand of the
needy,
to save them from those who would
condemn them to death.
Psalm 110
Of David. A Psalm.
The Lord says to my lord,

Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.
The Lord sends out from Zion

your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your foes.
Your people will oer themselves
willingly
on the day you lead your forces
on the holy mountains.b
From the womb of the morning,
like dew, your youthc will come to you.
The Lord has sworn and will not change
his mind,
You are a priest forever according to
the order of Melchizedek.d
The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his
wrath.
He will execute judgment among the
nations,
lling them with corpses;
he will shatter heads
over the wide earth.
He will drink from the stream by the
path;
therefore he will lift up his head.
Psalm 111
Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my
whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the
congregation.
a Gk: Heb They have risen up and have been put to
shame
b Another reading is in holy splendor

c Cn: Heb the dew of your youth
d Or forever, a rightful king by my edict
vindicated the psalmist. Cf. also v. 29. 22: I am poor and needy, far from persecuting the poor as the enemies
have asserted (v. 16), the psalmist is himself poor and needy and thus has a claim on Gods protection. 28: For
the psalmist, curses are not automatically eective but depend on God. 31: The word for right hand links this
psalm with the next (see 110.1)
Ps 110: Victory to the Davidic king. A royal psalm in which a court ocial cites promises of victory made to
the Davidic king (vv. 1,4) and then elaborates them (vv. 23,57). Christian interpretation has understood the
kings victory as preguring Jesus resurrection and rule over the nations (Acts 2.34; 1 Cor 15.25; Heb 1.3,13). 13:
Sit, take your throne; right hand is the place of honor; footstool, victorious kings were depicted with their feet
on their defeated foes necks. 3: Though very obscure, the general sense is clear: the king will lead the army and
defeat the Lords enemies. 47: Melchizedek, priest-king of pre-Israelite Jerusalem who greeted Abraham in Gen
14.1720; the tradition is applied only here to the Davidic king. As elsewhere in the ancient Near East, Israelite
kings are sometimes described as exercising priestly duties (e.g., 2 Sam 6.1314; 8.18; 1 Kings 3.4). 7: Obscure,
possibly referring to a ritual of the warrior returning from victory.
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psalm 113
Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
Full of honor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
He has gained renown by his wonderful
deeds;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
He has shown his people the power of his
works,
in giving them the heritage of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
They are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and
uprightness.
He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom;
all those who practice ita have a good
understanding.
His praise endures forever.
Psalm 112
Praise the Lord!
Happy are those who fear the Lord,
who greatly delight in his
commandments.
Their descendants will be mighty in the
land;
the generation of the upright will be

blessed.
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
They rise in the darkness as a light for the
upright;
they are gracious, merciful, and
righteous.
It is well with those who deal generously
and lend,
who conduct their aairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered forever.
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are rm, secure in the Lord.
Their hearts are steady, they will not be
afraid;
in the end they will look in triumph on
their foes.
They have distributed freely, they have
given to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn is exalted in honor.
The wicked see it and are angry;
they gnash their teeth and melt away;
the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.
Psalm 113
Praise the Lord!
Praise, Oservants of the Lord;
praise the name of the Lord.
a Gk Syr: Heb them
Ps 111: Hymn to Gods great deeds. A hymn in acrostic form (see Ps 910n.) celebrating the great deeds of
the Exodus-Conquest. 5: Food may refer to the manna and quail that God provided in the wilderness (see Ex 16;
Num 11; Ps 105.40). 7: The verse is the transition from admiring the divine deeds (v. 2b) to imitating the God who
did them (all his precepts; those who practice it, v. 10). 10: Fear of the Lord (best rendered revering the Lord),
pointing forward to v. 1 of Ps 112, its companion piece. See Ps 19.9; Prov 1.7; 9.10; etc.
Ps 112: Blessings on those who treasure Gods acts and give to the poor. An instruction in acrostic form (see
Ps 910n.) and companion piece to Psalm 111, depicting the righteous person as one who ponders Gods works
(cf. Ps 111.2) and puts into practice Gods precepts (cf. Ps 111.7). The virtue singled out is mercy shown in giving
to the poor (vv. 4,5,9). Paradoxically, generous givers do not deprive their children of an inheritance (vv. 23)
nor suer the shame that comes with poverty (vv. 6,8,10), for the Lord will recompense them. This psalm and
Prov 19.17 inuenced Jewish and Christian views of almsgiving (e.g., Dan 4.24; Ma 6.12). 1: Fear the Lord, see Ps
110.10n. 3: And their righteousness endures forever helps to join this psalm to Ps 111; see 111.3. 9: Horn, a metaphor
for strength.
Ps 113: A hymn to the just God. Like other hymns, this one opens and closes with a call to praise, and specically names those called to praise (servants of the Lord, v. 1). Ps 113 concludes the three Hallelujah psalms (Pss
111113) and begins the Egyptian Hallel (= Heb praise) psalms (113118) sung at major Jewish festivals even
though the Bible does not suggest that they are a collection. Many scholars think that Pss 113114 were sung
before the Passover meal and Pss 115118 aer it. Images of high and low unify the psalm. 1: It is uncertain
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psalm 114
Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time on and forevermore.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the Lord is to be
praised.
The Lord is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust,
and lifts the needy from the ash
heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of
children.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 114
When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of
strange language,
Judah became Godsa sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
The sea looked and ed;
Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like lambs.
Why is it, Osea, that you ee?
OJordan, that you turn back?
Omountains, that you skip like rams?
Ohills, like lambs?
Tremble, Oearth, at the presence of the
Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turns the rock into a pool of
water,
the int into a spring of water.
Psalm 115
Not to us, OLord, not to us, but to your
name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and
your faithfulness.
Why should the nations say,
Where is their God?
Our God is in the heavens;
he does whatever he pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
a Heb his
if the servants of the Lord refer to all worshipers or is a technical term for a specic group in the Temple. The
name represents the person, here the Lord who rules earth and heaven (vv. 24). In late biblical and in postbiblical texts, the name of God was used as a surrogate for God. 56: A rhetorical question expecting the answer
None. 6: Who looks far down, beer who rules over. 79: Two typical examples of divine ruling: enabling
a poor man to sit with honor among the village elders, and giving the barren woman a child; cf. 1 Sam 2.48.
Ps 114: The wonder of the Exodus. A unique psalm with hymnlike features, celebrating the Exodus from
Egypt and the Conquest, with the crossing of the sea and the Jordan River. An apt Hallel psalm (Pss 113118) with
standard synonymous parallelism and internal repetition (vv. 34 || 56). 14: Somewhat abruptly, the psalm
describes Israel leaving Egypt through the sea (see Ex 1415) to a safe land. Telescoping events, this poem has
the people cross from Egypt directly into Canaan (Judah, Israel, v. 2, where the Southern and Northern kingdoms are meant). 2: Strikingly, it is at the Exodus, and not at Sinai, that Israel becomes Gods holy people (a
preferable translation to sanctuary). 3: The sea is parallel to Jordan and is personied as a defeated warrior (cf.
Pss 77.16; 104.7). The Lord taunts sea and mountains as they tremble and ee (Ps 96.9; Deut 2.25). 8: A reference
to God providing water in the wilderness from a rock; see Ps 78.15,20; Ex 17.6; Num 20.11.
Ps 115: Show forth your glory to the nations. A community petition that the Lord in the heavens (v. 3), too
powerful to be contained in earthly statues (vv. 48), might display his glory on earth and enable Israel to live
in trust (vv. 918). 1: Not to us, beer, Not for our sake, O Lord, not for our sake, but for the sake of your name
display your glory. The Hebrew phrase, lit., to give glory, actually means display glory as in Ezek 39.21. 2:
Where is their God? a taunt that Israels God is powerless. 38: There are two contrasts: between our God (singular) in the heavens and their gods (images, plural) on earth; between God who acts and the gods who cannot. 3:
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psalm 116
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
they make no sound in their
throats.
Those who make them are like them;
so are all who trust in them.
OIsrael, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
Ohouse of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, trust in the
Lord!
The Lord has been mindful of us; he will
bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
he will bless those who fear the Lord,
both small and great.
May the Lord give you increase,
both you and your children.
May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
The heavens are the Lords heavens,
but the earth he has given to human
beings.
The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any that go down into silence.
But we will bless the Lord
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 116
I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I
live.
The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suered distress and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
OLord, I pray, save my life!
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
The Lord protects the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, Omy soul, to your rest,
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with
you.
For you have delivered my soul from
death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
I walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
I kept my faith, even when I said,
I am greatly aicted;
I said in my consternation,
Everyone is a liar.
What shall I return to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
Our God is in the heavens, a bold response to the taunt Where is their God? Ridicule of divine images is common
in exilic texts and later (e.g., Jer 10.116; Isa 40.1820; 41.67; Bel). 9: Trust in the Lord, those who trust in images
will be frustrated (v. 8) and those who trust in the Lord will nd a help and shield (vv. 911). 10: House of Aaron,
the priests, who claimed Aaron as their ancestor. 1213: The psalmist turns to God, asking him to bless the same
three groups who were just asked (vv. 1011) to have trust in the Lord. 15: Who made heaven and earth, see Ps
124.8n. 17: According to the biblical worldview, all who died went down to Sheol, the underworld, where all was
quiet; the dead could thus be called those that go down into silence. See also 6.5n.
Ps 116: Thanksgiving to a saving God. An individual thanksgiving for having found a saving God rather
than for a particular rescue. God is aentive (vv. 12) and merciful (vv. 56), and the psalmist resolves to
respond by acts of trust (vv. 7,911) and worship (vv. 1219). There seem to be four sections: the rescue and
the resulting relationship (vv. 14); the nature of God revealed by the rescue and the psalmists response (vv.
58); resolve to live as a trusting client of the divine patron (vv. 911); resolve to oer appropriate ritual thanks
(vv. 1219). 1: I love the Lord, in the sense of choose (Prov 12.1; 20.13; Isa 41.8); the Hebrew reads I love that
the Lord has heard. 3: Sheol, the underworld, the abode of the dead. 7: Soul refers to breathing or life-force.
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psalm 117
Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful ones.
OLord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your
serving girl.
You have loosed my bonds.
I will oer to you a thanksgiving sacrice
and call on the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, OJerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117
Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord
endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 118
his steadfast love endures forever!
Let Israel say,
His steadfast love endures forever.
Let the house of Aaron say,
Let those who fear the Lord say,
Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me in a
broad place.
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.

What can mortals do to me?
The Lord is on my side to help me;
I shall look in triumph on those who
hate me.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to put condence in mortals.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to put condence in princes.
All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I cut them o!
They surrounded me, surrounded me on
every side;
They surrounded me like bees;
they blazeda like a re of thorns;
I was pushed hard,b so that I was
falling,
but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
There are glad songs of victory in the
tents of the righteous:
The right hand of the Lord does
valiantly;
the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does
valiantly.
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
a Gk: Heb were extinguished
b Gk Syr Jerome: Heb You pushed me hard
13: Cup of salvation, a drink oering poured out in thanksgiving (e.g., Ex 25.29; Lev 23.37). 14: A person in a
precarious situation could make a vow that would be fullled upon being saved. 15: Precious, in the sense of
too precious as in Ps 72.14, i.e., grievous in the Lords sight. 1718: When in distress, the psalmist vowed to
oer a thanksgiving sacrice.
Ps 117: Invitation to the nations to worship. In the Bibles shortest chapter, this psalm is a hymn with an
invitatory, which is repeated in the last verse, and the motive for praise is introduced by for (v. 2a). Oddly, the
motive for the nations to give praise is the Lords steadfast love and faithfulness toward Israel. Perhaps for
the psalmist Israel showcases the Lords generosity and exemplies what the Lord intends for all peoples.
Ps 118: Giving thanks in a solemn procession. A thanksgiving, spoken in the rst person, possibly by the
king speaking for the people. The salvation is described twice, in vv. 59 as a transfer from a tight spot to a
broad place, and in vv. 1018 as rescue from hostile nations. As the procession enters the Temple precincts, the
leader asks for admiance (v. 19) and an ociant states the qualications necessary for entering (v. 20). In v. 21,
the speaker, now within the Temple, gives fresh thanks, and in vv. 2227, the congregation takes up the praise.
The nal verse repeats the beginning, forming an inclusio. 14: His steadfast love, a covenant term (Heb he.
sed); the speaker gives thanks for the Lords delity to past promises of protection. 5: Distress, lit. restricted
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psalm 119
The Lord has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.
Bind the festal procession with branches,

up to the horns of the altar.c
Open to me the gates of righteousness,

that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
You are my God, and I will give thanks

to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.
This is the gate of the Lord;

the righteous shall enter through it.
Ogive thanks to the Lord, for he is

good,
I thank you that you have answered me

and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lords doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.a
Save us, we beseech you, OLord!
OLord, we beseech you, give us
success!
Blessed is the one who comes in the
name of the Lord.b
We bless you from the house of the
Lord.
The Lord is God,
and he has given us light.
Psalm 119
Happy are those whose way is
blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord.
Happy are those who keep his decrees,
who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways.
You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
Othat my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
a Or in him
b Or Blessed in the name of the Lord is the one who
comes
place. 12: Bees, a metaphor for enemies as in Deut 1.44. 14: Copied from Ex 15.2. 22: The stone, the unsuitable
stone becomes the very cornerstone toward which all the building blocks are oriented; such a transformation
from low to high is a sign of divine intervention (v. 23). 27: Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns
of the altar was probably a ritual instruction that accidentally became part of the psalm. The horns were four
projections at the corners of the altar.
Ps 119: The grandeur and the necessity of divine teaching. An individual petition that the Lords teaching
(Heb torah, NRSV law) guide ones every moment: in danger and discouragement, in joy and exultation. The
psalm is an elaborate acrostic (see Ps 910n.): Each of the twenty-two stanzas begins with a successive leer of
the Hebrew alphabet, and each stanza has eight verses and (usually) eight synonyms of law, more accurately
authoritative teaching: law, word, promise(s), ordinances, statutes, commandments, decrees,
and precepts. Though for the most part synonymous in this psalm, each term may retain its own shade of
meaning: illumination (law, word), moral demand (ordinances, statutes, commandments), guidance
(decrees, precepts), and promise (promise). Life is regarded as warfare with the evil principle; denitive
victory lies only in the future. The major weapon in the bale is the divine word, for its observance trains the
passions, gives strength in temptation, and elevates the mind to God. The psalm is constructed as a petition, as
seen in its multiple imperatives, as in v. 149. Oen petitions and references to torah (the two main themes),
are combined in a single verse, as in v. 173. Yet, even aer reading the entire psalm, it is uncertain exactly what
torah means: if it refers to the law of Moses, it is odd that there is no mention of him or of Sinai.
This is the longest psalm in the Bible and is innovative in the manner that it refers to the Torah with words
typically used of God, such as love (e.g., vv. 47,97), truth (v. 142), and true (v. 151). This reects the growing
importance of the Torah in the postexilic period, and anticipates the idea that the Torah is a type of stand-in
for God, who is no longer regarded as imminent. 1: Law, teaching that is authoritative because of divine origin.
Law is a less satisfactory rendering. 135: Shine, see Num 6.2426.
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psalm 119
Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes xed on all your
commandments.
I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous ordinances.
I will observe your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
How can young people keep their way
pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your
commandments.
I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, OLord;
teach me your statutes.
With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of your mouth.
I delight in the way of your decrees
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts,
and x my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Deal bountifully with your servant,
so that I may live and observe your
word.
Open my eyes, so that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
I live as an alien in the land;
do not hide your commandments from
me.
My soul is consumed with longing
for your ordinances at all times.
You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
who wander from your
commandments;
take away from me their scorn and
contempt,
for I have kept your decrees.
Even though princes sit plotting against
me,
your servant will meditate on your
statutes.
Your decrees are my delight,
they are my counselors.
My soul clings to the dust;
revive me according to your word.
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When I told of my ways, you answered

me;
Make me understand the way of your
precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous
works.
My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.
Put false ways far from me;
and graciously teach me your law.
I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I set your ordinances before me.
I cling to your decrees, OLord;
let me not be put to shame.
I run the way of your commandments,
for you enlarge my understanding.
Teach me, OLord, the way of your
statutes,
and I will observe it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may keep
your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of your
commandments,
for I delight in it.
Turn my heart to your decrees,
and not to selsh gain.
Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;
give me life in your ways.
Conrm to your servant your promise,
which is for those who fear you.
Turn away the disgrace that I dread,
for your ordinances are good.
See, I have longed for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life.
Let your steadfast love come to me,
OLord,
your salvation according to your
promise.
Then I shall have an answer for those
who taunt me,
for I trust in your word.
Do not take the word of truth utterly out
of my mouth,
for my hope is in your ordinances.
I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever.
I shall walk at liberty,
for I have sought your precepts.
psalm 119
I will also speak of your decrees before
kings,
and shall not be put to shame;
I nd my delight in your
commandments,
because I love them.
I revere your commandments, which I
love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
Remember your word to your servant,
in which you have made me hope.
This is my comfort in my distress,
that your promise gives me life.
The arrogant utterly deride me,
but I do not turn away from your law.
When I think of your ordinances from
of old,
I take comfort, OLord.
Hot indignation seizes me because of
the wicked,
those who forsake your law.
Your statutes have been my songs
wherever I make my home.
I remember your name in the night,
OLord,
and keep your law.
This blessing has fallen to me,
for I have kept your precepts.
The Lord is my portion;
I promise to keep your words.
I implore your favor with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your
promise.
When I think of your ways,
I turn my feet to your decrees;
I hurry and do not delay
to keep your commandments.
Though the cords of the wicked ensnare
me,
I do not forget your law.
At midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your righteous ordinances.
I am a companion of all who fear you,
of those who keep your precepts.
The earth, OLord, is full of your
steadfast love;
You have dealt well with your servant,
OLord, according to your word.
Teach me good judgment and

knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
Before I was humbled I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
You are good and do good;
The arrogant smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your
precepts.
Their hearts are fat and gross,
but I delight in your law.
It is good for me that I was humbled,
so that I might learn your statutes.
The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver
pieces.
Your hands have made and fashioned
me;
give me understanding that I may learn
your commandments.
Those who fear you shall see me and
rejoice,
because I have hoped in your word.
I know, OLord, that your judgments are
right,
and that in faithfulness you have
humbled me.
Let your steadfast love become my
comfort
according to your promise to your
servant.
Let your mercy come to me, that I may
live;
for your law is my delight.
Let the arrogant be put to shame,
because they have subverted me with
guile;
as for me, I will meditate on your
precepts.
Let those who fear you turn to me,
so that they may know your decrees.
May my heart be blameless in your
statutes,
so that I may not be put to shame.
My soul languishes for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
My eyes fail with watching for your
promise;
I ask, When will you comfort me?
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psalm 119
For I have become like a wineskin in the
smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who
persecute me?
The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;
they out your law.
All your commandments are enduring;
I am persecuted without cause; help me!
They have almost made an end of me on
earth;
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
In your steadfast love spare my life,
so that I may keep the decrees of your
mouth.
The Lord exists forever;
your word is rmly xed in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures to all
generations;
you have established the earth, and it
stands fast.
By your appointment they stand today,
for all things are your servants.
If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my misery.
I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I consider your decrees.
I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment is exceedingly
broad.
Oh, how I love your law!
It is my meditation all day long.
Your commandment makes me wiser
than my enemies,
for it is always with me.
I have more understanding than all my
teachers,
for your decrees are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
I do not turn away from your
ordinances,
for you have taught me.
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How sweet are your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through your precepts I get
understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath and conrmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.
I am severely aicted;
give me life, OLord, according to your
word.
Accept my oerings of praise, OLord,
and teach me your ordinances.
I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.
Your decrees are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.
I incline my heart to perform your
statutes
forever, to the end.
I hate the double-minded,
but I love your law.
You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
Go away from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commandments of
my God.
Uphold me according to your promise,
that I may live,
and let me not be put to shame in my
hope.
Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes
continually.
You spurn all who go astray from your
statutes;
for their cunning is in vain.
All the wicked of the earth you count as
dross;
therefore I love your decrees.
My esh trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid of your judgments.
I have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my oppressors.
Guarantee your servants well-being;
do not let the godless oppress me.
psalm 119
My eyes fail from watching for your
salvation,
and for the fulllment of your righteous
promise.
Deal with your servant according to
and teach me your statutes.
I am your servant; give me
understanding,
so that I may know your decrees.
It is time for the Lord to act,
for your law has been broken.
Truly I love your commandments
more than gold, more than ne gold.
Truly I direct my steps by all your
precepts;a
I hate every false way.
Your decrees are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them.
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
With open mouth I pant,
because I long for your commandments.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is your custom toward those who
love your name.
Keep my steps steady according to your
promise,
and never let iniquity have dominion
over me.
Redeem me from human oppression,
that I may keep your precepts.
Make your face shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
My eyes shed streams of tears
because your law is not kept.
You are righteous, OLord,
and your judgments are right.
You have appointed your decrees in
righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
My zeal consumes me
because my foes forget your words.
Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
Your righteousness is an everlasting
righteousness,
and your law is the truth.
Trouble and anguish have come upon me,

but your commandments are my
delight.
Your decrees are righteous forever;
give me understanding that I may live.
With my whole heart I cry; answer me,
OLord.
I will keep your statutes.
I cry to you; save me,
that I may observe your decrees.
I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I put my hope in your words.
My eyes are awake before each watch of
the night,
that I may meditate on your promise.
In your steadfast love hear my voice;
OLord, in your justice preserve my life.
Those who persecute me with evil
purpose draw near;
they are far from your law.
Yet you are near, OLord,
and all your commandments are true.
Long ago I learned from your decrees
that you have established them forever.
Look on my misery and rescue me,
for I do not forget your law.
Plead my cause and redeem me;
give me life according to your promise.
Salvation is far from the wicked,
for they do not seek your statutes.
Great is your mercy, OLord;
give me life according to your justice.
Many are my persecutors and my
adversaries,
yet I do not swerve from your decrees.
I look at the faithless with disgust,
because they do not keep your
commands.
Consider how I love your precepts;
preserve my life according to your
steadfast love.
The sum of your word is truth;
and every one of your righteous
ordinances endures forever.
Princes persecute me without cause,
but my heart stands in awe of your
words.
a Gk Jerome: Meaning of Heb uncertain
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psalm 120
I rejoice at your word
like one who nds great spoil.
I hate and abhor falsehood,
but I love your law.
Seven times a day I praise you
for your righteous ordinances.
Great peace have those who love your
law;
nothing can make them stumble.
I hope for your salvation, OLord,
and I fulll your commandments.
My soul keeps your decrees;
I love them exceedingly.
I keep your precepts and decrees,
for all my ways are before you.
Let my cry come before you, OLord;
give me understanding according to
your word.
Let my supplication come before you;
deliver me according to your
promise.
My lips will pour forth praise,
because you teach me your statutes.
My tongue will sing of your promise,
for all your commandments are right.
Let your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
I long for your salvation, OLord,
and your law is my delight.
Let me live that I may praise you,
and let your ordinances help me.
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek
out your servant,
for I do not forget your

commandments.
Psalm 120
A Song of Ascents.
In my distress I cry to the Lord,

that he may answer me:
Deliver me, OLord,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.
What shall be given to you?
And what more shall be done to you,
you deceitful tongue?
A warriors sharp arrows,
with glowing coals of the broom tree!
Woe is me, that I am an alien in
Meshech,
that I must live among the tents of
Kedar.
Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
I am for peace;
but when I speak,
they are for war.
Psalm 121
A Song of Ascents.
I lift up my eyes to the hills

from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Ps 120: Prayer for rescue from slanderers. This is the rst of the collection of Songs of Ascents, Pss 120134.
The meaning of this superscription is debated; it may refer to the steplike parallelism in many of the poems
(e.g., Ps 127.1: unless the Lord builds the house . . . unless the Lord guards the city), or to songs sung while going up to Jerusalem for pilgrimage. This psalm is an individual petition with the expected petitions for the punishment of enemies (vv. 34) and complaints (vv. 23,57), though without a statement of hope. The two complaintsslanderous aacks (vv. 24) and unwilling exile in a hostile country far from Jerusalem (vv. 57)tell
the same story with two metaphor systems (tongues as weapons, being in a distant, hostile land). Reputation,
a community, and a homeall these have been taken from the psalmist. Others words have become weapons
(vv. 23,7) and the only rescue the psalmist can imagine is retaliation in military terms (vv. 34). 4: Broom, a
desert shrub. 5: Meshech . . . Kedar, places far from Jerusalem in the remote north (southern Asia Minor [see Ezek
38.2]), and remote south (northern Arabia [Isa 21.1317]), symbolizing distance. 7: Peace (Heb shalom), perhaps
a play on the name of Jerusalem.
Ps 121: Condence in Gods care. A declaration of trust shaped by tight, steplike parallelism: not slumber
links vv. 34; keep links vv. 35 and 78. Coming in v. 8 echoes come in v. 1, concluding the poem. Perhaps this was recited by a traveler, even a pilgrim to Zion who asks the question, which he rst answers (v. 2);
the answer is then expanded upon by a priest conscious that the Lord dwells in Zion (vv. 38). Gods careful
protection is the dominant image; the Lord guides ones steps and does not slumber even when people sleep.
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psalm 123
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right
hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
Psalm 122
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
I was glad when they said to me,

Let us go to the house of the Lord!
Our feet are standing
within your gates, OJerusalem.
Jerusalembuilt as a city
that is bound rmly together.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
For there the thrones for judgment were

set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, Peace be within you.
For the sake of the house of the Lord our
God,
I will seek your good.
Psalm 123
A Song of Ascents.
To you I lift up my eyes,

Oyou who are enthroned in the
heavens!
As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
until he has mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us, OLord, have mercy
upon us,
for we have had more than enough of
contempt.
Superscription: Song of Ascents, see Ps 120n. 1: Hills, probably those around Jerusalem. 2: Who made heaven and
earth, see Ps 124.8n. 5: The Lord is your keeper, the exact center of the poem.
Ps 122: Longing to go to Zion and a prayer for its peace. A song of Zion celebrating the sacred city for its
beautiful buildings (v. 3), worship in common (v. 4), and just legal decisions (v. 5). One can imagine a pilgrim,
awed by the holiness of the place, uering the prayer for the welfare of the city (vv. 69). Superscription: Song
of Ascents, see Ps 120n. 1: Let us go, Passover, Weeks (Pentecost), and Tabernacles were pilgrimage festivals,
requiring heads of households to travel to Jerusalem and ascend its hills (Ex 23.17; 34.23; Deut 16.16). The house of
the Lord, the Temple (also v. 9). 5: Thrones for judgment, Jerusalem was the city of the Davidic king; judgment can
refer to legal decisions as well as to ordinary governance. 67: The other pilgrims are probably being addressed
here. 6: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, alliterative in Hebrew (shaalu shalom yerushalaim) 9: The concluding
reference to the Temple forms an inclusio with v. 1, emphasizing that it is the presence of God in the Temple that
makes Jerusalem such a signicant and holy city.
Ps 123: A plea for divine mercy. A community petition, perhaps composed in the Second Temple period
when the nation felt the indignity (v. 3) of being a small state in the vast Persian empire. Feeling like a powerless slave (NRSV servant, v. 2), the community speaker (I in v. 1) feels constricted, repeating a plea for divine
mercy three times. The psalmists hope is not constricted, however, for the prayer is directed to the divine
king enthroned in the heavens (v. 1). Superscription: Song of Ascents, see Ps 120n. 2: The eyes of servants, the
metaphor of looking expectantly to the Lord is developed through servants looking at their masters; contrasts
are maximizedmale and female, plural and singularto express completeness: all look to you. Female images of God are very rare in the Bible (e.g., Isa 49.1416), especially in Psalms, making the comparison of God
to mistress noteworthy.
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psalm 124
Our soul has had more than its ll
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.
Psalm 124
If it had not been the Lord who was on

our side
let Israel now say
if it had not been the Lord who was on
our side,
when our enemies attacked us,
then they would have swallowed us up
alive,
when their anger was kindled against
us;
then the ood would have swept us
away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,

Psalm 125
A Song of Ascents.
Those who trust in the Lord are like

Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides
forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people,
For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous might not stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
Do good, OLord, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their
hearts.
But those who turn aside to their own
crooked ways
the Lord will lead away with evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel!
Psalm 126
A Song of Ascents.
When the Lord restored the fortunes of

Zion,a
a Or brought back those who returned to Zion
Ps 124: Giving thanks a%er a narrow escape. A community thanksgiving notable for its simple theme: give
thanks for we would have died if the Lord had not rescued us. The simple theme is mirrored by a simple structure: the rst two verses begin If it had not been the Lord who was on our side and the next three begin with
then followed by a complex step-parallelism. Such step-parallelism, common in the Songs of Ascents (see
Ps 120n.), adds drama and movement. 1: Let Israel now say, the singer provides the community with the proper
words to express their intense relief and gratitude. 35: The metaphors of devouring beasts and waters ooding the earth are used for the enemies. 7: Like a bird, a totally dierent metaphor for the rescued nation: a lile
bird ying upward to freedom from a broken trap, a perfect symbol of miraculous deliverance. 8: Who made
heaven and earth, a frequent postexilic epithet for God (see also Pss 115.15; 121.2; 146.6); here it emphasizes that
God the powerful creator can still help Israel.
Ps 125: Prayer for Zions purication from evildoers. A Zion song that, unlike most other such songs, prays
that sinners be removed from its midst so it might truly be worthy of the Lord (vv. 45). Examples of such purifying judgments are Isa 1.2128; 65; Zeph 3.1113. Like other Songs of Ascents (Pss 122; 123; 124; 126; see Ps 120n.),
Ps 125 has an opening statement (vv. 13) followed by a prayer (vv. 45). 2: The mountains, majestic pillars of the
universe, the hills surrounding Jerusalem are an apt symbol of the powerful and ever-present Lord present in
Zion. 3: Scepter of wickedness: A scepter wielded by an unjust ruler cannot rest (guratively) on the land given to
the righteous lest they be led to do wrong. 4: Do good . . . to those who are upright, justice means upholding the
righteous as well as punishing the wicked. 5: Peace be upon Israel! is repeated later in this collection, in 128.6.
Ps 126: A prayer for the return of all the exiles. A community prayer for the return of all exiles and the restoration of Israel. Like other Songs of Ascents (Pss 122125; see 120n.), it has an opening statement (vv. 13)
developed into a prayer (vv. 45). It also is characterized by step-parallelism: restore the fortunes, then,
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psalm 128
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was lled with
laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
The Lord has done great things for
them.
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
Restore our fortunes, OLord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
Psalm 127
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord guards the city,
the guard keeps watch in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives sleep to his beloved.a
Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the sons of ones youth.
Happy is the man who has
his quiver full of them.
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the
gate.
Psalm 128
A Song of Ascents.
Happy is everyone who fears the Lord,

who walks in his ways.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your
hands;
a Or for he provides for his beloved during sleep
the Lord has done great things, shouts of joy, and the verb bearing/carrying. The psalmist regards the
return of the exiles from Babylon, where they had been deported in the early sixth century bce, as a past event,
yet prays for the return of all in the spirit of grand promises such as Isa 60.10. The book of Ezra suggests that in
fact few returned from Babylon, the return was a disappointment, and the hyperbolic prophecies of Isa 4055
were not fullled. 4: Restore our fortunes, picks up restored the fortunes (v. 1) and prays for its completion.
The watercourses in the Negeb, riverbeds in the arid south, dry except when a rare rainstorm in an instant creates torrents sweeping away all in their path, a bold metaphor for sudden transformation of infertile land. The
metaphor is ironic, since such watercourses are destructive, yet it sets the stage for the positive water and
agricultural imagery in the following verses.
Ps 127: An instruction and prayer for the house. This psalm does not t the usual categories. It is a declaration that one of Gods greatest blessings is children (in that culture, sons), and is a companion piece to Ps 128.
Step-parallelism highlights the words unless, in vain, and sons. Hebrew wordplay unites vv. 12 and 35: builds
(yibneh) and those who build (bonayo) in v. 1, and sons (banim) in vv. 34. Those same sons will protect the
family head when he confronts enemies in the city gate, thereby linking v. 4 and v. 1cd (guards the city). Superscription: Song of Ascents, see Ps 120n. Since it deals with building, the psalm is ascribed to King Solomon (see
Ps 72n.), who built the First Temple (see also v. 2n.). 1: House, can refer both to the Temple and to the dynasty,
as well as to a household. 2: Beloved (Heb yedid) recalls Solomons birth name Jedidiah (yedidyah, 2 Sam
12.25). 35: Asserting the uselessness of human eort alone to build a house and protect the city (vv. 12), vv.
35 declare that it is through sons that the Lord builds a house(hold) and protects the community. The gate was
the seing for legal and commercial transactions; see, e.g., Ruth 4.112; Prov 30.23,31.
Ps 128: The blessings of the man who fears God. A companion piece to Ps 127, declaring that he who fears
the Lord (v. 1) will ourish in his family (v. 3), national, and religious life (vv. 56). The three spheres were
closely related, for the father was paterfamilias of the house, the king was paterfamilias of the house of Israel,
and the Lord functioned as the patrimonial lord to whom Israel was bound through covenant. Correspondingly,
the blessings include family (fruitful wife, many children), nation (prosperity of Jerusalem, seat of the dynasty),
and God (font of blessings). Like several Songs of Ascents (see Ps 120n.), the poem has two parts: a statement
of trust (vv. 14) and a prayer that builds on the statement (vv. 56). 1: Happy, fortunate because of a quality
hebrew bible | 879
psalm 129
you shall be happy, and it shall go well
with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
Thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion.
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
May you see your childrens children.
Peace be upon Israel!
Psalm 129
A Song of Ascents.
Often have they attacked me from my

youth
let Israel now say
often have they attacked me from my
youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.
The plowers plowed on my back;
they made their furrows long.
The Lord is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked.
May all who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward.
Let them be like the grass on the

housetops
that withers before it grows up,
with which reapers do not ll their
hands
or binders of sheaves their arms,
while those who pass by do not say,
The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the Lord!
Psalm 130
A Song of Ascents.
Out of the depths I cry to you, OLord.

Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
If you, OLord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the
morning,
more than those who watch for the
morning.
possessed or a choice made. 3: The verse both expresses and reinforces the status of the father as head of the
household. 6: Peace be upon Israel! see Ps 125.5n.
Ps 129: Prayer against Zions enemies. A community petition that the Lord punish those who have persecuted Israel. As oen in Songs of Ascents (see Ps 120n.), step-parallelism highlights key phrases, oen have
they aacked me from my youth and blessing/bless. The complaint is not so much of present suering but
of relentless, unending suerings from my youth (vv. 1,2), perhaps referring to Egyptian bondage (cf. Hos
2.15; Jer 2.2; Ezek 23.3). 3: Plowed on my back, perhaps echoing Isa 51.23, which quotes Israels tormentors in the
exile. Thus the psalmist complains about the suerings of being the Lords people in the world, selecting two
typical instances of suering, one from the Exodus (vv. 1,2) and the other from the sixth-century bce exile (v. 3).
6: Grass on the housetops, weeds growing on mud-plastered roofs; cf. 2 Kings 19.26; Isa 37.27. 9: Likely a standard
blessing formula used in the postexilic period.
Ps 130: Waiting for the Lords redemption. One of the seven penitential psalms in Christian tradition (Pss
6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143), this individual petition seeks rescue out of the depths (v. 1), but seems even more
intent on simply being heard by God. The usual statement of trust takes the form of resolutions to wait for
the Lord (vv. 56) and the other common feature of petitions, teaching others to revere the Lord, appears in
vv. 78. Verses 16 detail the psalmists desire to be heard, and vv. 78 detail the psalmists and Israels waiting
for the redeeming Lord (vv. 58). Its central theme is that humans are inherently sinful, and thus God must be
inherently forgiving. Superscription: Song of Ascents, see Ps 120n. 1: Out of the depths, Latin Vulgate, de profundis; God seems too distant to hear the psalmists voice. 4: At the middle of the psalm, the psalmist reminds
God of his forgiving nature. 56: Wait, repeated three times in step-parallelism; waiting expectantly is a form
of prayer.
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psalm 132
OIsrael, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
Psalm 131
OLord, my heart is not lifted up,

my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is
with me.a
OIsrael, hope in the Lord
Psalm 132
A Song of Ascents.
OLord, remember in Davids favor

all the hardships he endured;
how he swore to the Lord
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
I will not enter my house
or get into my bed;
I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,
until I nd a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of
Jacob.
We heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the elds of Jaar.
Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us worship at his footstool.
Rise up, OLord, and go to your resting
place,
you and the ark of your might.
Let your priests be clothed with
righteousness,
and let your faithful shout for joy.
For your servant Davids sake
do not turn away the face of your
anointed one.
The Lord swore to David a sure
oath
from which he will not turn back:
One of the sons of your body
I will set on your throne.
a Or my soul within me is like a weaned child
Ps 131: Waiting for the Lord like a child. A declaration of trust with an extraordinary central metaphor: a
weaned child, in that culture a three- to ve-year-old. The poem is framed by its opening and closing occurrences of the Lord and its opening and closing statements, the rst put negatively (my heart is not lied
up) and the second put positively (I have calmed and quieted my soul). The three-fold denial in v. 1 and the
doubled armation in v. 2 show deep feeling. V. 3, as in many other psalms, moves from the individual to the
community, here inviting all Israel to imitate the singers calm and trust. Superscription: Song of Ascents, see
Ps 120n. 2: Like a weaned child with its mother, the singer, like the child, has been nurtured daily and would not
doubt the mothers further care. The image of God as female is the second in the Songs of Ascents; cf. Ps 125.2.
Ps 132: Bringing the Lord to reign in Zion. A royal psalm narrating in four stanzas Davids desire to be afrmed as king and to transfer the ark-throne of the Lord to Zion. In vv. 15, David swears to provide a dwelling
place for the Lord; in vv. 610, the ark is found and taken solemnly to Jerusalem; in vv. 1113, the Lord swears to
give David an eternal dynasty and raties the choice of Zion; vv. 1418 arm and expand these choices. Each of
the four stanzas has ve couplets and each contains the name David; the last line of each stanza is linked to
the rst line of the following stanza by word repetition (nd/found in vv. 5 and 6; David in vv. 10 and 11; desired in vv. 13 and 14). In both structure and content, it is quite atypical of the Songs of Ascents (see Ps 120n.).
25: An extensive elaboration of 2 Sam 7.2. 2: The Mighty One of Jacob (also v. 5), see Gen 49.24; Isa 1.24; 49.26.
610: The singer asks that the Lord allow the ark to be transferred to Zion (vv. 69) and that he support David
(v. 10; cf. v. 1). 67: A poetic version of the discovery of the ark of the covenant, the visible symbol of Gods presence, and its transfer to Jerusalem; cf. 2 Sam 6. 6: Ephrathah, near Bethlehem, in Judah. Jaar, a variant of Kiriathjearim (1 Sam 7.12). 7: The ark was the footstool component of the divine cherubim throne; cf. Ps 99.5. 8: Cf.
Num 10.3536. 1114: The rst request is answered in vv. 1112 and the second in vv. 1314. This is a paraphrase
of 1 Sam 7.517, though that passage (like Ps 89.2837) makes an unconditional promise of dynasty to David,
while in this psalm (v. 12: If your sons) it is conditional. The choice of Zion, however, is presented as uncondi-
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psalm 133
If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, forevermore,
shall sit on your throne.
For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his habitation:
This is my resting place forever;
here I will reside, for I have desired it.
I will abundantly bless its provisions;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
and its faithful will shout for joy.
There I will cause a horn to sprout up for
David;
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed
one.
His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,
but on him, his crown will gleam.
Psalm 133
A Song of Ascents.
How very good and pleasant it is

when kindred live together in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his
robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
life forevermore.
Psalm 134
A Song of Ascents.
Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of

the Lord,
who stand by night in the house of the
Lord!
Lift up your hands to the holy place,
and bless the Lord.
May the Lord, maker of heaven and
earth,
bless you from Zion.
Psalm 135
Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
give praise, Oservants of the Lord,
you that stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to his name, for he is gracious.
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his own possession.
tional and eternal (v. 14: This is my resting place forever). 17: Horn, a symbol of strength. Lamp, cf. 2 Sam 21.17.
Ps 133: The divine gi% of unity. A song of Zion like several Songs of Ascents (Pss 122; 125; 128; 129; 132; see Ps
120n.). Like them, it has step-parallelism: running down three times in vv. 23 (NRSV falls down in v. 3). Like
Ps 122, it celebrates Jerusalem as the place where the tribes of Israel happily gather on holy days. The famous
rst line of Ps 133 recalls Ps 122.4. The references to Aaron and Zion, although somewhat obscure, connect it to
the previous psalm. 2: Oil was used for washing in antiquity, and in the ordination rite of priests (Lev 8.12) and
thus stirs thoughts of joyous Temple celebrations that bring the community together. The abundance of oil in
the ceremonies evokes the plentiful dew of Mount Herman in the north that was so important in the agricultural life of Israel, especially in the dry summer months.
Ps 134: Come, bless the Lord. The nal Song of Ascents (see Ps 120n.) is a blessing, similar to the blessings
concluding each of the ve books of the Psalms. It mentions themes prominent in the collection such as the
Temple in Zion and its ceremonies. It is also similar to the opening and closing of the following psalm. The
repeated invitation Bless the Lord and the response to it in v. 3 provides structure. 1: It is uncertain exactly
which group is meant by all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord! 2: Liing up . . .
hands was the position of prayer in antiquity.
Ps 135: Praise of the Lord who brought Israel to its land. A hymn praising the Lord the creator for defeating
Pharaoh and the nations who held the land intended for Israel. It forms a pair with Ps 136. The psalm has drawn
heavily on earlier tradition (e.g., v. 4 from Deut 7.6; v. 7 from Jer 10.13). These borrowings, late linguistic features,
and the aack on images (vv. 1518) were characteristic of postexilic times when the concept of authoritative
scripture was developing. Ps 135 has a concentric or sandwich structure: Praise the Lord / Blessed is the Lord
is the frame (vv. 1a, 21b), within which vv. 1b4 match 1920, and vv. 57 match 1518; the center is vv. 814,
which describe the Lords great acts on behalf of Israel. 4: Possession, Heb segullah, something treasured and
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psalm 136
For I know that the Lord is great;
our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the Lord pleases he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
He it is who makes the clouds rise at the
end of the earth;
he makes lightnings for the rain
and brings out the wind from his
storehouses.
He it was who struck down the rstborn
of Egypt,
both human beings and animals;
he sent signs and wonders
into your midst, OEgypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan
and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
Your name, OLord, endures forever,
your renown, OLord, throughout all
ages.
For the Lord will vindicate his people,
and have compassion on his servants.
The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but they do not

speak;
they have eyes, but they do not see;
they have ears, but they do not hear,
and there is no breath in their mouths.
Those who make them
and all who trust them
shall become like them.
Ohouse of Israel, bless the Lord!
Ohouse of Aaron, bless the Lord!
Ohouse of Levi, bless the Lord!
You that fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
he who resides in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 136
Ogive thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
Ogive thanks to the God of gods,
Ogive thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
who alone does great wonders,
who by understanding made the heavens,
who spread out the earth on the waters,
who made the great lights,
set apart (stashed) by a god or a king. 5: I know, a confession of faith like that in Ex 18.1011. Above all gods,
see Pss 29.1; 89.68. 67: Gods actions in nature are a preface to his actions in history; both illustrate Gods
immense power. Storehouses, cf. Ps 33.11; Job 38.22. 814: The great founding act of Israel was the Exodus, here
presented in two panels, as in Ps 114 linking Exodus and Conquest. The rst concerns Egypt (i.e., the Exodus
proper), and the second concerns the Transjordanian kings Sihon and Og, and the kingdoms of Canaan (i.e., the
Conquest). 8: See Ex 12.29. 9: A reference to the plagues; see Ex 7.3; Deut 6.22. 11: Sihon (king of the Amorites,
in central Transjordan) and Og (king of Bashan, in northern Transjordan), see Num 21.2135; Deut 2.243.7. 12:
Heritage, Canaan as a land that is to be inherited by successive generations of Israelites. 13: A restatement of Ex
3.15. 1518: Cf. Ps 115.411. 1920: Similar to and likely based on Ps 118.34.
Ps 136: Praise of the Lord who created the world and Israel. A hymn telling of the creation of the world and
of the Exodus and Conquest, the holy people designed to motivate Israel to give praise, and perhaps for God
to remember Israel in its low estate (v. 23), when it is persecuted and suers from famine (vv. 2425). Pss 135
and 136 share vocabulary and a similar view of sacred history, though Ps 136 uniquely preserves the antiphonal
reply for his steadfast love endures forever (26 times), which was frequently used in ritual in the postexilic
period (see Ezra 3.11; 1 Chr 16.34; Ps 118.14). 13: Give thanks to the Lord/God (vv. 13,26) opens and closes Ps
136 and also Ps 118 (vv. 1,29), suggesting that Pss 113118 and 135136 were meant to frame the Songs of Ascents
(Pss 120134). As the psalm progresses, each new stage of divine activity is introduced by the participle form of
the verb (vv. 4a, 5a, 6a, 7a, 10a, 13a, 16a, and 17a). The psalm narrates a single series of divine actions, beginning
hebrew bible | 883
psalm 137
the sun to rule over the day,
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
who struck Egypt through their
rstborn,
and brought Israel out from among them,
with a strong hand and an outstretched
arm,
who divided the Red Seaa in two,
and made Israel pass through the midst
of it,
but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in
the Red Sea,a
who led his people through the wilderness,
who struck down great kings,
and killed famous kings,
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his servant Israel,
It is he who remembered us in our low

estate,
and rescued us from our foes,
who gives food to all esh,
Ogive thanks to the God of heaven,
Psalm 137
By the rivers of Babylon
there we sat down and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the willowsb there
we hung up our harps.
For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
Sing us one of the songs of Zion!
How could we sing the Lords song
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, OJerusalem,
let my right hand wither!
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my
mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy.
a Or Sea of Reeds
b Or poplars
with creation and ending with deliverance and guidance into the land. 79: Cf. Gen 1.16. 1014: Like Ps 135, Ps
136 sees the Exodus primarily as two events: liberation through defeating Pharaoh in Egypt (vv. 1014) and the
giving of land through overcoming kings in Transjordan and Canaan (vv. 1722). 1920: Sihon . . . and Og, see Ps
135.11n. 2325: Changes in syntax and grammatical person (from third to second person) indicate the shi from
recital of the past to speaking of Israel dwelling in the land of Canaan. In Canaan, God still wondrously protects
and feeds the people.
Ps 137: A lament over destroyed Jerusalem. A community petition that complains vigorously of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 bce. The rst stanza (vv. 13) is framed by Zion, the second (vv.
46) by Jerusalem, and the third, a cry for justice against Edom and Babylon, the enemies responsible for the
destruction. Although the last stanza is repugnant to modern readers and is oen omied in modern uses of
the psalm, one must understand it as the cry of one singer who feels acutely the dishonor inicted by an arrogant empire and its helpers. 1: Rivers, irrigation canals. 3: Mirth, to be understood as songs of joy, abstract for
concrete. Such songs (e.g., Pss 46; 48; 76; 84; 122) told of the grandeur of Zion where the Lord defeated enemy
kings and dwelled in the midst of Israel. It is humiliating to sing them now, especially to people who laugh at
them. 5: Wordplay: the Heb word shakah
. is a homonym for two dierent verbs, to forget and to wither.
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psalm 139
Remember, OLord, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalems fall,
how they said, Tear it down! Tear it down!
Down to its foundations!
Odaughter Babylon, you devastator!a
Happy shall they be who pay you back
what you have done to us!
Happy shall they be who take your little
ones
and dash them against the rock!
Psalm 138
Of David.
I give you thanks, OLord, with my whole

heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your
steadfast love and your faithfulness;
for you have exalted your name and
your word
above everything.b
On the day I called, you answered me,
you increased my strength of soul.c
All the kings of the earth shall praise you,
OLord,
for they have heard the words of your
mouth.
They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, he regards
the lowly;
but the haughty he perceives from far
away.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

you preserve me against the wrath of
my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulll his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, OLord, endures
forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Psalm 139
OLord, you have searched me and

known me.
You know when I sit down and when I
rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying
down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
OLord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I ee from your
presence?
a Or you who are devastated
b Cn: Heb you have exalted your word above all your
name
c Syr Compare Gk Tg: Heb you made me arrogant in

my soul with strength
56: Hand and tongue are the means of making music. 7: Edom, south of the Dead Sea, Edom was an ally in the
Babylonian destruction of the city (Lam 4.21; Ezek 25.1214; 36.5; Obad 814). 8: Babylon, by poetic justice, it will
suer what it forced others to suer.
Ps 138: From personal to universal thanks. An individual thanksgiving that gives thanks for a rescue (vv.
13), invites the kings of the world to oer their praise (vv. 46), and asserts condence in the Lords future
protection (vv. 78). The rst in a collection of David psalms (Pss 138145). 1: Before the gods, either the heavenly
beings who serve in the court of the Most High God (see Ps 29.1n.), or the gods of the kings mentioned in vv.
46. 3: Going beyond a conventional thanksgiving; the psalmist seems to give thanks for protection throughout life. 45: So wonderful has been Gods protection that kings, representing the nations, should oer praise
(cf. Pss 67.35; 126.2). Exactly what is meant by the words of your mouth is unclear. 8: As v. 3 sums up the psalmists past relationship, this verse sums up the psalmists hope that the relationship will continue.
Ps 139: A request for guidance from a powerful God. Oen classed as an individual petition, this poem is
unique, recording an individuals experience of God, rst as an intimidating outsider (vv. 112), and then as a
nurturing insider (vv. 1318). Only aer experiencing the range of Gods power and beauty does the psalmist
comprehend his or her own place and the malice of sin (vv. 1924). 2: Sit down . . . rise up, i.e., always; a merism,
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psalm 140
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the
sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover
me,
and the light around me become
night,
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For it was you who formed my inward
parts;
you knit me together in my mothers
womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the
earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed
substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts,
OGod!
How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count themthey are more than

the sand;
I come to the endaI am still with you.
Othat you would kill the wicked, OGod,
and that the bloodthirsty would depart
from me
those who speak of you maliciously,
and lift themselves up against you for
evil!b
Do I not hate those who hate you,
OLord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up
against you?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
Search me, OGod, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wickedc way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.d
Psalm 140
Deliver me, OLord, from evildoers;

protect me from those who are violent,
who plan evil things in their minds
and stir up wars continually.
They make their tongue sharp as a snakes,
and under their lips is the venom of
vipers.
Selah
a
b
c
d
Or I awake
Heb hurtful
Or the ancient way. Compare Jer 6.16
in which the ends of a spectrum represent the entire spectrum. 9: The wings of the morning, if I leave at dawn. 8:
Sheol, the underworld, the abode of the dead. 13: For it was you, beer It was surely you. The perspective suddenly shis from outside to inside as the psalmist realizes that the divine power that seemed to loom over life
and constrict it (vv. 112) also gives life and shapes it in the maternal womb. Delicacy, growth, and maternal
involvement are also Gods work. 14: I am . . . wonderfully made, the psalmists own creation is as wondrous as
the other great deeds of the Lord (e.g., Pss 65.5; 106.22; 145.6). 18: I am still with you, no longer feeling alone
and judged, the psalmist knows God is near and has been so from the beginning. Gods great power and omnipresence (vv. 112) are complemented by nearness and personal care (vv. 1318). 1924: The psalmists solidarity
with God, whom he asks for protection from his wicked enemies.
Ps 140: Petition, complaint, and hope. An individual petition that helps the suerer move from pain to
peaceful hope. NRSV correctly marks the stanzas: vv. 13,45,68,911,1213 on the basis of their syntax, content, and word count. Vv. 13 and 45 are paired by their syntax, each beginning with similar petitions and
descriptions of enemies (Protect me from those who are violent, who plan . . .), and each section ends with
Selah, which typically marks a disjunction (see Ps 3.2n.). Vv. 68 are distinct by their initial verb I say and
assertions of loyalty to the Lord. Vv. 911 reverse the order of previous sections by beginning with a complaint
(v. 9a) and ending with a petition (vv. 9b11). The nal section, vv. 1213, the statement of trust, is marked by
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psalm 141
Guard me, OLord, from the hands of the
wicked;
protect me from the violent
who have planned my downfall.
The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread
a net,a
along the road they have set snares
for me.
Selah
I say to the Lord, You are my God;
give ear, OLord, to the voice of my
supplications.
OLord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
you have covered my head in the day of
battle.
Do not grant, OLord, the desires of the
wicked;
Selah
do not further their evil plot.b
Those who surround me lift up their
heads;c
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm
them!
Let burning coals fall on them!
Let them be ung into pits, no more to
rise!
Do not let the slanderer be established in
the land;
let evil speedily hunt down the
violent!
I know that the Lord maintains the
cause of the needy,
and executes justice for the poor.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to
your name;
the upright shall live in your
presence.
Psalm 141
A Psalm of David.
I call upon you, OLord; come quickly to

me;
give ear to my voice when I call to you.
Let my prayer be counted as incense
before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as an
evening sacrice.
Set a guard over my mouth, OLord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not turn my heart to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with those who work
iniquity;
do not let me eat of their delicacies.
Let the righteous strike me;
let the faithful correct me.
Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my
head,d
for my prayer is continuallye against
their wicked deeds.
When they are given over to those who
shall condemn them,
then they shall learn that my words
were pleasant.
Like a rock that one breaks apart and
shatters on the land,
a Or they have spread cords as a net

b Heb adds they are exalted
c Cn Compare Gk: Heb those who surround me
are uplifted in head; Heb divides verses 8 and 9
dierently
d Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
e Cn: Heb for continually and my prayer
its initial verb I know. 6: I say, shis from petition to confession that the Lord has been loyal in the past. 7: You
have covered my head, you protected my head. 12: I know, shis back from petition to confession (as in v. 6),
arming Gods delity as in Jon 4.2; Pss 20.6; 56.9; 135.5. The psalmist wants to be counted among the needy
and poor whom the Lord always helps. 13: Surely emphasizes the psalmists triumphant hope that the righteous
will be rescued.
Ps 141: Save me from my own evil impulses and from evil companions. An individual petition. Vv. 12 ask
God to give special aention to the psalmists plea, and vv. 34 beg to be kept from sin and evil companions
(vv. 34). Vv. 57 are textually uncertain. Vv. 810 express total trust in God and hope of future protection. 2: As
incense before you, according to Ex 30.6, priests oered incense every morning, and according to Ex 29.3842,
the evening sacrice was burned at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 3: My mouth, in the Bible, the most
expressive human organ is the mouth, for words reveal the inner self, the heart. Acknowledging the perversity
of the human heart (cf. Jer 17.5; 23.17), the psalmist asks God to purify that vital organ (cf. Ps 51.10). 4: Eat of their
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psalm 142
so shall their bones be strewn at the
mouth of Sheol.a
But my eyes are turned toward you,
OGod, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; do not leave me
defenseless.
Keep me from the trap that they have laid
for me,
and from the snares of evildoers.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I alone escape.
Psalm 142
A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave.
A Prayer.
With my voice I cry to the Lord;

with my voice I make supplication to
the Lord.
I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
When my spirit is faint,
you know my way.
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
Look on my right hand and see
there is no one who takes notice
of me;
no refuge remains to me;

no one cares for me.
I cry to you, OLord;
I say, You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.
Give heed to my cry,
for I am brought very low.
Save me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
Bring me out of prison,
so that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.
Psalm 143
A Psalm of David.
Hear my prayer, OLord;

give ear to my supplications in your
faithfulness;
answer me in your righteousness.
Do not enter into judgment with your
servant,
for no one living is righteous before
you.
a Meaning of Heb of verses 5-7 is uncertain
delicacies, share their fellowship; cf. Ps 41.9. 7: Some scholars suggest that the words Like a rock that one breaks
apart and shaers on the land were accompanied with the ritual shaering of a rock. Sheol, the underworld, the
abode of the dead. 10: See Ps 7.1516n.
Ps 142: Prayer of a friendless person for Gods help. An individual petition that proceeds in two stages: the
rst stage (vv. 14) simply lists the peril and danger and declares there is no one else to turn to, and the second
(vv. 57), with more condence, calls God my refuge, my portion in the land of the living (v. 5) and promises
praise. Superscription: Maskil, a technical term of uncertain signicance. In the cave, most likely referring to the
story of David eeing from Saul (1 Sam 24). 4: Loyal friends customarily stood at ones right hand (Ps 109.31),
but no one is there for the psalmist. 5: For the rst time, the psalmist addresses God, using two impressive
metaphors that illustrate Gods ability to help at this time of crisis. Refuge is elsewhere parallel to mighty rock
(Pss 62.7; 91.2; 94.22). Portion means a share in land (cf. Josh 18.5,6,9), which in that agrarian society was the
source of food and clothing. You are . . . my portion, cf. Num 18.20. 7: As a motivation for divine help, so that I
may give thanks to your name is similar to Ps 86.12; these psalmists assume that God wants to be thanked, and
this motivates divine behavior.
Ps 143: A plea that God would act out of delity to a loyal servant. An individual petition that requests
divine aention and deliverance from enemies, insisting that no person is righteous before God. It is one of the
seven penitential psalms in Christian tradition (Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143). Though old material has been recycled, Ps 143 is unique, establishing the idea that dealings with God must be based on divine faithfulness and
righteousness (vv. 12, 10c12), rather than on human actions. The poetic structure is not easy to determine.
I remember in v. 5 changes the topic from petition to remembering past times. Verse 7 clearly begins a new
section, for each verse in vv. 710a begins with a verb in the imperative mood. The nal section, vv. 10b12, is
indicated by a shi in syntax: all the verbs except the last are placed at or near the end of the colon (unit). 5:
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psalm 144
For the enemy has pursued me,
crushing my life to the ground,
making me sit in darkness like those
long dead.
Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.
I remember the days of old,
I think about all your deeds,
I meditate on the works of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched
land.
Selah
Answer me quickly, OLord;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I shall be like those who go down to
the Pit.
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the
morning,
for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
Save me, OLord, from my enemies;
I have ed to you for refuge.a
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me
on a level path.
For your names sake, OLord, preserve
my life.
In your righteousness bring me out of
trouble.
In your steadfast love cut o my enemies,
and destroy all my adversaries,
for I am your servant.
Psalm 144
Of David.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock,

who trains my hands for war, and my
ngers for battle;
my rockb and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues the peoplesc under
me.
OLord, what are human beings that you
regard them,
or mortals that you think of them?
They are like a breath;
their days are like a passing shadow.
Bow your heavens, OLord, and come
down;
touch the mountains so that they
smoke.
Make the lightning ash and scatter
them;
send out your arrows and rout
them.
Stretch out your hand from on high;
set me free and rescue me from the
mighty waters,
from the hand of aliens,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.
I will sing a new song to you, OGod;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play
to you,
a One Heb Ms Gk: MT to you I have hidden
b With 18.2 and 2Sam 22.2: Heb my steadfast love
c Heb Mss Syr Aquila Jerome: MT my people
The days of old refers to Gods great actions in creation and history; see Ps 77.1112. 6: Thirsts, see Pss 42.1; 63.1.
Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 7: Do not hide your face from me refers to the idea that God on occasion, for no reason, ignores
innocent supplicants. The Pit, a synonym for Sheol, the abode of the dead. 8: Morning was an especially propitious time for a good judgment (see Ps 90.14). 11: Since the psalmist is assuming a relationship with God that
depends on divine mercy rather than fair judgment of human actions, he evokes Gods name (reputation), as in
some prophetic literature (e.g., Ezek 20.9) and some psalms (e.g., 23.3).
Ps 144: A royal request for divine assistance. A psalm in which an individual, possibly the king, asks for
divine assistance and general peace and security. The manner in which this late psalm quotes other psalms
makes it especially dicult to interpret. 1: Blessed be the Lord, a formula for praising God for a benecial act, in
this case for equipping the supplicant, possibly to wage war. 3: Cf. Ps 8.4; Job 7.17. 4: Cf. Pss 102.11; 109.23. 5: The
beginning of the verse is taken from 2 Sam 22.10=Ps 18.10. 7: Mighty waters . . . the hand of aliens, a mixture of
cosmic language and historic language, the rst referring to the waters of chaos and the second to the human
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psalm 145
the one who gives victory to kings,
who rescues his servant David.
Rescue me from the cruel sword,
and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.
May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars,
cut for the building of a palace.
May our barns be lled,
with produce of every kind;
may our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our elds,
and may our cattle be heavy with
young.
May there be no breach in the walls,a no exile,
and no cry of distress in our streets.
Happy are the people to whom such
blessings fall;
happy are the people whose God is the
Lord.
Psalm 145
Praise. Of David.
I will extol you, my God and King,

and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be
praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall laud your works to

another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will
meditate.
The might of your awesome deeds shall
be proclaimed,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall celebrate the fame of your
abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of your
righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he
has made.
All your works shall give thanks to you,
OLord,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your
kingdom,
and tell of your power,
to make known to all people yourb
mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of yourc
kingdom.
a Heb lacks in the walls
b Gk Jerome Syr: Heb his
c Heb his
agents of chaotic forces. 910: King David was a famous poet and musician; see 1 Sam 16.18; 2 Sam 1.17. 1215:
In an agrarian society, political peace and agricultural fertility go together; this psalm seems to assume a period
of distress. This blessing that the psalmist requests would be suitable for a royal psalm since the king protects
the land from invaders and blesses its fertility (cf. Ps 72.37).
Ps 145: Praise of the goodness of the Lord the king. A hymn ending the Davidic collection (Pss 138145)
and preparing for the hymns (Pss 146150) that conclude the Psalms in a symphony of praise. This psalm too is
an acrostic (see Ps 910n.), although the fourteenth leer (nun) is missing in the Hebrew text. The singers
own voice is prominent: I will extol you, my God (vv. 12) and My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord
(v. 21). In vv. 37, one generation tells the next of the acts of the Lord. V. 8, the Lord is gracious and merciful,
emphasizes the loving governance behind those acts (vv. 1113) and the generosity toward human beings (vv.
1020). The nal verse (v. 21) reprises the rst. 1: My . . . King, most of the aributes mentioned in the psalm are
connected to royalty; this initial reference also points forward to the four occurrences of kingdom in vv. 1113.
2: Your name, your presence. 4: One generation shall laud your works to another, like the process of education in
Ps 78.4 (cf. Ex 13.8,14; Deut 6.20). The children experience the eects of the mighty deeds of old that are constantly renewed. 5: Glory, splendor and majesty are royal qualities that God as king possesses. 8: Citation of the
divine aributes in Ex 34.6. 11: Your kingdom, occurs four times at the psalms center in vv. 1113. The contexts
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psalm 147
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout
all generations.
When their breath departs, they return to

the earth;
on that very day their plans perish.
The Lord is faithful in all his words,

and gracious in all his deeds.a
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due
season.
You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fullls the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
Happy are those whose help is the God

of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the
oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and all esh will bless his holy name
forever and ever.
Psalm 146
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, Omy soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life
long.
Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortals, in whom there is no help.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed
down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to
ruin.
The Lord will reign forever,
your God, OZion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 147
Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
for he is gracious, and a song of praise
is tting.
a These two lines supplied by Q Ms Gk Syr
make clear that the word means active rule, reigning, rather than static kingdom. 13: Cf. Dan 4.3. 1416: Cf. Pss
104.27; 146.78. 1718: The word all appears twice in each of these verses, and another three times before the
psalm concludes, for a total of seventeen times, emphasizing Gods incomparability.
Ps 146: Praise of the Lord, savior of the downtrodden. A hymn, like Pss 147150; together, these ve psalms
form the concluding doxology to the entire book of Psalms. Each of these hymns begins and ends with Hallelujah (traditionally translated Praise the Lord). The singer in Ps 146 engages in an inner dialogue (O my
soul! v. 1b) before addressing the community in v. 3. Such reection enables the singer to appreciate the vanity
of human resources (vv. 34) and the compassion of the Lords governance of the world (vv. 59). 5: In contrast
to placing ones hopes in human helpers, weak and mortal (vv. 34), the psalmists hopes are in the Lord, already covenanted to Israel, the powerful and just creator and judge (vv. 67). 6: Who made heaven and earth, see
Ps 124.8n. 79: All the Lords actions here are rescues of beleaguered individuals, inspiring the psalmist to hope
and praise for rescues in the future. 9: Gods justice is complete; the way of the wicked he brings to ruin, before
their plans reach fruition. 10: These aspects of Godcreator, righteous judgeare related to his kingship,
mentioned explicitly only in the nal verse. This connects Pss 145 and 146.
Ps 147: Praise the Lord who restores Jerusalem. The second of the ve hymns concluding the Psalms. Each
of its three sections (vv. 16, 711, and 1220) begins with an invitation in the imperative to praise the Lord and
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psalm 148
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
he casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre.
He covers the heavens with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the animals their food,
and to the young ravens when they cry.
His delight is not in the strength of the
horse,
nor his pleasure in the speed of a
runner;a
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who
fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Praise the Lord, OJerusalem!
Praise your God, OZion!
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
He grants peaceb within your borders;
he lls you with the nest of wheat.
He sends out his command to the

earth;
his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down hail like crumbs
who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow, and the waters
ow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
He has not dealt thus with any other
nation;
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 148
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
a Heb legs of a person

b Or prosperity
lists the divine acts for which praise is to be given. Vv. 16 cite the Lords restoration of Jerusalem and gathering of exiles; vv. 711 cite the Lords control of fertility for the nurture of humans, and vv. 1220 cite the Lords
gi to Israel of his powerful word. Wrien for a scaered, malnourished, and demoralized people, most likely
in the exilic or postexilic period, the psalm teaches them how to see divine purpose and give thanks. 4: He
determines the number of the stars, creating the heavens and rebuilding Zion are parallel works as in Isa 51.16, for
God ensures that the original creation continues. The psalm interprets creation in the manner of Isaiah 4055.
711: Again directing creation to benet Israel, God promises to restore the devastated lands to provide food.
7: It is unclear if thanksgiving is a sacrice or verbal thanks. 15: His word, vv. 1520 have seven terms for the
word of God, some repeated: command, word, statutes, ordinances. 1920: The Lord spoke his word at Sinai and
aerward. It made Israel distinctive then (Deut 4.58) and does so now, for God has not dealt thus with any other
nation (v. 20a). The Torah here is recognized as Israels special gi (his ordinances) from God.
Ps 148: Let heaven and earth praise the Lord. The third of the hymns that make up the doxology concluding
the Psalms. More formal than the two preceding psalms, it employs the verb to praise twelve times, Lord
four times, and the name (of the Lord) three times; it is neatly composed of two almost equal panels, vv.
16, introduced by Praise the Lord from the heavens, and vv. 714, introduced by Praise the Lord from the
earth. Unlike other hymns, it focuses on the groups invited to praise, the inhabitants of heaven (vv. 14), and
the inhabitants of earth (vv. 712). The divine acts meriting praise are mentioned only briey: for the rst group
(vv. 56), the motive for giving praise is that the Lord created them and assigned them all their tasks); for the
second (v. 13), the motive is that the Lords name and glory are exalted above heaven and earth. 3: This may
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psalm 149
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were
created.
He established them forever and ever;
he xed their bounds, which cannot be
passed.a
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
re and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fullling his command!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and ying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his
people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close
to him.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 149
Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the
faithful.
Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their
King.
Let them praise his name with
dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine
and lyre.
For the Lord takes pleasure in his
people;
he adorns the humble with victory.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their couches.
Let the high praises of God be in their
throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,
to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
to bind their kings with fetters
and their nobles with chains of iron,
to execute on them the judgment
decreed.
This is glory for all his faithful ones.
Praise the Lord!
a Or he set a law that cannot pass away
recall other ancient cultures, in which astral bodies were deities. 5: For he commanded and they were created, the
psalm recognizes here and elsewhere the orderly Priestly story of creation by word in Gen 1, emphasizing that
God continues to have this role in the universe. 78: Somewhat autonomous deities in surrounding cultures,
but under Gods strict control here. 14: A horn for his people, a symbol of strength.
Ps 149: Praise for Israels task in the world. This fourth hymn in the series of ve concluding the Psalms may
disturb readers with its apparent call to vengeance against foreigners. Ps 149 develops the ideas of two psalms,
the immediately preceding Ps 148, which singles out Israel as having a mission to proclaim the supremacy of the
Lord to the nations (Ps 148.14), and Ps 2 (second from the beginning as Ps 149 is second from the last) in which
the Davidic king is given authority to subdue the nations. Ps 149 transposes the royal role of Ps 2 to the entire
nation (as in Isa 55.3). Ps 149 has two stanzas, vv. 14 and 59, the rst inviting praise for the Lords victory and
second equating that praise metaphorically with weapons of war against the rebellious kings. 1: New song, as in
Isa 42.10 and other psalms (e.g., 33.3; 96.1; 98.1); here in response to creation, for Israel is glad in its Maker (v. 2);
the act establishes the kingship of the Lord. In the previous psalm, God as king is creating the universe, while
here he creates Israel. 5: On their couches, symbolizes private (in contrast to public) expression as in Pss 4.4;
6.6; 36.4; Hos 7.14. 6: Wielding a sword (and the other military actions in vv. 79) is a metaphor for proclaiming
the Lords sovereignty over kings and nations. The conjunction and makes the statements of v. 6a and 6b into
a comparison: praising God is like wielding a sword. Israel has the task of embodying divine sovereignty and
rendering it visible in the world. This unmasks false gods and invites the nations to join in Gods praise and
recognition of Israel. 7: Vengeance, best rendered retribution for the kings refusal to recognize their true
suzerain. 9: Judgment decreed, the ultimate triumph of the Lord.
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psalm 150
Psalm 150
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty rmament!a
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his surpassing
greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;

praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that breathes praise the
Lord!
Praise the Lord!
a Or dome
Ps 150: Climactic praise for the Lords total sovereignty. The last of the nal ve hymns ending the Psalms.
All the verses except the nal one (v. 6) begin with the same verb in the imperative mood: Praise him . . . ! The
verb occurs thirteen times in this nal outburst of praise. Each of the rst four books of the Psalms ends with
a one- or two-verse doxology (Pss 41.13; 72.1819; 89.52; 106.48), and it is ing that a whole poem be the nal
doxology that notes where (v. 1), why (v. 2), and how (vv. 35) God should be praised. The invitatory extends
throughout the whole poem; the poem is one long invitation to give praise. The group summoned to give
praise, whom most psalms name almost immediately, is not revealed until the end, and it is vast: everything
that breathes (v. 6). It goes beyond Israel to the entire human race, even to animals. The vast reach of the poem
is a reminder that the call of one people is made in view of Gods commitment to all.
PROVERBS
name and place in canon
In Jewish tradition the Proverbs of Solomon (Heb mishle shelomoh), shortened to Proverbs (mishle), is found in
the third division of the canon, the Writings, grouped with Psalms and Job. The order of the books varies in
early manuscripts, with Proverbs either aer Psalms and Job or sandwiched between them. In Christian Bibles,
Proverbs is one of the poetical and wisdom books and is placed between Psalms and Ecclesiastes.
authorship
The book of Proverbs is traditionally aributed to King Solomon (1.1; 10.1; 25.1), who ruled in the mid-tenth
century bce. Although he had a reputation for wisdom (1 Kings 4.2934), it is unlikely that this is more than a
general aribution to lend authority to the collection. The proverbs in the main section (10.122.16) have the
character of folk wisdom, generated in an oral culture and passed down over many generations. At some point
in the preexilic period they were collected and wrien down, a process that may have taken place at the hands
of sages or scribes at the court of a king such as Solomon or Hezekiah (715687 bce), who is mentioned in 25.1.
Later sections, such as chs 19, were probably added by scribes in the aempt to bring the collection together.
literary history and dating

The book of Proverbs is a composite, consisting of several dierent collections dating from dierent periods
and most likely with dierent authors. Proverbs 10.122.16 (The proverbs of Solomon) is the main sayings collection and probably the oldest. Proverbs 2529 forms a distinct unit of further proverbial material, with some
repeats from the main collection (e.g., 21.9 = 25.24) and is dated to the time of Hezekiah. Proverbs 22.1724.34
(The words of the wise) is also a separate collection, which has close connections with an Egyptian wisdom text The Instruction of Amenemope. This Egyptian text, which dates to ca. 1100 bce, was copied by
schoolchildren learning to read and write. Proverbs 22.1723.11 especially may contain evidence of copying from
Amenemope, suggesting a school context for at least part of the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 2529 (Proverbs
of Solomon that the ocials of King Hezekiah of Judah copied) is another distinct unit, with some repetitions
from the main collection (e.g., 21.9 = 25.24). There are two aributions at the end of the book, to Agur (30.1)
and Lemuel (31.1), conrming that Proverbs is essentially a collection of collections. Finally, Proverbs 19, which
opens the book, is oen regarded as its latest part, with a more advanced theology and reection on the nature
of the wisdom, although it no doubt contains older material.
The complex stages of oral and literary development make it dicult to situate the book historically. The
major sayings collections are likely preexilic, wrien down in the ninth or eighth century bce. Other sections,
such as chs 19, are later, probably from the exilic or early postexilic period, the sixth and h centuries bce.
The book as a whole probably was shaped in the early postexilic period.
contents and interpretation

In chs 19, Proverbs presents itself as a handbook of the experience of others designed to oer insight and
guidance to any, but especially the young, who seek its advice. The purpose of the book is set out in the introduction (1.27), which mentions learning about wisdom and instruction. Instruction refers both to the
educational role of this teaching and to a genre of literature paralleled in Egypt and found in Proverbs 19, that
of instruction from father and mother to child (1.8; 4.14; 6.2021). There is a moral dimension to this teaching,
which includes learning about righteousness, justice, and equity (1.3, terms familiar from elsewhere in the Bible), accompanied by a highly practical purpose which includes shrewdness, knowledge, and prudence (1.4).
At the climax of the introduction to Proverbs is the idea that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (1.7; cf. 9.10; 15.33), a sentiment that introduces the divine dimension to the apparently human quest for
wisdom. In this phrase is the recognition that at the beginning and end of the quest stands God, who is the
author of all wisdom and understanding. Although only a part of this is accessible to human beings (16.12,9;
21.30), the person who seeks wisdom will truly gain insight by rst fearing the Lord. Wisdom, personied as
a woman in chs 19, is the mediator of that divine wisdom in her oer of its fruits to human beings (1.2033;
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proverbs
8.45; 9.56), leading them on the path to life (3.1618). The threat to the gaining of wisdom comes from her
antithesis, the strange woman (chs 2; 5; 7; 9) whose path leads to death (2.1819). Woman Wisdom is not just
the embodiment of the kind of woman any young man might seek as a wife, but she is also described in cosmic
terms as having been present with God during creation (8.2231). This depiction underscores the underlying
theological emphasis of the book of Proverbs on God as creator. God creates the world and sustains it; Woman
Wisdom delights in all that he has made (8.3031). God set up an order in the world and in society that can be
known by human beings through wisdom, an order that helps them to lead a virtuous, moral, successful life.
The rewards of wise living are longevity, ospring, wealth, the respect of others, and a fullled existence. This
rather simplistic view of behaving well, and hence automatically reaping wisdoms rewards, was challenged
by the later wisdom books of Job and Ecclesiastes, whose authors argue that experience teaches otherwise.
Although the NRSV translation my child opens up the audience to all seekers of wisdom, the Hebrew
actually reads my son, and the material is essentially addressed to men. They would have been the main
recipients of education in the home and in schools. However, this orientation is balanced by reference to the
mothers involvement in the teaching process (1.8; 6.20; cf. 31.1), by the gure of the ideal wife in 31.1031, and
by the two female gures of chs 19.
In the body of the book the main literary form for transmiing wisdom is the proverb (1.6), a pithy one- or
two-line saying that conveys truth by the use of comparison between unlike phenomena or parallel thoughts
that extend understanding. Proverbs occur in two main types: antithetical, and synonymous. Antithetical
proverbs provide a contrast in the second line, while synonymous proverbs use the second line to extend the
thought of the rst. The former type predominates in chs 1015, while the laer is more frequent from ch 16 onward. Interpreting proverbs is an intellectual discipline, not for the fool (26.7,9), and proverbs that are in tension
or even contradictory are sometimes juxtaposed (e.g., 17.2728; 26.45). For the most part the arrangement of
proverbs seems random, however, although there are some small thematic clusters (e.g., 25.17), and there is
some evidence of catchwords, plays on words, alliteration, and assonance in the Hebrew, which may have been
aides to memorization. The binary form of proverbs and their perspective on the world are related. There is
oen a stress on opposite types: the righteous and the wicked, the rich and the poor, the diligent and the lazy,
the patient person and the angry one, the restrained speaker and the gossip. This schematic organization of
types is matched by the view of divine retribution, whereby the good are rewarded and the wicked punished.
The authors of texts such as Ecclesiasticus (Sirach; early second century bce) and the Wisdom of Solomon
(rst century bce or rst century ce) were clearly familiar with Proverbs. For example, Sirach 24 rereads Proverbs
8 by identifying Wisdom with Torah; and the Wisdom of Solomon sees personied Wisdom as a hypostasis
of the Lord (e.g., Wis 7.22; 8.2). Fragments of Proverbs were found at Qumran, and a few previously unknown
wisdom texts seem to use its imagery (e.g., in 4Q185 the gure of Woman Folly from Prov 5; 7; 9 reappears).
Proverbs seems to have inuenced the rabbinic wisdom collection Pirqe Abot (The sayings of the Fathers) in
the Mishnah. Early Christians saw Jesus in part as a wisdom teacher (see especially the Q material in the Synoptic Gospels) and employed traditions about personied Wisdom to understand his identity and mission (e.g., Jn
1.118; Col 1.1520). The leer of James in the New Testament contains wisdom instruction, and its author exalts
wisdom from above (3.1318), echoing portrayals of Woman Wisdom in Proverbs.
guide to reading
Despite its heterogeneous nature, the book of Proverbs can be read from beginning to end. The beginning and
end of the book are formed by representations of two symbolically related women: personied wisdom (chs
19), and the woman of substance (31.1031) who is a human embodiment of Woman Wisdom. Thus, the
introductory chapters invite the reader to acquire wisdom. The body of the book provides sustained training
in the perceptiveness and values needed to become wise. And the conclusion portrays the fulllment of living
in wisdoms household.
It is equally appropriate, however, to read each of the dierent collections independently, appreciating
their distinct literary forms and tropes. Indeed, since there seldom seems to be an intentional order to the
proverbial sayings, readers may also ponder them individually, thinking about life contexts to which they are
applicable. The book of Proverbs invites multiple forms of reading.
Katharine Dell
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proverbs 1
The proverbs of Solomon son of David,

king of Israel:
For learning about wisdom and instruction,
for understanding words of insight,
for gaining instruction in wise dealing,
righteousness, justice, and equity;
to teach shrewdness to the simple,
knowledge and prudence to the
young
let the wise also hear and gain in
learning,
and the discerning acquire skill,
to understand a proverb and a gure,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Hear, my child, your fathers instruction,
and do not reject your mothers teaching;
for they are a fair garland for your head,
and pendants for your neck.
My child, if sinners entice you,

do not consent.
If they say, Come with us, let us lie in
wait for blood;
let us wantonly ambush the innocent;
like Sheol let us swallow them alive
and whole, like those who go down to
the Pit.
We shall nd all kinds of costly things;
we shall ll our houses with booty.
Throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse
my child, do not walk in their way,
keep your foot from their paths;
for their feet run to evil,
and they hurry to shed blood.
For in vain is the net baited
while the bird is looking on;
yet they lie in waitto kill themselves!
and set an ambushfor their own lives!
Such is the enda of all who are greedy for
gain;
a Gk: Heb are the ways
1.17: Introduction. 1: Solomon son of David, king of Israel, King Solomon, successor to his father, David (see
1 Kings 111) ruled a united kingdom of Israel in the mid-tenth century BCE. He is famed for his wisdom (1 Kings
4) and his role as Temple builder (1 Kings 6). The laer role is not mentioned here, nor is there much mention
of ritual activity in Proverbs. The aribution is probably pseudonymous, though Solomon may have coined
some proverbs. His court is a possible seing for the collection of proverbial material and may have witnessed
a time of cultural expansion and international connections. 26: The instructional purpose of the book; see
the Introduction. The address is to the simple and the young, but also to the wise who never cease the learning
process. 6: A proverb (see Introduction) . . . gure, an artistic saying or terse poem; riddles, enigmatic puzzles in
brief, concentrated form that challenge the reader to nd a solution. 7: The divine dimension. Fear of the Lord,
i.e., reverence and awe, is a prerequisite for wisdom (9.10; 15.33; 31.30b; Job 28.28; Ps 111.10; Sir 1.14). A contrast is
made here between God-fearers and fools, unlike the usual contrast between wise person and fool. Fools have
no desire to learn: they are not just unintelligent, but their conduct is unethical.
1.819: Parental warning against the enticements of sinners. 8: My child (lit. my son) could reect the
home educational situation or represent a student in a teacher/pupil relationship in a school seing. Father
and mother have parallel teaching roles within the family, at least in the childs early years. The term teaching
(Heb torah) refers here not to law specically (as frequently elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible) but to wisdom
instruction. It is signicant that the same term can refer to covenant law, which also contains ethical instruction (as in Deuteronomy). Sirach 24 identies the two. 9: Fair garland and pendants, wisdom instruction is oen
associated with adornment (cf. the portrayal of Woman Wisdom as beautifully adorned and yet more valuable
than costly jewels in ch 8). Here the metaphor means that the teaching should be an intimate part of one, as if
worn on head and neck (cf. 3.22; 4.9; 6.21; 7.3; Job 31.3536). 12: Sheol . . . the Pit, the abode of the dead (see also
5.5; 7.27; 9.18; 23.27; 27.30; 30.16). Cf. the depiction in Ugaritic mythology of Mot, the god of death, with a vast
throat stretching from earth to heaven into which he swallows his victims whole and alive. 15: Way . . . paths,
a frequently used image in Proverbs for a life course (e.g., 2.720; 3.6,17,23; 8.13,20; 11.5; 28.18). 16: Cf. Isa 59.7.
1718: The citation of a popular proverb, using animal imagery: if a bird is watching, there is no use in seing a
trap for it. Ironically, these wicked but stupid ambushers are both those who set the traps and those who fall
into them.
hebrew bible | 897
proverbs 2
it takes away the life of its
possessors.
Wisdom cries out in the street;
in the squares she raises her voice.
At the busiest corner she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she
speaks:
How long, Osimple ones, will you love
being simple?
How long will scoers delight in their
scong
and fools hate knowledge?
Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
I will make my words known to you.
Because I have called and you refused,
have stretched out my hand and no one
heeded,
and because you have ignored all my
counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,
when panic strikes you like a storm,
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon
you.
Then they will call upon me, but I will
not answer;
they will seek me diligently, but will not
nd me.
Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
would have none of my counsel,

and despised all my reproof,
therefore they shall eat the fruit of their
way
and be sated with their own devices.
For waywardness kills the simple,
and the complacency of fools destroys
them;
but those who listen to me will be secure
and will live at ease, without dread of
disaster.
My child, if you accept my words

and treasure up my commandments
within you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to
understanding;
if you indeed cry out for insight,
and raise your voice for
understanding;
if you seek it like silver,
and search for it as for hidden
treasures
then you will understand the fear of the
Lord
and nd the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and
understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the
upright;
he is a shield to those who walk
blamelessly,
1.2033: Wisdom personied as a prophet. Wisdom speaks out in the street, the squares, the busiest corner
and the city gates, i.e., the hub of city social life where legal decisions were oen made (cf. Ruth 4.1). This portrayal has many similarities to the prophetic role (v. 22, cf. Jer 4.14,21; v. 24, cf. Isa 65.2,12; 66.4; Jer 7.13,2427),
and contains a strong, reproving tone (vv. 2632). Listening and hearing are an important part of the pedagogical relationship in Proverbs. 22: The simple (see 1.4) can learn if inclined to do so, but scoers and fools are
generally beyond hope of instruction (1.7; 15.12; 26.3). 23: Reproof (Heb tokahat),
also translated as rebuke
.
and admonition, is a central part of wisdom instruction (e.g., 1.23,30; 3.11; 5.12; 12.1; 15.5,3132; 29.1). 3233:
The contrast between not listening to Wisdom and heeding her is drawn sharply in these verses: life or death,
security or disaster.
2.122: The advantages of following wisdom. This poem of 22 lines (the number of leers in the Hebrew alphabet) expresses the benets of following wisdom in contrast to succumbing to the enticements of a strange
woman (see v. 16n.) who is loose. The conditional aspect of reaping wisdoms rewards is stressed by the keyword if and a strong note of warning is sounded. 2: Heart denotes not only the seat of the emotions but also
the rational center of a person (i.e., the mind; see 4.23). 4: Wisdom is oen compared to silver or treasure or
other precious metals (3.1416; 8.1011,19; Job 28.1519); the inference is that both are hard to nd (hence hidden
treasures; contrast 8.15 where wisdoms treasures are openly oered). 5: Fear of the Lord, see 1.7n. 6: Wisdom
comes directly from the mouth of God (cf. Sir 24.3). Wis 7.25 makes the close identication of wisdom with God
898 | hebrew bible
proverbs 3
guarding the paths of justice
and preserving the way of his faithful
ones.
Then you will understand righteousness
and justice
and equity, every good path;
for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your
soul;
prudence will watch over you;
and understanding will guard you.
It will save you from the way of evil,
from those who speak perversely,
who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil;
those whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.
You will be saved from the loosea woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth
words,
who forsakes the partner of her youth
and forgets her sacred covenant;
for her wayb leads down to death,
and her paths to the shades;
those who go to her never come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.
Therefore walk in the way of the good,
and keep to the paths of the just.
For the upright will abide in the land,
and the innocent will remain in it;
but the wicked will be cut o from the
land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out

of it.
My child, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my
commandments;
for length of days and years of life
and abundant welfare they will give
you.
Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake

you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will nd favor and good repute
in the sight of God and of people.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be a healing for your esh
and a refreshment for your body.
Honor the Lord with your substance
and with the rst fruits of all your
produce;
then your barns will be lled with
plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with
wine.
a Heb strange
b Cn: Heb house
into a metaphysical claim. 8: Paths and way (see 1.15n.), a major theme of chs 19 is the choice between the path
of wisdom, and hence of life, or the path of the loose woman that leads to death (see nal summary in vv. 20
22). Paths of justice denotes the righteous behavior God requires. 9: Here the qualities listed in 1.3 are reiterated
and associated with every good path (i.e., a range of moral options one might take). 16: Loose, Heb zarah (lit.
strange, foreign); see 5.123n.; 7.5; 22.14. Adulteress, Heb nokriyyah (lit. alien or possibly foreign woman);
see 5.20; 6.24; 7.5; 23.27. These are parallel terms for the same woman who is essentially other and clearly
threatens marital life. 17: Sacred covenant (lit. covenant of her God) refers to marriage (cf. Mal 2.1016). 18: The
shades, the dead. 19: Never come back, the route to death is a one-way ticket (Job 7.9).
3.112: Instruction in the fear of the Lord. 2: Length of days and years of life, longevity is a gi of wisdom
(3.18; 8.25; 9.11). 3: Wisdoms values are to be worn around the neck as an amulet or ornament (cf. Deut 6.69 in
reference to the commandments of God), i.e., intimately and personally appropriated and wrien on the tablet
of your heart, i.e., memorized and internalized; cf. 3.22; 6.2021; 7.3. 5: Do not rely on your own insight, not an
anti-intellectual admonition but a warning against arrogance. 7b: See 1.7n. 8: In addition to being associated
with life (3.2n.) wisdom is also linked with health and healing (4.22; 12.18). 910: First fruits, see Ex 23.19; Deut
26.111. This is one of the few references in Proverbs to ritual practices (see also 7.14n.). Honoring God in this
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proverbs 3
My child, do not despise the Lords
discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
for the Lord reproves the one he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.
Happy are those who nd wisdom,
and those who get understanding,
for her income is better than silver,
and her revenue better than gold.
She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare
with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who lay hold
of her;
those who hold her fast are called
happy.
The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
by understanding he established the
heavens;
by his knowledge the deeps broke open,
and the clouds drop down the dew.
My child, do not let these escape from
your sight:
keep sound wisdom and prudence,
and they will be life for your soul
and adornment for your neck.
Then you will walk on your way securely

and your foot will not stumble.
If you sit down,a you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be
sweet.
Do not be afraid of sudden panic,
or of the storm that strikes the wicked;
for the Lord will be your condence
and will keep your foot from being
caught.
Do not withhold good from those to
whom it is due,b
when it is in your power to do it.
Do not say to your neighbor, Go, and
come again,
tomorrow I will give itwhen you
have it with you.
Do not plan harm against your
neighbor
who lives trustingly beside you.
Do not quarrel with anyone without
cause,
when no harm has been done to you.
Do not envy the violent
and do not choose any of their ways;
for the perverse are an abomination to
the Lord,
but the upright are in his condence.
a Gk: Heb lie down
b Heb from its owners
way leads to future plentiful harvests. 1112: Suering is understood here as a sign of Gods discipline (Deut 8.5;
Ps 94.1213), a sentiment echoed by the friends of Job (e.g., Job 5.1718).
3.1320: A description of Wisdom. 13: Happy are those is a characteristic wisdom formula (8.34; 20.7; 28.14;
29.18; 31.28; Ps 1.1) oen called a beatitude (cf. Mt 5.311; Lk 6.2023). Beatitudes extol a virtue or experience by
exclaiming how fortunate its possessor is. 1415: Cf. Job 28.1519 and see 2.4n. Wisdom transcends all aempts
at comparison. 16: The imagery echoes that of the Egyptian goddess Maat, who represents right order. She was
portrayed with the symbols of life in one hand and of wealth and prestige in the other. 18: Tree of life, a symbol
of longevity and well-being, but also a source of eternal life in Gen 2.9; 3.22, from which humans are barred.
It is also an Egyptian motif, associated with the sycamore tree. 1920: This is the rst association of wisdom
with creation, expanded in 8.2231. It shows the integral part that wisdom played in the divine creative act. The
deeps represent the subterranean waters of chaos over which God has ultimate control (cf. Ps 29.10); the dew,
the moisture from above that continues to sustain the earth.
3.2135: An admonition, six prohibitions and three aphorisms on the fate of righteous and wicked. 22: Cf.
v. 3n. 2326: Along with life (v. 2n.) and health (v. 8n.), security is one of the benets of wisdom (e.g., 2.1112;
4.12; 10.25). 25: Do not is the language of prohibition, used six times in succession here in short, proverbial-type
sentences. Sudden panic is usually associated with unexpected disaster (cf. 1.2627). 2728: The language suggests that the issue concerns loans and their repayment (cf. 6.15; 11.24). 31: Envy of the violent may spring from
their seeming prosperity. 32: Abomination to the Lord has a special meaning in Proverbs in reference of moral
oenses that God nds loathsome, oen concerning falsity in speech, thought, or words.
900 | hebrew bible
proverbs 4
The Lords curse is on the house of the
wicked,
but he blesses the abode of the
righteous.
Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he shows favor.
The wise will inherit honor,
but stubborn fools, disgrace.
Listen, children, to a fathers instruction,

and be attentive, that you may gaina
insight;
for I give you good precepts:
do not forsake my teaching.
When I was a son with my father,
tender, and my mothers favorite,
he taught me, and said to me,
Let your heart hold fast my words;
keep my commandments, and live.
Get wisdom; get insight: do not forget,
nor turn away
from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
love her, and she will guard you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get
wisdom,
and whatever else you get, get insight.
Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
She will place on your head a fair garland;
she will bestow on you a beautiful
crown.
Hear, my child, and accept my words,
that the years of your life may be many.
I have taught you the way of wisdom;
I have led you in the paths of
uprightness.
When you walk, your step will not be
hampered;
and if you run, you will not stumble.

Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;
guard her, for she is your life.
Do not enter the path of the wicked,
and do not walk in the way of evildoers.
Avoid it; do not go on it;
turn away from it and pass on.
For they cannot sleep unless they have
done wrong;
they are robbed of sleep unless they
have made someone stumble.
For they eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
But the path of the righteous is like the
light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until
full day.
The way of the wicked is like deep
darkness;
they do not know what they stumble
over.
My child, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
For they are life to those who nd them,
and healing to all their esh.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it ow the springs of life.
Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Keep straight the path of your feet,
and all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
a Heb know
4.19: Get wisdom, get insight. The fathers instruction is now emphasized, and he recalls his instruction
from his own father (v. 3). The message passed down from generation to generation remains the same: Get
wisdom, get insight (vv. 5,7). 68: Love . . . embrace suggests the metaphor of wisdom as the beloved wife (cf.
5.1520; 7.4; 31.2031). 9: See 1.9n.
4.1027: The two paths. The fathers instruction continues with the image of two alternate paths: that of
wisdom/righteousness or that of the wicked. It is a common image in the book (1.156; 2.720; 3.6,17,23; 5.5,21;
6.23; 7.25; 8.13,20,32; 9.6; 10.9; 11.5; 16.17; 28.6). 1819: In keeping with the binary way of understanding reality
common in Proverbs, the ways of righteous and wicked are compared to light and dark. 24: Crooked speech is
the dark side of Proverbs emphasis on proper speech and speech ethics. 2527: What is straight is an image of
righteousness and correct conduct. The contrast between crooked and straight is a fundamental metaphor in
the wisdom tradition (cf. 8.89).
hebrew bible | 901
proverbs 5
My child, be attentive to my wisdom;

incline your ear to my understanding,
so that you may hold on to prudence,
and your lips may guard knowledge.
For the lips of a loosea woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;
but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
her steps follow the path to Sheol.
She does not keep straight to the path of
life;
her ways wander, and she does not
know it.
And now, my child,b listen to me,

and do not depart from the words of my
mouth.
Keep your way far from her,
and do not go near the door of her
house;
or you will give your honor to others,
and your years to the merciless,
and strangers will take their ll of your
wealth,
and your labors will go to the house of
an alien;
and at the end of your life you will groan,
when your esh and body are
consumed,
and you say, Oh, how I hated discipline,
and my heart despised reproof!
I did not listen to the voice of my
teachers
or incline my ear to my instructors.
Now I am at the point of utter ruin

in the public assembly.
Drink water from your own cistern,
owing water from your own well.
Should your springs be scattered abroad,
streams of water in the streets?
Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for sharing with strangers.
Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
May her breasts satisfy you at all times;
may you be intoxicated always by her
love.
Why should you be intoxicated, my son,
by another woman
and embrace the bosom of an
adulteress?
For human ways are under the eyes of
the Lord,
and he examines all their paths.
The iniquities of the wicked ensnare them,
and they are caught in the toils of their
sin.
They die for lack of discipline,
and because of their great folly they are
lost.
My child, if you have given your pledge
to your neighbor,
if you have bound yourself to another,c
a Heb strange
b Gk Vg: Heb children
c Or a stranger
5.123: Avoid the temptations of the loose woman. The antithesis to woman Wisdom is the loose or strange
woman (Heb zarah, vv. 3,20a) who is also described as an adulteress (Heb nokriyyah, v. 20b; lit., alien).
Since the Heb words literally mean strange and foreign, the terminology may reect the postexilic prohibition of marriage to foreign women (Ezra 910; Neh 13.2330). See 2.16n. Probably a prostitute, she may also be
another mans wife (7.19). She is aligned with the path of the wicked which is ultimately the path to death (v. 5).
3: Smooth speech, like crooked talk (4.24n.) is another dark side of speech. 4: Wormwood, an extremely bier and
poisonous herbal extract. 5: Sheol, the abode of the dead; see 1.12n. 9: Probably a reference to the young mans
youthful, sexual vigor, wasted on a union that will bear no fruit. 10: Probably a reference to loss of earnings:
prostitutes are expensive! 14: Ruin in the public assembly, public shame was a strong deterrent and was used for
social control (cf. Ezra 10.8). 1516: Water is a euphemism for sexual activity (cf. Song 4.12b,15). Your own cistern
and well refer to your wife as the source of that water. Springs refer to male sexual activity, which is wasted
in this context, with water in the streets possibly indicating ospring outside marriage. 1819: Exhortation to
rejoice in sexual intimacy with ones own wife. Fountain refers to her sexual organs, seen as the property of her
husband, and possibly to the ospring that will ensue. Comparing a lover to deer or doe, cf. Song 2.9,17; 4.5.
2223: The metaphor represents humans as game animals and folly and sin as hidden, fatal traps that require
discipline (Heb musar; 1.23n.) to avoid. Cf. 1.1718.
902 | hebrew bible
proverbs 6
you are snared by the utterance of your
lips,a
caught by the words of your mouth.
So do this, my child, and save yourself,
for you have come into your neighbors
power:
go, hurry,b and plead with your
neighbor.
Give your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
save yourself like a gazelle from the
hunter,c
like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
There are six things that the Lord

hates,
seven that are an abomination to
him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that hurry to run to evil,
a lying witness who testies falsely,
and one who sows discord in a
family.
My child, keep your fathers
commandment,
and do not forsake your mothers
teaching.
Bind them upon your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
When you walk, theyd will lead you;
when you lie down, theyd will watch
over you;
and when you awake, theyd will talk
with you.
For the commandment is a lamp and the
teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the
way of life,
to preserve you from the wife of
another,e
from the smooth tongue of the
adulteress.
Do not desire her beauty in your
heart,
Go to the ant, you lazybones;

consider its ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief
or ocer or ruler,
it prepares its food in summer,
and gathers its sustenance in
harvest.
How long will you lie there, Olazybones?
When will you rise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a
robber,
and want, like an armed warrior.
A scoundrel and a villain
goes around with crooked speech,
winking the eyes, shuing the feet,
pointing the ngers,
with perverted mind devising evil,
continually sowing discord;
on such a one calamity will descend
suddenly;
in a moment, damage beyond repair.
a
b
c
d
e
Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb the words of your mouth

Or humble yourself
Cn: Heb from the hand
Heb it
Gk: MT the evil woman
6.119: Practical admonitions. 15: The dangers of acting as a surety or guarantor for another who is borrowing money because he is in debt (cf. 11.15; 17.18; 20.16; 22.2627). 5: See 5.2223n. Admonition to extricate
oneself, however debasing or dicult it may seem, suggests the seriousness of the danger. 611: Didactic
comparison with plants or animals is a common technique in wisdom literature (cf. 30.1519; 2431; see also
Judg 9.58; 1 Kings 4.3334). Laziness is a frequent topic in Proverbs (cf. 10.26; 18.9; 20.4,13; 22.13; 24.3034;
26.1316). 1215: Warnings against worthless and unsavory types. 12: Crooked speech indicates deceitful talk. 13:
Winking the eyes, shuing the feet, and pointing the ngers are forms of body language that indicate character.
1619: A numerical saying (cf. 30.1821; Am 1.32.8) concerning seven vices disliked by the Lord. Abomination,
see 3.32n.
6.2035: The dangers of adultery. 20: Father and mother, see 1.8n. 21: For the idea of binding and tying the
teachings to the body, cf. 3.3n.; Deut 6.68. 23: The importance of discipline is a favorite theme of the wise.
2429: The wife of another, i.e., an adulteress, is the subject here. A contrast is made (v. 26) between a mere
hebrew bible | 903
proverbs 7
and do not let her capture you with her
eyelashes;
for a prostitutes fee is only a loaf of
bread,a
but the wife of another stalks a mans
very life.
Can re be carried in the bosom
without burning ones clothes?
Or can one walk on hot coals
without scorching the feet?
So is he who sleeps with his neighbors
wife;
no one who touches her will go
unpunished.
Thieves are not despised who steal only
to satisfy their appetite when they are
hungry.
Yet if they are caught, they will pay
sevenfold;
they will forfeit all the goods of their
house.
But he who commits adultery has no
sense;
he who does it destroys himself.
He will get wounds and dishonor,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
For jealousy arouses a husbands fury,
and he shows no restraint when he
takes revenge.
He will accept no compensation,
and refuses a bribe no matter how
great.
My child, keep my words

and store up my commandments with
you;
keep my commandments and live,
keep my teachings as the apple of your

eye;
bind them on your ngers,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Say to wisdom, You are my sister,
and call insight your intimate friend,
that they may keep you from the looseb
woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth
words.
For at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice,
and I saw among the simple ones,
I observed among the youths,
a young man without sense,
passing along the street near her corner,
taking the road to her house
in the twilight, in the evening,
at the time of night and darkness.
Then a woman comes toward him,
decked out like a prostitute, wily of
heart.c
She is loud and wayward;
her feet do not stay at home;
now in the street, now in the squares,
and at every corner she lies in wait.
She seizes him and kisses him,
and with impudent face she says to him:
I had to oer sacrices,
and today I have paid my vows;
a Cn Compare Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb for because of a
harlot to a piece of bread
b Heb strange
prostitute and the social harm caused by succumbing to another mans wife. This suggests that the issue was
not simply sexual conduct itself but the danger posed to the social systemincluding the system of inheritanceby adultery, which could result in uncertainty about paternity. 3031: The comparison is made with
thieves for whom punishment for a seemingly minor crime is quite extensive, including forfeiture of property.
3235: For the adulterer retribution is worse and inescapable. In Lev 20.10 adultery is explicitly a capital crime;
Proverbs seems to be aware of this (see v. 26), but focuses on the emotions and personal revenge of the cuckolded husband.
7.127: Another warning against the loose woman. 23: Apple of your eye, i.e., pupil. The triad of eye, ngers, and heart denotes the whole person. Binding on ngers and writing on the tablet of your heart recalls
Deuteronomic exhortations about the law (Deut 6.8; 11.18); cf. 3.3n. 4: Sister here does not imply kinship, but is
a conventional term of endearment for the beloved (Song 4.912; 5.1). Intimate friend could be male or female,
and the envisaged relationship is an egalitarian one. 623: A seduction by the loose woman is described in narrative form. 10: It is not clear whether the woman is a prostitute or simply dressed as one. Since she is married
(vv. 1920), the act is clearly one of adultery (cf. 6.2435). 11: Loud, also characteristic of folly in 9.13. 12: Street,
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proverbs 8
so now I have come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found
you!
I have decked my couch with coverings,
colored spreads of Egyptian linen;
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon.
Come, let us take our ll of love until
morning;
let us delight ourselves with love.
For my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey.
He took a bag of money with him;
he will not come home until full moon.
With much seductive speech she
persuades him;
with her smooth talk she compels him.
Right away he follows her,
and goes like an ox to the slaughter,
or bounds like a stag toward the trapa
until an arrow pierces its entrails.
He is like a bird rushing into a snare,
not knowing that it will cost him his life.
And now, my children, listen to me,
and be attentive to the words of my
mouth.
Do not let your hearts turn aside to her
ways;
do not stray into her paths.
For many are those she has laid low,
and numerous are her victims.
Her house is the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.
Does not wisdom call,

and does not understanding raise her
voice?
On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries
out:
To you, Opeople, I call,
and my cry is to all that live.
Osimple ones, learn prudence;
acquire intelligence, you who lack it.
Hear, for I will speak noble things,
and from my lips will come what is
right;
for my mouth will utter truth;
wickedness is an abomination to my
lips.
All the words of my mouth are righteous;
there is nothing twisted or crooked in
them.
They are all straight to one who
understands
and right to those who nd
knowledge.
Take my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold;
for wisdom is better than jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot
compare with her.
I, wisdom, live with prudence,b
and I attain knowledge and discretion.
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
a Cn Compare Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain

squares, corner, also spaces where wisdom is found in 1.20. The seductive woman is her polar opposite. 14: The
act of oering sacrices and vows could suggest that this woman was participating in a non-Israelite fertility
ritual, although an Israelite worship situation is possible (cf. Lev 7.16). 17: Myrrh is an aromatic resin; aloes and
cinnamon are expensive aromatic spices imported from Arabia and South Asia. Their mention creates an atmosphere of expensive lushness (cf. Song 1.13; 3.6; 4.6,11,1416; 5.5,13). 21: Seductive speech and smooth talk (cf.
2.16) are part of the repertoire of negative and dangerous forms of speech Proverbs warns against (see 4.24n.).
2227: The emphasis on the strange womans inexorable pull toward death heightens her stark opposition
to Wisdom, personied as a woman who oers life (3.16; 8.3536). 27: Sheol, the abode of the dead. Sheol was
thought to have many chambers (probably seven), of which the depths was the worst (cf. 9.18).
8.136: Woman Wisdom calls (cf. Sir 24.134; Wis 7.228.1). This chapter contains the most profoundly developed depiction of Woman Wisdom in Proverbs, especially vv. 2231 where she is aligned with God at creation. 15: Public address of Wisdom to all people; cf. 1.2033, and especially to those who need to learn prudence and intelligence. 69: Woman Wisdom is the antithesis to the loose woman and her deceptively smooth
speech (2.16; 5.3; 7.21): she uers truth, and righteous and straight words. 1011: See 2.4n. Wisdom is more valuable than any precious metals or jewels (cf. v. 19; 2.4; Job 28.1519). 13: Fear of the Lord, see 1.7n. The divine
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proverbs 8
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
I have good advice and sound wisdom;
I have insight, I have strength.
By me kings reign,
and rulers decree what is just;
by me rulers rule,
and nobles, all who govern rightly.
I love those who love me,
and those who seek me diligently nd
me.
Riches and honor are with me,
enduring wealth and prosperity.
My fruit is better than gold, even ne
gold,
and my yield than choice silver.
I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
endowing with wealth those who love
me,
and lling their treasuries.
The Lord created me at the beginninga
of his work,b
the rst of his acts of long ago.
Ages ago I was set up,
at the rst, before the beginning of the
earth.
When there were no depths I was
brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding
with water.
Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth

when he had not yet made earth and
elds,c
or the worlds rst bits of soil.
When he established the heavens, I was
there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the
deep,
when he made rm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of
the deep,
when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress
his command,
when he marked out the foundations of
the earth,
then I was beside him, like a master
worker;d
and I was daily hise delight,
rejoicing before him always,
rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race.
And now, my children, listen to me:
happy are those who keep my
ways.
a
b
c
d
e
Or me as the beginning
Heb way
Another reading is little child
Gk: Heb lacks his
dimension is introduced and it is clear that this gure and God are at one in their opposition to evil. 1516: Her
authority is that by which kings reign. For the close association between wisdom and just rule see also 16.10,13;
20.26,28; 25.17; 28.23,1516; 29.2,12,14,16,26; 30.2731; 31.19. Solomons prayer for wisdom (1 Kings 3.79),
his wise judgment (1 Kings 3.1629), and administrative skill (1Kings 4) are narrative examples of this idea. 17: In
contrast to Job 28, which represents wisdom as hidden and elusive, Proverbs emphasizes the responsiveness
and accessibility of wisdom to those who love and seek her; cf. Sir 4.14; Wis 6.1213. The relationship is two-way:
Wisdom will respond to those who love me. 1821: The word translated prosperity in v. 18 and righteousness in
v. 20 is the same in Hebrew (tsedaqah). In general the wisdom tradition believed that moral well-being led
to material well-being, though the beer than sayings (e.g., 16.8) stress the superiority of moral values. 21:
Following Wisdom leads to material wealth; the wise are ever pragmatic. 2231: Wisdom recounts her origins
as created by God before the physical world came into being and her role as Gods helper in creation (cf. Sir 1.4;
24.9). Gods ordered creation of the world is then described. 22: Created, the proper translation of the Heb word
(qanah) is debated, but acquired (see 4.5,7) or engendered, conceived (Gen 4.1) are also possible. 23: Set
up, the same term used in Ps 2.6 for the Israelite king. 2429: An account of creation; cf. Gen 1; Job 28.2527;
38.411; Ps 104.59. 30: The word translated master worker or lile child (see textual note d) suggests either
an actual role for Wisdom in seing up the world or an image related to the sense of delight expressed in v. 30b.
Comparisons have been made with the Egyptian goddess Maat, daughter of the creator god Amun Re, who is
sometimes depicted as a lile child playing on his lap. 3236: The life . . . death contrast is a fundamental trope
in Proverbs. See 2.1819; 3.2,1618; 4.4,13; 5.56; 7.27; 9.11; 11.19; etc.
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proverbs 10
Hear instruction and be wise,
and do not neglect it.
Happy is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my doors.
For whoever nds me nds life
and obtains favor from the Lord;
but those who miss me injure themselves;
all who hate me love death.
Wisdom has built her house,

she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her animals, she has
mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servant-girls, she
calls
from the highest places in the town,
You that are simple, turn in here!
To those without sense she says,
Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity,a and live,
and walk in the way of insight.
Whoever corrects a scoer wins abuse;
whoever rebukes the wicked gets hurt.
A scoer who is rebuked will only hate
you;
the wise, when rebuked, will love you.
Give instructionb to the wise, and they
will become wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will gain in
learning.

wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is
insight.
For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, you are wise for
yourself;
if you sco, you alone will bear it.
The foolish woman is loud;
she is ignorant and knows nothing.
She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the high places of the
town,
calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way,
You who are simple, turn in here!
And to those without sense she says,
Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
But they do not know that the deadc are
there,
that her guests are in the depths of
Sheol.
10
The proverbs of Solomon.

but a foolish child is a mothers grief.
a Or simpleness
b Heb lacks instruction
c Heb shades
9.118: Wisdoms banquet. The tension between invitations to a banquet given by Wisdom and one given
by the foolish woman (v. 13; Heb eshet kesilut, a variant on the loose woman), is developed here, with a section of aphorisms contrasting scoers with the wise dividing the two calls (vv. 712). 1: Seven pillars may allude
simply to the pillars of Wisdoms house or may suggest the pillars on which the earth was founded (Job 9.6;
26.11; Ps 75.3; cf. 8.2930). The number seven denotes completeness. 2: Slaughtered her animals and mixed her
wine suggests a feast. Wine was sometimes mixed with spices (cf. Song 8.2). 4: Her call is to the simple, meaning
the untutored rather than simpletons, and to those without sense, who are clearly susceptible to seduction (cf. v.
16 in reference to the foolish womans charms). 79: Proverbs uses several dierent terms to contrast with the
wise. The scoer is characterized by arrogance and self-absorption (21.24) and hence lacks the receptiveness
to correction displayed by the wise (cf. 13.1; 15.12). 10: Fear of the Lord, see 1.7n. 17: Stolen water is probably a
euphemism for illicit sex (see 5.1516n.). 18: This womans banquet (like that of the loose woman, 2.1819; 5.5;
7.27) entertains the dead in the deepest chamber of Sheol (see 7.27n.).
10.122.16: Proverbial sayings. A long series of separate two-line sayings, sometimes connected by catchwords and thematic associations or forming small clusters. Most probably originally circulated orally. Opposites such as wise and foolish, righteous and wicked are frequently juxtaposed. Antithetic parallelism, in which
the second line restates the rst line in an opposite way, is used more frequently in chs 1015, while 1622 favor
synonymous or synthetic parallelism, in which the second line repeats or extends the thought of the rst. 10.1:
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proverbs 10
Treasures gained by wickedness do not
prot,
but righteousness delivers from death.
The Lord does not let the righteous go
hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the
wicked.
A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
A child who gathers in summer is
prudent,
but a child who sleeps in harvest brings
shame.
Blessings are on the head of the
righteous,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals
violence.
The memory of the righteous is a
blessing,
but the name of the wicked will rot.
The wise of heart will heed
commandments,
but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
Whoever walks in integrity walks
securely,
but whoever follows perverse ways will
be found out.
Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,
but the one who rebukes boldly makes
peace.a
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain
of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals
violence.
Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all oenses.
On the lips of one who has

understanding wisdom is found,
but a rod is for the back of one who
lacks sense.
The wise lay up knowledge,
but the babbling of a fool brings ruin
near.
The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
The wage of the righteous leads to life,
the gain of the wicked to sin.
Whoever heeds instruction is on the
path to life,
but one who rejects a rebuke goes
astray.
Lying lips conceal hatred,
and whoever utters slander is a fool.
When words are many, transgression is
not lacking,
but the prudent are restrained in
speech.
The tongue of the righteous is choice
silver;
the mind of the wicked is of little worth.
The lips of the righteous feed many,
but fools die for lack of sense.
The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it.b
Doing wrong is like sport to a fool,
but wise conduct is pleasure to a person
of understanding.
What the wicked dread will come upon
them,
a Gk: Heb but a babbling fool will come to ruin
b Or and toil adds nothing to it
Proverbs of Solomon, see Introduction. This proverb (cf. 15.20) links with the parental instruction found in chs
19 (e.g., 1.8) and acts as a bridge between the two sections. The eects of wise and foolish children is a frequent topic; cf. v. 5; 13.1; 15.20; 17.21,25; 19.13,26. 23: Armation of the doctrine of divine retribution whereby
the righteous are rewarded and the wicked punished; cf. 3.2,16; 9.11; 10.27; 13.12. Other proverbs complicate this
doctrine of divine reward and punishment (e.g., 15.16; 16.8), and the books of Job and Ecclesiastes challenge it
profoundly. 45: Laziness is a major theme of Proverbs: it leads directly to poverty, while diligence leads to
material prosperity (cf. 6.611; 12.24,27; 13.4; 15.19). 7: The remembering of ones name and deeds by children
and community is a sign of blessing in biblical and Jewish tradition. 8: Numerous proverbs in this chapter address the topic of the power of speech for good or ill. See vv. 11,1314,1821,3132. The topic is prominent
throughout Proverbs, e.g., 2.12; 12.1314,1719,2223; 13.3; 22.14; 24.26; 25.15; 26.28; 31.26. 9: Walks . . . ways, see
1.15n. 10: He who winks the eye is not to be trusted as it suggests covert activity (cf. 6.13). 11: Four things are said
to be a fountain of life in this section: the teaching of the wise (13.14), revering the Lord (14.27), Wisdom (16.22),
and here, the mouth of the righteous, i.e., their speech. 1516: Verse 15 is a neutral observation about the reality
of wealth and poverty; v. 16 adds ethical comments on the gain of the wicked. Cf. 11.28 and 18.11, where the protection of wealth is declared to be illusory. 1821: See v. 8n. Dierent parts of the mouth are featured to reiter-
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proverbs 11
but the desire of the righteous will be
granted.
When the tempest passes, the wicked
are no more,
but the righteous are established
forever.
Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to
the eyes,
so are the lazy to their employers.
The fear of the Lord prolongs life,
but the years of the wicked will be short.
The hope of the righteous ends in gladness,
but the expectation of the wicked
comes to nothing.
The way of the Lord is a stronghold for
the upright,
but destruction for evildoers.
The righteous will never be removed,
but the wicked will not remain in the land.
The mouth of the righteous brings forth
wisdom,
but the perverse tongue will be cut o.
The lips of the righteous know what is
acceptable,
but the mouth of the wicked what is
perverse.
A false balance is an abomination to
the Lord,
but an accurate weight is his delight.
When pride comes, then comes disgrace;
but wisdom is with the humble.
The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the crookedness of the treacherous
destroys them.
Riches do not prot in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.
The righteousness of the blameless keeps
their ways straight,
but the wicked fall by their own
wickedness.
11
The righteousness of the upright saves

them,
but the treacherous are taken captive by
their schemes.
When the wicked die, their hope
perishes,
and the expectation of the godless
comes to nothing.
The righteous are delivered from trouble,
and the wicked get into it instead.
With their mouths the godless would
destroy their neighbors,
but by knowledge the righteous are
delivered.
When it goes well with the righteous, the
city rejoices;
and when the wicked perish, there is
jubilation.
By the blessing of the upright a city is
exalted,
but it is overthrown by the mouth of the
wicked.
Whoever belittles another lacks sense,
but an intelligent person remains silent.
A gossip goes about telling secrets,
but one who is trustworthy in spirit
keeps a condence.
Where there is no guidance, a nationa
falls,
but in an abundance of counselors
there is safety.
To guarantee loans for a stranger brings
trouble,
but there is safety in refusing to do so.
A gracious woman gets honor,
but she who hates virtue is covered
with shame.b
a Or an army
b Compare Gk Syr: Heb lacks but she . . . shame
ate the need for restraint. 24: See vv. 23n. 25: The tempest may represent divine judgment (e.g., 1.27; Isa 21.2;
29.6; 66.15; Ps 83.16). 26: See 6.611n. 27: The fear of the Lord, see 1.7n and 3.2n. 2830: See vv. 23n. 3132: See
v. 8n. 11.1: Weights and balances and their misuse is another recurring theme in Proverbs (see 16.11; 20.10,23; cf.
Lev 19.3537; Deut 25.1316). 2: The humble are closely associated with the wise (15.33; 18.12; 22.4; Sir 3.1724).
3: The wisdom tradition oen observes how those who intend to harm others end up harming themselves; cf.
v. 6; 26.27; Job 18.78. 511: Here, in vv. 1821, and throughout chs 1015 the primary contrast terms are the
righteous and the wicked rather than the wise and the foolish. Passages like 9.79 suggest that these terms are
roughly equivalent. 1213: The issue of speech ethics is prominent in Proverbs; see 4.24n. and 5.21n. For gossip
cf. 20.19; 25.9; Sir 27.1617. 14: Counselors, a possible role for the wise themselves. 15: See 6.15n. 1617: In v. 16
the NRSV follows the Septuagint, which adds lines b and c. The original MT contrast may have been between
the gracious woman who gets honor versus aggressive men who gain temporary riches. Taken in parallel with v.
hebrew bible | 909
proverbs 12
The timid become destitute,a
but the aggressive gain riches.
Those who are kind reward themselves,
but the cruel do themselves harm.
The wicked earn no real gain,
but those who sow righteousness get a
true reward.
Whoever is steadfast in righteousness
will live,
but whoever pursues evil will die.
Crooked minds are an abomination to
the Lord,
but those of blameless ways are his
delight.
Be assured, the wicked will not go
unpunished,
but those who are righteous will escape.
Like a gold ring in a pigs snout
is a beautiful woman without good
sense.
The desire of the righteous ends only in
good;
the expectation of the wicked in
wrath.
Some give freely, yet grow all the richer;
others withhold what is due, and only
suer want.
A generous person will be enriched,
and one who gives water will get water.
The people curse those who hold back
grain,
but a blessing is on the head of those
who sell it.
Whoever diligently seeks good seeks
favor,
but evil comes to the one who searches
for it.
Those who trust in their riches will
wither,b
but the righteous will ourish like green

leaves.
Those who trouble their households will
inherit wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise.
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
but violencec takes lives away.
If the righteous are repaid on earth,
how much more the wicked and the
sinner!
Whoever loves discipline loves
knowledge,
but those who hate to be rebuked are
stupid.
The good obtain favor from the Lord,
but those who devise evil he condemns.
No one nds security by wickedness,
but the root of the righteous will never
be moved.
A good wife is the crown of her husband,
but she who brings shame is like
rottenness in his bones.
The thoughts of the righteous are just;
the advice of the wicked is treacherous.
The words of the wicked are a deadly
ambush,
but the speech of the upright delivers
them.
The wicked are overthrown and are no
more,
but the house of the righteous will
stand.
One is commended for good sense,
but a perverse mind is despised.
Better to be despised and have a servant,
12
a Gk: Heb lacks The timid . . . destitute

b Cn: Heb fall
c Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb a wise man
17 there is a pairing with the kind versus the cruel. 1821: See 10.23n. 22: A single-line proverb containing a
criticism of supercial esteem for beauty using an animal comparison. Ear and nose rings were common adornments of women. Such beauty is wasted on both a senseless woman and an unclean pig. 2426: These proverbs
are linked thematically by the idea of generosity versus greed. The paradox of v. 24 is explained by v. 25: a generous person inspires others to reciprocate (cf. v. 17). In contrast, those who hold back grain in a time of scarcity,
waiting for the price to rise, are cursed by the community. 27: Seeking and nding that which you seek. Divine
favor accompanies human favor (cf. 8.35; 12.2; 18.22). 28,30: Plant imagery oen describes the ourishing of the
righteous (cf. v. 30; Pss 1.3; 92.1214). 12.1: The place of discipline (Heb musar) is an important theme in Proverbs
(cf. 3.11; 5.12; 13.1; 15.5) and is oen paired with the concept of reproof. See 1.23n. 23: See 10.23n. 4: A preoccupation of the wise is the choice of a good wife for the young initiate in wisdom (cf. 18.22; 19.3134; 31.1031;
Sir 26.13,1318). 9: The beer saying conveys insight through paradox (cf. 15.1617; 16.8,19,32; 17.1,12; 19.1,22;
21.9,19; 22.1; 25.24; 27.5,10c; 28.6; Eccl 4.6,13; 7.13; 9.4). Despised is a strong translation. The word can mean of
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proverbs 13
than to be self-important and lack food.
The righteous know the needs of their
animals,
but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
Those who till their land will have plenty
of food,
but those who follow worthless pursuits
have no sense.
The wicked covet the proceeds of
wickedness,a
but the root of the righteous bears fruit.
The evil are ensnared by the
transgression of their lips,
but the righteous escape from trouble.
From the fruit of the mouth one is lled
with good things,
and manual labor has its reward.
Fools think their own way is right,
but the wise listen to advice.
Fools show their anger at once,
but the prudent ignore an insult.
Whoever speaks the truth gives honest
evidence,
but a false witness speaks deceitfully.
Rash words are like sword thrusts,
but the tongue of the wise brings
healing.
Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
Deceit is in the mind of those who plan
evil,
but those who counsel peace have joy.
No harm happens to the righteous,
but the wicked are lled with trouble.
Lying lips are an abomination to the
Lord,
but those who act faithfully are his
delight.
One who is clever conceals knowledge,
but the mind of a foolb broadcasts folly.
The hand of the diligent will rule,
while the lazy will be put to forced
labor.
Anxiety weighs down the human heart,

but a good word cheers it up.
The righteous gives good advice to
friends,c
but the way of the wicked leads astray.
The lazy do not roastd their game,
but the diligent obtain precious
wealth.d
In the path of righteousness there is life,
in walking its path there is no death.
A wise child loves discipline,e
but a scoffer does not listen to
rebuke.
From the fruit of their words good
persons eat good things,
but the desire of the treacherous is for
wrongdoing.
Those who guard their mouths preserve
their lives;
those who open wide their lips come to
ruin.
The appetite of the lazy craves, and gets
nothing,
while the appetite of the diligent is
richly supplied.
The righteous hate falsehood,
but the wicked act shamefully and
disgracefully.
Righteousness guards one whose way is
upright,
but sin overthrows the wicked.
Some pretend to be rich, yet have
nothing;
others pretend to be poor, yet have
great wealth.
Wealth is a ransom for a persons life,
but the poor get no threats.
13
a
b
c
d
e
Or covet the catch of the wicked

Heb the heart of fools
Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
Cn: Heb A wise child the discipline of his father
lile account. Cf. Sir 10.27. 10: What passes for mercy with the wicked is in fact cruel. On the treatment of animals in the rst half of the verse, cf. Deut 25.4. 11: Cf. 28.19. 1323: A cluster of sayings on the theme of speech.
See 10.8n.,1821. 17: The seing is the law court (cf. 14.25; 25.18). 24: See 6.611n. 2526: Internal worry versus
encouragement from outside (cf. 15.13; 17.22). 27: Some are too lazy to cook their own food and so starve in the
midst of abundance (cf. 13.4; 19.24). The diligent do not waste such opportunities: an exhortation to good use of
resources. 13.13: Care in listening and speaking is a frequent topic, e.g., vv. 1314,18; see also 10.8n.,1821n. 4:
Cf. v. 25. 78,11: Paradoxes of wealth and poverty. The wise were against excessive wealth, but in favor of a
moderate amount, enough to feel secure. Wealth can even put one in danger of criminal threats (v. 8). Get-rich-
hebrew bible | 911
proverbs 14
The light of the righteous rejoices,
but the lamp of the wicked goes out.
By insolence the heedless make strife,
but wisdom is with those who take
advice.
Wealth hastily gottena will dwindle,
but those who gather little by little will
increase it.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fullled is a tree of life.
Those who despise the word bring
destruction on themselves,
but those who respect the
commandment will be rewarded.
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of
life,
so that one may avoid the snares of
death.
Good sense wins favor,
but the way of the faithless is their
ruin.b
The clever do all things intelligently,
but the fool displays folly.
A bad messenger brings trouble,
but a faithful envoy, healing.
Poverty and disgrace are for the one who
ignores instruction,
but one who heeds reproof is
honored.
A desire realized is sweet to the soul,
but to turn away from evil is an
abomination to fools.
Whoever walks with the wise becomes
wise,
but the companion of fools suers
harm.
Misfortune pursues sinners,

but prosperity rewards the righteous.
The good leave an inheritance to their
childrens children,
but the sinners wealth is laid up for the
righteous.
The eld of the poor may yield much
food,
but it is swept away through injustice.
Those who spare the rod hate their
children,
but those who love them are diligent to
discipline them.
The righteous have enough to satisfy
their appetite,
but the belly of the wicked is empty.
The wise womanc builds her house,
but the foolish tears it down with her
own hands.
Those who walk uprightly fear the Lord,
but one who is devious in conduct
despises him.
The talk of fools is a rod for their backs,d
but the lips of the wise preserve them.
Where there are no oxen, there is no
grain;
abundant crops come by the strength
of the ox.
A faithful witness does not lie,
but a false witness breathes out lies.
A scoer seeks wisdom in vain,
14
a
b
c
d
Gk Vg: Heb from vanity

Cn Compare Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb is enduring
Heb Wisdom of women
Cn: Heb a rod of pride
quick schemes are not favored but rather careful saving (v. 11). 9: Light and lamp are symbols of life (20.20;
24.20; Job 3.20; Ps 97.11). 12: Tree of life is a symbol of the fullness of life, such as humans feel when a desire is
fullled (cf. v. 19; 3.18n.; 11.30). 13: Word and commandment refer to the advice of the sages, but came to be understood as references to the Torah (Deut 30.1114; Sir 24.23; Bar 4.1). 14: See 10.11n. 17: The messenger played an
important role (cf. 22.21; 25.13,25; 26.6). They were professionally trained to high standards and enjoyed a high
status in society. 2123: Prosperity is the reward of the righteous according to the doctrine of retribution. This
in turn enables those rewards to be passed down through the generations. That the wicked were sometimes
prosperous troubled the sages, who resolved the contradiction by assuming that the sinners wealth (only temporarily enjoyed) goes eventually to the righteous (cf. Job 27.1317). 23: Despite their belief in the doctrine of
retribution, the sages recognized that not all poverty is caused by laziness or bad judgment but also by the injustice of the powerful. 24: Spare the rod indicates the emphasis placed on necessary discipline (cf. 22.15; 23.13
14; 26.3; 29.15); the sages, however, were opposed to cruelty in any form. 14.1: The wise woman could be Woman
Wisdom who also builds her house (cf. 9.1) and the foolish, her antithesis (cf. 9.1318), but the saying also alludes
to the critical role of women in Israelite society; cf. 31.1031. 2: See 1.7n. Beginning with ch 14, proverbs that
mention the Lord appear with increasing frequency. 4: The ox was a highly valued work animal (cf. 12.10; Deut
912 | hebrew bible
proverbs 14
but knowledge is easy for one who
understands.
Leave the presence of a fool,
for there you do not nd words of
knowledge.
It is the wisdom of the clever to
understand where they go,
but the folly of fools misleads.
Fools mock at the guilt oering,a
but the upright enjoy Gods favor.
The heart knows its own bitterness,
and no stranger shares its joy.
The house of the wicked is destroyed,
but the tent of the upright ourishes.
There is a way that seems right to a
person,
but its end is the way to death.b
Even in laughter the heart is sad,
and the end of joy is grief.
The perverse get what their ways
deserve,
and the good, what their deeds
deserve.c
The simple believe everything,
but the clever consider their steps.
The wise are cautious and turn away
from evil,
but the fool throws o restraint and is
careless.
One who is quick-tempered acts
foolishly,
and the schemer is hated.
The simple are adorned withd folly,
but the clever are crowned with
knowledge.
The evil bow down before the good,
the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
The poor are disliked even by their
neighbors,
but the rich have many friends.

Those who despise their neighbors are
sinners,
but happy are those who are kind to the
poor.
Do they not err that plan evil?
Those who plan good nd loyalty and
faithfulness.
In all toil there is prot,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
The crown of the wise is their
wisdom,e
but folly is the garlandf of fools.
A truthful witness saves lives,
but one who utters lies is a betrayer.
In the fear of the Lord one has strong
condence,
and ones children will have a
refuge.
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of
life,
so that one may avoid the snares of
death.
The glory of a king is a multitude of
people;
without people a prince is ruined.
Whoever is slow to anger has great
understanding,
but one who has a hasty temper exalts
folly.
A tranquil mind gives life to the esh,
but passion makes the bones rot.
a
b
c
d
e
f

Heb ways of death
Cn: Heb from upon him
Or inherit
Cn Compare Gk: Heb riches
Cn: Heb is the folly
22.10; 1 Kings 19.19). 6: For the scoer see 9.78a; 13.1; 15.12; 21.24; 22.10. 9: Guilt oering (see Lev 5.1419; 6.17)
is an oering of reparation or compensation; cf. 3.910n. The upright have no need to do so as they already enjoy
Gods favor. 10: The heart is the seat of the inner person and no one else can know its deepest emotions. 11: See
10.23n. 12: Choices can be misleading, and no one can predict the future (cf. 16.25). 13: Cf. Eccl 7.24. 1518: A
series of sayings about good and bad judgment. 17: Anger, as an uncontrolled and antisocial expression of
emotion, is oen warned against; see v. 29; 16.32; 19.11; 27.4; 29.11,22. 19: Righteousness is ultimately stronger
than wickedness according to the doctrine of retribution. 2021: A social reality that connects wealth with
popularity in v. 20 (cf. 19.4) is relativized by v. 21, which chastises the very neighbors who ignore the poor (cf. v.
31; 17.5). 24: The image of the crown is also used to describe a good wife (12.4), knowledge (14.18), old age (16.31),
and grandchildren (17.6). 2627: Fear of the Lord, see 1.7n. Fountain of life, see 10.11n. 28: A king needs his people;
his glory does not simply rest on himself. 2930: Self-control is a key virtue in Proverbs (cf. 12.16; 15.18; 19.19;
20.3; 25.28). Here passion refers not to sexual passion but to strong, unregulated emotion of any sort. Flesh
hebrew bible | 913
proverbs 15
Those who oppress the poor insult their
Maker,
but those who are kind to the needy
honor him.
The wicked are overthrown by their
evildoing,
but the righteous nd a refuge in their
integrity.a
Wisdom is at home in the mind of one
who has understanding,
but it is notb known in the heart of
fools.
Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a reproach to any people.
A servant who deals wisely has the
kings favor,
but his wrath falls on one who acts
shamefully.
A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise dispenses
knowledge,c
but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
keeping watch on the evil and the good.
A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
A fool despises a parents instruction,
but the one who heeds admonition is
prudent.
In the house of the righteous there is
much treasure,
but trouble befalls the income of the
wicked.
The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
not so the minds of fools.
The sacrice of the wicked is an
abomination to the Lord,
but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
The way of the wicked is an abomination
to the Lord,
but he loves the one who pursues
righteousness.
15
There is severe discipline for one who

forsakes the way,
but one who hates a rebuke will die.
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the
Lord,
how much more human hearts!
Scoers do not like to be rebuked;
they will not go to the wise.
A glad heart makes a cheerful
countenance,
but by sorrow of heart the spirit is
broken.
The mind of one who has understanding
seeks knowledge,
but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
All the days of the poor are hard,
but a cheerful heart has a continual
feast.
Better is a little with the fear of the
Lord
than great treasure and trouble with it.
Better is a dinner of vegetables where
love is
than a fatted ox and hatred with it.
Those who are hot-tempered stir up
strife,
but those who are slow to anger calm
contention.
The way of the lazy is overgrown with
thorns,
but the path of the upright is a level
highway.
but the foolish despise their mothers.
Folly is a joy to one who has no sense,
but a person of understanding walks
straight ahead.
Without counsel, plans go wrong,
but with many advisers they succeed.
a Gk Syr: Heb in their death
b Gk Syr: Heb lacks not
c Cn: Heb makes knowledge good
and bones is a frequent xed pair in the Bible (cf. Gen 2.23; Judg. 9.2; Job 2.5). 31: Concern for the poor is a theme
in the wisdom literature (cf. 17.5; 19.17; 21.13; 22.16; 28.3), in the prophets (e.g., Ezek 22.29; Am 4.1; Zech 7.10), and
in the law (e.g., Ex 22.2527; Lev 25.3637; Deut 14.2829; 24.1922). 35: Cf. 16.14; 19.12. 15.12,4,7: A series of
sayings on proper and improper speech. See 10.8n.,1821; 12.1323. 4: Tree of life, see 13.12n. 5: Cf. vv. 3133. 8:
Sincerity in worship is essential (v. 29; 21.3,27). 11: Sheol, the underworld; Abaddon (lit. Destruction) is an alternative abode for the place and state of the dead (cf. 1.13; for 11b, cf. 20.27; Sir 42.18). 1617: Two beer . . . than
sayings that put in question the value of prosperity (cf. 16.8; 17.1). A dinner of vegetables is simple fare in contrast
to the luxury of eating a faed ox. 20: See 10.1n. 22: The importance of counsel and planning is a favorite theme
914 | hebrew bible
proverbs 16
To make an apt answer is a joy to
anyone,
and a word in season, how good it is!
For the wise the path of life leads
upward,
in order to avoid Sheol below.
The Lord tears down the house of the
proud,
but maintains the widows boundaries.
Evil plans are an abomination to the Lord,
but gracious words are pure.
Those who are greedy for unjust gain
make trouble for their households,
but those who hate bribes will live.
The mind of the righteous ponders how
to answer,
but the mouth of the wicked pours out
evil.
The Lord is far from the wicked,
but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,
and good news refreshes the body.
The ear that heeds wholesome
admonition
will lodge among the wise.
Those who ignore instruction despise
themselves,
but those who heed admonition gain
understanding.
The fear of the Lord is instruction in
wisdom,
and humility goes before honor.
16
The plans of the mind belong to

mortals,
but the answer of the tongue is from
the Lord.
All ones ways may be pure in ones own

eyes,
but the Lord weighs the spirit.
Commit your work to the Lord,
and your plans will be established.
The Lord has made everything for its
purpose,
even the wicked for the day of
trouble.
All those who are arrogant are an
abomination to the Lord;
be assured, they will not go
unpunished.
By loyalty and faithfulness iniquity is
atoned for,
and by the fear of the Lord one avoids
evil.
When the ways of people please the
Lord,
he causes even their enemies to be at
peace with them.
Better is a little with righteousness
than large income with injustice.
The human mind plans the way,
but the Lord directs the steps.
Inspired decisions are on the lips of a
king;
his mouth does not sin in judgment.
Honest balances and scales are the
Lords;
all the weights in the bag are his work.
It is an abomination to kings to do evil,
for the throne is established by
righteousness.
Righteous lips are the delight of a king,
and he loves those who speak what is
right.
of the wise (cf. 11.14; 13.10; 19.20; 20.18); see v. 26 for its antithesis. 24: Slight variant on the image of the path
(see 1.15n.), this time leading upward (representing success) or downward (representing failure), because of
Sheols location below the earths surface. 25: Boundaries are the markers that indicate the extent of a eld (see
22.28; Deut 19.4). Widows were lowly members of society and vulnerable to the encroachments of the powerful
(cf. Job 24.23), hence the special divine protection (cf. 23.1011). 27: The wise oppose bribery in all its forms, cf.
17.23; Sir 20.29. 30: The light of the eyes refers to the friendly looks of another person. A frequent theme in Proverbs is the eect others, and particularly their words, have upon a person (cf. 12.25). 3133: On the importance
of admonition see 1.23n. The word translated instruction in vv. 5,32,33 (Heb musar) is elsewhere oen translated as discipline; see 12.1n. 33: Fear of the Lord, see 1.7n. 16.17: A string of proverbs that stress the role of the
Lord in directing the lives both of individuals and of wider communities. 1: Cf. vv. 9,33; 19.21; 20.24; 21.3031. 2:
Cf. 17.3; 21.2; 24.12. 4: The day of trouble is a day on which disaster strikes unexpectedly (cf. 11.4; Eccl 7.17). 6:
Loyalty and faithfulness indicate proper devotion (cf. 3.3; 14.22). Fear of the Lord, see 1.7n. 7: Gods pleasure leads
not only to internal but also to external peace in relation to enemies. 8: Cf. 15.1617. 1015: A small group of sayings concerning the king. 10: Inspired decisions indicate the kings wisdom and authority. Solomon embodies the
hebrew bible | 915
proverbs 17
A kings wrath is a messenger of death,
and whoever is wise will appease it.
In the light of a kings face there is life,
and his favor is like the clouds that
bring the spring rain.
How much better to get wisdom than
gold!
To get understanding is to be chosen
rather than silver.
The highway of the upright avoids evil;
those who guard their way preserve
their lives.
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
It is better to be of a lowly spirit among
the poor
than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Those who are attentive to a matter will
prosper,
and happy are those who trust in the
Lord.
The wise of heart is called perceptive,
and pleasant speech increases
persuasiveness.
Wisdom is a fountain of life to one who
has it,
but folly is the punishment of fools.
The mind of the wise makes their speech
judicious,
and adds persuasiveness to their lips.
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the
body.
Sometimes there is a way that seems to
be right,
but in the end it is the way to death.
The appetite of workers works for them;
their hunger urges them on.
Scoundrels concoct evil,
and their speech is like a scorching re.
A perverse person spreads strife,
and a whisperer separates close friends.

The violent entice their neighbors,
and lead them in a way that is not good.
One who winks the eyes plansa perverse
things;
one who compresses the lips brings evil
to pass.
Gray hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained in a righteous life.
One who is slow to anger is better than
the mighty,
and one whose temper is controlled
than one who captures a city.
The lot is cast into the lap,
but the decision is the Lords alone.
Better is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting with strife.
A slave who deals wisely will rule over a
child who acts shamefully,
and will share the inheritance as one of
the family.
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace
is for gold,
but the Lord tests the heart.
An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
and a liar gives heed to a mischievous
tongue.
Those who mock the poor insult their
Maker;
those who are glad at calamity will not
go unpunished.
Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their
parents.
Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
still less is false speech to a ruler.b
A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of
those who give it;
17
a Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb to plan

b Or a noble person
ideal of the wise king (1 Kings 3.79,1628). 11: Cf. 11.1n. 14: A kings wrath is more dangerous than that of most
people because of the power he wields, hence it is worth appeasing (cf. 19.12; 20.2). 15: Royal favor is compared
to the clouds that precede the spring rains and water the rst crop, valued as a great blessing (cf. Hos 6.3). 16:
Cf. 8.1011. 1819: Cf. 11.2. 21: Perception and eloquence are keynotes of the wise person who needs at times to
employ powers of persuasion (cf. v. 23). Contrast the persuasive seductiveness of the loose woman in 2.16; 5.3;
7.5. 22: Cf. 10.11. 25: =14.12. 26: Hunger is appreciated as a motive for diligence; cf. Eccl 6.7. 2730: Four sayings
on dierent types of wicked people and their dangerous speech; see 10.8n. 31: The gray hair of the elderly is
related to righteous living, which was thought to produce longevity (cf. 20.29; Sir 25.36). 32: See 14.17n. 33:
Casting lots was a common way of making decisions. All destinies are in Gods hands, even the direction in
which the lot falls (cf. 18.18). 17.1: Cf. 15.1617. 2: Wisdom can trump even the norms of law and custom (cf.
916 | hebrew bible
proverbs 18
wherever they turn they prosper.
One who forgives an aront fosters
friendship,
but one who dwells on disputes will
alienate a friend.
A rebuke strikes deeper into a discerning
person
than a hundred blows into a fool.
Evil people seek only rebellion,
but a cruel messenger will be sent
against them.
Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its
cubs
than to confront a fool immersed in
folly.
Evil will not depart from the house
of one who returns evil for good.
The beginning of strife is like letting out
water;
so stop before the quarrel breaks out.
One who justies the wicked and one
who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the
Lord.
Why should fools have a price in hand
to buy wisdom, when they have no
mind to learn?
A friend loves at all times,
and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.
It is senseless to give a pledge,
to become surety for a neighbor.
One who loves transgression loves strife;
one who builds a high threshold invites
broken bones.
The crooked of mind do not prosper,
and the perverse of tongue fall into

calamity.
The one who begets a fool gets trouble;
the parent of a fool has no joy.
A cheerful heart is a good medicine,
but a downcast spirit dries up the
bones.
The wicked accept a concealed bribe
to pervert the ways of justice.
The discerning person looks to wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool to the ends of the
earth.
Foolish children are a grief to their
father
and bitterness to her who bore them.
To impose a ne on the innocent is not
right,
or to og the noble for their integrity.
One who spares words is
knowledgeable;
one who is cool in spirit has
understanding.
Even fools who keep silent are
considered wise;
when they close their lips, they are
deemed intelligent.
The one who lives alone is selfindulgent,
showing contempt for all who have
sound judgment.a
A fool takes no pleasure in
understanding,
but only in expressing personal opinion.
18
19.10b). 3: A crucible tests for impurities in precious metal; cf. 27.21. 4: See 14.7n. 5: See 14.31n. 8: An unusual
observation that a bribe works. In the eyes of, however, indicates self-delusion. Gis to curry favor were acceptable up to a point (cf. 18.16; 21.14), but elsewhere bribery is condemned (e.g., v. 23). 9: Forgiveness in the context
of friendship; cf. 10.12. 10: A hundred blows, Deut 25.3 limits corporal punishment to forty blows. 12: Meeting an
angry she-bear, a popular image for great danger (cf. 2 Sam 17.8; 2 Kings 2.2324; Hos 13.8). 14: Leing out water
from a dam, a process that is unstoppable once it is started. 15: The abuse of judicial power was a serious concern; cf. v. 26; 19.5; Deut 25.1; Ex 23.23,68; Isa 5.23. 16: A price in hand is probably a fee to the wise. Such fools
think they can buy wisdom with no commitment to it. 17: A true friend is supportive in good times and bad,
while relatives are regarded as more of a safety net in adversity (cf. 18.24). 18: Cf. 6.15; 11.15; 20.16. 19: Builds a
high threshold, a cause and eect proverb. Just as a badly built (and perhaps ostentatious) threshold invites
problems, so deliberate provocation to transgression causes conict. 20: See 10.23n. 21: See 10.1n. 22: Dries up
the bones indicates the withering eect of depression on the whole body. 23: Cf. v. 8; 15.27. 24: The eyes of a fool
gaze on the distant horizon (and unaainable goals) when wisdom is actually close at hand and readily aainable to the discerning person (cf. Deut 30.1115). 25: See 10.1n. 26: See v. 15n.; cf. 18.5; Deut 22.19; Am 2.8. 2728:
A pair of proverbs on the ambiguity of silence, normally a virtue of the wise (cf. 10.19; 12.23; 13.3; 15.28), but
paradoxically when fools keep silent they are considered wise. 18.12: The loner and the fool have this in com-
hebrew bible | 917
proverbs 19
When wickedness comes, contempt
comes also;
and with dishonor comes disgrace.
The words of the mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a gushing
stream.
It is not right to be partial to the guilty,
or to subvert the innocent in judgment.
A fools lips bring strife,
and a fools mouth invites a ogging.
The mouths of fools are their ruin,
and their lips a snare to themselves.
The words of a whisperer are like
delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the
body.
One who is slack in work
is close kin to a vandal.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous run into it and are safe.
The wealth of the rich is their strong city;
in their imagination it is like a high
wall.
Before destruction ones heart is
haughty,
but humility goes before honor.
If one gives answer before hearing,
it is folly and shame.
The human spirit will endure sickness;
but a broken spiritwho can bear?
An intelligent mind acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks
knowledge.
A gift opens doors;
it gives access to the great.
The one who rst states a case seems
right,
until the other comes and crossexamines.

Casting the lot puts an end to disputes
and decides between powerful
contenders.
An ally oended is stronger than a city;a
such quarreling is like the bars of a
castle.
From the fruit of the mouth ones
stomach is satised;
the yield of the lips brings satisfaction.
Death and life are in the power of the
tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
He who nds a wife nds a good thing,
and obtains favor from the Lord.
The poor use entreaties,
but the rich answer roughly.
Someb friends play at friendshipc
but a true friend sticks closer than ones
nearest kin.
Better the poor walking in integrity
than one perverse of speech who is a
fool.
Desire without knowledge is not good,
and one who moves too hurriedly
misses the way.
Ones own folly leads to ruin,
yet the heart rages against the Lord.
Wealth brings many friends,
but the poor are left friendless.
A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will not escape.
19
a Gk Syr Vg Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain

b Syr Tg: Heb A man of
c Cn Compare Syr Vg Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
mon: neither listens to the other (cf. v. 13). The proverbs are linked by a wordplay in Hebrew. 4: The deep waters
of speech are ambiguous: words can be life-giving as wisdom is, but they can also be dangerous (cf. v. 21; 10.11).
By the rst alternative, the two lines would be synonymous, otherwise antithetical. 5: See 17.15n.,26. 67: The
danger of foolish speech is a common topic; cf. 10.1314; 12.13; 13.3; 14.3. 8: A whisperer indicates a gossip for
whom scandal is as essential as food (= 26.22). 9: See 6.611n. 1011: A proverb pair containing a subtle contrast: the name of the Lord (a phrase found only here in Proverbs) oers security (cf. Pss 61.4; 124.8), but the
protection of wealth may prove to be imaginary (cf. 10.1516; 11.4). 12: Cf. 11.2; 15.33; 16.18; 18.3. 14: The contrast
here is between physical illness and psychological depression. 16: See 17.8n. 1718: Legal language suggesting
that both sides of a case must be argued for a fair airing of opposing views, and that intractable disputes can
only be seled by casting the lot, i.e., seeking Gods decision; cf. 16.33. 19: An ally oended is likely to build up
impenetrable barriers due to a strong sense of personal injury. 2021: See 10.8n. 22: See 12.4n. 23: The powerlessness of the poor leads to entreaties while the rich can answer as they please; cf. Sir 13.3. 19.1: A beer than
saying; cf. 15.1617; 16.8; 17; 28.6. 2: Desire indicates intention, and hurried movement represents action; hastiness in both creates problems. 3: The fool is self-deceived and misplaces blame; cf. Sir 15.1120. 4: The poor are
918 | hebrew bible
proverbs 20
Many seek the favor of the generous,
and everyone is a friend to a giver of
gifts.
If the poor are hated even by their kin,
how much more are they shunned by
their friends!
When they call after them, they are not
there.a
To get wisdom is to love oneself;
to keep understanding is to prosper.
A false witness will not go unpunished,
and the liar will perish.
It is not tting for a fool to live in luxury,
much less for a slave to rule over
princes.
Those with good sense are slow to anger,
and it is their glory to overlook an
oense.
A kings anger is like the growling of a
lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
A stupid child is ruin to a father,
and a wifes quarreling is a continual
dripping of rain.
House and wealth are inherited from
parents,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
Laziness brings on deep sleep;
an idle person will suer hunger.
Those who keep the commandment will
live;
those who are heedless of their ways
will die.
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the
Lord,
and will be repaid in full.
Discipline your children while there is
hope;
do not set your heart on their destruction.
A violent tempered person will pay the
penalty;
if you eect a rescue, you will only have

to do it again.a
Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom for the
future.
The human mind may devise many
plans,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that
will be established.
What is desirable in a person is loyalty,
and it is better to be poor than a liar.
The fear of the Lord is life indeed;
lled with it one rests secure
and suers no harm.
The lazy person buries a hand in the
dish,
and will not even bring it back to the
mouth.
Strike a scoer, and the simple will learn
prudence;
reprove the intelligent, and they will
gain knowledge.
Those who do violence to their father
and chase away their mother
are children who cause shame and
bring reproach.
Cease straying, my child, from the words
of knowledge,
in order that you may hear
instruction.
A worthless witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked devours
iniquity.
Condemnation is ready for scoers,
and ogging for the backs of fools.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a
brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not
wise.
20
le friendless, see vv. 67; see also 14.20n. 5: A court of law is envisaged; the false witness is a frequent topic (see
v. 9; 6.19; 12.17; 14.5,25; 21.28; 25.7c10,18; Ex 20.16; 23.13,7). 10: This proverb decries a situation that has gone
topsy-turvy; cf. 30.2122; Eccl 10.67. 1112: Warnings against anger; see 1417n. For the kings anger and favor
see 16.1415n. 1314: A male perspective on domestic unhappiness contrasted with the advantages of a prudent
wife; cf. 31.1031. 16: The commandment is that of any legitimate authority such as parent, sage, or the Lord (cf.
13.13). 17: Gods commitment to the poor, cf. 14.31n.; 17.5; 28.27. 18: While there is hope, during childhood, when
there is potential for change and lasting formation can occur. 19: The violent tempered person will be punished.
He is locked into a repeated paern and cannot be helped. 20: The value of seeking advice and instruction is a
frequent topic; cf. 1.8; 4.1,10; 23.12. 21: Cf. 16.1,9,33; 21.3031. 22: Loyalty has overtones of covenant loyalty. 23:
Fear of the Lord, see 1.7n. 24: See 6.611n. 25: See 9.79n.; 12.1n. 26: See 10.1n. 20.1: Warnings about the eects
hebrew bible | 919
proverbs 20
The dread anger of a king is like the
growling of a lion;
anyone who provokes him to anger
forfeits life itself.
It is honorable to refrain from strife,
but every fool is quick to quarrel.
The lazy person does not plow in season;
harvest comes, and there is nothing to
be found.
The purposes in the human mind are like
deep water,
but the intelligent will draw them out.
Many proclaim themselves loyal,
but who can nd one worthy of trust?
The righteous walk in integrity
happy are the children who follow
them!
A king who sits on the throne of
judgment
winnows all evil with his eyes.
Who can say, I have made my heart
clean;
I am pure from my sin?
Diverse weights and diverse measures
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
Even children make themselves known
by their acts,
by whether what they do is pure and
right.
The hearing ear and the seeing eye
the Lord has made them both.
Do not love sleep, or else you will come
to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have
plenty of bread.
Bad, bad, says the buyer,
then goes away and boasts.
There is gold, and abundance of costly
stones;
but the lips informed by knowledge are
a precious jewel.
Take the garment of one who has given

surety for a stranger;
seize the pledge given as surety for
foreigners.
Bread gained by deceit is sweet,
but afterward the mouth will be full of
gravel.
Plans are established by taking advice;
wage war by following wise guidance.
A gossip reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate with a
babbler.
If you curse father or mother,
your lamp will go out in utter darkness.
An estate quickly acquired in the
beginning
will not be blessed in the end.
Do not say, I will repay evil;
wait for the Lord, and he will help you.
Diering weights are an abomination to
the Lord,
and false scales are not good.
All our steps are ordered by the Lord;
how then can we understand our own
ways?
It is a snare for one to say rashly, It is
holy,
and begin to reect only after making
a vow.
A wise king winnows the wicked,
and drives the wheel over them.
The human spirit is the lamp of the
Lord,
searching every inmost part.
Loyalty and faithfulness preserve the
king,
and his throne is upheld by
righteousness.a
The glory of youths is their strength,
a Gk: Heb loyalty
of wine and strong drink (cf. 23.1921,2935; 31.45). 2: See 16.14; 19.12. 3: Cf. 17.14; 26.17. 4: See 6.611n. 5: The
wise have good powers of expression of their deepest thoughts (see 18.4). 6: Many . . . but, for similar contrasts
see 18.24; 31.29. 8: Winnows refers to spoing evil quickly, cf. v. 26. 9: A rhetorical question anticipating the
answer no one. 10: See. v. 23; 11.1n. 13: See 6.611n. 14: In the world of bartering, the buyer misleadingly downgrades the deal to get a good price and then is pleased with his deception. 15: See 2.4n. 16: See 6.15n.; 27.13.
Giving surety for a stranger or foreigner, who has no ties to the community, is a high-risk strategy. 17: The difference between initial appearance and later reality; cf. 9.1718; Job 20.1214. 18: See 15.22n.; 24.56. 20: Lamp
will go out, see 13.9n. 21: Quickly acquired, not properly inherited. On the insubstantiality of hastily or unjustly
acquired wealth see 1.1019; 10.2; 13.11; 15.6; 16.8; 28.8,20,22. 23: See v. 10; 11.1n. 24: On divine control see 16.17.
25: See the reckless vow by Jephthah in Judg 11.2940; cf. Eccl 5.46. 26: The wheel is a threshing implement (v.
920 | hebrew bible
proverbs 21
but the beauty of the aged is their gray
hair.
Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
beatings make clean the innermost
parts.
The kings heart is a stream of water in
the hand of the Lord;
he turns it wherever he will.
All deeds are right in the sight of the
doer,
but the Lord weighs the heart.
To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than
sacrice.
Haughty eyes and a proud heart
the lamp of the wickedare sin.
The plans of the diligent lead surely to
abundance,
but everyone who is hasty comes only
to want.
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
is a eeting vapor and a snarea of
death.
The violence of the wicked will sweep
them away,
because they refuse to do what is just.
The way of the guilty is crooked,
but the conduct of the pure is right.
It is better to live in a corner of the
housetop
than in a house shared with a
contentious wife.
The souls of the wicked desire evil;
their neighbors nd no mercy in their
eyes.
When a scoer is punished, the simple
become wiser;
when the wise are instructed, they
increase in knowledge.
The Righteous One observes the house
of the wicked;
he casts the wicked down to ruin.
If you close your ear to the cry of the

poor,
you will cry out and not be heard.
A gift in secret averts anger;
and a concealed bribe in the bosom,
strong wrath.
When justice is done, it is a joy to the
righteous,
but dismay to evildoers.
Whoever wanders from the way of
understanding
will rest in the assembly of the dead.
Whoever loves pleasure will suer want;
whoever loves wine and oil will not be
rich.
The wicked is a ransom for the righteous,
and the faithless for the upright.
It is better to live in a desert land
than with a contentious and fretful wife.
Precious treasure remainsb in the house
of the wise,
but the fool devours it.
Whoever pursues righteousness and
kindness
will nd lifec and honor.
One wise person went up against a city
of warriors
and brought down the stronghold in
which they trusted.
To watch over mouth and tongue
is to keep out of trouble.
The proud, haughty person, named
Scoer,
acts with arrogant pride.
The craving of the lazy person is fatal,
for lazy hands refuse to labor.
All day long the wicked covet,d
21
a
b
c
d
Gk: Heb seekers

Gk: Heb and oil
Gk: Heb life and righteousness
Gk: Heb all day long one covets covetously
8; Isa 28.27). 27: Lamp, cf. Zeph 1.12. See also 15.11; 16.2; 17.3. 29: See 16.31. 30: Corporal punishment as a component of pedagogical discipline (cf. 13.24; 22.15; 23.1314). 21.1: Even the mind of a king is controlled by God (cf.
vv. 3031). 2: Cf. 16.2. 3: Cf. 15.8,29; 28.9,13. The xed pair righteousness and justice is common, cf. 18.19; Ps 33.5;
and in the opposite order, Isa 56.1; Job 37.28; 2 Sam 8.15. 6: See 20.21n. 9: Contentious wife, cf. v. 19; 25.24; 27.15;
cf. also 19.1314n. In a corner of the housetop, either an exposed roof or a small room constructed on top of the
house (2 Kings 4.10). 12: Righteous One, i.e., God (cf. 13.6; 19.3) 13: See 14.31n. 14: See 17.8n. 16: Assembly of the
dead, i.e., Sheol. 17: Warnings against overindulgence and overspending; cf. v. 20. 18: Ransom indicates compensation money. The righteous are rescued from danger and the wicked put in their place (cf. 11.8; 13.8). 19: Cf.
19.1314; 21.9. 22: One wise person indicates a narrative about the superiority of wisdom to military strength; cf.
hebrew bible | 921
proverbs 22
but the righteous give and do not hold
back.
The sacrice of the wicked is an
abomination;
how much more when brought with evil
intent.
A false witness will perish,
but a good listener will testify
successfully.
The wicked put on a bold face,
but the upright give thought toa their
ways.
No wisdom, no understanding, no
counsel,
can avail against the Lord.
The horse is made ready for the day of
battle,
but the victory belongs to the Lord.
A good name is to be chosen rather
than great riches,
and favor is better than silver or gold.
The rich and the poor have this in
common:
the Lord is the maker of them all.
The clever see danger and hide;
but the simple go on, and suer for it.
The reward for humility and fear of the
Lord
is riches and honor and life.
Thorns and snares are in the way of the
perverse;
the cautious will keep far from them.
Train children in the right way,
and when old, they will not stray.
The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the
lender.
Whoever sows injustice will reap
calamity,
22
and the rod of anger will fail.

Those who are generous are blessed,
for they share their bread with the
poor.
Drive out a scoer, and strife goes out;
quarreling and abuse will cease.
Those who love a pure heart and are
gracious in speech
will have the king as a friend.
The eyes of the Lord keep watch over
knowledge,
but he overthrows the words of the
faithless.
The lazy person says, There is a lion
outside!
I shall be killed in the streets!
The mouth of a looseb woman is a deep
pit;
he with whom the Lord is angry falls
into it.
Folly is bound up in the heart of a boy,
but the rod of discipline drives it far
away.
Oppressing the poor in order to enrich
oneself,
and giving to the rich, will lead only to
loss.
The words of the wise:
Incline your ear and hear my words,c
and apply your mind to my teaching;
for it will be pleasant if you keep them
within you,
a Another reading is establish
b Heb strange
c Cn Compare Gk: Heb Incline your ear, and hear the
words of the wise
Eccl 9.1316. 23: See 10.8n. 24: See 9.79n. 25: See 6.611n. 27: See v. 3n. 28: See 19.5n. 3031: The limitations of
human wisdom in the light of the Lords superior wisdom; cf. 16.17. 22.1: A good name, cf. Sir 41.1213. 2: God as
creator of all, cf. 29.13; Job 31.1315. 45: See 10.23n. 7: The borrower is the slave, debt slavery was a reality in
ancient Israel (Ex 21.27; 2 Kings 4.1; Neh 5.5). 9: See 14.31n. 13: The excuses of the lazy person become more and
more ridiculous; cf. 26.13. 14: Cf. 2.1617; 7.1027. 15: See 13.24n. 16: Giving to the rich probably indicates aempting to bribe them.
22.1724.22: The words of the wise. This section forms a separate collection. Its sayings are formulated as
longer units of second-person address, like the Egyptian Instruction genre and like Proverbs 19. The unit
22.1723.11 has close similarities to the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope (ca. 1100 bce; see CoS 1.11522), a
text widely copied in schools. 22.1723.11 follows its topical order and hence could be a Hebrew adaptation of
the Egyptian text. 22.1721: A prologue, paerned aer the introduction to Amenemope. 20: Thirty sayings
may correspond to the thirty sections of Amenemope, though it is not clear how there are thirty units in this
922 | hebrew bible
proverbs 23
if all of them are ready on your lips.
So that your trust may be in the Lord,
I have made them known to you
todayyes, to you.
Have I not written for you thirty sayings
of admonition and knowledge,
to show you what is right and true,
so that you may give a true answer to
those who sent you?
Do not rob the poor because they are
poor,
or crush the aicted at the gate;
for the Lord pleads their cause
and despoils of life those who despoil
them.
Make no friends with those given to
anger,
and do not associate with hotheads,
or you may learn their ways
and entangle yourself in a snare.
Do not be one of those who give pledges,
who become surety for debts.
If you have nothing with which to pay,
why should your bed be taken from
under you?
Do not remove the ancient landmark
that your ancestors set up.
Do you see those who are skillful in their
work?
They will serve kings;
they will not serve common people.
23
When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully whata is before you,
and put a knife to your throat
if you have a big appetite.
Do not desire the rulersb delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
be wise enough to desist.
When your eyes light upon it, it is gone;
for suddenly it takes wings to itself,
ying like an eagle toward heaven.

Do not eat the bread of the stingy;
do not desire their delicacies;
for like a hair in the throat, so are they.c
Eat and drink! they say to you;
but they do not mean it.
You will vomit up the little you have
eaten,
and you will waste your pleasant
words.
Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
who will only despise the wisdom of
your words.
Do not remove an ancient landmark
or encroach on the elds of orphans,
for their redeemer is strong;
he will plead their cause against you.
Apply your mind to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.
Do not withhold discipline from your
children;
if you beat them with a rod, they will
not die.
If you beat them with the rod,
you will save their lives from Sheol.
My child, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will be glad.
My soul will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always continue in the fear of the
Lord.
Surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut o.
Hear, my child, and be wise,
and direct your mind in the way.
Do not be among winebibbers,
or among gluttonous eaters of meat;
a Or who
b Heb his
section. 2223: As in Amenemope, concern for the poor follows the prologue. The Lord replaces the Egyptian
Maat here as the one who pleads their cause. 2425: See 14.7n. 2627: See 6.15n. 28: Ancient landmark is
a marker indicating a property boundary (cf. Deut 19.14; 27.17) which has ancestral authority. Amenemope
contains a similar admonition. 29: Serve kings, cf. the similar comment in Amenemope. 23.13: Etiquee at
the table of the powerful is an important topic in Amenemope and in other Egyptian instructions. See also Sir
31.1218. 2: Knife to your throat, i.e., restrain your hunger. 45: Amenemope has a corresponding image using
geese instead of an eagle. 68: Amenemope has a similar metaphor. 1011: See 15.25; 22.28; redeemer refers to
God. 1314: See 13.24n. Sheol, the abode of the dead. 1718: Cautions against envy; cf. 3.31; 24.1,1920; 27.4. 20
hebrew bible | 923
proverbs 24
for the drunkard and the glutton will
come to poverty,
and drowsiness will clothe them with
rags.
When shall I awake?

I will seek another drink.
Do not envy the wicked,
nor desire to be with them;
for their minds devise violence,
and their lips talk of mischief.
24
Listen to your father who begot you,

and do not despise your mother when
she is old.
Buy truth, and do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and
understanding.
The father of the righteous will greatly
rejoice;
he who begets a wise son will be glad
in him.
Let your father and mother be glad;
let her who bore you rejoice.
By wisdom a house is built,

and by understanding it is established;
by knowledge the rooms are lled
with all precious and pleasant riches.
Wise warriors are mightier than strong
ones,e
and those who have knowledge than
those who have strength;
for by wise guidance you can wage your
war,
and in abundance of counselors there
is victory.
Wisdom is too high for fools;
in the gate they do not open their
mouths.
My child, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observea my ways.
For a prostitute is a deep pit;
an adulteressb is a narrow well.
She lies in wait like a robber
and increases the number of the
faithless.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has
complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
Those who linger late over wine,
those who keep trying mixed wines.
Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
At the last it bites like a serpent,
and stings like an adder.
Your eyes will see strange things,
and your mind utter perverse things.
You will be like one who lies down in the
midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.c
They struck me, you will say,d but I
was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
Whoever plans to do evil

will be called a mischief-maker.
The devising of folly is sin,
and the scoer is an abomination to all.
If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength being small;
if you hold back from rescuing those
taken away to death,
those who go staggering to the
slaughter;
if you say, Look, we did not know
this
does not he who weighs the heart
perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your
soul know it?
a
b
c
d
e
Another reading is delight in

Heb an alien woman
Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb lacks you will say
Gk Compare Syr Tg: Heb A wise man is strength
21: Warning against excessive eating and drinking; cf. Deut 21.1821. 2225: Parental relationships; see 10.1n.
2628: A briefer version of Prov 7. Cf. 2.16; 6.26; 7.10. 2935: A humorous mocking of the ill eects of drunkenness (cf. vv. 2021; 20.1; 31.45; cf. Isa 5.11) with a comparison to seasickness in v. 34 (cf. Ps 107.2627). 24.34:
House indicates both building and household; cf. v. 27; 9.1; 14.1; 31.1031. 56: Wise strategy outdoes might (cf.
21.22; but contrast 21.3031.). 1012: God sees through excuses for not helping victims of violence and weighs
924 | hebrew bible
proverbs 25
And will he not repay all according to
their deeds?
My child, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are
sweet to your taste.
Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you nd it, you will nd a future,
and your hope will not be cut o.
Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against
the home of the righteous;
do no violence to the place where the
righteous live;
for though they fall seven times, they
will rise again;
but the wicked are overthrown by
calamity.
Do not rejoice when your enemies fall,
and do not let your heart be glad when
they stumble,
or else the Lord will see it and be
displeased,
and turn away his anger from them.
Do not fret because of evildoers.
Do not envy the wicked;
for the evil have no future;
the lamp of the wicked will go out.
My child, fear the Lord and the king,
and do not disobey either of them;a
for disaster comes from them suddenly,
and who knows the ruin that both can
bring?
These also are sayings of the wise:
Partiality in judging is not good.
Whoever says to the wicked, You are
innocent,
will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by

nations;
but those who rebuke the wicked will
have delight,
and a good blessing will come upon
them.
One who gives an honest answer
gives a kiss on the lips.
Prepare your work outside,
get everything ready for you in the eld;
and after that build your house.
Do not be a witness against your
neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your lips.
Do not say, I will do to others as they
have done to me;
I will pay them back for what they have
done.
I passed by the eld of one who was
lazy,
by the vineyard of a stupid person;
and see, it was all overgrown with
thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a
robber,
and want, like an armed warrior.
25
These are other proverbs of Solomon

that the ocials of King Hezekiah of
Judah copied.
a Gk: Heb do not associate with those who change
the heart (cf. 16.2; 21.2). 1314: Honey refers to wisdom here (cf. 16.24; Ps 19.10; Ezek 3.3; Ps 119.103). 16: The doctrine of retribution is armed (see 10:23n.), though it is assumed that the righteous do encounter hardship.
1718: Cf. Ps 35.1116,19; Job 31.29. Contrast Pss 37.1013; 52.57; 58.1011. 1920: See 10.23n.; cf. Job 18.56.
2122: The Lord and the king are oen associated in authority and respect; cf. 16.10; 21.1; Ex 22.28; 1 Kings 21.13.
24.2334: Further words of the wise. A short separate section, an appendix to the words of the wise in
22.1724.22. 23b25,28: Legal language; cf. 17.15n.; 28.21; Lev 19.15; Deut 16.19. 26: Kiss on the lips, a gesture
of respect and aection that should accompany truth. 27: The importance of correct priorities and advance
preparation. 29: Human beings should not take punishment into their own hands; cf. vv. 1718. 3034: A short
teaching-narrative about laziness; see 6.611n.
hebrew bible | 925
proverbs 25
It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things
out.
Like the heavens for height, like the earth
for depth,
so the mind of kings is unsearchable.
Take away the dross from the silver,
and the smith has material for a
vessel;
take away the wicked from the presence
of the king,
and his throne will be established in
righteousness.
Do not put yourself forward in the kings
presence
or stand in the place of the great;
for it is better to be told, Come up here,
than to be put lower in the presence of
a noble.
What your eyes have seen
do not hastily bring into court;
fora what will you do in the end,
when your neighbor puts you to
shame?
Argue your case with your neighbor
directly,
and do not disclose anothers secret;
or else someone who hears you will
bring shame upon you,
and your ill repute will have no end.
A word tly spoken
is like apples of gold in a setting of
silver.
Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
is a wise rebuke to a listening ear.
Like the cold of snow in the time of
harvest
are faithful messengers to those who

send them;
they refresh the spirit of their masters.
Like clouds and wind without rain
is one who boasts of a gift never given.
With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
and a soft tongue can break bones.
If you have found honey, eat only
enough for you,
or else, having too much, you will
vomit it.
Let your foot be seldom in your
neighbors house,
otherwise the neighbor will become
weary of you and hate you.
Like a war club, a sword, or a sharp arrow
is one who bears false witness against a
neighbor.
Like a bad tooth or a lame foot
is trust in a faithless person in time of
trouble.
Like vinegar on a woundb
is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood,
sorrow gnaws at the human heart.c
If your enemies are hungry, give them
bread to eat;
and if they are thirsty, give them water
to drink;
for you will heap coals of re on their
heads,
and the Lord will reward you.
The north wind produces rain,
and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
a Cn: Heb or else
b Gk: Heb Like one who takes o a garment on a cold
day, like vinegar on lye
c Gk Syr Tg: Heb lacks Like a moth . . . human heart
25.129.27: Proverbial sayings copied by Hezekiahs ocials. The heading refers not only to Solomon (cf. 1.1;
10.1), to whom the proverbial sayings are aributed, but also to the ocials of King Hezekiah (king of Judah ca.
715687 bce) who were involved in their transmission. This note gives a rare indication of a historical context for
this collection. 25.1: Copied refers to the editing and arranging of older sayings. 23: Gods world is mysterious,
but the king is endowed with the profound wisdom to seek to comprehend it. Cf. 1 Kings 4.2934. Glory here
means action worthy of glory. 45: For similar uses of the metaphor of rening metals, see 27.2122; Job 33.10;
Isa 1.25; 48.10; Jer 6.2930; Ezek 22.1722. 67a: Proverb against self-promotion. 7c10: Caution about haste in
going to court with a grievance, advising direct mediation where possible. 1112: The comparison of wisdom
and its good practices to ornaments is a frequent motif; see 2.4n. On good speech cf. 15.23; 16.24; 20.15. 1314:
Use of weather imagery to illuminate human behavior (cf. v. 23). 15: A positive view of the power of persuasion.
1617: The merits of restraint; cf. Sir 37.2731. 18: See 19.5n. 22: Heap coals of re on their heads, undeserved kindness awakens remorse; cf. Rom 12.1721. A similar Egyptian penitential ritual was possibly known to the sages
926 | hebrew bible
proverbs 26
It is better to live in a corner of the
housetop
than in a house shared with a
contentious wife.
Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country.
Like a muddied spring or a polluted
fountain
are the righteous who give way before
the wicked.
It is not good to eat much honey,
or to seek honor on top of honor.
Like a city breached, without walls,
is one who lacks self-control.
Like snow in summer or rain in
harvest,
so honor is not tting for a fool.
Like a sparrow in its itting, like a
swallow in its ying,
an undeserved curse goes nowhere.
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the
donkey,
and a rod for the back of fools.
Do not answer fools according to their folly,
or you will be a fool yourself.
Answer fools according to their folly,
or they will be wise in their own eyes.
It is like cutting o ones foot and
drinking down violence,
to send a message by a fool.
The legs of a disabled person hang limp;
so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
It is like binding a stone in a sling
to give honor to a fool.
Like a thornbush brandished by the hand
of a drunkard
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
Like an archer who wounds everybody
is one who hires a passing fool or
drunkard.a
Like a dog that returns to its vomit
26
is a fool who reverts to his folly.

Do you see persons wise in their own
eyes?
There is more hope for fools than for
them.
The lazy person says, There is a lion in
the road!
There is a lion in the streets!
As a door turns on its hinges,
so does a lazy person in bed.
The lazy person buries a hand in the dish,
and is too tired to bring it back to the
mouth.
The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem
than seven who can answer discreetly.
Like somebody who takes a passing dog
by the ears
is one who meddles in the quarrel of
another.
Like a maniac who shoots deadly
rebrands and arrows,
so is one who deceives a neighbor
and says, I am only joking!
For lack of wood the re goes out,
and where there is no whisperer,
quarreling ceases.
As charcoal is to hot embers and wood
to re,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling
strife.
The words of a whisperer are like
delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the
body.
Like the glazeb covering an earthen
vessel
are smoothc lips with an evil heart.
b Cn: Heb silver of dross
c Gk: Heb burning
of Israel. 24: Cf. 21.9n. 26: A muddied spring refers to a befouled supply of fresh water, thus rendered useless (cf.
Ezek. 34.18). 2728: Cf. vv. 1617.
26.112: A section on fools. The term used for fool here (Heb kesil) refers to someone who is self-complacent to the point of obtuseness. 45: Juxtaposing two proverbs provokes reection on their competing claims.
Answering fools according to their folly means speaking to them on their level. On the one hand, doing so likens
you to them; on the other, not doing so means they will think they have outwied you. 8: Binding a stone in a
sling is used as a metaphor for doing something that defeats the purpose; stones are meant to be thrown from
a sling, not bound in it. 9: The expression may indicate uselessness (cf. vv. 78) or the use of a proverb in a hurtful way. 1316: A section on lazy people; see 6.611n. 13: A ridiculous excuse; a lion is not likely to appear in the
streets. 15: Such people are too lazy to eat (cf. 19.24). 1728: A section on the consequences of antisocial speech
hebrew bible | 927
proverbs 27
An enemy dissembles in speaking
while harboring deceit within;
when an enemy speaks graciously, do
not believe it,
for there are seven abominations
concealed within;
though hatred is covered with guile,
the enemys wickedness will be exposed
in the assembly.
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and a stone will come back on the one
who starts it rolling.
A lying tongue hates its victims,
and a attering mouth works ruin.
Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may
bring.
Let another praise you, and not your own
mouth
a stranger, and not your own lips.
A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but a fools provocation is heavier than
both.
Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
but who is able to stand before
jealousy?
Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
Well meant are the wounds a friend
inicts,
but profuse are the kisses of an
enemy.
The sated appetite spurns honey,
but to a ravenous appetite even the
bitter is sweet.
Like a bird that strays from its nest
is one who strays from home.
Perfume and incense make the heart
glad,
but the soul is torn by trouble.a
Do not forsake your friend or the friend
of your parent;
do not go to the house of your kindred
in the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is nearby

than kindred who are far away.
Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
so that I may answer whoever
reproaches me.
The clever see danger and hide;
but the simple go on, and suer for it.
Take the garment of one who has given
surety for a stranger;
seize the pledge given as surety for
foreigners.b
Whoever blesses a neighbor with a loud
voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing.
A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a contentious wife are alike;
to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp oil in the right hand.c
Iron sharpens iron,
and one person sharpens the witsd of
another.
Anyone who tends a g tree will eat its
fruit,
and anyone who takes care of a master
will be honored.
Just as water reects the face,
so one human heart reects another.
Sheol and Abaddon are never satised,
and human eyes are never satised.
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace
is for gold,
so a person is testede by being praised.
Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
but the folly will not be driven out.
27
a Gk: Heb the sweetness of a friend is better than

b
c
d
e
ones own counsel

Vg and 20.16: Heb for a foreign woman
Heb face
Heb lacks is tested
and behavior. On concern for speech see 10.8n. 22: See 18.18. 27: A kind of poetic justice (cf. Ps 7.15; Eccl 10.8).
27.122: A miscellaneous collection featuring proverb pairs. 12: The words boast and praise are the same
in Hebrew. 34: The imagery of overwhelming weight or force links these proverbs. 56: Two proverbs on the
paradoxes of true friendship. 7: The same insight as expressed in Benjamin Franklins proverb, Hunger is a
good pickle. 10: A tripartite proverb in which the main maxim is in the nal part of the verse. 12: Cf. 22.3. 13:
See 20.16. Repetition of earlier proverbs occurs frequently in this section. 14: A humorous proverb on untimely
behavior; cf. Eccl 3.18. 1516: See 19.1314n. 1719: Proverbs on benecial interpersonal relationships. 20: Sheol
928 | hebrew bible
proverbs 28
Know well the condition of your ocks,
and give attention to your herds;
for riches do not last forever,
nor a crown for all generations.
When the grass is gone, and new growth
appears,
and the herbage of the mountains is
gathered,
the lambs will provide your clothing,
and the goats the price of a eld;
there will be enough goats milk for your
food,
for the food of your household
and nourishment for your servantgirls.
The wicked ee when no one
pursues,
but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
When a land rebels
it has many rulers;
but with an intelligent ruler
there is lasting order.a
A rulerb who oppresses the poor
is a beating rain that leaves no food.
Those who forsake the law praise the
wicked,
but those who keep the law struggle
against them.
The evil do not understand justice,
but those who seek the Lord
understand it completely.
Better to be poor and walk in
integrity
than to be crooked in ones ways even
though rich.
Those who keep the law are wise
children,
but companions of gluttons shame their
parents.
28
One who augments wealth by exorbitant

interest
gathers it for another who is kind to the
poor.
When one will not listen to the law,
even ones prayers are an
abomination.
Those who mislead the upright into evil
ways
will fall into pits of their own making,
but the blameless will have a goodly
inheritance.
The rich is wise in self-esteem,
but an intelligent poor person sees
through the pose.
When the righteous triumph, there is
great glory,
but when the wicked prevail, people go
into hiding.
No one who conceals transgressions will
prosper,
but one who confesses and forsakes
them will obtain mercy.
Happy is the one who is never without
fear,
but one who is hard-hearted will fall
into calamity.
Like a roaring lion or a charging
bear
is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
A ruler who lacks understanding is a
cruel oppressor;
but one who hates unjust gain will
enjoy a long life.
If someone is burdened with the blood
of another,
b Cn: Heb A poor person
and Abaddon, see 15.11n. 21: Cf. 17.3 where it is the Lord who tests. 22: The Heb term for fool here is ewil, a person of obstinate disposition without proper moral orientation. 2327: A section of practical advice on tending
ocks and herds (cf. 12.10; Sir 7.22). The reference to a crown in v. 24 and the traditional link of king and shepherd
imagery (e.g., 1 Kings 22.17; Isa 44.28) means that it could be read as royal advice.
28.129.7: A distinct unit characterized by many antithetical proverbs and a concern for just government.
28.1 and 29.27 both contrast the righteous and the wicked. 28.2: Many rulers may refer to factions in the reign
of a weak king or to a period of political instability. 3: A beating rain that leaves no food refers to the ruining of
a ripe crop by heavy rain (cf. 26.1). 4: The law (Heb torah; cf. vv. 7,9; 29.18) can mean either revealed law or
teaching, as oen in Proverbs (e.g., 3.1). 5: Cf. 29.7. 8: Exorbitant interest is forbidden in biblical law; see Ex 22.25;
Lev 25.36; Deut 23.19. By the principle of retribution, the oppressor should not prot (cf. 13.22; 14.31; 19.17). 9:
Cf. 15.8,29. 11: In self-esteem, (lit., in his own eyes), the characteristic of a fool (cf. 3.7; 14.12; 26.5,12; 28.26). 14:
Fear, a dierent word than in the phrase the fear of the Lord. The wise understand danger; fools do not (cf.
hebrew bible | 929
proverbs 29
let that killer be a fugitive until death;
let no one oer assistance.
One who walks in integrity will be safe,
but whoever follows crooked ways will
fall into the Pit.a
Anyone who tills the land will have
plenty of bread,
but one who follows worthless pursuits
will have plenty of poverty.
The faithful will abound with blessings,
but one who is in a hurry to be rich will
not go unpunished.
To show partiality is not good
yet for a piece of bread a person may do
wrong.
The miser is in a hurry to get rich
and does not know that loss is sure to
come.
Whoever rebukes a person will
afterward nd more favor
than one who atters with the tongue.
Anyone who robs father or mother
and says, That is no crime,
is partner to a thug.
The greedy person stirs up strife,
but whoever trusts in the Lord will be
enriched.
Those who trust in their own wits are
fools;
but those who walk in wisdom come
through safely.
Whoever gives to the poor will lack
nothing,
but one who turns a blind eye will get
many a curse.
When the wicked prevail, people go into
hiding;
but when they perish, the righteous
increase.
One who is often reproved, yet
remains stubborn,
will suddenly be broken beyond
healing.
When the righteous are in authority, the
people rejoice;
29
but when the wicked rule, the people

groan.
A child who loves wisdom makes a parent
glad,
but to keep company with prostitutes is
to squander ones substance.
By justice a king gives stability to the
land,
but one who makes heavy exactions
ruins it.
Whoever atters a neighbor
is spreading a net for the neighbors
feet.
In the transgression of the evil there is a
snare,
but the righteous sing and rejoice.
The righteous know the rights of the
poor;
the wicked have no such
understanding.
Scoers set a city aame,
but the wise turn away wrath.
If the wise go to law with fools,
there is ranting and ridicule without
relief.
The bloodthirsty hate the blameless,
and they seek the life of the upright.
A fool gives full vent to anger,
but the wise quietly holds it back.
If a ruler listens to falsehood,
all his ocials will be wicked.
The poor and the oppressor have this in
common:
the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.
If a king judges the poor with equity,
his throne will be established forever.
The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a mother is disgraced by a neglected
child.
When the wicked are in authority,
transgression increases,
but the righteous will look upon their
downfall.
a Syr: Heb fall all at once
14.16; 27.12). 17: Cf. Cain in Gen 4.12. 18: The Pit, i.e., Sheol, the abode of the dead; see 1.12n. 19: See 6.611n.;
20.21n. 21: For a piece of bread, bribery (cf. 18.5; 24.23b), accompanied by greed. 23: See 1.23n. 2526: Proper and
misplaced trust connect these sayings. 27: See 14.31n. 29.1: See 1.23n. 3: See 10.1n. 4: Cf. 16.1013; 20.28. 56:
Two proverbs linked by the imagery of a hidden trap. 7: Cf. 28.5. Wisdom literature oen associates evil with a
failure to perceive the true nature of things. 8: Set a city aame, i.e., ignite anger. 9: With fools it is impossible
to conduct a reasonable dispute (cf. 26.4). 1113: On self-restraint see 12.16; 14.17. 12: On the critical role of the
930 | hebrew bible
proverbs 30
Discipline your children, and they will
give you rest;
they will give delight to your heart.
Where there is no prophecy, the people
cast o restraint,
but happy are those who keep the law.
By mere words servants are not disciplined,
for though they understand, they will
not give heed.
Do you see someone who is hasty in
speech?
There is more hope for a fool than for
anyone like that.
A slave pampered from childhood
will come to a bad end.a
One given to anger stirs up strife,
and the hothead causes much
transgression.
A persons pride will bring humiliation,
but one who is lowly in spirit will
obtain honor.
To be a partner of a thief is to hate ones
own life;
one hears the victims curse, but
discloses nothing.b
The fear of othersc lays a snare,
but one who trusts in the Lord is secure.
Many seek the favor of a ruler,
but it is from the Lord that one gets
justice.
The unjust are an abomination to the
righteous,
but the upright are an abomination to
the wicked.
30
The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An

oracle.
Thus says the man: I am weary, OGod,
I am weary, OGod. How can I prevail?d
Surely I am too stupid to be human;

I do not have human understanding.
I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the holy
ones.e
Who has ascended to heaven and come
down?
Who has gathered the wind in the
hollow of the hand?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a
garment?
Who has established all the ends of the
earth?
What is the persons name?
And what is the name of the persons
child?
Surely you know!
Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge
in him.
Do not add to his words,
or else he will rebuke you, and you will
be found a liar.
Two things I ask of you;
do not deny them to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and
lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that I need,
or I shall be full, and deny you,
and say, Who is the Lord?
a
b
c
d
e

Or human fear
Or I am spent. Meaning of Heb uncertain
Or Holy One
king see 14.25; 16.10,1213; 25.5; 29.4. 13: Cf. 22.2. The Lord gives life irrespective of a persons moral nature. 18:
Prophecy, lit. vision. Law, cf. 28.4n. A society lacking guidance experiences chaos. 19,21: The concern with
servants suggests that the audience of Proverbs is the upper class. 23: Cf. 15.33; 16.1819; 18.12. 24: Partner of a
thief, not an actual accomplice, but someone with knowledge of the crime who discloses nothing (cf. Lev. 5.1). 25:
Anxious fear of others detracts from trusting the Lord.
30.114: The words of Agur. A separate section with its own aribution to Agur son of Jakeh, an unknown
gure. 1: An oracle (Heb massa); cf. Num 24.1425 (the oracle of Balaam). Others understand the Heb to mean
from Massa, a region of northern Arabia with a tribal group of that name, aested in Assyrian sources as early
as 734 bce, indicating that Agur was a non-Israelite sage. 23: The writer acknowledges his limitations in selfdeprecating terms (cf. Ps 73.212; Job 25.46). 4: Rhetorical questions implying the answer God and referring
to his work in creation (cf. Job 38.441). 56: A pious response to vv. 14; cf. Ps 18.30 (v. 5); Deut 4.2 (v. 6). 710:
A prayer to God to be kept from falsehood and to be given just enough. This is the only prayer in the book of
hebrew bible | 931
proverbs 30
or I shall be poor, and steal,
and profane the name of my God.
the way of a ship on the high seas,

and the way of a man with a girl.
Do not slander a servant to a master,

or the servant will curse you, and you
will be held guilty.
This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats, and wipes her mouth,
and says, I have done no wrong.
There are those who curse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers.
There are those who are pure in their
own eyes
yet are not cleansed of their
lthiness.
There are thosehow lofty are their
eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!
there are those whose teeth are swords,
whose teeth are knives,
to devour the poor from o the earth,
the needy from among mortals.
Under three things the earth trembles;

under four it cannot bear up:
a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when glutted with food;
an unloved woman when she gets a
husband,
and a maid when she succeeds her
mistress.
The leecha has two daughters;

Give, give, they cry.
Three things are never satised;
four never say, Enough:
Sheol, the barren womb,
the earth ever thirsty for water,
and the re that never says,
Enough.a
The eye that mocks a father
and scorns to obey a mother
will be pecked out by the ravens of the
valley
and eaten by the vultures.
Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:
the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
Four things on earth are small,

yet they are exceedingly wise:
the ants are a people without strength,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
the badgers are a people without power,
yet they make their homes in the
rocks;
the locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank;
the lizardb can be grasped in the hand,
yet it is found in kings palaces.
Three things are stately in their stride;
four are stately in their gait:
the lion, which is mightiest among wild
animals
and does not turn back before any;
the strutting rooster,c the he-goat,
and a king striding beforea his people.

b Or spider
c Gk Syr Tg Compare Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
Proverbs and could be a later addition (cf. Sir 31.14). 1114: Four types of sinners are described: the unlial, the
self-deluded, the arrogant, and those who exploit the poor. The sayings are linked by repetition of keywords.
30.1531: Numerical sayings. 15: The leech is a bloodsucking worm, an image of the insatiable. Two daughters, the suckers by which the leech aaches. Three . . . four, a numerical saying. 16: Four unlike phenomena are
listed as insatiable: Sheol, the abode of the dead, never ceases claiming victims; the barren womb (cf. Gen 30.1)
in that the womans desire for a child does not go away; the thirst of the dry earth for water; and the consuming re (cf. Amos 7.4). 1819: The catchword way, although used in dierent senses (course, manner, path, and
sexual relations) unites the phenomena; cf. Wis 5.1011. 20: A moralizing comment on v. 19d in the context of
adultery; eats, engages in illicit sex (cf. 5.15; 9.17). 2123: Four intolerable situations. Maid . . . mistress; cf. Sarah
and Hagar in Gen 16.34. 2428: Four small yet instructive creatures. Wisdom is valued over size and power.
2931: Four examples of grandeur; cf. the association of lion and king in 19.12; 20.2.
932 | hebrew bible
proverbs 31
If you have been foolish, exalting
yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
put your hand on your mouth.
For as pressing milk produces curds,
and pressing the nose produces blood,
so pressing anger produces strife.
31
The words of King Lemuel. An oracle

that his mother taught him:
No, my son! No, son of my womb!

No, son of my vows!
Do not give your strength to women,
your ways to those who destroy kings.
It is not for kings, OLemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine,
or for rulers to desirea strong drink;
or else they will drink and forget what
has been decreed,
and will pervert the rights of all the
aicted.
Give strong drink to one who is perishing,
and wine to those in bitter distress;
let them drink and forget their poverty,
and remember their misery no more.
Speak out for those who cannot speak,
for the rights of all the destitute.b
Speak out, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and
needy.
A capable wife who can nd?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and ax,
and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant,

she brings her food from far away.
She rises while it is still night
and provides food for her household
and tasks for her servant-girls.
She considers a eld and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a
vineyard.
She girds herself with strength,
and makes her arms strong.
She perceives that her merchandise is
protable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the dista,
and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor,
and reaches out her hands to the
needy.
She is not afraid for her household when
it snows,
for all her household are clothed in
crimson.
She makes herself coverings;
her clothing is ne linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the city gates,
taking his seat among the elders of the
land.
She makes linen garments and sells
them;
she supplies the merchant with sashes.
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her
tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her
household,
a Cn: Heb where
b Heb all children of passing away
31.19: The words of Lemuel, an unknown king who, like Agur (30.1), may have been a non-Israelite. 1: An
oracle, see 30.1n. His mother, cf. 1.8b; 6.20b. 29: Warnings against women and wine (only to be used for those
in distress), and stress on his duties as king, notably to protect the powerless.
31.1031 The capable wife. An acrostic poem of 22 lines (in which each verse begins with a subsequent leer
of the Hebrew alphabet) from the point of view of the husband (vv. 11,23,28) and children (v. 28) about the ideal
wife (v. 10) whose virtues are listed in hymnic style. 10: Capable (Heb hayil), variously rendered as good,
perfect, virtuous, noble, worthy, or valiant (cf. 12.4; Ruth 3.11). Who can nd? suggests it is dicult to
do so (cf. 18.22; 19.14). More precious than jewels echoes personied Wisdom in 3.15; 8.11. 1119: Her varied economic activities contribute to the well-being of the household. 19: Spindle, dista, tools used in spinning. 20:
Opens her hand, see Deut 15.7. 2122: Crimson . . . purple, luxury items. 23: The city gates, where commercial and
legal transactions took place (22.22; 24.7; Deut 21.19; 25.7; Ruth 4.112). 25: She is independent and condent;
hebrew bible | 933
proverbs 31
and does not eat the bread of
idleness.
Her children rise up and call her happy;
her husband too, and he praises her:
Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord is to
be praised.
Give her a share in the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the city
gates.
cf. Job 5.22; 39.22. 26: Cf. personied Wisdom in 8.610. 31: Praise from both family and the community. As one
who fears the Lord (see 1.7n.) she is the embodiment of wisdom.
ECCLESIASTES
name and author
Ecclesiastes is the Latin transliteration of the Greek rendering of the pen-name of the author, known in
Hebrew as Qohelet (also Qoheleth), which literally means Gatherer or Acquirer (of wisdom, wealth, pleasures). The Hebrew term indicates something of the acquisitive environment in which the author lived and
taught. The Greek term, though, meant a member of an assembly and Ecclesiastes was soon interpreted,
incorrectly, to mean one who gathers the assembly, hence, Preacher. Modern scholars noting that the
author of the book is more like a philosopher than a preacher, sometimes prefer to translate the name as
Teacher (cf. 12.9). The superscription of the book (1.2) presents Qohelet as the son of David who ruled in
Jerusalem, evoking the memory of Solomon, king of Israel (968928 bce), the consummate sage and gatherer of wealth and wisdom (see 1 Kings 34; 10). Apart from the superscription and 1.122.11, however, the
author never speaks as king, and the epilogue portrays the author as a teacher rather than as a king (12.914).
Moreover, the perspective in most of the book is that of an outsider to the royal court (3.16; 4.1316; 8.16;
10.1620).
canonical status and location in the canon

Ecclesiastes is one of the poetical and wisdom books in the Christian canon. It shares many generic features
of form and content with Proverbs and Job, the other books commonly referred to as wisdom literature. In
the Jewish canon, it is placed in the third division of the canon, the Writings, as one of the Megillot or ve
scrolls (Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther). Perhaps because of its radical ideas, it was
a controversial book in antiquity. In Jewish tradition the canonical status of Ecclesiastes was debated as late as
the second century ce. Although Ecclesiastes is included on second-century Christian canonical lists, Bishop
Theodore of Mopsuestia (h century) questioned its sacred status.
date of composition, historical context, and interpretation

The date of the book is disputed, although most scholars argue on linguistic grounds that it should be dated to
the postexilic period (aer 539 bce). The presence of two indisputable Persian loan words (parks in 2.5; sentence in 8.11) points to a date some time aer 450 bce, for there are no Persian loan words or Persian names in
the Hebrew Bible that can be dated earlier. The abundance of Aramaisms (i.e., Aramaic loan words, forms, and
constructions) also points to the postexilic period, when Aramaic became widely used in Palestine. A number
of specic idioms regarding inheritance, grants, prisons, social abuses, judicial problems, and socioeconomic
classes are aested in documents from the Persian period; in no other periods in history do we nd such a
coincidence of terminology. These features, together with the absence of Greek loan words or ideas with an
indisputably Greek origin, suggest that the book should be probably dated sometime before the Hellenistic
period, between 450 and 330 bce, although many scholars date it a century later, based in part on putative
links between Ecclesiastes and Greek philosophical ideas. The book is beer understood, however, against the
background of the ancient Near East.
The Persian period was characterized by tremendous economic activity, spurred on by the introduction of
standardized coinage by the Persian central government beginning around 515 bce. Money subsequently became a commodity, desired for its own sake (cf. 5.10; 7.12; 10.19). Standardized currency helped to democratize
economic opportunities, so that it became possible for even the poorest people in society to become wealthy.
As in any era of signicant economic innovation, the Persian period brought both opportunities and risks to
the average person in the empire.
The volatile economy led to widespread insecurity as people toiled to get ahead or simply to gain some
control over their lives, and thus understand what was happening in their world. Qohelet uses the aitudes
in that uncertain period as a trope to speak theologically about human aempts to control their lives and
understand a world that is contradictory, if not altogether absurd. The sense of the individual as a small part
of a large scene is evident in the political allusions (e.g., 4.1), which should be read against the background
of the empire. Many descriptions of life and death emphasize the impotence of individuals to change their
hebrew bible | 935
ecclesiastes
environment (8.8). The inevitability of ones fate (3.15; 6.10), the unavoidability of death (3.19), and the repetitions of life (3.18) all work together to create a vision of the remoteness, the inscrutability, and ultimately
the indierence of the world to the individual. In a vision of bleak grandeur the author faces this indierence,
acknowledges it, and admits an inability to transcend it, but nevertheless derives from it a hard-won wisdom:
This is how the world is.
The author appears to have drawn lessons from the wider wisdom tradition, yet he oen approached the
preoccupation of his audience through socioeconomic idioms current in his generation. Despite the newness
of their environment, the fundamental problems they faced about the possibility of coping with life in a world
that is inconsistent, if not contradictory, were not new aer all (see 1.10). Every generation must deal with the
fact that mortals inevitably live in a world in which they do not have control (all is vanity) and life can only be
lived before a sovereign God who alone determines all that happens on earth.
literary structure and guide to reading

Opinions as to the literary structure of Ecclesiastes have ranged from the claim that there is no structure at
all to aempts to work out intricate paerns. Most readers, however, discern only a rough structure. Clearly
marked is the superscription (1.1) and the epilogue (12.914), and the moo of the book (vanity of vanities),
which appears rst in 1.2 and for the last time in 12.8. The opening poem (1.311) is matched at the end by a
concluding poem (12.17). Between them the book has two halves of approximately equal length (1.126.9;
6.1011.10). Within each half the rst part presents a problematic situation (1.124.16; 6.108.17), and the second
part contains advice on how to cope with that situation (5.16.9; 9.111.10).
Because the book is relatively short, it should be read in a single siing. Readers should be alert for the repeated phrases that underline the recurrent perceptions of the author (e.g., vanity of vanities, chasing aer
wind, under the sun). Also, the reader is likely to note certain tensions, if not contradictions, in the book.
Whether these represent the authors quotation and refutation of current opinion or whether they represent
the authors own internal sense of contradictory experience remains debated. But the dierent perspectives, as
well as the ironic tone, give the book a lively quality and the reader the sense of having been plunged into the
midst of a conversation about important ideas.
Choon-Leong Seow
ecclesiastes 1
The words of the Teacher,a the son of

David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,a
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What do people gain from all the toil
at which they toil under the sun?
A generation goes, and a generation
comes,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun goes
down,
and hurries to the place where it
rises.
The wind blows to the south,
and goes around to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams ow,
there they continue to ow.
All thingsb are wearisome;
more than one can express;
the eye is not satised with seeing,

or the ear lled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be
done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said,
See, this is new?
It has already been,
in the ages before us.
The people of long ago are not
remembered,
nor will there be any remembrance
of people yet to come
by those who come after them.
I, the Teacher,a when king over Israel in
Jerusalem, applied my mind to seek and to
search out by wisdom all that is done under
heaven; it is an unhappy business that God
has given to human beings to be busy with.
a Heb Qoheleth, traditionally rendered Preacher
b Or words
1.1: Superscription. The author is identied by his pen-name, Teacher (Heb Qohelet; cf. 12.9), properly,
Gathererone who is supposed to have accumulated plenty of everything, including wisdom, wealth, and
pleasure. The description of the author as the son of David, king in Jerusalem evokes images of Solomon, the
consummate gatherer of wealth, wisdom, and pleasure (see also 1.22.11; 1 Kings 34; 10).
1.211: Preface. Despite constant activity, the world seems always to remain the same. 2: Vanity, Heb
hebel, which literally means breath or vapor (Isa 57.13; Ps 62.9). In Ecclesiastes, it is used as a metaphor
for things that cannot be grasped either physically or intellectually, things that are ephemeral, insubstantial,
enigmatic, or absurd. Elsewhere in the Bible, the human life span and human beings themselves are said to be
hebel (see Pss 39.411; 62.9; 78.33; Job 7.16). Vanity of vanities is a way of expressing the superlative in Hebrew;
hence the phrase means uer vanity. Virtually identical words are found in 12.8, the last verse of the book
before the epilogue (12.914); the epigram thus frames the book. 3: The term gain does not mean just benet,
but excess, advantage, or surplus. Toil is not the same as work. The normal Hebrew word for the laer is
also the word for worship, but the word for toil typically bears negative connotations. From all the toil may also
be translated as in exchange for all their toil. Here, as elsewhere in the book, toil refers not only to the process
of toiling, but to the fruit of ones toiling (see 2.10). The phrase under the sun occurs in the Bible only in Ecclesiastes, but it is aested elsewhere in the ancient Near East. It is a near synonym of under the heavens (1.13;
2.3; 3.1). Under the heavens, however, is a spatial designation (referring to what is happening everywhere in
the world), whereas under the sun refers to the realm of the living as opposed to the realm of the dead (cf. 4.15;
9.6,9). 4: The earth remains forever, beer the world always stays the same. Despite human toiling and the
coming and going of human generations, the world remains as it was. 57: The elements of naturelight, air,
and waterare also engaged in daily activities, with no new results. The sun . . . hurries (lit. stomps or pants)
to its destination, only to have to recommence its routine. The winds blow every which way and streams ow
endlessly, with no new results. 811: As with nature, so with knowledge; human speculations and endless instructions produce nothing new. 11: Cf. 2.16; 9.5.
1.122.11: The authors experiences and accomplishments. The style of this passage is similar to that of
many royal inscriptions in the ancient Near East. The author, in his assumed role as king, has experienced it
all and done it all, but even he has to admit that nothing is ultimately reliable. 1.12: The author takes on the
persona of Solomon (1.1n.; 2.9). 13: Unhappy business or terrible preoccupation may refer to human anxiety
hebrew bible | 937
ecclesiastes 2
I saw all the deeds that are done under the
sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after
wind.a
What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
I said to myself, I have acquired great
wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great
experience of wisdom and knowledge. And
I applied my mind to know wisdom and to
know madness and folly. I perceived that this
also is but a chasing after wind.a
For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and those who increase knowledge
increase sorrow.
I said to myself, Come now, I will make
a test of pleasure; enjoy yourself. But
again, this also was vanity. I said of laughter,
It is mad, and of pleasure, What use is it?
I searched with my mind how to cheer my
body with winemy mind still guiding me
with wisdomand how to lay hold on folly,
until I might see what was good for mortals to
do under heaven during the few days of their
life. I made great works; I built houses and
planted vineyards for myself; I made myself
gardens and parks, and planted in them all
kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools
from which to water the forest of growing
trees. I bought male and female slaves, and
had slaves who were born in my house; I also
had great possessions of herds and ocks,
more than any who had been before me in
Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver
and gold and the treasure of kings and of
the provinces; I got singers, both men and
women, and delights of the esh, and many
concubines.b
So I became great and surpassed all
who were before me in Jerusalem; also my
wisdom remained with me. Whatever
my eyes desired I did not keep from them;

I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my
heart found pleasure in all my toil, and
this was my reward for all my toil. Then I
considered all that my hands had done and
the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all
was vanity and a chasing after wind,a and
there was nothing to be gained under the
sun.
So I turned to consider wisdom and
madness and folly; for what can the one do
who comes after the king? Only what has
already been done. Then I saw that wisdom
excels folly as light excels darkness.
The wise have eyes in their head,
but fools walk in darkness.
Yet I perceived that the same fate befalls
all of them. Then I said to myself, What
happens to the fool will happen to me also;
why then have I been so very wise? And I
said to myself that this also is vanity. For
there is no enduring remembrance of the
wise or of fools, seeing that in the days to
come all will have been long forgotten. How
can the wise die just like fools? So I hated
life, because what is done under the sun was
grievous to me; for all is vanity and a chasing
after wind.a
I hated all my toil in which I had toiled
under the sun, seeing that I must leave it
to those who come after me and who
knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which
I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun.
This also is vanity. So I turned and gave
my heart up to despair concerning all the
toil of my labors under the sun, because
sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom
a Or a feeding on wind. See Hos 12.1
over all that is happening in the world. 14: Under the sun, see 1.3n. Chasing aer wind, i.e., pursuit of futility (Hos
12.2; Prov 15.14; Sir 34.12). 15: A proverb about humanly impossible tasks (cf. 7.13). 2.411: A summary of accomplishments like those found in royal inscriptions. Despite his worldly successes, the author concludes that
everything is but vanitythat is, beyond the grasp of mortals. 11: Nothing to be gained, cf. 1.3n.
2.1226: The leveling eect of death. Whatever advantage anyone might have in life is negated by death.
1217: Wisdom is beer than folly (as light excels darkness, v. 13), yet the wise and fools face the same fate of
death (v. 14; cf. 3.1920; 9.23), and they are all forgoen aer their death (cf. 1.11). 17: Chasing aer wind, see
1.14n. 1823: Toil does not give an advantage in the face of death. People cannot take the fruit of their toil with
them when they die, and thus are discontented with it when they live. Even the possibility of passing an inheritance to heirs does not give enjoyment, for the heirs may not deserve the inheritance. 18: Under the sun, see
938 | hebrew bible
ecclesiastes 3
and knowledge and skill must leave all to be
enjoyed by another who did not toil for it.
This also is vanity and a great evil. What do
mortals get from all the toil and strain with
which they toil under the sun? For all their
days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest.
This also is vanity.
There is nothing better for mortals than
to eat and drink, and nd enjoyment in their
toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God;
for apart from hima who can eat or who
can have enjoyment? For to the one who
pleases him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the
work of gathering and heaping, only to give
to one who pleases God. This also is vanity
and a chasing after wind.b
For everything there is a season, and a

time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up
what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build
up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time
to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain

from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain have the workers from their
toil? I have seen the business that God
has given to everyone to be busy with. He
has made everything suitable for its time;
moreover he has put a sense of past and
future into their minds, yet they cannot nd
out what God has done from the beginning
to the end. I know that there is nothing
better for them than to be happy and enjoy
themselves as long as they live; moreover,
it is Gods gift that all should eat and drink
and take pleasure in all their toil. I know
that whatever God does endures forever;
nothing can be added to it, nor anything
taken from it; God has done this, so that
all should stand in awe before him. That
which is, already has been; that which is to
be, already is; and God seeks out what has
gone by.c
a Gk Syr: Heb apart from me
b Or a feeding on wind. See Hos 12.1
c Heb what is pursued
1.3n. 2426: People do not have control over their future; the only good is to partake of life fully in the present,
for enjoyment is from the hand of God (v. 24). Cf. 3.13; 5.18; 9.710. The sovereign God arbitrarily gives the possibility of enjoyment to those who are somehow favored, but not to the sinner, a term that may simply mean
the one who misses out, the loser (cf. 7.26; 9.2,18; Prov 8.36; 13.22; 14.21; 19.2; 20.2).
3.115: The determination of events. God determines time and timing. 18: A rhythmic series of contrary
pairs (seven sets, each with two pairs of opposites) that together represent the totality and variety of the times
and seasons humans encounter. These events include those that simply happen to people (like being born
and dying) and occasions to which they must respond (like planting and plucking up what is planted). 9: The
rhetorical question is essentially the same as in 1.3; 2.22; 6.11, except that human beings are called the workers
(lit. the one who acts), even though God is the one who acts eectively in the following verses. 10: Business,
see 1.13n. 11: The same God who made everything suitable for its time ironically puts a sense of past and future
(lit. eternity) into human consciousness. Human beings must live with this paradox of knowing the reality
that transcends the moment (eternity) while being able to cope only with the moment. 1213: In view of human limitations, one should partake of good, for it is Gods gi to do so; cf. 5.18. 14: Whatever God does endures
forever, the Hebrew should be taken to mean that Gods deeds are eternal, i.e., not bound by time (see 3.11n.).
The timeless, eternal character of Gods doing stands in stark contrast to the eternity that exists only in human hearts (v. 11). Human activity is always only in its time (v. 11), whereas Gods activity is not bound by time.
The language of adding and subtracting is used elsewhere for maers that are decisive, authoritative, and
invariable (Deut 4.2; 12.32; cf. Jer 26.2; Prov 30.6). God establishes the dierence so that human beings might
know their place, that is, stand in awe of God. 15: What has gone by, lit. what is pursued.
hebrew bible | 939
ecclesiastes 4
Moreover I saw under the sun that in
the place of justice, wickedness was there,
and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well. I said in my heart,
God will judge the righteous and the wicked,
for he has appointed a time for every matter,
and for every work. I said in my heart with
regard to human beings that God is testing
them to show that they are but animals. For
the fate of humans and the fate of animals
is the same; as one dies, so dies the other.
They all have the same breath, and humans
have no advantage over the animals; for all is
vanity. All go to one place; all are from the
dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows
whether the human spirit goes upward and
the spirit of animals goes downward to the
earth? So I saw that there is nothing better
than that all should enjoy their work, for that
is their lot; who can bring them to see what
will be after them?
Again I saw all the oppressions that are
practiced under the sun. Look, the tears
of the oppressedwith no one to comfort
them! On the side of their oppressors there
was powerwith no one to comfort them.
And I thought the dead, who have already
died, more fortunate than the living, who are
still alive; but better than both is the one
who has not yet been, and has not seen the
evil deeds that are done under the sun.
Then I saw that all toil and all skill in
work come from one persons envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after
wind.a
Fools fold their hands

and consume their own esh.
Better is a handful with quiet
than two handfuls with toil,
and a chasing after wind.a
Again, I saw vanity under the sun: the
case of solitary individuals, without sons or
brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil,
and their eyes are never satised with riches.
For whom am I toiling, they ask, and
depriving myself of pleasure? This also is
vanity and an unhappy business.
Two are better than one, because they
have a good reward for their toil. For if they
fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to
one who is alone and falls and does not have
another to help. Again, if two lie together,
they keep warm; but how can one keep warm
alone? And though one might prevail
against another, two will withstand one. A
threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Better is a poor but wise youth than
an old but foolish king, who will no longer
take advice. One can indeed come out of
prison to reign, even though born poor in the
kingdom. I saw all the living who, moving
about under the sun, follow thatb youth who
replaced the king;c there was no end to all
those people whom he led. Yet those who
come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this
also is vanity and a chasing after wind.a
b Heb the second
c Heb him
3.1622: The determination of humanitys fate. There are injustices in the world, even in places where one
might expect justice; cf. 8.14. God will, however, adjudicate the situation in Gods own time; cf. 12.14. 19: As far
as mortality is concerned, human beings have no advantage over animals: All must die. 20: One place, Sheol,
the abode of the dead (9.10). Dust, 12.7; Gen 3:19. 21: Who knows, a rhetorical question. The author is apparently
skeptical about the belief in survival aer death, an idea which was beginning to be developed.
4.116: Relative good. In the light of the authors insistence that there is nothing beer for humanity than
to enjoy work (3.22), these verses make plain that everything thought by mortals to be good is only relatively
so. 13: The living still have to witness the injustices of life, whereas the dead no longer have to do so and those
who have never been born never have to do so. 46: On the one hand, human toil and strivings are driven by
envy. On the other hand, the idleness of fools is self-destructive. The beer alternative, even if only relatively
good, is to have a lile (material goods, enjoyment, or both), but to have it with peace. 6: Sayings of the form
beer . . . than are common in Proverbs (12.9; 15.1617; 16.8). 78: People toil for no reason other than habit or
obsessive compulsion. 7: Under the sun, 1.3n. 912: There is relative advantage in numbers, but no guarantee. A
three-ply cord may still snap, although not as easily as a cord with only two strands or one. 1316: It is beer to
start out poorly and end up well. Every generation will have its new underdog-turned-hero, who will seem to
have limitless support from populace, until the next hero comes along. 16: Vanity, 1.2n. Chasing aer wind, 1.14n.
940 | hebrew bible
ecclesiastes 5
a Guard your steps when you go to the

house of God; to draw near to listen is
better than the sacrifice offered by fools;
for they do not know how to keep from doing evil.b cNever be rash with your mouth,
nor let your heart be quick to utter a word
before God, for God is in heaven, and you
upon earth; therefore let your words be
few.
For dreams come with many cares, and a
fools voice with many words.
When you make a vow to God, do not
delay fullling it; for he has no pleasure in
fools. Fulll what you vow. It is better that
you should not vow than that you should vow
and not fulll it. Do not let your mouth lead
you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake; why should God
be angry at your words, and destroy the work
of your hands?
With many dreams come vanities and a
multitude of words;d but fear God.
If you see in a province the oppression
of the poor and the violation of justice and
right, do not be amazed at the matter; for the
high ocial is watched by a higher, and there
are yet higher ones over them. But all things
considered, this is an advantage for a land: a

king for a plowed eld.d
The lover of money will not be satised
with money; nor the lover of wealth, with
gain. This also is vanity.
When goods increase, those who eat
them increase; and what gain has their owner
but to see them with his eyes?
Sweet is the sleep of laborers, whether
they eat little or much; but the surfeit of the
rich will not let them sleep.
There is a grievous ill that I have seen
under the sun: riches were kept by their
owners to their hurt, and those riches
were lost in a bad venture; though they
are parents of children, they have nothing
in their hands. As they came from their
mothers womb, so they shall go again,
naked as they came; they shall take nothing
for their toil, which they may carry away
with their hands. This also is a grievous ill:
just as they came, so shall they go; and what
a
b
c
d
Ch 4.17 in Heb
Cn: Heb they do not know how to do evil
Ch 5.1 in Heb
5.17: A+itude before God. God and human beings do not belong to the same realm. It is necessary, therefore, to have the right aitude before God. 1: It is more acceptable to obey God than to show o ones religiosity, as fools oen do (cf. Prov 21.3; 1 Sam 15.22; Am 5.2224; Hos 6.6). They do not know how to keep from doing evil,
fools are oen described as lacking perceptiveness (Prov 10.21,23; 14.8; 18.2). 3: In the ancient Near East, dreams
were oen seen as foreshadowing the future, though in coded symbols (cf. the anxiety-producing dreams of
Pharaoh in Gen 41 and Nebuchadnezzar in Dan 2; 4). 47: Vows must be taken seriously; cf. Deut 23.2122; Sir
18.2. The text warns against the lack of restraint in speech, for the mouth may bring condemnation to the entire
person (cf. Lev 5.4; Prov 10:19). It is unclear who the messenger in v. 6 refers to; perhaps the Temple priest to
whom people went to confess that they had erred (see Num 15.2231; Lev 4.2,22,2730). The confession would
be useless, however, because God would still be angry at the foolish uerances. 7: Fear God, respect and awe
before God are central values in wisdom literature (Job 1.1,8; 2.3; 28.28; Prov 1.7).
5.86.9: Enjoy, but do not be greedy. The passage is arranged in such a way that the outer sections lead
inward toward its center in 5.20, with its call for enjoyment. 5.8: High ocial (lit. high one), a term elsewhere
used of someone who is arrogant (Job 41.34; Ps 138.6; Isa 10.33; Ezek 21.26) and never of ocials of any sort.
This text does not refer to a government bureaucracy, but to ambitious people who strive to get ahead of one
another and commit injustice in the process. No maer how high they get, however, there will always be people
higher than they who look down upon them. 9: The meaning of this verse is obscure. 10: Wealth itself is not the
problem here but greedthe insatiability of the rich (see Sir 31.57). Vanity, 1.2n. 11: The rhetorical question
presupposes a negative answer. To see them with his eyes implies that wealth is good only for present enjoyment. 12: The contrast is not between one who works and one who is a sluggard, but between poor laborers (or
employees) and the rich who cannot stop worrying despite the plenty they already possess (Sir 31:1). Surfeit,
overindulgence in food or perhaps possessions. The rich consume so much that they are unable to sleep either
because of indigestion or worry, or both. 1314: The case of the rich person who accumulates much wealth,
only to lose it all. 15: When people are buried, they guratively return to the womb of mother earth; cf. Job 1.21;
hebrew bible | 941
ecclesiastes 6
gain do they have from toiling for the wind?
Besides, all their days they eat in darkness,
in much vexation and sickness and resentment.
This is what I have seen to be good: it is
tting to eat and drink and nd enjoyment in
all the toil with which one toils under the sun
the few days of the life God gives us; for this
is our lot. Likewise all to whom God gives
wealth and possessions and whom he enables to enjoy them, and to accept their lot and
nd enjoyment in their toilthis is the gift of
God. For they will scarcely brood over the
days of their lives, because God keeps them
occupied with the joy of their hearts.
There is an evil that I have seen under the
sun, and it lies heavy upon humankind:
those to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that they lack nothing of
all that they desire, yet God does not enable
them to enjoy these things, but a stranger
enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous ill.
A man may beget a hundred children, and
live many years; but however many are the
days of his years, if he does not enjoy lifes
good things, or has no burial, I say that a still-
born child is better o than he. For it comes

into vanity and goes into darkness, and in
darkness its name is covered; moreover it
has not seen the sun or known anything; yet
it nds rest rather than he. Even though he
should live a thousand years twice over, yet
enjoy no gooddo not all go to one place?
All human toil is for the mouth, yet the
appetite is not satised. For what advantage
have the wise over fools? And what do the
poor have who know how to conduct themselves before the living? Better is the sight
of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this
also is vanity and a chasing after wind.a
Whatever has come to be has already
been named, and it is known what human
beings are, and that they are not able to
dispute with those who are stronger. The
more words, the more vanity, so how is one
the better? For who knows what is good for
mortals while they live the few days of their
vain life, which they pass like a shadow? For
who can tell them what will be after them
under the sun?
Sir 40.1. 17: The preceding verses focus on the loss of possessions; this one highlights the complementary ill
of not enjoying what one does possess. 1819: The right to enjoy life is, as a rule, given by God to all humanity.
18: Under the sun, 1.3n. 19: Gi of God, cf. 3.1213n. 20: They will scarcely brood over the days of their lives, perhaps
beer they should not much call to mind the days of their lives. Rather than constantly thinking about their
lives and their mortality they should enjoy the present because God has given them joy. The Hebrew word
translated keeps them occupied is the same form for the word answer (Prov 15.1,23; 16.1; 29.19; Job 32.3,5). 6.12:
Whereas God has given some people the opportunity to enjoy (5.1819), sometimes God does the contrary. 3:
But however many are the days of his years, perhaps beer and yet he complains that the days of his years will
come to pass. Even though this person has everything that anyone might desire, including abundant wealth,
progeny, and long life, he complains about the days ahead of him, dissatised with all that he has, and even
worried about proper burial when he dies. In that case, he is no beer o than a stillborn child (cf. Job 3.1618).
46: There is no point in having a long life if one cannot enjoy it. 7: The appetite is not satised, the language here
alludes to the insatiability of Death in Canaanite mythology (cf. Isa 5.14; Hab 2.5; Prov 27.20; 30.16). Compare
the similar perspective on unending activity in 1.38. 89: Sight of the eyes . . . wandering of desire, the contrast
appears to be between what is present and the insatiable appetite for what is not. The answer lies in the enjoyment of what one has, i.e., in contentment. 9: For the form of the saying, see 4.6n. Vanity . . . chasing aer wind,
1.2n.; 1.14n.
6.107.14: The limits of knowledge. The passage begins (6.1012) and ends (7.1314) with statements that
emphasize human ignorance and weakness, over against divine determination and the deitys incomprehensible activity. The beer . . . than sayings in 7.112 are, therefore, quoted in mockery: they illustrate the sort
of sayings proered by those who believe that mortals know what is really good. 6.1012: Despite the passive
verbs (v. 10), it is clear that the author means that God is the one who has named and known. 10: Dispute with
those who are stronger, a possible allusion to Job 9.14. 1112: The reference to abundant and empty words
anticipates the sayings to follow (7.112). By using rhetorical questions, the author suggests that humans have
no advantage, because no one knows what is good for mortals. Neither the foolish nor the wise can give others
942 | hebrew bible
ecclesiastes 7
A good name is better than precious

ointment,
and the day of death, than the day of
birth.
It is better to go to the house of
mourning
than to go to the house of feasting;
for this is the end of everyone,
and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of countenance the heart
is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of
mourning;
but the heart of fools is in the house of
mirth.
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
For like the crackling of thorns under a
pot,
so is the laughter of fools;
this also is vanity.
Surely oppression makes the wise foolish,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Better is the end of a thing than its
beginning;
the patient in spirit are better than the
proud in spirit.
Do not be quick to anger,
for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
Do not say, Why were the former days
better than these?
For it is not from wisdom that you ask
this.
Wisdom is as good as an inheritance,

an advantage to those who see the sun.
For the protection of wisdom is like the
protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that
wisdom gives life to the one who
possesses it.
Consider the work of God;
who can make straight what he has
made crooked?
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in
the day of adversity consider; God has made
the one as well as the other, so that mortals
may not nd out anything that will come
after them.
In my vain life I have seen everything;
there are righteous people who perish in their
righteousness, and there are wicked people
who prolong their life in their evildoing. Do
not be too righteous, and do not act too wise;
why should you destroy yourself? Do not be
too wicked, and do not be a fool; why should
you die before your time? It is good that you
should take hold of the one, without letting
go of the other; for the one who fears God
shall succeed with both.
Wisdom gives strength to the wise more
than ten rulers that are in a city.
Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.
Do not give heed to everything that people say, or you may hear your servant cursing
you; your heart knows that many times you
have yourself cursed others.
advice on what is universally good. 7.112: A series of beer . . . than sayings imitating the style of traditional
proverbs (see 4.6n.), with their tendency to present issues in dialectical pairs: fame and luxury (v. 1a), birth and
death (v. 1b), funeral and wedding (v. 2), merriment and sadness (v. 3), mourning and pleasure (v. 4), rebuke and
praise (v. 5), the wise and the fool (vv. 67), beginning and end (v. 8), patience and arrogance (v. 8). The sayings
are all subverted and relativized, however. The eect of the overall presentation is to show that no one knows
what is universally good. Each saying may contain an element of truth, but the sum total of these many words
is, again, vanity (v. 6; see 1.2n.)just so much empty talk (cf. 6.11). 1314: People should accept good when it
is accessible and face adversity when that is a reality; see 1.15; 3.14.
7.1529: Righteousness and wisdom are elusive. This passage consists of two parts: The rst concerns the
dangers of extreme behavior, including excessive righteousness and wisdom (vv. 1522); the second concerns
the elusiveness of wisdom (vv. 2329). 15: The traditional doctrine of retribution (e.g., Prov 11.311) is oen
contradicted by experience. 16: Those who aspire to extreme righteousness (also meaning rightness) may destroy themselves. 17: Those who are too wicked and foolish will suer the consequences. The wisdom tradition
oen advocates moderation (see Sir 7.45). 18: The one . . . the other refers to the two ideas in vv. 1617. Whoever
is religious (fears God) will follow both precepts. 19: Perhaps a proverbial illustration of the value people place
on wisdom and power, although neither will avert death. 20: Perfect righteousness (rightness) is impossible,
for every mortal misses the mark (cf. 1 Kings 8.46; 2 Chr 6.26; Pss 14.13; 53.13; 143.2; Prov 20.9; Job 4.17).
hebrew bible | 943
ecclesiastes 8
All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, I
will be wise, but it was far from me. That
which is, is far o, and deep, very deep; who
can nd it out? I turned my mind to know
and to search out and to seek wisdom and
the sum of things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness. I found more bitter than death the
woman who is a trap, whose heart is snares
and nets, whose hands are fetters; one who
pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is
taken by her. See, this is what I found, says
the Teacher,a adding one thing to another to
nd the sum, which my mind has sought
repeatedly, but I have not found. One man
among a thousand I found, but a woman
among all these I have not found. See, this
alone I found, that God made human beings
straightforward, but they have devised many
schemes.
Who is like the wise man?
And who knows the interpretation of a
thing?
Wisdom makes ones face shine,
and the hardness of ones countenance
is changed.
Keepb the kings command because of
your sacred oath. Do not be terrified; go
from his presence, do not delay when the
matter is unpleasant, for he does whatever
he pleases. For the word of the king is

powerful, and who can say to him, What
are you doing? Whoever obeys a command will meet no harm, and the wise mind
will know the time and way. For every
matter has its time and way, although the
troubles of mortals lie heavy upon them.
Indeed, they do not know what is to be,
for who can tell them how it will be? No
one has power over the windc to restrain
the wind,c or power over the day of death;
there is no discharge from the battle, nor
does wickedness deliver those who practice
it. All this I observed, applying my mind
to all that is done under the sun, while one
person exercises authority over another to
the others hurt.
Then I saw the wicked buried; they
used to go in and out of the holy place, and
were praised in the city where they had done
such things.d This also is vanity. Because
sentence against an evil deed is not executed
speedily, the human heart is fully set to do
evil. Though sinners do evil a hundred
times and prolong their lives, yet I know
a
b
c
d
Qoheleth, traditionally rendered Preacher

Heb I keep
Or breath
26: The woman who is a trap, this is not a polemic against women in general but echoes in allegorical fashion the
warnings in other wisdom writings against Folly, personied as a seductive woman (Prov 2.1619; 5.20; 6.2435;
7.527; 23.2728). Wisdom is elusive, but Folly is on a hunt to catch people unawares. 27: Teacher, see 1.1n. Adding one thing to another, an image of an accountant or merchant working on a ledger (cf. v. 25). 28: One man
among a thousand . . . a woman among all these, this notoriously dicult sentence may be a gloss prompted by
misinterpretation of v. 26 as referring to women in general. The rst part of the verse refers to the elusiveness
of wisdom (cf. Prov 1.28; 3.1315; 31.10).
8.117: Reections on the limits of power. 15: Traditional advice on how to react to arbitrary power only
shows the limits of wisdom. 1: Makes ones face shine, elsewhere it is always God who makes ones face shine
(Num 6.25; Pss 31.16; 67.1; 80.3,7,19; 119.135; etc.). The idiom means to be gracious or to be pleasant. Wisdom
causes one to act pleasantly. 2: Because of, perhaps in the manner of. Sacred oath, an oath sworn in the name
of God (Ex 22.11; 2 Sam 21.7; 1 Kings 2.43), hence, the most solemn oath. A kings command should be taken
that seriously. 3: Do not delay when the maer is unpleasant, or do not persist in a harmful thing, possibly an
allusion to sedition. In the face of overwhelming odds, one should not do anything dangerous. 5b7: Time and
way, lit. time and judgment (cf. 3.1,1617). There are a proper time and a proper judgment, although no one
knows when and how until aer the fact. 8: Power over the wind to restrain the wind, or power over the (life-)
breath to hold back the (life-)breath. No one has the power to avert death. No discharge from bale, beer no
substitution in bale. No one can send a substitute to take his or her place in the nal bale that is death. 10:
The wicked are properly interred and honored upon their death (Job 21.3233). Vanity,1.2n. 11: The slow judicial
process encourages the wicked to do even more evil (Job 21.1921). 1213: The wicked may live long, but the human life span is nally limited: they will not prolong their days (that are) like a shadow, a transient and unreliable
944 | hebrew bible
ecclesiastes 9
that it will be well with those who fear God,
because they stand in fear before him, but
it will not be well with the wicked, neither
will they prolong their days like a shadow,
because they do not stand in fear before God.
There is a vanity that takes place on
earth, that there are righteous people who
are treated according to the conduct of the
wicked, and there are wicked people who
are treated according to the conduct of the
righteous. I said that this also is vanity. So
I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing
better for people under the sun than to eat,
and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will
go with them in their toil through the days of
life that God gives them under the sun.
When I applied my mind to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on
earth, how ones eyes see sleep neither day
nor night, then I saw all the work of God,
that no one can nd out what is happening
under the sun. However much they may toil
in seeking, they will not nd it out; even
though those who are wise claim to know,
they cannot nd it out.
All this I laid to heart, examining it all,
how the righteous and the wise and their
deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is
love or hate one does not know. Everything
that confronts them is vanity,a since the same
fate comes to all, to the righteous and the
wicked, to the good and the evil,b to the clean
and the unclean, to those who sacrice and
those who do not sacrice. As are the good,

so are the sinners; those who swear are like
those who shun an oath. This is an evil in all
that happens under the sun, that the same
fate comes to everyone. Moreover, the hearts
of all are full of evil; madness is in their hearts
while they live, and after that they go to the
dead. But whoever is joined with all the living
has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead
lion. The living know that they will die, but
the dead know nothing; they have no more
reward, and even the memory of them is lost.
Their love and their hate and their envy have
already perished; never again will they have
any share in all that happens under the sun.
Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and
drink your wine with a merry heart; for God
has long ago approved what you do. Let your
garments always be white; do not let oil be
lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the
wife whom you love, all the days of your vain
life that are given you under the sun, because
that is your portion in life and in your toil at
which you toil under the sun. Whatever
your hand nds to do, do with your might; for
there is no work or thought or knowledge or
wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Again I saw that under the sun the race is
not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,
a Syr Compare Gk: Heb Everything that confronts
them 2is everything
b Gk Syr Vg: Heb lacks and the evil
thing (cf. 6.12; Pss 102.11; 109.23; 144.4; Job 8.9; 14.2; 17.7). 14: Vanity . . . vanity, here means an incomprehensible
situation (see 1.2n.). 15: To eat, and drink, and enjoy, traditionally to eat, and to drink, and to be merry (KJV); cf.
2.24; 3.13; 5.18; 9.7. 1617: Ones eyes see sleep neither day nor night, an idiom for constant eort. Even those who
are so dedicated to understanding Gods mysterious activity cannot nd what they yearn to know.
9.110: Enjoy life. All people face the common fate of death, regardless of their character. Yet life is beer
than death and one should enjoy life whenever able to do so. 12: Love and hate may refer to human emotions
that accompany their deeds, or to divine favor and disfavor. Since death comes to all (cf. 2.1415; 3.19), one cannot deduce Gods aitude. Vanity,1.2n. 46: For all its limitations, life is still beer than death, for the dead
will not have whatever life has to oer. For the living, there are still some possibilities, however uncertain and
ephemeral those may be. 710: Enjoy life while you can, for God has already approved what you do; when you
die this will be impossible. A similar passage in the ancient Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh suggests that
the advice to enjoy life in the full knowledge of certain death was a piece of folk wisdom. 8: Let your garments
always be white, clean garments indicate a happy, prosperous life. Oil . . . on your head, another indication of
happiness and prosperity (cf. Ps 23.5). 9: Vain life, lit. days of vanity, here refers to the ephemeral nature of life
(see 1.2n.). 10: Whatever your hand nds to do, means ones ability to act (cf. Lev 12.8; 25.28; 1 Sam 10.7). Sheol,
the abode of the dead.
9.1110.15: The world is full of risks. 9.1112: The author disputes the cause-and-eect or act-and-consequence logic that characterizes Proverbs view of life. Outcomes are not predictable. Time and chance, i.e., death
hebrew bible | 945
ecclesiastes 10
nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and
chance happen to them all. For no one can
anticipate the time of disaster. Like sh taken
in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare,
so mortals are snared at a time of calamity,
when it suddenly falls upon them.
I have also seen this example of wisdom
under the sun, and it seemed great to me.
There was a little city with few people in it. A
great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. Now there
was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his
wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. So I said, Wisdom is
better than might; yet the poor mans wisdom is
despised, and his words are not heeded.
The quiet words of the wise are more to
be heeded
than the shouting of a ruler among fools.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one bungler destroys much good.
Dead ies make the perfumers
ointment give o a foul odor;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and
honor.
The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of a fool to the left.
Even when fools walk on the road, they
lack sense,
and show to everyone that they are
fools.
If the anger of the ruler rises against you,
do not leave your post,
for calmness will undo great oenses.
There is an evil that I have seen under the
sun, as great an error as if it proceeded from
10
the ruler: folly is set in many high places,

and the rich sit in a low place. I have seen
slaves on horseback, and princes walking on
foot like slaves.
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it;
and whoever breaks through a wall will
be bitten by a snake.
Whoever quarries stones will be hurt by
them;
and whoever splits logs will be
endangered by them.
If the iron is blunt, and one does not
whet the edge,
then more strength must be exerted;
but wisdom helps one to succeed.
If the snake bites before it is charmed,
there is no advantage in a charmer.
Words spoken by the wise bring them
favor,
but the lips of fools consume them.
The words of their mouths begin in
foolishness,
and their talk ends in wicked madness;
yet fools talk on and on.
No one knows what is to happen,
and who can tell anyone what the
future holds?
The toil of fools wears them out,
for they do not even know the way to
town.
Alas for you, Oland, when your king is a
servant,a
and your princes feast in the morning!
a Or a child
as an unpredictable event. 1316: An illustration that wisdom provides no guarantee. Wisdom may be beer
than might, but wisdom may not be heeded because of issues of social class. 15: Delivered, beer might have
delivered. The text concerns lost opportunity. This wise man might have saved the city, but no one thought of
him because of his lowly status. 17: A proverb that can only be understood ironically in light of v. 16. 18: The relative virtue of wisdom is negated by a single fool. 10.1: With a slight emendation, the text reads a y that dies
instead of dead ies. Just as a single fool might negate the value of wisdom, so a single dead y could ruin a pot
of precious ointment. 2: Right . . . le, indicate opposite sides, but may also carry ethical connotations of what is
good and right on the one hand, and what is bad and sinister on the other. 57: A world turned topsy-turvy (see
Prov 26.1; 30.2123; Isa 3.45). 8: The hunter who digs a pit to trap animals is most vulnerable to his own trap. A
farmer who breaks down old walls to build new ones is susceptible to dangers that come with that task. 9: Whoever quarries stones or splits logs is vulnerable to occupational hazards. 1011: Just as precautionary measures
might help avert accidents, so wisdom is desirable. Yet, sometimes the precautionary measure may come too
late or where there may be no advantage in taking the measure at all (as with snakes that cannot be charmed).
10.1611.6: Living with risks. First political risks are discussed (10.1620), then economic risks (11.16).
946 | hebrew bible
ecclesiastes 11
Happy are you, Oland, when your king is
a nobleman,
and your princes feast at the proper
time
for strength, and not for drunkenness!
Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.
Feasts are made for laughter;
wine gladdens life,
and money meets every need.
Do not curse the king, even in your
thoughts,
or curse the rich, even in your
bedroom;
for a bird of the air may carry your voice,
or some winged creature tell the matter.
Send out your bread upon the waters,
for after many days you will get it back.
Divide your means seven ways, or even
eight,
for you do not know what disaster may
happen on earth.
When clouds are full,
they empty rain on the earth;
11
whether a tree falls to the south or to the

north,
in the place where the tree falls, there it
will lie.
Whoever observes the wind will not sow;
and whoever regards the clouds will not
reap.
Just as you do not know how the breath
comes to the bones in the mothers womb,
so you do not know the work of God, who
makes everything.
In the morning sow your seed, and at
evening do not let your hands be idle; for you
do not know which will prosper, this or that,
or whether both alike will be good.
Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the
eyes to see the sun.
Even those who live many years should
rejoice in them all; yet let them remember
that the days of darkness will be many. All
that comes is vanity.
Rejoice, young man, while you are young,
and let your heart cheer you in the days of
your youth. Follow the inclination of your
10.1617: Your king is a servant, or your king is a boy (the Heb word has both meanings). The point is that
incompetent people have gained power (cf. 9.1718; 10.56), and other leaders, too, have proven themselves
unqualied because of their indiscretion. 1819: The house leaks, or, the house collapses: subversive political
commentary in the guise of an innocuous proverb. The saying appears to be about the ruin of a house because
of the owners laziness, but the house may have political overtones, suggesting the incompetence and indiscretion of the leaders. Similarly, v. 19 may be read as a proverb arming lifes pleasures and rewards, or as a critique
of the irresponsible lifestyle of the elite. 20: The Heb verb for curse used here simply means to denigrate or to
vilify. The author warns against the kinds of subversive activity suggested by the inside jokes of vv. 1819.
Even cryptic and private criticisms will become known to those in power. 11.1: Send out your bread upon the waters, a parallel from an Egyptian wisdom text suggests that this is about spontaneous good deeds. Generosity
is expressed by the image of bread that is voluntarily given up, released upon the waters, where it will either
oat downstream or sink. One may do something without thinking much about it, yet one may not lose all in
such an action. 2: Divide your means seven ways, or even eight, lit. Give a portion to seven or even to eight. This
is a numerical saying (Prov 6.16; 30.1533; Am 12); seven and eight together signify a large, though indenite,
amount (cf. Mic 5.5). The point is to be generous although (instead of for) one does not know what the future
may bring. 34: Clouds and wind are mysterious things that mortals do not control. When clouds are saturated
it will rain, and when a tree is blown by a north wind or a south wind it will fall accordingly. People are powerless either to cause these natural phenomena or to prevent them from happening. The farmer who waits for
the perfect weather conditions to sow or to reap will never do so. 5: The Heb word for breath is the same word
used for wind in v. 4. The word used for mother (lit. full one) echoes the reference to the clouds being full
(v. 3). Just as the movement of the wind is a mystery, so too the way the life-breath enters a body is a mystery.
Likewise, the activity of God is a mystery beyond human understanding (cf. Ps 139.1316). 6: Instead of waiting
for the perfect timing, one should be willing to work at any timein the morning or at evening.
11.712.8: Conclusion: enjoy life while there is still time to do so. 8: All that comes is vanity (see 1.2n.), i.e.,
nothing is permanent. 9: But know that . . . God will bring you into judgment: the translation implies that enjoyment is contrary to the will of God. For the author, however, enjoyment is a divine gi (2.2426; 3.1015;
5.1820; 9.7,9). A beer translation is: and know that . . . God will bring you into judgment for failure to accept
hebrew bible | 947
ecclesiastes 12
heart and the desire of your eyes, but know
that for all these things God will bring you
into judgment.
Banish anxiety from your mind, and put
away pain from your body; for youth and the
dawn of life are vanity.
Remember your creator in the days of
your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when
you will say, I have no pleasure in them;
before the sun and the light and the moon
and the stars are darkened and the clouds
return witha the rain; in the day when the
guards of the house tremble, and the strong
men are bent, and the women who grind
cease working because they are few, and
those who look through the windows see
dimly; when the doors on the street are
shut, and the sound of the grinding is low,
and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and
all the daughters of song are brought low;
when one is afraid of heights, and terrors
are in the road; the almond tree blossoms,
the grasshopper drags itself alongb and
desire fails; because all must go to their
12
eternal home, and the mourners will go

about the streets; before the silver cord is
snapped,c and the golden bowl is broken,
and the pitcher is broken at the fountain,
and the wheel broken at the cistern, and
the dust returns to the earth as it was, and
the breathd returns to God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher;e all is
vanity.
Besides being wise, the Teachere also
taught the people knowledge, weighing and
studying and arranging many proverbs. The
Teachere sought to nd pleasing words, and
he wrote words of truth plainly.
The sayings of the wise are like goads,
and like nails rmly xed are the collected
sayings that are given by one shepherd.f Of
anything beyond these, my child, beware.
a
b
c
d
e
f
Or after ; Heb ahar

Or is a burden
Syr Vg Compare Gk: Heb is removed
Or the spirit
Qoheleth, traditionally rendered Preacher
the gi of enjoyment. 12.1: The mention of the creator anticipates v. 7. The Heb for your creator (boreeka)
sounds like the word cistern (bor) in v. 6. The call to remember points back to the injunction to enjoy while
one is able (11.710), but it also points forward to the scene of death at the end of the passage and to the creator
who gave and will receive the human life-breath (v. 7.) 27: In a poem that uses eschatological language, the
author takes poetic license in arguing that mortals should enjoy what they can while they still have a chance,
for a time may come when no one can enjoy. With poetic exaggeration, the author depicts the end of human life
in terms of the end of the world. 2: The language of the darkening sky is reminiscent of prophetic eschatology
(cf. Isa 5.30; 13.10; Ezek 32.78; Am 5.8; 8.9; Mic 3.6). The Heb text says that rain clouds return aer (not with)
the rain, a sign of disaster, perhaps implying the return of the Flood (Gen 7.1112; 8.2). 3: In the day when (cf. Mal
3.13). Even the strong and valiant are terried of what is happening (cf. Rev 6.1217). The women who work
the mills suddenly stop work (cf. Mt 24.4041; Lk 17.3435). Women look out the windows in despair (cf. Judg
5.28). The domestic routines are interrupted. 4: The doors of the street-bazaar are shut; the mills that produce
meals are silenced. One rises up at the sound of a bird, beer the sound of the birds rises, a reference to the
cacophony of birds of prey descending. Thus, while the salutary sound of the mill drops, the unsavory sound
of the birds rises. Moreover, the birds actually descend when they see the terror on the ground (v. 5). 5: The
translation of this dicult text depends on the interpretation of the scenario. The consonantal text of the Hebrew suggests the decline and dying of several types of trees. Thus, it is not the blossoming of the almond tree,
but the tree becoming hideous. The locust tree, too, droops (NRSV: the grasshopper drags itself along),
while the caper-berry tree defoliates (NRSV: desire fails). In short, nature languishes (Am 1.2; Joel 2.12; Hab 3.17;
Rev 6.1214), as humanity marches toward the grave, their eternal home and an imaginary funeral takes place.
6: Symbols of the permanent end of life. 7: See Gen 2.7; 3.19. 8: Vanity of vanities, the words echo 1.2, which
together with this verse frame the body of the book.
12.914: Epilogue. An assessment and apology for the author and the book. 9: The author is a typical sage:
He teaches, gathers wisdom sayings, and works with them. 10: Like a sage, the authors words have been deliberately chosen and rightly presented. 11: The words of the wise are hard to hear but, like goads and nails,
they have been deliberately applied as by a shepherd to his ock. 12: A formulaic conclusion to establish the
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ecclesiastes 12
Of making many books there is no end, and
much study is a weariness of the esh.
The end of the matter; all has been
heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, includinga every secret thing, whether
good or evil.
a Or into the judgment on
authority of the text. Everything intended by the author has been laid out. 13: The end of the maer, these words
originally ended the epilogue and, hence, the book. The words beyond this point are later additions. The call
to fear God is found elsewhere in the book (3.14; 5.7; 8.1213), but the call to obey Gods commandments is not.
THE SONG OF SOLOMON

name of book and location in canon
The Song of Solomon (Heb Song of Songs), also known as Canticles, appears in the Megillot, or ve scrolls
(Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther), in the third part of the Jewish canon, the Writings. In
the Christian canon it is among the Poetical and Wisdom books.
authorship, date of composition, literary and historical context

The Song of Solomon, the Bibles only love poem, oers no clues about when, where, or under what circumstances it was composed. Its author is unknown. The traditional aribution of the book to Solomon probably
derives from references to Solomon in the poem (1.5; 3.7,9,11; 8.11,12) and his reputation as the composer of
songs (1 Kings 4.32) and owner of a large harem (1 Kings 11.3).
Speculation about the date of composition ranges from the time of Solomon (tenth century bce) to the Hellenistic period (fourth to second centuries bce). Some scholars see the Song as a collection, in which case the
various love poems would come from dierent authors and dierent times.
Similarities to Mesopotamian (30001000 bce) and, in particular, Egyptian love poetry (thirteenth to eleventh centuries bce), indicate that the poet drew upon a rich cultural tradition of love poetry. Shared features
include wishing, desiring, praising the beloved, metaphoric descriptions of the body, double entendre, nature
imagery, and the appeal to the senses. Sometimes a dialogue format is used; frequently the lovers address each
other as sister and brother. Many of the Mesopotamian love poems deal with the marriage of the goddess
and her consort and were used in ritual contexts. In contrast, the Song, like the Egyptian love poems, is not
about gods nor does it appear to have had anything to do with worship.

The Song is about how glorious it is to be in love. It looks at love from both a womans and a mans point
of view, and it consists entirely of dialogue, so that we learn about love through what lovers say about it.
The dialogue format creates the impression that we are overhearing the lovers as they speak, and observing their love unfold. The poet seeks to immortalize a vision of love as strong as death by portraying the
lovers as forever seeking and nding gratication of their mutual desire. They delight in each other and in
the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tangibility of the world around them, making the Song a feast for
the senses.
A third speaking voice belongs to the women of Jerusalem, a kind of chorus functioning as an audience
within the poem and whose presence, because the lovers are aware of and encourage it, facilitates the readers
entry into the lovers seemingly private world of erotic intimacy.
The poem begins and ends with short speeches in which the speakers change frequently, and the voices of
the woman, the man, and, occasionally, the women of Jerusalem intermingle (1.22.7; 8.114). In betweenalthough the structure is not rigidare two cycles of long speeches, in which the woman speaks, then the man,
with the woman interrupting his speeches at the end (2.83.11 and 4.15.1; 5.26.3 and 6.47.13).
interpretation
Allegory was the dominant mode of interpretation from the early centuries of the Common Era until the rise
of critical biblical scholarship in the nineteenth century. Jewish interpreters typically read the Song as an
account of the relationship between God and Israel, while Christians saw it as about the love between Christ
and the church, or Christ (or the divine logos) and the individual believer. Modern scholars recognize its
subject as human love, though some have argued that it originated as a liturgical text whose speakers are a
god and goddess. Whether the Song was included in the canon because it had been allegorized or was allegorized because it had been included in the canon has long been debated. Allegorization alone cannot have
been the reason the Song was included, since the text must have already achieved a certain statusperhaps
as national religious literaturefor anyone to have taken the trouble to develop an allegorical interpretation of it.
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the song of solomon 1

guide to reading
The Song is a lyric poem, not a record of events in the lives of two lovers. This means that unusual events or
sudden transitions do not require explanation to make them seem more realistic or more intelligible. When we
read lyric poetry, which is essentially a discontinuous form, we should not expect to nd the kind of linear unfolding of events that produces a plot. The Song meanders, repeating themes, images, phrases, and sometimes
whole sections. As we read the poem, we may feel that we get to know the lovers, for they each have their own
distinctive way of talking about their love and its eect on them. She is lovesick (2.5; 5.8), and she tells stories
in which he comes to court her and she searches for him (2.817; 3.15; 5.28). He is overwhelmed by her (4.9;
6.5), and praises her charms in detail (4.115; 6.410; 7.19). Yet even as we build a picture of them, we need to
recognize that the woman and the man are personae created by the poet to represent all lovers. They appear in
various guisesshepherds, vineyard keepers, royal guresas well as appearing as themselves. Because they
are not real lovers, their movements are not restricted. They eortlessly traverse the poetic landscapevineyards, gardens, palaces, houses, rocky clis, the wilderness, Lebanonnding pleasure wherever their fancy
takes them.
Readers are meant to revel in the poems sonorousness, rich vocabulary, and exotic images. Its dense metaphoric language and extravagant images are not reducible to simple prose paraphrase, and typically the metaphors the lovers use to describe each others bodies hide as much as they reveal.
This is no private poem, intended for a lovers ears only. It invites its readers to participate in the wonder of
love, along with the women of Jerusalem, whose presence serves as a reminder that what seems to be a closed
dialogue between lovers is indeed addressed to the reader.
J. Cheryl Exum
The Song of Songs, which is Solomons.

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his
mouth!
For your love is better than wine,
your anointing oils are fragrant,
your name is perfume poured out;
therefore the maidens love you.
Draw me after you, let us make haste.
The king has brought me into his
chambers.
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;

rightly do they love you.
I am black and beautiful,
Odaughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has gazed on me.
My mothers sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!
1.1: Title. Song of Songs, a superlative, the best song, like king of kings (Ezek 26.7), the king above all kings;
holy of holies (Ex 26.33), the most holy place; vanity of vanities (Eccl 1.2), the height of absurdity. Hebrew
shir is a generic term for song or poem. Which is Solomons could indicate authorship, or that Solomon is
the dedicatee, or that the Song is connected with him in some way (compare the use of of David as an editorial superscription to many psalms).
1.22.7: A montage of short speeches. 1.2: The poem begins with a romantic relationship already in progress.
The woman speaks about her lover as him, as though he were not there, then suddenly he materializes and
she speaks to him of your love. Love, a plural form referring to physical lovemaking (4.10; 7.12; cf. Prov 7.18). Like
wine, love is intoxicating (cf. Judg 9.13). 4: The king, i.e., the lover in his royal or Solomonic guise. Here too she
speaks of him in the third person, as the king, and then in the second person you, as in v. 2. We, the lovers,
or, more likely, the woman and the maidens mentioned in v. 3, who are probably also the they at the end of v.
4. She is besoed with him and imagines that other women are similarly aected. 56: Black and beautiful, her
dark skin, she explains, is due to exposure to the sun while working in the vineyards. 5: Daughters of Jerusalem,
the female inhabitants of Jerusalem (cf. sons of Israel for Israelites). Kedar, a northern Arabian tribe whose
name means dark. 6: No reason is given for the brothers anger nor is any further reference made to it. My
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Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your ock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who is veiled
beside the ocks of your companions?
If you do not know,
Ofairest among women,
follow the tracks of the ock,
and pasture your kids
beside the shepherds tents.
I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaohs chariots.
Your cheeks are comely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
We will make you ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
My beloved is to me a bag of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna
blossoms
in the vineyards of En-gedi.
Ah, you are beautiful, my love;
ah, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved,
truly lovely.
Our couch is green;
the beams of our house are cedar,
our raftersa are pine.
I am a roseb of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.
As a lily among brambles,

so is my love among maidens.
As an apple tree among the trees of the
wood,
so is my beloved among young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his intention toward me was love.
Sustain me with raisins,
refresh me with apples;
for I am faint with love.
Othat his left hand were under my head,
and that his right hand embraced me!
I adjure you, Odaughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!

b Heb crocus
own vineyard refers to the woman herself, probably with a sexual meaning, as also in 8.12. 78: The lovers appear
in the guise of shepherds. 7: Pasture your ock, there is no term for ock in the Hebrew, which reads, Where
do you graze? This is one of many instances of double entendre in the Song: the man grazes or feeds among
the lilies and in the gardens, gures for the woman herself (2.12; 4.125.1; see also 2.16 and 6.23, where NRSV
also inserts ock). Veiled could refer to a disguise, or, beer, read one who wanders, with some ancient
versions. 8: Spoken either by the man or by the women of Jerusalem, who elsewhere address the woman as
fairest among women (5.9; 6.1). 911: The man compares his beloved to a ne horse, a common form of praise
in antiquity. 11: He will have the work done, without specifying who will do it (though possibly we could be
the lovers or the man and the women of Jerusalem). 1214: The woman speaks of her beloved as the king, as in
1.4. The fragrance of nard and myrrh, costly aromatics, blend with the natural scent of henna blossoms, which are
strongly scented and grow in dense clusters. En-gedi, an oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea. 1.152.3:
Mutual adoration. The man (v. 15) and the woman (vv. 1617) praise each other in similar terms. She compares
herself to owers we cannot identify with any certainty (2.1). He turns her self-description into a compliment
(v. 2), which she returns in a way that echoes his words (v. 3). Sharon, either the coastal plain between Jaa
and Mount Carmel or simply the plain. 2.4: Banqueting house, lit. house of wine, where the lovers dwell in
their mutual intoxication. 57: The woman addresses the women of Jerusalem. Faint with love, lovesickness, for
which the cause, love, is also the cure. 6: Either a wish or a statement of fact; see 8.3. 7: See 3.5; 8.4. This resembles a conventional way of swearing an oath but lacks the solemnity: the word for gazelles looks and sounds
like the word for hosts in the name Lord of Hosts, and Hebrew aylot hassadeh (wild does) recalls the
divine name El Shaddai. Love is personied as something that has a will of its own.
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The voice of my beloved!
Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me:
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away;
for now the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The owers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
The g tree puts forth its gs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.
Omy dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the covert of the cli,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
Catch us the foxes,
the little foxes,
that ruin the vineyards
for our vineyards are in blossom.
My beloved is mine and I am his;

he pastures his ock among the lilies.
Until the day breathes
and the shadows ee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
or a young stag on the cleft mountains.a
Upon my bed at night

I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.b
I will rise now and go about the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my soul loves.
I sought him, but found him not.
The sentinels found me,
as they went about in the city.
Have you seen him whom my soul loves?
Scarcely had I passed them,
when I found him whom my soul loves.
I held him, and would not let him go
until I brought him into my mothers
house,
and into the chamber of her that
conceived me.
by the gazelles or the wild does:
until it is ready!
What is that coming up from the wilderness,
like a column of smoke,
a Or on the mountains of Bether; meaning of Heb

uncertain
b Gk: Heb lacks this line

2.83.11: The womans rst long speech. The womans primary mode of speaking about love is to tell stories
in which she and her lover are characters. As stories, these parts of the Song, unlike the poem as a whole, have
plots. Here she tells three. 2.817: The rst describes the mans visit to her house and his invitation to her to
join him outdoors to enjoy the springtime. The voice of my beloved, beer, Listen! My lover! Listen and look
create the impression of immediacy. His movements are captured in process as he draws closer: leaping and
bounding, then standing and gazing. 11: Winter, the rainy season. 12: Time of singing may also be read as time
of pruning. 14: She seems inaccessible, perhaps also shy and hesitant. 1517: She answers his request to hear
her voice. Foxes and vineyards, young men and young women. In v. 15 she speaks for women in general; in v. 16,
about her relationship with her lover, which is exclusive and mutual. 17: Until the day breathes and the shadows
ee could refer to either evening or morning. Whereas she seems to be saying that the time has come for her
lover to return, over the mountains, from which he came (v. 8), cle mountains (or emend to mountains of spices as in 8.14) alludes to the woman herself and the various pleasures her body oers, perhaps her breasts (see
4.56). 3.15: In her second story, she describes her nocturnal search for her beloved and its resolution when
she nds him. 5: See 2.7; 8.4. 3.611: Her third story. A luxurious conveyance approaches, bearing her lover,
whom she casts in the role of King Solomon on his wedding day. 6: Coming up, the procession is in motion. First
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perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of the
merchant?
Look, it is the litter of Solomon!
Around it are sixty mighty men
of the mighty men of Israel,
all equipped with swords
and expert in war,
each with his sword at his thigh
because of alarms by night.
King Solomon made himself a palanquin
from the wood of Lebanon.
He made its posts of silver,
its back of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior was inlaid with love.a
Daughters of Jerusalem,
come out.
Look, Odaughters of Zion,
at King Solomon,
at the crown with which his mother
crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
on the day of the gladness of his heart.
How beautiful you are, my love,

how very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a ock of goats,
moving down the slopes of Gilead.
Your teeth are like a ock of shorn ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
and not one among them is bereaved.

Your lips are like a crimson thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a
pomegranate
behind your veil.
Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in courses;
on it hang a thousand bucklers,
all of them shields of warriors.
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that feed among the lilies.
Until the day breathes
and the shadows ee,
I will hasten to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.
You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no aw in you.
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
come with me from Lebanon.
Departb from the peak of Amana,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.
You have ravished my heart, my sister, my
bride,
you have ravished my heart with a
glance of your eyes,
b Or Look
it looks like a column of smoke. Next comes an appeal to the sense of smell created by the fragrant aromas of
myrrh and frankincense, suggesting that what is approaching from the distance might be a caravan laden with
fragrant powders of the merchant. 78: Look, now the source of the smoke and the fragrance can be seen, a lier
or palanquin (v. 9), an enclosed chair or couch carried by bearers, surrounded by an armed escort. 910: The
trappings of the magnicent palanquin progressively come into view. Love is not a material for decorating, like
wood, silver, gold, and purple, and should be emended to precious stones or ebony.
4.15.1: The mans rst long speech. The mans mode of speaking about love is to look at his lover, tell her
what he sees and how it aects him. 4.15: He describes parts of her body, using similes and metaphors. 1:
Goats, moving down the slopes, owing tresses of wavy black hair (goats were commonly black or dark colored).
Gilead, a hilly region in northern Jordan. 2: Teeth, white and evenly paired, with none missing. 3: Cheeks, halves of
a pomegranate, perhaps rosy cheeks glimpsed through a white mesh veil. 4: The image suggests a neck adorned
with a necklace made up of several rows of beads. Tower of David evokes her regal quality; no such tower is
known. 5: Elsewhere the man is described as feeding among the lilies, an erotically suggestive image in which the
lilies signify the woman (2.16; 6.23). 6: He responds to her exhortation of 2.17. Mountain of myrrh, hill of frankincense, the womans breasts, the woman herself, and the place where the lovers enjoy loves pleasures. 8: Bride,
here and v. 11, and my sister, my bride (4.9,10,12; 5.1) are terms of endearment. Amana, Senir, and Hermon,
peaks in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, north of Israel, where lions and leopards make their dens, create a
contrast to the accessible mountains of v. 6 and symbolize the womans inaccessibility and the awe she inspires
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with one jewel of your necklace.
How sweet is your love, my sister, my
bride!
how much better is your love than
wine,
and the fragrance of your oils than any
spice!
Your lips distill nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
the scent of your garments is like the
scent of Lebanon.
A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a garden locked, a fountain sealed.
Your channela is an orchard of
pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,
nard and saron, calamus and
cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all chief spices
a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and owing streams from Lebanon.
Awake, Onorth wind,
and come, Osouth wind!
Blow upon my garden
that its fragrance may be wafted abroad.
Let my beloved come to his garden,
and eat its choicest fruits.
I come to my garden, my sister, my bride;

I gather my myrrh with my spice,
I eat my honeycomb with my honey,

I drink my wine with my milk.
Eat, friends, drink,
and be drunk with love.
I slept, but my heart was awake.
Listen! my beloved is knocking.
Open to me, my sister, my love,
my dove, my perfect one;
for my head is wet with dew,
my locks with the drops of the night.
I had put o my garment;
how could I put it on again?
I had bathed my feet;
how could I soil them?
My beloved thrust his hand into the
opening,
and my inmost being yearned for him.
I arose to open to my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my ngers with liquid myrrh,
upon the handles of the bolt.
I opened to my beloved,
but my beloved had turned and was
gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke.
I sought him, but did not nd him;
I called him, but he gave no answer.
Making their rounds in the city
the sentinels found me;
they beat me, they wounded me,
in him. 9: Ravished, either stirred my heart or captured my heart. He speaks of love in terms of conquest,
describing his feeling of being overwhelmed by her as something she has done to him. 11: The scent of Lebanon,
i.e., the fragrant cedars. 4.125.1: A cluster of metaphors create a picture of his lover as a fragrant garden, full
of edible delights. 4.12: Garden locked, his private garden for his exclusive pleasure. 1315: She is a paradisiacal
garden, where exotic spice-bearing plants and trees from such faraway places as Arabia, Africa, and India grow
side by side. 16: The woman interrupts him, rst inviting the winds into her garden to whet the mans appetite
by stirring up its sweet smells, then inviting her lover to an erotic banquet. 5.1: Eating and drinking are symbols
of sexual intimacy. Eat, friends, the women of Jerusalem encourage the lovers in their mutual intoxication.
5.26.3: The womans second long speech. Again the woman tells of a visit by the man followed by her
search for him in the city streets at night. A dialogue with the women of Jerusalem enables her story to reach
the desired outcome, union with her lover. 5.28: See 3.15. Her story is replete with sexual allusions. 5.2: I
slept, but my heart was awake, a light sleep, in which the woman, desiring or anticipating her lovers visit, is
half-listening for his voice. 3: Either an explanation for her delay, addressed to the women of Jerusalem, or a
playful reply to her lover (I have put o my garment). 5. Myrrh, with which the woman had anointed herself, or
perfumed her bed (Prov 7.17), or both. 6: My soul failed me (lit. went forth) may refer to swooning or fainting (cf.
the similar expression used of dying, Gen 35.18; Ps 146.4). When he spoke, beer translated, because of him or
when he le. 7: A forceful reminder of the perils of love, or of the willingness of love to suer. No justication
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they took away my mantle,
those sentinels of the walls.
if you nd my beloved,
tell him this:
I am faint with love.
What is your beloved more than another
beloved,
Ofairest among women?
What is your beloved more than another
beloved,
that you thus adjure us?
My beloved is all radiant and ruddy,
distinguished among ten thousand.
His head is the nest gold;
his locks are wavy,
black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves
beside springs of water,
bathed in milk,
tly set.a
His cheeks are like beds of spices,
yielding fragrance.
His lips are lilies,
distilling liquid myrrh.
His arms are rounded gold,
set with jewels.
His body is ivory work,a
encrusted with sapphires.b
His legs are alabaster columns,
set upon bases of gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
His speech is most sweet,

and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
Odaughters of Jerusalem.
Where has your beloved gone,

Ofairest among women?
Which way has your beloved turned,
that we may seek him with you?
My beloved has gone down to his garden,

to the beds of spices,
to pasture his ock in the gardens,
and to gather lilies.
I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine;
he pastures his ock among the lilies.
You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
comely as Jerusalem,
terrible as an army with banners.
Turn away your eyes from me,
for they overwhelm me!
Your hair is like a ock of goats,
moving down the slopes of Gilead.
Your teeth are like a ock of ewes,
that have come up from the washing;
all of them bear twins,
and not one among them is bereaved.
Your cheeks are like halves of a
pomegranate
behind your veil.

b Heb lapis lazuli
is given for the womans harsh treatment at the hands of the sentinels, and the verse is ambiguous regarding the
severity of their aack. 5.96.3: The women of Jerusalems questions and the womans answers reveal that they
are not taking the search too seriously. 9: They ask what is so special about him. 1016: She answers by praising
him, thereby evoking his presence. The images are intimate and erotically suggestive. 10: Radiant and ruddy, a
sign of health, youthfulness, and beauty (Ps 104.15; 1 Sam 16.12; 17.42; Lam 4.7). 12: Doves in pellucid pools, as
though bathed in milk, evoke the pupil and iris surrounded by the wet milky whiteness of the eye. 1416: Her
description of his statuesque body made of strong and precious materials expresses his value to her. 16: His
speech (lit. his palate), beer, his mouth, since she is describing his physical aributes. My friend, her only
use of a term of endearment he uses frequently of her (1.9,15; 2.2,10,13; 4.1,7; 5.2; 6.4, where NRSV translates,
my love). 6.1: The playfulness of the dialogue is obvious, since they ask her where he has gone in order to help
her nd him. 23: She knows where he is. The garden represents both the woman and the seing for lovemaking. Grazing in the gardens and among the lilies are double entendres for erotic play (see 1.7n.).
6.47.9: The mans second long speech. Again the man describes the womans charms in similes and metaphors. 6.4: Tirzah, capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel ca. 920880 bce. Terrible as an army with banners,
more likely the Hebrew means as awesome in splendor as they, i.e., Jerusalem and Tirzah in this verse; the
moon and the sun in v. 10. 5a: They overwhelm me, he describes the way he feels as something she has done to
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There are sixty queens and eighty
concubines,
and maidens without number.
My dove, my perfect one, is the only one,
the darling of her mother,
awless to her that bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her
happy;
the queens and concubines also, and
they praised her.
Who is this that looks forth like the
dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
terrible as an army with banners?
How graceful are your feet in sandals,

Oqueenly maiden!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the work of a master hand.
Your navel is a rounded bowl
that never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is a heap of wheat,
encircled with lilies.
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon,
by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon,
overlooking Damascus.
Your head crowns you like Carmel,
and your owing locks are like purple;
a king is held captive in the tresses.d
I went down to the nut orchard,

to look at the blossoms of the
valley,
to see whether the vines had budded,
whether the pomegranates were in
bloom.
Before I was aware, my fancy set me
in a chariot beside my prince.a
How fair and pleasant you are,

Oloved one, delectable maiden!e
You are statelyf as a palm tree,
and your breasts are like its clusters.
I say I will climb the palm tree
and lay hold of its branches.
bReturn, return, OShulammite!

Return, return, that we may look upon
you.
Why should you look upon the
Shulammite,
as upon a dance before two armies?c
a
b
c
d
e
f

Ch 7.1 in Heb
Or dance of Mahanaim
Syr: Heb in delights
Heb This your stature is
him (cf. 4.9). 5b7: See 4.13n. 9-10: A royal fantasy (cf. 1.24,12; 3.611). 10: The mans words or words he puts
in the mouth of the queens and other royal wives (here translated concubines). 1112: I went down to the nut
orchard, either the mans words or a short interruption of his speech by the woman, since in v. 13 she is asked
to return. 12: The verse is corrupt and untranslatable. 13: Shulammite, not a proper name; possibly meaning
the perfect one, it evokes the name Solomon. We, the man and the women of Jerusalem. A dance before two
armies, the meaning of the phrase is obscure. 7.1: Your rounded thighs are like jewels probably refers to the curves
of hips or thighs as resembling ornaments of some type. 2: Parts of the body not normally exposed to view are
described in metaphors that are not transparent. Perhaps navel is a euphemism for vulva. Heap of wheat suggests the soness and gentle curve of the womans stomach. 4: The image evokes the gracefulness of a long
neck. Your eyes are pools, the same Hebrew word, ayin, means both eye and spring. Heshbon, east of Jerusalem in Transjordan, where excavations have revealed the remains of a large reservoir, dating from the ninth
to eighth centuries bce. The location of Bath-rabbim, meaning daughter of many, is unknown. Perhaps the
signicance of Lebanon has to do with its scent; cf. 4.11n. 5: The comparison to Mount Carmel, which overlooks
the Mediterranean Sea at Haifa, suggests the stately way she holds her head. Locks are like purple, shiny black
hair has a purple sheen. Purple, the color of royalty, evokes rich and luxurious hair, suitable for capturing a king.
79: I say I will climb, i.e., I intend to climb. The man puts himself in the picture (cf. 5.1), and, through a series
of images, moves closer to the object of his desire. First he must climb the tall palm tree to reach its clusters that
represent his lovers breasts (v. 7). Then, envisioned as grape clusters (v. 8), her breasts become more accessible.
hebrew bible | 957

O may your breasts be like clusters of the
vine,
and the scent of your breath like apples,
and your kissesa like the best wine
that goes downb smoothly,
gliding over lips and teeth.c
I am my beloveds,
and his desire is for me.
Come, my beloved,
let us go forth into the elds,
and lodge in the villages;
let us go out early to the vineyards,
and see whether the vines have
budded,
whether the grape blossoms have
opened
and the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
The mandrakes give forth fragrance,
and over our doors are all choice fruits,
new as well as old,
which I have laid up for you, Omy
beloved.
Othat you were like a brother to me,
who nursed at my mothers breast!
If I met you outside, I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me.
I would lead you and bring you
into the house of my mother,
and into the chamber of the one who
bore me.d
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the juice of my pomegranates.
Othat his left hand were under my head,
and that his right hand embraced me!

until it is ready!
Who is that coming up from the
wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved?
Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with
you;
there she who bore you was in labor.
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
passion erce as the grave.
Its ashes are ashes of re,
a raging ame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can oods drown it.
If one oered for love
all the wealth of ones house,
it would be utterly scorned.
We have a little sister,

and she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister,
on the day when she is spoken for?
If she is a wall,
we will build upon her a battlement of
silver;
but if she is a door,
a
b
c
d
Heb palate
Heb down for my lover
Gk Syr Vg: Heb lips of sleepers
Gk Syr: Heb my mother; she (or you) will teach me
7.1013: The womans reply. The mans second long speech, like his rst, gives rise to the womans invitation
to love (cf. 4.16). 11: Villages, the same Hebrew word also means henna bushes, preferable here because of the
outdoor seing. 13: Mandrakes were thought by some to be an aphrodisiac.
8.114: A montage of short speeches. 14: The woman speaks of her desire. 34: Cf. 2.67. 5a: The women
of Jerusalem speak about the lovers. 5b: In labor, beer, conceived you. The woman aroused her lover in a
seing where his mother also enjoyed sexual intimacy. 67: The only statement in the Song about the nature of
love in general. The poet places these words in the mouth of the woman, who speaks to the man not, as she has
until now, about their love, but about love itself. 6: She wants to be intimately and permanently close to him,
like a seal he might wear. Seals made of precious or semiprecious metal or stone could be worn on a necklace
or a bracelet for the wrist or upper arm, or a signet ring. Love is strong as death, not stronger. Their struggle to
possess the same object (the loved one) is illustrated in the rivalry between their counterparts, passion (more
precisely, jealousy) and the grave (Heb Sheol, the abode of the dead). 8-12: The lovers speak in similitudes
about themselves and their beloved. 810: Unlike the girl in her example, for whom preparations will be made
when she reaches marriageable age, the woman asserts that she needs no such arrangements, since she has
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we will enclose her with boards of
cedar.
I was a wall,
and my breasts were like towers;
then I was in his eyes
as one who bringsa peace.
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
he entrusted the vineyard to keepers;
each one was to bring for its fruit a
thousand pieces of silver.
My vineyard, my very own, is for
myself;
you, OSolomon, may have the
thousand,
and the keepers of the fruit two

hundred!
Oyou who dwell in the gardens,
my companions are listening for your
voice;
let me hear it.
Make haste, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
upon the mountains of spices!
a Or nds
already surrendered to her lover. 10: In the context of a city under siege (v. 9), to bring peace signies surrender,
and to nd peace is to have the oer of surrender accepted (Deut 20.1011; Josh 9.15; 11.19). 1112: The man compares his vineyard (the woman; see 1.6n.) to Solomons: it is more valuable and he alone will tend it. Baal-hamon,
no such place is known; meanings of the name, owner of wealth or husband of a multitude, suggest that
it was chosen to emphasize Solomons privileged status. 1314: The poet does not bring the Song to a proper
close, so that the love it celebrates can remain unending. 13: Let me hear it, the mans words send us back to the
beginning of the Song, where we hear the womans voice, speaking of her desire. 14: Make haste, the Hebrew
word indicates movement away from the speaker. Mountains of spices, an erotic image for the woman herself;
see 2.17; 4.6. As in 2.17, the woman appears to be sending her lover away and calling him to her at the same time.
The eect is to leave love forever in progress, for only when the woman seems to send her lover away can the
poem begin again with longing and the quest to gratify desire.
INTRODUCTION
TO THE PROPHETIC BOOKS
canonical placement and contents
In both the Jewish and the Christian canons the prophetic books form a distinct section of the Bible. The
two traditions dier, however, with respect to the number, sequence, and placement of the prophetic books.
Jewish tradition divides the canon into three parts: the Torah (i.e., GenesisDeuteronomy), the Prophets, and
the Writings. The term Former Prophets is used to designate the historical books Joshua2 Kings (excluding
Ruth), perhaps reecting a tradition that these books were wrien by prophets, and the term Laer Prophets is used for those books that bear the name of a particular prophet (i.e., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the
twelve Minor Prophets). In Christian Bibles the prophetic books form the last section of the Old Testament
canon, following the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, and the Poetical Books. Christian tradition includes
Daniel among the prophetic books, in contrast to Judaism, which groups Daniel with the Writings. Also, Christian Bibles place Lamentations, which is not a book of prophecy, immediately aer the book of Jeremiah,
reecting the tradition of the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation [LXX] of the Hebrew Bible) that Jeremiah was the author of Lamentations. Likewise, in some Christian canons, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical book of Baruch comes aer Lamentations, because of the connection between the prophet Jeremiah and
his scribe, Baruch.
the nature and composition of the prophetic books

The prophetic books are unusual and complex compositions. With the exception of Jonah, which is a story
about a prophet, these books all contain extended sayings and speeches that purport to come from the prophet whose name the book bears. While the books undoubtedly do preserve authentic words of the prophets
in question, one should not think of the prophetic books simply as transcriptions of the words of prophets.
Although much remains unknown about the composition of the prophetic books, it is possible to reconstruct
a general picture. Scholars generally agree that the poetic materials in the prophetic books originated as oral
pronouncements by the prophet to a public audience. These oracles were subsequently wrien down, perhaps
by the prophet or an associate. The circumstances that led to these original wrien collections were undoubtedly dierent. A reference in the book of Isaiah suggests that oracles might be wrien down as a form of authentication (Isa 30.8). The book of Jeremiah describes how Jeremiah, having been banned from speaking publicly in the Temple, had his assistant Baruch write down a selection of his prophetic words so that they could be
taken into the Temple and read to the people (Jer 36.56). When King Jehoiakim destroyed the scroll, Jeremiah
had Baruch write out another copy, to which they added additional material (Jer 36.2732). This collection may
have formed the nucleus of the book of Jeremiah. On the other hand, unlike most of the other prophetic books,
Ezekiel may have been composed as a wrien document from the beginning. Elsewhere in the Bible there is
further evidence of prophetic collections; see 1 Chr 29.29; 2 Chr 9.29.
Once small collections of prophetic oracles and pronouncements were made, they were subject to further
editing, rearranging, annotating, and expansion. In some cases narratives about the prophet were added; these
are both autobiographical (e.g., Isa 6; 8; Jer 1.419; 13.111; Hos 12; Am 7.17) and biographical (e.g., Isa 7; 3639;
Jer 26; 3644; Hos 3; Am 7.1017). The occasions for such editorial activity would have diered, but national
crises may have prompted some of this process. Most likely, wrien collections of the oracles of the prophets
Amos and Hosea, which were originally addressed to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, were brought to the
Southern Kingdom of Judah aer the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 bce, and edited and circulated there.
Isaiah of Jerusalem seems to have knowledge of Amoss oracles, and Jeremiah is unquestionably inuenced
by Hosea. Many of the prophetic books originating before the fall of Judah to the Babylonians and the exile of
most Judeans to Babylon in 586 bce show evidence of editorial additions and reorganizations that reect the
circumstances of exilic and postexilic times, that is, from later in the sixth century bce and beyond. The book of
Amos, for example, now includes material that presupposes the fall of Judah (9.1115). The most dramatic example of the expansion and reworking of prophetic materials is the book of Isaiah. Although it contains extensive
hebrew bible | 961
introduction to the prophetic books

material from the eighth-century prophet, chs 4055 clearly reect the situation of the Babylonian exile, and
chs 5666 the period of the restoration of the Judean community in the late sixth century bce. Yet even though
the book contains materials dating from several centuries, it is unied by a number of motifs, themes, and topics that recur throughout the work.
The complex activity of preserving and developing the prophetic oracle collections reects a conviction
that the prophets words were not only signicant for the circumstance in which they were originally pronounced but potentially relevant for later ones as well. At the same time, the freedom with which later generations could rework the prophetic oracles indicates that the prophets words did not at rst possess the kind of
xed authority that is later associated with the concept of scripture. Although the processes by which the
prophetic books came to assume a relatively nal form and canonical status are dicult to trace, this probably
occurred during the Persian and early Hellenistic periods (the h through the third centuries bce). Most likely,
during this time scribal editors added the superscriptions that introduce most of the books, indicating the
identity of the prophet (name, fathers name, and occasionally other information) and oen the kings of Israel
or Judah during whose reigns the prophets were active (e.g., Isa 1.1; Jer 1.13; Hos 1.1). In addition to editorial
additions to the individual prophetic books, the smaller prophetic books (HoseaMalachi) were arranged and
edited to form a group known as the Book of the Twelve, which was copied on a single scroll. By the beginning of the second century bce Ben Sira refers to these prophets as the twelve (Sir 49.10). The number twelve
is symbolic of the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel, and considerable editorial work was
required to organize these prophetic materials into a grouping of twelve. In fact, the book of Zechariah consists
of three separate collections (chs 18, 911, 1214) grouped together editorially. Only the rst of these comes
from the prophet Zechariah, whereas the other two are anonymous. The nal book in the collection, Malachi, is
also an anonymous piece, since Malachi is not a personal name but a phrase meaning my messenger, picked
up from 3.1 to serve as the name of the prophet in the superscription.
the phenomenon of prophecy

The phenomenon of prophecy was widespread in the ancient Near East, and many important themes and genres familiar from biblical prophecy have parallels there. Moreover, many more prophets were active in ancient
Israel and Judah than those whose work is represented in the prophetic books of the Bible, and their activities
were more varied than these writings suggest. The books of Samuel and Kings provide important additional
information. Since our sources are limited, it is dicult to reconstruct the history of prophecy. Some of the features are clear, however. The prophet was essentially an intermediary between God and the people, and one of
the major functions was that of messenger. Oen prophets introduced their communications with a version of
the formula typically used by messengers, Thus says the Lord. But prophets might also bring inquiries from
the people to God or make intercession on behalf of the people. In contrast to priesthood, which was exclusively male, both women and men could be prophets. Women prophets included Deborah (Judg 4.4), Huldah
(2 Kings 22.14), and Noadiah (Neh 6.10); see also Joel 2.28. Additional aspects of the prophetic role are suggested by the various terms used to identify them. In addition to prophet (Heb nabi, perhaps meaning one
who is called), a prophet could be called a seer (Heb roeh, e.g. 1 Sam 9.9; and hozeh,
e.g., Am 7.12), and a holy
.
man (Heb ish haelohim, literally man of God; e.g., 2 Kings 1.9).
The history of prophecy in ancient Israel can be traced for more than a thousand years, from the premonarchical period to the turn of the era. As one would expect, over such a long time the nature and function of
prophecy altered in response to changing historical, social, and religious circumstances. Four periods dene
the major epochs of prophecy: the early monarchical period (eleventh through ninth centuries), the Assyrian
crisis (eighth century), the Babylonian crisis (late seventh through early sixth centuries), and the postexilic
restoration (mid-sixth through mid-h centuries).
The extant evidence suggests that in the earliest period prophets may have been local or itinerant holy men
and women who were revered for their special religious powers and who might be consulted for a variety of
private inquiries, from locating lost property (1 Sam 9.110) to learning whether a sick child would live or die
(1 Kings 14.118). Some lived in prophetic communities that cultivated ecstatic forms of religious experience
(1 Sam 19.1824; 2 Kings 6.17). Prophets also had the public function of declaring Gods will concerning whether the people should go to war (Judg 4.410). The emergence of monarchy in ancient Israel may have changed
aspects of the prophets role. Prophets appear as king-makers and king-breakers, as they announce that God
962 | hebrew bible

has designated an individual to become king or has rejected a reigning king (1 Sam 10.1; 15.23; 1 Kings 11.2939;
14.118). Though prophets continued their role in advising about maers of war (1 Kings 22), they also served
as critics of the king in religious and social aairs. The consolidation of royal power and the foreign religious
practices introduced through royal marriages oen threatened older tribal institutions and values. The conict
between Elijah, the prophet, and Ahab and Jezebel, the king and queen, illustrates these tensions between
prophet and king (1 Kings 1821).
Prophecy appears to have undergone a dramatic change during the eighth century, although this impression may be aected by the change in the nature of the sources of information. From the eighth century on,
collections of prophetic oracles are preserved; yet, with the exceptions of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, few extended
narratives about prophets exist. It does appear that in this period prophets began to function less as private
counselors and critics of kings and more as public gures who inuenced opinion through their pronouncements in the Temple courts and in other public places. Prophets of the eighth century (Amos, Hosea, Isaiah,
Micah) interpreted international aairs, critiqued complacent religious practices, and condemned the abuses
of social justice that accompanied the increasing urbanization and centralization of state power characteristic of the eighth century. The prophetic careers of Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah took place in the shadow of
the expansionist Assyrian empire, which eventually put an end to the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 and
subjected the Southern Kingdom of Judah to the status of a vassal. The prophets interpreted these events,
however, in terms of the judgment of the Lord, not simply as the success of the powerful Assyrians. This
perspective allowed Isaiah, for example, to anticipate the ultimate downfall of Assyria because of its overweening arrogance.
The third major period of prophecy occurred during the Babylonian crisis. The prophet Nahum celebrated
the defeat of Assyria (612609 bce), but when Babylon succeeded Assyria as the dominant empire the excitement he expressed soon turned to confusion, as expressed in Hab 12. Jeremiahs prophetic career spanned the
time from the decline of Assyria through the Babylonian overlordship of Judah, to the revolt and destruction
of Judah in 586 and the exile of a signicant portion of its population. Although it is dicult to correlate many
of his poetic oracles with specic events in this period, the narratives about Jeremiah give a vivid picture of a
nation and its leadership deeply conicted about what political course to follow and the religious signicance
of the choices that were forced upon it. Even the prophetic community was bierly divided and gave contradictory advice to the king concerning the will of the Lord (Jer 2629; 3644). Overlapping the career of Jeremiah,
the prophet Ezekiel (active 593ca. 571 bce) was among the Judeans exiled to Babylon aer the revolt of 597
bce, a decade before the nal revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem. Ezekiels prophetic work was rst to
persuade the exiled Judeans of the inevitability of Jerusalems destruction, and, following the fall of the city, to
begin to articulate the theological grounds for conceiving a possible future, including a return of the exiles and
a rebuilding of the destroyed Temple. In contrast to the prophets who preceded him, Ezekiel drew strongly on
priestly traditions for his categories of thought, forms of speech, and evocative symbols.
The defeat of the Babylonian empire by the Persian king Cyrus altered political conditions dramatically.
Although Judah did not regain its independence but became a part of the Persian empire, Cyrus and his successors authorized the rebuilding of the Temple and of Jerusalem, allowing members of the exiled community in
Babylon who so desired to return to Judah. Thus the prophetic task during this period largely concerned issues
of the restoration of the community and its institutions in a context signicantly dierent from that which prevailed during the Israelite and Judean monarchies. The anonymous prophet whose work is found in Isa 4055
(oen called Second Isaiah) addressed the Babylonian exiles just at the time that Cyrus was engaged in the
conquest of Babylon. Second Isaiahs message to the exilic community was that unfolding events represented
Gods action in history. He thus interpreted the signicance of Cyrus as Gods anointed who would rebuild
Jerusalem, and he encouraged the exiles to return to Jerusalem. The process of rebuilding the Temple (520515
bce) provides the context for the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Zechariah in particular suggests this was a
time of expectation that perhaps the monarchy might be restored, an event that did not occur. Issues concerning reorganization of the Judean community and tensions regarding economic justice, institutional corruption,
and the boundaries of the community are variously reected in Zechariah, Isa 5666, and Malachi, prophets
who were active in roughly the period 525475 bce.
Although prophets in all periods might speak of the dramatic intervention of God in historical events and
the consequent transformation of the conditions of life, this type of language seems to have become more
hebrew bible | 963

common and more vivid in the postexilic prophets (e.g., Isa 5666, Zechariah, Malachi, Joel, and postexilic
additions to earlier prophetic books, such as Isa 2427). Some of the passages anticipate a war or other cataclysmic event of cosmic proportions that will precede a time of deliverance, peace, and virtual re-creation of
the world. Such imagery and the expectations it expresses suggest to some scholars that apocalyptic literature,
with its focus on the details of the end time as revealed by a heavenly messenger, was an outgrowth of the
phenomenon of prophecy.
The book of Daniel, the only book in the Hebrew Bible that could be called an apocalypse, illustrates the
complexity of the maer. Although Christian tradition groups Daniel with the prophetic books, Jewish tradition
places it in the Writings (as noted earlier). The rst part of the book consists of a cycle of narratives in which
Daniel and his friends are portrayed as sages trained in the technical skills of Babylonian scribal wisdom. Like
Joseph, Daniel is able to interpret dreams sent by God. He is not presented as a prophet. In the laer part of the
book, however, Daniel is the recipient of visions that disclose the future. These vision reports do bear signicant similarities to those found in Ezekiel and especially in Zechariah, though their almost allegorical style is
quite dierent. Similarly, although general claims about Gods foreknowledge of historical events can be found
in Second Isaiah, Daniels representation of history as predetermined both with respect to its epochal structure
and its specic events is strikingly dierent from the representation of history by the prophets. A clue to the
relationship of apocalyptic writing to prophecy may be found in Daniel 9, where Daniel is presented as studying
the book of Jeremiah and receiving an angelic interpretation of its signicance. As suggested by the presentation of Daniel as a technically trained sage, the authors of apocalyptic books were perhaps themselves learned
scribes who studied and appropriated aspects of the prophetic tradition and combined them with other inuences in their aempts to understand the nature of the cosmos and the course of history.
Marvin A. Sweeney
ISAIAH
name and canonical status
The book of Isaiah (Heb yeshayah(u), the Lord saves) is named for the prophet Isaiah ben Amoz who lived
during the laer half of the eighth century bce at the time of the Assyrian invasions of Israel and Judah. Isaiah
is included among the Laer Prophets in the Jewish Bible and among the Prophets of the Old Testament in
the Christian Bible. Jewish manuscripts and traditions frequently place Isaiah rst because he lived before
Jeremiah and Ezekiel, although the book sometimes appears aer Jeremiah and Ezekiel because of its concern with comfort or restoration (b. B. Bat. 14b). In Christian Bibles, Isaiah is usually rst among the Prophets
because he lived before Jeremiah and Ezekiel, although the Minor Prophets sometimes appear rst in some
manuscripts of the Greek Septuagint (LXX) versions, probably because the prophet Hosea was thought to
have lived before Isaiah.
authorship, composition, and literary history

Traditional interpreters in both Judaism and Christianity attribute the book of Isaiah to the prophet Isaiah,
but interpreters as early as the Middle Ages observed that the second portion of the book, beginning in ch
40, presupposes the conclusion of the Babylonian exile and the rise of King Cyrus of Persia in 545539 bce
(see 44.28; 45.1). Modern scholars generally attribute the book to three major stages of composition: (1)
the works of Isaiah ben Amoz, which appear generally in chs 139; (2) the work of an anonymous prophet
known as Second Isaiah from the conclusion of the Babylonian exile in chs 4055; and (3) the work of
Third Isaiah, a collection of materials from a number of prophetic hands who wrote during the early Persian-period restoration of Jerusalem (late sixth through fifth or early fourth centuries bce) in chs 5666.
Some interpreters maintain that chs 5666 should be included with Second Isaiah, and others maintain
that chs 139 have been heavily edited in the seventh, sixth, and fifth centuries bce as well. Altogether, the
book appears to have gone through at least four stages of composition: first, during the lifetime of Isaiah
ben Amoz, who witnessed the period of the Assyrian invasions of Israel and Judah in 742701 bce; second,
during the late seventh-century bce restoration of King Josiah of Judah (640609 bce), when Isaiah was
edited to support the kings reforms; third, during the late sixth-century bce collapse of Babylon and the
rise of King Cyrus of Persia (559530 bce), who authorized the return of exiled Jews to Jerusalem to rebuild
the Temple; and fourth, during the late fifth and early fourth centuries bce when Nehemiah and Ezra attempted to consolidate the Jerusalem Temples status as holy center of Judaism in keeping with their
understandings of the Torah and the Isaian tradition. The writers of each stage of Isaiahs composition
edited and expanded the book in order to demonstrate that the prophet addressed events of their own
times. Whereas Isaiah ben Amoz spoke about divine judgment and restoration in his own day, each of the
subsequent editions of the book presupposes that Isaiahs visions of restoration would be realized in their
own time.
historical contexts
Four pivotal moments in the history of the Israelite people form the background of the various parts of Isaiah.
1. The Syro-Ephraimite war and its aermath. Aer a period of relative peace between Israel (the Northern
Kingdom, oen called Ephraim in Isaiah aer its most important tribe) and Judah (the Southern Kingdom),
international tensions rose when Tiglath-pileser III became king of the Assyrian empire in 745 bce and began an
eort to conquer the lands to the west of Assyria, including Syria, Israel, and Judah. Uzziah, the king of Judah
whose reign began during the peaceful era, died in 733 (6.1), but because he was quarantined due to an illness,
his son Jotham became king in 759, followed by Jothams son Ahaz in 743 or 735 (the chronology is disputed).
Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Syria (Damascus or Aram) tried, beginning in 735, to enlist Ahaz in an
alliance against Assyria, and when that eort failed, they aacked Judah to replace Ahaz with a king more amenable to their policies (ch 7). This conict is known as the Syro-Ephraimite war, since it was a war of Syria and
Ephraim against Judah. Ahaz successfully turned to Assyria for help in fending o Israel and Syria. The price he
paid was steep: Judah became a vassal of Assyria.
hebrew bible | 965
isaiah
2. The Assyrian invasion. During the decades following the Syro-Ephraimite war, the Assyrians expanded
their inuence in the area, taking over Syria and then aacking the Northern Kingdom, which fell in 722. When
the Assyrian ruler at the time, Sargon II, died in 705, Hezekiah, the king of Judah and son of Ahaz, rebelled
against Assyria. Hezekiah had thought to take advantage of the confusion at the change of rulers, and in addition sought support from Egypt that was not forthcoming (36.6). The new Assyrian king, Sennacherib, retaliated and conquered the cities surrounding Jerusalem in 701. Hezekiah was able to avert the conquest of
Jerusalem itself only by paying tribute.
3. The conquest of Jerusalem and the exile. During the century following these events, the Assyrian empire
gradually weakened. In 612, the rising Babylonian empire conquered the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, and the
international power struggle became one between Babylon and Egypt, with Judah caught between. In 605
the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, defeated the Egyptian pharaoh, Neco, at the bale of Carchemish, and
Babylon became the leading empire of the day. Judah came under Babylons control, and when the last king of
Judah, Zedekiah, rebelled against Babylon, the result was an invasion by Nebuchadnezzar. In 586 he destroyed
Jerusalem and its Temple and deported a good deal of the population to Babylon, an event referred to as the
exile.
4. The return. During the sixth century bce, the Babylonians were increasingly challenged by the rise of another great empire, the Persians. In 539 Cyrus, the Persian king, defeated the Babylonians at the bale of Opis.
Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Judah, and many (though not all) eventually did so. The returning exiles
rebuilt Jerusalem and the Temple.
contents and structure

Although the book of Isaiah was composed in stages, the nal form of Isaiah is designed to be read as a single
work ascribed to the prophet Isaiah ben Amoz. Its dierent sections are unied partly by common themes, such
as the Davidic/Zion tradition that presumes the ultimate rule of Jerusalem and the restored Israel by the house
of David, under the sovereignty of the Lord. The various sections are also linked through common vocabulary,
such as the divine title the Holy One of Israel (for example, 1.4; 29.19; 40.25; 60.9). The literary structure of
Isaiah consists of two major parts, both of which are concerned with reading Isaiah as a witness to Jerusalem as
the seat of the Lords sovereignty throughout all of creation. Chapters 133 address the period of punishment
and anticipate the period of restoration through which the Lords sovereignty will be recognized throughout
the world, and chs 3466 presuppose that the time of restoration and the recognition of the Lords sovereignty
are at hand. A more detailed outline of the formal literary structure of the book is as follows:
the vision of isaiah ben amoz:

prophetic exhortation to jerusalem and judah to adhere to the lord
I. The Lords plans to reveal worldwide sovereignty at Zion
1.133.24
A. Prologue to the book: Introductory oracles concerning the Lords plans to purify Jerusalem
1.131
B. Prophetic instruction concerning the Lords plans to reveal worldwide sovereignty
at Zion: Announcement of the Day of the Lord
2.133.24
1. prophetic announcement concerning the purging of Zion for its role as the center
for the Lords world rule
2.14.6
2. prophetic instruction concerning Assyrian judgment against Israel and the
restoration of the Davidic kingdom
5.112.6
3. prophetic announcement concerning the preparation of the nations for the
Lords world rule
13.127.13
a. announcements concerning the nations
13.123.18
b. restoration for Zion at the center of the nations
24.127.13
4. prophetic instruction concerning the Lords plans for the new king in Jerusalem
28.133.24
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isaiah
II. Concerning the realization of the Lords plans for revealing worldwide sovereignty
from Zion
A. Prophetic instruction concerning the realization of the Lords sovereignty at Zion
1. prophetic instruction concerning the Lords power to return the redeemed
exiles to Zion
2. historical narratives concerning Hezekiah
3. prophetic instruction that the Lord maintains covenant and restores Zion
a. renewed prophetic commission to announce the Lords restoration of Zion
b. contention: the Lord is master of creation
c. contention: the Lord is master of human events
d. contention: the Lord is redeemer of Israel
e. contention: the Lord will use Cyrus for the restoration of Zion
f. contention: the Lord is restoring Zion
B. Prophetic exhortation to adhere to the Lords covenant
1. exhortation proper to adhere to the Lord
2. substantiation: prophetic instruction concerning the restored covenant
community in Jerusalem
a. prophetic instruction concerning proper observance of the covenant
b. prophetic announcement of restoration for the nation
c. prophetic instruction concerning the process of Zions restoration
34.166.24
34.154.17
34.135.10
36.139.8
40.154.17
40.111
40.1231
41.142.13
42.1444.23
44.2448.22
49.154.17
55.166.24
55.113
56.166.24
56.159.21
60.162.12
63.166.24
interpretation
The book of Isaiah serves as a theological reection upon Jerusalems experience of threat, exile, and restoration. It takes up fundamental questions of divine involvement in human history. To what extent is the Lord
sovereign over Israel and Judah on the one hand, and the nations and all creation on the other? To what extent
does the Lord bring both judgment and restoration to Jerusalem, Israel, and the world at large? To what extent
is the Lord hidden in times of suering and to what extent will the Lord deliberately bring suering on one
generation to achieve divine purpose in another? To what extent does the Lords promise of security to Jerusalem/Zion and the royal house of David hold true? To what extent should human beings respond to the Lords
intervention in the human world with faithfulness? Such questions have occupied the readers of the book of
Isaiah from ancient through modern times. Jewish interpreters have looked to Isaiah to understand the time
when the Lord would restore Jerusalem, and Christian interpreters have looked to Isaiah to understand when
the Lord would reveal the Messiah. Indeed, two major copies of the book of Isaiah and a number of shorter
Isaian texts were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran. The command in the wilderness prepare the
way of the Lord apparently motivated the Qumran sect to move to the wilderness of the Dead Sea to await the
time that God would destroy the Romans and all others considered evil in the world. Citations from Isaiah play
a major role in presenting the life and signicance of Jesus in the New Testament, and readings from Isaiah play
an especially important role in Jewish liturgy where Isaian texts are frequently read to complete and interpret
the reading of the Torah.
Marvin A. Sweeney
isaiah 1
The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which

he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in
the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Hear, Oheavens, and listen, Oearth;
for the Lord has spoken:
I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its masters crib;
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.
Ah, sinful nation,
people laden with iniquity,
ospring who do evil,
children who deal corruptly,
who have forsaken the Lord,
who have despised the Holy One of Israel,
who are utterly estranged!
Why do you seek further beatings?

Why do you continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
From the sole of the foot even to the
head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and bleeding wounds;
they have not been drained,
or bound up,
or softened with oil.
Your country lies desolate,
your cities are burned with re;
in your very presence
aliens devour your land;
it is desolate, as overthrown by
foreigners.
And daughter Zion is left
like a booth in a vineyard,
1.133.24: The Lords plans to reveal worldwide sovereignty at Zion. The rst half of the book focuses especially on the punishment of Zion and its anticipation of future restoration in an eort to demonstrate the
Lords plans to reveal sovereignty over Israel, the nations, and creation at large. The second half of the book
(chs 3466) presupposes that the time of the restoration and the Lords revelation are at hand.
1.131: Prologue to the book of Isaiah: Introductory oracles concerning divine plans to purge Jerusalem. The prologue in ch 1 is an introduction both to the entire book of Isaiah and to the rst portion of the book in chs 133. It is
designed to convince its audience that Jerusalems suering during the late eighth century bce and beyond was due
to the Lords plans to purge Jerusalem in preparation for its role as the seat for the Lords rule over all of creation. In
keeping with his understanding of the David/Zion tradition, Isaiah presumes the Lords sovereignty, righteousness,
and power to defend the royal house of David and the city of Jerusalem. The prophet therefore contends that Jerusalems suering is due to human wrongdoing and that the city must be purged to enable it to serve as the Lords
capital for all of creation. Such a position is theologically problematic, presuming the guilt of those who suer.
1.1: Superscription. The prophetic books typically begin with a superscription that provides the reader with
essential information concerning the prophet (cf. Jer 1.13; Ezek 1.13; Hos 1.1; Joel 1.1; Am 1.1; Obad 1; Mic 1.1; Nah 1.1;
Hab 1.1; Zeph 1.1). This superscription introduces both the entire book and 1.231. Subsequent superscriptions in 2.1;
13.1; 14.28; 15.1; 17.1; 19.1; 21.1,11,13; 22.1; 23.1; and 30.6 introduce smaller subunits. Isaiahs vision (both visual and auditory communication from the Lord) reveals divine plans concerning Judah and Jerusalem during the reigns of the
Judean monarchs, Uzziah (783742 bce); Jotham (742735 bce); Ahaz (735715 bce); and Hezekiah (715687 bce). Although the superscription identies the seing of the book in relation to the eighth-century bce Assyrian invasions
of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, the book as a whole takes up Jerusalems experiences through the time of the Babylonian exile and the early Persian period restoration in the sixth century bce.
1.220: The speech of the accuser. The prophet employs the language of the courtroom, beginning with
the Lords accusation speech that charges Israel with wrongdoing, to explain Jerusalems suering. 23: Appeal to all creation, namely, heaven and earth, to witness the divine complaints against Israel (cf. Deut 32.1; Mic
6.18). The passage metaphorically portrays Israel as the Lords rebellious children who do not even have the
understanding of animals. 49: Rhetorical questions designed to motivate the listeners to return to God. The
suering of the people is presented as the result of their own wrongdoing rather than any lapse on the Lords
part. The imagery shis from personal illness and injury to the suering of the entire land during the Assyrian
invasions, when Jerusalem was le standing alone surrounded by the forces of the Assyrian king Sennacherib
in 701 bce (2 Kings 1820; Isa 3639). 4: The Holy One of Israel, a divine title that occurs throughout the book.
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isaiah 1
like a shelter in a cucumber eld,
like a besieged city.
If the Lord of hosts
had not left us a few survivors,
we would have been like Sodom,
and become like Gomorrah.
Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
What to me is the multitude of your
sacrices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt oerings of
rams
and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
When you come to appear before me,a
who asked this from your hand?
Trample my courts no more;
bringing oerings is futile;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and sabbath and calling of
convocation
I cannot endure solemn assemblies
with iniquity.
Your new moons and your appointed
festivals
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me,
I am weary of bearing them.
When you stretch out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,

I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
Wash yourselves; make yourselves
clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.
Come now, let us argue it out,
says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the
land;
but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured by the
sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has
spoken.
How the faithful city
has become a whore!
She that was full of justice,
righteousness lodged in her
a Or see my face
8: Jerusalem is frequently personied as daughter Zion in Isaiah (10.32; 16.1; 37.22; 52.2; 62.11) and elsewhere
(e.g., Zeph 3.1420; Lam 1.6; 2; 4.22). 9: Sodom and Gomorrah, the evil cities destroyed by the Lord (Gen 1819).
1017: The prophet continues to characterize the people as Sodom and Gomorrah in an eort to accuse them
of insincere worship. Although many interpreters maintain that Isaiah opposes ritual and sacricial worship
in principle, the Lords instructions call for moral action to accompany Temple worship (see 1 Sam 15.22; Ps
50.715). The Lord threatens to ignore the peoples prayers, a disturbing claim in the face of foreign invasion
and a frequent concern of both Isaiah (e.g., 8.17; 54.8; 59.2; 64.6) and the Psalms (e.g., 10.11; 13.2; 22.25; 27.9;
51.11; 104.29). 13: Sacrices were oered at sabbath (weekly) and new moon (monthly) festivals. 1820: The accusation speech employs legal language and sacricial imagery to conclude with an appeal to return to the Lord.
1.2131: The speech of the judge. The courtroom metaphor continues as the Lord now speaks as the judge
who announces Zions ultimate redemption and restoration. Jerusalem suered greatly under the Assyrians and
the Babylonians from the late eighth through the sixth centuries bce, but the book of Isaiah understands these
events in relation to Jerusalems restoration in the early Persian period. 2126: The prophets announcement of
Jerusalems rehabilitation combines metaphorical charges that the city is a whore and that it must be puried
much as metal is rened by the removal of impurities known as dross. The principal accusation is the corruption
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isaiah 2
but now murderers!
Your silver has become dross,
your wine is mixed with water.
Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone loves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
They do not defend the orphan,
and the widows cause does not come
before them.
Therefore says the Sovereign, the Lord
of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel:
Ah, I will pour out my wrath on my
enemies,
and avenge myself on my foes!
I will turn my hand against you;
I will smelt away your dross as with lye
and remove all your alloy.
And I will restore your judges as at the rst,
and your counselors as at the
beginning.
Afterward you shall be called the city of
righteousness,
the faithful city.
Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
and those in her who repent, by
righteousness.
But rebels and sinners shall be destroyed

together,
and those who forsake the Lord shall
be consumed.
For you shall be ashamed of the oaks
in which you delighted;
and you shall blush for the gardens
that you have chosen.
For you shall be like an oak
whose leaf withers,
and like a garden without water.
The strong shall become like tinder,
and their worka like a spark;
they and their work shall burn
together,
with no one to quench them.
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw

concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come
the mountain of the Lords house
shall be established as the highest of the
mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
a Or its makers
of the judicial process (cf. 5.23; 33.15; Am 5.10,12; Mic 3.9,11). 2728: The prophet distinguishes the fate of the
righteous from the wicked (see chs 6566). 2931: The metaphor of the tree portrays the restoration of Zion.
Trees and gardens were frequently associated with Canaanite fertility rites and goddesses. The prophet maintains that the dead branches must be trimmed and the tree burned. Later oracles will stress the new growth of
the tree (6.1213; 11.19).
2.14.6: Prophetic announcement concerning the purging of Zion for its role as the center for the Lords
world rule. This unit begins with its own superscription (see 1.1n.). Ideal portrayals of Jerusalem as a center for
the pilgrimage of the nations appear at the beginning (2.24) and as a holy center for the remnant of Israel
at the end (4.26) of the unit. The material in 2.54.1 focuses in detail on the Lords plans for purging Zion in
preparation for its divine role.
2.1: Superscription. A shorter version of the superscription in 1.1, specifying the concern with Judah and
Jerusalem.
2.24: Announcement concerning the establishment of Zion as the center for the Lords worldwide sovereignty. This oracle portrays a future time when the nations will make pilgrimage to Zion, the site of the
Jerusalem Temple. The ideal of the nations at peace in Zion is a primary tenet of Davidic/Zion theology, which
maintains that the Lord protects Zion as the seat of divine sovereignty in creation (Pss 2; 46; 48; cf. Ps 47). A
parallel version of this passage appears in Mic 4.15, and it is also cited in Joel 3.10 and Zech 8.2023. 2: In days
to come, past interpreters, including the Septuagint (LXX), have understood the Heb eschatologically as in the
laer days, but it simply means in the future. The mountain of the Lords house, throughout the ancient Near
East, temples were described as the houses in which gods dwelt. In common with this ancient motif, Jerusalem
is oen represented as the cosmic mountain (10.12,32; 11.9; 16.1; 29.8; 30.29; 40.9; 57.13; 65.26; Ps 48.12; Ezek
20.40; 40.2). 3: Instruction, Heb torah. Although torah is frequently translated as law, the term means
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isaiah 2
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into
plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against
nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
Ohouse of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
For you have forsaken the ways ofa your
people,
Ohouse of Jacob.
Indeed they are full of divinersb from the
east
and of soothsayers like the Philistines,
and they clasp hands with
foreigners.
Their land is lled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is lled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
Their land is lled with idols;
they bow down to the work of their
hands,
to what their own ngers have made.

And so people are humbled,
and everyone is brought low
do not forgive them!
Enter into the rock,
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the Lord,
and from the glory of his majesty.
The haughty eyes of people shall be
brought low,
and the pride of everyone shall be
humbled;
and the Lord alone will be exalted on that
day.
For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up and high;c
against all the cedars of Lebanon,
lofty and lifted up;
and against all the oaks of Bashan;
against all the high mountains,
and against all the lofty hills;
against every high tower,
and against every fortied wall;
against all the ships of Tarshish,
and against all the beautiful craft.d
The haughtiness of people shall be
humbled,
and the pride of everyone shall be
brought low;
a
b
c
d
Heb lacks the ways of

Cn: Heb lacks of diviners
Cn Compare Gk: Heb low
Compare Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
teaching, instruction.
2.54.6: The prophets address concerning the purging of Zion. The prophet outlines in three addresses
how the ideal portrayal of the nations recognition of the Lord at Zion expressed in 2.24 is to be achieved.
2.59: The rst oracular address begins with an invitation to the house of Jacob, a term frequently employed to
characterize Israel (see Gen 32.28; Ex 19.3; Ps 114.1; Isa 46.3), to join the nations in their pilgrimage to Zion. The
passage quickly turns to assertions that the Lord has forsaken the people because of their alleged wrongdoing
in dealing with foreigners. The passage points to a source of tension: while it posits an ideal scenario of world
peace and cooperation among the nations, it also points to the nations as a source of corruption and evil because of their associations with divinatory practices (cf. Deut 18.914); wealth in the form of silver, gold, horses,
and chariots (cf. 1 Kings 10.26); and idols (cf. Isa 44.920). In the view of the prophet, such practices render the
nations unholy and their association with Jacob renders Israel unholy as well. 1021: In the second oracular
address, the prophet announces the future Day of the Lord as a time when the Lord will appear to punish and
bring down all who are arrogant, high, proud, and uplied in the world so that the Lord alone will be recognized
as the true sovereign. The Day of the Lord tradition is well known among the prophets (see Isa 13.6,9; Ezek 13.5;
Joel 1.15; 2.11,31; 3.14; Am 5.1820; Obad 15; Zeph 1.7,14; Mal 4.5). 13: Lebanon, the mountainous area north of
Israel famous for its cedars; Bashan, the high plateau in northern Transjordan known for its timber (Ezek 27.6).
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isaiah 3
and the Lord alone will be exalted on
that day.
The idols shall utterly pass away.
Enter the caves of the rocks
and the holes of the ground,
and from the glory of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.
On that day people will throw away
to the moles and to the bats
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to
worship,
to enter the caverns of the rocks
and the clefts in the crags,
and from the glory of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.
Turn away from mortals,
who have only breath in their nostrils,
for of what account are they?
For now the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts,
is taking away from Jerusalem and from
Judah
support and sta
all support of bread,
and all support of water
warrior and soldier,
judge and prophet,
diviner and elder,
captain of fty
and dignitary,
counselor and skillful magician
and expert enchanter.
And I will make boys their princes,
and babes shall rule over them.
The people will be oppressed,
everyone by another
and everyone by a neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the

elder,
and the base to the honorable.
Someone will even seize a relative,
a member of the clan, saying,
You have a cloak;
you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
shall be under your rule.
But the other will cry out on that day,
saying,
I will not be a healer;
in my house there is neither bread nor
cloak;
you shall not make me
leader of the people.
For Jerusalem has stumbled
and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their deeds are
against the Lord,
defying his glorious presence.
The look on their faces bears witness
against them;
they proclaim their sin like Sodom,
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil on
themselves.
Tell the innocent how fortunate they are,
for they shall eat the fruit of their
labors.
Woe to the guilty! How unfortunate they
are,
for what their hands have done shall be
done to them.
My peoplechildren are their
oppressors,
16: Tarshish, either in southern Turkey (later Tarsus) or in southern Spain. 2.224.6: The third oracular address
focuses specically on the purging of Jerusalem and Judah. 2.22: The introductory wisdom saying pleads with
the audience to desist from human self-reliance. 3.111: The prophet elaborates the purging of Jerusalem and
Judah by focusing on the punishment of the male leaders of the city and the nation. The Assyrians were well
known for deporting the leading gures and skilled craspeople of a conquered society in order to exploit their
talents elsewhere in the empire and to destabilize the conquered society to prevent further revolt. The prophet
once again characterizes the people as Sodom (see 1.10; Gen 1819) in order to press home his point that the
suering of the people must be the result of their own wrongdoing. 3.124.1: The prophet portrays a courtroom
scene in which the Lord charges the leaders of the nation with exploitation of the poor (by enclosure and
conscation of lands, indentured service, etc.), a frequent topic of eighth-century bce prophetic polemic (Am
2.68; 3.911; 6.47; 8.46; Mic 2.13; 3.14,912). He accuses the women of Jerusalem of arrogance and being
more concerned with fashion than with the fate of their city and nation. When Jerusalem is conquered, the
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isaiah 4
and women rule over them.
Omy people, your leaders mislead you,
and confuse the course of your paths.
The Lord rises to argue his case;
he stands to judge the peoples.
The Lord enters into judgment
with the elders and princes of his
people:
It is you who have devoured the vineyard;
the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
What do you mean by crushing my
people,
by grinding the face of the poor? says
the Lord God of hosts.
The Lord said:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
and walk with outstretched necks,
glancing wantonly with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,
tinkling with their feet;
the Lord will aict with scabs
the heads of the daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will lay bare their secret
parts.
In that day the Lord will take away the
nery of the anklets, the headbands, and the
crescents; the pendants, the bracelets, and
the scarfs; the headdresses, the armlets,
the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; the signet rings and nose rings; the
festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the
handbags; the garments of gauze, the linen
garments, the turbans, and the veils.
Instead of perfume there will be a
stench;
and instead of a sash, a rope;

and instead of well-set hair, baldness;
and instead of a rich robe, a binding of
sackcloth;
instead of beauty, shame.a
Your men shall fall by the sword
and your warriors in battle.
And her gates shall lament and mourn;
ravaged, she shall sit upon the ground.
Seven women shall take hold of one man
in that day, saying,
We will eat our own bread and wear our
own clothes;
just let us be called by your name;
take away our disgrace.
On that day the branch of the Lord shall

be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of
the land shall be the pride and glory of the
survivors of Israel. Whoever is left in Zion
and remains in Jerusalem will be called
holy, everyone who has been recorded
for life in Jerusalem, once the Lord has
washed away the filth of the daughters of
Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment
and by a spirit of burning. Then the Lord
will create over the whole site of Mount
Zion and over its places of assembly a cloud
by day and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night. Indeed over all the glory
there will be a canopy. It will serve as a
pavilion, a shade by day from the heat, and
a refuge and a shelter from the storm and
rain.
a Q Ms: MT lacks shame
women will be stripped, humiliated, and desperate to nd a husband in the devastation, even willing to forego
the nancial support mandated by law (Ex 21.10). 4.26: An idyllic portrayal of the restored Jerusalem following
its period of purging begins with the formula, on that day. The passage combines the metaphor of the branch
that will grow again aer it is cut (cf. 6.1213; 11.19) with the imagery of the daughters of Zion, washing and
purifying themselves aer their menstrual periods (see Lev 15.1924). Cloud by day and aming re by night over
the sacred site of Mount Zion recalls the Lord leading Israel at the time of the Exodus and Wilderness wandering (e.g., Ex 13.2122; 14.1920; 24.1518; 40.3438; Num 10.1136; cf. 1 Kings 8.1012). Such imagery also refers
to the column of smoke and re that rises from the Temple altar during sacrice to signify the Lords presence.
Here the smoke and re forms a protective canopy for the restored city.
5.112.6: Prophetic instruction concerning Assyrian judgment against Israel and the restoration of the Davidic kingdom. Although chs 512 lack a superscription, the interest in both Israel and Judah is clear throughout the unit. The passage begins (5.3) with an announcement of divine judgment against Israel and Judah in
5.130, and a lengthy elaboration concerning the signicance of that judgment and the restoration to follow
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isaiah 5
Let me sing for my beloved

my love-song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem

and people of Judah,
judge between me
and my vineyard.
What more was there to do for my
vineyard
that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and it shall be overgrown with briers
and thorns;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts

is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
he expected justice,
but saw bloodshed;
righteousness,
but heard a cry!
Ah, you who join house to house,
who add eld to eld,
until there is room for no one but you,
and you are left to live alone
in the midst of the land!
The Lord of hosts has sworn in my
hearing:
Surely many houses shall be desolate,
large and beautiful houses, without
inhabitant.
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but
one bath,
and a homer of seed shall yield a mere
ephah.a
Ah, you who rise early in the morning
in pursuit of strong drink,
who linger in the evening
to be inamed by wine,
whose feasts consist of lyre and harp,
tambourine and ute and wine,
but who do not regard the deeds of the
Lord,
a The Heb bath, homer, and ephah are measures of
quantity
in 6.112.6.
5.130: Announcement of judgment against Israel and Judah. This block of oracles combines the prophets
accusations of social wrongdoing in Israel with a vivid portrayal of the approach of the Assyrian army in an effort to argue that the Lord has brought the Assyrians to punish Israel. 17: Isaiahs song of the vineyard (see also
27.26) allegorically portrays the Lord as Isaiahs friend (beloved does not adequately convey the Hebrew here)
who worked so hard to ensure a productive vineyard only to be disappointed when it yielded sour grapes. The
allegory, which is explained only at the end, draws in the audience, as many in ancient Judah would have had
extensive experience in vineyards. Its conclusion uses puns to make its point, viz., the Lord expects justice (Heb
mishpat ), but sees only bloodshed (Heb mispah),
. and hopes for righteousness (Heb tsedaqah) only to hear
a cry (Heb tse aqah). 824: A series of woe (NRSV Ah) oracles (see also 28.1; 29.1,15; 30.1; 31.1; 33.1; Hab 2.6
19), each introduced by the Heb exclamation hoy (woe!) warns the people of coming punishment due to the
failure of the leadership of Israel to ensure justice as called for in Israels law codes, particularly Ex 2023. 810:
The rst oracle criticizes seizure of property, a frequent concern of eighth-century bce prophets (see 3.124.1n.).
A bath is a liquid measure of ca. 6 gal (23 liters), a poor yield for ten acres. A homer is ca. 6.5 bu (230 liters), and
an ephah is only one-tenth of a homer. 1117: The prophet charges Israels leadership with drunken incompetence. 11: Drunkenness is frequently denounced in the prophets (Isa 28.78; Hos 4.11; 7.5; Am 4.1; Mic 2.11). 12:
The deeds and work, or plan and agenda, of God is a central motif in Isaiah (5.19; 10.12; 14.2427; 19.12,17; 23.9;
974 | hebrew bible
isaiah 5
or see the work of his hands!
Therefore my people go into exile
without knowledge;
their nobles are dying of hunger,
and their multitude is parched with
thirst.
Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
and opened its mouth beyond measure;
the nobility of Jerusalema and her
multitude go down,
her throng and all who exult in her.
People are bowed down, everyone is
brought low,
and the eyes of the haughty are
humbled.
But the Lord of hosts is exalted by
justice,
and the Holy God shows himself holy
by righteousness.
Then the lambs shall graze as in their
pasture,
fatlings and kidsb shall feed among the
ruins.
Ah, you who drag iniquity along with
cords of falsehood,
who drag sin along as with cart ropes,
who say, Let him make haste,
let him speed his work
that we may see it;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel
hasten to fulllment,
that we may know it!
Ah, you who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Ah, you who are wise in your own eyes,
and shrewd in your own sight!
Ah, you who are heroes in drinking wine
and valiant at mixing drink,
who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of their rights!
Therefore, as the tongue of re devours
the stubble,
and as dry grass sinks down in the
ame,
so their root will become rotten,
and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have rejected the instruction of
the Lord of hosts,
and have despised the word of the Holy
One of Israel.
Therefore the anger of the Lord was
kindled against his people,
and he stretched out his hand against
them and struck them;
the mountains quaked,
and their corpses were like refuse
in the streets.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
He will raise a signal for a nation far
away,
a Heb her nobility
b Cn Compare Gk: Heb aliens
28.21; 30.1). 14: The threat of exile and death is personied as Sheol, the underworld abode of the dead, which
opens its mouth to swallow up the leadership of the people, much as they swallowed wine and food at their
feasts. Such abasement of the people highlights the Lords power, holiness, and righteousness in the eyes of
the prophet. 2024: The prophet charges that the people can no longer distinguish between right and wrong,
perverting the judicial system (1.23; Mic 3.11; cf. Ex 23.8; Deut 16.19) in their own narcissism and drunkenness.
Returning to the vineyard allegory of 5.17, the prophet charges that the people will be uerly consumed by re
for neglecting divine instruction. 2530: The nal subunit shis from the metaphor of a burning vineyard to a
chilling portrayal of the approaching Assyrian army summoned by the Lord. The outstretched hand of the Lord
appears throughout 9.710.5 as well, and builds upon the imagery of Moses outstretched hand throughout the
plagues of the Exodus narratives (see Ex 710), the crossing of the sea (Ex 14.2629), the provision of water from
the rock (Ex 17.17), and the defeat of Amalek in the wilderness (Ex 17.816). The signal (Heb nes) raised to summon the nations likewise recalls the Lords banner (nes) in Ex 17.1516. The roaring of the Assyrian army like
lions recalls the lion as the symbol of the tribe of Judah and the house of David (Gen 49.9), now turned against
the people. The darkening cloud over the land recalls the pillar of cloud and smoke, identied with the Lords
presence during the Exodus and in the Holy of Holies in the Temple (see 4.26n.), but now absent.
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isaiah 6
and whistle for a people at the ends of
the earth;
Here they come, swiftly, speedily!
None of them is weary, none stumbles,
none slumbers or sleeps,
not a loincloth is loose,
not a sandal-thong broken;
their arrows are sharp,
all their bows bent,
their horses hoofs seem like int,
and their wheels like the whirlwind.
Their roaring is like a lion,
like young lions they roar;
they growl and seize their prey,
they carry it o, and no one can rescue.
They will roar over it on that day,
like the roaring of the sea.
And if one look to the land
only darkness and distress;
and the light grows dark with
clouds.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw

the Lord sitting on a throne, high and
lofty; and the hem of his robe lled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him;
each had six wings: with two they covered
their faces, and with two they covered their
feet, and with two they ew. And one called
to another and said:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.
The pivotsa on the thresholds shook at the
voices of those who called, and the house
lled with smoke. And I said: Woe is me! I
am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and
I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my
eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!
Then one of the seraphs ew to me,
holding a live coal that had been taken from
the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraphb

b Heb He
6.113: Isaiahs commission. Isaiahs lengthy explanation of divine judgment and restoration in 6.112.6 begins with a rst-person visionary account of his commission as a prophet. Prophetic visions are common in the
Bible (Ex 33; 1 Sam 3; 1 Kings 19; Jer 1.1119; 24; Ezek 13; 811; 4048; Am 79; Hab 2.2; Zech 1.76.15) and in the
larger ancient Near Eastern world (cf. Balaams visions in Num 2224). Although they are commonly associated with temples, priests (e.g., Moses; Samuel; Jeremiah; Ezekiel; Zechariah) and non-priests (Elijah; Amos;
Habakkuk) alike may experience visions. Although Isaiah is not a priest, his vision portrays the Lord enthroned
in the Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem Temple. As a royal adviser, Isaiah would stand with the king by the column
at the entrance of the Temple where he could see the interior of the Temple (2 Kings 11.14; 23.3). Such a vision
of the Lords royal court corresponds to the visions of Micaiah ben Imlah (1 Kings 22.1923) and Ezekiel (Ezek
1). Given the emphasis on purging the people from sin, it is possible that the vision takes place on Yom Kippur,
the Day of Atonement, when the priest beholds the Lord in the Holy of Holies to atone on behalf of the people
(Lev 16; 23.2632). 12: King Uzziah of Judah, also known as Azariah, died in 742 or 733 bce (2 Kings 15.17,32);
the chronology is uncertain for this period. The reigns of his son, Jotham, and grandson, Ahaz, saw the rst attempts by the Syro-Ephraimite alliance, i.e., the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Aram, to invade Judah, thereby
initiating Assyrias aempts to take control of the region (2 Kings 15.3216.20; Isa 7.19.6). Because Isaiah is
heavily inuenced by the royal Davidic/Zion theology, he sees the Lord enthroned as a king in the Holy of
Holies of the Temple. The ark of the covenant, which was housed in the Holy of Holies (1 Kings 8.69), was
believed to serve as the footstool for the Lords throne (see 1 Sam 4.4; 6.2; Isa 37.16; 66.1; Pss 80.2; 99.1). The
seraphs are heavenly beings who serve as aendants to the divine king. The Hebrew word serap (lit. ery
one) also refers to ery snakes in the wilderness (Num 21.69; Deut 8.15; cf. Isa 14.29; 30.6). Here, they are
comparable to the cherubim, winged creatures of composite animal and human form, that are guardians of the
ark (Ex 25.1022). Isaiahs vision of the seraphs is apparently inuenced by the imagery of the ickering lights of
the lamp stands in the thick incense smoke that lls the Temple during worship. Feet, probably a euphemism for
genitals. 34: The hymn of the seraphs, well known in both Jewish and Christian worship, recounts the Lords
holiness as sovereign of all creation, and points to the liturgical seing of Isaiahs vision. The shaking of the
thresholds likely represents the movement of the Temple doors as they are opened. Smoke accompanies the
divine presence (4.5; 30.27; Ex 19.18; Ps 18.8), in this case also from the re on the altar (v. 6). 5: Isaiah recognizes
that he is not suciently pure to stand before the Lord in the Temple (cf. Ex 33.1820). 67: The cleansing of
Isaiahs mouth with a hot coal from the altar presupposes the mouth purication rituals of oracular priests
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isaiah 7
touched my mouth with it and said: Now
that this has touched your lips, your guilt has
departed and your sin is blotted out. Then
I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom
shall I send, and who will go for us? And I
said, Here am I; send me! And he said, Go
and say to this people:
Keep listening, but do not comprehend;
keep looking, but do not understand.
Make the mind of this people dull,
and stop their ears,
and shut their eyes,
so that they may not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and comprehend with their minds,
and turn and be healed.
Then I said, How long, OLord? And he
said:
Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is utterly desolate;

until the Lord sends everyone far away,
and vast is the emptiness in the midst
of the land.
Even if a tenth part remain in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak
whose stump remains standing
when it is felled.a
The holy seed is its stump.
In the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of

Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram
and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel
went up to attack Jerusalem, but could not
mount an attack against it. When the house
of David heard that Aram had allied itself
with Ephraim, the heart of Ahazb and the

b Heb his heart
in ancient Mesopotamia so that they could speak on behalf of their gods. 8: The Lords question and Isaiahs
response recalls the experience of Micaiah (1 Kings 22.2021). Us, the plural refers to the entire divine assembly.
910: The Lords commission to Isaiah is one of the most disturbing elements of the book, insofar as Isaiahs
task is to ensure that the people will not see, hear, or understand so that they cannot repent and thereby
avoid the punishment of the Lord (cf. the Lords hardening the heart of Pharaoh; Ex 7.35; 10.1). 1113: Isaiahs
response How long? is oen understood to be a sign of his resignation to the divine will and his empathy for
his people, although other gures, such as Abraham (Gen 18), Moses (Ex 33; Num 14), Amos (Am 7.16), and Job
were not afraid to challenge the Lord when they thought a divine act was questionable. The concluding images
of judgment against the land culminate in a portrayal of a tree stump that must be burned aer the tree is cut
down. Despite the horric imagery of a mere 10 percent survival rate, the account concludes with a hopeful
image of new growth from the ravaged stump that will constitute the holy seed of restoration (see Ezra 9.2).
7.18.15: Narrative concerning the Lords judgment against Judah. The explanation of divine judgment
shis to a third-person narrative concerning Isaiahs confrontation with King Ahaz of Judah (743/735727/715
bce) at the time of the Syro-Ephraimite invasion of Judah (see 1 Kings 16) in 7.125, followed by a return to Isaiahs rst-person narrative in 8.115 concerning the signicance of the Maher-shalal-hash-baz sign (see textual
note a on 8.1). The passage has a complex history of revision in response to changing circumstances. Thus many
images are alternately used with positive and negative signicance.
7.125: Dialogue between King Ahaz and Isaiah. The narrative begins with reference to the Syro-Ephraimite
War of 735732 bce. In an aempt to oppose advances into western Asia by the Assyrian King Tiglath-pileser
III (745727), King Rezin of Damascus (Aram; ca. 750732) and King Pekah of Israel (735732) formed the SyroEphraimite alliance. Pekah came to the throne of Israel in a coup engineered by Aram that saw the assassination
of his predecessor, Pekahiah (737735), the son of the pro-Assyrian Menahem (747737; 2 Kings 15.1726). Rezin
and Menahem aempted to assemble all of the smaller states in the region into a united force that would face
the Assyrians. King Jotham of Judah (759743), who likely knew all too well the animosity between Israel and
Aram over the past century (King Ahab of Israel was killed at Ramoth-gilead while ghting the Arameans; see
1 Kings 22), refused to join such an unstable alliance. Jotham died of unknown causes before the combined
forces of the northern kingdom of Israel and Aram arrived at Jerusalem, leaving his twenty-year-old son Ahaz
to face the threat (1 Kings 16). The goal of the assault was to force Judah into the Syro-Ephraimite alliance by
removing the Davidic king and replacing him with a presumably more pliable gure named son of Tabeel (v.
6). 2: Ephraim, the northern kingdom of Israel. 39: The end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the
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isaiah 7
heart of his people shook as the trees of the
forest shake before the wind.
Then the Lord said to Isaiah, Go out to
meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub,a
at the end of the conduit of the upper pool
on the highway to the Fullers Field, and
say to him, Take heed, be quiet, do not fear,
and do not let your heart be faint because of
these two smoldering stumps of rebrands,
because of the erce anger of Rezin and Aram
and the son of Remaliah. Because Aram
with Ephraim and the son of Remaliahhas
plotted evil against you, saying, Let us go
up against Judah and cut o Jerusalemb and
conquer it for ourselves and make the son
of Tabeel king in it; therefore thus says the
Lord God:
It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
For the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
(Within sixty-ve years Ephraim will be
shattered, no longer a people.)
The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of
Remaliah.
If you do not stand rm in faith,

you shall not stand at all.
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying,
Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be
deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz
said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord
to the test. Then Isaiahc said: Hear then,
Ohouse of David! Is it too little for you to
weary mortals, that you weary my God also?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a
sign. Look, the young womand is with child
and shall bear a son, and shall name him
Immanuel.e He shall eat curds and honey
by the time he knows how to refuse the evil
and choose the good. For before the child
knows how to refuse the evil and choose the
good, the land before whose two kings you
are in dread will be deserted. The Lord will
bring on you and on your people and on your
ancestral house such days as have not come
a
b
c
d
e
That is A remnant shall return

Heb cut it o
Heb he
Gk the virgin
That is God is with us
Fullers Field. A fuller is a person who processes wool. The location refers to the Gihon spring, Jerusalems water
source, which was located beyond the fortied wall of the city in the Kidron Valley immediately east of the city
of David. All ancient cities faced the problem of access to water in times of siege. Like several ancient Israelite
cities, Jerusalem had a tunnel that would allow protected access to the Gihon from inside the walls of the city.
Ahaz was inspecting Jerusalems defenses when Isaiah arrived with his son, symbolically named Shear-jashub
(a remnant will return). The symbolic name is both a reassurance that the Lord would defend Jerusalem in
keeping with the Davidic/Zion tradition, and also an acknowledgment of Judahs losses. 4: Isaiahs advice to
trust in the Lord makes some practical military sense, since the Israelite and Aramean armies would hardly have
time to lay a protracted siege of Jerusalem, leaving their own borders open to Assyrian aack. 9: If you do not
stand rm in faith (Heb im lo taaminu), you shall not stand at all (lo teamenu, lit. you will not be secure), a
wordplay between two forms of the Heb verb, amen, to stand rm. 1025: The narrative suggests that Ahaz
is skeptical, prompting the prophet to demand that the king ask a sign of the Lord. 11: Sheol, the underworld.
Although Ahaz rejects Isaiahs advice, his response to the prophet is a model of piety insofar as he will not put
the Lord to the test. 14: Isaiahs reply emphasizes the Lords own sign, i.e., the birth of the child Immanuel (God
is with us) to express the Lords commitment to defend Jerusalem. The young woman is not identied; she
may be either the wife of Isaiah (cf. 8.3) or of King Ahaz. Although 7.14 is cited in Mt 1.23 as a proof text for the
virgin birth of Jesus, based on the LXX translation parthenos (virgin), the Heb word almah simply means
young woman, not virgin. 1517: Curds and honey, choice fare, dicult to obtain during a siege; by the time the
child is weaned (two to three years) the northern allies will have been totally defeated and the land (of milk and
honey) will return to the prosperity it enjoyed under David and Solomon. 1819: A negative oracle describing
the dire consequences, particularly the subjugation of Judah by the Assyrian empire, that will befall Jerusalem
and Judah as a result of Ahazs refusal to accept Isaiahs promises. The Isaiah narrative presumes Ahazs decision
to send for help to the Assyrian King Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 16.718). Ahazs appeal to Assyria put him and his
nation in debt to the Assyrians. Had he followed Isaiahs advice to wait out the siege, Tiglath-pileser, needing
no invitation to invade Aram and Israel, would have come anyway, and Ahaz would not have been so indebted.
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isaiah 8
since the day that Ephraim departed from
Judahthe king of Assyria.
On that day the Lord will whistle for
the y that is at the sources of the streams of
Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they will all come and settle in the
steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and
on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.
On that day the Lord will shave with a
razor hired beyond the Riverwith the king
of Assyriathe head and the hair of the feet,
and it will take o the beard as well.
On that day one will keep alive a young
cow and two sheep, and will eat curds
because of the abundance of milk that they
give; for everyone that is left in the land shall
eat curds and honey.
On that day every place where there
used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers
and thorns. With bow and arrows one will
go there, for all the land will be briers and
thorns; and as for all the hills that used
to be hoed with a hoe, you will not go there
for fear of briers and thorns; but they will
become a place where cattle are let loose and
where sheep tread.
Then the Lord said to me, Take a large

tablet and write on it in common characters, Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz,a
and have it attestedb for me by reliable witnesses, the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of
Jeberechiah. And I went to the prophetess,

and she conceived and bore a son. Then the
Lord said to me, Name him Maher-shalalhash-baz; for before the child knows how to
call My father or My mother, the wealth
of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be
carried away by the king of Assyria.
The Lord spoke to me again: Because
this people has refused the waters of Shiloah
that ow gently, and melt in fear beforec Rezin
and the son of Remaliah; therefore, the Lord
is bringing up against it the mighty ood
waters of the River, the king of Assyria and
all his glory; it will rise above all its channels
and overow all its banks; it will sweep on
into Judah as a ood, and, pouring over, it will
reach up to the neck; and its outspread wings
will ll the breadth of your land, OImmanuel.
Band together, you peoples, and be
dismayed;
listen, all you far countries;
gird yourselves and be dismayed;
gird yourselves and be dismayed!
Take counsel together, but it shall be
brought to naught;
speak a word, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.d
a
b
c
d
That is The spoil speeds, the prey hastens

Q Ms Gk Syr: MT and I caused to be attested
Heb immanu el
20: For the shaming of prisoners by the removal of facial and body hair, see 2 Sam 10.15. Feet, genitals. 2122:
A reuse of the curds-and-honey motif signifying that the land will go back to pasture as a result of invasion.
2325: Reuse of the motif of the reversion of the vineyards to briers and thorns, as in 5.6. 23: A thousand shekels,
ca. 25 lb (55 kg).
8.115: Autobiographical account concerning the Maher-shalal-hash-baz sign. The narrative abruptly
shis to Isaiahs rst-person account concerning the birth of his son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz , who serves as
a sign concerning the impending judgment to be suered by Judah when the Assyrian king takes control of
Judah. 14: The prophet recounts how he secured witnesses concerning the future birth of his son, Mahershalal-hash-baz, whose name means the spoil speeds, the prey hastens, symbolically conveying the speed
with which the Assyrians will act against the Syro-Ephraimite coalition and establish their authority over Judah.
2: Uriah and Zechariah, the former may be the chief priest of the Jerusalem Temple (2 Kings 16.1016) and the latter the father-in-law of Ahaz (2 Kings 18.2). 3: The prophetess, Isaiahs wife, perhaps in the service of the Temple
or court. 58: The prophet makes clear the Lords dissatisfaction with Ahazs refusal to accept the divine oer
of protection. The waters of Shiloah, the stream fed by the Gihon spring that symbolizes the Lords sustenance
of Jerusalem and the house of David (Neh 2.14; 3.15). The oracle plays on the imagery of the protective stream
that now becomes a threatening force as it overows its banks to ood the land. 7: The River, the Euphrates, in
western Assyria. 8: Whereas Immanuel, God is with us, earlier signied Gods protection of Judah, the name
now symbolizes the Lords punishment of the land. 910: A brief hymn expands on the Immanuel theme with
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isaiah 9
For the Lord spoke thus to me while his
hand was strong upon me, and warned me
not to walk in the way of this people, saying:
Do not call conspiracy all that this people
calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears,
or be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him
you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear,
and let him be your dread. He will become
a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for
both houses of Israel he will become a rock
one stumbles overa trap and a snare for the
inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among
them shall stumble; they shall fall and be
broken; they shall be snared and taken.
Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples. I will wait for the
Lord, who is hiding his face from the house
of Jacob, and I will hope in him. See, I and
the children whom the Lord has given me
are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord
of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. Now
if people say to you, Consult the ghosts and
the familiar spirits that chirp and mutter;
should not a people consult their gods, the
dead on behalf of the living, for teaching
and for instruction? surely, those who speak
like this will have no dawn! They will pass

through the land,a greatly distressed and
hungry; when they are hungry, they will be
enraged and will curseb their king and their
gods. They will turn their faces upward, or
they will look to the earth, but will see only
distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish;
and they will be thrust into thick darkness.c
d But there will be no gloom for those who
were in anguish. In the former time he
brought into contempt the land of Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time
he will make glorious the way of the sea, the
land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
e The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness
on them light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation,
you have increased its joy;
a
b
c
d
e
Heb it
Or curse by
Ch 8.23 in Heb
Ch 9.1 in Heb
reference to the victorious Jerusalem of the future (anticipating 8.1612.6). 1115: The hand of the Lord signies
possession by the spirit of God, resulting in transformed prophetic consciousness (e.g., 1 Kings 18.46; 2 Kings
3.15; Ezek 1.3; 3.22; 8.1; 33.22). Isaiahs opposition to Ahaz and his circle has apparently led to accusations of
conspiracy directed against him and his followers.
8.1612.6: Announcement concerning the fall of Assyria and the restoration of the Davidic kingdom. Having laid out the scenario for Jerusalems and Judahs judgment at the hands of Assyria in 7.18.15, the prophets
oracles then turn to a scenario of divine judgment against Assyria for its own arrogance (cf. 2.1021) and the
restoration of righteous Davidic rule over a reunited Israel and Judah.
8.169.7: Prophetic instruction concerning the Lords signs to Israel and the house of David. Isaiah now
expresses frustration as he decides to wait for the Lord to act. Isaiah maintains that the Lord is hiding from
the nation, a disturbing proposition that is meant to overcome suggestions of divine impotence or maliciousness in the face of crisis, but nevertheless points to the Lord as an important cause of Judahs suering. 8.16:
The commands to bind up the testimony and seal the teaching (Heb torah) among my disciples is an ambiguous
statement. Heb limmuday, translated here as my disciples, may also refer to my teachings, since limmud means taught, whether the content is the teaching or the person taught. The phrase may have played
a role in motivating the expansion of the book of Isaiah in the exilic and postexilic periods as later interpreters
reected upon the meaning of the prophets oracles in relation to their own times. 8.189.7: The prophet anticipates a period of gloom and darkness until a new Davidic monarch arises to replace Ahaz. 18: I and the children,
Shear-jashub and Maher-shalal-hash-baz, are portents for the future; the name Isaiah (The Lord saves) connotes the hope of salvation. 19: Recourse to ghosts and the familiar spirits (i.e., necromancy) was a practice in
ancient Israel and Judah, though oen condemned (19.3; Lev 19.31; Deut 18.1011). Here Isaiah threatens that
it can only lead to greater distress and darkness. 9.1: Zebulun and Naphtali refer to the Assyrian annexation of
Israelite tribal territories in Galilee following Tiglath-pilesers defeat of northern Israel in 732 bce. The Assyrian
provinces of Dur (Dor, the way of the sea), Galazu (Gilead, the land beyond the Jordan), and Magidu (Megiddo,
Galilee of the nations), areas just south and west of Zebulun and Naphtali, were also carved out of Israel at this
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isaiah 9
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden,
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the re.
For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The Lord sent a word against Jacob,
and it fell on Israel;
and all the people knew it
Ephraim and the inhabitants of
Samaria
but in pride and arrogance of heart they
said:
The bricks have fallen,

but we will build with dressed stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
but we will put cedars in their place.
So the Lord raised adversariesa against
them,
and stirred up their enemies,
the Arameans on the east and the
Philistines on the west,
and they devoured Israel with open
mouth.
For all this his anger has not turned away;
his hand is stretched out still.
The people did not turn to him who
struck them,
or seek the Lord of hosts.
So the Lord cut o from Israel head and
tail,
palm branch and reed in one day
elders and dignitaries are the head,
and prophets who teach lies are the tail;
for those who led this people led them
astray,
and those who were led by them were
left in confusion.
That is why the Lord did not have pity
onb their young people,
a Cn: Heb the adversaries of Rezin
b Q Ms: MT rejoice over
time. 27: The royal song of thanksgiving answers the hopes of those who wait for the Lord to act to restore
righteous Davidic rule in Israel. 45: Military oppression is symbolized by the yoke (10.27; 14.25), the bar (10.24),
the rod (10.24; 14.5; Gen 49.10), and the trampling boot. 4: The day of Midian refers to Gideons defeat of Midian
and deliverance of Israel in Judg 7.1525. 67: The birth of a new king, perhaps Hezekiah, the son and successor
of Ahaz, signals a new period of peace, justice, and righteousness in which Davidic rule will be reestablished in
Israel. See also Ps 2.7. For us, see 6.8n.
9.810.4: Prophetic warning of judgment to Israels leaders. The prophet returns to a focus on northern
Israel. The oracles in this passage all conclude with the formulaic statement, for all this, his (the Lords) anger
has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still (9.12b, 17b, 21b; 10.4b). The occurrence of this formula in
5.25 indicates that 5.130 and 9.810.4 form a literary envelope around 6.19.7. The oracles presuppose Israels experience in the Syro-Ephraimite alliance, and point to Israels leadership as the cause of its problems.
9.812: This oracle presupposes Arams (and Philistias) aggression against Israel in the ninth century bce when
King Ahab was killed in bale (1 Kings 22). Later Israelite kings and their Judean vassals were contained by the
Aramean push into Philistia (2 Kings 10.32; 12.1718; 13.7). 8: Jacob is the eponymous ancestor of Israel (Gen
32.2232; 35.915) and is especially associated with northern Israelite locations. 9: Ephraim is the dominant
tribe of northern Israel, and Samaria is the capital of the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 16.24). 1317: Isaiah decries Israels failure to recognize that the Lord was the party responsible for striking against Israels leaders.
Although the Jehu dynasty eventually achieved security for Israel during the reigns of Jehoash (800784) and
Jeroboam II (788747; 2 Kings 13.2425; 14.2329), ancient Near Eastern sources indicate that Jehu (842814)
and Jehoash did so by forming an alliance with Assyria to contain Aram. King Zechariah (747), the last king of
hebrew bible | 981
isaiah 10
or compassion on their orphans and
widows;
for everyone was godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth spoke folly.
For wickedness burned like a re,
consuming briers and thorns;
it kindled the thickets of the forest,
and they swirled upward in a column of
smoke.
Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
the land was burned,
and the people became like fuel for the
re;
no one spared another.
They gorged on the right, but still were
hungry,
and they devoured on the left, but were
not satised;
they devoured the esh of their own
kindred;a
Manasseh devoured Ephraim, and
Ephraim Manasseh,
and together they were against Judah.
10
Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees,

who write oppressive statutes,
to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of
their right,
that widows may be your spoil,
and that you may make the orphans

your prey!
What will you do on the day of punishment,
in the calamity that will come from far
away?
To whom will you ee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth,
so as not to crouch among the prisoners
or fall among the slain?
Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger
the club in their hands is my fury!
Against a godless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I
command him,
to take spoil and seize plunder,
and to tread them down like the mire of
the streets.
But this is not what he intends,
nor does he have this in mind;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
and to cut o nations not a few.
For he says:
Are not my commanders all kings?
Is not Calno like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria like Damascus?
As my hand has reached to the kingdoms
of the idols
whose images were greater than those
of Jerusalem and Samaria,
a Or arm
the house of Jehu, was ultimately assassinated by pro-Aramean elements in Israel (2 Kings 812). 1821: The last
years of the kingdom of Israel were marked by a series of royal assassinations as pro-Assyrian and pro-Aramean
elements struggled for control of the nation. King Pekah (see 7.125n.), who joined Israel with Aram to form the
Syro-Ephraimite alliance, gained his throne by assassinating Pekahiah, the son of the pro-Assyrian King Menahem (2 Kings 15.1726; cf. 2 Kings 15.25). 21: Ephraim and Manasseh were the two largest tribes in the Northern
Kingdom of Israel. 10.14: The last oracle of the sequence begins with woe (Ah) to signal the prophets judgment against Israels leadership for its oppression of the poor and manipulation of the judicial system (see
5.2024n.). Ultimately the Assyrian King Tiglath-pileser (745727) stripped away much of Israels outlying territory, which prompted Hoshea (732722) to assassinate Pekah and submit to Assyria (2 Kings 15.2930).
10.512.6: Prophetic announcement of Assyrian downfall and Davidic restoration. The nal oracular sequence in chs 512 takes up divine judgment against the Assyrian monarch for his arrogance and the coming
restoration of righteous Davidic rule over a reunied Israel and Judah. 10.511: The sequence begins with a
woe (Ah) oracle directed against the Assyrian king. Although the Lord sent the Assyrians to punish Israel, the
Assyrian king arrogantly sees himself and not the Lord as the true power in the world. The Assyrian monarch
portrayed here is Sargon II (721705 bce). 9: The cities named are all Aramean cities conquered by Tiglath-pileser (745727) or Sargon. Calno (Calneh) in 740 and 738; Carchemish in 717; Hamath in 738 and again in 720; Arpad
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isaiah 10
shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols
what I have done to Samaria and her
images?
When the Lord has nished all his work
on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, hea will
punish the arrogant boasting of the king of
Assyria and his haughty pride. For he says:
By the strength of my hand I have
done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have
understanding;
I have removed the boundaries of peoples,
and have plundered their treasures;
like a bull I have brought down those
who sat on thrones.
My hand has found, like a nest,
the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers eggs that have been
forsaken,
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing,
or opened its mouth, or chirped.
Shall the ax vaunt itself over the one
who wields it,
or the saw magnify itself against the
one who handles it?
As if a rod should raise the one who lifts
it up,
or as if a sta should lift the one who is
not wood!
Therefore the Sovereign, the Lord of
hosts,
will send wasting sickness among his
stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be

kindled,
like the burning of re.
The light of Israel will become a re,
and his Holy One a ame;
and it will burn and devour
his thorns and briers in one day.
The glory of his forest and his fruitful
land
the Lord will destroy, both soul and
body,
and it will be as when an invalid wastes
away.
The remnant of the trees of his forest
will be so few
that a child can write them down.
On that day the remnant of Israel and
the survivors of the house of Jacob will no
more lean on the one who struck them,
but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of
Israel, in truth. A remnant will return, the
remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For
though your people Israel were like the
sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will
return. Destruction is decreed, overowing
with righteousness. For the Lord God of
hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in all
the earth.b
Therefore thus says the Lord God of
hosts: Omy people, who live in Zion, do not
be afraid of the Assyrians when they beat
you with a rod and lift up their sta against
a Heb I
b Or land
in 740; and Damascus in 732. 1011: To the Assyrian king, Samaria and Jerusalem are ruled by idols and will fall
to him just like the others. 1219: Once the Lord completes the punishment of Jerusalem, divine aention will
turn to the punishment of the Assyrian king for his arrogant and self-aggrandizing boasting. 15: The imagery
of ax and saw presupposes the Assyrian practice of cuing down trees in the land of their enemies to provide
wood for siege engines and to destroy the agricultural base of the economy (cf. Deut 20.1920). The Lord will
become a raging re that will burn Assyria, symbolically portrayed as felled trees. 2027a: The prophet returns
to the theme of the remnant that will survive the Syro-Aramean and Assyrian onslaughts (cf. 1.9; 4.26; 6.1213;
7.115) to see the nal overthrow of the Assyrians. 24: Assyria has become an oppressor of Israel much like the
pharaoh of Egypt at the time of the Exodus. The oracle plays on the image of Assyrias rod (cf. 10.5), rst to be
used to punish Israel, then as an instrument of oppression, and nally used against Assyria, much as the rods of
Moses and Aaron were used against Egypt during the plagues and at the parting of the sea (Ex 611; 1315). 26:
A reference to Gideons defeat of Midian at the rock of Oreb (Judg 7.25). 10.27b11.9: The advance of the Assyrian
king against Jerusalem generally follows the route from northern Israel through Benjamin south into Jerusalem.
The Assyrian king who threatens Jerusalem is likely Sargon II, who passed through Jerusalem in 720 bce and
put on a show of force to intimidate the city on his way to confront the Egyptians and Philistines at Raphia.
hebrew bible | 983
isaiah 11
you as the Egyptians did. For in a very
little while my indignation will come to an
end, and my anger will be directed to their
destruction. The Lord of hosts will wield a
whip against them, as when he struck Midian
at the rock of Oreb; his sta will be over the
sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. On
that day his burden will be removed from
your shoulder, and his yoke will be destroyed
from your neck.
He has gone up from Rimmon,a
he has come to Aiath;
he has passed through Migron,
at Michmash he stores his baggage;
they have crossed over the pass,
at Geba they lodge for the night;
Ramah trembles,
Gibeah of Saul has ed.
Cry aloud, Odaughter Gallim!
Listen, OLaishah!
Answer her, OAnathoth!
Madmenah is in ight,
the inhabitants of Gebim ee for safety.
This very day he will halt at Nob,
he will shake his st
at the mount of daughter Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
Look, the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts,
will lop the boughs with terrifying
power;
the tallest trees will be cut down,
and the lofty will be brought low.
He will hack down the thickets of the
forest with an ax,
and Lebanon with its majestic treesb
will fall.
A shoot shall come out from the stump
of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and
understanding,
11
the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of
the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the
Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the
poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of
the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his
mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall
kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around
his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his
loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling
together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole
of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand
on the adders den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge
of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand
a Cn: Heb and his yoke from your neck, and a yoke
will be destroyed because of fatness
b Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb with a majestic one
10.27b32: Some of the cities named cannot be identied with certainty, but all are presumably not far north
of Jerusalem. 33: Isaiahs use of tree imagery appears once again (see 10.1519). 34: Lebanon, see 2.13n. 11.19: In
place of the felled Assyrian tree, the stump will produce a new branch that will grow into the new and righteous
Davidic monarch who will preside over Jerusalem in peace (cf. 6.1213; 9.17). 1: Jesse, the father of David (1 Sam
16.120). 2: The spirit of the Lord, the charismatic endowment of the future ruler is expressed in three pairs of
aributes; LXX adds the spirit of piety, providing the basis for the seven gis of the Holy Spirit in Christian
theology. 68: The idyllic scenario in which the animals live in peace and even a baby is safe recalls the garden
984 | hebrew bible
isaiah 12
as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall
inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be
glorious.
On that day the Lord will extend his hand
yet a second time to recover the remnant that
is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt,
from Pathros, from Ethiopia,a from Elam,
from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the
coastlands of the sea.
He will raise a signal for the nations,
and will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
the hostility of Judah shall be cut o;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah shall not be hostile towards
Ephraim.
But they shall swoop down on the backs
of the Philistines in the west,
together they shall plunder the people
of the east.
They shall put forth their hand against
Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites shall obey them.
And the Lord will utterly destroy
the tongue of the sea of Egypt;
and will wave his hand over the River
with his scorching wind;
and will split it into seven channels,
and make a way to cross on foot;
so there shall be a highway from Assyria
for the remnant that is left of his

people,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of
Egypt.
12
You will say in that day:

I will give thanks to you, OLord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
and you comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord Godb is my strength and my
might;
he has become my salvation.
With joy you will draw water from the wells

of salvation. And you will say in that day:
Give thanks to the Lord,
call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted.
Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done
gloriously;
let this be knownc in all the earth.
b Heb for Yah, the Lord
c Or this is made known
of Eden (Gen 2). 9: My holy mountain, see 2.2n. 10: The signal (Heb nes, banner) that summons the nations
recalls the banner of the Lord that summoned the Assyrians in 5.26 and that symbolized the defeat of Amalek
in Ex 17.1516. 1116: The restoration of righteous Davidic rule in Jerusalem prompts the return of Israels exiles
and the restoration of the united Davidic empire. Israelites were exiled to Assyria and others had ed to Egypt
during the course of the Assyrian invasions in the late eighth century. 11: Pathros, in southern Egypt; Ethiopia
(Heb Cush), south of Egypt; Elam, in southern Iran, east of Babylonia; Shinar, the plain of Babylon; Hamath, in
north central Aram (Syria); the coastlands of the sea, the Phoenician lioral on the eastern Mediterranean coast,
or the islands of the eastern Aegean. 1214: With the exiles recovered, Israel and Judah will reunite under the
rule of the Davidic king as in the days of David and Solomon, to conquer Philistia and Transjordan (Edom, Moab,
and the Ammonites), regions that had once been part of the kingdom of David and Solomon (2 Sam 8). 15: The
Lords defeat of the sea of Egypt recalls the parting of the sea at the time of the Exodus (Ex 1415). The scorching
wind is a dry sirocco or east wind that plays a role in the parting of the sea and other acts of the Lord (Ex 10.13;
14.21). The River, the Euphrates. Seven channels evokes mythological traditions about the dragon Leviathan (cf.
27.1), who has seven heads in Canaanite mythology. The highway from Assyria is compared to the Kings Highway, a trade route through Transjordan, that Israel followed on its way through Moab to the promised land
(Num 20.17; 21.22; Deut 2.17). 12.16: The concluding song of thanksgiving quotes from the Song of the Sea in
Ex 15 (see esp. Ex 15.13) and various Psalms (e.g., 105.1; 118.14,21). The drawing of water suggests a seing in the
celebration of Sukkot (Tabernacles; Lev 23.3344), when water libations were poured at the Temple to celebrate
the end of the fruit harvest and the onset of the rainy season as well as Israels journey through the wilderness.
hebrew bible | 985
isaiah 13
Mediterranean
Sea
ARAM
Sidon
igri
R.T
R. Euphrates
Mediterranean
Sea
MEDIA
AS S YRIA
Cyprus
Damascus
EL AM
BABYL O N IA
Tyre
Babylon
(EPHRAIM)
Samaria
R. Jordan
ISRAEL
Zoan (Tanis)
Memphis
AMMON
TI
Jazer
lf
Dedan
PH
IL
Nebo
Medeba
Dibon
Ar
Kir
The Negeb
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
O PH IR
R. Arnon
Dead
Sea M O A B
Sea
Red
JUDAH
Gu
Tema
Heshbon
Jerusalem
Pe
rs
ia
EGYPT
le
Ni
IS
Dumah
R.
Ashdod
Keda r
ETHIOPIA
0
EDOM (SEIR)
200 Miles
200 Kilometers
Places mentioned in the oracles against the nations
Shout aloud and sing for joy, Oroyala

Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One
of Israel.
13
The oracle concerning Babylon that

Isaiah son of Amoz saw.
On a bare hill raise a signal,

cry aloud to them;
wave the hand for them to enter
the gates of the nobles.
I myself have commanded my
consecrated ones,
a Or Oinhabitant of
13.127.13: Prophetic announcement concerning the preparation of the nations for the Lords world rule.
The oracles concerning the nations in chs 1323 together with prophecies of restoration for Zion and Israel
in chs 2427 constitute a major unit that anticipates the Lords actions and sovereignty from throughout the
entire world. The superscription in 13.1 that introduces this section is styled much like that in 2.1. Major blocks
of oracles concerning the nations are a common feature of prophetic books (see Jer 4651; Ezek 2532; Am 12;
Ob; Nah; Zeph 2.415). Isaiahs oracles are each marked with a superscription that identies it as an oracle or
pronouncement (Heb massa) concerning the nation in question. The prophets pronouncements include nations that were ultimately conquered by the Persian empire, beginning with the Persian King Cyruss conquest
of Babylon in 539 bce, which prompted his decree to end the Babylonian exile and allow Jews to return to their
own land (2 Chr 36.2223; Ezra 1.14). Insofar as the laer portions of Isaiah designate Cyrus as the Lords messiah and temple builder (44.28; 45.1), the nal form of the book of Isaiah views Cyrus and the Persian empire
as the means by which the Lord exercises worldwide sovereignty.
13.114.32: Isaiahs pronouncement concerning Babylon. The prophets oracle concerning Babylon includes
a summation in 14.2427 that applies the oracles concerning Assyria to Babylon, and an appendix in 14.2832
that takes up Philistia. 13.1: The superscription both introduces the oracle concerning Babylon and the oracles
concerning the nations throughout Isaiah 1323. 13.214.27: The lengthy oracle concerning Babylon is unexpected immediately following the earlier concerns with Assyria and its threat to Israel and Judah in the eighth
century. Nevertheless, the book as a whole also addresses the Babylonian exile and the Persian-period restoration in the sixth century bce. It therefore portrays Babylon as the natural successor to Assyria as the Lords
agent of punishment who must in turn be brought down to realize Jerusalems restoration. 13.25: The sum-
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isaiah 13
have summoned my warriors, my
proudly exulting ones,
to execute my anger.
Listen, a tumult on the mountains
as of a great multitude!
Listen, an uproar of kingdoms,
of nations gathering together!
The Lord of hosts is mustering
an army for battle.
They come from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
the Lord and the weapons of his
indignation,
to destroy the whole earth.
Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction from the
Almighty!a
Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart will melt,
and they will be dismayed.
Pangs and agony will seize them;
they will be in anguish like a woman in
labor.
They will look aghast at one another;
their faces will be aame.
See, the day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and erce anger,
to make the earth a desolation,
and to destroy its sinners from it.
For the stars of the heavens and their
constellations
will not give their light;
the sun will be dark at its rising,
and the moon will not shed its light.
I will punish the world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will put an end to the pride of the
arrogant,
and lay low the insolence of tyrants.

I will make mortals more rare than ne
gold,
and humans than the gold of Ophir.
Therefore I will make the heavens
tremble,
and the earth will be shaken out of its
place,
at the wrath of the Lord of hosts
in the day of his erce anger.
Like a hunted gazelle,
or like sheep with no one to gather
them,
all will turn to their own people,
and all will ee to their own lands.
Whoever is found will be thrust through,
and whoever is caught will fall by the
sword.
Their infants will be dashed to pieces
before their eyes;
their houses will be plundered,
and their wives ravished.
See, I am stirring up the Medes against
them,
who have no regard for silver
and do not delight in gold.
Their bows will slaughter the young
men;
they will have no mercy on the fruit of
the womb;
their eyes will not pity children.
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
the splendor and pride of the
Chaldeans,
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah
when God overthrew them.
It will never be inhabited
or lived in for all generations;
mons to war presupposes Israels holy war traditions (cf. Deut 20; Josh 111) in which the Lord ghts on behalf
of Israel and employs a heavenly army (see Ex 23.2033; Josh 5.1315; 2 Kings 6.1519; 7.38). 68: The day of the
Lord, see 2.1021n. The imagery of wailing together with pangs and agony evokes the imagery of childbirth.
Such imagery builds on the role that the birth of Isaiahs own symbolically named sons play in communicating his oracles (7.19; 8.115,18). 916: Because the Lord is the sovereign of all creation, elements of creation
such as the stars, moon, and sun, all play roles in the assault against the arrogant and evil on the Day of the
Lord. 12: Ophir, in Arabia, was known for its gold (1 Kings 9.2628). 1722: The Medes are a nation northwest
of Persia, which allied with the Babylonians in 627609 bce to bring down the Assyrian empire. Later, under
the rule of Cyrus, they united with Persia to form the Persian empire, which in turn conquered Babylonia in 539
bce. 19: Chaldeans, the Babylonians. Sodom and Gomorrah, see 1.9n. 2022: The reversion of cities to a primitive
condition is a common theme in Isaiah; see 14.22; 17.23; 18.6; 25.2; 27.1011; 32.1314; 34.815. Although Cyrus
hebrew bible | 987
isaiah 14
Arabs will not pitch their tents there,
shepherds will not make their ocks lie
down there.
But wild animals will lie down there,
and its houses will be full of howling
creatures;
there ostriches will live,
and there goat-demons will dance.
Hyenas will cry in its towers,
and jackals in the pleasant palaces;
its time is close at hand,
and its days will not be prolonged.
But the Lord will have compassion on
Jacob and will again choose Israel, and
will set them in their own land; and aliens will
join them and attach themselves to the house
of Jacob. And the nations will take them and
bring them to their place, and the house of
Israel will possess the nationsa as male and
female slaves in the Lords land; they will take
captive those who were their captors, and rule
over those who oppressed them.
When the Lord has given you rest from
your pain and turmoil and the hard service
with which you were made to serve, you will
take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
How the oppressor has ceased!
How his insolenceb has ceased!
The Lord has broken the sta of the
wicked,
the scepter of rulers,
that struck down the peoples in wrath
with unceasing blows,
that ruled the nations in anger
with unrelenting persecution.
The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
they break forth into singing.
14
The cypresses exult over you,

the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
Since you were laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.
Sheol beneath is stirred up
to meet you when you come;
it rouses the shades to greet you,
all who were leaders of the earth;
it raises from their thrones
all who were kings of the nations.
All of them will speak
and say to you:
You too have become as weak as we!
You have become like us!
Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
and the sound of your harps;
maggots are the bed beneath you,
and worms are your covering.
How you are fallen from heaven,
ODay Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
You said in your heart,
I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
on the heights of Zaphon;c
I will ascend to the tops of the clouds,
I will make myself like the Most High.
But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the depths of the Pit.
a Heb them
b Q Ms Compare Gk Syr Vg: Meaning of MT uncertain
c Or assembly in the far north
defeated the Babylonian army in the eld, Babylon surrendered to him peacefully and was not destroyed. 21:
Goat-demons, satyrs and demons, including Lilith (34.14), are at home in the wilderness. 14.12: With the defeat
and destruction of Babylon, the Lord turns to the restoration of Israel to its own land. 323: The Lord instructs
Isaiah to sing a taunt song at the downfall of the king of Babylon. 78: Both Assyrian and Babylonian kings were
known for cuing down the cypresses and cedars of Lebanon (2.13n), as the wood was prized for building luxurious palaces (see 37.24). The trees therefore rejoice at the kings death. 911: Sheol, the underworld, prepares
to welcome the dead king. Despite his arrogance (cf. 10.532), the king must recognize that no one, not even
kings, escapes death and its consequences. 1214: The names Day Star and son of Dawn draw on divine names
known from Canaanite mythology. The name was translated as Lucifer in Latin, and the passage was later understood to refer to Satans fall from heaven. The taunt song apparently reects mythological references to
failed aempts by gods to challenge the rule of the chief god (see also Ezek 28; Ps 82). 15: The kings descent
to Sheol (also called the Pit) draws on mythic paerns such as the Mesopotamian Descent of Ishtar/Inanna to
the Underworld, in which a goddess descends to the netherworld in an aempt to recover her dead consort.
Zaphon (north) is the mythological northern mountain of Baal in Canaanite mythology; it is identied with
988 | hebrew bible
isaiah 14
Those who see you will stare at you,
and ponder over you:
Is this the man who made the earth
tremble,
who shook kingdoms,
who made the world like a desert
and overthrew its cities,
who would not let his prisoners go
home?
All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
each in his own tomb;
but you are cast out, away from your
grave,
like loathsome carrion,a
clothed with the dead, those pierced by
the sword,
who go down to the stones of the Pit,
like a corpse trampled underfoot.
You will not be joined with them in
burial,
because you have destroyed your land,
you have killed your people.
The Lord of hosts has sworn:

As I have designed,
so shall it be;
and as I have planned,
so shall it come to pass:
I will break the Assyrian in my land,
and on my mountains trample him
under foot;
his yoke shall be removed from them,
and his burden from their
shoulders.
This is the plan that is planned
concerning the whole earth;
and this is the hand that is stretched out
over all the nations.
For the Lord of hosts has planned,
and who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out,
and who will turn it back?
May the descendants of evildoers

nevermore be named!
Prepare slaughter for his sons
because of the guilt of their father.b
Let them never rise to possess the earth
or cover the face of the world with cities.
Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,

that the rod that struck you is broken,
for from the root of the snake will come
forth an adder,
and its fruit will be a ying ery
serpent.
The rstborn of the poor will graze,
and the needy lie down in safety;
but I will make your root die of famine,
and your remnant Ic will kill.
Wail, Ogate; cry, Ocity;
I will rise up against them, says the Lord

of hosts, and will cut o from Babylon name
and remnant, ospring and posterity, says
the Lord. And I will make it a possession of
the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will
sweep it with the broom of destruction, says
the Lord of hosts.
In the year that King Ahaz died this

oracle came:
a Cn Compare Gk: Heb like a loathed branch

b Syr Compare Gk: Heb fathers
c Q Ms Vg: MT he
Mount Zion in Ps 48.2. 1821: Allusion to the body of the king lying unburied in vv. 1920 indicate that the
passage originally presupposed the Assyrian King Sargon II, whose body was reportedly le on the baleeld
in 705 bce. 2223: A prose conclusion repeating the motif of reversion to primitive conditions (see 13.2022n.).
2427: The reference to the Lords plan to defeat Assyria in the land of Israel draws an analogy between Assyria
and Babylon as nations that must be punished for their arrogance following their roles as agents for divine
punishment of Israel. The similarities with 10.534 suggest that the two passages may once have formed a unit
in an earlier edition of Isaiahs oracles. Babylon succeeds Assyria as the major enemy in chs 4055. The reference to the Lords plan also anticipates statements that concerning the Lords word in 40.8 and the realization
of divine plans in 55.11.
14.2832: Appendix concerning Isaiahs pronouncement against Philistia. Following the death of King
Ahaz (715 bce), Philistia aempted to revolt against Assyria, and likely approached Ahazs son, King Hezekiah
(727/715698/687) for support. Isaiah was opposed to military alliances against Assyria due to his belief in the
Davidic/Zion theology that posited the Lords protection of Jerusalem (cf. 7.125). Sargon put down the Philis-
hebrew bible | 989
isaiah 15
melt in fear, OPhilistia, all of you!
For smoke comes out of the north,
and there is no straggler in its ranks.
What will one answer the messengers of
the nation?
The Lord has founded Zion,
and the needy among his people
will nd refuge in her.
15
An oracle concerning Moab.
Because Ar is laid waste in a night,

Moab is undone;
because Kir is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone.
Dibona has gone up to the temple,
to the high places to weep;
over Nebo and over Medeba
Moab wails.
On every head is baldness,
every beard is shorn;
in the streets they bind on sackcloth;
on the housetops and in the squares
everyone wails and melts in tears.
Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,
their voices are heard as far as Jahaz;
therefore the loins of Moab quiver;b
his soul trembles.
My heart cries out for Moab;
his fugitives ee to Zoar,
to Eglath-shelishiyah.
For at the ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
on the road to Horonaim

they raise a cry of destruction;
the waters of Nimrim
are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the new growth fails,
the verdure is no more.
Therefore the abundance they have
gained
and what they have laid up
they carry away
over the Wadi of the Willows.
For a cry has gone
around the land of Moab;
the wailing reaches to Eglaim,
the wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
For the waters of Dibonc are full of
blood;
yet I will bring upon Dibonc even
more
a lion for those of Moab who escape,
for the remnant of the land.
Send lambs
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of daughter Zion.
Like uttering birds,
like scattered nestlings,
so are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.
16
a Cn: Heb the house and Dibon

b Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb the armed men of Moab
cry aloud
c Q Ms Vg Compare Syr: MT Dimon
tine revolt in 713 bce.

15.116.14: Isaiahs pronouncement concerning Moab. The superscription introduces a lamentation concerning the downfall of Moab, a nation east of the Dead Sea that was oen on unfriendly terms with Israel and Judah
(cf. Gen 19.3037). The poem employs the poetic meter typical of dirges in ancient Hebrew poetry (cf. Lam 12).
Elements of the oracle also appear in Jer 48.2938, which employs the Isaian oracle to comment on Moabs
fate at the hands of Babylon in Jeremiahs time. Although the seing of this oracle is disputed, a likely seing is
Tiglath-pilesers invasion of Israel during the Syro-Ephraimite War of 735732 bce. Moabite territory north of the
Arnon had once been the tribal territory of Reuben and perhaps Gad (see Num 32). In the Moabite Stone (Mesha
Stele, ninth century bce), the Moabite King Mesha boasts of having defeated Israeland the men of Gad in particularand taking their land. The Assyrians would have considered this territory to be Israelite and therefore
fair game for their own plans for taking control of the region. Moabs appeal for assistance to Jerusalem makes
sense in the Syro-Ephraimite War, because Ahaz summons the Assyrians for assistance and maintains his loyalty
as an Assyrian vassal (see 7.125) 15.19: The Moabite towns mentioned in the oracle indicate an invasion that
targeted Moabite territory north of the Wadi Arnon, the Wadi el-Mujib that ows into the Dead Sea. 14: The
cities of Ar, Kir(-hareseth), Nebo, Medeba, Heshbon, and Elealeh, are all located in the north and subject to aack.
Dibon and Jahaz, on the old border of Moab just north of the Arnon, only serve as witnesses. Baldness . . . sackcloth, signs of mourning. 58: The southern cities and locations, none of which can be conclusively identied,
990 | hebrew bible
isaiah 17
Give counsel,
grant justice;
make your shade like night
at the height of noon;
hide the outcasts,
do not betray the fugitive;
let the outcasts of Moab
settle among you;
be a refuge to them
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and marauders have vanished from the
land,
then a throne shall be established in
steadfast love
in the tent of David,
and on it shall sit in faithfulness
a ruler who seeks justice
and is swift to do what is right.
We have heard of the pride of Moab
how proud he is!
of his arrogance, his pride, and his
insolence;
his boasts are false.
Therefore let Moab wail,
let everyone wail for Moab.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.
For the elds of Heshbon languish,
and the vines of Sibmah,
whose clusters once made drunk
the lords of the nations,
reached to Jazer
and strayed to the desert;
their shoots once spread abroad
and crossed over the sea.
Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer
for the vines of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,

OHeshbon and Elealeh;
for the shout over your fruit harvest
and your grain harvest has ceased.
Joy and gladness are taken away
from the fruitful eld;
and in the vineyards no songs are sung,
no shouts are raised;
no treader treads out wine in the presses;
the vintage-shout is hushed.a
Therefore my heart throbs like a harp for
Moab,
and my very soul for Kir-heres.
When Moab presents himself, when he
wearies himself upon the high place, when
he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not
prevail.
This was the word that the Lord spoke
concerning Moab in the past. But now the
Lord says, In three years, like the years of
a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be
brought into contempt, in spite of all its great
multitude; and those who survive will be very
few and feeble.
17
An oracle concerning Damascus.
See, Damascus will cease to be a city,

and will become a heap of ruins.
Her towns will be deserted forever;b
they will be places for ocks,
which will lie down, and no one will
make them afraid.
The fortress will disappear from Ephraim,
and the kingdom from Damascus;
and the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory of the children of Israel,
says the Lord of hosts.
a Gk: Heb I have hushed

b Cn Compare Gk: Heb the cities of Aroer are deserted
are places to which refugees ee from the assault in the north. 16.1: Sela, unidentied, perhaps modern Petra.
811: Lament for the destruction of the vineyards of Sibmah, apparently the wine-producing region of Moab.
17.118.7: Isaiahs pronouncement concerning Damascus. The superscription identies this unit as the
prophets pronouncement concerning Damascus, but the contents of the oracle include material concerning
Israel and the Lords recognition by Cush (i.e., Ethiopia). This suggests that the oracle is concerned with the
Syro-Ephraimite coalition of Aram-Damascus and Israel, and Israels eorts to convince Cush to join in opposition to Assyria. 17.1b6: The initial segment of the oracle targets both Damascus, the capital of Aram, and
Ephraim, the tribal name identied with the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Isaiahs favored images of harvest and
gleaning then portray the decimation of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians. The Valley of Rephaim (lit. the Valley
hebrew bible | 991
isaiah 18
On that day
the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and the fat of his esh will grow lean.
And it shall be as when reapers gather
standing grain
and their arms harvest the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
Gleanings will be left in it,
as when an olive tree is beaten
two or three berries
in the top of the highest bough,
four or ve
on the branches of a fruit tree,
says the Lord God of Israel.
On that day people will regard their
Maker, and their eyes will look to the Holy
One of Israel; they will not have regard for
the altars, the work of their hands, and they
will not look to what their own ngers have
made, either the sacred polesa or the altars of
incense.
On that day their strong cities will be
like the deserted places of the Hivites and
the Amorites,b which they deserted because
of the children of Israel, and there will be
desolation.
For you have forgotten the God of your
salvation,
and have not remembered the Rock of
your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant
plants
and set out slips of an alien god,
though you make them grow on the day
that you plant them,
and make them blossom in the morning

that you sow;
yet the harvest will ee away
in a day of grief and incurable pain.
Ah, the thunder of many peoples,
they thunder like the thundering of the
sea!
Ah, the roar of nations,
they roar like the roaring of mighty
waters!
The nations roar like the roaring of many
waters,
but he will rebuke them, and they will
ee far away,
chased like cha on the mountains before
the wind
and whirling dust before the
storm.
At evening time, lo, terror!
Before morning, they are no more.
This is the fate of those who despoil
us,
and the lot of those who plunder us.
18
Ah, land of whirring wings

beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,c
sending ambassadors by the Nile
in vessels of papyrus on the
waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
a Heb Asherim
b Cn Compare Gk: Heb places of the wood and the
highest bough
c Or Nubia; Heb Cush
of the Shades), is located south of Jerusalem (2 Sam 5.18). The beating of olive trees appears also in 10.533. 78:
The Lords actions against Israel will prompt the people to reconsider their adherence to other gods. Sacred
poles were tree trunks or monoliths dedicated to the goddess Asherah (2 Kings 17.718; 10.16). 911: Hivites
and Amorites, pre-Israelite inhabitants of the land displaced because of their idolatry and evil practices (Deut
7.16). Slips of an alien god, i.e., veneration of a vegetation deity, perhaps the Mesopotamian Tammuz (see Ezek
8.1418), also known as Adonis. 1214: The prophet employs the mythological motif of the combat with the sea
to portray the Lords defeat of the nations (Pss 46; 74; 93; Ex 15). In Isaiahs understanding of the Davidic/Zion
tradition, the Lord alone defends Jerusalem (cf. Ps 2). 18.17: The appended woe (Ah) oracle focuses on Cush
(Ethiopia) to whom Israel sent messengers in 724 bce during the reign of King Hoshea in an eort to gain support for its revolt against Assyria (2 Kings 17.4). Isaiah is consistently opposed to such alliances, and looks to the
natural world to illustrate his view. When grapes are cut and harvested, the vines are le to the mercy of birds
and animals. When nations see how the Lord trims these shoots and leaves the remnant to be picked over, they
will bring oerings to Zion to recognize the Lords sovereignty.
992 | hebrew bible
isaiah 19
a nation mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide.
All you inhabitants of the world,
you who live on the earth,
when a signal is raised on the mountains,
look!
When a trumpet is blown, listen!
For thus the Lord said to me:
I will quietly look from my dwelling
like clear heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of
harvest.
For before the harvest, when the blossom
is over
and the ower becomes a ripening
grape,
he will cut o the shoots with pruning
hooks,
and the spreading branches he will hew
away.
They shall all be left
to the birds of prey of the mountains
and to the animals of the earth.
And the birds of prey will summer on them,
and all the animals of the earth will
winter on them.
At that time gifts will be brought to the
Lord of hosts froma a people tall and smooth,
from a people feared near and far, a nation
mighty and conquering, whose land the
rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the
name of the Lord of hosts.
19
An oracle concerning Egypt.
See, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud

and comes to Egypt;
the idols of Egypt will tremble at his
presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will melt

within them.
I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
and they will ght, one against the
other,
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against
kingdom;
the spirit of the Egyptians within them
will be emptied out,
and I will confound their plans;
they will consult the idols and the spirits
of the dead
and the ghosts and the familiar spirits;
I will deliver the Egyptians
into the hand of a hard master;
a erce king will rule over them,
says the Sovereign, the Lord of
hosts.
The waters of the Nile will be dried up,
and the river will be parched and dry;
its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypts Nile will
diminish and dry up,
reeds and rushes will rot away.
There will be bare places by the Nile,
on the brink of the Nile;
and all that is sown by the Nile will dry up,
be driven away, and be no more.
Those who sh will mourn;
all who cast hooks in the Nile will
lament,
and those who spread nets on the water
will languish.
The workers in ax will be in despair,
and the carders and those at the loom
will grow pale.
Its weavers will be dismayed,
a Q Ms Gk Vg: MT of
19.120.6: Isaiahs pronouncement concerning Egypt. Isaiahs pronouncement concerning Egypt includes
both the oracle against Egypt in 19.1b25 and a narrative concerning Isaiahs symbolic actions at the time of
the fall of Ashdod that legitimizes the oracle concerning Egypt. 19.125: Egypt played an important role in attempting to foment revolt against the Assyrians by Israel, Judah, and the other small states in the Syro-Israelite
region. Such moves would help to defend them from Assyrian invasion through the Sinai and enable them to
extend their own inuence into western Asia. 1a: The superscription follows the standard form for Isaiahs
pronouncements (13.1a; 15.1a; 17.1a; 23.1a). 1b10: The Lord is portrayed as riding on a cloud (cf. Pss 18.10; 68.33),
which is also how the Canaanite god Baal and the Assyrian god Assur were sometimes portrayed. The conict
among the Egyptians presupposes the internal struggle that took place in Egypt during the late eighth century,
resulting nally in the emergence of the Twenty-h Ethiopian Dynasty, ca. 715 bce. The Nile River provides
hebrew bible | 993
isaiah 20
and all who work for wages will be
grieved.
The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish;
the wise counselors of Pharaoh give
stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
I am one of the sages,
a descendant of ancient kings?
Where now are your sages?
Let them tell you and make known
what the Lord of hosts has planned
against Egypt.
The princes of Zoan have become fools,
and the princes of Memphis are
deluded;
those who are the cornerstones of its
tribes
have led Egypt astray.
The Lord has poured into thema
a spirit of confusion;
and they have made Egypt stagger in all its
doings
as a drunkard staggers around in vomit.
Neither head nor tail, palm branch or
reed,
will be able to do anything for Egypt.
On that day the Egyptians will be like
women, and tremble with fear before the
hand that the Lord of hosts raises against
them. And the land of Judah will become
a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom
it is mentioned will fear because of the plan
that the Lord of hosts is planning against
them.
On that day there will be ve cities in the

land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts.
One of these will be called the City of the Sun.
On that day there will be an altar to the
Lord in the center of the land of Egypt, and
a pillar to the Lord at its border. It will be
a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in
the land of Egypt; when they cry to the Lord
because of oppressors, he will send them
a savior, and will defend and deliver them.
The Lord will make himself known to the
Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the
Lord on that day, and will worship with sacrice and burnt oering, and they will make
vows to the Lord and perform them. The
Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing;
they will return to the Lord, and he will listen
to their supplications and heal them.
On that day there will be a highway from
Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come
into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and
the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
On that day Israel will be the third with
Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst
of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has
blessed, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people,
and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel
my heritage.
20
In the year that the commander-inchief, who was sent by King Sargon of
Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it
a Gk Compare Tg: Heb it
the agricultural foundations for Egypt; the loss of its waters would devastate Egypt. 1115: Isaiah returns to
his critique of Jerusalems eorts to establish an alliance with Egypt against Assyria. Zoan is another name for
the Egyptian city of Rameses or Tanis in the Delta region. The site is associated with the Exodus tradition (Ps
78.12,43; cf. Ex 1.11). Memphis is the capital of Lower (Northern) Egypt. Head, tail, palm branch, and reed refer to
the leadership and people of Israel (see 9.1415). 1625: The oracle concerning the course of future punishment
and restoration for Egypt may include some later expansions of the text that presuppose Assyrias conquest of
Egypt in 671 bce and the rise of the Twenty-sixth Saite Egyptian Dynasty that began as an Assyrian vassal but
ultimately served as an autonomous Assyrian ally as Assyrian power declined. The ve on that day statements
posit that Egypt will ultimately recognize the Lord together with Israel and the Assyrians. Such a sentiment
builds on images of the nations recognition of the Lord in 2.24; 60.1012; 61.510; 66.1824. 18: The City of
the Sun, the Egyptian city Heliopolis (Jer 43.13). The language of Canaan, Hebrew. The passage may refer to the
Judean diaspora in Egypt. Five cities in which Judeans were seled are mentioned in Jer 2.16; 43.7; 44.1. 20.16:
King Sargon II of Assyria (722705) put down a revolt by the Philistine city of Ashdod in 711 bce. The revolt was
instigated by Egypt. In order to illustrate his view that alliance with the Egyptians and Ethiopians is useless,
Isaiah walks about Jerusalem naked for three years to symbolize the fate of the Egyptians and Ethiopians taken
994 | hebrew bible
isaiah 21
and took it at that time the Lord had spoken
to Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, Go, and loose
the sackcloth from your loins and take your
sandals o your feet, and he had done so,
walking naked and barefoot. Then the Lord
said, Just as my servant Isaiah has walked
naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and
a portent against Egypt and Ethiopia,a so shall
the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as
captives and the Ethiopiansb as exiles, both the
young and the old, naked and barefoot, with
buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
And they shall be dismayed and confounded
because of Ethiopiaa their hope and of Egypt
their boast. In that day the inhabitants of
this coastland will say, See, this is what has
happened to those in whom we hoped and to
whom we ed for help and deliverance from the
king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?
21
The oracle concerning the wilderness

of the sea.
As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,

it comes from the desert,
from a terrible land.
A stern vision is told to me;
the betrayer betrays,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, OElam,
lay siege, OMedia;
all the sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.
Therefore my loins are lled with
anguish;
pangs have seized me,
like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear,

I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
My mind reels, horror has appalled me;
the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.
They prepare the table,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink.
Rise up, commanders,
oil the shield!
For thus the Lord said to me:
Go, post a lookout,
let him announce what he sees.
When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
very diligently.
Then the watcherc called out:
Upon a watchtower I stand, OLord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
throughout the night.
Look, there they come, riders,
horsemen in pairs!
Then he responded,
Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
and all the images of her gods
lie shattered on the ground.
Omy threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the Lord of
hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.

b Or Nubians; Heb Cushites
c Q Ms: MT a lion
prisoner by the Assyrians. Prophets frequently engaged in symbolic actions that were meant to symbolize and
realize their prophetic messages (see Jer 2728; Ezek 5; Hos 13).
21.110: Isaiahs pronouncement concerning the wilderness of the sea. The reference to Babylons fall in
v. 9 indicates that the wilderness of the sea refers to Babylon. The oracle expresses Isaiahs view that Babylon
would be defeated by Assyria. The term likely refers to the marshlands of southern Babylonia where the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers join and ow into the Persian Gulf. The Babylonian prince Merodach-baladan, who allied
with Hezekiah to revolt against Assyria in 705701 bce (cf. ch 39), hid from Sennacherib in this region through
689 bce. The watchman waits for word concerning Babylon only to learn of its defeat. The references to Elam
and Media in v. 2 suggest the possibility of a later seing. Media, northeast of Babylon, allied with it to defeat
Assyria in 627609 bce. Elam, directly east of Babylon, had been conquered by the Assyrians in the mid-seventh
century, but was allied with Merodach-baladan in the late eighth century. Perhaps they later joined with Media
against Assyria. Elam and Media formed part of the Persian empire that defeated Babylon in 539 bce. Isaiahs
original oracle was either updated or later read to account for that event. 1: Negeb, the desert region south of
Judah.
hebrew bible | 995
isaiah 22
The oracle concerning Dumah.
One is calling to me from Seir,
Sentinel, what of the night?
Sentinel, what of the night?
The sentinel says:
Morning comes, and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
come back again.
The oracle concerning the desert plain.
In the scrub of the desert plain you will
lodge,
Ocaravans of Dedanites.
Bring water to the thirsty,
meet the fugitive with bread,
Oinhabitants of the land of Tema.
For they have ed from the swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the stress of battle.
For thus the Lord said to me: Within a
year, according to the years of a hired worker,
all the glory of Kedar will come to an end;
and the remaining bows of Kedars warriors
will be few; for the Lord, the God of Israel,
has spoken.
22
The oracle concerning the valley of

vision.
What do you mean that you have gone up,

all of you, to the housetops,
you that are full of shoutings,
tumultuous city, exultant town?
Your slain are not slain by the sword,
nor are they dead in battle.
Your rulers have all ed together;
they were captured without the use of
a bow.a
All of you who were found were captured,
though they had ed far away.b
Therefore I said:
Look away from me,
let me weep bitter tears;
do not try to comfort me
for the destruction of my beloved
people.
For the Lord God of hosts has a day
of tumult and trampling and confusion
in the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a cry for help to the mountains.
Elam bore the quiver
with chariots and cavalry,c
and Kir uncovered the shield.
Your choicest valleys were full of
chariots,
a Or without their bows
b Gk Syr Vg: Heb ed from far away
21.1112: Isaiahs pronouncement concerning Dumah. Dumah, a major oasis in the Arabian Desert conquered by the Assyrian King Sennacherib in 689 bce. Seir is a name for Edom, located southeast of the Dead Sea.
21.1317: Isaiahs pronouncement concerning Arabia. Although the NRSV refers to the desert plain, the Hebrew text refers to Arabia, including the Arabian Desert situated to the east of Transjordan, to the west of Babylon, and south into the Arabian peninsula. The Assyrians conducted a number of campaigns in this region from
the late eighth through the seventh centuries bce. The most likely scenario is Sennacheribs defeat of Kedar in
the northern Arabian desert in 689 bce. The cities of Dedan and Tema were located in the northwestern Arabian
peninsula south of Edom or Seir.
22.122: Isaiahs pronouncement concerning the valley of vision. The contents of this oracle indicate that
the valley of vision refers to Jerusalem. No such name is known. The term is meant as a pun on the name of the
Kidron Valley that denes the eastern boundary of biblical Jerusalem. Kidron means darkness or gloom, and
Isaiahs use of the term valley of vision to refer to the site is a play that reverses the meaning of the valleys name
to designate it as a site of vision or revelation concerning the Lords intentions for the city of Jerusalem. 1b14:
The oracle begins with Isaiahs observations concerning the rejoicing of the city at the deliverance of the city of
Jerusalem from an enemy, most likely the liing of Sennacheribs siege of Jerusalem in 701 bce. Although Isaiah
3637 indicates that Sennacherib withdrew following the Lords defeat of his army, Assyrian records indicate
that no such defeat took place and that Sennacherib withdrew aer accepting Hezekiahs surrender. Isaiah
points out the cost of the siege: although Jerusalem was spared, the land of Judah was devastated by the Assyrians. The prophet Micah from Moresheth-gath along Judahs border with Philistia was forced to ee for his life
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isaiah 23
and the cavalry took their stand at the
gates.
He has taken away the covering of Judah.
On that day you looked to the weapons of
the House of the Forest, and you saw that
there were many breaches in the city of David, and you collected the waters of the lower
pool. You counted the houses of Jerusalem,
and you broke down the houses to fortify the
wall. You made a reservoir between the two
walls for the water of the old pool. But you
did not look to him who did it, or have regard
for him who planned it long ago.
In that day the Lord God of hosts
called to weeping and mourning,
to baldness and putting on sackcloth;
but instead there was joy and festivity,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
eating meat and drinking wine.
Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.
The Lord of hosts has revealed himself
in my ears:
Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven
you until you die,
says the Lord God of hosts.
Thus says the Lord God of hosts: Come,
go to this steward, to Shebna, who is master
of the household, and say to him: What
right do you have here? Who are your relatives here, that you have cut out a tomb here
for yourself, cutting a tomb on the height,
and carving a habitation for yourself in the
rock? The Lord is about to hurl you away

violently, my fellow. He will seize rm hold
on you, whirl you round and round, and
throw you like a ball into a wide land; there
you shall die, and there your splendid chariots shall lie, Oyou disgrace to your masters
house! I will thrust you from your oce,
and you will be pulled down from your post.
On that day I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and will clothe him
with your robe and bind your sash on him.
I will commit your authority to his hand,
and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. I will
place on his shoulder the key of the house
of David; he shall open, and no one shall
shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open. I
will fasten him like a peg in a secure place,
and he will become a throne of honor to his
ancestral house. And they will hang on him
the whole weight of his ancestral house, the
ospring and issue, every small vessel, from
the cups to all the agons. On that day, says
the Lord of hosts, the peg that was fastened
in a secure place will give way; it will be cut
down and fall, and the load that was on it will
perish, for the Lord has spoken.
23
The oracle concerning Tyre.
Wail, Oships of Tarshish,

for your fortress is destroyed.a
a Cn Compare verse 14: Heb for it is destroyed,

without houses
to Jerusalem to escape the Assyrian aack (Mic 12; see also 36.1; 37.8). 6: Elam and Kir refer to elements of the
Assyrian army. Elam was located in southern Iran and allied with Merodach-baladan against Assyria, although
Assyria was known for incorporating military units of its vassals into its own army. Kir was an Aramean city
subjugated by Assyria. 8b11: Prose expansion describing preparations for the siege. The waters of the lower
pool, the prophet refers to King Hezekiahs aempts to fortify the city, including his digging of the Siloam Tunnel under the city of David to channel the waters of the Gihon Spring into Jerusalem where they would form the
Siloam pool protected by Jerusalems walls at the southern tip of the city. Such a move eliminated the problem
that Ahaz faced: protecting the water source (7.19). The famed Siloam Inscription commemorates the digging
of the tunnel. 1214: Bier, fatalistic rejoicing in a time of disaster. 1525: Isaiah condemns the steward Shebna,
a major administrative ocial in charge of the royal palace (household); his tomb has been found in the Kidron
Valley east of Jerusalem. The prophet condemns Shebna for building his tomb when the Lord plans to remove
him from oce and replace him with Eliakim son of Hilkiah. In 36.2 Eliakim ben Hilkiah is called the ocer in
charge of the palace and Shebna the secretary or recorder. The secretary may have worked under the supervision of the ocer over the house. In Isaiahs view, Eliakim will ultimately lose his job as well.
23.118: Isaiahs pronouncement concerning Tyre. Tyre was the dominant Phoenician city located along the
sea coast north of Akko and south of Sidon. It was the major sea power of the day with a large navy that de-
hebrew bible | 997
isaiah 23
When they came in from Cyprus
they learned of it.
Be still, Oinhabitants of the coast,
Omerchants of Sidon,
your messengers crossed over the seaa
and were on the mighty waters;
your revenue was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were the merchant of the nations.
Be ashamed, OSidon, for the sea has
spoken,
the fortress of the sea, saying:
I have neither labored nor given birth,
I have neither reared young men
nor brought up young women.
When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish over the report
about Tyre.
Cross over to Tarshish
wail, Oinhabitants of the coast!
Is this your exultant city
whose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
to settle far away?
Who has planned this
against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
whose traders were the honored of the
earth?
The Lord of hosts has planned it
to dele the pride of all glory,
to shame all the honored of the earth.
Cross over to your own land,
Oships ofb Tarshish;
this is a harborc no more.
He has stretched out his hand over the
sea,
he has shaken the kingdoms;
the Lord has given command concerning
Canaan
to destroy its fortresses.
He said:
You will exult no longer,
Ooppressed virgin daughter Sidon;
rise, cross over to Cyprus
even there you will have no rest.
Look at the land of the Chaldeans!
This is the people; it was not Assyria. They
destined Tyre for wild animals. They erected
their siege towers, they tore down her palaces, they made her a ruin.d
Wail, Oships of Tarshish,
for your fortress is destroyed.
From that day Tyre will be forgotten for
seventy years, the lifetime of one king. At the
end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as
in the song about the prostitute:
Take a harp,
go about the city,
you forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody,
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.
At the end of seventy years, the Lord will
visit Tyre, and she will return to her trade,
and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
Her merchandise and her wages will be
dedicated to the Lord; her protse will not
be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise
will supply abundant food and ne clothing for those who live in the presence of the
Lord.
a
b
c
d
e
Q Ms: MT crossing over the sea, they replenished you

Cn Compare Gk: Heb like the Nile, daughter
Cn: Heb restraint
Heb it
fended the island city from aack and engaged in trade throughout the Mediterranean (see Ezek 27). Tyre was
allied with Hezekiah in the revolt against Assyria in 705701 bce, but Sennacheribs assault against Phoenicia in
701 quickly forced Tyre and its Phoenician dependents to submit. With Tyre out of the picture, Hezekiahs allies
in western Asia quickly capitulated, leaving him to face Assyria alone. 1: Tarshish, see 2.16n. 3: Shihor, Lower
(northern) Egypt. 1318: The oracle has been updated by a reference to the Chaldeans, the Neo-Babylonian
empire founded by Nabo-polassar in 625 bce. His son Nebuchadnezzar (605562 bce) conquered Tyrebut did
not destroy itfollowing a thirteen year siege that ended in 572 bce (cf. Ezek 2628). The seventy-year period
of Tyres decline corresponds to Jeremiahs claims of a seventy-year period for Jerusalems exile (Jer 25.1112;
29.10). Because Tyre trades with many nations, she is disparaged as a prostitute, but ultimately her merchandise
will be dedicated to the Lord (cf. 19.1625).
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isaiah 24
24
Now the Lord is about to lay waste

the earth and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter
its inhabitants.
And it shall be, as with the people, so
with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the
borrower;
as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
The earth shall be utterly laid waste and
utterly despoiled;
for the Lord has spoken this word.
The earth dries up and withers,

the world languishes and withers;
the heavens languish together with the
earth.
The earth lies polluted
under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth

dwindled,
and few people are left.
The wine dries up,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
The mirth of the timbrels is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
No longer do they drink wine with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who
drink it.
The city of chaos is broken down,
every house is shut up so that no one
can enter.
There is an outcry in the streets for lack
of wine;
all joy has reached its eventide;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
Desolation is left in the city,
the gates are battered into ruins.
For thus it shall be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape
harvest is ended.
24.127.13: Prophetic announcement of the Lords new world order based in Zion. Chapters 2427 form
a distinct block of material at the conclusion of Isaiahs oracles concerning the nations. This material posits
the future withering of creation (24.113), the downfall of an unnamed exalted city (24.10,12; 25.2,3; 26.5), the
recognition of the Lord by the nations at Zion (25.68), and the ultimate restoration of Zion itself as the seat
of the Lords sovereignty throughout the world of both creation and the nations. Although these chapters are
sometimes called the Isaiah apocalypse, the themes of cosmic chaos and restoration, the resurrection of the
dead (26.14,19), and the view that the future constitutes the end of time need not indicate that these chapters
are an apocalyptic work; the formula in that day may serve as a simple reference to the future. Similarly,
mythological perspectives can be used to identify divine action in the world. Rather than pointing to the end
of time, chs 2427 point to the restoration of Jerusalem in chs 2527 following the portrayal of its period of
punishment in ch 24. The frequent citation of earlier prophetic literature indicates that this material was composed at a later time, probably in the sixth century bce when the Babylonian exile was coming to an end and
Jerusalems restoration was at hand.
24.123: Prophetic announcement of the Lords punishment of the earth. The depiction of a devastated land
appears frequently in ancient Near Eastern treaty curses, the covenant curses of the biblical law codes (e.g., Lev
26; Deut 2829), and the judgment scenarios of the prophets (e.g., Isa 34.1117; Jer 5.6; 19.79; Hos 4; 13.78; Zeph
2.9). The background of such scenarios is the withdrawal or death of fertility gods such as the Canaanite Baal or
the Mesopotamian Tammuz. Likewise, biblical literature, particularly Deuteronomy and many of the prophets,
maintains that the Lord also ensures the fertility of the land in conjunction with human behavior. 5: The everlasting covenant is the foundation for all creation, including Israel (Gen 9.16; 17.7; Ex 31.16; Lev 24.8; Isa 55.3; 61.8; Jer
32.40; Ezek 37.26). 10: The city of chaos is not named, although the context suggests that it represents the enemy
of the Lord, such as the Assyrian capital Nineveh, Babylon, or the capital of any empire that might threaten Israel or the Lord. Chaos (Heb tohu) describes the state of the earth before creation commenced (Gen 1.2). The
defeat of human enemies is frequently portrayed in cosmic terms (e.g., Ex 15). 13: The beating of the olive tree
hebrew bible | 999
isaiah 25
They lift up their voices, they sing for
joy;
they shout from the west over the
majesty of the Lord.
Therefore in the east give glory to the
Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea glorify the
name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
From the ends of the earth we hear songs
of praise,
of glory to the Righteous One.
But I say, I pine away,
I pine away. Woe is me!
For the treacherous deal treacherously,
the treacherous deal very
treacherously.
Terror, and the pit, and the snare
are upon you, Oinhabitant of the earth!
Whoever ees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit;
and whoever climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows of heaven are opened,
and the foundations of the earth
tremble.
The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is torn asunder,
the earth is violently shaken.
The earth staggers like a drunkard,
it sways like a hut;
its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven in heaven,
and on earth the kings of the earth.
They will be gathered together
like prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days they will be

punished.
Then the moon will be abashed,
and the sun ashamed;
for the Lord of hosts will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before his elders he will manifest his
glory.
25
OLord, you are my God;

I will exalt you, I will praise your
name;
for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
For you have made the city a heap,
the fortied city a ruin;
the palace of aliens is a city no more,
it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
For you have been a refuge to the poor,
a refuge to the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the rainstorm and a
shade from the heat.
When the blast of the ruthless was like a
winter rainstorm,
the noise of aliens like heat in a dry
place,
you subdued the heat with the shade of
clouds;
the song of the ruthless was stilled.
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will

make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged
wines,
of rich food lled with marrow, of wellaged wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
alludes to 17.6 (cf. 10.3334). 1416: The downfall of the city of chaos prompts the recognition of the Lord from
throughout the world. The coastlands of the sea, the Aegean island, i.e., the far west. The treachery of the treacherous is a citation of 21.2 (cf. 33.1), which portrays the downfall of Babylon. 1720: There was no escape when the
windows of heaven opened at the time of the ood (Gen 7.11), and there is no escape from the Lords judgment
now. 2123: The host of heaven . . . kings of the earth, the gods and rulers of the nations.
25.112: The Lords blessing of the earth at Zion. With the downfall of the enemy city, the time of restoration may begin. 15: A communal psalm of thanksgiving greets the Lord following the downfall of the oppressive city, much like the hymn of praise sung by Moses, Miriam, and the people at the Sea in Ex 15. 45: Citation
of language from 4.5b6 and 32.12. 612: A banquet for all the nations is held on Mount Zion in the aermath
of the Lords victory over the city of chaos. Such a banquet symbolizes worship at the Jerusalem Temple, particularly since the sacrice of oering at the Temple altar was conceived as a meal or banquet shared by the
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isaiah 26
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the
tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will
take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for
him, so that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have
waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his
salvation.
For the hand of the Lord will rest on this
mountain.
The Moabites shall be trodden down in
their place
as straw is trodden down in a dung-pit.
Though they spread out their hands in
the midst of it,
as swimmers spread out their hands to
swim,
their pride will be laid low despite the
strugglea of their hands.
The high fortications of his walls will
be brought down,
laid low, cast to the ground, even to the
dust.
26
On that day this song will be sung in

the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
he sets up victory
like walls and bulwarks.
Open the gates,
so that the righteous nation that keeps
faith
may enter in.

Those of steadfast mind you keep in
peace
in peace because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for in the Lord Godb
you have an everlasting rock.
For he has brought low
the inhabitants of the height;
the lofty city he lays low.
He lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy.
The way of the righteous is level;
OJust One, you make smooth the path
of the righteous.
In the path of your judgments,
OLord, we wait for you;
your name and your renown
are the souls desire.
My soul yearns for you in the night,
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
For when your judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn
righteousness.
If favor is shown to the wicked,
they do not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness they deal
perversely
and do not see the majesty of the Lord.
OLord, your hand is lifted up,
but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people,
b Heb in Yah, the Lord
people with their God. 7: Shroud, sheet, garments worn in time of mourning. 8: Swallow up death, in ancient
Near Eastern mythological traditions the fertility god, e.g., the Canaanite Baal or the Mesopotamian Tammuz,
is rescued from the underworld to bring fertility and life back to the world of creation. As sovereign of creation,
the Lord now brings life to creation. 8b12: Wipe away the tears, cf. Rev 7.1; 21.4. The demise of Moab refers to
the defeat of Moab by Babylon in the sixth century bce, and cites 2.917 to portray the downfall of the arrogant.
26.121: Judahs petition to the Lord for deliverance. The liturgical seing of the thanksgiving hymn and
the banquet in ch 25 prompts the liturgical hymns in ch 26 that praise the Lord and call for deliverance from
the wicked. 1b6: The initial song of praise celebrates the victory of the Lord over the oppressive city of chaos
mentioned in 24.10. 4: Trust in the Lord, a common feature of complaint psalms that petition the Lord for deliverance in a time of threat or need (e.g., Pss 6; 7). 5a: The inhabitants of the height, cf. 2.621 concerning the
Lords capacity to bring down the arrogant. 710: Condence in the Lord. The Lords righteousness becomes a
factor in teaching righteousness to the wicked of the world. 1119: Petitions for action on the part of the Lord.
hebrew bible | 1001
isaiah 27
and be ashamed.
Let the re for your adversaries
consume them.
OLord, you will ordain peace for us,
for indeed, all that we have done, you
have done for us.
OLord our God,
other lords besides you have ruled
over us,
but we acknowledge your name alone.
The dead do not live;
shades do not rise
because you have punished and destroyed
them,
and wiped out all memory of them.
But you have increased the nation,
OLord,
you have increased the nation; you are
gloried;
you have enlarged all the borders of the
land.
OLord, in distress they sought you,
they poured out a prayera
when your chastening was on them.
Like a woman with child,
who writhes and cries out in her pangs
when she is near her time,
so were we because of you, OLord;
we were with child, we writhed,
but we gave birth only to wind.
We have won no victories on earth,
and no one is born to inhabit the world.
Your dead shall live, their corpsesb shall
rise.
Odwellers in the dust, awake and sing
for joy!
For your dew is a radiant dew,
and the earth will give birth to those
long dead.c
Come, my people, enter your

chambers,
and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
until the wrath is past.
For the Lord comes out from his place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth
for their iniquity;
the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,
and will no longer cover its slain.
27
On that day the Lord with his cruel

and great and strong sword will punish
Leviathan the eeing serpent, Leviathan the
twisting serpent, and he will kill the dragon
that is in the sea.
On that day:
A pleasant vineyard, sing about it!
I, the Lord, am its keeper;
every moment I water it.
I guard it night and day
so that no one can harm it;
I have no wrath.
If it gives me thorns and briers,
I will march to battle against it.
I will burn it up.
Or else let it cling to me for protection,
let it make peace with me,
let it make peace with me.
In days to comed Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall blossom and put forth
shoots,
and ll the whole world with fruit.
a
b
c
d

Cn Compare Syr Tg: Heb my corpse
Heb to the shades
Heb Those to come
13: Other lords, perhaps an allusion to the oppressor city of chaos (24.10), whose downfall will come in response
to the peoples petition. 14: The dead do not live, a common theme in the psalms; only the living can praise God
(Pss 6.5; 30.9; 49.1020); see 39.1819. 1718: Childbirth is a common image for an immanent event (see 13.8;
66.79). 19: Your dead shall live, the response to v. 14, expressing an intuition of a meaningful survival of death;
cf. Ezek 37.114; Dan 12.2. 2021: Exhortation to wait for the Lord (cf. 2.10,19,21).
27.1: The Lords defeat of Leviathan. Leviathan, the seven-headed serpent known from Ugaritic and biblical
tradition as a chaos monster whose defeat by the Lord aids in bringing about order in creation (Ps 74.1314; cf.
Isa 11.1516).
27.213: The new vineyard allegory plays upon the earlier allegory in 5.17 that accused the people of Israel
and Judah of wrongdoing before the Lord. Now the Lord stands ready to resume care for the vineyard. 6: Jacob
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isaiah 28
Has he struck them down as he struck
down those who struck them?
Or have they been killed as their killers
were killed?
By expulsion,a by exile you struggled
against them;
with his erce blast he removed them in
the day of the east wind.
Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be
expiated,
and this will be the full fruit of the
removal of his sin:
when he makes all the stones of the altars
like chalkstones crushed to pieces,
no sacred polesb or incense altars will
remain standing.
For the fortied city is solitary,
a habitation deserted and forsaken, like
the wilderness;
the calves graze there,
there they lie down, and strip its
branches.
When its boughs are dry, they are
broken;
women come and make a re of them.
For this is a people without understanding;
therefore he that made them will not
have compassion on them,
he that formed them will show them no
favor.
On that day the Lord will thresh from
the channel of the Euphrates to the Wadi
of Egypt, and you will be gathered one by
one, Opeople of Israel. And on that day a
great trumpet will be blown, and those who
were lost in the land of Assyria and those
who were driven out to the land of Egypt
will come and worship the Lord on the holy

mountain at Jerusalem.
28
Ah, the proud garland of the

drunkards of Ephraim,
and the fading ower of its glorious
beauty,
which is on the head of those bloated
with rich food, of those overcome
with wine!
See, the Lord has one who is mighty and
strong;
like a storm of hail, a destroying
tempest,
like a storm of mighty, overowing waters;
with his hand he will hurl them down
to the earth.
Trampled under foot will be
the proud garland of the drunkards of
Ephraim.
And the fading ower of its glorious
beauty,
which is on the head of those bloated
with rich food,
will be like a rst-ripe g before the
summer;
whoever sees it, eats it up
as soon as it comes to hand.
In that day the Lord of hosts will be a

garland of glory,
and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant
of his people;
and a spirit of justice to the one who sits
in judgment,
b Heb Asherim
shall take root, cf. 11.19. 713: A justication of the Lord. The suering of the people constitutes the Lords efforts to purge the nation of sins and idolatry. 10: The fortied city, referring to the unnamed city of 24.10; 25.2;
26.5. 11: Without understanding, cf. 1.23. 1213: With the downfall of the oppressor, the time to gather the exiles
from Assyria and Egypt has now arrived (cf. 11.1516).
28.133.24: Prophetic instruction concerning the Lords plans for the new king in Jerusalem. This block of
material is dened by its introductory Woe (NRSV Ah, Ha, Oh, Alas,) oracle forms (28.1; 29.1,15; 30.1;
31.1; 33.1); its overall concern for the deliverance of Jerusalem from Assyria; and its culminating concern for the
establishment of a righteous king in Jerusalem.
28.129: Prophetic instruction concerning the Lords purpose in bringing Assyrian rule. This oracle condemns both Israelite and Judean leadership as an explanation for Assyrian rule of Israel and Judah. 14: The
introductory woe (Ah) oracle condemns the leadership of northern Israel (Ephraim was the dominant tribe
of northern Israel) for self-indulgence in food and wine (cf. 5.824). Proud garland and glorious beauty designate
the royal crown. 56: The Lords promise to support a future monarch who rules in justice and defends the na-
hebrew bible | 1003
isaiah 28
and strength to those who turn back
the battle at the gate.
These also reel with wine
and stagger with strong drink;
the priest and the prophet reel with strong
drink,
they are confused with wine,
they stagger with strong drink;
they err in vision,
they stumble in giving judgment.
All tables are covered with lthy vomit;
no place is clean.
Whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the
message?
Those who are weaned from milk,
those taken from the breast?
For it is precept upon precept, precept
upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.a
Truly, with stammering lip
and with alien tongue
he will speak to this people,
to whom he has said,
This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose;
yet they would not hear.
Therefore the word of the Lord will be
to them,
Precept upon precept, precept upon
precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little;a
in order that they may go, and fall
backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you
scoers
who rule this people in Jerusalem.

Because you have said, We have made a
covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement;
when the overwhelming scourge passes
through
it will not come to us;
for we have made lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken
shelter;
therefore thus says the Lord God,
See, I am laying in Zion a foundation
stone,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:
One who trusts will not panic.
And I will make justice the line,
and righteousness the plummet;
hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the
shelter.
Then your covenant with death will be
annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not
stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes
through
you will be beaten down by it.
As often as it passes through, it will take
you;
for morning by morning it will pass
through,
by day and by night;
and it will be sheer terror to understand
the message.
For the bed is too short to stretch
oneself on it,
and the covering too narrow to wrap
oneself in it.
For the Lord will rise up as on Mount
Perazim,
he will rage as in the valley of Gibeon
a Meaning of Heb of this verse uncertain
tion (cf. 9.17; 11.19). 713: The oracle presupposes the Canaanite marzeah
. ritual, associated with funerary
rites that called for all-night drinking and feasting. This ritual has also been associated with the conclusion of
treaties. 1422: An indictment of Jerusalems leadership. The covenant with Sheol, the abode of the dead, plays
upon the previously noted marzeah
. ritual. It may also refer to an alliance with Egypt. 16: The foundation stone
in Jerusalem symbolizes both the foundation for a major building, such as the Jerusalem Temple, and the Davidic/Zion tradition of the Lords promise of security for Jerusalem and the house of David. 21: Perazim refers to the
Lords victory over the Philistines at Baal-perazim (2 Sam 5.1721) and Gibeon to the victory over the Canaanites
1004 | hebrew bible
isaiah 29
to do his deedstrange is his deed!
and to work his workalien is his
work!
Now therefore do not sco,
or your bonds will be made stronger;
for I have heard a decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts upon the
whole land.
Listen, and hear my voice;
Pay attention, and hear my speech.
Do those who plow for sowing plow
continually?
Do they continually open and harrow
their ground?
When they have leveled its surface,
do they not scatter dill, sow cummin,
and plant wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place,
and spelt as the border?
For they are well instructed;
their God teaches them.
Dill is not threshed with a threshing
sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cummin;
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cummin with a rod.
Grain is crushed for bread,
but one does not thresh it forever;
one drives the cart wheel and horses
over it,
but does not pulverize it.
This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is wonderful in counsel,
and excellent in wisdom.
29
Ah, Ariel, Ariel,

the city where David encamped!
Add year to year;
let the festivals run their round.
Yet I will distress Ariel,
and there shall be moaning and

lamentation,
and Jerusalema shall be to me like an
Ariel.b
And like Davidc I will encamp against you;
I will besiege you with towers
and raise siegeworks against you.
Then deep from the earth you shall
speak,
from low in the dust your words shall
come;
your voice shall come from the ground like
the voice of a ghost,
and your speech shall whisper out of
the dust.
But the multitude of your foesd shall be
like small dust,
and the multitude of tyrants like ying
cha.
And in an instant, suddenly,
you will be visited by the Lord of hosts
with thunder and earthquake and great
noise,
with whirlwind and tempest, and the
ame of a devouring re.
And the multitude of all the nations that
ght against Ariel,
all that ght against her and her
stronghold, and who distress her,
shall be like a dream, a vision of the
night.
Just as when a hungry person dreams of
eating
and wakes up still hungry,
or a thirsty person dreams of drinking
a Heb she
b Probable meaning, altar hearth; compare Ezek
43.15
c Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain

d Cn: Heb strangers
(Josh 10.10). But now, the Lord will punish Jerusalems leaders. 2329: The concluding allegory illustrates the
duration of the punishment. Just as a farmer must plow the ground and then thresh, beat, and crush the crops
to prepare them for human use, so the Lord will plow and thresh the people in preparation for their restoration.
29.124: Prophetic instruction concerning the Lords purpose in assaulting Ariel/Zion. 14: The rst portion of this woe (Ah) oracle begins with a portrayal of an assault against the city of Jerusalem, apparently
presupposing or anticipating an Assyrian aack. Just as David once conquered Jerusalem (2 Sam 5.69), the
Lord will do the same with a foreign army. 1: The Heb term Ariel means lion of God, recalling the lion as the
symbol for Judah (Gen 49.811). It is related to a Heb word that designates the hearth of the altar (Ezek 43.1516).
67: God will appear with all the elements of a theophany as a divine warrior to ght against those aacking
hebrew bible | 1005
isaiah 29
and wakes up faint, still thirsty,
so shall the multitude of all the nations be
that ght against Mount Zion.
Stupefy yourselves and be in a stupor,
blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk, but not from wine;
stagger, but not from strong drink!
For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep;
he has closed your eyes, you prophets,
and covered your heads, you seers.
The vision of all this has become for you
like the words of a sealed document. If it is
given to those who can read, with the command, Read this, they say, We cannot, for
it is sealed. And if it is given to those who
cannot read, saying, Read this, they say,
We cannot read.
The Lord said:
Because these people draw near with their
mouths
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their worship of me is a human
commandment learned by rote;
so I will again do
amazing things with this people,
shocking and amazing.
The wisdom of their wise shall perish,
and the discernment of the discerning
shall be hidden.
Ha! You who hide a plan too deep for the
Lord,
whose deeds are in the dark,
and who say, Who sees us? Who
knows us?
You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay?

Shall the thing made say of its maker,
He did not make me;
or the thing formed say of the one who
formed it,
He has no understanding?
Shall not Lebanon in a very little while
become a fruitful eld,
and the fruitful eld be regarded as a
forest?
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a scroll,
and out of their gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the
Lord,
and the neediest people shall exult in
the HolyOne of Israel.
For the tyrant shall be no more,
and the scoer shall cease to be;
all those alert to do evil shall be cut
o
those who cause a person to lose a
lawsuit,
who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate,
and without grounds deny justice to the
one in the right.
Therefore thus says the Lord, who
redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of
Jacob:
No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,
no longer shall his face grow pale.
For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of
Israel.
Jerusalem. 910: Stupefy . . . blind yourselves recalls the prophets commission in 6.910 to render the people
blind, deaf, and ignorant so that they will not repent and be saved. The deep sleep poured on the people is like
that of the rst human when the woman was created (Gen 2.21) and of Abraham when he had a vision of Israels
deliverance from Egypt at the Exodus (Gen 15.1216). 1112: The sealed document, cf. 8.1617. Ultimately, the signicance of Isaiahs prophecies will be understood only when later generations read them, perhaps in the time
of the Babylonian exile (chs 4055) or the Persian-period restoration (chs 5666). 1314: Cf. 1.1017. 1524: The
second portion of this woe (Ha!) oracle focuses on the future realization of the Lords purposes for Zion. The
Lord is the poer and not the clay; cf. 45.9; Jer 18.16. 17: Lebanon, 2.13n; see also 10.34. The deaf and the blind
(cf. 6.910) will understand when they read the scroll of Isaiahs prophecies (cf. 8.1623). 22: Abraham, cf. 41.8;
51.2. Abraham, redeemed by Gods call to journey into the promised land, becomes the model for those who
returned to Judah in the postdisaster period.
1006 | hebrew bible
isaiah 30
And those who err in spirit will come to
understanding,
and those who grumble will accept
instruction.
30
Oh, rebellious children, says the

Lord,
who carry out a plan, but not mine;
who make an alliance, but against my will,
adding sin to sin;
who set out to go down to Egypt
without asking for my counsel,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh,
and to seek shelter in the shadow of
Egypt;
Therefore the protection of Pharaoh shall
become your shame,
and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt
your humiliation.
For though his ocials are at Zoan
and his envoys reach Hanes,
everyone comes to shame
through a people that cannot prot
them,
that brings neither help nor prot,
but shame and disgrace.
An oracle concerning the animals of the

Negeb.
Through a land of trouble and distress,
of lioness and roaringa lion,
of viper and ying serpent,
they carry their riches on the backs of
donkeys,
and their treasures on the humps of
camels,
to a people that cannot prot them.
For Egypts help is worthless and empty,
therefore I have called her,
Rahab who sits still.b
Go now, write it before them on a tablet,

and inscribe it in a book,
so that it may be for the time to come
as a witness forever.
For they are a rebellious people,
faithless children,
children who will not hear
the instruction of the Lord;
who say to the seers, Do not see;
and to the prophets, Do not prophesy
to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things,
prophesy illusions,
leave the way, turn aside from the path,
let us hear no more about the Holy One
of Israel.
Therefore thus says the Holy One of
Israel:
Because you reject this word,
and put your trust in oppression and
deceit,
and rely on them;
therefore this iniquity shall become for
you
like a break in a high wall, bulging out,
and about to collapse,
whose crash comes suddenly, in an
instant;
its breaking is like that of a potters
vessel
that is smashed so ruthlessly
that among its fragments not a sherd is
found
for taking re from the hearth,
or dipping water out of the cistern.
For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One
of Israel:
a Cn: Heb from them
30.133: Prophetic instruction concerning the Lords delay in delivering the people from Assyria. This
lengthy woe oracle-complex expresses Isaiahs dissatisfaction with Hezekiahs embassies to Egypt in order to
enlist support for his revolt against Assyria in 701 bce. 111: Isaiah opposes aempts to ally with other nations
for Jerusalems protection because his understanding of Davidic/Zion theology holds that the Lord alone will
protect Jerusalem and the house of David. 4: Zoan, see 19.1115n. Hanes is south of Memphis. 67: The oracle
condemns Judah for sending a caravan of goods to Egypt to enlist Egyptian aid. Negeb, see 20.1n. Rahab is a
mythological sea dragon that sometimes symbolizes Egypt (51.911; Ps 89.9; Job 9.13). 811: The prophet records
his oracle because the people are not ready to hear him but only want to hear smooth or comforting things.
The signicance of the Lords actions will only be understood at a later time (cf. 8.1623; 29.1112). 1217: The
prophet argues that the Lord will delay deliverance from Assyria because the people do not trust the prophets
hebrew bible | 1007
isaiah 30
In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your
strength.
But you refused and said,
No! We will ee upon horses
therefore you shall ee!
and, We will ride upon swift steeds
therefore your pursuers shall be swift!
A thousand shall ee at the threat of one,
at the threat of ve you shall ee,
until you are left
like a agsta on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill.
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious
to you;
therefore he will rise up to show mercy
to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
Truly, Opeople in Zion, inhabitants of
Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will
surely be gracious to you at the sound of your
cry; when he hears it, he will answer you.
Though the Lord may give you the bread of
adversity and the water of aiction, yet your
Teacher will not hide himself any more, but
your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when
you turn to the right or when you turn to the
left, your ears shall hear a word behind you,
saying, This is the way; walk in it. Then
you will dele your silver-covered idols and
your gold-plated images. You will scatter
them like lthy rags; you will say to them,
Away with you!
He will give rain for the seed with which
you sow the ground, and grain, the produce
of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in
broad pastures; and the oxen and donkeys
that till the ground will eat silage, which has
been winnowed with shovel and fork. On
every lofty mountain and every high hill
there will be brooks running with wateron
a day of the great slaughter, when the towers
fall. Moreover the light of the moon will be

like the light of the sun, and the light of the
sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven
days, on the day when the Lord binds up the
injuries of his people, and heals the wounds
inicted by his blow.
See, the name of the Lord comes from
far away,
burning with his anger, and in thick
rising smoke;a
his lips are full of indignation,
and his tongue is like a devouring re;
his breath is like an overowing stream
that reaches up to the neck
to sift the nations with the sieve of
destruction,
and to place on the jaws of the peoples a
bridle that leads them astray.
You shall have a song as in the night
when a holy festival is kept; and gladness of
heart, as when one sets out to the sound of
the ute to go to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Rock of Israel. And the Lord will
cause his majestic voice to be heard and the
descending blow of his arm to be seen, in
furious anger and a ame of devouring re,
with a cloudburst and tempest and hailstones. The Assyrian will be terror-stricken
at the voice of the Lord, when he strikes with
his rod. And every stroke of the sta of
punishment that the Lord lays upon him will
be to the sound of timbrels and lyres; battling
with brandished arm he will ght with him.
For his burning placeb has long been prepared; truly it is made ready for the king,c its
pyre made deep and wide, with re and wood
in abundance; the breath of the Lord, like a
stream of sulfur, kindles it.

b Or Topheth
c Or Molech
message. 17: A thousand shall ee, see Lev 26.3637; Deut 32.30. 1826: The Lord will ultimately show mercy
to Jerusalem. A Teacher, perhaps someone who would interpret the prophecies that were bound up. Such a
statement might motivate the writings of later prophets in chs 4066. 2733: Ultimately, the Lord will strike
down the Assyrian oppressor (cf. 10.533; 14.2427). The oracle invokes the imagery of a Temple festival when
the Lord is revealed in the smoke and ame of the incense burners and lamp stands of the Jerusalem Temple,
perhaps at Rosh ha-Shanah (New Year) or Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), when the Lord judges the wicked.
1008 | hebrew bible
isaiah 32
31
Alas for those who go down to Egypt

for help
and who rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are
many
and in horsemen because they are very
strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the Lord!
Yet he too is wise and brings disaster;
he does not call back his words,
but will rise against the house of the
evildoers,
and against the helpers of those who
work iniquity.
The Egyptians are human, and not God;
their horses are esh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
the helper will stumble, and the one
helped will fall,
and they will all perish together.
For thus the Lord said to me,

As a lion or a young lion growls over its
prey,
andwhen a band of shepherds is
called out against it
is not terried by their shouting
or daunted at their noise,
so the Lord of hosts will come down
to ght upon Mount Zion and upon its
hill.
Like birds hovering overhead, so the
Lord of hosts
will protect Jerusalem;
he will protect and deliver it,
he will spare and rescue it.
Turn back to him whom youa have deeply
betrayed, Opeople of Israel. For on that day
all of you shall throw away your idols of silver
and idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.
Then the Assyrian shall fall by a sword,
not of mortals;
and a sword, not of humans, shall

devour him;
he shall ee from the sword,
and his young men shall be put to
forced labor.
His rock shall pass away in terror,
and his ocers desert the standard in
panic,
says the Lord, whose re is in Zion,
and whose furnace is in
Jerusalem.
32
See, a king will reign in

righteousness,
and princes will rule with justice.
Each will be like a hiding place from the
wind,
a covert from the tempest,
like streams of water in a dry place,
like the shade of a great rock in a weary
land.
Then the eyes of those who have sight
will not be closed,
and the ears of those who have hearing
will listen.
The minds of the rash will have good
judgment,
and the tongues of stammerers will
speak readily and distinctly.
A fool will no longer be called noble,
nor a villain said to be honorable.
For fools speak folly,
and their minds plot iniquity:
to practice ungodliness,
to utter error concerning the Lord,
to leave the craving of the hungry
unsatised,
and to deprive the thirsty of drink.
The villainies of villains are evil;
they devise wicked devices
to ruin the poor with lying words,
even when the plea of the needy is
right.
a Heb they
31.19: The prophets warning concerning reliance on Egyptian aid against Assyria. Isaiah again condemns
aempts to ally with Egypt in preparation for Hezekiahs revolt against Assyria in 701 bce. The prophet employs
the allegories of a lion over its prey and a bird protecting its young to illustrate his point. 1: Cf. Ps 20.7. 89: The
nal defeat of Assyria (14.2427). Fire, furnace, a reference to the temple altar.
32.133.24: Prophetic instruction concerning the righteous king. 32.18: When the king rules over Jerusalem in righteousness (cf. 9.17; 11.116), the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the people will understand (revers-
hebrew bible | 1009
isaiah 33
But those who are noble plan noble things,
and by noble things they stand.
Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear
my voice;
you complacent daughters, listen to my
speech.
In little more than a year
you will shudder, you complacent ones;
for the vintage will fail,
the fruit harvest will not come.
Tremble, you women who are at ease,
shudder, you complacent ones;
strip, and make yourselves bare,
and put sackcloth on your loins.
Beat your breasts for the pleasant elds,
for the fruitful vine,
for the soil of my people
growing up in thorns and briers;
yes, for all the joyous houses
in the jubilant city.
For the palace will be forsaken,
the populous city deserted;
the hill and the watchtower
will become dens forever,
the joy of wild asses,
a pasture for ocks;
until a spirit from on high is poured out
on us,
and the wilderness becomes a fruitful
eld,
and the fruitful eld is deemed a forest.
Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness abide in the fruitful
eld.
The eect of righteousness will be
peace,
and the result of righteousness,
quietness and trust forever.
My people will abide in a peaceful
habitation,
in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting
places.
The forest will disappear completely,a

and the city will be utterly laid low.
Happy will you be who sow beside every
stream,
who let the ox and the donkey range
freely.
33
Ah, you destroyer,

who yourself have not been destroyed;
you treacherous one,
with whom no one has dealt
treacherously!
When you have ceased to destroy,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have stopped dealing
treacherously,
you will be dealt with treacherously.
OLord, be gracious to us; we wait for

you.
Be our arm every morning,
our salvation in the time of trouble.
At the sound of tumult, peoples ed;
before your majesty, nations
scattered.
Spoil was gathered as the caterpillar
gathers;
as locusts leap, they leapedb upon it.
The Lord is exalted, he dwells on high;
he lled Zion with justice and
righteousness;
he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and
knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is Zions treasure.c
Listen! the valiantb cry in the streets;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
a Cn: Heb And it will hail when the forest comes down
c Heb his treasure; meaning of Heb uncertain
ing 6.910). 920: The prophet summarizes the themes of his prophecies by describing the reversal from crop
failure to a transformation of the natural and moral environment through a spirit from on high (cf. 5.6; 11.19).
33.124: The prophets announcement of the righteous king is formulated as a liturgical cycle that combines
elements of the complaint songs with the announcement of the king. 1: The liturgy begins with a woe (Ah)
oracle that proclaims the downfall of the oppressor. 24: An address to the Lord petitions for relief from the
oppressor. 56: An address to the audience reiterates Isaiahs view that the Lord is exalted (cf. 2.921). 79:
The prophet summarizes the suering and withering of the land that precede the rise of the righteous king.
Lebanon, 2.13n. Sharon, the fertile coastal plain extending south from Akko/Acre and Dor nearly to Jaa/Joppa.
1010 | hebrew bible
isaiah 33
The highways are deserted,
travelers have quit the road.
The treaty is broken,
its oathsa are despised,
its obligationb is disregarded.
The land mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is confounded and withers
away;
Sharon is like a desert;
and Bashan and Carmel shake o their
leaves.
Now I will arise, says the Lord,
now I will lift myself up;
now I will be exalted.
You conceive cha, you bring forth
stubble;
your breath is a re that will consume
you.
And the peoples will be as if burned to
lime,
like thorns cut down, that are burned in
the re.
Hear, you who are far away, what I have
done;
and you who are near, acknowledge my
might.
The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling has seized the godless:
Who among us can live with the
devouring re?
Who among us can live with everlasting
ames?
Those who walk righteously and speak
uprightly,
who despise the gain of
oppression,
who wave away a bribe instead of
accepting it,
who stop their ears from hearing of
bloodshed
and shut their eyes from looking on
evil,
they will live on the heights;
their refuge will be the fortresses of

rocks;
their food will be supplied, their water
assured.
Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;
they will behold a land that stretches
far away.
Your mind will muse on the terror:
Where is the one who counted?
Where is the one who weighed the
tribute?
Where is the one who counted the
towers?
No longer will you see the insolent
people,
the people of an obscure speech that
you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a language that you
cannot understand.
Look on Zion, the city of our appointed
festivals!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a quiet habitation, an immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be pulled up,
and none of whose ropes will be broken.
But there the Lord in majesty will be
for us
a place of broad rivers and streams,
where no galley with oars can go,
nor stately ship can pass.
For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our
ruler,
the Lord is our king; he will save us.
Your rigging hangs loose;
it cannot hold the mast rm in its
place,
or keep the sail spread out.
Then prey and spoil in abundance will be
divided;
a Q Ms: MT cities
b Or everyone
Bashan, the fertile plain south of Aram (Syria) and east of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). Carmel, the fertile mountain range that extends from Akko/Acre south along the eastern edge of the Sharon coastal plain. 1012: A
response in which the God of Israel threatens to arise and burn the enemy like thorns; cf. 10.1617; 30.2733.
1316: Those in Zion who do not trust in the Lord will also suer. 1724: Those who had been blind, deaf, and
ignorant (32.13; cf. 6.910) will nally see the righteous king in Jerusalem. 19: Obscure speech, the Assyrian oppressors, who speak a foreign language, will be gone, and Zion will again see its Temple festivals.
hebrew bible | 1011
isaiah 34
even the lame will fall to plundering.
And no inhabitant will say, I am sick;
the people who live there will be
forgiven their iniquity.
Draw near, Onations, to hear;
Opeoples, give heed!
Let the earth hear, and all that lls it;
the world, and all that comes from it.
For the Lord is enraged against all the
nations,
and furious against all their hordes;
he has doomed them, has given them
over for slaughter.
Their slain shall be cast out,
and the stench of their corpses shall
rise;
the mountains shall ow with their
blood.
All the host of heaven shall rot away,
and the skies roll up like a scroll.
All their host shall wither
like a leaf withering on a vine,
or fruit withering on a g tree.
34
When my sword has drunk its ll in the

heavens,
lo, it will descend upon Edom,
upon the people I have doomed to
judgment.
The Lord has a sword; it is sated with
blood,
it is gorged with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,

with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of
Edom.
Wild oxen shall fall with them,
and young steers with the mighty
bulls.
Their land shall be soaked with blood,
and their soil made rich with fat.
For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of vindication by Zions cause.a
And the streams of Edomb shall be turned
into pitch,
and her soil into sulfur;
her land shall become burning pitch.
Night and day it shall not be quenched;
its smoke shall go up forever.
From generation to generation it shall lie
waste;
no one shall pass through it forever and
ever.
But the hawkc and the hedgehogc shall
possess it;
the owlc and the raven shall live in it.
He shall stretch the line of confusion
over it,
a Or of recompense by Zions defender
b Heb her streams
c Identication uncertain
34.166.24: Concerning the realization of the Lords plans for revealing worldwide sovereignty from Zion.
Whereas chs 133 anticipate the revelation of the Lords worldwide sovereignty at Zion, the second half of the
book in chs 3466 presupposes that the time is at hand.
34.135.10: Prophetic instruction concerning the Lords power to return the redeemed exiles to Zion. Chs
3435 introduce the second half of the book of Zion with an emphasis on the judgment of the nations, represented by Edom, and the return of the exiles to Zion.
34.117: Prophetic instruction concerning the Lords power over the nations. Chapter 34 emphasizes the
Lords power over the nations by focusing especially on the fate of Edom, Israels neighbor to the southeast
(cf. 63.16). Edom, which is condemned in biblical literature for its role in the destruction of Jerusalem (Jer
49.722; Ezek 25.1217; Ob; Ps 137.7; Lam 4.2122), began to decline in the sixth century bce as Arab tribes began to encroach upon Edomite territory. This decline provides a counterpart for the judgment leveled against
Israel and Jerusalem in ch 1. Links between chs 34 and 1 include parallel calls to aention (34.1; 1.2); the Lords
vengeance (34.8; 1.24); unquenchable burning (34.10; 1.24); the mouth of the Lord that has spoken (34.16; 1.20);
the sword of punishment (34.5,6; 1.20); the sacricial blood and fat of cale (34.67; 1.1115); Sodom and Gomorrah (34.910; 1.79,10); and wilting leaves (34.4; 1.30). 115: The address to the nations calls their aention
to Edoms punishment. The portrayal of destruction employs the images of sacrice. 6: Bozrah: a major city in
Edom. 8: The passage takes up the Day of the Lord theme (cf. 2.1021; 13.616). 910: The fate of Edom will
resemble that of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19.2428), located at the southern end of the Dead Sea by Edom.
11: Confusion (Heb tohu) and chaos (Heb bohu) are terms employed to describe primeval chaos prior to
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isaiah 35
and the plummet of chaos overa its
nobles.
They shall name it No Kingdom There,
and all its princes shall be nothing.
Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,
nettles and thistles in its fortresses.
It shall be the haunt of jackals,
an abode for ostriches.
Wildcats shall meet with hyenas,
goat-demons shall call to each other;
there too Lilith shall repose,
and nd a place to rest.
There shall the owl nest
and lay and hatch and brood in its
shadow;
there too the buzzards shall gather,
each one with its mate.
Seek and read from the book of the
Lord:
Not one of these shall be missing;
none shall be without its mate.
For the mouth of the Lord has
commanded,
and his spirit has gathered them.
He has cast the lot for them,
his hand has portioned it out to them
with the line;
they shall possess it forever,
from generation to generation they
shall live in it.
35
The wilderness and the dry land shall

be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom
abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands,
and make rm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing
for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the
wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a
pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of
water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a
swamp,b
the grass shall become reeds and
rushes.
A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
a Heb lacks over
b Cn: Heb in the haunt of jackals is her resting place
creation (Gen 1.2). 14: Lilith is a hostile goddess associated with the night in Sumerian mythology. In later Jewish folklore, she is known as Adams rst wife who gives birth to demons. 1617: Book of the Lord, perhaps the
book of Isaiah as it then existed. The second address asks the reader to search the book for conrmation of the
Lords purpose concerning the nations.
35.110: Prophetic oracle of salvation concerning the return of the redeemed to Zion. The return of the
exiles to Zion is portrayed here as a second Exodus in which the people return to Zion through the wilderness.
12: The announcement of the return emphasizes the rejoicing and blooming of the wilderness as the Lord is
sovereign of all creation. Lebanon is the mountain range north of Israel, Carmel is the fertile mountain range
running south of Akko/Acre, and Sharon is the coastal plain to the west of Carmel; contrast 33.9. 4: Do not fear is
the reassurance formula addressed by the prophet to King Ahaz in 7.4 and to Hezekiah in 37.6. 56: A reversal of
6.910. The open eyes of the blind and the unstopped ears of the deaf indicate that the Lords commands that
Isaiah render the people blind and deaf so that they cannot repent and be saved are now at an end (cf. 29.18;
32.3; 42.16,1819; 43.8; 44.18). 810: The highway through the wilderness is a motif of both the Exodus/Wilderness tradition (Num 20.17; 21.22; Deut 2.8) and the second exodus of the book of Isaiah (40.3; 42.16; 43.19). The
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isaiah 36
the unclean shall not travel on it,a
but it shall be for Gods people;b
no traveler, not even fools, shall go
astray.
No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up
on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall
return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall ee away.
36
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria came

up against all the fortied cities of Judah and
captured them. The king of Assyria sent the
Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at
Jerusalem, with a great army. He stood by the
conduit of the upper pool on the highway to
the Fullers Field. And there came out to him
Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge
of the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and
Joah son of Asaph, the recorder.
The Rabshakeh said to them, Say to
Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the
a Or pass it by
b Cn: Heb for them
return of exiles from Egypt and Assyria appears in 11.16; 27.1213.

36.139.8: Historical narratives concerning Hezekiah. These narratives also appear in 2 Kings 1820. Because the prophet Isaiah makes his last appearance here in the book of Isaiah, many interpreters consider chs
3639 to be drawn from 2 Kings 1820 in order to form a historical appendix to First Isaiah (chs 139). Although
chs 3639 may originally have been intended as an appendix in an early edition of the book, the reference to
the exile of Hezekiahs sons to Babylon in 39.18 indicates that they now are transitional chapters that prepare
the reader for the downfall of Babylon and the return of the exiles to Zion beginning in ch 40. The gure of
Hezekiah is contrasted with that of Ahaz in 7.19.6 to demonstrate that Hezekiahs return to the Lord results
in the deliverance of his people whereas Ahazs refusal to turn to the Lord resulted in the subjugation of his
people to Assyria. Such a portrayal also facilitates Second Isaiahs call to turn to the Lord in chs 4055 at the
time of the restoration. Although chs 3639 are largely parallel to 2 Kings 1820, subtle dierences in the text
indicate an eort to whitewash Hezekiahs character in Isa 3639 in order to present him as a pure gure who
places his trust entirely in the Lord.
36.137.38: Confrontation story concerning the Lords defeat of Sennacherib at Jerusalem. This narrative
presents an account of the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrian King Sennacherib in 701 bce. King Hezekiah allied
with Babylon and assembled a coalition to revolt against Assyria following the death of Sargon II in 705 bce.
Sargons successor, Sennacherib, aacked western Asia including Judah in 701 bce. As Hezekiahs allies quickly
submied to Assyria, Hezekiah found himself alone against the Assyrians. Sennacheribs records indicate that
he concentrated his aack in southwestern Judah along the border with Philistia, that he devastated the land
of Judah, that he besieged Jerusalem, and that he ultimately forced Hezekiah to submit, taking away captives, a
great deal of booty, and even Hezekiahs own daughters. Hezekiah nevertheless retained his throne. Sennacherib was assassinated by his own sons in 681 bce. Most interpreters maintain that chs 3637 are an idealized
account of the siege designed to celebrate the Lords victory over Sennacherib as the Assyrian empire began
to decline in the seventh century bce. 36.1: The fourteenth year, 701 bce, the year Sennacherib invaded western
Asia. The narrative of Hezekiahs initial capitulation to Sennacherib in 2 Kings 18.1416 does not appear here.
222: The Assyrian Rabshakeh, Cup-bearer or Chief Steward of the Assyrian king, presents the terms of
surrender to Hezekiah and the besieged defenders of Jerusalem. 2: Lachish, the major royal city in southwestern
Judah. Excavations indicate that it was conquered by the Assyrians, who forced Jewish prisoners of war to build
a ramp up the side of the citys fortications. A pit with 1,500 human skeletons on the site indicates the extent
of the Judean casualties. Wall reliefs at Sennacheribs palace in Nineveh portray the defeat of Lachish in order to
impress visitors with his power. Conduit of the upper pool, the same location where Isaiah confronted Ahaz (see
7.39n.). 3: The Judean ocers negotiate with the Rabshakeh on behalf of Hezekiah. Shebna, here described
as the secretary, appears as the Kings chief administrator over the house in 22.1525. Shebna has now been
replaced by Eliakim. 410: The Rabshakehs speech is meant to intimidate the Judean defenders and weaken
their morale. At this point, the Egyptians, with whom Hezekiah had allied, had already been turned back by the
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isaiah 37
king of Assyria: On what do you base this
condence of yours? Do you think that
mere words are strategy and power for war?
On whom do you now rely, that you have
rebelled against me? See, you are relying on
Egypt, that broken reed of a sta, which will
pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it.
Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely
on him. But if you say to me, We rely on the
Lord our God, is it not he whose high places
and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to
Judah and to Jerusalem, You shall worship
before this altar? Come now, make a wager
with my master the king of Assyria: I will give
you two thousand horses, if you are able on
your part to set riders on them. How then
can you repulse a single captain among the
least of my masters servants, when you rely
on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have
come up against this land to destroy it? The
Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and
destroy it.
Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said
to the Rabshakeh, Please speak to your
servants in Aramaic, for we understand it;
do not speak to us in the language of Judah
within the hearing of the people who are on
the wall. But the Rabshakeh said, Has my
master sent me to speak these words to your
master and to you, and not to the people
sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you
to eat their own dung and drink their own
urine?
Then the Rabshakeh stood and called
out in a loud voice in the language of Judah,
Hear the words of the great king, the king
of Assyria! Thus says the king: Do not let
Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able
to deliver you. Do not let Hezekiah make

you rely on the Lord by saying, The Lord will
surely deliver us; this city will not be given
into the hand of the king of Assyria. Do not
listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of
Assyria: Make your peace with me and come
out to me; then every one of you will eat from
your own vine and your own g tree and
drink water from your own cistern, until I
come and take you away to a land like your
own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of
bread and vineyards. Do not let Hezekiah
mislead you by saying, The Lord will save
us. Has any of the gods of the nations saved
their land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and
Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?
Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
Who among all the gods of these countries
have saved their countries out of my hand,
that the Lord should save Jerusalem out of
my hand?
But they were silent and answered him
not a word, for the kings command was,
Do not answer him. Then Eliakim son of
Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, and
Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph,
the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their
clothes torn, and told him the words of the
Rabshakeh.
When King Hezekiah heard it, he
tore his clothes, covered himself
with sackcloth, and went into the house of
the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, who was in
charge of the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with
sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
They said to him, Thus says Hezekiah,
This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and
37
Assyrians. The Rabshakehs boastful speech may have represented Assyrian views but has drawn on 10.811,13
14. 6: Cf. the sayings on the Egyptian alliance (18.119.15; 30.17; 31.13). 7: On Hezekiahs removal of the high
places, see 2 Kings 18.36. 10: Appeal to the anger of the national deity reects Isaiahs sayings about Assyria
as the Lords agent for the punishment of Israel. 11: Aramaic was the language of diplomacy from the late NeoAssyrian period onward. The language of Judah is Hebrew. 1220: The Rabshakeh speaks in Hebrew in order to
address the Judean troops directly and appeal for their surrender. His description of their circumstances reveals
the desperate conditions in a besieged city (cf. 2 Kings 6.2432). Deportation of soldiers and skilled persons
from subjugated lands was a standard Assyrian practice. 19: Hamath and Arpad were cities conquered by the
Assyrians (see 10.9n.). Samaria, the capital of northern Israel conquered by the Assyrians in 722 bce (2 Kings
17). Sepharvaim, located in Aram between Hamath and Damascus, was a city under Assyrian control to which
northern Israelites were deported (2 Kings 17.24,31). 37.17: The delegation to Isaiah recalls the consultation of
prophets by earlier and later kings (1 Kings 22.528; 2 Kings 1.917; 3.1117; 22.1114; Jer 21.14). The prophets
hebrew bible | 1015
isaiah 37
of disgrace; children have come to the birth,
and there is no strength to bring them forth.
It may be that the Lord your God heard the
words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master
the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the
Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up
your prayer for the remnant that is left.
When the servants of King Hezekiah
came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, Say to
your master, Thus says the Lord: Do not be
afraid because of the words that you have
heard, with which the servants of the king of
Assyria have reviled me. I myself will put a
spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor,
and return to his own land; I will cause him
to fall by the sword in his own land.
The Rabshakeh returned, and found the
king of Assyria ghting against Libnah; for
he had heard that the king had left Lachish.
Now the kinga heard concerning King
Tirhakah of Ethiopia,b He has set out to ght
against you. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall
you speak to King Hezekiah of Judah: Do not
let your God on whom you rely deceive you
by promising that Jerusalem will not be given
into the hand of the king of Assyria. See,
you have heard what the kings of Assyria
have done to all lands, destroying them utterly. Shall you be delivered? Have the gods of
the nations delivered them, the nations that
my predecessors destroyed, Gozan, Haran,
Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in
Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, the
king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?
Hezekiah received the letter from the
hand of the messengers and read it; then
Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord
and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: OLord
of hosts, God of Israel, who are enthroned
above the cherubim, you are God, you alone,
of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have
made heaven and earth. Incline your ear,
OLord, and hear; open your eyes, OLord,
and see; hear all the words of Sennacherib,
which he has sent to mock the living God.
Truly, OLord, the kings of Assyria have laid
waste all the nations and their lands, and
have hurled their gods into the re, though
they were no gods, but the work of human
handswood and stoneand so they were
destroyed. So now, OLord our God, save us
from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the
earth may know that you alone are the Lord.
Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying: Thus says the Lord, the God
of Israel: Because you have prayed to me
concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria,
this is the word that the Lord has spoken
concerning him:
She despises you, she scorns you
virgin daughter Zion;
she tosses her headbehind your back,
daughter Jerusalem.
Whom have you mocked and reviled?
Against whom have you raised your
voice
and haughtily lifted your eyes?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
By your servants you have mocked the
Lord,
and you have said, With my many
chariots
a Heb he
immediate response reassures Hezekiah with the classic formula do not fear (cf. 7.4). 813: The Rabshakeh delivers a second message to Hezekiah from Sennacherib. Having taken Lachish, Sennacherib is besieging Libnah,
located near Lachish although the precise site is disputed. 9: King Tirhakah of Ethiopia may have been a general
in the army since he came to the throne of Egypt only in 690. 12: Northern Mesopotamian sites taken by the
Assyrians: Gozan, on the Habur River in Mesopotamia (2 Kings 17.6); Haran, on the Balikh River (Gen 11.2732);
Rezeph, near the west end of the Jebel Singar; Eden, between the Euphrates and the Balikh Rivers (Am 1.5; Ezek
27.23); and Telassar, located near Eden in Aram. 13: See 36.19n. Hena and Ivvah are unknown. 1420: Unlike Ahaz
in 7.125, Hezekiah turns to the Lord in this time of distress. 16: Enthroned above the cherubim, the ark of the
covenant and its cherubim (66.1; 1 Sam 4.4; 2 Sam 6.2), which served as the Lords throne in the Holy of Holies
in the Jerusalem Temple (1 Kings 8.67). 2135: Isaiah conveys the Lords oracle of reassurance to Hezekiah. The
Lord repeats claims of greatness made by Sennacherib to illustrate his arrogance (cf. 2.1021). Mesopotamian
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isaiah 38
I have gone up the heights of the
mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon;
I felled its tallest cedars,
its choicest cypresses;
I came to its remotest height,
its densest forest.
I dug wells
and drank waters,
I dried up with the sole of my foot
all the streams of Egypt.
Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what now I bring to pass,
that you should make fortied cities
crash into heaps of ruins,
while their inhabitants, shorn of
strength,
are dismayed and confounded;
they have become like plants of the eld
and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops,
blighteda before it is grown.
I know your rising upb and your sitting
down,
your going out and coming in,
and your raging against me.
Because you have raged against me
and your arrogance has come to my
ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth;
I will turn you back on the way
by which you came.
And this shall be the sign for you:
This year eat what grows of itself, and in
the second year what springs from that;

then in the third year sow, reap, plant
vineyards, and eat their fruit. The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall
again take root downward, and bear fruit
upward; for from Jerusalem a remnant
shall go out, and from Mount Zion a band
of survivors. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will do this.
Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come
into this city, shoot an arrow there, come
before it with a shield, or cast up a siege ramp
against it. By the way that he came, by the
same he shall return; he shall not come into
this city, says the Lord. For I will defend
this city to save it, for my own sake and for
the sake of my servant David.
Then the angel of the Lord set out
and struck down one hundred eighty-ve
thousand in the camp of the Assyrians;
when morning dawned, they were all dead
bodies. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria
left, went home, and lived at Nineveh. As
he was worshiping in the house of his god
Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer
killed him with the sword, and they escaped
into the land of Ararat. His son Esar-haddon
succeeded him.
and was at the point of death. The
prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him,
and said to him, Thus says the Lord: Set
your house in order, for you shall die; you
shall not recover. Then Hezekiah turned
his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord:
38
a With 2Kings 19.26: Heb eld

b Q Ms Gk: MT lacks your rising up
kings frequently felled trees in Lebanon (see 2.13n). 22: Virgin daughter Zion, see 1.8n. 26: Whereas the Assyrian
king claims great accomplishments, the Lord had planned long ago to bring the Assyrians as a tool of punishment (cf. 5.830; 10.534). 3035: The surviving remnant of Judah, like the ruined Judean wheat crop, will
continue to grow each season in the aermath of the Assyrian invasion, i.e., the Lord will defend Jerusalem in
keeping with the Davidic/Zion tradition. 3638: The angel of death that killed the Assyrian troops recalls the
tenth plague of the Exodus that saw the deaths of the rstborn of Egypt (Ex 11; 12.2932). Sennacherib was assassinated by his own sons in 681 bce as part of a coup. The coup was put down, and another son, Esarhaddon,
succeeded his father. 38: The name Nisroch is elsewhere unaested. Ararat is Armenia.
38.122: Royal narrative concerning Hezekiahs recovery from illness. This narrative complements the earlier narrative in chs 3637 concerning the deliverance of Jerusalem (cf. 2 Kings 20.111). 18: In those days coordinates this account with chs 3637, although the contents of the narrative indicate an event well before the
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isaiah 38
Like a swallow or a cranea I clamor,
I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking
upward.
OLord, I am oppressed; be my
security!
But what can I say? For he has spoken
to me,
and he himself has done it.
All my sleep has edc
because of the bitterness of my soul.
Remember now, OLord, I implore you,

how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what
is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept
bitterly.
Then the word of the Lord came to
Isaiah: Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says
the Lord, the God of your ancestor David:
I have heard your prayer, I have seen your
tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will deliver you and this city out of the
hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this
city.
This is the sign to you from the Lord,
that the Lord will do this thing that he has
promised: See, I will make the shadow cast
by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz
turn back ten steps. So the sun turned back
on the dial the ten steps by which it had
declined.a
A writing of King Hezekiah of Judah, after
he had been sick and had recovered from his
sickness:
I said: In the noontide of my days
I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.
I said, I shall not see the Lord
in the land of the living;
I shall look upon mortals no more
among the inhabitants of the
world.
My dwelling is plucked up and removed
from me
like a shepherds tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
he cuts me o from the loom;
from day to night you bring me to an end;a
I cry for helpb until morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones;
from day to night you bring me to an
end.a
OLord, by these things people live,

and in all these is the life of my
spirit.a
Oh, restore me to health and make me
live!
Surely it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
but you have held backd my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
For Sheol cannot thank you,
death cannot praise you;
those who go down to the Pit cannot hope
for your faithfulness.
The living, the living, they thank you,
as I do this day;
fathers make known to children
your faithfulness.
The Lord will save me,
and we will sing to stringed
instrumentse
all the days of our lives,
at the house of the Lord.
a
b
c
d
e

Cn Compare Syr: Heb I will walk slowly all my years
Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb loved
Heb my stringed instruments
siege of Jerusalem. 3: Hezekiahs petition to the Lord resembles Ps 26. The Lords promise to deliver Hezekiah
and his city out of the hand of the king of Assyria indicates that this account is meant to be read with chs 3637.
48: The miraculous reversal of ten steps on the sundial of Ahaz both conrms the Lords oracle and reminds
the reader of Hezekiahs contrasting portrayal with that of Ahaz in 7.19.6. 5: Fieen years, calculated on the
basis of 2 Kings 18.2,13. 922: A song of thanksgiving aributed to Hezekiah (cf. Pss 30; 32; 92; Jon 2). The song
does not appear in 2 Kings 20.111. It functions here to highlight Hezekiahs piety. 1013: Elements of complaint
introduce the song, conveying Hezekiahs distress. 10: Sheol, the underworld. 1416: Petition for security and
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Now Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump
of gs, and apply it to the boil, so that he may
recover. Hezekiah also had said, What is the
sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?
At that time King Merodach-baladan
son of Baladan of Babylon sent envoys
with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he
heard that he had been sick and had recovered. Hezekiah welcomed them; he showed
them his treasure house, the silver, the gold,
the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory,
all that was found in his storehouses. There
was nothing in his house or in all his realm
that Hezekiah did not show them. Then the
prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and said
to him, What did these men say? From where
did they come to you? Hezekiah answered,
They have come to me from a far country, from
Babylon. He said, What have they seen in
your house? Hezekiah answered, They have
seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in
my storehouses that I did not show them.
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear
the word of the Lord of hosts: Days are
39
coming when all that is in your house, and

that which your ancestors have stored up
until this day, shall be carried to Babylon;
nothing shall be left, says the Lord. Some
of your own sons who are born to you shall
be taken away; they shall be eunuchs in
the palace of the king of Babylon. Then
Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The word of the
Lord that you have spoken is good. For he
thought, There will be peace and security
in my days.
40
Comfort, O comfort my people,

says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lords hand
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
In the wilderness prepare the way of the
Lord,
health. 1720: Thanksgiving for restoration to health. The Pit, a poetic synonym for Sheol. 2122: Isaiah acts as
a healer in prescribing a compress for Hezekiahs boil; cf. 2 Kings 20.8.
39.18: Narrative concerning Isaiahs condemnation of Hezekiah for allying with Merodach-baladan of
Babylon. Hezekiah entered into an alliance with Prince Merodach-baladan (Marduk-apal-iddina) of Babylon to
mount a revolt against Assyria in 705701 bce. Babylon was also an Assyrian vassal at this time. The strategy
was to hit Assyria simultaneously from both east and west, and thereby force Sennacherib to divide his forces,
but it failed when Hezekiah was forced to capitulate in 701 bce. Merodach-baladan was never caught, although
Sennacherib was still hunting him as late as 689 bce. A parallel narrative appears in 2 Kings 20.1219. 12: The
phrase at that time coordinates the narrative with both chs 3637 and 38. The display of wealth and provisions
demonstrates to Merodach-baladans envoys that Hezekiah is prepared for revolt. 38: Isaiah, based on his
adherence to Davidic/Zion theology, objects to the alliance on the grounds that the Lord will protect Jerusalem
and the king. Isaiahs statements that Hezekiahs wealth and sons will be carried o to Babylon corresponds to
Sennacheribs account of the siege. In the context of the book of Isaiah, it foreshadows the Babylonian exile
presupposed from ch 40 on. Hezekiahs concluding question reemphasizes his piety. In 2 Kings 20.19, the formulation of the question highlights his self-interest.
40.154.17: Prophetic instruction that the Lord maintains covenant and restores Zion. Chapter 40 begins
the portion of the book (chs 4055) aributed to an anonymous prophet of the laer years of the Babylonian
exile when King Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylonia and decreed that Jews could return to their homeland (ca.
545539 bce). Although these chapters are clearly wrien long aer the time of the eighth-century prophet
Isaiah, they nevertheless share his basic theological perspective rooted in the Zion/Davidic tradition, i.e., that
the Lord protects Zion, although the Davidic covenant is now applied to the people rather than to the Davidic
king (55.3). These chapters therefore function within the book to describe the realization of the Lords plans to
restore Zion as articulated throughout chs 133.
40.111: Renewed prophetic commission to announce the Lords restoration of Zion. This segment renews
the prophets commission to speak (cf. ch 6) and announces that the time of the restoration is at hand. 12: A
message of comfort to Jerusalem. Double restitution of stolen property is the penalty in the case of the (Ex
22.7). 35: The voices are those of the aendants in the heavenly court of the Lord (cf. 1 Kings 22.1923; Isa 6;
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isaiah 40
make straight in the desert a highway
for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made
low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
A voice says, Cry out!
And I said, What shall I cry?
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the ower of the
eld.
The grass withers, the ower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows
upon it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the ower fades;
but the word of our God will stand
forever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
OZion, herald of good tidings;a
lift up your voice with strength,
OJerusalem, herald of good tidings,b
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
Here is your God!
See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will feed his ock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead the mother sheep.
Who has measured the waters in the
hollow of his hand
and marked o the heavens with a
span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a
measure,
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has directed the spirit of the Lord,
or as his counselor has instructed him?
Whom did he consult for his
enlightenment,
and who taught him the path of justice?
Who taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of
understanding?
Even the nations are like a drop from a
bucket,
and are accounted as dust on the
scales;
see, he takes up the isles like ne dust.
Lebanon would not provide fuel enough,
nor are its animals enough for a burnt
oering.
All the nations are as nothing before
him;
they are accounted by him as less than
nothing and emptiness.
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
a Or Oherald of good tidings to Zion
b Or Oherald of good tidings to Jerusalem
Ps 82). The passage evokes the tradition of the journey through the wilderness in which the people traveled
along the Kings Highway in Transjordan on their way to the land of Israel (Num 20.17; 21.22; Deut 2.8). The glory
of the Lord refers to the divine presence, oen symbolized by a cloud of smoke and ickering ame, such as was
seen at Sinai, upon the wilderness Tabernacle, and in the Holy of Holies of the Temple (see Ex 19.16; 40.3438;
1 Kings 8.1013). 68: The prophets message emphasizes the permanence of Gods word. Just as Isaiah said
that the Lord would restore Jerusalem (e.g., 2.14; 31.45; 33.20), now it comes to pass (cf. 55.1011). 911: Zion
or Jerusalem functions as the herald of the Lord to announce the news of Gods return and Zions restoration.
Using the typical image of Mesopotamian and Judean kings, the Lord appears as a shepherd who cares for the
ock (cf. 1 Sam 16.11,19; 17.1,20,3437).
40.1231: The Lord is the master of creation. This is the rst of a series of sections (40.1231; 41.142.13;
42.1444.23) that are designed to demonstrate that the Lord is indeed acting to restore Zion. The rst focuses
on the Lords role as the creator. 1214: The argumentative style of the passage employs rhetorical questions to
make its basic points. 1517: Lebanons fuel (see 2.13n) refers to its tall trees that, like the animals of its forests,
are insucient to provide a suitable sacrice before the Lord. 1820: The beginning of this prophets polemic
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isaiah 41
An idol? A workman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold,
and casts for it silver chains.
As a gift one chooses mulberry wooda
wood that will not rot
then seeks out a skilled artisan
to set up an image that will not topple.
Have you not known? Have you not
heard?
Has it not been told you from the
beginning?
Have you not understood from the
foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the
earth,
and its inhabitants are like
grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a
curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as
nothing.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the
earth,
when he blows upon them, and they
wither,
and the tempest carries them o like
stubble.
To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers
them,
calling them all by name;

because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
Why do you say, OJacob,
and speak, OIsrael,
My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my
God?
Have you not known? Have you not
heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall
renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like
eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
Listen to me in silence, Ocoastlands;
let the peoples renew their
strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
let us together draw near for
judgment.
41
Who has roused a victor from the east,

summoned him to his service?
He delivers up nations to him,
and tramples kings under foot;
against idolatry, which also targets aspects of the religious and intellectual tradition of the Babylonians (also
41.67,29; 42.17; 43.10; 44.920; 45.16,20; 46.17; Jer 10.110). 2124: A rhetorical recapitulation of vv. 1220.
The language in which the cosmos is here described should be compared with Gen 1.131. 2526: The passage
returns to the key question of v. 18. The Heb verb bara (create) is for the most part restricted to Gen 1 and
these chapters (40.28; 41.26; 42.5; 43.1,7,15; 45.7,8,12,18; 48.7; 54.16). 2731: An aempt to answer the crisis of
faith that political disaster provoked by presenting the Lord as a cosmic rather than a purely national deity.
Waiting for God, implying trust, is frequently advocated in the book (8.17; 30.18; 49.23; 64.4).
41.142.13: The Lord is the master of human events. The second contention in the series is the power of
the Lord to play a decisive role in human events. 41.14: The passage is formulated as a courtroom scene in
which the Lord cross-examines witnesses. The Lord demands the aention of the coastlands (the islands of the
Aegean) and the nations. 2: The rst point is that the Lord has summoned a victor from the east, King Cyrus II
of Persia (559530), who would conquer the Babylonian empire in 539 bce. He is called to emerge as the Lords
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isaiah 41
he makes them like dust with his sword,
like driven stubble with his bow.
He pursues them and passes on safely,
scarcely touching the path with his feet.
Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the
beginning?
I, the Lord, am rst,
and will be with the last.
The coastlands have seen and are afraid,
the ends of the earth tremble;
they have drawn near and come.
Each one helps the other,
saying to one another, Take courage!
The artisan encourages the goldsmith,
and the one who smooths with the
hammer encourages the one who
strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, It is good;
and they fasten it with nails so that it
cannot be moved.
But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the ospring of Abraham, my friend;
you whom I took from the ends of the
earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you o;
do not fear, for I am with you,
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious
right hand.
Yes, all who are incensed against you
shall be ashamed and disgraced;
those who strive against you

shall be as nothing and shall perish.
You shall seek those who contend with
you,
but you shall not nd them;
those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, Do not fear,
I will help you.
Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you insecta Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Now, I will make of you a threshing
sledge,
sharp, new, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush
them,
and you shall make the hills like cha.
You shall winnow them and the wind
shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
Then you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,b
a Syr: Heb men of
b Or trails
anointed king and Temple builder in 44.28; 45.1. 4: By claiming to be rst and last (see 44.6; 48.12), the Lord
asserts control over all events in human history from beginning to end. 520: The Lord maintains that just
as the coastlands and nations have granted recognition, Jacob/Israel must do likewise. 57: The nations fear
the approach of the Lord, and build idols in a futile aempt to protect themselves (cf. 44.920). 820: Israel
must recognize the Lords power to act in the human world just as the nations have done. 8: Israel is the Lords
servant much like Moses (Ex 14.31) and David (2 Sam 7.5). The mention of Abraham recalls the origins of Israels
covenant with the Lord (Gen 15). In exilic texts the people of Israel are oen referred to as Jacob, whose story
of exile and return (Gen 2832) is similar to that of the exiles in Babylon. Based on the perspective of the Zion/
Davidic covenant tradition, the Lord has chosen Israel and will uphold the covenant to protect the nation. 10:
The reassurance formula do not fear supports the assertions of the Lord. 1117: The Lord reiterates the reassurance theme in an eort to convince the audience of the Lords absolute delity to the divine promise. 14: The
Lord as Redeemer (43.14; 44.6; 47.4; see Ex 6.6; 15.13) is the rst of many echoes of the Exodus tradition in these
chapters. 1516: A threshing sledge was employed to crush grain stalks so that the cha could be removed from
the grain. 1720: As creator, the Lord is able to provide for the needs of the poor as in the time of the wilderness
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isaiah 42
and fountains in the midst of the
valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of
water,
and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
so that all may see and know,
all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Set forth your case, says the Lord;
bring your proofs, says the King of
Jacob.
Let them bring them, and tell us
what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they are,
so that we may consider them,
and that we may know their outcome;
or declare to us the things to come.
Tell us what is to come hereafter,
that we may know that you are gods;
do good, or do harm,
that we may be afraid and terried.
You, indeed, are nothing
and your work is nothing at all;
whoever chooses you is an
abomination.
I stirred up one from the north, and he
has come,
from the rising of the sun he was
summoned by name.a
He shall trampleb on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.
Who declared it from the beginning, so
that we might know,
and beforehand, so that we might say,

He is right?
There was no one who declared it, none
who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.
I rst have declared it to Zion,c
and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good
tidings.
But when I look there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.
No, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their images are empty wind.
42
Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not
quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the
earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the Lord,

who created the heavens and stretched
them out,
who spread out the earth and what
comes from it,
a Cn Compare Q Ms Gk: MT and he shall call on my
name
b Cn: Heb come

c Cn: Heb First to ZionBehold, behold them
wandering (Ex 17.17; Num 20.213; Pss 78.1516; 105.41). 2129: The passage returns to the courtroom imagery
(cf. vv. 15) in which the Lord demands counterarguments from the gods of the nations. The Lord presumes
that they cannot explain the past or the future and therefore do not have the capacity to act like the Lord,
much less to challenge the Lords power to act in the human world. 25: One from the north and from the east,
the Lord once again claims to have brought a deliverer, i.e., Cyrus (41.2; 44.28; 45.1), which demonstrates once
again the Lords capacity to act in human aairs. Having claimed to have announced these events long ago, the
Lord observes that there is no one to answer. 42.14: The rst of the four so-called servant songs of Isaiah
(see 49.16; 50.411; 52.1353.12). The servant represents Israel. 59: As a covenant to the peoples and a light
to the nations, Israels experience of punishment and restoration becomes the means by which all the nations
will recognize the Lords sovereignty in the world. By opening the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf,
the servant brings to an end the period of blindness and deafness called for in Isaiahs commission (6.910).
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isaiah 42
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
I am the Lord, I have called you in
righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept
you;
I have given you as a covenant to the
people,a
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the
dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in
darkness.
I am the Lord, that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth!
Let the sea roarb and all that lls it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants.
Let the desert and its towns lift up their
voice,
the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy,
let them shout from the tops of the
mountains.
Let them give glory to the Lord,
and declare his praise in the coastlands.
The Lord goes forth like a soldier,
like a warrior he stirs up his fury;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,

he shows himself mighty against his
foes.
For a long time I have held my peace,
I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor,
I will gasp and pant.
I will lay waste mountains and hills,
and dry up all their herbage;
I will turn the rivers into islands,
and dry up the pools.
I will lead the blind
by a road they do not know,
by paths they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into
light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will do,
and I will not forsake them.
They shall be turned back and utterly
put to shame
those who trust in carved images,
who say to cast images,
You are our gods.
Listen, you that are deaf;
and you that are blind, look up and see!
Who is blind but my servant,
or deaf like my messenger whom I
send?
b Cn Compare Ps 96.11; 98.7: Heb Those who go down
to the sea
That the former things have come to pass, i.e., those things foretold earlier in the book of Isaiah, serves as an
argument that the things now declared will also happen. 1013: A hymn of praise for the Lord closes the section
devoted to demonstrating the Lords mastery of human events. Now creation itself rejoices like worshipers in
the Temple (cf. Pss 96; 98). Kedar is located in the Arabian desert (see 21.16), and Sela is located in Edom.
42.1444.23: The Lord is the redeemer of Israel. The third contention in the series is that the Lord redeems
Israel. Insofar as Israel had suered punishment and exile at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians,
acting as agents of the Lord, such a contention is designed to answer claims that the Lord is an enemy to Israel
or that the Lord is powerless to redeem Israel. 42.1417: The Lords silence and inaction during the period of
Israels punishment has come to an end. The image of a woman in childbirth (cf. 13.8; 26.118) indicates that
the time for action has come. The passage evokes the wilderness tradition (see 40.35n.) to portray the Lords
guidance of Israel. The blind are now given light (cf. 6.910; 8.23). 1825: The passage addresses Israel as the
blind and the deaf, a recurrent image (6.910; 29.9,18; 32.3; 35.5; 42.16; 43.8) denoting spiritual imperception and
obtuseness. In fact, however, the Lord has controlled the fate of the nation all along. Now the time has come
for Israel to recognize the Lord as their redeemer. Although the Lord had revealed divine torah (teaching, v.
21) to the people, they were punished for having failed to observe the Lords instruction, improperly translated
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isaiah 43
Who is blind like my dedicated one,
or blind like the servant of the Lord?
He sees many things, but doesa not
observe them;
his ears are open, but he does not hear.
The Lord was pleased, for the sake of his
righteousness,
to magnify his teaching and make it
glorious.
But this is a people robbed and
plundered,
all of them are trapped in holes
and hidden in prisons;
they have become a prey with no one to
rescue,
a spoil with no one to say, Restore!
Who among you will give heed to this,
who will attend and listen for the time
to come?
Who gave up Jacob to the spoiler,
and Israel to the robbers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we
have sinned,
in whose ways they would not walk,
and whose law they would not obey?
So he poured upon him the heat of his
anger
and the fury of war;
it set him on re all around, but he did not
understand;
it burned him, but he did not take it to
heart.
43
But now thus says the Lord,

he who created you, OJacob,
he who formed you, OIsrael:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are
mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will
be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not

overwhelm you;
when you walk through re you shall not
be burned,
and the ame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopiab and Seba in exchange for
you.
Because you are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your ospring from the
east,
and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, Give them up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the
earth
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.
Bring forth the people who are blind, yet
have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears!
Let all the nations gather together,
and let the peoples assemble.
Who among them declared this,
and foretold to us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to justify
them,
and let them hear and say, It is true.
You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
a Heb You see many things but do
in v. 24 as law (cf. 2.24; 5.24). 43.17: The reassurance formula do not fear (cf. 7.4; 37.6; 41.10,14) emphasizes
that Israels punishment is now over and redemption is at hand. 2: The passage evokes the Exodus and wilderness tradition as Israel passes through waters (see, e.g., Ex 1415) as it returns from exile to its homeland.
Through re, cf. Ps 66.12. 3: Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba (or Sheba, a kingdom in southwestern Arabia), all of which
Cyrus was expected to conquer, serve as a ransom for the redemption of Israel from its exile. The return of the
exiles from throughout the world is a frequent theme in Isaiah (11.1516; 27.1213; 35.110; 49.22; 60.9).
43.844.23: The se+ing returns to the courtroom as the Lord substantiates the claims to redeem Israel
(see 41.15,2129). 43.813: The Lord calls both blind and deaf Israel (6.910; 42.1920; cf. 42.7) and the nations
to witness to the Lords claims. 9: The former things, the statements of the Lords plans found in the Isaian
tradition. Only the Lord can carry out Israels redemption; no idols can possibly manifest such planning and
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isaiah 43
and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
I, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no savior.
I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among
you;
and you are my witnesses, says the
Lord.
I am God, and also henceforth I am He;
there is no one who can deliver from
my hand;
I work and who can hinder it?
Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
For your sake I will send to Babylon
and break down all the bars,
and the shouting of the Chaldeans will
be turned to lamentation.a
I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.
Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a
wick:
Do not remember the former
things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not
perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honor me,

the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.
Yet you did not call upon me, OJacob;
but you have been weary of me,
OIsrael!
You have not brought me your sheep for
burnt oerings,
or honored me with your sacrices.
I have not burdened you with oerings,
or wearied you with frankincense.
You have not bought me sweet cane with
money,
or satised me with the fat of your
sacrices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your
iniquities.
I, I am He
who blots out your transgressions for
my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
Accuse me, let us go to trial;
set forth your case, so that you may be
proved right.
Your rst ancestor sinned,
and your interpreters transgressed
against me.
Therefore I profaned the princes of the
sanctuary,
I delivered Jacob to utter destruction,
and Israel to reviling.
power. 1415: Redeemer and Holy One are frequent designations for the Lord in this section of Isaiah (41.14;
47.4; 48.17;49.7; 54.5). Chaldea, a term for the Neo-Babylonian empire of Nebuchadnezzar. 1621: The Lord
is identied as the one who led Israel through the sea at the time of the Exodus (Ex 1415), the former things
of v. 18 which provide the foundation for understanding the new thing, i.e., the exodus from Babylon. Once
again, the Lord provides a highway in the wilderness for the people to return home (11.1516; 27.1213; 35.110;
40.35). Water in the wilderness recalls the wilderness tradition (Ex 15.2227; 17.17; Num 20.213). 2228: The
Lord justies past punishment of Israel, charging that the people did not honor the Lord appropriately with
sacrices, but sinned instead. Nevertheless, the Lord will not remember those sins now that the punishment is
over. 27: First ancestor, Jacob (cf. Hos 12.24). Interpreters transgressed, translation and meaning are uncertain;
perhaps it is a denunciation of optimistic prophets during the time of the monarchy who led the people astray.
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isaiah 44
44
But now hear, OJacob my servant,

Israel whom I have chosen!
Thus says the Lord who made you,
who formed you in the womb and will
help you:
Do not fear, OJacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my spirit upon your
descendants,
and my blessing on your ospring.
They shall spring up like a green tamarisk,
like willows by owing streams.
This one will say, I am the Lords,
another will be called by the name of
Jacob,
yet another will write on the hand, The
Lords,
and adopt the name of Israel.
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,

and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the rst and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,
let them declare and set it forth before
me.
Who has announced from of old the
things to come?a
Let them tell usb what is yet to be.
Do not fear, or be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and
declared it?
You are my witnesses!
Is there any god besides me?
There is no other rock; I know not one.
All who make idols are nothing, and the
things they delight in do not prot; their
witnesses neither see nor know. And so they
will be put to shame. Who would fashion
a god or cast an image that can do no good?
Look, all its devotees shall be put to shame;
the artisans too are merely human. Let them

all assemble, let them stand up; they shall be
terried, they shall all be put to shame.
The ironsmith fashions itc and works it
over the coals, shaping it with hammers, and
forging it with his strong arm; he becomes
hungry and his strength fails, he drinks no
water and is faint. The carpenter stretches
a line, marks it out with a stylus, fashions it
with planes, and marks it with a compass; he
makes it in human form, with human beauty,
to be set up in a shrine. He cuts down
cedars or chooses a holm tree or an oak and
lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes
it. Then it can be used as fuel. Part of it he
takes and warms himself; he kindles a re
and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and
worships it, makes it a carved image and
bows down before it. Half of it he burns in
the re; over this half he roasts meat, eats
it and is satised. He also warms himself
and says, Ah, I am warm, I can feel the re!
The rest of it he makes into a god, his idol,
bows down to it and worships it; he prays to it
and says, Save me, for you are my god!
They do not know, nor do they comprehend; for their eyes are shut, so that they cannot see, and their minds as well, so that they
cannot understand. No one considers, nor is
there knowledge or discernment to say, Half
of it I burned in the re; I also baked bread on
its coals, I roasted meat and have eaten. Now
shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood?
He feeds on ashes; a deluded mind has led
him astray, and he cannot save himself or say,
Is not this thing in my right hand a fraud?
a Cn: Heb from my placing an eternal people and

things to come
b Tg: Heb them

c Cn: Heb an ax
44.15: An oracle of salvation for Israel. 2: Jeshurun, one who is upright, is a poetic name for Israel (Deut 32.15;
33.5,26). 3: The passage employs the imagery of libation oerings poured out at the Temple at the festival of
Sukkot, Tabernacles, to celebrate the onset of the rainy season and fertility in the land. 68: A recapitulation
of earlier arguments for the incomparability of the Lord who has declared the divine plans for Israel from the
beginning (see 41.2129; 43.1013). 920: A lengthy and satirical prose polemic against idolatry, describing how
artisans meticulously fashion idols out of metal and wood and then declare the idol to be a god (cf. Wis 1315;
Let Jer). The blindness and deafness motif is here applied to the idols who can neither see nor hear (cf. 6.910;
hebrew bible | 1027
isaiah 45
Remember these things, OJacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you, you are my servant;
OIsrael, you will not be forgotten
by me.
I have swept away your transgressions
like a cloud,
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Sing, Oheavens, for the Lord has
done it;
shout, Odepths of the earth;
break forth into singing, Omountains,
Oforest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and will be gloried in Israel.
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the
heavens,
who by myself spread out the earth;
who frustrates the omens of liars,
and makes fools of diviners;
who turns back the wise,
and makes their knowledge foolish;
who conrms the word of his servant,
and fullls the prediction of his
messengers;
who says of Jerusalem, It shall be

inhabited,
and of the cities of Judah, They shall
be rebuilt,
and I will raise up their ruins;
who says to the deep, Be dry
I will dry up your rivers;
who says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd,
and he shall carry out all my purpose;
and who says of Jerusalem, It shall be
rebuilt,
and of the temple, Your foundation
shall be laid.
45
Thus says the Lord to his anointed,

to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him
and the gates shall not be closed:
I will go before you
and level the mountains,a
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
I will give you the treasures of
darkness
and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
a Q Ms Gk: MT the swellings
42.1820). 2122: Conclusion of the oracle in vv. 68. 23: Hymnic conclusion in which all creation celebrates
the redemption of Israel.
44.2448.22: The Lord will use Cyrus for the restoration of Zion. This lengthy unit constitutes the fourth
contention in the series. The claim that the Lord uses Cyrus to restore Zion is particularly controversial because the Persian king is a foreign monarch who displaces the role traditionally assigned to the Davidic king as
anointed one and Temple builder. Nevertheless, Cyruss conquest of Babylon in 539 bce opened the way for his
declaration that exiled Jews could return to their homeland to rebuild the Temple (2 Chr 36.2223; Ezra 1.14).
Since Cyrus does not restore Davidic kingship, the prophet determines that the Lord has declared Cyrus to be
the righteous king of Isaian tradition (9.17; 11.116; 32.18).
44.2445.8: The Lords announcement concerning Cyrus. The Lord announces the plan to use Cyrus as the
redeemer of Zion. 44.2428: Reiterations of the divine qualities and roles previously articulated. 25: Omens . . .
diviners, Babylonian religion was renowned for its use of techniques for determining the future. 28: Shepherd, a
common metaphor for ruler (56.11; Jer 23.4). Cyrus II (558530 bce), founder of the Persian Empire, is identied
with the Lords long established plans, including the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple, a role formerly
accomplished by David and Solomon. 45.17: Cyrus is commissioned to act as the Lords agent for restoration,
and is identied as the Lords messiah or anointed one to signify that the Persian king now occupies the role
once held by the Davidic kings. The imagery presupposes elements of the Babylonian Akitu or New Year Festival in which the Babylonian kings right to rule is renewed for the coming year. The king grasps the hand of
Marduk, the god of Babylon, and is granted the tablets of destiny as part of his authorization to rule. Cyrus was
authorized to serve as king of Babylon when he participated in the Akitu festival in 539 bce. The Lord here takes
1028 | hebrew bible
isaiah 45
the God of Israel, who call you by your
name.
For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I surname you, though you do not know
me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know
me,
so that they may know, from the rising of
the sun
and from the west, that there is no one
besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I the Lord do all these things.
and created humankind upon it;

it was my hands that stretched out the
heavens,
and I commanded all their host.
I have aroused Cyrusd in
righteousness,
and I will make all his paths straight;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,
Thus says the Lord:
The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise
of Ethiopia,e
and the Sabeans, tall of stature,
shall come over to you and be yours,
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow
down to you.
They will make supplication to you,
saying,
God is with you alone, and there is no
other;
there is no god besides him.
Truly, you are a God who hides
himself,
OGod of Israel, the Savior.
All of them are put to shame and
confounded,
the makers of idols go in confusion
together.
But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or
confounded
to all eternity.
Shower, Oheavens, from above,

and let the skies rain down
righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may
spring up,a
and let it cause righteousness to sprout
up also;
I the Lord have created it.
Woe to you who strive with your Maker,
earthen vessels with the potter!b
Does the clay say to the one who fashions
it, What are you making?
or Your work has no handles?
Woe to anyone who says to a father,
What are you begetting?
or to a woman, With what are you in
labor?
Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Will you question mec about my children,
or command me concerning the work
of my hands?
I made the earth,
For thus says the Lord,

a
b
c
d
e
Q Ms: MT that they may bring forth salvation

Cn: Heb with the potsherds, or with the potters
Cn: Heb Ask me of things to come
Heb him
Or Nubia; Heb Cush
on the role of Marduk, is declared to be the only God, and authorizes Cyrus to rule. 8: The heavens celebrate
Cyruss role with showers and a hymn of praise.
45.948.19: Trial scene concerning the Lords use of Cyrus as redeemer. The contention that the Lord had
chosen Cyrus as king was no doubt controversial. Once again, the Lord appears in court to support such claims.
45.919: An introductory court speech disputes any challenge to the Lords decision. For the metaphor of the
poer and the clay see 29.16; Jer 18.16. 14: Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba. In contrast to 43.3 where these nations
are given to Cyrus as a ransom, here their wealth will come to Israel when they are conquered by Cyrus. 2025:
hebrew bible | 1029
isaiah 46
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it a chaos,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the ospring of Jacob,
Seek me in chaos.
I the Lord speak the truth,
I declare what is right.
Assemble yourselves and come together,
draw near, you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge
those who carry about their wooden
idols,
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is no one besides me.
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has gone forth in
righteousness
a word that shall not return:
To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.
all who were incensed against him

shall come to him and be ashamed.
In the Lord all the ospring of Israel
shall triumph and glory.
46
Bel bows down, Nebo stoops,

their idols are on beasts and cattle;
these things you carry are loaded
as burdens on weary animals.
They stoop, they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but themselves go into captivity.
Listen to me, Ohouse of Jacob,

all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from your birth,
carried from the womb;
even to your old age I am he,
even when you turn gray I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
To whom will you liken me and make me
equal,
and compare me, as though we were
alike?
Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales
they hire a goldsmith, who makes it into
a god;
then they fall down and worship!
They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands
there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries out to it, it does not
answer
or save anyone from trouble.
Remember this and consider,a
Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,

are righteousness and strength;
An oer of salvation and a demand for Lord to be recognized as sovereign of all creation by the nations and
by Israel.
46.147.15: Presentation of evidence concerning the Lords power. Two major sections (46.113 and 47.115)
demonstrate the powerlessness of Babylons gods before the Lord. 46.14: This section draws on the imagery
of the Babylonian Akitu or New Year festival, when the gods are paraded through the streets of Babylon in
procession to the temple of Marduk, city god of Babylon, at the center of the city. Bel and Nebo appear as
burdens to those who carry them through the streets rather than as powerful gods who can act on behalf of
their people. Bel, meaning lord, is a title of Marduk, and Nebo is the city god of Borsippa and son of Marduk.
In contrast to their weakness, the Lord asserts the capacity to carry Israel as well as to redeem. 57: A satirical
1030 | hebrew bible
isaiah 47
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet
done,
saying, My purpose shall stand,
and I will fulll my intention,
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man for my purpose from a far
country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have planned, and I will do it.
Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from deliverance:
I bring near my deliverance, it is not far
o,
and my salvation will not tarry;
I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.
47
Come down and sit in the dust,

virgin daughter Babylon!
Sit on the ground without a throne,
daughter Chaldea!
For you shall no more be called
tender and delicate.
Take the millstones and grind meal,
remove your veil,
strip o your robe, uncover your legs,
pass through the rivers.
Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your shame shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
and I will spare no one.
Our Redeemerthe Lord of hosts is his
name
is the Holy One of Israel.
Sit in silence, and go into darkness,

daughter Chaldea!
For you shall no more be called

the mistress of kingdoms.
I was angry with my people,
I profaned my heritage;
I gave them into your hand,
you showed them no mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke
exceedingly heavy.
You said, I shall be mistress forever,
so that you did not lay these things to
heart
or remember their end.
Now therefore hear this, you lover of
pleasures,
who sit securely,
who say in your heart,
I am, and there is no one besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow
or know the loss of children
both these things shall come upon you
in a moment, in one day:
the loss of children and widowhood
shall come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries
and the great power of your
enchantments.
You felt secure in your wickedness;
you said, No one sees me.
Your wisdom and your knowledge
led you astray,
and you said in your heart,
I am, and there is no one besides me.
But evil shall come upon you,
which you cannot charm away;
disaster shall fall upon you,
which you will not be able to ward
o;
and ruin shall come on you suddenly,
of which you know nothing.
Stand fast in your enchantments
polemic against idols; see 40.1820; 44.920. 811: A reiteration of the incomparability of the Lord who predicts events and brings them to pass; see 40.25; 41.2529; 43.1013; 44.68. 11: The bird of prey from the east
is Cyrus. 47.115: Babylon is portrayed as a once magnicent princess who has been thrown to the dirt and humiliated before her conquerors. It was common for cities in the ancient Near Eastern world to be portrayed as
women or goddesses; cf. Jerusalems designation as daughter Zion (see 1.8n.; 37.22; 52.2). 57: Babylon, much
like the Assyrian king earlier (see 10.534; 14.2427), overstepped its bounds in oppressing Israel and failing to
recognize that it acted as the Lords agent. 811: Babylons boast of uniqueness is countered by the claim of the
God of Israels incomparability. 1215: Babylonian diviners and astrologers developed mathematics and other
hebrew bible | 1031
isaiah 48
and your many sorceries,
with which you have labored from your
youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed,
perhaps you may inspire terror.
You are wearied with your many
consultations;
let those who studya the heavens
stand up and save you,
those who gaze at the stars,
and at each new moon predict
whatb shall befall you.
and your neck is an iron sinew

and your forehead brass,
I declared them to you from long ago,
before they came to pass I announced
them to you,
so that you would not say, My idol did
them,
my carved image and my cast image
commanded them.
You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forward I make you hear
new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of
them,
so that you could not say, I already
knew them.
You have never heard, you have never
known,
from of old your ear has not been
opened.
For I knew that you would deal very
treacherously,
and that from birth you were called a
rebel.
See, they are like stubble,

the re consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the ame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
no re to sit before!
Such to you are those with whom you
have labored,
who have tracked with you from your
youth;
they all wander about in their own paths;
there is no one to save you.
48
Hear this, Ohouse of Jacob,

who are called by the name of Israel,
and who came forth from the loinsc of
Judah;
who swear by the name of the Lord,
and invoke the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
For they call themselves after the holy
city,
and lean on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
The former things I declared long ago,

they went out from my mouth and I
made them known;
then suddenly I did them and they
came to pass.
Because I know that you are obstinate,
For my names sake I defer my anger,

for the sake of my praise I restrain it for
you,
so that I may not cut you o.
See, I have rened you, but not liked
silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of
adversity.
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do
it,
a
b
c
d

Gk Syr Compare Vg: Heb from what
Cn: Heb waters
Cn: Heb with
sciences in their aempts to track the movements of the planets and the stars to determine the will of the gods.
Despite such expertise, Babylons eorts are useless before the Lord.
48.122: A series of courtroom summary speeches and concluding hymn reiterates the Lords right to use
Cyrus as the redeemer of Israel. 15: The fulllment of prophecies should have persuaded the people to recognize the truth of the Lords claims. 68: The new things are the conquests of Cyrus, which are destined to lead
to a change of fortune for Judah; cf. 43.1819. Proof is necessary because of Israels history of religious indelity.
911: The concern for the divine name or reputation and divine sanctity is also a prominent theme in Ezekiel
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isaiah 49
for why should my namea be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another.
Listen to me, OJacob,
and Israel, whom I called:
I am He; I am the rst,
and I am the last.
My hand laid the foundation of the
earth,
and my right hand spread out the
heavens;
when I summon them,
they stand at attention.
Assemble, all of you, and hear!
Who among them has declared these
things?
The Lord loves him;
he shall perform his purpose on
Babylon,
and his arm shall be against the
Chaldeans.
I, even I, have spoken and called him,
I have brought him, and he will prosper
in his way.
Draw near to me, hear this!
From the beginning I have not spoken
in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been
there.
And now the Lord God has sent me and
his spirit.
Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you for your own good,
who leads you in the way you should go.
Othat you had paid attention to my

commandments!
Then your prosperity would have been
like a river,
and your success like the waves of the
sea;
your ospring would have been like the
sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut o
or destroyed from before me.
Go out from Babylon, ee from Chaldea,
declare this with a shout of joy,
proclaim it,
send it forth to the end of the earth;
say, The Lord has redeemed his
servant Jacob!
They did not thirst when he led them
through the deserts;
he made water ow for them from the
rock;
he split open the rock and the water
gushed out.
There is no peace, says the Lord, for
the wicked.
49
Listen to me, Ocoastlands,

pay attention, you peoples from far
away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
while I was in my mothers womb he
named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
a Gk Old Latin: Heb for why should it
(e.g., 36.11,2123). The imagery of rened silver is drawn from 1.2425. 1216: First and last; see also 41.4; 43.10;
44.6. 14: Chaldeans, the Neo-Babylonian kingdom. 1719: The Lord reiterates the terms of the ancestral covenant with Abraham (Gen 15.5; 17.18; 22.1618) and with Jacob (Gen 28.1314; 35.915) to emphasize the cost to
Israel of its failure to observe the Lords commandments. 2022: The concluding hymn calls upon the exiles to
ee from Babylon and Chaldea and to journey through the wilderness as they make their way home. The theme
of water in the wilderness (Ex 17.17; Num 20.213) demonstrates the Lords sustenance on this new exodus
from Babylon. 22: See also 57.21.
49.154.17: The Lord is restoring Zion. The h and concluding contention in the series is the prophets
announcement that the Lord is restoring Zion. This lengthy unit focuses especially on the role of the servant
gure, earlier identied as Israel, in the divine plan.
49.113: Announcement concerning the role of the servant. The servant is dened both in relation to the
restoration of Israel and as a light to the nations. 16: The second of the servant songs (see 42.1n.) presents
the servant as an individual gure who is also identied as Israel. He is called from the womb much like Jeremiah
hebrew bible | 1033
isaiah 49
he made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be gloried.
But I said, I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing
and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
and my reward with my God.
And now the Lord says,
who formed me in the womb to be his
servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to
him,
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength
he says,
It is too light a thing that you should be
my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end
of the earth.
Thus says the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy
One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the
nations,
the slave of rulers,
Kings shall see and stand up,
princes, and they shall prostrate
themselves,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen
you.
Thus says the Lord:
In a time of favor I have answered you,

on a day of salvation I have helped you;
I have kept you and given you
as a covenant to the people,a
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages;
saying to the prisoners, Come out,
to those who are in darkness, Show
yourselves.
They shall feed along the ways,
on all the bare heightsb shall be their
pasture;
they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall
strike them down,
for he who has pity on them will lead
them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
And I will turn all my mountains into a
road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
Lo, these shall come from far away,
and lo, these from the north and from
the west,
and these from the land of Syene.c
Sing for joy, Oheavens, and exult,
Oearth;
break forth, Omountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his
suering ones.
But Zion said, The Lord has forsaken
me,
my Lord has forgotten me.
Can a woman forget her nursing child,
b Or the trails
c Q Ms: MT Sinim
(Jer 1.5). 3: The servant is here specically identied as Israel, although his task in v. 5 is to bring Israel/Jacob
to the Lord. 6: A light to the nations, see 42.59n. 712: An oracle of restoration. 7: The servants restoration
demonstrates the sovereignty of the Lord in the world; cf. 52.1315. 812: Covenant to the people, here the role
of the servant in relation to the people Israel who will be released from prison to return through the wilderness
to their homeland in a second exodus (see also 40.35; 41.1720; 43.19; 48.2022). 12: Syene, Aswan in Upper
(southern) Egypt at the rst cataract of the Nile, where a Jewish selement existed prior to the Persian conquest of Egypt in 525 bce. 13: The concluding hymn portrays the celebration of all creation at the restoration of
Israel (cf. 44.23; 45.8).
49.1452.12: The Lords announcement of the restoration of Zion. The Lord aempts to convince Israel that
despite her experience of exile the Lord will now return the nation to Zion. 49.1418: Many Jews in Babylonian
1034 | hebrew bible
isaiah 50
or show no compassion for the child of
her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of
my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
Your builders outdo your destroyers,a
and those who laid you waste go away
from you.
Lift up your eyes all around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, says the Lord,
you shall put all of them on like an
ornament,
and like a bride you shall bind them on.
Surely your waste and your desolate
places
and your devastated land
surely now you will be too crowded for
your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will
be far away.
The children born in the time of your
bereavement
will yet say in your hearing:
The place is too crowded for me;
make room for me to settle.
Then you will say in your heart,
Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away
so who has reared these?
I was left all alone
where then have these come from?
Thus says the Lord God:
I will soon lift up my hand to the
nations,
and raise my signal to the
peoples;
and they shall bring your sons in their

bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on
their shoulders.
Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing
mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall
bow down to you,
and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who wait for me shall not be put
to shame.
Can the prey be taken from the
mighty,
or the captives of a tyrantb be rescued?
But thus says the Lord:
Even the captives of the mighty shall be
taken,
and the prey of the tyrant be rescued;
for I will contend with those who contend
with you,
and I will save your children.
I will make your oppressors eat their
own esh,
and they shall be drunk with their own
blood as with wine.
Then all esh shall know
that I am the Lord your Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of
Jacob.
50
Thus says the Lord:

Where is your mothers bill of divorce
with which I put her away?
Or which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
No, because of your sins you were sold,
a Or Your children come swiftly; your destroyers

b Q Ms Syr Vg: MT of a righteous person
exile would have questioned the power of the Lord to protect the nation. In this section Zion is personied as a
woman (49.14; 50.1; 51.1752.2; 54.114; see 1.8n.). The Lord similarly is compared to a mother with her child and
claims not to have forgoen or abandoned the people (cf. 66.13). 18: This verse is echoed and developed in Bar
5.59. 2223: The raised hand of the Lord reverses the hand of judgment extended against Israel (9.710.4) and
recalls the banner that signals restoration (11.116). 2426: The rhetorical questions function here as assertions
of divine power insofar as the Lord can make these things happen. 50.111: The language of the courtroom appears once again as the Lord explains the divine role in Israels experience. 13: Rhetorical questions are used
to make the Lords case. Zion is portrayed as a mother, who was neither divorced nor sold to creditors to pay
the Lords bill. Instead, the Lord contends that she was sold for the sins of the nation. Nevertheless, the Lord
hebrew bible | 1035
isaiah 51
and for your transgressions your
mother was put away.
Why was no one there when I came?
Why did no one answer when I called?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot
redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
By my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a desert;
their sh stink for lack of water,
and die of thirst.a
I clothe the heavens with blackness,
and make sackcloth their covering.
The Lord God has given me
the tongue of a teacher,b
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out
the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like int,
and I know that I shall not be put to
shame;
he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?

All of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the voice of his servant,
who walks in darkness
and has no light,
yet trusts in the name of the Lord
and relies upon his God?
But all of you are kindlers of re,
lighters of rebrands.c
Walk in the ame of your re,
and among the brands that you have
kindled!
This is what you shall have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
51
Listen to me, you that pursue

righteousness,
you that seek the Lord.
Look to the rock from which you were
hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were
dug.
Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
but I blessed him and made him
many.
For the Lord will comfort Zion;
he will comfort all her waste places,
and will make her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
a Or die on the thirsty ground

b Cn: Heb of those who are taught
c Syr: Heb you gird yourselves with rebrands
asserts divine power as creator of the universe to redeem. 49: The third servant song (see 42.1n.) appears in
vv. 411, although vv. 1011 presuppose a dierent speaker. 4: The servant links himself with Isaiahs disciples
(see 8.16n.). 6: Obedience to God entailed suering (cf. 6.910, which calls for the suering of the people as
part of the divine plan). The persecution of the servant recalls that of Jeremiah (Jer 11.9; 20.12; 26.724). 1011:
The Lord maintains that those who refuse to fear the Lord and honor the servant kindle the re of their own
suering (cf. 1.2931). 51.152.12: Proof for the restoration for Zion. 51.18: The Lord addresses the righteous
who seek the Lord. The argument proceeds from the basis of the Lords promises to make Abraham and Sarah
into a great nation by which all nations will be blessed (Gen 12.23; cf. Gen 15.16,1721; 17.1522; 22.1518). To
fulll the ancestral promise, the Lord will comfort and restore Zion. Israel will then emerge as a basis for sending the Lords teaching (Heb torah) and justice to the entire world (cf. 2.24). Even if the world changes, the
1036 | hebrew bible
isaiah 51
Listen to me, my people,
and give heed to me, my nation;
for a teaching will go out from me,
and my justice for a light to the
peoples.
I will bring near my deliverance swiftly,
my salvation has gone out
and my arms will rule the peoples;
the coastlands wait for me,
and for my arm they hope.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and those who live on it will die like
gnats;a
but my salvation will be forever,
and my deliverance will never be ended.
Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
you people who have my teaching in
your hearts;
do not fear the reproach of others,
and do not be dismayed when they
revile you.
For the moth will eat them up like a
garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool;
but my deliverance will be forever,
and my salvation to all generations.
Awake, awake, put on strength,
Oarm of the Lord!
Awake, as in days of old,
the generations of long ago!
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
who pierced the dragon?
Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep;
who made the depths of the sea a way
for the redeemed to cross over?
So the ransomed of the Lord shall
return,
and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall ee away.
I, I am he who comforts you;
why then are you afraid of a mere
mortal who must die,
a human being who fades like grass?
You have forgotten the Lord, your
Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.
You fear continually all day long
because of the fury of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction.
But where is the fury of the oppressor?
The oppressed shall speedily be
released;
they shall not die and go down to the
Pit,
nor shall they lack bread.
For I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves
roar
I have put my words in your mouth,
and hidden you in the shadow of my
hand,
stretching outb the heavens
and laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, You are my
people.
Rouse yourself, rouse yourself!
Stand up, OJerusalem,
you who have drunk at the hand of the
Lord
the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
a Or in like manner
b Syr: Heb planting
promises of the Lord never change. 911: The prophet calls upon the arm of the Lord to act (cf. Ps 44.23) and
recounts past actions. Rahab is a mythological sea monster who is defeated by God before creation (Ps 89.10;
Job 26.12; cf. Ps 74.1217; Isa 27.1). Again, the Exodus from Egypt and the crossing of the sea illustrate the power
of the Lord to redeem Israel (Ex 1415; cf. Isa 11.1516; 27.1213). 1216: Israel should not fear human opponents
when the Lord, creator of heaven and earth, acts on their behalf. 14: The Pit, Sheol, the underworld (cf. 14.911).
1723: The prophet addresses Jerusalem, here portrayed as a woman who has suered at the hands of the Lord.
The metaphorical cup of divine wrath appears elsewhere (e.g., Jer 25.1529; Hab 2.1516). As a result of the devastation, Jerusalems children lie dead leaving no one to help her. The Lord announces the end of Jerusalems
hebrew bible | 1037
isaiah 52
the bowl of staggering.
There is no one to guide her
among all the children she has borne;
there is no one to take her by the hand
among all the children she has brought
up.
These two things have befallen you
who will grieve with you?
devastation and destruction, famine and
sword
who will comfort you?a
Your children have fainted,
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a net;
they are full of the wrath of the Lord,
the rebuke of your God.
Therefore hear this, you who are
wounded,b
who are drunk, but not with wine:
Thus says your Sovereign, the Lord,
your God who pleads the cause of his
people:
See, I have taken from your hand the cup
of staggering;
you shall drink no more
from the bowl of my wrath.
And I will put it into the hand of your
tormentors,
who have said to you,
Bow down, that we may walk on you;
and you have made your back like the
ground
and like the street for them to walk on.
52
Awake, awake,
put on your strength, OZion!
Put on your beautiful garments,
OJerusalem, the holy city;
for the uncircumcised and the unclean
shall enter you no more.
Shake yourself from the dust, rise up,

Ocaptivec Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
Ocaptive daughter Zion!
For thus says the Lord: You were sold for
nothing, and you shall be redeemed without
money. For thus says the Lord God: Long ago,
my people went down into Egypt to reside there
as aliens; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them
without cause. Now therefore what am I doing
here, says the Lord, seeing that my people are
taken away without cause? Their rulers howl,
says the Lord, and continually, all day long, my
name is despised. Therefore my people shall
know my name; therefore in that day they shall
know that it is I who speak; here am I.
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who
announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, Your God reigns.
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
a Q Ms Gk Syr Vg: MT how may I comfort you?

b Or humbled
c Cn: Heb rise up, sit
suering and declares that the cup of divine wrath will now be drunk by her oppressors. 52.16: The imagery
of restoration reverses many of the miseries described in Lamentations (cf. Lam 1.910,14,17; 2.10). The prophet
addresses Jerusalem as a woman once again (see 1.8n.; 37.22), and calls upon her to awake and to put on her
beautiful clothing because her suering is over. Foreign enemies will no longer enter or rape her and subject
her to captivity. 36: The Lord explains how Israel was oppressed both by Egypt (Ex 115) during the Exodus and
Assyria in more recent times. The Lord will therefore act to redeem the people and to put an end to the derision
of the divine name among Israels oppressors. When the Lord acts, the people will know their God. 710: As
in 40.9, the prophet once again describes the messenger who brings good news that the Lord is returning to
Zion (cf. Isa 40.9; Nah 1.15 [Heb 2.1]). 1112: In response to the Lords return to Zion, the exiles are called upon to
leave Babylon and to form a holy procession bearing the Temple vessels (see Ezra 1.711) as they return to their
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isaiah 53
and as one from whom others hide their
facesd
he was despised, and we held him of no
account.
Depart, depart, go out from there!

Touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of it, purify
yourselves,
you who carry the vessels of the Lord.
For you shall not go out in haste,
and you shall not go in ight;
for the Lord will go before you,
and the God of Israel will be your rear
guard.
See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were
astonished at hima
so marred was his appearance,
beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals
so he shall startleb many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because
of him;
for that which had not been told them
they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they
shall contemplate.
Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord
been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young
plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should
look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we
should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of sueringc and acquainted with
inrmity;
Surely he has borne our inrmities

and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and aicted.
But he was wounded for our
transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made
us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was aicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers
is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken
away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut o from the land of the
living,
stricken for the transgression of my
people.
53
a
b
c
d
Syr Tg: Heb you

Or a man of sorrows
Or as one who hides his face from us
homeland. Not . . . in haste, the exodus from Babylon will be dierent from the rst Exodus; cf. Ex 12.11; 13.2122.
52.1353.12: Announcement of the exaltation of the servant of the Lord. The fourth and nal servant song
(see 42.1n.) portrays the suering of the servant and his ultimate exaltation. Talmudic tradition identies the
servant with Moses, who suered throughout the wilderness journey (b. Sotah 14a), and early Christian tradition identies the servant with Jesus (Acts 8.3235). Second Isaiah identies the servant with Israel (49.3),
although the servants mission is to restore Israel and Jacob to the Lord (49.5). Other gures identied with
the servant include the prophet Jeremiah, who was persecuted throughout his life; King Josiah, who was killed
by Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo (2 Kings 23.2930); and King Jehoiachin, who was exiled to Babylon (2 Kings
24.1016). 52.1315: The disgurement and suering of the servant, but also his exaltation elicit astonishment
from foreign nations and rulers (cf. 49.7). 53.112: The intense suering of the servant is dened vicariously;
just as the Lord calls for Israel to be blind and deaf so that they will suer punishment (6.910), so the servant
now exemplies that role. His suering serves as a means to atone for the sins of the nation, much like a lamb
hebrew bible | 1039
isaiah 54
They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomba with the rich,b
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
For you will spread out to the right and to

the left,
and your descendants will possess the
nations
and will settle the desolate towns.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush

him with pain.c
When you make his life an oering for
sin,d
he shall see his ospring, and shall
prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall
prosper.
Out of his anguish he shall see light;e
he shall nd satisfaction through his
knowledge.
The righteous one,f my servant, shall
make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with
the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the
strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the
transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the
transgressors.
Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;

do not be discouraged, for you will not
suer disgrace;
for you will forget the shame of your
youth,
and the disgrace of your widowhood
you will remember no more.
For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
For the Lord has called you
like a wife forsaken and grieved in
spirit,
like the wife of a mans youth when she is
cast o,
says your God.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will gather
you.
In overowing wrath for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have
compassion on you,
says the Lord, your Redeemer.
54
Sing, Obarren one who did not bear;

burst into song and shout,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate woman
will be more
than the children of her that is married,
says the Lord.
Enlarge the site of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations
be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
This is like the days of Noah to me:

Just as I swore that the waters of Noah
a
b
c
d
e
f
Q Ms: MT and in his death

Cn: Heb with a rich person
Or by disease; meaning of Heb uncertain
Q Mss: MT lacks light
Or and he shall nd satisfaction. Through his
knowledge, the righteous one
sacriced at the Temple altar. 10: The servants ospring refer to those who follow his example and teaching
aer his death rather than indicating that he survived and was rehabilitated.
54.117: Restoration of the covenant between the Lord and Zion. Like other major sections of Second
Isaiah, 49.154.17 closes with a hymn (cf. 42.13; 44.23; 48.2022). 13: Zion is addressed once again as a woman
(cf. 49.14; 50.1; 51.1752.2). Much like Sarah (Gen 16.1), she is described as a barren woman. In keeping with the
promises to Abraham and Sarah, Zion will soon have so many children that her home will not be able to contain
them (Gen 12.23; cf. Gen 15.16,1721; 17.1522; 22.1518). 410: The reassurance formula (cf. 7.4; 37.6) informs
Zion that her time as an abandoned woman is at an end. The passage metaphorically identies the Lord as
Zions husband in keeping with Israelite tradition that posited a marriage relationship between the Lord and
1040 | hebrew bible
isaiah 55
would never again go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry
with you
and will not rebuke you.
For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from
you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be
removed,
says the Lord, who has compassion on
you.
Oaicted one, storm-tossed, and not
comforted,
I am about to set your stones in
antimony,
and lay your foundations with
sapphires.a
I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
your gates of jewels,
and all your wall of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the
Lord,
and great shall be the prosperity of your
children.
In righteousness you shall be
established;
you shall be far from oppression, for
you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come
near you.
If anyone stirs up strife,
it is not from me;

whoever stirs up strife with you
shall fall because of you.
See it is I who have created the smith
who blows the re of coals,
and produces a weapon t for its
purpose;
I have also created the ravager to destroy.
No weapon that is fashioned against
you shall prosper,
and you shall confute every tongue that
rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the
Lord
and their vindication from me, says the
Lord.
55
Ho, everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that
which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not
satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is
good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
a Or lapis lazuli
Israel (cf. Jer 2; Ezek 16; Hos 13; Zeph 3.1420). 8: Hid my face, cf. 8.1617. 9: Days of Noah, an allusion to the
eternal covenant made with Noah never again to destroy the earth by ood (Gen 9.817), invoked to illustrate
the permanence and validity of this new divine promise. 10: The covenant of peace signies Gods lasting commitment to be present with steadfast love (Heb hesed);
cf. 55.3; Num 25.1013; Ezek 34.25. 1117: The Lord
.
addresses Jerusalem as a bride about to be decked out in jewels before her wedding. 1113a: The new Jerusalem
is adorned with precious stones and gems by builders supernaturally instructed; cf. Ezek 28.1319. Christian
apocalyptic literature draws on this imagery to describe the new Jerusalem (Rev 21.1821). 17b: The future Jerusalem will be given to the servants of the Lord. The mention of this faithful segment of the people serves as a
point of transition to the last section of the book (cf. 56.6; 63.17; 65.89,1316; 66.14). Scholars are divided as to
whether the second part of the book (Second Isaiah) ends with ch 54 or ch 55.
55.166.24: Prophetic exhortation to adhere to the Lords covenant. The nal block of the book of Isaiah
calls upon the audience of the book to adhere to the Lord as the period of restoration is at hand. Although most
of this material is aributed to Third Isaiah, generally recognized as a collective designation for anonymous
prophets of the early Persian period, the block is introduced by the nal chapter of Second Isaiah in ch 55.
55.113: Exhortation to adhere to the Lord. 15: The prophet employs the metaphors of thirst and hunger
to invite the audience of the book to partake of what the Lord has to oer. The invitation is formulated in the
language of wisdom literature, which oen employs the metaphor of food to portray the pursuit of wisdom (cf.
Prov 9.16). 35: The prophet reiterates the Davidic covenant tradition with its promise of eternal kingship for
hebrew bible | 1041
isaiah 56
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting
covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the
peoples.
See, you shall call nations that you do not
know,
and nations that do not know you shall
run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy
One of Israel,
for he has gloried you.
For as the rain and the snow come down

from heaven,
and do not return there until they have
watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to
the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from
my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I
purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I
sent it.
Seek the Lord while he may be found,

call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may
have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the
Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the
earth,
so are my ways higher than your
ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For you shall go out in joy,

and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the eld shall clap
their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the
cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the
myrtle;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be
cut o.
56
Thus says the Lord:

Maintain justice, and do what
is right,
the house of David (2 Sam 7). Because no Davidic king would ascend the throne under Persian rule, however,
the prophet applies the Davidic covenant to the people of Israel at large. Just as David established an empire
over surrounding nations (2 Sam 8), Israel will now serve as a means to call nations to recognize the Lord (cf.
2.24). 613: The exhortation to follow the Lord addresses the audience directly (cf. 1.17; Am 5.6,14). The distinction between the righteous and the wicked in this passage is a rhetorical device to persuade the audience
to choose to be included among the righteous rather than to suer punishment with the wicked. 89: The
distinction between the ways and thoughts of the Lord and those of the audience builds the case that the
Lord planned for punishment to culminate in restoration. 1011: The passage reiterates the permanence of the
Lords word (cf. 40.8), and that it will accomplish the divine purpose (cf. 14.27). 1213: In contrast to the thorns
and thistles produced by Israel in the vineyard song (5.17), Israel will grow into cypress and myrtle as an everlasting sign of its relationship with the Lord (cf. 11.116). The imagery also recapitulates the theme of glorious
return in 40.35 and 48.2022, the beginning and end of chs 4048. It therefore indicates a point of closure at
a stage in the formation of the book. 13: Memorial, lit. name.
56.166.24: Portrayal of the restored covenant community. The collection of writings in chs 5666 is generally ascribed to Third Isaiah, a name for various anonymous prophets from the time of the early Persian period
restoration in the late sixth through the h centuries bce.
56.159.21: Instruction concerning proper observance of the covenant. The various subunits of this section of Isaiah oer instruction concerning the observance of the covenant with the Lord as the restoration
comes to fruition. 56.18: The passage begins with a general statement of principles concerning the Lords
1042 | hebrew bible
isaiah 56
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
Happy is the mortal who does this,
the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,
and refrains from doing any evil.
Do not let the foreigner joined to the
Lord say,
The Lord will surely separate me from
his people;
and do not let the eunuch say,
I am just a dry tree.
For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut o.
And the foreigners who join themselves
to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of
the Lord,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not
profane it,
and hold fast my covenant
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of
prayer;
their burnt oerings and their sacrices

will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of
prayer
for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.a
All you wild animals,
all you wild animals in the forest, come
to devour!
Israelsb sentinels are blind,
they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent dogs
that cannot bark;
dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber.
The dogs have a mighty appetite;
they never have enough.
The shepherds also have no
understanding;
they have all turned to their own way,
to their own gain, one and all.
Come, they say, let usc get wine;
let us ll ourselves with strong drink.
And tomorrow will be like today,
great beyond measure.
a Heb besides his gathered ones

b Heb His
c Q Ms Syr Vg Tg: MT me
expectations. Justice and righteousness are the basis of biblical law and subsequent Jewish tradition. 2: The
sabbath is the foundational observance of Jewish tradition, having been founded as the Lords day of rest from
the time of creation (Gen 2.13; cf. Ex 20.811; 31.1217; 20.811; Lev 19.30; 23.3; Deut 5.1215). 38: Foreigners
joined to the Lord refers to those who have converted to Judaism, much as Jethro (Ex 18) and Ruth (Ruth 1) were
viewed. Although Ezra and Nehemiah expelled foreign women from Jerusalem, those expelled maintained their
native languages and religious traditions without having converted (Neh 13.2330; Ezra 910; cf. Deut 7.16).
Deut 21.1014 denes the procedure for marriage to a foreign woman captured in war, and biblical laws constantly stress that foreigners may join Israel if they observe the Lords instructions (cf. Ex 12.4849; Lev 24.22;
Num 9.14; 15.2731). Eunuch, castrated, e.g., for service in a foreign court or harem. Deut 23.18 bans eunuchs,
Ammonites and Moabites, and those born of an illicit marriage from membership in the community, but the
present passage makes provision for eunuchs and foreigners if they observe the sabbath as the foundation of
the covenant with the Lord.
56.957.21: The Lords willingness to forgive those who repent and return to the Lord. 56.912: The prophet metaphorically compares Israels sentinels or leaders to wild animals and silent dogs, who lack understanding and serve only their own immediate interests (cf. 1.23; cf. Jer 12.89; Ezek 39.17). Alternatively, they are
drunks (see 5.1112; 28.1,713). Such characterization is designed to motivate the audience to accept the proph-
hebrew bible | 1043
isaiah 57
57
The righteous perish,

and no one takes it to heart;
the devout are taken away,
while no one understands.
For the righteous are taken away from
calamity,
and they enter into peace;
those who walk uprightly
will rest on their couches.
But as for you, come here,
you children of a sorceress,
you ospring of an adulterer and a
whore.a
Whom are you mocking?
Against whom do you open your mouth
wide
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
the ospring of deceit
you that burn with lust among the oaks,
under every green tree;
you that slaughter your children in the
valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks?
Among the smooth stones of the valley is
your portion;
they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink
oering,
you have brought a grain oering.
Shall I be appeased for these things?
Upon a high and lofty mountain
you have set your bed,
and there you went up to oer sacrice.
Behind the door and the doorpost
you have set up your symbol;
for, in deserting me,b you have uncovered
your bed,
you have gone up to it,
you have made it wide;
and you have made a bargain for yourself

with them,
you have loved their bed,
you have gazed on their nakedness.c
You journeyed to Molechd with oil,
and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far away,
and sent down even to Sheol.
You grew weary from your many
wanderings,
but you did not say, It is useless.
You found your desire rekindled,
and so you did not weaken.
Whom did you dread and fear
so that you lied,
and did not remember me
or give me a thought?
Have I not kept silent and closed my eyes,e
and so you do not fear me?
I will concede your righteousness and
your works,
but they will not help you.
When you cry out, let your collection of
idols deliver you!
The wind will carry them o,
a breath will take them away.
But whoever takes refuge in me shall
possess the land
and inherit my holy mountain.
It shall be said,
Build up, build up, prepare the
way,
a
b
c
d
e
Heb an adulterer and she plays the whore

Or their phallus; Heb the hand
Or the king
Gk Vg: Heb silent even for a long time
ets teachings concerning observance of the Lords covenant. 57.113: The prophet chastises Israel for idolatrous and immoral behavior. 12: A complaint that the probably violent death of the righteous goes unnoticed
and unlamented; cf. Ps 12.1; Mic 7.2. Placed here as a contrast with the polemic that follows. The righteous die in
peace, but their fate is ignored. 310: The prophet portrays non-Israelite fertility worship, oen associated with
sexual rites in the Bible (e.g., Num 25; Lev 18.2439). The language in these verses has much sexual innuendo.
6: Streams would be an appropriate place to pour out libations to the gods. 7: High mountains or hills are oen
sanctuary sites because they symbolize the majesty of the gods and more practically because grain is more
readily threshed in the winds that blow across hilltops. 9: Molech is a Canaanite god to whom children were
apparently sacriced (Lev 18.21; 20.25; 2 Kings 3.27; 23.10; Jer 7.31; 32.35); the spelling of his name is uncertain
because the vowels employed in it are taken from Heb boshet (shame). Sheol is the underworld. 1112: The
Lords rhetorical questions assert that the people feared their idols. The Lord claims to have remained silent
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isaiah 58
remove every obstruction from my
peoples way.
For thus says the high and lofty one
who inhabits eternity, whose name is
Holy:
I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with those who are contrite
and humble in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
For I will not continually accuse,
nor will I always be angry;
for then the spirits would grow faint
before me,
even the souls that I have made.
Because of their wicked covetousness I
was angry;
I struck them, I hid and was angry;
but they kept turning back to their own
ways.
I have seen their ways, but I will heal them;
I will lead them and repay them with
comfort,
creating for their mourners the fruit of
the lips.a
Peace, peace, to the far and the near, says
the Lord;
and I will heal them.
But the wicked are like the tossing sea
that cannot keep still;
its waters toss up mire and mud.
There is no peace, says my God, for the
wicked.
58
Shout out, do not hold back!

Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.

Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced
righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of
their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
they delight to draw near to God.
Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not
notice?
Look, you serve your own interest on your
fast day,
and oppress all your workers.
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to
ght
and to strike with a wicked st.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on
high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the
hungry,
through the period of Israels oppression and exile, but now the Lord has returned. 1421: The prophet now
turns to themes of restoration and a concluding diatribe. 1415: The motif of the highway that leads the exiles
home, as in the Exodus tradition (cf. 11.1516; 27.1213; 35.110; 40.35) is now applied metaphorically. The Lord
emphasizes that the time of judgment is now past and that the time of healing and peace has begun. 18: The
fruit of the lips, praise and joyful prayer in the place of mourning, as an accompaniment or substitute for sacrice (cf. Hos 14.2). 21: A concluding diatribe condemns the wicked who will have no peace (cf. 48.22).
58.114: A call to repentance and promise of restoration. The Lord calls upon the people to repent and denes the criteria by which they may observe the covenant. 12: The celebratory tone evokes festival observance
in the Temple, but the Lords rst demand is for righteous moral action to accompany holy ritual action. 35:
The questions of the people presuppose a time of distress that would have continued throughout the Babylonian exile as the people waited for a divine response that was long in coming. Fasting was a means to humble
oneself before the Lord in such a time of distress (cf. Zech 7.114; 8.1819; Joel 1.14; 2.15). 614: A denition of
genuine fasting. The Lord then spells out the means by which one should practice righteousness before the
Lord. Concern for the poor is a hallmark of biblical tradition, including both biblical law and the prophets (Ex
hebrew bible | 1045
isaiah 59
and bring the homeless poor into your
house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own
kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the
dawn,
and your healing shall spring up
quickly;
your vindicatora shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear
guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will
answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say,
Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the nger, the speaking
of evil,
if you oer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the aicted,
then your light shall rise in the
darkness
and your gloom be like the
noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched
places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of
many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the
breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
from pursuing your own interests on
my holy day;
if you call the sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;

if you honor it, not going your own ways,
serving your own interests, or pursuing
your own aairs;b
then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride upon the
heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your
ancestor Jacob,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
59
See, the Lords hand is not too short

to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
Rather, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
For your hands are deled with blood,
and your ngers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
your tongue mutters wickedness.
No one brings suit justly,
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
conceiving mischief and begetting
iniquity.
They hatch adders eggs,
and weave the spiders web;
whoever eats their eggs dies,
and the crushed egg hatches out a viper.
Their webs cannot serve as clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with
what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
Their feet run to evil,
and they rush to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity,
desolation and destruction are in their
highways.
a Or vindication
b Heb or speaking words
22.2127; 23.1011; Lev 19.910; Deut 14.2829; Isa 1.1017; Am 2.68). 9: When the people are righteous, the
Lord answers the prayers of the nation (cf. 1.1017, esp. v. 15) and rebuilds its ruins. 12: Ruins . . . foundations, a
reinterpretation of earlier promises of restoration (44.2628). 1314: The Lords instruction culminates in observance of the sabbath (cf. 56.18). For the nal formula see 40.5.
59.121: The lament of the nation will be answered when the Lord comes to restore those who repent. 18:
The prophet argues that the Lord has the power and the will to restore the nation, but the people have not
yet begun to practice righteousness. 2: Hidden his face, cf. 8.1617. 3: Hands . . . deled with blood, cf. 1.1820. 5:
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isaiah 60
The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths.
Their roads they have made crooked;
no one who walks in them knows peace.
Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us;
we wait for light, and lo! there is darkness;
and for brightness, but we walk in
gloom.
We grope like the blind along a wall,
groping like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among the vigorousa as though we were
dead.
We all growl like bears;
like doves we moan mournfully.
We wait for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
For our transgressions before you are
many,
and our sins testify against us.
Our transgressions indeed are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
transgressing, and denying the Lord,
and turning away from following our
God,
talking oppression and revolt,
conceiving lying words and uttering
them from the heart.
Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
for truth stumbles in the public square,
and uprightness cannot enter.
Truth is lacking,
and whoever turns from evil is
despoiled.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no one,
and was appalled that there was no one

to intervene;
so his own arm brought him victory,
and his righteousness upheld him.
He put on righteousness like a
breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his
head;
he put on garments of vengeance for
clothing,
and wrapped himself in fury as in a
mantle.
According to their deeds, so will he
repay;
wrath to his adversaries, requital to his
enemies;
to the coastlands he will render
requital.
So those in the west shall fear the name
of the Lord,
and those in the east, his glory;
for he will come like a pent-up stream
that the wind of the Lord drives on.
And he will come to Zion as Redeemer,
to those in Jacob who turn from
transgression, says the Lord.
And as for me, this is my covenant with
them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon
you, and my words that I have put in your
mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth,
or out of the mouths of your children,
or out of the mouths of your childrens
children, says the Lord, from now on and
forever.
60
Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen
upon you.
Adders and spiders are poisonous and represent sins that destroy the wicked (cf. Pss 58.34; 140.13). 915a: A
communal confession of sin, though only v. 12 is addressed to God (cf. Pss 51.5; 90.8). The passage appears to be
a meditation on 8.1623, which portrays divine absence and the people groping in darkness. 15b21: The Lord
prepares to come in judgment on seeing that there is no justice. 17: The Lords justice is described metaphorically as armor that a warrior puts on for bale. 1820: When the wicked are punished, Zion will be redeemed
(cf. 1.2728). 21: A promise of prophetic guidance (cf. 53.10; 61.14).
60.162.12: Proclamation of restoration for the nation. These chapters have strong similarities of content
and style with chs 4055. 60.19: Zions restoration, the return of the glory of the Lord, and the approach of
the nations bearing gis. As before, Zion is imaged as a woman (cf. 49.4; 52.12,712; 54.117). 1: Arise, shine, see
51.17; 52.12; and cf. 2.24; 8.23. 1b2: The glory of the Lord is described as it was in the wilderness tabernacle (Ex
hebrew bible | 1047
isaiah 60
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your
dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to
you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on
their nurses arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,a
because the abundance of the sea shall be
brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to
you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the
Lord.
All the ocks of Kedar shall be gathered
to you,
the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to
you;
they shall be acceptable on my altar,
and I will glorify my glorious house.
Who are these that y like a cloud,
and like doves to their windows?
For the coastlands shall wait for me,
the ships of Tarshish rst,
to bring your children from far away,
their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the Lord your God,
and for the Holy One of Israel,
because he has gloried you.

Foreigners shall build up your walls,
and their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you down,
but in my favor I have had mercy on
you.
Your gates shall always be open;
day and night they shall not be shut,
so that nations shall bring you their
wealth,
with their kings led in procession.
For the nation and kingdom
that will not serve you shall perish;
those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
the cypress, the plane, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary;
and I will glorify where my feet rest.
The descendants of those who oppressed
you
shall come bending low to you,
and all who despised you
shall bow down at your feet;
they shall call you the City of the Lord,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Whereas you have been forsaken and
hated,
with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic forever,
a joy from age to age.
You shall suck the milk of nations,
you shall suck the breasts of kings;
and you shall know that I, the Lord, am
your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of
Jacob.
Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
instead of iron I will bring silver;
a Heb be enlarged
40.3438), the Jerusalem Temple (1 Kings 8.113), and the restored Zion (4.25). 3: The approach of the nations
echoes the procession to Zion in 2.24. 4: Dispersed Judeans will return, assisted by Gentiles (also 49.12; 51.9
11; 60.89; 66.20). 59: Foreigners will bring gis to honor the Lord (cf. 45.14,2223; 60.11,16; Zeph 3.910; Hag
2.19). 67: The Arabian kingdoms Midian (Ex 2.15), Ephah (Gen 25.4), Sheba (Gen 10.17; 1 Kings 10.113), Kedar
(Isa 21.1317; Jer 49.2829), and Nebaioth (Gen 25.13). 9: Coastlands, the islands of the Aegean. Tarshish, either
in southern Turkey (later Tarsus) or in southern Spain. 1022: Whereas the nations in the past were brought by
the Lord for Zions punishment, now they will come to submit to her and to sustain her. 13: Lebanon was known
for its tall trees that were prized throughout the ancient Near East for splendid building projects, including the
Jerusalem Temple (2.13; 1 Kings 5.810). The place where the Lords feet rest is the Holy of Holies of the Temple
where the ark of the covenant served as the footstool for the Lords throne (cf. 66.1). 16: The breasts of kings, a
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isaiah 61
instead of wood, bronze,
instead of stones, iron.
I will appoint Peace as your overseer
and Righteousness as your taskmaster.
Violence shall no more be heard in your
land,
devastation or destruction within your
borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation,
and your gates Praise.
The sun shall no longer be
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give light to you by night;a
but the Lord will be your everlasting
light,
and your God will be your glory.
Your sun shall no more go down,
or your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be
ended.
Your people shall all be righteous;
they shall possess the land forever.
They are the shoot that I planted, the work
of my hands,
so that I might be gloried.
The least of them shall become a clan,
and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the Lord;
in its time I will accomplish it quickly.
61
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the
oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lords
favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in

Zion
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint
spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his
glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former
devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
Strangers shall stand and feed your
ocks,
foreigners shall till your land and dress
your vines;
but you shall be called priests of the
Lord,
you shall be named ministers of our
God;
you shall enjoy the wealth of the
nations,
and in their riches you shall glory.
Because theirb shame was double,
and dishonor was proclaimed as their
lot,
therefore they shall possess a double
portion;
everlasting joy shall be theirs.
For I the Lord love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;c
I will faithfully give them their
recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant
with them.
a Q Ms Gk Old Latin Tg: MT lacks by night
b Heb your
c Or robbery with a burnt oering
metaphor for the nations sustenance of Zion. 21: The shoot that I planted, cf. 6.1213; 11.116. 22: The concluding
statements recall the promise of both land and a numerous posterity to the ancestors (Gen 12.13; 15.56,1721;
17.18; 28.1015; 35.915). 61.17: This passage presupposes the persona of the servant from Second Isaiah (cf.
42.14; 49.16; 50.411; 52.1353.12). 12: The imagery evokes the priestly proclamation of a year of jubilee or release from debt (Lev 25.817). The year of jubilee was observed every ieth year as a means to forgive debt and
to return land and property to its ancestral owners. It is applied here to the return of Zion to its exiled people.
3b: Oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, see 6.1213; 11.19; cf. 5.17; 27.26. 6: The people of Israel will
serve as priests to the nations (cf. Ex 19.6). Their double portion recalls Zions double punishment (40.2). 89:
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isaiah 62
Their descendants shall be known among
the nations,
and their ospring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
that they are a people whom the Lord
has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of
salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of
righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a
garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her
jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in
it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness
and praise
to spring up before all the nations.
and your land Married;d

for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young
woman,
so shall your buildere marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the
bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.
Upon your walls, OJerusalem,
I have posted sentinels;
all day and all night
they shall never be silent.
You who remind the Lord,
take no rest,
and give him no rest
until he establishes Jerusalem
and makes it renowned throughout the
earth.
The Lord has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
I will not again give your grain
to be food for your enemies,
and foreigners shall not drink the wine
for which you have labored;
but those who garner it shall eat it
and praise the Lord,
and those who gather it shall drink it
in my holy courts.
62
For Zions sake I will not keep silent,

and for Jerusalems sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the
dawn,
and her salvation like a burning torch.
The nations shall see your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the
hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your
God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,a
and your land shall no more be termed
Desolate;b
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,c
Go through, go through the gates,

prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the highway,
clear it of stones,
a
b
c
d
e
Heb Azubah
Heb Shemamah
Heb Hephzibah
Heb Beulah
Cn: Heb your sons
An everlasting covenant with the restored people of Zion (cf. 54.910). 61.1062.12: Joy at the Lords restoration of Zion (61.1011). Just as Zion is dressed as a bride (52.12; 54.1114) and the Lord is dressed in the armor of
righteousness to redeem Zion (59.1621), so the prophet now dresses for the wedding that will celebrate the
reunion of the Lord and Zion. The imagery of growing shoots symbolizes the restoration (cf. 6.1213; 11.19).
62.112: The bridal imagery conrms Zions restored status. Whereas the nations were appalled at the sight of
the servant (52.1353.12), now they will witness the emergence of a beautiful Zion. 3: The crown of beauty also
symbolizes the restored walls of the city (4.2; 28.56). 4: No more be termed Forsaken . . . Desolate, cf. 54.1,6. 5:
The builder is now the Lord in contrast to 44.28 where it was Cyrus acting on behalf of the Lord. 69: The task
of the sentinels or watchers is to ensure that the Lord keeps the divine promise to restore Zion. The image is
based in part on the armed guards of a city, but it also presupposes the role of the priestly gatekeepers who ensured the sanctity of the Temple and its holy courts (1 Chr 9.1727; 26.119; cf. 2 Kings 11.48). 1012: Once again
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isaiah 63
lift up an ensign over the peoples.
The Lord has proclaimed
to the end of the earth:
Say to daughter Zion,
See, your salvation comes;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
They shall be called, The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord;
and you shall be called, Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.
63
Who is this that comes from Edom,

from Bozrah in garments stained
crimson?
Who is this so splendidly robed,
marching in his great might?
It is I, announcing vindication,
mighty to save.
Why are your robes red,
and your garments like theirs who tread
the wine press?
I have trodden the wine press alone,
and from the peoples no one was with
me;
I trod them in my anger
and trampled them in my wrath;
their juice spattered on my garments,
and stained all my robes.
For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and the year for my redeeming work
had come.
I looked, but there was no helper;

I stared, but there was no one to sustain
me;
so my own arm brought me victory,
and my wrath sustained me.
I trampled down peoples in my anger,
I crushed them in my wrath,
and I poured out their lifeblood on the
earth.
I will recount the gracious deeds of the
Lord,
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
because of all that the Lord has done
for us,
and the great favor to the house of
Israel
that he has shown them according to his
mercy,
according to the abundance of his
steadfast love.
For he said, Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely;
and he became their savior
in all their distress.
It was no messengera or angel
but his presence that saved them;b
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all
the days of old.
a Gk: Heb anguish

b Or savior. 9In all their distress he was distressed; the
angel of his presence saved them;
the prophet calls for the people to go out (48.2022), to prepare the highway (11.15; 27.1213; 35.110; 40.35),
and to raise the ensign (Heb nes; cf. 11.10; 49.22) to proclaim Zions restoration.
63.166.24: The prophets instruction concerning the process of Zions restoration. The nal unit of Third
Isaiah and the book as a whole focuses on the means by which the Lord will judge the wicked before the ideal
restoration can be achieved. Such a view aempts to explain why the ideals of the book have not yet been
achieved (e.g., 2.24; 9.17; 11.116) by charging that some among the people are wicked rather than by raising
questions about the Lords ability to bring about the restoration.
63.16: Vengeance on Edom. During the sixth through the fourth centuries bce, Edom disintegrated as
it was displaced by Arabian tribal groups that formed the Nabatean kingdom. The Isaian oracle explains the
Edomite decline as a deliberate act of the Lord (cf. ch 34). 1: Edom is located southeast of the Dead Sea and the
Negeb regions of Judah. Bozrah, a key city in Edom. 23: The prophet employs the imagery of treading wine
to depict the Lords blood-splaered clothing. Now that the vineyard has been restored (27.26), the harvest
metaphorically begins. 46: The Lords day of vengeance builds upon the Day of the Lord tradition in Isaiah
when evil is defeated (2.1021; 13.622; 34.817; 61.2).
63.764.12: A psalm of communal lamentation. 79: Recollection of Israels deliverance from Egypt. See Ex
23.20, which asserts that an angel would lead Israel through the wilderness. In Ex 13.1721, however, the Lord,
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isaiah 64
But they rebelled
and grieved his holy spirit;
therefore he became their enemy;
he himself fought against them.
Then theya remembered the days of old,
of Moses his servant.b
Where is the one who brought them up
out of the sea
with the shepherds of his ock?
Where is the one who put within them
his holy spirit,
who caused his glorious arm
to march at the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
to make for himself an everlasting name,
who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
they did not stumble.
Like cattle that go down into the valley,
the spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
Thus you led your people,
to make for yourself a glorious name.
Look down from heaven and see,
from your holy and glorious habitation.
Where are your zeal and your might?
The yearning of your heart and your
compassion?
They are withheld from me.
For you are our father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, OLord, are our father;
our Redeemer from of old is your name.
Why, OLord, do you make us stray from
your ways
and harden our heart, so that we do not
fear you?
Turn back for the sake of your servants,
for the sake of the tribes that are your
heritage.
Your holy people took possession for a
little while;
but now our adversaries have trampled
down your sanctuary.
We have long been like those whom you

do not rule,
like those not called by your name.
64
Othat you would tear open the

heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at
your presence
cas when re kindles brushwood
and the re causes water to boil
to make your name known to your
adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at
your presence!
When you did awesome deeds that we
did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked
at your presence.
From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for
him.
You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your
ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
because you hid yourself we
transgressed.d
We have all become like one who is
unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a
lthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take
us away.
There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you;
a
b
c
d
Heb he
Cn: Heb his people
Ch 64.1 in Heb
symbolized as the pillar of smoke and re, leads the nation. 10: But they rebelled, i.e., in the wilderness; see Ex
3234; Num 1125. 1519: Direct appeal for the Lord to look down and see. 17: The prophet takes up the motif
of the hardened heart, applied to Pharaoh in the Exodus tradition (Ex 7.35; cf. Isa 6.910) to demand that the
Lord cease aicting Israel. 18: The trampling of the sanctuary would refer to the Babylonian destruction of the
Jerusalem Temple. 64.13: A direct appeal to God, characteristic of the lament psalms, to intervene, to appear in
power as in the days of old (cf. Ex 19.1618; Judg 5.45; Ps 68.78; Hab 3.315). 5b7: The prophet reiterates the
Lords anger and hidden face from the people (cf. 8.1617). Having been ravaged, the nation has now become
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isaiah 65
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivereda us into the hand of
our iniquity.
Yet, OLord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
Do not be exceedingly angry, OLord,
and do not remember iniquity forever.
Now consider, we are all your people.
Your holy cities have become a
wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
Our holy and beautiful house,
where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned by re,
and all our pleasant places have become
ruins.
After all this, will you restrain yourself,
OLord?
Will you keep silent, and punish us so
severely?
with broth of abominable things in

their vessels;
who say, Keep to yourself,
do not come near me, for I am too holy
for you.
These are a smoke in my nostrils,
a re that burns all day long.
See, it is written before me:
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their laps
theirb iniquities and theirb ancestors
iniquities together,
says the Lord;
because they oered incense on the
mountains
and reviled me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
full payment for their actions.
Thus says the Lord:
As the wine is found in the cluster,
and they say, Do not destroy it,
for there is a blessing in it,
so I will do for my servants sake,
and not destroy them all.
I will bring forth descendantsc from
Jacob,
and from Judah inheritorsd of my
mountains;
my chosen shall inherit it,
and my servants shall settle there.
Sharon shall become a pasture for ocks,
and the Valley of Achor a place for
herds to lie down,
for my people who have sought me.
But you who forsake the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
65
I was ready to be sought out by those

who did not ask,
to be found by those who did not seek
me.
I said, Here I am, here I am,
to a nation that did not call on my
name.
I held out my hands all day long
to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices;
a people who provoke me
to my face continually,
sacricing in gardens
and oering incense on bricks;
who sit inside tombs,
and spend the night in secret places;
who eat swines esh,
a
b
c
d
Gk Syr Old Latin Tg: Heb melted

Gk Syr: Heb your
Or a descendant
Or an inheritor
impure. No one calls upon the Lord because the Lord is the source of Israels punishment. 812: A nal appeal
for the Lord to cease the divine silence and the punishment of the nation. Now that the Temple is destroyed,
the Lords relationship with the nation is in jeopardy. 8: Clay . . . poer, cf. 29.16; 45.9.
65.166.24: The Lords answer. The passage aempts to explain the failure of the nation to aain the
ideals stated in the book by charging that evil still exists among the people. 17: The people rejected the
Lord despite the Lords readiness to be sought. 34: Sacricing in gardens, non-Israelite fertility rituals
practiced in gardens (cf. 1.2831; 66.17). A list of abominations follows, such as tomb rituals to worship
or consult the dead (Deut 18.1112) and the eating of swines esh (66.17; Deut 14.8). 825: The seed of
Jacob will be restored in the new creation on Zion, but the wicked will be destroyed. 9: The descendants
of both Jacob (northern Israel) and Judah will be restored in keeping with the Lords covenant. 10: Sharon,
hebrew bible | 1053
isaiah 65
who set a table for Fortune
and ll cups of mixed wine for Destiny;
I will destine you to the sword,
and all of you shall bow down to the
slaughter;
because, when I called, you did not
answer,
when I spoke, you did not listen,
but you did what was evil in my sight,
and chose what I did not delight in.
Therefore thus says the Lord God:
My servants shall eat,
but you shall be hungry;
my servants shall drink,
but you shall be thirsty;
my servants shall rejoice,
but you shall be put to shame;
my servants shall sing for gladness of
heart,
but you shall cry out for pain of heart,
and shall wail for anguish of spirit.
You shall leave your name to my chosen
to use as a curse,
and the Lord God will put you to death;
but to his servants he will give a
dierent name.
Then whoever invokes a blessing in the
land
shall bless by the God of faithfulness,
and whoever takes an oath in the land
shall swear by the God of faithfulness;
because the former troubles are
forgotten
and are hidden from my sight.
For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever

in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be
heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out
a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be
considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred
will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit
them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their
fruit.
They shall not build and another
inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of
my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the
work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain,
or bear children for calamity;a
for they shall be ospring blessed by the
Lord
and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed
together,
a Or sudden terror
the coastal plain south of Akko and the Carmel, formerly desolate (33.9), and Achor, the barren valley south
of Jericho and west of the Dead Sea (Josh 7.24; Hos 2.15), will both become fertile pastureland. The border
regions of Israel will be secure. 1112: Fortune and Destiny, Heb Gad and Meni, deities of fate and good
luck venerated among Syrians, Arabs, and Nabateans. 1316: The contrasting fates of the wicked and the
Lords servants, i.e., those who are righteous. 1516: The names of the reprobate will serve as a curse, like
the names of the prophets Ahab and Zedekiah executed by the Babylonians (Jer 29.22). The giving of a new
name signies a new status (43.1,7; 44.15; 62.2). 1725: The new heavens and earth essentially constitutes a
new creation. Insofar as the Temple was the holy center of creation, its destruction and rebuilding entailed
a new creation. Life in the restored land will be idyllic. 17b: Former things, 43.18. 20: The prediction of vastly
increased life expectancy connotes a return to the original creation (cf. Gen 5). 2123: The future Israel will
witness the reversal of familiar curses aached to treaties and covenants; see 62.89; Deut 28.30. 22: Days
of a tree, cf. 6.1213; Job 14.79. 23: The imagery of successful childbirth reverses that employed to describe
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isaiah 66
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpentits food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord.
66
Thus says the Lord:

Heaven is my throne
and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build
for me,
and what is my resting place?
All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things are mine,a
says the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look,
to the humble and contrite in spirit,
who trembles at my word.
Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who
kills a human being;
whoever sacrices a lamb, like one who
breaks a dogs neck;
whoever presents a grain oering, like one
who oers swines blood;b
whoever makes a memorial oering
of frankincense, like one who
blesses an idol.
These have chosen their own ways,
and in their abominations they take
delight;
I also will choose to mockc them,
and bring upon them what they fear;
because, when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, they did not listen;
but they did what was evil in my sight,
and chose what did not please me.
Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word:
Your own people who hate you
and reject you for my names sake
have said, Let the Lord be gloried,

so that we may see your joy;
but it is they who shall be put to
shame.
Listen, an uproar from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
dealing retribution to his enemies!
Before she was in labor
she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her
she delivered a son.
Who has heard of such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day?
Shall a nation be delivered in one
moment?
Yet as soon as Zion was in labor
she delivered her children.
Shall I open the womb and not deliver?
says the Lord;
shall I, the one who delivers, shut the
womb?
says your God.
Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for
her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her
that you may nurse and be satised
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious bosom.
a Gk Syr: Heb these things came to be

c Or to punish
the Day of the Lord (13.8; cf. 26.1718). 2425: The idyllic portrayal of predators at peace with prey is drawn
from 11.69.
66.124: Restoration for the righteous. 14: The Temple (house) only symbolizes the divine reality of the
Lords sovereignty (see 1 Kings 8.27). A saying directed against false understandings and expectations associated with the Jerusalem Temple and its sacricial worship, rather than against the Temple as such or the project
of rebuilding. Without an aitude of humility, sacrice and oerings are of no use (cf. 1.1017); see also 65.34n.
6: The judgment to come has its source in the Temple; cf. Joel 3.16; Am 1.2. 79: Here miraculously easy childbirth symbolizes the downfall of the old world and the rise of the new (contrast 13.8; 26.1718; 37.3). 1014: The
imagery of the rejoicing Jerusalem extends the metaphor of childbirth to the portrayal of a nursing mother (cf.
54.117). River . . . overowing stream, now an image of prosperity; contrast 8.68, which portrays the Assyrian
hebrew bible | 1055
isaiah 66
I will extend prosperity to her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an
overowing stream;
and you shall nurse and be carried on her
arm,
and dandled on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
You shall see, and your heart shall
rejoice;
your bodiesa shall ourish like the
grass;
and it shall be known that the hand of the
Lord is with his servants,
and his indignation is against his
enemies.
For the Lord will come in re,
and his chariots like the whirlwind,
to pay back his anger in fury,
and his rebuke in ames of re.
For by re will the Lord execute
judgment,
and by his sword, on all esh;
and those slain by the Lord shall be
many.
Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the
one in the center, eating the esh of pigs,
vermin, and rodents, shall come to an end
together, says the Lord.
For I knowb their works and their
thoughts, and I amc coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and
shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among

them. From them I will send survivors to the
nations, to Tarshish, Put,d and Ludwhich
draw the bowto Tubal and Javan, to the
coastlands far away that have not heard of my
fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare
my glory among the nations. They shall
bring all your kindred from all the nations
as an oering to the Lord, on horses, and in
chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on
dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem,
says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring a
grain oering in a clean vessel to the house of
the Lord. And I will also take some of them
as priests and as Levites, says the Lord.
For as the new heavens and the new
earth,
which I will make,
shall remain before me, says the Lord;
so shall your descendants and your
name remain.
From new moon to new moon,
and from sabbath to sabbath,
all esh shall come to worship before me,
says the Lord.
And they shall go out and look at the
dead bodies of the people who have rebelled
against me; for their worm shall not die, their
re shall not be quenched, and they shall be
an abhorrence to all esh.
a
b
c
d
Heb bones
Gk Syr: Heb lacks know
Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb it is
Gk: Heb Pul
onslaught as a ood that will inundate the land. 1524: Judgment and new creation at Zion. 1516: Theophanies
and scenarios of judgment oen feature re (26.11; 29.56; 30.27,33; 31.9; 33.12,14; 34.10) and the Lords sword
(27.1; 31.8; 34.57). 17: See 65.34n. 1821: The gathering of the nations at Zion recalls 2.24. Tarshish, either
later Tarsus in southern Turkey, or Tartessus in Spain; Put, in Libya; Lud, Lydia in Asia Minor; Tubal, also in Asia
Minor; Javan, Greece or Ionia. Those taken to be priests and Levites are drawn from the returned exiles, not from
the nations. 2223: The new creation (cf. 65.1516) is declared permanent, like the old creation (Gen 9.817). 24:
The book closes with a portrayal of the fate of the wicked, designed to motivate the audience to identify with
the righteous.
JEREMIAH
name and canonical status
The book of Jeremiah, the second scroll among the major prophets alongside Isaiah and Ezekiel, is a compilation of prophetic oracles edited by members of the Deuteronomistic school and aributed to the prophet by
that name. For the dierent placement of the prophets in Hebrew and Christian Bibles see the essay on The
Canons of the Bible.
historical context
Jeremiah lived during the critical years spanning the golden age of the Judean king Josiah (640609 bce) and
the subsequent fall and destruction of Jerusalem and the deportations of the Judean population into captivity
(597586 bce), all at the hand of Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon. Some scholars think that Jeremiah was born in
627 bce and began his prophetic ministry only in 609 bce following the death of King Josiah. The traditional
assumption, however, suggested by the text itself and followed here, is that he began his ministry in 627 bce
(Jer 25.3) and prophesied until well aer the deportation of 586 bce and the subsequent murder of Gedaliah and
ight of a major group of Judeans to Egypt. Jeremiah, along with his friend and scribal colleague Baruch, was
forcibly taken by this group as a hostage to Egypt, where he is last heard speaking judgment oracles against the
community in the years following 586 bce.
Jeremiah was born during the nal years of the reign of King Manasseh (ca. 645 bce) and began his ministry
during the initial period of Josiahs reform movement. At this time the youthful king Josiah was rejecting the
accommodationist pro-Assyrian policies of his early advisers and beginning to ex his ambitious nationalistic
policies directed against his Assyrian overlords and toward the reunication of Israel and Judah (2 Chr 34.17).
As a part of these ambitious political goals, Josiahs thoroughgoing religious reform movement aempted to
remove the syncretistic elements of the accommodationist rituals, purge worship of non-Yahwistic practices
and elements, and reunify the country around the central power-base of Jerusalem, similar to the goals of the
reform movement of his great-grandfather, Hezekiah (2 Kings 18.18). Jeremiah, deeply steeped in the Deuteronomistic tradition of many of the prophets, was likely an early advocate of Josiahs reform, and Jeremiah held
Josiah in esteem as an exemplar of the righteous king (Jer 22.1516), a view shared with the Deuteronomistic
Historians (2 Kings 22.2; 23.25).
Josiah was killed in an adventurous and risky military move against Egypt in 609 bce (see 22.10n.), and the
reform almost certainly collapsed. By 605 Babylon was clearly in control of Palestine and the last kings of JudahJehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiahwere unable to avoid the awful results of Babylonian expansionism. Jehoiakim joined in a revolt against the Babylonians in 601 bce, which led to a Babylonian invasion and
the rst deportation of 597 bce. His uncle, Zedekiah, tried to walk a narrow line between the various political
factions demanding aention at the Jerusalem court, but he too eventually joined a revolt, leading to the nal
destruction of Jerusalem at the hand of the Babylonians in 586 and the second deportation of its population.
Jeremiah was from the town of Anathoth in Benjamin. He may therefore have belonged to the disaected
priestly clan of Abiathar, which had lost its Temple privileges centuries earlier when King Solomon consolidated his power and had his potential adversarieswho had supported his brother Adonijahs claims to the
throneeither eliminated or exiled (1 Kings 1.52.46). As part of this consolidation, Solomon promoted the
priestly family of Zadok, who supported him in the succession. With the Temple rmly in Zadokite priestly
hands, the descendents of Abiathar languished in rural sites, which themselves were eventually shut down
during the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah. As one of those descendants, Jeremiah may have been heir to sentiments that ran deeply in favor of the old tribal traditions and values and in opposition to the Jerusalemite
policies predominant since the reign of Solomon.
hebrew bible | 1057
jeremiah
JOSIAH (640609 BCE )
SHALLUM (609; elsewhere usually called Jehoahaz)

JEHOIAKIM (608598; elsewhere also called Eliakim)
JEHOIACHIN (597; also called Jeconiah and Coniah)
First Babylonian Siege of Jerusalem (597)
ZEDEKIAH (597586; elsewhere also called Mattaniah)

Fall of Jerusalem (586)
note: Dates are for reigns, not life spans. Dashed lines indicate genealogy.
The last kings of Judah in the book of Jeremiah.
structure and contents of the book

The book of Jeremiah was edited into three major cycles of oracles and traditions. Each cycle is more-or-less
chronologically ordered, and each is concluded by a reference to the creation of the scroll of 605 bce, wrien
at the dictation of Jeremiah by his scribal colleague, Baruch. References to this scroll are found in chs 25, 36,
and 45, and these references divide the book into its constitutive cycles. It is oen assumed that the scroll
produced at this time (the second scroll, Jer 36.32) formed the core of oracles now found in the rst cycle,
chs 124. The book concludes with a compilation of oracles against the nations in chs 4651. The book of
Jeremiah is unique in many regards, but especially because the Greek tradition diers from the Hebrew tradition in this book more than in any other. A major dierence is that the Greek tradition (the Septuagint) locates
the oracles against the nations not at the end of the book but rather immediately following an appropriate reference to this book at 25.13. This and other dierences between the Hebrew and Greek traditions
has convinced many scholars that the Greek tradition preserves earlier and beer traditions concerning the
oracles, the language of the text, and the character of Jeremiah. Both of these textual traditions are aested
among the Hebrew biblical texts found at Qumran (the Dead Sea Scrolls), indicating that the book of Jeremiah
had a uid editorial history.
interpretation
Jeremiahs message was closely related to the core values of the Deuteronomic tradition. A virulent antipathy
toward foreign gods, especially the Canaanite Baal, is combined with a erce devotion to the ethics and
mores of Deuteronomys humanitarian program. Jeremiah shares the basic commitments and outlook of the
Deuteronomistic History, even though the prophet is never mentioned in that history. Central to this outlook
is the conviction that the disastrous political events leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile
of its population were a direct result of divine anger at Israels continued apostasy. The gure of Jeremiah
became the subject of fascination in later history, as represented already in the Chroniclers history (2 Chr
35.25; 36.12,2122) as well as in the books of Daniel (9.2) and in deuterocanonical traditions (2 Macc 2.17;
15.1415).
guide to reading
The reader should take care to read each of the three cycles as an independent unit with its own chronological
ordering. When beginning a new cycle, be prepared for a chronological displacement that carries the reader
back in time. Read the relevant sections of the Deuteronomistic History, especially 2 Kings 2125, as is appropriate for understanding the political backdrop to the oracles and narratives.
Rodney R. Huon
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jeremiah 1
The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of

the priests who were in Anathoth in the
land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the
Lord came in the days of King Josiah son of
Amon of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his
reign. It came also in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, and until the end
of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah son of
Josiah of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fth month.
Now the word of the Lord came to me
saying,
Before I formed you in the womb I knew
you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
Then I said, Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not
know how to speak, for I am only a boy. But
the Lord said to me,
Do not say, I am only a boy;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command
you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.
Then the Lord put out his hand and

touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations
and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.
The word of the Lord came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said,
I see a branch of an almond tree.a Then
the Lord said to me, You have seen well, for
I am watchingb over my word to perform it.
The word of the Lord came to me a second
time, saying, What do you see? And I said,
I see a boiling pot, tilted away from the
north.
Then the Lord said to me: Out of the
north disaster shall break out on all the
inhabitants of the land. For now I am
calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the
north, says the Lord; and they shall come
and all of them shall set their thrones at the
a Heb shaqed
b Heb shoqed
1.13: Editors superscription. The superscription conforms to those of several of the prophetic books (Hos
1.1; Am 1.1; Mic 1.1; Zeph 1.1) and probably represents a stage in the gathering and editing of the books of the
prophets as a whole. 1: Priests . . . in Anathoth, see the introduction. The land of Benjamin lay immediately north
of Judah, and Anathoth was located about 3 mi (5 km) north of Jerusalem. 2: Thirteenth year. 627 bce (see 25.3),
taken by most to be the year when Jeremiah began his public ministry, one year aer the reform movement of
King Josiah of Judah began (2 Chr 34.3). 3: Eleventh year of King Zedekiah, 587 bce. In the h month recalls the
burning of the Temple and the razing of Jerusalem by the invading Babylonians (2 Kings 25.812; Zech 7.35).
1.419: Jeremiahs call as a prophet to the nations and his initial visions. 1:410: The call. The narrative of
Jeremiahs call follows a typical paern (see Ex 36; Judg 6.1118; Isa 6) involving Gods identication of a task
and commission of the called one to be Gods agent (v. 5), the excuses of the commissioned one (v. 6), Gods
promise to be with the commissioned one (vv. 78), and Gods giving a sign (vv. 910). 4: Word of the Lord,
the prophets primary area of responsibility was conveying the word, oen gained by visionary experience
(see 18.18; Ezek 7.26). 5: I formed you, as a poer creates from clay (cf. Gen 2.7). To the nations, the call narrative
introduces and presumes the entire book of Jeremiah, including the oracles against the nations. It portrays
Jeremiahs ministry as a critical moment in world history (cf. Jer 25). 6: A boy, indicating apprentice or assistant
status (see 2 Kings 4.12). Jeremiah protests his lack of experience. 9: Touched my mouth, the verb implying that
this divine action involved an object, such as Isaiahs coal (Isa 6.7). Perhaps Gods word was the object (15:16).
10: To pluck up . . . to plant, Jeremiahs twofold task of judgment and restoration, a common theme throughout
the book. Compare 18.79; 24.6; 31.28.
1.1119: Two visions of pending judgment. 11: Almond tree, a very early blooming tree, thus one that wakes
early and watches for spring. See textual notes a and b for a play on these words in Heb. On God as watching,
see 31.28 and 44.27. 1314: Out of the north, the mythological location of the mountain of the gods (Isa 14.13; Job
37.22) and of the ideal Zion (Ps 48.2); but also the direction from which Israels mythical and historical enemies
aacked (Isa 41.25; Zeph 2.13). The pot was boiling over as rst Assyria and then Babylon exercised expansionist
imperial policies against Judah and its neighbors. 15: Set their thrones at the entrance of the gates, at the place
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entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against
all its surrounding walls and against all the
cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them, for all their wickedness
in forsaking me; they have made offerings
to other gods, and worshiped the works of
their own hands. But you, gird up your
loins; stand up and tell them everything
that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them.
And I for my part have made you today a
fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze
wall, against the whole landagainst the
kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and
the people of the land. They will fight
against you; but they shall not prevail
against you, for I am with you, says the
Lord, to deliver you.
The word of the Lord came to me, saying:
Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord:
I remember the devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the Lord,
the rst fruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it were held guilty;
disaster came upon them,
says the Lord.
Hear the word of the Lord, Ohouse of

Jacob, and all the families of the house of
Israel. Thus says the Lord:
What wrong did your ancestors nd in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things, and
became worthless themselves?
They did not say, Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of
Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,
where no one lives?
I brought you into a plentiful land
to eat its fruits and its good things.
But when you entered you deled my land,
and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, Where is the
Lord?
Those who handle the law did not know
me;
the rulersa transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after things that do not prot.
Therefore once more I accuse you,
says the Lord,
a Heb shepherds
of judgment and justice; a sign of military conquest (39.3; 43.10). 16: Worshiped, indicating bowing down in
prostration. The works of their own hands are the images and idols of other gods fashioned by artisans (10.9). 17:
Gird up your loins, as if binding up a garment for hard travel on an assignment (2 Kings 4.29; 9.1) or strapping on
bale gear (Job 38.3; Nah 2.1). 18: The whole land, if the target is Judah. But Heb erets also means earth, and
expresses the universal commission of Jeremiah against nations and kingdoms.
2.13.5: Israels apostasy. Early oracles critical of Israels ckle devotion to God and Baal. 13: Recalls the
wilderness period immediately aer the Exodus in idealized terms as a period of delity to God (compare Hos
2.1415). In a land not sown (v. 2) there was no temptation to worship the fertility gods of Canaan. 3: Israel was
holy to the Lord, recalling that some sacrices were most holy and therefore reserved strictly for priestly
consumption. Those who encroached upon them were guilty (Lev 5.1516; 6.2529), just as are the nations who
have devoured Israel, Gods own holy portion.
2.48: Israel defiles the land. 5: Worthless things, or vaporous puffs of wind (Heb hebel), that which
is mere vanity (Eccl 1.2). 67: Israel is not only incapable of recalling its history, but is incapable of engaging in lament, of complaining Where is the Lord?! The loss of lament indicates the loss of relationship. 8: The priests did not say reminds the priests that they were to lead the community in such complaint,
and had failed to do so. If the community cannot complain to God, it cannot trust in God. Those who handle
the law, that is, the priests, whose task it was to instruct the community with Gods instruction or law (Heb
torah). Prophesied by Baal, the Canaanite god, one of the common accusations against the prophets; cf.
Hos 2.817. Things that do not profit (Heb yaal), a play on the name Baal (baal), i.e., they worshiped
Baal to no avail.
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and I accuse your childrens children.
Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
send to Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has ever been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for something that does not prot.
Be appalled, Oheavens, at this,
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
says the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living water,
and dug out cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns
that can hold no water.
Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn
servant?
Why then has he become plunder?
The lions have roared against him,
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, without
inhabitant.
Moreover, the people of Memphis and
Tahpanhes
have broken the crown of your head.
Have you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
while he led you in the way?

What then do you gain by going to
Egypt,
to drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what do you gain by going to
Assyria,
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
Your wickedness will punish you,
and your apostasies will convict you.
Know and see that it is evil and bitter
for you to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,
says the Lord God of hosts.
For long ago you broke your yoke
and burst your bonds,
and you said, I will not serve!
On every high hill
and under every green tree
you sprawled and played the whore.
Yet I planted you as a choice vine,
from the purest stock.
How then did you turn degenerate
and become a wild vine?
Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,
says the Lord God.
How can you say, I am not deled,
I have not gone after the Baals?
Look at your way in the valley;
2.913: Gods resulting legal accusation. 9: I accuse you, formal language for making a legal complaint.
10: From the coasts of Cyprus to Kedar, that is from the extremities of west to east. Cyprus, beer Kiim
(Heb kiiyyim; see Gen 10.4; Isa 23.1), a reference to the distant western lands in the Mediterranean (perhaps
Rome, as in Dan 11.30 or Greece, as in 1 Macc 1.1). On Kedar in northern Arabia, see 49.28n. 11: As in v. 8, the
phrase does not prot indicates that the Canaanite god Baal is meant. That Israel acts against simple reason,
natural instinct, and plain common sense is a frequent theme in Jeremiah (see 8.7). 13: Cracked cisterns, lit.
broken, i.e., severely damaged.
2.1415: The consequences of Israels apostasy. 14: The rhetorical questions beg a negative response. Of
course Israel is no slave. But that free status is dissonant with the present reality of subjugation. 15: The lions,
that is, Israels enemies.
2.1625: Israels wild promiscuity. Israel is here addressed as a young woman. 16: Memphis and Tahpanhes,
cities in Egypt (43.7; 44.1; 46.14,19). Broken the crown of your head, lit., they have grazed the top of your head
bare, perhaps a reference to shaving a womans head as a mark of humiliation. 18: Egypt . . . Assyria, the temptation was to make alliances with a stronger neighbor, Egypt or Assyria, in order to protect against other enemies
(2 Kings 16.7; Isa 31.1). Such alliances could involve worshiping the gods of the major treaty power, resulting in
religious apostasy. 21: Gods choice vine from purest stock turned into something wild, lit. foreign; see Isa 5:2.
23: The Baals, local manifestations of the chief Canaanite god of fertility. The Heb word baal meant master,
husband, owner, and Israels God might also be thought of as Israels husband or baal (3.14; 31.32; Hos 2.16),
thereby creating religious confusion. 23b24: The metaphor of animals in heat suggests the uncontrollable
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jeremiah 2
know what you have done
a restive young camel interlacing her
tracks,
a wild ass at home in the wilderness,
in her heat sning the wind!
Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary
themselves;
in her month they will nd her.
Keep your feet from going unshod
and your throat from thirst.
But you said, It is hopeless,
for I have loved strangers,
and after them I will go.
they accepted no correction.

Your own sword devoured your
prophets
like a ravening lion.
And you, Ogeneration, behold the word
of the Lord!a
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, We are free,
we will come to you no more?
Can a girl forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
As a thief is shamed when caught,

so the house of Israel shall be
shamed
they, their kings, their ocials,
their priests, and their prophets,
who say to a tree, You are my father,
and to a stone, You gave me birth.
For they have turned their backs to me,
and not their faces.
But in the time of their trouble they say,
Come and save us!
But where are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them come, if they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for you have as many gods
as you have towns, OJudah.
How well you direct your course

to seek lovers!
So that even to wicked women
you have taught your ways.
Also on your skirts is found
the lifeblood of the innocent poor,
though you did not catch them breaking
in.
Yet in spite of all these thingsa
you say, I am innocent;
surely his anger has turned from me.
Now I am bringing you to judgment
for saying, I have not sinned.
How lightly you gad about,
changing your ways!
You shall be put to shame by Egypt
as you were put to shame by
Assyria.
From there also you will come away
with your hands on your head;
Why do you complain against me?

You have all rebelled against me,
says the Lord.
In vain I have struck down your
children;
nature of Israels apostasy. 25: As in v. 22, what is strange or foreign is the apostasy that deles (v. 23). 2.2628:
Judahs confused apostasy. 26: A thief is shamed, the use of shame (Heb boshet) hints at Baal, since the word
shame was oen used in place of the name of Baal (see 2 Sam 3.8 textual note c). 27: The tree or wood pole
(Heb asherah) symbolized the goddess Asherah, and the standing stone symbolized the god Baal. But Israel
even confuses its apostate iconography and cannot tell father from mother.
2.2937: Gods legal suit against Israel. 29: Complain against, formal language of legal complaint. 30: Devoured your prophets, that Israel neglected the prophets is a refrain of the Deuteronomistic editor of Jeremiah
(7.25; 25.4; 26.5; 29.19; 35.15; 44.4); on killing prophets, see 1 Kings 19.10; Neh 9.26. 31: The rhetorical questions beg the answer Of course not. We are free, or We have wandered aimlessly, as though in a trackless
wilderness or in the darkness of night. Israel cannot nd its way to God. 32: Continues the theme of vv. 1011:
Israels behavior dees all logic, common sense and natural instinct (see also 8.45,7; 18.1415). 3337 are again
addressed to the young woman. 34: You did not catch them breaking in, if caught in the act of burglary, such
violence directed against the thief might be excusable (Ex 22.23). 36: Recalls the invasion of Judah and siege
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for the Lord has rejected those in whom
you trust,
and you will not prosper through them.
Ifa a man divorces his wife

and she goes from him
and becomes another mans wife,
will he return to her?
Would not such a land be greatly
polluted?
You have played the whore with many
lovers;
and would you return to me?
says the Lord.
Look up to the bare heights,b and see!
Where have you not been lain with?
By the waysides you have sat waiting for
lovers,
like a nomad in the wilderness.
You have polluted the land
with your whoring and
wickedness.
Therefore the showers have been
withheld,
and the spring rain has not come;
yet you have the forehead of a whore,
you refuse to be ashamed.
Have you not just now called to me,
My Father, you are the friend of my
youth
will he be angry forever,
will he be indignant to the end?
This is how you have spoken,

but you have done all the evil that you
could.
The Lord said to me in the days of King
Josiah: Have you seen what she did, that
faithless one, Israel, how she went up on
every high hill and under every green tree,
and played the whore there? And I thought,
After she has done all this she will return
to me; but she did not return, and her false
sister Judah saw it. Shec saw that for all the
adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had
sent her away with a decree of divorce; yet
her false sister Judah did not fear, but she
too went and played the whore. Because
she took her whoredom so lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with
stone and tree. Yet for all this her false
sister Judah did not return to me with her
whole heart, but only in pretense, says the
Lord.
Then the Lord said to me: Faithless
Israel has shown herself less guilty than false
Judah. Go, and proclaim these words toward
the north, and say:
Return, faithless Israel,
says the Lord.
a Q Ms Gk Syr: MT Saying, If
b Or the trails
c Q Ms Gk Mss Syr: MT I
of Jerusalem by the Assyrians in 701 bce (2 Kings 18.1319.28). 37: Your hands on your head, a sign of deep mourning (2 Sam 13.19).
3.15: No return is possible. 1: Will he return? The rhetorical question demands a negative answer; Deut 4.1
4 prohibits second marriages to the same person. Would you return to me? Although the analogy would exclude
the possibility of repentance and reconciliation between people and God, later passages in the chapter envision such restoration of the covenant relationship. In both Hebrew and Greek this is a statement rather than
a question, suggesting inappropriate and bizarre behavior. 2: Lain with, the MT contains alternate readings of
the verb. One is ravished (Heb shagal), which implies that Israel was a victim rather than complicit. Ancient
editors of the MT preferred to read shakab (lain with) instead, pointing to Israels complicity; cf. Zech 14.2
for the same distinction. Like a nomad (Heb arabi): Greek suggests reading like a raven (= Heb oreb); see
Isa 34.11; Zeph 2.14. 3: Israels behavior pollutes the environment and disrupts nature; see Hag 1.511. Forehead,
that is, stubbornness (cf. Isa 48.4). 4: The friend of my youth, Heb allup implies Gods cozy intimacy.
3.64.4: Call for faithless Israel and Judah to return. This section continues the theme of return (3.1).
3.613: Judah is worse than her sister Israel; cf. Ezek 16.4552; 23.121. 6: Days of King Josiah, 640609 bce.
High hill . . . green tree, high places were sites for illicit worship, and the wood pole/tree represented the
goddess Asherah (see 2.27n.). 8: Decree of divorce, see Deut 24.14. 9: Stone and tree, symbols of religious
apostasy; see 2.27n. 10: In pretense, lit. in the lie (Heb sheqer), code language for the Canaanite god Baal.
12: Toward the north, the kingdom of Israel lay to the north of Judah, and had earlier been carried away by the
Assyrians into captivity by her own northern enemies. What follows is directed to the Northern Kingdom.
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jeremiah 3
I will not look on you in anger,
for I am merciful,
says the Lord;
I will not be angry forever.
Only acknowledge your guilt,
that you have rebelled against the Lord
your God,
and scattered your favors among strangers
under every green tree,
and have not obeyed my voice,
says the Lord.
Return, Ofaithless children,
says the Lord,
for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two
from a family,
and I will bring you to Zion.
I will give you shepherds after my own
heart, who will feed you with knowledge
and understanding. And when you have
multiplied and increased in the land, in
those days, says the Lord, they shall no
longer say, The ark of the covenant of
the Lord. It shall not come to mind, or be
remembered, or missed; nor shall another
one be made. At that time Jerusalem shall
be called the throne of the Lord, and all
nations shall gather to it, to the presence
of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall
no longer stubbornly follow their own evil
will. In those days the house of Judah

shall join the house of Israel, and together
they shall come from the land of the north
to the land that I gave your ancestors for a
heritage.
I thought
how I would set you among my
children,
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful heritage of all the
nations.
And I thought you would call me, My
Father,
and would not turn from following me.
Instead, as a faithless wife leaves her
husband,
so you have been faithless to me,
Ohouse of Israel,
says the Lord.
A voice on the bare heightsa is heard,
the plaintive weeping of Israels
children,
because they have perverted their way,
they have forgotten the Lord their God:
Return, Ofaithless children,
I will heal your faithlessness.
a Or the trails
Merciful, also implying faithful and loyal. 13. Strangers, implying a dangerous and deling foreignness. See
2.25n. 3.1418: Israels restoration. These words are now directed toward a masc. plural subject, a syntactical shi indicating that this oracle is independent of the previous one. 14: I am your master (Heb baalti
bakem), the Hebrew word baal also means husband; see 2.23n. 15: Shepherds, that is, kings and leaders.
The term feed you comes from the same Hebrew root (lit., shepherd you). 16: Ark of the covenant, Judahs
central religious symbol had likely been removed in military aack and was no longer present in the Temple
by Jeremiahs time. Later tradition ascribed to Jeremiah the securing of the nal secret resting place for the
Ark of the Covenant, where he hid it following the destruction of the Temple (2 Macc 2.45) on Mount Nebo,
the same mountain near which Moses secret burial site was located (Deut 34.1,6). On the removal of such
important icons from religious memory, cf. the reference to the memory of the Exodus event (16.14; 23.7). 17:
Jerusalem . . . the throne, as part of the divine throne, the ark was Gods footstool (1 Chr 28.2; Ps 132.78). Now
Jerusalem itself will become Gods throne. 18: Land of the north, both Assyria and Babylon were symbolically
located in the north; see 1.14n.
3.1922a: Mixed oracles pleading for Israel to return. 19: Addressed to the young woman, whom God would
honor by seing her among Gods sons (NRSV children) for an inheritance. Normally women did not inherit
property, as illustrated by the case of the daughters of Zelophehad (Num 26.33; 27.17; 36.29; cf. also Job
42.15). 21: Bare heights, hot, dry, desolate, barren land, scene of Israels misery (see 14.6).
3.22b25: Israels confession. 23. A delusion (Heb sheqer), as in 3.10 a play on code language for the Canaanite god Baal. Orgies is a strong translation; Heb hamon implies only the tumultuous noise of a crowd
out of control. 24: Shameful thing, a reference to Baal; see 2.26n. Devoured, on Baals voracious appetite see
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Here we come to you;
for you are the Lord our God.
Truly the hills area a delusion,
the orgies on the mountains.
Truly in the Lord our God
is the salvation of Israel.
But from our youth the shameful thing
has devoured all for which our ancestors had
labored, their ocks and their herds, their
sons and their daughters. Let us lie down
in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us;
for we have sinned against the Lord our God,
we and our ancestors, from our youth even to
this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of
the Lord our God.
If you return, OIsrael,
says the Lord,

if you return to me,
if you remove your abominations from my
presence,
and do not waver,
and if you swear, As the Lord lives!
in truth, in justice, and in
uprightness,
then nations shall be blessedb by him,
and by him they shall boast.
For thus says the Lord to the people of
Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
Break up your fallow ground,
and do not sow among thorns.
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
remove the foreskin of your hearts,
Opeople of Judah and inhabitants of
Jerusalem,
or else my wrath will go forth like re,

and burn with no one to quench it,
because of the evil of your doings.
Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:
Blow the trumpet through the land;
shout aloudc and say,
Gather together, and let us go
into the fortied cities!
Raise a standard toward Zion,
ee for safety, do not delay,
for I am bringing evil from the north,
and a great destruction.
A lion has gone up from its thicket,
a destroyer of nations has set out;
he has gone out from his place
to make your land a waste;
your cities will be ruins
without inhabitant.
Because of this put on sackcloth,
lament and wail:
The erce anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us.
On that day, says the Lord, courage shall fail
the king and the ocials; the priests shall be
appalled and the prophets astounded. Then
a Gk Syr Vg: Heb Truly from the hills is

b Or shall bless themselves
c Or shout, take your weapons: Heb shout, ll (your
hand)
51.3344; cf. Bel 1.128. 25: Lie down in our shame. As Israel lay with Baal (3.2), so now they will lie in their
shame as the consequence mirrors the oense.
4.14: Gods appeal for Israels return, continuing the theme. 2: As the Lord lives, a call for sincere oathtaking in Gods name in judicial cases. Nations shall be blessed, Israels restoration would yield a blessing for
the nations; cf. Gen 12.23; 18.18. 3: The people are to live their lives as seed planted in freshly tilled soil; see
Hos 10.12. 4: Circumcise . . . your hearts, outward display must be matched by inward conversion; see Deut
10.16; 30.6.
4.56.26: The siege of Jerusalem by the enemy from the north. A lengthy section warning about the coming
invasion and siege of Jerusalem.
4.510: The sentinels and leaders are commanded to signal the a+ack of the foe from the north (see 1.14n.).
5: The trumpet was used for signaling, especially in bale (4.19; Judg 3.27; 6.34). But here the signal is for taking
refuge inside the walled city. 6: A standard, any visible marker, such as a pole or signal re, that could be seen
from a distance. The leers from Lachish, contemporary to this period, refer to the signal re from Azekah as
no longer visible, a signal that the end had come; see 34.7n. 7: A lion has gone up, a reference to Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon (605562 bce). But it is a mixed metaphor, since God, too, can be described as a lion on the
prowl (25.3638; 49.19; 50.44), or as one watching the people as a predator watches its prey (1.12; 5.6; 44.27).
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jeremiah 4
I said, Ah, Lord God, how utterly you have
deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying,
It shall be well with you, even while the
sword is at the throat!
At that time it will be said to this people
and to Jerusalem: A hot wind comes from me
out of the bare heightsa in the desert toward
my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse
a wind too strong for that. Now it is I who
speak in judgment against them.
Look! He comes up like clouds,
his chariots like the
whirlwind;
his horses are swifter than eagles
woe to us, for we are ruined!
OJerusalem, wash your heart clean of
wickedness
so that you may be saved.
How long shall your evil schemes
lodge within you?
For a voice declares from Dan
and proclaims disaster from Mount
Ephraim.
Tell the nations, Here they are!
Proclaim against Jerusalem,
Besiegers come from a distant land;
they shout against the cities of
Judah.
They have closed in around her like
watchers of a eld,
because she has rebelled against me,
says the Lord.
Your ways and your doings
have brought this upon you.
This is your doom; how bitter it is!

It has reached your very heart.
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in
pain!
Oh, the walls of my heart!
My heart is beating wildly;
I cannot keep silent;
for Ib hear the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war.
Disaster overtakes disaster,
the whole land is laid waste.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed,
my curtains in a moment.
How long must I see the standard,
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
For my people are foolish,
they do not know me;
they are stupid children,
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil,
but do not know how to do good.
I looked on the earth, and lo, it was
waste and void;
and to the heavens, and they had no
light.
I looked on the mountains, and lo, they
were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
I looked, and lo, there was no one at all,
and all the birds of the air had ed.
a Or the trails
b Another reading is for you, Omy soul,
10. Jeremiah charges God with deceiving the people by convincing them that everything will be peace (Heb
shalom). Normally aributed to the lying prophets (6.14; 8.11), this may reect promises that God would be
with the people (e.g., Deut 20.1; Isa 7.14). On the theme of God deceiving the prophets, see 1 Kings 22.1823.
4.1118: The siege is near. 11: From me is lacking in the Hebrew, though clearly God stands behind this invasion (v. 6). My poor people, lit. the daughter of my people. There is no sympathy suggested. This wind is too
strong to winnow, as it would blow both cha and grain away. Cf. 51.12. 15: The enemy sweeps over Dan in
the far north and through Ephraim in the center of Israel hurrying toward Jerusalem. 17: Like watchers, the term
besiegers (v. 16) connotes those who watch or guard against anyone escaping from the city under siege;
here a synonym is used of watching or guarding a eld, perhaps indicating the ease of so doing.
4.1928: The anguished voice of the prophet. Some scholars think that Jerusalem may be speaking in vv.
1921, as in v. 31; cf. 6.24; 10.1921. 19: For I hear, lit. for you have heard, O my soul. The sound of the trumpet
penetrates to the prophets very core; see textual note b. 20: Tents . . . curtains, though oen used of the sanctuary (see 10.20n.), here the terms likely refer to Israel as Gods dwelling (see 49.29; Isa 54.2; Hab 3.7). 22: Skilled
(lit. wise) in doing evil, in fact they are fools, the opposite of wise. 23: Waste and void, echoing Gen 1.2, these
verses envision the reduction of creation to primordial chaos. No light, even the rst act of Gods creation was
undone. 25: No one, lit. no adam, no rst human being.
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I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a
desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before his erce anger.
For thus says the Lord: The whole land
shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full
end.
Because of this the earth shall mourn,
and the heavens above grow black;
for I have spoken, I have purposed;
I have not relented nor will I turn back.
At the noise of horseman and archer
every town takes to ight;
they enter thickets; they climb among
rocks;
all the towns are forsaken,
and no one lives in them.
And you, Odesolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in crimson,
that you deck yourself with ornaments
of gold,
that you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
Your lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,
anguish as of one bringing forth her
rst child,
the cry of daughter Zion gasping for
breath,
stretching out her hands,
Woe is me! I am fainting before killers!
Run to and fro through the streets of

Jerusalem,
look around and take note!
Search its squares and see
if you can nd one person
who acts justly
and seeks truth
so that I may pardon Jerusalem.a
Although they say, As the Lord lives,
yet they swear falsely.
OLord, do your eyes not look for

truth?
You have struck them,
but they felt no anguish;
you have consumed them,
but they refused to take correction.
They have made their faces harder than
rock;
they have refused to turn back.
Then I said, These are only the poor,
they have no sense;
for they do not know the way of the Lord,
the law of their God.
Let me go to the richb
and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
the law of their God.
But they all alike had broken the yoke,
they had burst the bonds.
Therefore a lion from the forest shall kill
them,
a wolf from the desert shall destroy
them.
A leopard is watching against their cities;
everyone who goes out of them shall be
torn in pieces
because their transgressions are many,
their apostasies are great.
How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me,
and have sworn by those who are no
gods.
When I fed them to the full,
they committed adultery
and trooped to the houses of
prostitutes.
They were well-fed lusty stallions,
each neighing for his neighbors wife.
a Heb it
b Or the great
4.2931: Israel the rejected whore. 30: Crimson . . . gold, signs of wealth (2 Sam 1.24). Bejeweled and fully
made up, Israel hopes for a tryst but has already been rejected by her lovers; cf. Ezek 16.
5.19: No one is righteous. 1: In an extreme oer of vicarious merit, one righteous person would be
enough to pardon the city; cf. Gen 18.2333; Ezek 14.14,20. 2: As the Lord lives, see 4.2n. 4: The poor, implying
helpless, not expected to know beer. Law, lit. justice (so v. 1). 5: The rich, lit. the great, the important
people who ought to know by virtue of their social status. 6: Vicious predatory animals symbolize the
coming enemy, but God too can be cast as such an animal; see 4.7n. 7: Adultery . . . prostitutes, used sym-
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jeremiah 5
Shall I not punish them for these things?
says the Lord;
and shall I not bring retribution
on a nation such as this?
Go up through her vine-rows and
destroy,
but do not make a full end;
strip away her branches,
for they are not the Lords.
For the house of Israel and the house of
Judah
have been utterly faithless to me,
says the Lord.
They have spoken falsely of the Lord,
and have said, He will do nothing.
No evil will come upon us,
and we shall not see sword or famine.
The prophets are nothing but wind,
for the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them!
Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of
hosts:
Because theya have spoken this word,
I am now making my words in your mouth
a re,
and this people wood, and the re shall
devour them.
I am going to bring upon you
a nation from far away, Ohouse of
Israel,
says the Lord.
It is an enduring nation,
it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not

know,
nor can you understand what they
say.
Their quiver is like an open tomb;
all of them are mighty warriors.
They shall eat up your harvest and your
food;
they shall eat up your sons and your
daughters;
they shall eat up your ocks and your
herds;
they shall eat up your vines and your
g trees;
they shall destroy with the sword
your fortied cities in which you
trust.
But even in those days, says the Lord, I
will not make a full end of you. And when
your people say, Why has the Lord our
God done all these things to us? you shall
say to them, As you have forsaken me and
served foreign gods in your land, so you
shall serve strangers in a land that is not
yours.
Declare this in the house of Jacob,
proclaim it in Judah:
Hear this, Ofoolish and senseless
people,
who have eyes, but do not see,
who have ears, but do not hear.
a Heb you
bolically of religious apostasy, perhaps resulting from international contacts. 8: Neighing, normally used
only of humans shouting excitedly, it is used twice of horses (8.16; 50.11). God desires to pardon (v. 7), but
cannot hold back punishment and must avenge divine honor (v. 9). 9: A refrain in this section (see 5.29),
repeated in 9.9.
5.1019: Destruction comes in spite of Israels deluded self-condence. 10: Vine-rows, or perhaps rows of
olive trees, where oil is pressed (see Job 24.11). Do not make a full end, there need to be witnesses le who can
remember what happened (5.1819; see also 4.27; 30.11; 46.28). 12: He will do nothing, representing the false
words of the prophets (v. 14). The Hebrew is ambiguous, perhaps He is nothing or It will not happen. Evil, or
disaster, on Gods inability to act either for good or ill, cf. Zeph 1.12. 13: Wind, that is, spirit, an ironic statement about the lack of inspiration of prophetic visions. For the prophets responsibility for the word, see 1.4n.
14: The pronouns are confusing here. The syntax indicates that the people are the wood, and they will be set
are by Jeremiahs prophetic word, thereby consuming the ineectual prophets of v. 13. 15: This invading enemy
is likely either Assyria (if this is an early oracle) or Babylon (if a later oracle). 17: That enemies would devour the
harvest is characteristic of curses; see Lev 26.16; Deut 28.2537. 18: God will not make a full end so that there
might be some le who can ask what happened, and can witness to the disaster.
5.2031: Israels foolishness is evident in its lack of reverence for God and in its injustice toward the vulner-
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Do you not fear me? says the Lord;
Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand as a boundary for the
sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot
prevail,
though they roar, they cannot pass
over it.
But this people has a stubborn and
rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.
They do not say in their hearts,
Let us fear the Lord our God,
who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
the weeks appointed for the harvest.
Your iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have deprived you of
good.
For scoundrels are found among my
people;
they take over the goods of others.
Like fowlers they set a trap;a
they catch human beings.
Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of treachery;
therefore they have become great and
rich,
they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no limits in deeds of
wickedness;
they do not judge with justice

the cause of the orphan, to make it
prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the
needy.
says the Lord,
An appalling and horrible thing
has happened in the land:
the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule as the prophets
direct;b
my people love to have it so,
but what will you do when the end
comes?
Flee for safety, Ochildren of Benjamin,

from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,
and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem;
for evil looms out of the north,
and great destruction.
I have likened daughter Zion
to the loveliest pasture.c
Shepherds with their ocks shall come
against her.

b Or rule by their own authority
c Or I will destroy daughter Zion, the loveliest pasture
able. 21: Cf. Isa 6.910. 22: Sand as a boundary for the sea, like the waxing and waning of the tides of the ocean,
God has set a limit for the primeval chaos surrounding creation, beyond which it cannot pass; see Gen 1.28;
Job 38.811; Ps 104.9. 23: Stubborn and rebellious recalls the sort of perverse behavior by a child that has deadly
consequences (Deut 21.1821). Unlike such natural elements as the sea that honor their limits, Israel refuses
that which is natural. 24: The weeks appointed refers to the seven-week period between the rst cuing and
the festival of weeks or Pentecost (Deut 16.910). 26: They take over the goods of others, or perhaps They lurk
like hunters crouching. Given what follows (v. 27), the image here is that of hunting birds and stung them
into baskets. 28: As if trapping birds, the wicked trap the orphan and the needy, the most vulnerable members
of society; cf. Isa 1.17; Am 2.67; Mic 3.13; Zech 7.10; Ex 22.2124; Deut 24.1718. 29: See 5.9n. 31: The prophets
prophesy the lie (Heb sheqer), referring alternatively either to false condence in God or else to devotion to
the Canaanite god Baal, two aspects of the same oense. The priests rule as the prophets direct, lit. the priests
rule over their hands. Either the priests make decisions on the basis of false prophecy, or the priests dominate
the prophets and censor their message (see 20.12; 29.2627).
6.19: The a+ack surrounds Jerusalem. 1: The tribal territory of Benjamin was directly north of Jerusalem
and Tekoa, hometown of the prophet Amos (Am 1.1), was ca. 11 mi (18km) to its south. Again the trumpet and
signal (lit. an upraising) warn of aack. The verb blow (trumpet) (Heb tiqu) plays on the name Tekoa
(teqoa); see 4.56n. Beth-haccherem (vineyard house) is mentioned otherwise only in Neh 3.14, where it is a
district in Judah. Some scholars identify it here as Ramat-rahel, ca. 3 mi (5 km) south of Jerusalem. 3: Shepherds,
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jeremiah 6
They shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, all in their places.
Prepare war against her;
up, and let us attack at noon!
Woe to us, for the day declines,
the shadows of evening lengthen!
Up, and let us attack by night,
and destroy her palaces!
For thus says the Lord of hosts:
Cut down her trees;
cast up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be punished;a
there is nothing but oppression within
her.
As a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her wickedness;
violence and destruction are heard within
her;
sickness and wounds are ever before
me.
Take warning, OJerusalem,
or I shall turn from you in disgust,
and make you a desolation,
an uninhabited land.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Gleanb thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape-gatherer, pass your hand again
over its branches.
To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
See, their ears are closed,c
they cannot listen.
The word of the Lord is to them an object
of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.
But I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
I am weary of holding it in.
Pour it out on the children in the street,

and on the gatherings of young men as
well;
both husband and wife shall be taken,
the old folk and the very aged.
Their houses shall be turned over to
others,
their elds and wives together;
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,
says the Lord.
For from the least to the greatest of
them,
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
They have treated the wound of my
people carelessly,
saying, Peace, peace,
when there is no peace.
They acted shamefully, they committed
abomination;
yet they were not ashamed,
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who
fall;
at the time that I punish them, they
shall be overthrown,
says the Lord.
Thus says the Lord:
Stand at the crossroads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way lies; and walk in it,
a Or the city of license

b Cn: Heb They shall glean
c Heb are uncircumcised
enemy kings and their armies will surround Jerusalem. The verb used of pitching a tent is the same used of
blowing a trumpet in v. 1. 45: Alternating quotations of the enemy and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Prepare,
lit. sanctify, since war involved blood and required a state of ritual purity (see 2 Sam 11.11; Jer 51.27; Joel 3.9). 6:
Cut down her trees, permied for building siege ramps to storm defensive walls (see Deut 20.1920). 8: Turn from
you in disgust, the verb used here (Heb teqa) again plays on the name Tekoa (see vv. 1n., 3n.) and indicates a
dislocation of something, as in the dislocation of Jacobs hip (Gen 32.26). 9: Glean, Israel will be stripped clean
by its enemies. Gleaning was the practice of allowing the poor to come into a eld to pick what remained aer
the regular harvest (Deut 24.21).
6.1021: Israel refuses to heed the sentinels warning. Vv. 1215 are a near doublet of 8.1012. 11: The prophets personal agony; see 20.9. Taken, that is, captured by the enemy. 14: Prophetic promises of peace and well-
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and nd rest for your souls.
But they said, We will not walk in it.
Also I raised up sentinels for you:
Give heed to the sound of the
trumpet!
But they said, We will not give heed.
Therefore hear, Onations,
and know, Ocongregation, what will
happen to them.
Hear, Oearth; I am going to bring
disaster on this people,
the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not given heed to my
words;
and as for my teaching, they have
rejected it.
Of what use to me is frankincense that
comes from Sheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt oerings are not acceptable,
nor are your sacrices pleasing to me.
Therefore thus says the Lord:
See, I am laying before this people
stumbling blocks against which they
shall stumble;
parents and children together,
neighbor and friend shall perish.
Thus says the Lord:
See, a people is coming from the land of
the north,
a great nation is stirring from the
farthest parts of the earth.
They grasp the bow and the javelin,
they are cruel and have no mercy,

their sound is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
equipped like a warrior for battle,
against you, Odaughter Zion!
We have heard news of them,
our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
pain as of a woman in labor.
Do not go out into the eld,
or walk on the road;
for the enemy has a sword,
terror is on every side.
Omy poor people, put on sackcloth,
and roll in ashes;
make mourning as for an only child,
most bitter lamentation:
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
I have made you a tester and a renera
among my people
so that you may know and test their
ways.
They are all stubbornly rebellious,
going about with slanders;
they are bronze and iron,
all of them act corruptly.
The bellows blow ercely,
the lead is consumed by the re;
a Or a fortress
being are delusional; cf. Ezek 13.10. 17: Israel repeatedly refuses to heed the sentinels warnings. On the prophet
as a sentinel, cf. Ezek 3.1721. 20: Sheba, located in Arabia and valued for its spice trade (Isa 60.6; Ezek 27.22). All
these items, including sweet cane, were oered to God in smoke (burnt oerings) as a pleasing odor in Israels
Temple worship (see Gen 8.2021; Lev 1.9; Isa 43.24), but God rejects them if they are not accompanied by acts
of justice and mercy (Am 5.2124; 1 Sam 15.22).
6.2226: Refusing the warning, the enemy comes and Israel is called to ritual mourning. 22: On the enemy
from the north, see 1.14n. 23: Ride on horses, that is, ride on horse-drawn chariots, which were the major baleeld war machines, rather than riding horseback. 24: Now Israel hears the warning, but it is too late. A woman
in labor is a common metaphor for being in agony and distress. See 4.31; 13.21; 22.23. 25: Terror is on every side, a
refrain in Jeremiah (20.34,10; 46.5; 49.29). 26: My poor people, lit. daughter of my people (see 4.11). Sackcloth
. . . ashes, ritual actions associated with mourning and entreaty for divine favor in crisis situations (see Jon 3.6;
Isa 58.5; Dan 9.3).
6.2730: Conclusion to the oracles from the time of King Josiah: Israels nal rejection. God appoints Jeremiah to rene Israels metal (cf. Isa 48.10; Zech 13.9; Mal 3.24), but it is in vain. Jeremiah may be fortied with
bronze and iron (1.18), but Israel has proved to be a match, as they too are bronze and iron (v. 28). Israels dross
cannot be removed by any process of renement, no maer how hot the re. The section concludes with nal
words of divine rejection, bringing this rst section of the book to an ominous close.
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jeremiah 7
in vain the rening goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
They are called rejected silver,
for the Lord has rejected them.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the

Lord: Stand in the gate of the Lords
house, and proclaim there this word, and say,
Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of
Judah, you that enter these gates to worship
the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with youa in this place.
Do not trust in these deceptive words: This
isb the temple of the Lord, the temple of the
Lord, the temple of the Lord.
For if you truly amend your ways and
your doings, if you truly act justly one with
another, if you do not oppress the alien, the
orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent
blood in this place, and if you do not go after
other gods to your own hurt, then I will
dwell with you in this place, in the land that I
gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.
Here you are, trusting in deceptive words
to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make oerings
to Baal, and go after other gods that you
have not known, and then come and stand
before me in this house, which is called by

my name, and say, We are safe!only to go
on doing all these abominations? Has this
house, which is called by my name, become
a den of robbers in your sight? You know, I
too am watching, says the Lord. Go now to
my place that was in Shiloh, where I made
my name dwell at rst, and see what I did
to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.
And now, because you have done all these
things, says the Lord, and when I spoke to
you persistently, you did not listen, and when
I called you, you did not answer, therefore
I will do to the house that is called by my
name, in which you trust, and to the place
that I gave to you and to your ancestors, just
what I did to Shiloh. And I will cast you out
of my sight, just as I cast out all your kinsfolk,
all the ospring of Ephraim.
As for you, do not pray for this people,
do not raise a cry or prayer on their behalf,
and do not intercede with me, for I will
not hear you. Do you not see what they
are doing in the towns of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem? The children gather
wood, the fathers kindle re, and the women
a Or and I will let you dwell
b Heb They are
7.115: The Temple sermon opens the unit 7.110.25, which depicts the sickness, death, and funeral of Judah
along with Judahs acceptance of its fate. The Temple sermon is generally associated with the events of ch 26
and Jeremiahs rst arrest in 609 bce, given the thematic connections of chs 7 and 26. 3: Let me dwell, this is not a
request by God, but rather a promise expressing Gods strong intentionality that God will indeed dwell with the
people (or will indeed establish their dwelling, following both the MT and the Gk) under changed conditions.
4: The Temple was regarded as a place of sanctuary where one might seek refuge from reprisal (1 Kings 1.50;
2.28; see 17.1n.). The people believe that their mere presence in the Temple renders them safe (v. 10). Although
liturgical tradition expressed Gods protection of Jerusalem and the Temple (e.g., Pss 46; 48; 76; see also Isa
31.4; 37.35), it is deceptive (lit. a lie, Heb sheqer) to think that this necessarily assures Gods protection. The
threefold repetition implies that the phrase had become a clich. 57: The requirements for true sincerity are
consistent with the values expressed in Deuteronomy (5.7; 10.1819; 24.1722; 27.19) and in other prophets (Isa
10.2; 59.7; Hos 3.1). 9: Five of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20.117; Deut 5.621). 11: Den of robbers, they imagine
the Temple to be a bandit cave or hideout. 12: At rst, or formerly. On Eli and the fate of Shiloh, destroyed
during the early Philistine wars, see 1 Sam 46; Ps 78.60. The memory of Shiloh was important for Jeremiahs
own family, descended from the priests of Shiloh through Abiathar, Davids priest who was exiled to Anathoth
by Solomon. 14: Called by my name, characteristic of Deuteronomic theology, which speaks of God choosing
a place to put his name there (Deut 12.5; 14.23). 15: Ephraim, the tribe whose ancestor was the son of Joseph,
and the most important within the northern tribal group, here as elsewhere symbolizing the entirety of the
Northern Kingdom, which had been defeated and deported by the Assyrians more than a century earlier.
7.1620: Jeremiah prohibited from intercession, a critical function of prophetic identity (Am 7.2,5); cf. 11.14;
14.11. 18: Cakes for the queen of heaven, a ritual custom honoring the goddess Astarte (Babylonian Ishtar), goddess of fecundity and fertility; see also 44.1719 and cf. Judg 2.13; 10.6; 1 Sam 7.34; 2 Kings 23.13. Though the
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jeremiah 7
knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of
heaven; and they pour out drink oerings to
other gods, to provoke me to anger. Is it I
whom they provoke? says the Lord. Is it not
themselves, to their own hurt? Therefore
thus says the Lord God: My anger and my
wrath shall be poured out on this place, on
human beings and animals, on the trees of
the eld and the fruit of the ground; it will
burn and not be quenched.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God
of Israel: Add your burnt oerings to your
sacrices, and eat the esh. For in the day
that I brought your ancestors out of the land
of Egypt, I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt oerings and
sacrices. But this command I gave them,
Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and
you shall be my people; and walk only in the
way that I command you, so that it may be
well with you. Yet they did not obey or
incline their ear, but, in the stubbornness
of their evil will, they walked in their own
counsels, and looked backward rather than
forward. From the day that your ancestors
came out of the land of Egypt until this day,
I have persistently sent all my servants the
prophets to them, day after day; yet they
did not listen to me, or pay attention, but
they stiened their necks. They did worse
than their ancestors did.
So you shall speak all these words to

them, but they will not listen to you. You
shall call to them, but they will not answer
you. You shall say to them: This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord
their God, and did not accept discipline; truth
has perished; it is cut o from their lips.
Cut o your hair and throw it away;
raise a lamentation on the bare
heights,a
for the Lord has rejected and forsaken
the generation that provoked his wrath.
For the people of Judah have done evil
in my sight, says the Lord; they have set their
abominations in the house that is called by
my name, deling it. And they go on building the high placeb of Topheth, which is in
the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their
sons and their daughters in the rewhich
I did not command, nor did it come into
my mind. Therefore, the days are surely
coming, says the Lord, when it will no more
be called Topheth, or the valley of the son
of Hinnom, but the valley of Slaughter: for
they will bury in Topheth until there is no
more room. The corpses of this people will
be food for the birds of the air, and for the
animals of the earth; and no one will frighten
a Or the trails
b Gk Tg: Heb high places
worship of the queen of heaven was practiced chiey by women (so 44.15,19), the texts here indicate that the
entire family was actively involved; see also 44.17n. 19: To their own hurt, or to the shame (Heb boshet) of
their own face. The term boshet is code language for the Canaanite god Baal and for religious apostasy in
general. See 2.26n.; 3.24.
7.2126: Sacrice and obedience. While part of the sacrice was eaten by the one oering it, the burnt
oering was oered up whole to God in smoke. The eating of both typies the ritual abuses of Israel. 22: I did
not speak . . . concerning . . . sacrices, the Exodus preceded the giving of the sacricial laws at Sinai; see also
Amos 5.25. The custom of sacrice is but one illustration of the commitment one is to show toward God, and
ritual actions are no substitute or replacement for moral integrity (Isa 1.1117). 25: That God has persistently sent
all my servants the prophets is a principle of Deuteronomistic theology explicit in Jeremiah; see 25.4; 26.5; 29.19;
35.15; 44.4; 2 Kings 17.13,23; 21.10; 24.2.
7.278.3: Israels death announced. Israels lack of obedience leads to its death, consistent with the language of Deuteronomy (e.g., Deut 30.19). 27: Like Isaiah (6.911), Jeremiah will preach to an audience unwilling
or unable to hear. 29: Cut o your hair . . . raise a lamentation, both were funeral rituals (see 16.6n.). 31: High place,
see 3.6n. Topheth . . . in the valley of the son of Hinnom, the valley skirting Jerusalem to the south and west was
likely the site of many re-pits for garbage, but also the site for sacricing children in re for divine favor. The
custom was practiced even by Israels kings (Deut 18.10; 2 Kings 16.3; 21.6) but was proscribed in the reform of
King Josiah (2 Kings 23.10); see 19.25; 32.35. Topheth is also a burning place in Isa 30.33 (see textual note b
there). The name Valley of Hinnom (Heb ge hinnom) lies behind the later name Gehenna, used for the netherworld as a re-pit. 33: No one will frighten them away, exposure of a dead corpse was an act of desecration and
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jeremiah 8
them away. And I will bring to an end the
sound of mirth and gladness, the voice of the
bride and bridegroom in the cities of Judah
and in the streets of Jerusalem; for the land
shall become a waste.
At that time, says the Lord, the bones of
the kings of Judah, the bones of its ocials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the
prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of
Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs;
and they shall be spread before the sun and
the moon and all the host of heaven, which
they have loved and served, which they have
followed, and which they have inquired of
and worshiped; and they shall not be gathered
or buried; they shall be like dung on the surface of the ground. Death shall be preferred
to life by all the remnant that remains of
this evil family in all the places where I have
driven them, says the Lord of hosts.
You shall say to them, Thus says the

Lord:
When people fall, do they not get up
again?
If they go astray, do they not turn back?
Why then has this peoplea turned away
in perpetual backsliding?
They have held fast to deceit,
they have refused to return.
I have given heed and listened,
but they do not speak honestly;
no one repents of wickedness,
saying, What have I done!
All of them turn to their own course,
like a horse plunging headlong into
battle.
Even the stork in the heavens
knows its times;
and the turtledove, swallow, and craneb
observe the time of their coming;

but my people do not know
the ordinance of the Lord.
How can you say, We are wise,
and the law of the Lord is with us,
when, in fact, the false pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie?
The wise shall be put to shame,
they shall be dismayed and taken;
since they have rejected the word of the
Lord,
what wisdom is in them?
Therefore I will give their wives to others
and their elds to conquerors,
because from the least to the greatest
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
from prophet to priest
everyone deals falsely.
They have treated the wound of my
people carelessly,
saying, Peace, peace,
when there is no peace.
They acted shamefully, they committed
abomination;
yet they were not at all ashamed,
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who
fall;
at the time when I punish them, they
shall be overthrown,
says the Lord.
When I wanted to gather them, says the
Lord,
there arec no grapes on the vine,
a One Ms Gk: MT this people, Jerusalem,
c Or I will make an end of them, says the Lord. There
are
shaming. On the importance of keeping birds and animals away from a corpse, see 2 Sam 21.110. 34: On this
formulaic language see 16.9; 25.10; 33.11. 8.13: On exhuming the remains as a way of shaming the deceased,
see 16.4; 1 Kings 13.2; 2 Kings 23.14,16. Bones were also unclean, so spreading them upon sacred sites deled
the worship of the deities mentioned here. 2: All the host of heaven, the stars, astral deities whose worship was
forbidden (Deut 4.19; 17.3; 2 Kings 23.45; cf. 7.1718).
8.49.26: Israels wisdom is reduced to the funeral dirge. 8.412: Israels false claim to wisdom. Though
human behavior is conditioned by nature (v. 4) and though nature is infused with wisdom (8.7, birds migrate
with seasons), Israels claim to wisdom is a sham (8.89), both because of its moral failure (v. 10) and for promoting false optimism in a time of national crisis (v. 11). 8: False pen of the scribes, normally it is the priest who
is responsible for guarding and dispensing law or instruction (Heb torah). Perhaps what is meant here is the
learned priest who also functions in such a literary capacity like Ezra the priest, who was also a scribe, a scholar
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jeremiah 9
nor gs on the g tree;
even the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away
from them.a
Why do we sit still?
Gather together, let us go into the fortied
cities
and perish there;
for the Lord our God has doomed us to
perish,
and has given us poisoned water to
drink,
because we have sinned against the
Lord.
We look for peace, but nd no good,
for a time of healing, but there is terror
instead.
The snorting of their horses is heard
from Dan;
at the sound of the neighing of their
stallions
the whole land quakes.
They come and devour the land and all
that lls it,
the city and those who live in it.
See, I am letting snakes loose among
you,
adders that cannot be charmed,
and they shall bite you,
says the Lord.
My joy is gone, grief is upon me,
my heart is sick.
Hark, the cry of my poor
people
from far and wide in the land:
Is the Lord not in Zion?

Is her King not in her?
(Why have they provoked me to anger
with their images,
with their foreign idols?)
The harvest is past, the summer is
ended,
and we are not saved.
For the hurt of my poor people I am
hurt,
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold
of me.
Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of my poor
people
not been restored?
b Othat my head were a spring of
water,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
so that I might weep day and night
for the slain of my poor people!
cOthat I had in the desert
a travelers lodging place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all adulterers,
a band of traitors.
They bend their tongues like bows;
they have grown strong in the land for
falsehood, and not for truth;

b Ch 8.23 in Heb
c Ch 9.1 in Heb
of the text of the Torah (Ezra 7.11). 1012: Cf. the near doublet at 6.1215. 1314: Gather, a term associated with
ingathering of fruit at the fall harvest. There is no produce to be gathered, so the people seek to gather
themselves for death. 16: Horses, the horse was the chief animal of warfare (see 6.23n.), signaling that the
enemy armies are pressing in from Dan, in the far north of the country; cf. 4.15. 17: The adder represents those
snakes known to be nonresponsive to being charmed by whispering; see Ps 58.45; Eccl 10.11.
8.189.3: Israel is sick unto death, and God grieves. 8.19: My poor people, lit. daughter (of) my people. See
4.11; 6.26. Of course the king (God) is in Zion, and it is thus an oense that they have not removed the images
and idols from Gods presence. 2021: The harvest is past, see 8.1314n. Death and mourning rituals are near at
hand. 22: Balm in Gilead, the region of Gilead, in the north of Israels territory in Transjordan, was known for
its medicinal herbs (46.11; Gen 37.25). The question begs a positive response, thereby seing up an intolerable
incongruity between what ought to be and what is in fact the case. With plenty of medicine at hand, Jerusalem
is dying. 9.1: Spring of water, the people have drunk poison water (Heb me-rosh, 8.14), but an entire head
of waters (Heb roshi mayim) cannot provide tears enough to mourn Israels death. 3: Bend their tongues like
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jeremiah 9
for they proceed from evil to evil,
and they do not know me, says the Lord.
Beware of your neighbors,
and put no trust in any of your kin;a
for all your kinb are supplanters,
and every neighbor goes around like a
slanderer.
They all deceive their neighbors,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongues to speak
lies;
they commit iniquity and are too weary
to repent.c
Oppression upon oppression, deceitd
upon deceit!
They refuse to know me, says the Lord.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
I will now rene and test them,
for what else can I do with my sinful
people?e
Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceit through the mouth.
They all speak friendly words to their
neighbors,
but inwardly are planning to lay an
ambush.
says the Lord;
Take upf weeping and wailing for the
mountains,
and a lamentation for the pastures of
the wilderness,
because they are laid waste so that no one
passes through,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard;

both the birds of the air and the animals
have ed and are gone.
I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
a lair of jackals;
and I will make the towns of Judah a
desolation,
without inhabitant.
Who is wise enough to understand this?
To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken,
so that they may declare it? Why is the land
ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so
that no one passes through? And the Lord
says: Because they have forsaken my law that
I set before them, and have not obeyed my
voice, or walked in accordance with it, but
have stubbornly followed their own hearts
and have gone after the Baals, as their ancestors taught them. Therefore thus says the
Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am feeding
this people with wormwood, and giving them
poisonous water to drink. I will scatter
them among nations that neither they nor
their ancestors have known; and I will send
the sword after them, until I have consumed
them.
Consider, and call for the mourning
women to come;
a Heb in a brother
b Heb for every brother
c Cn Compare Gk: Heb they weary themselves with
iniquity. 6Your dwelling
d Cn: Heb Your dwelling in the midst of deceit

e Or my poor people
f Gk Syr: Heb I will take up
bows. That is, they string (lit. thread) their tongues so that their words can be shot like deadly arrows; cf. v. 8
where the tongue is now the arrow.
9.49: The Lords warnings: Supplanters (Heb aqob yaqob), Israel is characterized by its name, Jacob
(yaaqob), and is full of oppression and deceit. On Jacobs twofold supplanting of his brother, see Gen 27.36;
cf. Gen 25.26 (textual note d); Hos 12.3. 4: Slanderer (Heb rakil), perhaps a play on the name of Jacobs wife
Rachel (rahel).
7: Rene and test them, such eorts in purging Israel of its dross have already proven ineective
.
(see 6.2730n.). Sinful people, lit. daughter (of) my people, as in 8.19. 9: See 5.9n.
9.1026: Only the professional singers of the funeral dirge are truly wise. 10: Lamentation (Heb qinah) is
the technical term for the funeral dirge. The displacement of domestic animals by wild animals is a conventional way of representing the destruction of a city or a land (Isa 13.2022; 34.1015). 12: The central question
is posed: Who is wise enough? 14: Baals, see 2.23n. 15: Wormwood, an extremely bier and poisonous herbal
extract; cf. 23.15; Deut 29.17; Am 6.12. Poisonous water, cf. 8.14. Israel is experiencing death by poisoning. 17:
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jeremiah 10
send for the skilled women to come;
let them quickly raise a dirge over us,
so that our eyes may run down with
tears,
and our eyelids ow with water.
For a sound of wailing is heard from
Zion:
How we are ruined!
We are utterly shamed,
because we have left the land,
because they have cast down our
dwellings.
Hear, Owomen, the word of the Lord,
and let your ears receive the word of his
mouth;
teach to your daughters a dirge,
and each to her neighbor a lament.
Death has come up into our
windows,
it has entered our palaces,
to cut o the children from the streets
and the young men from the squares.
Speak! Thus says the Lord:
Human corpses shall fall
like dung upon the open eld,
like sheaves behind the reaper,
and no one shall gather them.
Thus says the Lord: Do not let the
wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the
mighty boast in their might, do not let the
wealthy boast in their wealth; but let
those who boast boast in this, that they
understand and know me, that I am the
Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and
righteousness in the earth, for in these

things I delight, says the Lord.
The days are surely coming, says the
Lord, when I will attend to all those who are
circumcised only in the foreskin: Egypt,
Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all
those with shaven temples who live in the
desert. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.
10
Hear the word that the Lord speaks to

you, Ohouse of Israel. Thus says the
Lord:
Do not learn the way of the nations,
or be dismayed at the signs of the
heavens;
for the nations are dismayed at them.
For the customs of the peoples are false:
a tree from the forest is cut down,
and worked with an ax by the hands of
an artisan;
people deck it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
Their idolsa are like scarecrows in a
cucumber eld,
and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil,
nor is it in them to do good.
a Heb They
Skilled women, lit. the wise women. Only these professional dirge singers (cf. 2 Chr 35.25) are truly wise,
because they recognize death as a reality. 21: Death sneaking in through the window echoes a theme from
Canaanite mythology regarding Baals own palace. 22: No one shall gather them, echoing the failure of the harvest (8.1314). 25: Circumcised only in the foreskin, other nations shared the custom of circumcision with Israel,
and shared Israels guilt, in that physical circumcision is no substitute for circumcision of the heart; see 4.4n.
26: Shaven temples, lit. cuing the corners, a practice of desert inhabitants (25.23; 49.32) but proscribed for
Israelites (Lev 19.27; 21.5).
10.118: Israels judgment doxology. Custom dictated that persons condemned give glory to God as a
means of accepting any bloodguilt for a pending judgment upon them (13.16; Josh 7.19). 110: A characteristic
satire of human-made idols, similar to Isa 44.920. 2: Dismayed at the signs of the heavens, i.e., obsessed by
astrological phenomena, characteristic of Israels neighbors. The gods were associated with stars and planets.
4: Deck it, that is adorn it, beautify it (cf. Isa 40.1820; 41.67). So that it cannot move, or so that it will not
teeter; see Isa 28.7. 5: Like scarecrows in a cucumber eld, obscure reference, meaning they are either as sti as
a post or totally lifeless, although made to look human (or divine); cf. Isa 1.8; Let Jer 1.70. They have to be carried, whereas God carried Israel, such idols have to be carried themselves (Isa 46.37). That such gods can do
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jeremiah 10
There is none like you, OLord;
you are great, and your name is great in
might.
Who would not fear you, OKing of the
nations?
For that is your due;
among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is no one like you.
They are both stupid and foolish;
the instruction given by idols
is no better than wood!a
Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz.
They are the work of the artisan and of the
hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is blue and purple;
they are all the product of skilled
workers.
But the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God and the everlasting
King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his
indignation.
Thus shall you say to them: The gods
who did not make the heavens and the earth
shall perish from the earth and from under
the heavens.b
It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his
wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out
the heavens.
When he utters his voice, there is a
tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the

ends of the earth.
He makes lightnings for the rain,
and he brings out the wind from his
storehouses.
Everyone is stupid and without
knowledge;
goldsmiths are all put to shame by their
idols;
for their images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
They are worthless, a work of
delusion;
at the time of their punishment they
shall perish.
Not like these is the Lord,c the portion
of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
Gather up your bundle from the ground,
Oyou who live under siege!
I am going to sling out the inhabitants of
the land
at this time,
and I will bring distress on them,
so that they shall feel it.
Woe is me because of my hurt!
My wound is severe.
But I said, Truly this is my punishment,
and I must bear it.
b This verse is in Aramaic
c Heb lacks the Lord
neither good nor harm is a complaint also used against God (Zeph 1.12). 610: A hymn of praise, contrasting God
with foreign idols. The incomparability of God is a common theme in such doxologies; see Ex 15.11; Deut 33.26;
Ps 113.5. 8: Instruction . . . than wood, perhaps a play on the concept that discipline was delivered by a rod of
wood (Prov 13.24; 22.15). 9: Silver . . . from Tarshish, most likely Tarsus in Turkey, or perhaps Tartessus in southern
Spain; on Tarshish as a source of silver, see 1 Kings 10.22; Isa 60.9. Uphaz, unknown (Dan 10.5), perhaps an error for Ophir, a region in southern Arabia famous for gold (see 1 Kings 9.28). Blue and purple, the colors of royal
clothing, indicating their pretentious claims in the face of Gods kingship (v. 10). 11: This verse is in Aramaic (see
textual note b), indicating that it is a later gloss. 1216: Continues the doxology using traditional creation language (Isa 42.5; 44.24; Job 9.8; Zech 12.1). 12: On creation as eected by divine wisdom, see Prov 8.2231. 13: An
ancient mythological image was that of the creator god giving his voice in thunder, defeating the chaotic power
of the primeval seas; see Ps 29.111. Storehouses, see Deut 28.12; Job 38.22; Pss 33.7; 135.7. 1718: Jerusalem is to
gather together (cf. 8.13,14; 9.22) what lile remains following the siege to be carried o into exile.
10.1925: Israel accepts Gods judgment. Following her doxology, Israel confesses her guilt and accepts
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jeremiah 11
My tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
and they are no more;
there is no one to spread my tent again,
and to set up my curtains.
For the shepherds are stupid,
and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
and all their ock is scattered.
Hear, a noise! Listen, it is coming
a great commotion from the land of the
north
to make the cities of Judah a desolation,
a lair of jackals.
I know, OLord, that the way of human
beings is not in their control,
that mortals as they walk cannot direct
their steps.
Correct me, OLord, but in just
measure;
not in your anger, or you will bring me
to nothing.
Pour out your wrath on the nations that
do not know you,
and on the peoples that do not call on
your name;
for they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and consumed

him,
and have laid waste his habitation.
11
The word that came to Jeremiah from

the Lord: Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the people of Judah and
the inhabitants of Jerusalem. You shall say to
them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel:
Cursed be anyone who does not heed the
words of this covenant, which I commanded
your ancestors when I brought them out of
the land of Egypt, from the iron-smelter, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and
I will be your God, that I may perform the
oath that I swore to your ancestors, to give
them a land owing with milk and honey, as
at this day. Then I answered, So be it, Lord.
And the Lord said to me: Proclaim all
these words in the cities of Judah, and in
the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of
this covenant and do them. For I solemnly
warned your ancestors when I brought them
up out of the land of Egypt, warning them
persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my
voice. Yet they did not obey or incline their
ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness
of an evil will. So I brought upon them all the
words of this covenant, which I commanded
them to do, but they did not.
divine punishment. 2021: Tent . . . cords . . . curtains are used metaphorically of Jerusalem and the Temple; see
Ex 26.12; 35.18; 39.40. The invading Babylonians destroyed Judahs infrastructure in 586 bce and carried the
leaders (shepherds) and wealthy into captivity (52.130). 22: As elsewhere, this invasion comes from . . . the north
(1.1315; 4.6; 6.22; 25.9). 2325: A prayer. The one who prays cites Prov 20.24 (v. 23) and Ps 79.67 (v. 25) to direct
Gods aention away from Judah and to neighboring nations instead. 24: It was acceptable for Israel to plead for
tempered justice (cf. 46.28; Ps 141.5). 25: Biblical piety oen allows the one experiencing divine judgment also
to call for divine action against the enemies of God who devour Gods portion; see 2.3; Ps 7.6,9.
11.117: The broken covenant. The disobedience of Israels ancestors and their punishment has not
prompted Israel to any greater faithfulness. They, like their ancestors, have also broken the covenant and
are so cut o from divine favor that even intercession is of no assistance. Much of the language echoes the
book of Deuteronomy (v. 3, Deut 27.26; v. 4, Deut 4.20; v. 5, oath . . . ancestors, Deut 7.8,1213; a land owing
with milk and honey, Deut 6.3; 11.9; as at this day, Deut 6.24; 10.15). 15: Recalls the curses and blessings
that typically conclude a treaty or covenant agreement. 4: Your ancestors, that is, those led by Moses from
Egypt in the Exodus. In this tradition, the covenant was made with Moses at Sinai. 5: The oath that I swore
to your ancestors, here the reference is to the ancestors of those mentioned in v. 4that is, to the generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In this tradition, these ancestors did not receive a covenant but rather
an oath or promissory note. This promissory note was for the land of Canaan, owing with milk and
honey (see Ex 13.5; Deut 6.3; 11.9; 26.15). So be it, Lord, Jeremiahs response (Heb amen), is the technical
response accepting the consequences of a self-imprecation when swearing an oath; see Deut 27.1526.
68: Given the failure of their ancestors, the people are subject to the treaty curses. 7: Your ancestors, that
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jeremiah 11
And the Lord said to me: Conspiracy
exists among the people of Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned
back to the iniquities of their ancestors of
old, who refused to heed my words; they
have gone after other gods to serve them;
the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have broken the covenant that I made with
their ancestors. Therefore, thus says the
Lord, assuredly I am going to bring disaster
upon them that they cannot escape; though
they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.
Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the
gods to whom they make oerings, but they
will never save them in the time of their
trouble. For your gods have become as
many as your towns, OJudah; and as many
as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars to
shame you have set up, altars to make oerings to Baal.
As for you, do not pray for this people,
or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for
I will not listen when they call to me in the
time of their trouble. What right has my
beloved in my house, when she has done vile
deeds? Can vowsa and sacricial esh avert
your doom? Can you then exult? The Lord
once called you, A green olive tree, fair with
goodly fruit; but with the roar of a great
tempest he will set re to it, and its branches
will be consumed. The Lord of hosts, who
planted you, has pronounced evil against you,
because of the evil that the house of Israel
and the house of Judah have done, provoking

me to anger by making oerings to Baal.
It was the Lord who made it known to
me, and I knew;
then you showed me their evil deeds.
But I was like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
And I did not know it was against me
that they devised schemes, saying,
Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
let us cut him o from the land of the
living,
so that his name will no longer be
remembered!
But you, OLord of hosts, who judge
righteously,
who try the heart and the mind,
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
Therefore thus says the Lord concerning
the people of Anathoth, who seek your life,
and say, You shall not prophesy in the name
of the Lord, or you will die by our hand
therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: I am
going to punish them; the young men shall
die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; and not even a
remnant shall be left of them. For I will bring
disaster upon the people of Anathoth, the
year of their punishment.
a Gk: Heb Can many
is, the generation of Moses. 8: All the words of this covenant. The curse of v. 3, but more generally of Deut
28.1544. 913: Israels present disobedience (going aer other gods, v. 10) is a return to the ways of the
ancestors, that is, to the generation of Moses. 9: Conspiracy, used specically of plots of rebellion against
the king. See 2 Sam 15.12; 2 Kings 11.14. 13: Shame (Heb boshet) is a metaphor for the Canaanite god Baal
(see 2.26n.; 3.24; 7.19). 1417: Gods refusal to listen to Israels cry (v. 11) has as its corollary Gods refusal to
allow Jeremiah to intercede on their behalf (see 7.16). 16: Green olive tree, on the high status of this tree, see
Judg 9.89; Hos 14.6; Ps 52.8.
11.1812.17: Jeremiahs complaints and divine response. The rst of Jeremiahs complaints, these words were
shaped by the editor utilizing typical psalm language and aributed to Jeremiah in order to enhance the persona of the suering prophet. See also 15.2021; 17.1418; 18.1823; 20.713; 20.1418. 11.1823: If Jeremiah cannot
pray on behalf of the people (see v. 14), he will pray (lament) on his own behalf. 19: Lamb led to the slaughter, cf.
Isa 53.7. 20: Who try the heart and the mind, the psalmist oen appeals to Gods testing as a basis for God to act
for the sake of divine justice and mercy, convinced that God will nd the heart free from sin and deceit. See Pss
17.3; 26.2. 139.23. 21: The people of Anathoth, that is, from Jeremiahs own hometown, suggesting that Jeremiah
was threatened with death if he continued to prophesy such things. On Anathoth, see 1.1n. and 7.12n. 22: Famine, that is, a shortage of food prompted by the Babylonian siege; cf. 19.9 and 2 Kings 6.2429.
12.117: The complaints of Jeremiah and God merge in their grief over Israel. Such accusation against God
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jeremiah 12
12
You will be in the right, OLord,

when I lay charges against you;
but let me put my case to you.
Why does the way of the guilty prosper?
Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and bring forth fruit;
you are near in their mouths
yet far from their hearts.
But you, OLord, know me;
You see me and test memy heart is
with you.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
and set them apart for the day of
slaughter.
How long will the land mourn,
and the grass of every eld wither?
For the wickedness of those who live in it
the animals and the birds are swept
away,
and because people said, He is blind to
our ways.a
If you have raced with foot-runners and
they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you fall down,
how will you fare in the thickets of the
Jordan?
For even your kinsfolk and your own
family,
even they have dealt treacherously with
you;
they are in full cry after you;
do not believe them,
though they speak friendly words to

you.
I have forsaken my house,
I have abandoned my heritage;
I have given the beloved of my heart
into the hands of her enemies.
My heritage has become to me
like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me
therefore I hate her.
Is the hyena greedyb for my heritage at
my command?
Are the birds of prey all around her?
Go, assemble all the wild animals;
bring them to devour her.
Many shepherds have destroyed my
vineyard,
they have trampled down my
portion,
they have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness.
They have made it a desolation;
desolate, it mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
but no one lays it to heart.
Upon all the bare heightsc in the desert
spoilers have come;
for the sword of the Lord devours
from one end of the land to the other;
no one shall be safe.
a Gk: Heb to our future
b Cn: Heb Is the hyena, the bird of prey
c Or the trails
and, at the same time, against ones enemies is characteristic of Israelite piety. Just as Jeremiah is alienated from
his own family (v. 6), so God is alienated from Gods own house (v. 7). 1: Lay charges, technical term for lodging
a formal legal appeal. Like Job (Job 9.3; 23.117), Jeremiah wishes to sue God in court but knows that he cannot
win. Conventional wisdom and the sentiments of Deuteronomic theology suggest that sin is punished and
righteousness rewarded. Jeremiah frames his complaint in terms of general human suering; cf. Hab 1.117. 3:
Know me . . . test me, typical sentiments of the Psalms, where Gods testing is invited to prove ones merit and
righteousness (Pss 11.5; 17.3; 139.2324). Like sheep for the slaughter, cf. 11.19.
12.56: Gods response to Jeremiah. 5: Foot-runners, or more likely foot soldiers (Judg 20.2; 1 Sam 4.10; 15.4),
as opposed to horse-drawn chariots. Thickets of the Jordan, the pride or lush river banks of the Jordan River
was the abode of wild lions (49.19; Zech 11.3). 6: Even your kinsfolk, the people of Anathoth; see 11.21.
12.713: Gods lament over Israel for abandoning her to her enemies. 8: I hate her, the term also has the
technical sense in treaty contexts of becoming an enemy to another nation. God has become Israels covenanted enemy. 9: The questions beg a negative answer, so the scavengers must be assembled to feed on the
carcass of the victim. 10: Many shepherds, referring to Israels kings; see 23.14. 11. The whole land, the Heb term
erets can mean land (of Israel) or earth. The term here used of Israel introduces a cosmic element that is
developed in what follows as all the nations are swept up in divine judgment.
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jeremiah 13
They have sown wheat and have reaped
thorns,
they have tired themselves out but
prot nothing.
They shall be ashamed of theira harvests
because of the erce anger of the Lord.
Thus says the Lord concerning all my
evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I
have given my people Israel to inherit: I am
about to pluck them up from their land, and I
will pluck up the house of Judah from among
them. And after I have plucked them up, I
will again have compassion on them, and I
will bring them again to their heritage and to
their land, every one of them. And then, if
they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, As the Lord lives,
as they taught my people to swear by Baal,
then they shall be built up in the midst of
my people. But if any nation will not listen,
then I will completely uproot it and destroy
it, says the Lord.
13
Thus said the Lord to me, Go and

buy yourself a linen loincloth, and put
it on your loins, but do not dip it in water.
So I bought a loincloth according to the
word of the Lord, and put it on my loins.
And the word of the Lord came to me a
second time, saying, Take the loincloth
that you bought and are wearing, and go
now to the Euphrates,b and hide it there in
a cleft of the rock. So I went, and hid it by
the Euphrates,c as the Lord commanded me.
And after many days the Lord said to me,
Go now to the Euphrates,b and take from

there the loincloth that I commanded you to
hide there. Then I went to the Euphrates,b
and dug, and I took the loincloth from the
place where I had hidden it. But now the loincloth was ruined; it was good for nothing.
Then the word of the Lord came to me:
Thus says the Lord: Just so I will ruin the
pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to hear
my words, who stubbornly follow their own
will and have gone after other gods to serve
them and worship them, shall be like this
loincloth, which is good for nothing. For as
the loincloth clings to ones loins, so I made
the whole house of Israel and the whole
house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord, in
order that they might be for me a people, a
name, a praise, and a glory. But they would
not listen.
You shall speak to them this word: Thus
says the Lord, the God of Israel: Every winejar should be lled with wine. And they will
say to you, Do you think we do not know
that every wine-jar should be lled with
wine? Then you shall say to them: Thus
says the Lord: I am about to ll all the inhabitants of this landthe kings who sit on
Davids throne, the priests, the prophets, and
all the inhabitants of Jerusalemwith drunkenness. And I will dash them one against
a Heb your
b Or to Parah; Heb perath
c Or by Parah; Heb perath
12.1417: An addition to the divine lament, reshaping it to promise Judahs restoration in the midst of universal restoration. 14: Pluck them up, a thematic term in Jeremiah, used of judgment (1.10). Here Judahs fate is
placed in universal context as all the nations are uprooted, Judah among them. 15: Everyone of them refers not
simply to Judah but to all nations, who will live guratively in Judahs midst (vv. 1617). 16: Baal, the Canaanite
deity. 17: Uproot . . . destroy,1.10.
13.127: The sign of the loincloth. A series of oracles held together by word associations. The series is introduced with the symbolic story of Jeremiahs loincloth, representing Gods intimacy with Israel and Israels
clinging to God (v. 11); it also represents the ruined nature of the relationship that was now good for nothing (v. 10). 111: Sign-acts are a common feature of prophetic behavior (cf. chs 16; 18; 19; 32; Ezek 4.15.17). 4:
Euphrates, some doubt there were two trips to the Euphrates (Heb perat); instead they suggest that the town
of Parah (textual note b), mentioned only in Josh 18.23, is meant. This sign is more likely a literary device. See
also the prophetic sign associated with the Euphrates in 51.6064. 9: Pride of Jerusalem, majesty belongs to God,
and national pride, whether that of Israel and Jerusalem (Hos 5.5; Am 6.8) or other nations (48.29; Isa 13.11,19;
Ezek 16.49), is oensive to God. 1214: Taking up the term ruin from the earlier sign (v. 14, destroy), the
image shis to the nations being lled with wine, oen a symbol of either drunkenness or even of poisoning
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jeremiah 14
another, parents and children together, says
the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion when I destroy them.
Hear and give ear; do not be haughty,
for the Lord has spoken.
Give glory to the Lord your God
before he brings darkness,
and before your feet stumble
on the mountains at twilight;
while you look for light,
he turns it into gloom
and makes it deep darkness.
But if you will not listen,
my soul will weep in secret for your
pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly and run down
with tears,
because the Lords ock has been taken
captive.
Say to the king and the queen mother:
Take a lowly seat,
for your beautiful crown
has come down from your head.a
The towns of the Negeb are shut up
with no one to open them;
all Judah is taken into exile,
wholly taken into exile.
Lift up your eyes and see
those who come from the north.
Where is the ock that was given you,
your beautiful ock?
What will you say when they set as head
over you
those whom you have trained
to be your allies?
Will not pangs take hold of you,
like those of a woman in labor?
And if you say in your heart,

Why have these things come upon
me?
it is for the greatness of your iniquity
that your skirts are lifted up,
and you are violated.
Can Ethiopiansb change their skin
or leopards their spots?
Then also you can do good
who are accustomed to do evil.
I will scatter youc like cha
driven by the wind from the desert.
This is your lot,
the portion I have measured out to you,
says the Lord,
because you have forgotten me
and trusted in lies.
I myself will lift up your skirts over your
face,
and your shame will be seen.
I have seen your abominations,
your adulteries and neighings, your
shameless prostitutions
on the hills of the countryside.
Woe to you, OJerusalem!
How long will it be
before you are made clean?
14
The word of the Lord that came to

Jeremiah concerning the drought:
Judah mourns
and her gates languish;
they lie in gloom on the ground,
and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
Her nobles send their servants for water;
they come to the cisterns,
a Gk Syr Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain

b Or Nubians; Heb Cushites
c Heb them
(25.1516; 51.7; Ezek 23.33). 1527: Various oracles keyed to the terms pride (v. 17), ock (vv. 17,20), head
(vv. 18,21), and beauty (vv. 18,20). 16: Give glory, an invitation to provide a judgment doxology, as in 10.118.
18: The king, either Jehoiakim, who reigned through most of the rst Babylonian siege until 597 bce, or his son
Jehoiachin, who reigned briey before Jerusalem nally fell. 19: Negeb, the southernmost region of Judah. 20:
From the north, the invading Babylonian army; see 1.14n. 21: The pains of childbirth symbolize agony and despair
(Isa 13.8; Mic 4.9). 22,26: Exposure and sexual violation was a form of punishment.; cf. Nah 3.5; Ezek 16.3543.
23: Ethiopians, the inhabitants of Cush, the land south of Egypt. In her present state, Jerusalem cannot change
herself; cf. Hos 5.4. 27: Your . . . neighings, the lust of horses was a strong symbol of sexual depravity symbolizing
Israels foreign dalliances and resulting religious apostasy (5.8; Ezek 23.20).
14.115.21: Oracles concerning the drought. 14.110: In the face of critical drought (vv. 26), a lament and
intercessory plea is voiced (vv. 79), only to be rejected by God (v. 10). 1: The drought, the Heb term is general
hebrew bible | 1083
jeremiah 14
they nd no water,
they return with their vessels empty.
They are ashamed and dismayed
and cover their heads,
because the ground is cracked.
Because there has been no rain on the
land
the farmers are dismayed;
they cover their heads.
Even the doe in the eld forsakes her
newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
The wild asses stand on the bare heights,a
they pant for air like jackals;
their eyes fail
because there is no herbage.
Although our iniquities testify against us,
act, OLord, for your names sake;
our apostasies indeed are many,
and we have sinned against you.
Ohope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the
land,
like a traveler turning aside for the
night?
Why should you be like someone
confused,
like a mighty warrior who cannot give
help?
Yet you, OLord, are in the midst of us,
and we are called by your name;
do not forsake us!
Thus says the Lord concerning this
people:
Truly they have loved to wander,
they have not restrained their feet;
therefore the Lord does not accept them,

now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.
The Lord said to me: Do not pray for the
welfare of this people. Although they fast, I
do not hear their cry, and although they oer
burnt oering and grain oering, I do not accept them; but by the sword, by famine, and
by pestilence I consume them.
Then I said: Ah, Lord God! Here are
the prophets saying to them, You shall not
see the sword, nor shall you have famine,
but I will give you true peace in this place.
And the Lord said to me: The prophets
are prophesying lies in my name; I did not
send them, nor did I command them or
speak to them. They are prophesying to you
a lying vision, worthless divination, and
the deceit of their own minds. Therefore
thus says the Lord concerning the prophets
who prophesy in my name though I did not
send them, and who say, Sword and famine
shall not come on this land: By sword and
famine those prophets shall be consumed.
And the people to whom they prophesy
shall be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword. There
shall be no one to bury themthemselves,
their wives, their sons, and their daughters.
For I will pour out their wickedness upon
them.
You shall say to them this word:
Let my eyes run down with tears night and
day,
and let them not cease,
a Or the trails
(the trouble, see Pss 9.9; 10.1), but the LXX uses a word that specically refers to drought. 3,4: Cover their
heads as a ritual sign of mourning (2 Sam 15.30; Esth 6.12). 7: For your names sake, Israelite theology understood
that, in spite of ones sin, God might act simply for the sake of Gods own reputation; cf. Num 14.1316; Ezek
20.126; Pss 25.11; 79.9. 8: Stranger, or sojourner, a foreign resident and not a citizen with full rights and obligations, but nevertheless enjoying some social protections. 9: Called by your name, indicates possession. The
appeal here is to Gods responsibility as owner of Israel. 10: In spite of their appropriate and well-fashioned
lament, God rejects their prayer using the technical language of worship. 1116: Immediately following this lament and rejection, Jeremiah is again instructed not to perform the prophetic task of intercession (cf. 7.16; 11.14;
14.11), and God restates the rejection, again using the technical language of worship. 14: They are prophesying,
using a form of the verb suggesting the ecstatic nature of prophetic uerance. Lies, a term used in Jeremiah
to refer either to Baal worship or, as here, to the false condence in God that peace (v. 13) is the order of the
day (cf. 7.4). 1718: The theme of sword and famine from the previous verses shapes this lament. 17. Virgin
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jeremiah 15
for the virgin daughtermy peopleis
struck down with a crushing blow,
with a very grievous wound.
If I go out into the eld,
lookthose killed by the sword!
And if I enter the city,
lookthose sick witha famine!
For both prophet and priest ply their trade
throughout the land,
and have no knowledge.
Have you completely rejected Judah?
Does your heart loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
so that there is no healing for us?
We look for peace, but nd no good;
for a time of healing, but there is terror
instead.
We acknowledge our wickedness,
OLord,
the iniquity of our ancestors,
for we have sinned against you.
Do not spurn us, for your names sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
remember and do not break your
covenant with us.
Can any idols of the nations bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, OLord our God?
We set our hope on you,
for it is you who do all this.
Then the Lord said to me: Though
Moses and Samuel stood before me,
yet my heart would not turn toward this
people. Send them out of my sight, and let
them go! And when they say to you, Where
15
shall we go? you shall say to them: Thus says

the Lord:
Those destined for pestilence, to
pestilence,
and those destined for the sword, to the
sword;
those destined for famine, to famine,
and those destined for captivity, to
captivity.
And I will appoint over them four kinds of
destroyers, says the Lord: the sword to kill,
the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the air
and the wild animals of the earth to devour
and destroy. I will make them a horror to all
the kingdoms of the earth because of what
King Manasseh son of Hezekiah of Judah did
in Jerusalem.
Who will have pity on you, OJerusalem,
or who will bemoan you?
Who will turn aside
to ask about your welfare?
You have rejected me, says the Lord,
you are going backward;
so I have stretched out my hand against
you and destroyed you
I am weary of relenting.
I have winnowed them with a winnowing
fork
in the gates of the land;
I have bereaved them, I have destroyed my
people;
they did not turn from their ways.
a Heb lookthe sicknesses of
daughter, the loss of a virgin daughter was particularly tragic. 18: Ply their trade, the verb has the negative
connotation that prophets and priests treat their responsibility for word and instruction as though they
were merchandise for sale. 1922: Another lament by the people in which they seem to have a thoroughgoing
change of heart. This outstanding example of confession of sin and of hope for divine mercy, as well stated
as it is, is to no avail. 19: Cf. Lam 5.22; Ps 74.1; 79.5. Healing, 3.22; 8.22. 20: Cf. 3.25; Ps 79.8. 21: For your names
sake, that is, for the sake of Gods own reputation among the nations. See v. 7n.; Ps 79.10; 115.2. 22: Hope, see
v. 8. 15.14: Moses and Samuel were honored as Israels chief intercessors, repeatedly pleading for Gods good
favor in the face of the peoples disobedience (Ex 32.1114; Num 11.12; 21.7; 1 Sam 8.6). Israels destruction cannot be mitigated. 2: The usual triad is sword, famine, and pestilence; see Jer 14.12; 24.10; 27.8. But here the four
terms are death (NRSV pestilence), sword, famine, and captivity, each matched with one of the four
kinds of destroyers (v. 3). 4: King Manasseh (698/687642 bce) was blamed for singlehandedly assuring Judahs
destruction, in spite of his son Josiahs reforming eorts (2 Kings 23.2627).
15.59: Gods lament over Jerusalem. 6: Backward, looking or going backward as a statement of going in the
wrong direction in rebellion; cf. 7.24; Isa 50.5. Relenting, the term used of God repenting of or regreing a
decision (Gen 6.6). The ability of God to relent of punishment was a standard aspect of Israels faith (Jon 4.2;
hebrew bible | 1085
jeremiah 15
Their widows became more numerous
than the sand of the seas;
I have brought against the mothers of
youths
a destroyer at noonday;
I have made anguish and terror
fall upon her suddenly.
She who bore seven has languished;
she has swooned away;
her sun went down while it was yet day;
she has been shamed and
disgraced.
And the rest of them I will give to the
sword
before their enemies,
says the Lord.
Woe is me, my mother, that you ever
bore me, a man of strife and contention to
the whole land! I have not lent, nor have I
borrowed, yet all of them curse me. The
Lord said: Surely I have intervened in your
lifea for good, surely I have imposed enemies
on you in a time of trouble and in a time of
distress.b Can iron and bronze break iron
from the north?
Your wealth and your treasures I will give
as plunder, without price, for all your sins,
throughout all your territory. I will make
you serve your enemies in a land that you
do not know, for in my anger a re is kindled
that shall burn forever.
OLord, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and bring down retribution for me on

my persecutors.
In your forbearance do not take me away;
know that on your account I suer
insult.
Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart;
for I am called by your name,
OLord, God of hosts.
I did not sit in the company of
merrymakers,
nor did I rejoice;
under the weight of your hand I sat alone,
for you had lled me with indignation.
Why is my pain unceasing,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail.
If you turn back, I will take you back,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what
is worthless,
you shall serve as my mouth.
It is they who will turn to you,
not you who will turn to them.
And I will make you to this people
a fortied wall of bronze;
a Heb intervened with you
Joel 2.13). 7: Bereaved them, that is, made them childless. 9: Bearing seven children or sons was considered a sign
of blessing and good fortune (Gen 46.25; Ruth 4.15; 1 Sam 2.5; Job 42.13), just as the loss of seven was considered
absolute bereavement (2 Sam 21.514; 2 Macc 7.20).
15.1021: Jeremiahs second complaint and Gods response. See 11.1812.17n. 10: Borrowing and lending represents Jeremiahs claim to overall and basic innocence. Israel had strict limits to borrowing and lending; see Ex
22.25; Deut 24.1011; Neh 5.1011; and cf. 1 Sam 12.3. 11: The Lord said, or perhaps, with LXX, Jeremiah continues,
So be it Lord, with more claims of his innocence. See textual note a. 12: The question, though obscure, requires a negative response and must refer to the onslaught of the enemy from the north (see 1.14n.). Even Israel,
armored with bronze and iron (6.28), cannot withstand the enemy from the north. 13: This must represent Gods
response. Israel is about to be plundered as punishment for its sins; cf. 17.34. 14: The notion of Gods wrath
burning forever is not in the Hebrew. 15: In your forbearance, Gods slowness to anger is normally prized (Ex
34.6; Num 14.18), but here it becomes a scandalous problem for the one hoping for speedy divine intervention
against the enemy. On your account, the psalmist can protest that he is suering precisely because of devotion
to God; see Ps 69.7. 16: Your words were found, may refer either to 1.9 or to the nding of the book of the law in
the Temple (2 Kings 22.8); cf. Ezek 3.3. 17: Merrymakers, those who experience and celebrate the normal joys
of life. Jeremiah complains of being bere of joy. 18: Deceitful brook, cf. Job 6.1520. 19: I will take you back, or I
shall bring you back. Gods role might be more active than simply receiving Israel back. 20: A fortied wall of
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jeremiah 16
they will ght against you,
but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,
says the Lord.
I will deliver you out of the hand of the
wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of the
ruthless.
The word of the Lord came to me:
You shall not take a wife, nor shall
you have sons or daughters in this place. For
thus says the Lord concerning the sons and
daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bear them and the
fathers who beget them in this land: They
shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not
be lamented, nor shall they be buried; they
shall become like dung on the surface of the
ground. They shall perish by the sword and by
famine, and their dead bodies shall become
food for the birds of the air and for the wild
animals of the earth.
For thus says the Lord: Do not enter the
house of mourning, or go to lament, or bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace
from this people, says the Lord, my steadfast
love and mercy. Both great and small shall
die in this land; they shall not be buried, and
no one shall lament for them; there shall be
no gashing, no shaving of the head for them.
No one shall break breada for the mourner,
to oer comfort for the dead; nor shall anyone give them the cup of consolation to drink
16
for their fathers or their mothers. You shall

not go into the house of feasting to sit with
them, to eat and drink. For thus says the
Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going
to banish from this place, in your days and
before your eyes, the voice of mirth and the
voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom
and the voice of the bride.
And when you tell this people all these
words, and they say to you, Why has the
Lord pronounced all this great evil against
us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin
that we have committed against the Lord
our God? then you shall say to them: It is
because your ancestors have forsaken me,
says the Lord, and have gone after other
gods and have served and worshiped them,
and have forsaken me and have not kept my
law; and because you have behaved worse
than your ancestors, for here you are, every
one of you, following your stubborn evil
will, refusing to listen to me. Therefore
I will hurl you out of this land into a land
that neither you nor your ancestors have
known, and there you shall serve other
gods day and night, for I will show you no
favor.
Therefore, the days are surely coming,
says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said,
As the Lord lives who brought the people
of Israel up out of the land of Egypt, but
As the Lord lives who brought the people of
a Two Mss Gk: MT break for them
bronze, God challenges Jeremiah to remain steadfast to his call and to the divine promise of being armored for
bale against his adversaries (1.18; 15.12) in the face of popular assault.
16.121: Further prohibitions for Jeremiah as sign-acts of coming judgment. Like the prohibition of intercession, now Jeremiah is prohibited from the normal paerns of family life and mourning rituals as signs of the
coming judgment. 14: Jeremiah is prohibited from marrying and having children, taken by some scholars to
suggest a late date for his ministry, which could not then have begun until 609 bce, when he was fairly young
(see Introduction). Most argue that this is a literary or symbolic device and downplay its biographical accuracy.
4: Common themes in Jeremiah relating to the desecration of corpses; cf. 7.33; 8.2; 9.21; 19.7; 22.18; 25.33. 513:
Jeremiah is prohibited from performing mourning customs. The image of dead bodies conjures up the next image of the house of mourning. 5: House of mourning (Heb bet marzeah),
. an uncommon word also found in
nonbiblical sources, likely referring to a banquet held in honor of the dead, thus involving feasting; see Am 6.7.
6: Gashing and shaving of the head, ritual actions of mourning; cf. 7.29; Lev 19.28; Deut 14.1; Hos 7.14. 8: The house
of mourning, with its food rituals, is connected with the house of feasting, lit. house of drinking with emphasis
upon the consumption of wine. 9: See 7.34n. 1012: Cf. Deut 4.2528; 29.2429. 12: The peoples sin is more
grievous even than that of their ancestors; cf. 11.610. 13: The punishment will perfectly t the crime: Israel will
be forced to worship other gods in the land of their exile. 1415: A brief interpolation from 23.78 promising
restoration. The Exodus will be forgoen in the face of Gods new salvic event; cf. 3.16; 31.29; Isa 43.18. 1618:
hebrew bible | 1087
jeremiah 17
Israel up out of the land of the north and out
of all the lands where he had driven them.
For I will bring them back to their own land
that I gave to their ancestors.
I am now sending for many shermen,
says the Lord, and they shall catch them; and
afterward I will send for many hunters, and
they shall hunt them from every mountain
and every hill, and out of the clefts of the
rocks. For my eyes are on all their ways; they
are not hidden from my presence, nor is their
iniquity concealed from my sight. Anda I
will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin,
because they have polluted my land with the
carcasses of their detestable idols, and have
lled my inheritance with their abominations.
OLord, my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of trouble,
to you shall the nations come
from the ends of the earth and say:
Our ancestors have inherited nothing but
lies,
worthless things in which there is no
prot.
Can mortals make for themselves gods?
Such are no gods!
Therefore I am surely going to teach
them, this time I am going to teach them my
power and my might, and they shall know

that my name is the Lord.
17
The sin of Judah is written with an

iron pen; with a diamond point it is
engraved on the tablet of their hearts, and
on the horns of their altars, while their
children remember their altars and their
sacred poles,b beside every green tree, and
on the high hills, on the mountains in
the open country. Your wealth and all your
treasures I will give for spoil as the price of
your sinc throughout all your territory. By
your own act you shall lose the heritage that
I gave you, and I will make you serve your
enemies in a land that you do not know, for
in my anger a re is kindledd that shall burn
forever.
Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
and make mere esh their strength,
whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see when relief comes.
a
b
c
d
Gk: Heb And rst

Heb Asherim
Cn: Heb spoil your high places for sin
Two Mss Theodotion: you kindled
Fishing and hunting as metaphors for divine judgment. 18: Doubly repay as fullness of compensation; see Gen
43.15; Isa 40.2. Double punishment is warranted for the oense. Since dead carcasses pollute, as do things that
are detestable (Lev 11.1012), the dead carcasses of detestable things (idols) would be particularly deling.
1921: A brief concluding hymn of praise and divine oath regarding the conversion of the nations. 19. Worthless
things, a term used of idols of false gods (Deut 22.31; Ps 31.6). No prot, an allusion to the Canaanite god Baal;
see 2.8n. On the theme of the conversion of the nations, see Isa 2.2; 60.3; 66.18; Mic. 4.2; Zech 8.22; 14.16; Ps
86.9. 20: See 10.5,8,1415.
17.118: Various oracles gathered under the theme of the drought. Fragments brought together under the
theme established in 14.1, these oracles present a collage of coming judgment. 14: Israels intransigence is
likened to an engraver writing on rock; cf. Job 19.24. 1: Diamond point, the term usually refers to sharp thorns,
but can be used also of sharp hard stone, probably int; cf. Ezek 3.9; Zech 7.12. Tablet of their hearts, combining
the images of the Torah being wrien on the human heart (Deut 30.14) and on tablets of stone (Ex 24.12; 31.18).
But now it is their sinfulness that is so engraved. The human heart represented the center of resolve and will.
Its hardening was a common metaphor for human stubbornness. Horns of their altars, protrusions at each of
the four corners of a cut-stone altar, symbolizing divine strength and functioning to hold in place the wood
and animal parts. Sanctuary could be gained by seizing the horns; see 7.4n. 2: Sacred poles, Heb asherim (the
asherah represented the goddess Asherah), which were used even in the Temple itself (2 Kings 21.7; 23.4).
Green tree, a symbol of high places, at which religious rituals were conducted in violation of the prohibitions
in Deuteronomy; see 3.6,13; 1 Kings 14.23; 2 Kings 16.4. 34: See 15.13. 4: A re is kindled, cf. 15.4, linking to the
theme of drought. 58: A curse and accompanying blessing, linked to the theme of drought in vv. 6 and 8. Cf. Ps
1 and the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, using similar imagery. 5: Flesh symbolizes human
1088 | hebrew bible
jeremiah 17
They shall live in the parched places of the
wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
The heart is devious above all else;
it is perverse
who can understand it?
I the Lord test the mind
and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their doings.
Like the partridge hatching what it did
not lay,
so are all who amass wealth unjustly;
in mid-life it will leave them,
and at their end they will prove to be
fools.
Oglorious throne, exalted from the
beginning,
shrine of our sanctuary!
Ohope of Israel! OLord!
All who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from youa shall be
recorded in the underworld,b
for they have forsaken the fountain of
living water, the Lord.
Heal me, OLord, and I shall be healed;

save me, and I shall be saved;
for you are my praise.
See how they say to me,
Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come!
But I have not run away from being a
shepherdc in your service,
nor have I desired the fatal day.
You know what came from my lips;
it was before your face.
Do not become a terror to me;
you are my refuge in the day of disaster;
Let my persecutors be shamed,
but do not let me be shamed;
let them be dismayed,
but do not let me be dismayed;
bring on them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!
Thus said the Lord to me: Go and stand
in the Peoples Gate, by which the kings of
Judah enter and by which they go out, and in
all the gates of Jerusalem, and say to them:
Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. Thus
says the Lord: For the sake of your lives,
take care that you do not bear a burden on
the sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of
Jerusalem. And do not carry a burden out of
your houses on the sabbath or do any work,
but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. Yet they did not listen or
a Heb me
b Or in the earth
weakness as opposed to divine strength. 910: God tests the human heart. See Pss 11.5; 44.21. 9: Devious (Heb
aqob), a play on the name Jacob (Heb yaaqob); see 9.4n. 10: The question posed in v. 9 is immediately
answered: God tests the heart (mind) and examines the kidneys (heart). See 11.20. On the use of kidneys as
the seat of strong emotion and feeling, see Pss 7.9; 26.2; 73.21; Prov 23.16. 11: A wisdom saying like those in the
book of Proverbs. 1213: A hymnic warning. 13: Hope of Israel as a title for Israels God, cf. 14.8. Recorded in the
underworld, lit. wrien in the earth. The disobedient are doomed to die. The Heb word erets means earth,
land, or country, (1.18; 12.11) but is also used for the netherworld (e.g., Pss 22.29; 44.26; 63.10). See Ps 69.28
for the concept of names being registered in a book of life. Fountain of living water, cf. 2.13.
17.1418: Jeremiahs third complaint (see 11.1812.6n.). 15: Word of the Lord, the prophetic oracle of judgment. They taunt Jeremiah regarding his oracles of coming disaster. 18: Double destruction, see 16.18n. These
sentiments wishing for divine judgment upon ones adversaries are typical of pleas of intercession.
17.1927: A command to honor the sabbath, concluding the section concerning the drought. The gates were
the control point for maers of sabbath keeping (Neh 13.1519), so this word is to be delivered at all of the gates.
hebrew bible | 1089
jeremiah 18
incline their ear; they stiened their necks
and would not hear or receive instruction.
But if you listen to me, says the Lord,
and bring in no burden by the gates of this
city on the sabbath day, but keep the sabbath
day holy and do no work on it, then there
shall enter by the gates of this city kingsa who
sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their ocials,
the people of Judah and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem; and this city shall be inhabited forever. And people shall come from
the towns of Judah and the places around
Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from
the Shephelah, from the hill country, and
from the Negeb, bringing burnt oerings and
sacrices, grain oerings and frankincense,
and bringing thank oerings to the house
of the Lord. But if you do not listen to me,
to keep the sabbath day holy, and to carry in
no burden through the gates of Jerusalem on
the sabbath day, then I will kindle a re in its
gates; it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem
and shall not be quenched.
18

the Lord: Come, go down to the
potters house, and there I will let you hear
my words. So I went down to the potters house, and there he was working at his
wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was
spoiled in the potters hand, and he reworked
it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
Can I not do with you, Ohouse of Israel,
just as this potter has done? says the Lord.

Just like the clay in the potters hand, so are
you in my hand, Ohouse of Israel. At one
moment I may declare concerning a nation
or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break
down and destroy it, but if that nation,
concerning which I have spoken, turns from
its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. And at
another moment I may declare concerning
a nation or a kingdom that I will build and
plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not
listening to my voice, then I will change my
mind about the good that I had intended to
do to it. Now, therefore, say to the people
of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter
shaping evil against you and devising a plan
against you. Turn now, all of you from your
evil way, and amend your ways and your
doings.
But they say, It is no use! We will follow
our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of our evil will.
Ask among the nations:
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel has done
a most horrible thing.
Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion?b
a Cn: Heb kings and ocials
b Cn: Heb of the eld
21: Burden, the term is also used for a divine oracle; cf. 23.3340. 22: Keep the sabbath day holy, Ex 20.811. 26:
Benjamin . . . the Shephelah . . . the hill country . . . the Negeb, the regions surrounding Jerusalem to the north, west,
and south. 27: Kindle a re, cf. 15.14; 17.4, again tying this oracle into the theme of the drought.
18.123: The po+ers house and po+ery as signs of judgment. The beginning of a lengthy section (chs 18
20) focused on poery and poery-making as symbols of divine judgment. 117: A sign-act. See 13.111n. At the
poers house, Jeremiah observes the poer at work as a sign of Gods power to reshape Israels future. 3: At
his wheel, lit. upon the stones, referring to the stones used for turning pots. 8: I will change my mind about the
disaster, see 15.6n. Like the poer, God can rework the pot that is awed. But the poer has control also to ruin
his creation (v. 10); cf. Isa 45.9. The relationship between poer and clay is a metaphor of Gods relationship
to creation also in Isa 64.8; Sir 33.13. 10: God can repent both of disaster and, as here, of the good that is
planned. God can exercise total freedom to change the divine mind. 11: The metaphor shis from that of Gods
freedom to change course to that of God ploing evil. That God devises a plan (or plots a plot) against
the people is taken up in the next verse. 12: Although God may have a plan, the people can only follow their
own. The people express their fatalistic sense of doom, their inability to be reworked. 14: Israel acts contrary
to the laws of nature by forgeing God, a common theme in the book; see 2.32n. Lebanon, the mountain range
north of Israel that parallels the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The name Lebanon is related to the word
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jeremiah 19
Do the mountaina waters run dry,b
the cold owing streams?
But my people have forgotten me,
they burn oerings to a delusion;
they have stumbledc in their ways,
in the ancient roads,
and have gone into bypaths,
not the highway,
making their land a horror,
a thing to be hissed at forever.
All who pass by it are horried
and shake their heads.
Like the wind from the east,
I will scatter them before the
enemy.
I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity.
Then they said, Come, let us make plots
against Jeremiahfor instruction shall not
perish from the priest, nor counsel from the
wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come,
let us bring charges against him,d and let us
not heed any of his words.
Give heed to me, OLord,
and listen to what my adversaries say!
Is evil a recompense for good?
Yet they have dug a pit for my life.
Remember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.
Therefore give their children over to

famine;
hurl them out to the power of the
sword,
let their wives become childless and
widowed.
May their men meet death by
pestilence,
their youths be slain by the sword in
battle.
May a cry be heard from their houses,
when you bring the marauder suddenly
upon them!
For they have dug a pit to catch me,
and laid snares for my feet.
Yet you, OLord, know
all their plotting to kill me.
Do not forgive their iniquity,
do not blot out their sin from your
sight.
Let them be tripped up before you;
deal with them while you are angry.
Thus said the Lord: Go and buy a potters earthenware jug. Take with youe
some of the elders of the people and some of
19
a
b
c
d
e
Cn: Heb foreign

Cn: Heb Are . . . plucked up?
Gk Syr Vg: Heb they made them stumble
Heb strike him with the tongue
Syr Tg Compare Gk: Heb lacks take with you
for white, alluding to the snowy peaks. Sirion is a conjecture (see textual note b); if correct, it refers to Mount
Hermon in Israels far north (cf. Deut 3.9; Ps 29.6). Mountain waters is also a conjecture (see textual note a). 16:
Hissing and shaking the head are gestures of abhorrence and shaming. See 19.8; 1 Kings 9.8; Mic 6.16; 2 Chr
29.8;. 17: Show them my back, lit neck or back of the neck. This is a sign of stubbornness or neglect. Just as
Israel can be sti-necked (Ex 32.9), so can God; cf. 2.27; 7.26.
18.1823: Jeremiahs fourth complaint, concerning his enemies (see 11.1812.6n.). The sentiments are bitter, but not unusual for the piety of the Psalms. 18: Make plots, this is a catchword in the section; cf. 18.8,11,12.
Priests, the wise, and prophets were each associated with a primary form of divine revelation: instruction (Heb
torah), counsel, and word; cf. Ezek 7.26. Jeremiahs adversaries claim these traditional forms of authority over
Jeremiahs claim to an alternative word. 20: A surprising claim, given prohibitions against Jeremiah interceding
(7.16; 11.14). 23: While you are angry, an appeal that Gods mercy not be extended to the prophets adversaries;
see 15.15n.
19.120.18: The po+ers ask and Jeremiah at Topheth. This section continues the theme of poery as a
symbol of divine judgment, concluding with Jeremiahs h complaint. No time reference is given, but by 605
bce Jeremiah had been barred from the Temple (36.5), perhaps as a result of his connement by the priest Pashhur, the chief ocer of the Temple personnel (20.12). This section is the last of the oracles in the rst cycle
dated prior to the reign of Zedekiah.
19.120.6: Jeremiah at Topheth and its a%ermath. On the rituals conducted at Topheth, see 7.31n. 2: Potsherd
Gate, nowhere else named. But since the Hinnom Valley was on the south of Jerusalem, this is likely the later
hebrew bible | 1091
jeremiah 20
the senior priests, and go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom at the entry of the
Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words
that I tell you. You shall say: Hear the word
of the Lord, Okings of Judah and inhabitants
of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel: I am going to bring such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone
who hears of it will tingle. Because the
people have forsaken me, and have profaned
this place by making oerings in it to other
gods whom neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah have known, and
because they have lled this place with the
blood of the innocent, and gone on building
the high places of Baal to burn their children
in the re as burnt oerings to Baal, which I
did not command or decree, nor did it enter
my mind; therefore the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when this place shall no
more be called Topheth, or the valley of the
son of Hinnom, but the valley of Slaughter.
And in this place I will make void the plans
of Judah and Jerusalem, and will make them
fall by the sword before their enemies, and
by the hand of those who seek their life. I will
give their dead bodies for food to the birds of
the air and to the wild animals of the earth.
And I will make this city a horror, a thing to
be hissed at; everyone who passes by it will
be horried and will hiss because of all its
disasters. And I will make them eat the esh
of their sons and the esh of their daughters,
and all shall eat the esh of their neighbors in
the siege, and in the distress with which their
enemies and those who seek their life aict
them.
Then you shall break the jug in the
sight of those who go with you, and shall
say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: So
will I break this people and this city, as one
breaks a potters vessel, so that it can never
be mended. In Topheth they shall bury until

there is no more room to bury. Thus will
I do to this place, says the Lord, and to its
inhabitants, making this city like Topheth.
And the houses of Jerusalem and the
houses of the kings of Judah shall be deled
like the place of Tophethall the houses
upon whose roofs oerings have been made
to the whole host of heaven, and libations
have been poured out to other gods.
When Jeremiah came from Topheth,
where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, he
stood in the court of the Lords house and
said to all the people: Thus says the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel: I am now bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all
the disaster that I have pronounced against
it, because they have stiened their necks,
refusing to hear my words.
Now the priest Pashhur son of Immer,
who was chief ocer in the house of
the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these
things. Then Pashhur struck the prophet
Jeremiah, and put him in the stocks that were
in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of
the Lord. The next morning when Pashhur
released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah
said to him, The Lord has named you not
Pashhur but Terror-all-around. For thus
says the Lord: I am making you a terror to
yourself and to all your friends; and they
shall fall by the sword of their enemies while
you look on. And I will give all Judah into the
hand of the king of Babylon; he shall carry
them captive to Babylon, and shall kill them
with the sword. I will give all the wealth of
this city, all its gains, all its prized belongings,
and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into
the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them, and seize them, and carry them to
Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who live
in your house, shall go into captivity, and to
20
Dung Gate (Neh 3.1314), used to discard refuse (thus Potsherd Gate). 4: Blood of the innocent, a reference to
the practice of burning children to the Canaanite god Baal (or Molech) at this site in the Hinnom Valley; see
7.29n. 5: Baal, but elsewhere Molech; see 32.35; 2 Kings 23.10. 7: Make void, a verb (Heb baqaq) related to
the word for jug (Heb baqbuq, vv. 1,10), thereby explaining the connection with the prophetic sign. 9: The
horrors of siege warfare; see 11.22n.; Deut 28.5357. 10: Jeremiah performs the sign-act, unleashing the curse
he has spoken. 13: Host of heaven, 7.18; 8.2n.; 2 Kings 21.35. 20.1: Chief ocer, the chief Temple administrator in
charge of monitoring prophetic activity. Compare the role of Zephaniah in 29.2628 and Amaziah in Am 7.1013.
Such an oce was customary throughout the ancient Near East. 2: Stocks, cf. 29.26 and 2 Chr 16.10, where they
are similarly used to conne prophets. The Hebrew word suggests being subjected to a contorting position or
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jeremiah 20
Babylon you shall go; there you shall die, and
there you shall be buried, you and all your
friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.
OLord, you have enticed me,
and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
everyone mocks me.
For whenever I speak, I must cry out,
I must shout, Violence and
destruction!
For the word of the Lord has become
for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
If I say, I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,
then within me there is something like a
burning re
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
For I hear many whispering:
Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!
All my close friends
are watching for me to stumble.
Perhaps he can be enticed,
and we can prevail against him,
and take our revenge on him.
But the Lord is with me like a dread
warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not prevail.
They will be greatly shamed,

for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.
OLord of hosts, you test the righteous,
you see the heart and the mind;
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
Sing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hands of evildoers.
Cursed be the day
on which I was born!
The day when my mother bore me,
let it not be blessed!
Cursed be the man
who brought the news to my father,
saying,
A child is born to you, a son,
making him very glad.
Let that man be like the cities
that the Lord overthrew without pity;
let him hear a cry in the morning
and an alarm at noon,
because he did not kill me in the womb;
so my mother would have been my
grave,
and her womb forever great.
Why did I come forth from the womb
to see toil and sorrow,
and spend my days in shame?
turned upside down. 3: Terror-all-around, see 17.17n. 6: You have prophesied, spoken of Pashhur the priest. Priests
could function as prophets (so Jeremiah himself as well as Ezekiel), or perhaps it was because of his oce (see
v. 1) that he is aributed prophetic status.
20.718: Jeremiahs nal complaint (see 11.1812.6n.). Using strong language that has sexual overtones,
Jeremiah complains of having been tricked or seduced by God. Jeremiahs own words are played upon by his
enemies, who seek his ruin. A brief word of trust and praise (v. 1113) gives way to a nal self-imprecation as
Jeremiah curses his own life. 7: Enticed, though the term can be used positively (Hos 2.14), it can also be used
of seduction (Ex 22.16; Judg 14.15) and deception (2 Sam 3.25; Ps 78.36); see 1 Kings 22.2021 for its use in a
prophetic context. 10: Terror is all around, cf. v. 3; 6.25n. Enticed . . . prevail, key words in this section, cf. v. 7. 11:
The expression of condence is a common element in laments (e.g., Pss 6.810; 12.67). 12: Typical sentiments
of complaint psalms in which the psalmist invites divine scrutiny and pleads for vengeance against adversaries. 13: A call to praise is typical of psalms of complaint, where deliverance is anticipated and a vow is made to
lead the community in praise when deliverance is experienced (e.g., Pss 22.2231; 31.1924). 1418: Raw words
of bierness concerning the human condition. Such sentiments regarding wished-for abortion or stillbirth
are shocking, but not without parallels; see Job 3; Jon 4.3,8. 16: The cities that the Lord overthrew, Sodom and
Gomorrah (Gen 19.21,25,29; Deut 29.23; Isa 13.19; Am 4.11). 17. Forever great, that is, pregnant.
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jeremiah 21
21
This is the word that came to Jeremiah

from the Lord, when King Zedekiah
sent to him Pashhur son of Malchiah and the
priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, saying,
Please inquire of the Lord on our behalf,
for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will perform a wonderful deed for us, as he has often
done, and will make him withdraw from us.
Then Jeremiah said to them: Thus you
shall say to Zedekiah: Thus says the Lord,
the God of Israel: I am going to turn back
the weapons of war that are in your hands
and with which you are ghting against the
king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans
who are besieging you outside the walls; and
I will bring them together into the center
of this city. I myself will ght against you
with outstretched hand and mighty arm, in
anger, in fury, and in great wrath. And I will
strike down the inhabitants of this city, both
human beings and animals; they shall die of
a great pestilence. Afterward, says the Lord,
I will give King Zedekiah of Judah, and his
servants, and the people in this citythose
who survive the pestilence, sword, and famineinto the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar
of Babylon, into the hands of their enemies,
into the hands of those who seek their lives.
He shall strike them down with the edge of
the sword; he shall not pity them, or spare

them, or have compassion.
And to this people you shall say: Thus says
the Lord: See, I am setting before you the way
of life and the way of death. Those who stay
in this city shall die by the sword, by famine,
and by pestilence; but those who go out and
surrender to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have their lives as
a prize of war. For I have set my face against
this city for evil and not for good, says the
Lord: it shall be given into the hands of the
king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with re.
To the house of the king of Judah say:
Hear the word of the Lord, Ohouse of
David! Thus says the Lord:
Execute justice in the morning,
and deliver from the hand of the
oppressor
anyone who has been robbed,
or else my wrath will go forth like re,
and burn, with no one to quench it,
because of your evil doings.
See, I am against you, Oinhabitant of
the valley,
Orock of the plain,
says the Lord;
you who say, Who can come down
against us,
21.124.10: Oracles from the reign of Zedekiah. The nal phase of the rst cycle of oracles. Zedekiah was
the last of Judahs kings who reigned from the rst deportation in 597 until the nal fall of Jerusalem in 586 bce.
These oracles focus upon the royal house and establishment.
21.114: Oracles directed to Zedekiah, the people, and the royal house. In the face of the peoples condence, the Lord warns that he will ght against Judah (vv. 57), and Jerusalem and Zedekiah will fall to Nebuchadrezzar. Zedekiah repeatedly sent envoys to Jeremiah for divine guidance and information, always with
similar results: Zedekiah should capitulate to the Babylonian armies; cf. 37.310; 38.13. The historical seing is
apparently 588 bce, aer Zedekiah had commied himself to a rebellion against Babylon (see 52.3). 1: Pashhur
son of Malchiah, cf. 38.1. Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the chief Temple ocer who was apparently sympathetic
toward Jeremiah (29.2429). 2: Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon (605562 bce); his name is also wrien as
Nebuchadnezzar (e.g., 27.6). 4: Chaldeans, the inhabitants of the lower plain formed by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, a term that came to be used for Babylonians. 8: The way of life and the way of death, Deuteronomic
language (Deut 30.15,19). Ironically, Jeremiah oers the people the opportunity to choose, but their choices
do not include the option of avoiding the Babylonian onslaught. The only possibility for life is surrender to
the enemy besieging the city; Jerusalem, however, will be destroyed (38.17). 9: By the sword, by famine, and by
pestilence, a frequent triad in Jeremiah (14.12; 15.2; 18.21; 29.1718). A prize of war, that is the spoil or booty
that was divided among the soldiers aer bale (Gen 49.27; Ex 15.9; Josh 22.8). 13: Jerusalem was built on a narrow ridge and neighboring hill, protected on the west, south, and east, but it was vulnerable from the north. To
refer to it as built in a valley and plain is derogatory language, as is the term come down against, indicating
its critical vulnerability in the current situation; one usually went up to Jerusalem. Compare the boast of the
Jebusites in 2 Sam 5.6.
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jeremiah 22
or who can enter our places of refuge?
I will punish you according to the fruit of
your doings,
says the Lord;
I will kindle a re in its forest,
and it shall devour all that is around it.
22
Thus says the Lord: Go down to the

house of the king of Judah, and speak
there this word, and say: Hear the word
of the Lord, OKing of Judah sitting on the
throne of Davidyou, and your servants,
and your people who enter these gates.
Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and
righteousness, and deliver from the hand of
the oppressor anyone who has been robbed.
And do no wrong or violence to the alien,
the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will
indeed obey this word, then through the
gates of this house shall enter kings who sit
on the throne of David, riding in chariots
and on horses, they, and their servants, and
their people. But if you will not heed these
words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that
this house shall become a desolation. For
thus says the Lord concerning the house of
the king of Judah:
You are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of Lebanon;
but I swear that I will make you a
desert,
an uninhabited city.a
I will prepare destroyers against you,

all with their weapons;
they shall cut down your choicest cedars
and cast them into the re.
And many nations will pass by this city,
and all of them will say one to another, Why
has the Lord dealt in this way with that great
city? And they will answer, Because they
abandoned the covenant of the Lord their
God, and worshiped other gods and served
them.
Do not weep for him who is dead,
nor bemoan him;
weep rather for him who goes away,
for he shall return no more
to see his native land.
For thus says the Lord concerning
Shallum son of King Josiah of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah, and who went away
from this place: He shall return here no more,
but in the place where they have carried
him captive he shall die, and he shall never
see this land again.
Woe to him who builds his house by
unrighteousness,
and his upper rooms by injustice;
who makes his neighbors work for
nothing,
a Cn: Heb uninhabited cities
22.19: Oracles directed to the king. Here the house refers to the palace; cf. 21.1112, where it refers to the
royal family and the dynasty. The king, as benefactor and symbol of justice, is instructed to perform the standard duties of kingship to insure the continued existence of the Davidic dynasty. The criteria of justice recall
Deuteronomy (Deut 16.11,14; 24.1921); cf. Jer 7.57. 3: The language repeats that of 21.12, tying these sections
together thematically. 4: Cf. 17.25. 6: Like Gilead, well known for its rich cale industry (Num 32.1; Song 4.1; 6.5)
and trade in medicinal herbs (see 8.22n.; cf. 46.11). Lebanon, see 18.14n. 7: Prepare, that is, sanctify, indicating
warfare; see 6.4n.; 51.2728; Joel 4.9. 89: A later comment (5.19; Deut 29.2328; 1 Kings 9.89) referring to
Jerusalem, not the palace.
22.1030: A chronological survey of Israels kings from Josiah to Zedekiah (see chart on p. 1058). 1011:
Him who is dead, Josiah was killed at Megiddo in 609 bce in a bale with Pharaoh Neco. Neco was leading the
Egyptian army northward to come to the aid of the Assyrian army, which was under critical pressure from the
Babylonians. Josiahs political program was governed by his revolt against Assyria, so he did not want Necos
campaign to relieve Assyria to succeed. Him who goes away, Josiahs son Jehoahaz (Shallum) reigned briey but
was taken captive by Pharaoh Neco II of Egypt (ruled 610595 bce), who placed his brother Jehoiakim (608
598 bce) on the throne (2 Kings 23.3134; 2 Chr 36:14; Ezek 19.4). 1323: An oracle against Jehoiakim, who is
judged to be the antithesis of his father, Josiah (vv. 1517). 13: Work for nothing, the royal building projects were
carried out by use of conscripted laborers, one of the realities of dynastic kingship as suggested by Samuels
warning (1 Sam 8.1018). References to elaborate building projects completed by means of uncompensated
hebrew bible | 1095
jeremiah 22
and does not give them their wages;
who says, I will build myself a spacious
house
with large upper rooms,
and who cuts out windows for it,
paneling it with cedar,
and painting it with vermilion.
Are you a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
and do justice and
righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
He judged the cause of the poor and
needy;
then it was well.
Is not this to know me?
says the Lord.
But your eyes and heart
are only on your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and
violence.
Therefore thus says the Lord
concerning King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of
Judah:
They shall not lament for him, saying,
Alas, my brother! or Alas, sister!
They shall not lament for him, saying,
Alas, lord! or Alas, his majesty!
With the burial of a donkey he shall be
buried
dragged o and thrown out beyond the
gates of Jerusalem.
Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,
and lift up your voice in Bashan;
cry out from Abarim,
for all your lovers are crushed.
I spoke to you in your prosperity,

but you said, I will not listen.
This has been your way from your youth,
for you have not obeyed my voice.
The wind shall shepherd all your
shepherds,
and your lovers shall go into captivity;
then you will be ashamed and dismayed
because of all your wickedness.
Oinhabitant of Lebanon,
nested among the cedars,
how you will groana when pangs come
upon you,
pain as of a woman in labor!
As I live, says the Lord, even if King
Coniah son of Jehoiakim of Judah were the
signet ring on my right hand, even from there
I would tear you o and give you into the
hands of those who seek your life, into the
hands of those of whom you are afraid, even
into the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar of
Babylon and into the hands of the Chaldeans.
I will hurl you and the mother who bore
you into another country, where you were
not born, and there you shall die. But they
shall not return to the land to which they
long to return.
Is this man Coniah a despised broken
pot,
a vessel no one wants?
Why are he and his ospring hurled out
and cast away in a land that they do not
know?
Oland, land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
Thus says the Lord:
a Gk Vg Syr: Heb will be pitied
labor suggest that Jehoiakim was perceived as imitating Solomons grandeur and autocratic power (1 Kings
5.1318). 14: Windows . . . cedar . . . vermilion, signs of royal ostentation and arrogance. 15: Your father, that is,
Josiah. 18: The lack of professional mourners at ones funeral was a mark of shame and degradation; cf. 2 Kings
24.6, which suggests that nothing was unusual about Jehoiakims death and burial. 2023: The addressee is
an individual feminine gure, presumably Jerusalem; cf. 2.2025,3337. 20: From distant regions (Lebanon,
Bashan in northern Transjordan, Abarim east of the Dead Sea), lamentation will be made for Jerusalem, whose
lovers (military and political allies) have been defeated. 23: Inhabitant of Lebanon, a gurative reference either
to Jerusalem or to King Jehoiakim. 2430: An oracle against Coniah (Jehoiachin), who reigned only briey
before surrendering to the Babylonians in 597 bce. 27: Jehoiachin was maintained at the Babylonian court, and
continued to be the focus of hope for some Judeans and those in exile with him (compare the good gs of
24.47); see 2 Kings 25.2730. 30: None of his ospring, some evidence suggests that Sheshbazzar, prince of
Judah (Ezra 1.8), was the Shenazzar listed among the sons of Jehoiachin in 1 Chr 3.18, and was appointed by
1096 | hebrew bible
jeremiah 23
Record this man as childless,
a man who shall not succeed in his
days;
for none of his ospring shall succeed
in sitting on the throne of David,
and ruling again in Judah.
23
Woe to the shepherds who destroy

and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says
the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the
shepherds who shepherd my people: It is
you who have scattered my ock, and have
driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your
evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself
will gather the remnant of my ock out of
all the lands where I have driven them, and
I will bring them back to their fold, and they
shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise
up shepherds over them who will shepherd
them, and they shall not fear any longer, or
be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says
the Lord.
Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and
deal wisely, and shall execute justice and
righteousness in the land. In his days Judah
will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And
this is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord is our righteousness.
Therefore, the days are surely coming,
says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said,
As the Lord lives who brought the people of

Israel up out of the land of Egypt, but As
the Lord lives who brought out and led the
ospring of the house of Israel out of the land
of the north and out of all the lands where
hea had driven them. Then they shall live in
their own land.
Concerning the prophets:
My heart is crushed within me,
all my bones shake;
I have become like a drunkard,
like one overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and because of his holy words.
For the land is full of adulterers;
because of the curse the land
mourns,
and the pastures of the wilderness are
dried up.
Their course has been evil,
and their might is not right.
Both prophet and priest are ungodly;
even in my house I have found their
wickedness,
says the Lord.
Therefore their way shall be to them
like slippery paths in the darkness,
into which they shall be driven and fall;
for I will bring disaster upon them
in the year of their punishment,
says the Lord.
a Gk: Heb I
the Persians as governor of Judah (1 Esd 2.12).

23.18: Conclusion. The chronological survey of Judahs kings concludes with a general oracle against the
shepherds (a common metaphor for kings; cf. 22.22; Ezek 34) and a veiled reference to Zedekiah (vv. 56). 2:
The shepherds have driven the ock away, but under divine purpose (vv. 3,8). Not aended . . . aend to you, an
ambiguous term connoting both aentive care (Ex 3.16; 4.31) and especially scrutinizing punishment (Am 3.14;
Zech 10.3). Both meanings are implied here. See also v. 4. 4: Be missing, a third meaning of the term aend.
The basic meaning of the word is to muster or count o. In counting and arranging in order some may be
discovered to be missing. 5: Righteous Branch, cf. 33.15; Isa 11.1; Zech 3.8; 6.12. The possession of wisdom and
the execution of justice and righteousness were the hallmarks of the just king throughout the ancient Near
East. 6: This kings name is yahweh-tsidqenu, the Lord is our righteousness, a play on the name of Zedekiah (tsidqi-yahu), the last king of Judah (597586 bce) appointed to the throne by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings
24.17). The reversal of the two elements of the name suggests that he will be the antithesis of Zedekiah. Here
the stress is upon the person of the future ruler; cf. 33.16, where the hope is placed not in the person of the king
but in the city Jerusalem. 78: See 16.1415n. Future deliverance will surpass the past in signicance, even the
Exodus (cf. Isa 51.911; 52.1112).
23.940: Oracles directed to the prophets as royal agents, who function alongside the priests in the Temple
(v. 11) and who preach soothing words of well-being at a time of crisis. This oracle emphasizes words such as
hebrew bible | 1097
jeremiah 23
In the prophets of Samaria
I saw a disgusting thing:
they prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
But in the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen a more shocking thing:
they commit adultery and walk in lies;
they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from wickedness;
all of them have become like Sodom to me,
and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts
concerning the prophets:
I am going to make them eat wormwood,
and give them poisoned water to drink;
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has spread throughout the
land.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Do not
listen to the words of the prophets who
prophesy to you; they are deluding you. They
speak visions of their own minds, not from
the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying
to those who despise the word of the Lord,
It shall be well with you; and to all who
stubbornly follow their own stubborn hearts,
they say, No calamity shall come upon you.
For who has stood in the council of the
Lord
so as to see and to hear his word?
Who has given heed to his word so as to
proclaim it?
Look, the storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the
wicked.
The anger of the Lord will not turn back

until he has executed and accomplished
the intents of his mind.
In the latter days you will understand it
clearly.
I did not send the prophets,
yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my
words to my people,
and they would have turned them from
their evil way,
and from the evil of their doings.
Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and
not a God far o ? Who can hide in secret
places so that I cannot see them? says the
Lord. Do I not ll heaven and earth? says
the Lord. I have heard what the prophets
have said who prophesy lies in my name,
saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed!
How long? Will the hearts of the prophets
ever turn backthose who prophesy lies,
and who prophesy the deceit of their own
heart? They plan to make my people forget
my name by their dreams that they tell one
another, just as their ancestors forgot my
name for Baal. Let the prophet who has a
dream tell the dream, but let the one who has
my word speak my word faithfully. What has
straw in common with wheat? says the Lord.
Is not my word like re, says the Lord, and
like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
See, therefore, I am against the prophets,
says the Lord, who steal my words from one
another. See, I am against the prophets, says
driven and punishment (v. 12; cf. vv. 2,3,4). 13: Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. For
prophets of the Canaanite God Baal there, see 1 Kings 18.2024. 14: Jerusalem outdoes Samaria with its oenses;
cf. Ezek 16.4655; 23.211. Sodom . . . Gomorrah, see 20.16n. 15: Wormwood, see 9.15n. 18: Council of the Lord, the
abode of God was conceived of as a royal court with many divine beings present (1 Kings 22.1923; Isa 6.17;
Pss 82.1; 89.7). 1920: See 30.2324. Storm imagery is frequently used to represent the coming of the Lord as a
warrior. 21: They ran, using the metaphor of a runner bringing a message (2 Sam 18.1926; cf. Isa 52.7). 23: Am
I a God near by? a question supposing a negative response. God is not near by, but rather is far o, lling the
heavens and seeing all things even in secret places; see 1 Kings 8.27. Jeremiah protests the assumptions of divine immanence and coziness. 28: Dream . . . word, a contrast between common wishful thinking and powerful
visionary experience producing Gods ery word. Num 12.6 and Joel 2.28, however, suggest that both dreams
and visionary experiences were legitimate means of receiving oracles from God, so this is not likely a disparaging of the one for the sake of the other (but is not in the MT). The divine word surpasses any medium of its
1098 | hebrew bible
jeremiah 24
the Lord, who use their own tongues and say,
Says the Lord. See, I am against those who
prophesy lying dreams, says the Lord, and
who tell them, and who lead my people astray
by their lies and their recklessness, when I did
not send them or appoint them; so they do
not prot this people at all, says the Lord.
When this people, or a prophet, or a
priest asks you, What is the burden of the
Lord? you shall say to them, You are the
burden,a and I will cast you o, says the
Lord. And as for the prophet, priest, or the
people who say, The burden of the Lord,
I will punish them and their households.
Thus shall you say to one another, among
yourselves, What has the Lord answered?
or What has the Lord spoken? But the
burden of the Lord you shall mention no
more, for the burden is everyones own word,
and so you pervert the words of the living
God, the Lord of hosts, our God. Thus
you shall ask the prophet, What has the
Lord answered you? or What has the Lord
spoken? But if you say, the burden of the
Lord, thus says the Lord: Because you have
said these words, the burden of the Lord,
when I sent to you, saying, You shall not say,
the burden of the Lord, therefore, I will
surely lift you upb and cast you away from
my presence, you and the city that I gave to
you and your ancestors. And I will bring
upon you everlasting disgrace and perpetual
shame, which shall not be forgotten.
24
The Lord showed me two baskets of

gs placed before the temple of the
Lord. This was after King Nebuchadrez-
zar of Babylon had taken into exile from

Jerusalem King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of
Judah, together with the ocials of Judah,
the artisans, and the smiths, and had brought
them to Babylon. One basket had very good
gs, like rst-ripe gs, but the other basket
had very bad gs, so bad that they could not
be eaten. And the Lord said to me, What do
you see, Jeremiah? I said, Figs, the good gs
very good, and the bad gs very bad, so bad
that they cannot be eaten.
me: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel:
Like these good figs, so I will regard as
good the exiles from Judah, whom I have
sent away from this place to the land of the
Chaldeans. I will set my eyes upon them
for good, and I will bring them back to this
land. I will build them up, and not tear them
down; I will plant them, and not pluck them
up. I will give them a heart to know that I
am the Lord; and they shall be my people
and I will be their God, for they shall return
to me with their whole heart.
But thus says the Lord: Like the bad gs
that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will
I treat King Zedekiah of Judah, his ocials,
the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this
land, and those who live in the land of Egypt.
I will make them a horror, an evil thing, to
all the kingdoms of the eartha disgrace, a
byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places
where I shall drive them. And I will send
sword, famine, and pestilence upon them,
a Gk Vg: Heb What burden
b Heb Mss Gk Vg: MT forget you
conveyance, and is powerful (v. 29). 31: Says the Lord, these prophets are not prophesying in the name of Baal
(v. 27), but rather in the very name of God. They are, however, simply mimicking one another and plagiarizing
each others messages (v. 30). 33: Burden of the Lord, a term also used for an oracle (see Nah 1.1; Zech 9.1; 12.1;
Mal 1.1). A sarcastic play on words: the people seek an oracle from Jeremiah but they are declared to be a burden
to God; cf. 17.21. 39: I will surely li you up, a further play on the term burden, from the Heb verb nasa, which
means to carry or li.
24.110: Conclusion to this group of oracles from the time of Zedekiah. The exiled Jeconiah (Jehoiachin)
was held in high esteem by those exiled with him in Babylon and by the supporters of Jeremiahs program.
Those le in Judah who supported Zedekiah were regarded as roen and inedible gs; see further 22.27; 29.17;
2 Kings 24.1017. In this perspective, the future hope lay with those in exile. This language was a polemical
support for the community which eventually returned from exile and reestablished control in the postexilic
reconstruction under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. 5: Land of the Chaldeans, Babylon (see 21.4n.). 6: See
1.10. 8: In the land of Egypt, many Judeans ed to Egypt, an ally of Judahs in its struggle against the Babylonians;
cf. 42.1314.
hebrew bible | 1099
jeremiah 25
until they are utterly destroyed from the land
that I gave to them and their ancestors.
The word that came to Jeremiah
concerning all the people of Judah,
in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of
Josiah of Judah (that was the rst year of King
Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon), which the
prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of
Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth
year of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, to
this day, the word of the Lord has come to
me, and I have spoken persistently to you,
but you have not listened. And though the
Lord persistently sent you all his servants
the prophets, you have neither listened nor
inclined your ears to hear when they said,
Turn now, every one of you, from your evil
way and wicked doings, and you will remain
upon the land that the Lord has given to you
and your ancestors from of old and forever;
do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke me to anger
with the work of your hands. Then I will do
you no harm. Yet you did not listen to me,
says the Lord, and so you have provoked me
to anger with the work of your hands to your
own harm.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
Because you have not obeyed my words,
I am going to send for all the tribes of the
north, says the Lord, even for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, my servant, and
I will bring them against this land and its
inhabitants, and against all these nations
around; I will utterly destroy them, and
make them an object of horror and of hissing, and an everlasting disgrace.a And I
25
will banish from them the sound of mirth

and the sound of gladness, the voice of the
bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the
sound of the millstones and the light of
the lamp. This whole land shall become
a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall
serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Then after seventy years are completed,
I will punish the king of Babylon and that
nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their
iniquity, says the Lord, making the land an
everlasting waste. I will bring upon that
land all the words that I have uttered against
it, everything written in this book, which
Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.
For many nations and great kings shall
make slaves of them also; and I will repay
them according to their deeds and the work
of their hands.
For thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said
to me: Take from my hand this cup of the
wine of wrath, and make all the nations to
whom I send you drink it. They shall drink
and stagger and go out of their minds because of the sword that I am sending among
them.
So I took the cup from the Lords hand,
and made all the nations to whom the Lord
sent me drink it: Jerusalem and the towns
of Judah, its kings and ocials, to make them
a desolation and a waste, an object of hissing
and of cursing, as they are today; Pharaoh
king of Egypt, his servants, his ocials, and
all his people; all the mixed people;b all
the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of
a Gk Compare Syr: Heb and everlasting desolations
25.138: Judah among all the nations. The conclusion of the rst cycle of oracles with its reference to the
scroll of 605 bce (see 36.132). With Nebuchadrezzars victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish in 605, Judahs
fate became a part of unfolding world events. Its destruction here is placed in cosmic perspective as Gods
wrath is directed against all the nations, and nally against Babylon itself. The LXX places the oracles against
the nations (chs 4651) here, following v. 13. 1: Fourth year, 605 bce. 3: Twenty-three years, suggesting that Jeremiahs ministry began in 627 bce. See 1.2 and the introduction. 4: This role of the prophets is characteristic
of Jeremiah; see 7.25n. 9: All the tribes of the north, the direction of coming disaster; see 1.14. All these nations
around, Judahs neighbors. 10: See 7.34n. 11: Seventy years, an expected lifetime; see Ps 90.10; Isa 23.15. No one
alive will experience repatriation to their land. 13: This book, that is, material in chs 125 or the scroll of 605 bce.
By placing the oracles against the nations at this point, however, the Septuagint takes this book to refer to
chs 4651. 15: Cup of the wine of wrath, see 13.1214n. 18: As they are today, presumes an exilic perspective (aer
586 bce) rather than that of 605 bce as indicated in 25.1. 1925: The nations are listed in their proximity to Judah
from nearest to farthest. 20: Mixed people, a term associated with desert dwellers in v. 24. Uz is in Edom, the
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jeremiah 26
the land of the PhilistinesAshkelon, Gaza,
Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; Edom,
Moab, and the Ammonites; all the kings of
Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of
the coastland across the sea; Dedan, Tema,
Buz, and all who have shaven temples; all
the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the
mixed peoplesa that live in the desert; all
the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and
all the kings of Media; all the kings of the
north, far and near, one after another, and
all the kingdoms of the world that are on the
face of the earth. And after them the king of
Sheshachb shall drink.
Then you shall say to them, Thus says
the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink,
get drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more,
because of the sword that I am sending
among you.
And if they refuse to accept the cup from
your hand to drink, then you shall say to
them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: You must
drink! See, I am beginning to bring disaster
on the city that is called by my name, and
how can you possibly avoid punishment? You
shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the
earth, says the Lord of hosts.
You, therefore, shall prophesy against
them all these words, and say to them:
The Lord will roar from on high,
and from his holy habitation utter his
voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold,
and shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
The clamor will resound to the ends of
the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against
the nations;
he is entering into judgment with all esh,

and the guilty he will put to the sword,
says the Lord.
See, disaster is spreading
from nation to nation,
and a great tempest is stirring
from the farthest parts of the earth!
Those slain by the Lord on that day
shall extend from one end of the earth to
the other. They shall not be lamented, or
gathered, or buried; they shall become dung
on the surface of the ground.
Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
roll in ashes, you lords of the ock,
for the days of your slaughter have come
and your dispersions,a
and you shall fall like a choice vessel.
Flight shall fail the shepherds,
and there shall be no escape for the
lords of the ock.
Hark! the cry of the shepherds,
and the wail of the lords of the ock!
For the Lord is despoiling their pasture,
and the peaceful folds are devastated,
because of the erce anger of the Lord.
Like a lion he has left his covert;
for their land has become a waste
because of the cruel sword,
and because of his erce anger.
26
At the beginning of the reign of King

Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, this
word came from the Lord: Thus says the
Lord: Stand in the court of the Lords house,

b Sheshach is a cryptogram for Babel, Babylon
home of Job (Job 1.1), though its precise location is unknown. 21: Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites, nations in
Transjordan, east of Israel and Judah. 23: Dedan, Tema, Buz, cities in Arabia. Shaven temples, see 9.26n. 26: Sheshach, code language for Babel (Babylon) derived by substituting the leers of the alphabet in reverse order,
an encryption method called atbash; see also 51.1,41. 30: Divine wrath is portrayed in conventional terms as a
roaring lion (Am 1.2; Hos 11.10; Joel 3.16) or one treading out grapes like blood (Gen 49.11; Isa 63.13; Zech 9.15).
33: Using common themes; cf. 16.4. 34: Roll in ashes, characteristic mourning ritual; cf. 6.26. 38: He has le, that
is, God, the lion of Judah, has abandoned his abode.
26.129.32: Jeremiah in conict. These narratives begin the second cycle of prophetic oracles, and detail
several episodes where Jeremiah was in conict with Temple and royal ocials and other prophets. This cycle
includes chs 2635, and concludes with ch 36. It again spans the time from Jehoiakims reign (609 bce) down
to the reign of Zedekiah and the nal siege of Jerusalem (586 bce). Some aribute this narrative material in chs
hebrew bible | 1101
jeremiah 26
and speak to all the cities of Judah that come
to worship in the house of the Lord; speak
to them all the words that I command you;
do not hold back a word. It may be that they
will listen, all of them, and will turn from
their evil way, that I may change my mind
about the disaster that I intend to bring on
them because of their evil doings. You shall
say to them: Thus says the Lord: If you will
not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have
set before you, and to heed the words of my
servants the prophets whom I send to you
urgentlythough you have not heeded
then I will make this house like Shiloh, and
I will make this city a curse for all the nations
of the earth.
The priests and the prophets and all
the people heard Jeremiah speaking these
words in the house of the Lord. And when
Jeremiah had nished speaking all that the
Lord had commanded him to speak to all the
people, then the priests and the prophets and
all the people laid hold of him, saying, You
shall die! Why have you prophesied in the
name of the Lord, saying, This house shall
be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate,
without inhabitant? And all the people
gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the
Lord.
When the ocials of Judah heard these
things, they came up from the kings house
to the house of the Lord and took their seat
in the entry of the New Gate of the house of
the Lord. Then the priests and the prophets said to the ocials and to all the people,
This man deserves the sentence of death

because he has prophesied against this city,
as you have heard with your own ears.
Then Jeremiah spoke to all the ocials
and all the people, saying, It is the Lord who
sent me to prophesy against this house and
this city all the words you have heard. Now
therefore amend your ways and your doings,
and obey the voice of the Lord your God,
and the Lord will change his mind about
the disaster that he has pronounced against
you. But as for me, here I am in your hands.
Do with me as seems good and right to you.
Only know for certain that if you put me to
death, you will be bringing innocent blood
upon yourselves and upon this city and its
inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to
you to speak all these words in your ears.
Then the ocials and all the people said
to the priests and the prophets, This man
does not deserve the sentence of death, for
he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord
our God. And some of the elders of the
land arose and said to all the assembled people, Micah of Moresheth, who prophesied
during the days of King Hezekiah of Judah,
said to all the people of Judah: Thus says the
Lord of hosts,
Zion shall be plowed as a eld;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a
wooded height.
Did King Hezekiah of Judah and all Judah
actually put him to death? Did he not fear
the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord,
2629 to Baruchs memoirs, but this is conjectural.

26.124: Jeremiahs Temple Sermon. Generally associated with ch 7 because of its location in the Temple
and its reference to Shiloh (see 7.1,1215). Aention is given here to the aermath of the event and Jeremiahs
near arrest and execution. 1: The beginning of the reign, 609 bce. 3: That I may change my mind, see 18.8,10n., and
the freedom God has to alter divine plans. 5: See 7.25n. 6: Shiloh, see 7.12n. 9: To prophesy threats against the
royal sanctuary was tantamount to treason. Compare Amoss reception at Bethel (Am 7.1013). 10: Seat in the
entry of the New Gate, indicates that this is a formal judicial hearing, with justice being administered in the
gate (Isa 29.21; Am 5.15). 12: It is the Lord who sent me, as elsewhere in the ancient Near East, prophets were
granted some degree of protection by virtue of the fact that they were constrained to bring their message by
the gods (cf. v. 15). But such immunity had limits. 15: Innocent blood, the killing of an innocent person was a horric crime that had disastrous consequences, especially in the perspective of Deuteronomy (see Deut 19.1013;
21.89; 27.25). 1619: The charge is mitigated for two reasons. First, they recognize the prophets claim to immunity on the basis of being constrained by God to deliver a message (v. 16). Second, the precedent of Micah
is invoked, with a rare quotation of an earlier book (Mic 3.12). Micahs prediction of disaster did not come to
pass because, it is argued, he successfully prompted Hezekiah to plead for divine favor. There is no mention of
this event in the historical books, where only Isaiah is mentioned in connection with Hezekiah and the Assyrian
1102 | hebrew bible
jeremiah 27
and did not the Lord change his mind about
the disaster that he had pronounced against
them? But we are about to bring great disaster on ourselves!
There was another man prophesying in
the name of the Lord, Uriah son of Shemaiah
from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against
this city and against this land in words exactly like those of Jeremiah. And when King
Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the
ocials, heard his words, the king sought to
put him to death; but when Uriah heard of it,
he was afraid and ed and escaped to Egypt.
Then King Jehoiakim senta Elnathan son
of Achbor and men with him to Egypt, and
they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him
to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down
with the sword and threw his dead body into
the burial place of the common people.
But the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan
was with Jeremiah so that he was not given
over into the hands of the people to be put to
death.
27
In the beginning of the reign of King

Zedekiahb son of Josiah of Judah, this
word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. Thus
the Lord said to me: Make yourself a yoke of
straps and bars, and put them on your neck.

Send wordc to the king of Edom, the king of
Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king
of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand
of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem
to King Zedekiah of Judah. Give them this
charge for their masters: Thus says the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you
shall say to your masters: It is I who by my
great power and my outstretched arm have
made the earth, with the people and animals
that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever I please. Now I have given all these
lands into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him
even the wild animals of the eld to serve
him. All the nations shall serve him and
his son and his grandson, until the time of
his own land comes; then many nations and
great kings shall make him their slave.
But if any nation or kingdom will not
serve this king, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,
and put its neck under the yoke of the king of
Babylon, then I will punish that nation with
a Heb adds men to Egypt
b Another reading is Jehoiakim
c Cn: Heb send them
crisis (2 Kings 18.1320.19). 2023: The precedent of Uriah, however, indicated the danger facing Jeremiah. For
exactly the same charge (v. 20) Uriah was hunted down by Jehoiakim and executed. 22: Elnathan, see 36.12,25.
24: Ahikam son of Shaphan, as Josiahs secretary, Shaphan had been instrumental in the reform movement of Josiah (2 Kings 22.313), of which Jeremiah was likely an enthusiastic supporter. This particular family, comprised
of Shaphans sons Ahikam and Gemariah and Ahikams son Gedaliah, along with others, was one of Jeremiahs
chief advocates within the royal ranks of the princes; see 36.1119. That Ahikam had to rescue Jeremiah indicates that, in spite of the sentiments of the ocials and people, Jeremiah was still in grave danger, as indicated
by the precedent of Uriah.
27.128.17: Jeremiahs ox yoke and his confrontation with Hananiah. These conict narratives are linked
together syntactically and thematically. The date of Jeremiahs confrontation with Hananiah, according to 28.1,
is August, 594 bce (contrast 27.1, which has a scribal error, dating the event to the beginning of Jehoiakims
reign, under the inuence of 26.1). In early 594 bce a revolt in the Babylonian army prompted a conspiracy
among the western states, including Judah, to revolt against Nebuchadrezzar. The meeting of these foreign
emissaries in Jerusalem to consider the details for such a revolt is the occasion for the recorded prophetic sign
in ch 27. Zedekiah did not join the conspiracy at this time, however, and Judah was spared the retaliatory strike
by Babylon later that year.
27.111: Jeremiahs word to the foreign emissaries. 2: A yoke of, the phrase is lacking in the text. Jeremiah is
simply told to make straps and bars. But a yoke was comprised of straps and bars; see Lev 26.13; Ezek 34.27.
3: Send word, the text (Send them) suggests that it was the yoke itself that was sent via the emissaries. See
textual note c. 6: Nebuchadnezzar, this form of the name, used in chs 2729, shows the inuence of the Deuteronomistic editor. Elsewhere in Jeremiah the form is more correctly rendered as Nebuchadrezzar. My servant, a
striking designation for a foreign ruler (cf. Isa 44.2845.1). He is Gods servant because he is the instrument of
punishment against Judah and her neighbors. 7: Cf. 25.1114. 814: Jeremiah oers a choice and limited hope:
hebrew bible | 1103
jeremiah 28
the sword, with famine, and with pestilence,
says the Lord, until I have completed itsa destruction by his hand. You, therefore, must
not listen to your prophets, your diviners,
your dreamers,b your soothsayers, or your
sorcerers, who are saying to you, You shall
not serve the king of Babylon. For they are
prophesying a lie to you, with the result that
you will be removed far from your land; I will
drive you out, and you will perish. But any
nation that will bring its neck under the yoke
of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will
leave on its own land, says the Lord, to till it
and live there.
I spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah in the
same way: Bring your necks under the yoke
of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his
people, and live. Why should you and your
people die by the sword, by famine, and by
pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of
Babylon? Do not listen to the words of the
prophets who are telling you not to serve the
king of Babylon, for they are prophesying a
lie to you. I have not sent them, says the
Lord, but they are prophesying falsely in my
name, with the result that I will drive you out
and you will perish, you and the prophets
who are prophesying to you.
Then I spoke to the priests and to all this
people, saying, Thus says the Lord: Do not
listen to the words of your prophets who are
prophesying to you, saying, The vessels of
the Lords house will soon be brought back
from Babylon, for they are prophesying a
lie to you. Do not listen to them; serve the
king of Babylon and live. Why should this
city become a desolation? If indeed they are
prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with

them, then let them intercede with the Lord
of hosts, that the vessels left in the house of
the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah,
and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. For
thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the
pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the
vessels that are left in this city, which King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take
away when he took into exile from Jerusalem
to Babylon King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of
Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem thus says the Lord of hosts, the God
of Israel, concerning the vessels left in the
house of the Lord, in the house of the king
of Judah, and in Jerusalem: They shall be
carried to Babylon, and there they shall stay,
until the day when I give attention to them,
says the Lord. Then I will bring them up and
restore them to this place.
In that same year, at the beginning
of the reign of King Zedekiah of
Judah, in the fth month of the fourth year,
the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, from
Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord,
in the presence of the priests and all the
people, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of
the king of Babylon. Within two years I will
bring back to this place all the vessels of the
Lords house, which King Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylon took away from this place and
carried to Babylon. I will also bring back to
this place King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of
Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went
28
a Heb their
b Gk Syr Vg: Heb dreams
willing submission to vassalage or destruction. 9: Diviners . . . dreamers . . . soothsayers . . . sorcerers, though these
intermediaries were banned by Deuteronomic tradition (Deut 18.10,14), the prophets inveigh against these customs, suggesting they were practiced also in Israel.
27.1222: Jeremiah speaks similar words to Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem. 16. The vessels, ritual
paraphernalia used in the Temple; see 28.3; 2 Kings 24.13; Ezra 5.1415. 19: The pillars Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings
7.1522), the large basin known as the sea (1 Kings 7.2326), and the stands and vessels (1 Kings 7.2739) were
furnishings of the Temple taken to Babylon in 586 bce (2 Kings 25.1317). The vessels, which were not broken up,
were later returned by Cyrus in 538 bce (Ezra 1.711).
28.117: Jeremiahs confrontation with the prophet Hananiah. Hananiah represented the message of
peace being proclaimed by the lying prophets, encouraging resistance to Babylon and false hopes of a
quick end to the political crisis, a restoration not only of the Temple vessels but of King Jehoiachin to the
throne. Jeremiah cites prophetic tradition in support of his message of disaster. The contest is resolved by
the death of Hananiah two months later. 1: On the contradictory dates see 27.128.17n. 4: Jeconiah, Jehoiachin
1104 | hebrew bible
jeremiah 29
to Babylon, says the Lord, for I will break the
yoke of the king of Babylon.
Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the
prophet Hananiah in the presence of the
priests and all the people who were standing
in the house of the Lord; and the prophet
Jeremiah said, Amen! May the Lord do so;
may the Lord fulll the words that you have
prophesied, and bring back to this place
from Babylon the vessels of the house of the
Lord, and all the exiles. But listen now to
this word that I speak in your hearing and in
the hearing of all the people. The prophets
who preceded you and me from ancient
times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence
against many countries and great kingdoms.
As for the prophet who prophesies peace,
when the word of that prophet comes true,
then it will be known that the Lord has truly
sent the prophet.
Then the prophet Hananiah took the
yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah,
and broke it. And Hananiah spoke in the
presence of all the people, saying, Thus says
the Lord: This is how I will break the yoke of
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the
neck of all the nations within two years. At
this, the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
Sometime after the prophet Hananiah
had broken the yoke from the neck of the
prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came
to Jeremiah: Go, tell Hananiah, Thus says
the Lord: You have broken wooden bars only
to forge iron bars in place of them! For thus
says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all

these nations so that they may serve King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and they shall
indeed serve him; I have even given him the
wild animals. And the prophet Jeremiah
said to the prophet Hananiah, Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you
made this people trust in a lie. Therefore
thus says the Lord: I am going to send you o
the face of the earth. Within this year you will
be dead, because you have spoken rebellion
against the Lord.
In that same year, in the seventh month,
the prophet Hananiah died.
These are the words of the letter
that the prophet Jeremiah sent from
Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the
exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and
all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had
taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
This was after King Jeconiah, and the queen
mother, the court ocials, the leaders of
Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the
smiths had departed from Jerusalem. The
letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of
Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom
King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It said:
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent
into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build
houses and live in them; plant gardens and
eat what they produce. Take wives and have
sons and daughters; take wives for your sons,
and give your daughters in marriage, that
29
(2 Kings 24.812). 5: The rst-person perspective of a Jeremiah memoir (27.2,12,16; 28.1) suddenly shis to a
third-person account. This illustrates the composite nature of this material. 6: There is considerable debate as
to whether Jeremiah is sincere in his wish or is speaking with bier irony. Because the story, under Deuteronomistic editing, is commied to the theme of prophetic fulllment (see v. 9), the reader cannot doubt Jeremiahs
word. 8: Commonly prophets issued oracles against foreign nations; see Am 12; Isa 1324; Ezek 2532. This is
especially true of early forms of war prophecy; see Jer 46.1. 9: On the criterion of prophetic fulllment, see
Deut 18.2122. This Deuteronomistic perspective controls the narrative here, as indicated by 28.1617. 16. Send
you o, a play on the fact that Hananiah has not been sent by God (v. 15).
29.132: Jeremiah in conict with prophets among the exile community. Correspondence with leaders
among the exiles in Babylon indicates their opposition to Jeremiahs message. Jeremiahs leer encouraging
the exiles to prepare for a lengthy stay in captivity (vv. 414) is met with a leer of rebuke by Shemaiah (v. 25) instructing Zephaniah, the Temple overseer in Jerusalem, to clamp down on Jeremiah and control his oracles (vv.
2528). This prompts another leer from Jeremiah to Shemaiah (v. 24) and a warning to all the exiles concerning
Shemaiahs fate (vv. 3132). 2: Jeconiah, Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24.812). The court ocials, or eunuchs; see 34.19n.
3: Elasah (perhaps the brother of Ahikam; 26.24) and Gemariah (36.10), apparently supporters of Jeremiahs program and sensitive to Babylonian interests. Hilkiah, see 2 Kings 2223. 5: Build . . . plant, characteristic language
hebrew bible | 1105
jeremiah 29
they may bear sons and daughters; multiply
there, and do not decrease. But seek the
welfare of the city where I have sent you into
exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for
in its welfare you will nd your welfare. For
thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
Do not let the prophets and the diviners who
are among you deceive you, and do not listen
to the dreams that they dream,a for it is a lie
that they are prophesying to you in my name;
I did not send them, says the Lord.
For thus says the Lord: Only when
Babylons seventy years are completed will I
visit you, and I will fulll to you my promise
and bring you back to this place. For surely I
know the plans I have for you, says the Lord,
plans for your welfare and not for harm, to
give you a future with hope. Then when you
call upon me and come and pray to me, I will
hear you. When you search for me, you will
nd me; if you seek me with all your heart, I
will let you nd me, says the Lord, and I will
restore your fortunes and gather you from all
the nations and all the places where I have
driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring
you back to the place from which I sent you
into exile.
Because you have said, The Lord has
raised up prophets for us in Babylon,
Thus says the Lord concerning the king
who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your
kinsfolk who did not go out with you into exile: Thus says the Lord of hosts, I am going
to let loose on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like rotten gs
that are so bad they cannot be eaten. I will
pursue them with the sword, with famine,
and with pestilence, and will make them a
horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be
an object of cursing, and horror, and hissing,
and a derision among all the nations where
I have driven them, because they did not
heed my words, says the Lord, when I persis-
tently sent to you my servants the prophets,

but theyb would not listen, says the Lord.
But now, all you exiles whom I sent away
from Jerusalem to Babylon, hear the word
of the Lord: Thus says the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of
Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who
are prophesying a lie to you in my name: I am
going to deliver them into the hand of King
Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall kill
them before your eyes. And on account of
them this curse shall be used by all the exiles
from Judah in Babylon: The Lord make you
like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of
Babylon roasted in the re, because they
have perpetrated outrage in Israel and have
committed adultery with their neighbors
wives, and have spoken in my name lying
words that I did not command them; I am the
one who knows and bears witness, says the
Lord.
To Shemaiah of Nehelam you shall say:
Israel: In your own name you sent a letter to
all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to
the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to
all the priests, saying, The Lord himself has
made you priest instead of the priest Jehoiada, so that there may be ocers in the house
of the Lord to control any madman who plays
the prophet, to put him in the stocks and the
collar. So now why have you not rebuked
Jeremiah of Anathoth who plays the prophet
for you? For he has actually sent to us in
Babylon, saying, It will be a long time; build
houses and live in them, and plant gardens
and eat what they produce.
The priest Zephaniah read this letter in
the hearing of the prophet Jeremiah. Then
the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
Send to all the exiles, saying, Thus says
a Cn: Heb your dreams that you cause to dream
b Syr: Heb you
of Jeremiahs vision of restoration (Jer 1.10), which will rst occur in Babylon itself. 7: Welfare, that is the peace
(Heb shalom). They are to pray for the peace not of Jerusalem (cf. Ps 122.6) but of Babylon. 10: Babylons seventy years, see 25.11n. 1214: See 23.3; 31.710. 16: This city, that is, Jerusalem. 17: Roen gs, cf. 24.110. 19: See
7.25n. 21: Ahab . . . Zedekiah, two of the prophets among the exiled community referred to in v. 15. 22: Roasted
in the re, cf. Dan 3.1923. 26: Ocers, see 20.1n. Madman, indicating the ecstatic qualities of typical prophetic
behavior. A ne line separated prophetic ecstasy and the behavior of the insane; see 1 Sam 10.1013; 19.2024.
Who plays the prophet, that is, who engages in such ecstatic behavior. Stocks and the collar, cf. 20.2n.
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jeremiah 30
the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam:
Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you,
though I did not send him, and has led you to
trust in a lie, therefore thus says the Lord:
I am going to punish Shemaiah of Nehelam
and his descendants; he shall not have anyone
living among this people to seea the good that
I am going to do to my people, says the Lord,
for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.
30

the Lord: Thus says the Lord, the
God of Israel: Write in a book all the words
that I have spoken to you. For the days are
surely coming, says the Lord, when I will
restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and
Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them
back to the land that I gave to their ancestors
and they shall take possession of it.
These are the words that the Lord spoke
concerning Israel and Judah:
Thus says the Lord:
We have heard a cry of panic,
of terror, and no peace.
Ask now, and see,
can a man bear a child?
Why then do I see every man
with his hands on his loins like a
woman in labor?
Why has every face turned pale?
Alas! that day is so great
there is none like it;
it is a time of distress for Jacob;
yet he shall be rescued from it.
On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will
break the yoke from o hisb neck, and I will
burst hisb bonds, and strangers shall no more

make a servant of him. But they shall serve
the Lord their God and David their king,
whom I will raise up for them.
But as for you, have no fear, my servant
Jacob, says the Lord,
and do not be dismayed, OIsrael;
for I am going to save you from far away,
and your ospring from the land of
their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and no one shall make him afraid.
For I am with you, says the Lord, to save
you;
I will make an end of all the nations
among which I scattered you,
but of you I will not make an end.
I will chastise you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you
unpunished.
Your hurt is incurable,
your wound is grievous.
There is no one to uphold your cause,
no medicine for your wound,
no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy,
the punishment of a merciless foe,
a Gk: Heb and he shall not see

b Cn: Heb your
30.131.40: The book of consolation, a cluster of oracles looking forward to Gods restoration of Judah and
Jerusalem, prompted by the reference to the good in 29.32. These oracles are said to be in a book or document (30.2,4) centering on the theme of restoring the fortunes of Israel/Judah. Since Israel (Ephraim) and
Judah oen appear as two separate political entities in this material, and because there is a frequent northern
orientation (compare 30.4; 31.5,6,15), some of the oracles may be early, envisioning the desire of Josiah to reunify Judah with the former territory of Israel. Jer 31.26 (Thereupon I awoke) indicates that an original dream
vision underlay some of this material, which has been reworked and expanded in its present form to address
the hopes for the restoration of Judah following the Babylonian exile. 30.14: Introduction. The expressions
for the days are surely coming and restore the fortunes sound the theme of this material. 3: Fortunes, or
perhaps the spoils and persons lost in warfare, captivity or in crisis. 511: Using the imagery of breaking the
yoke of captivity (v. 8), taken up from chs 2728, Gods salvation is promised. The language is akin to that of
Second Isaiah, especially in vv. 1011 (cf. Isa 35.4; 43.1). 6: The rhetorical question requires a negative response.
The pain of pregnancy and labor in childbirth is a common metaphor for distress in the midst of crisis. See Jer
4.31; 6.24; 13.21. 11: Not make an end, see 4.27; 5.10,18. Israel will have to suer the just consequence of its transgressions. 1217: Shi to female subject. Lady Zion seems incurably wounded (cf. 14.17; 15.8,18) having suered
hebrew bible | 1107
jeremiah 31
because your guilt is great,
because your sins are so numerous.
Why do you cry out over your hurt?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
because your sins are so numerous,
I have done these things to you.
Therefore all who devour you shall be
devoured,
and all your foes, every one of them,
shall go into captivity;
those who plunder you shall be
plundered,
and all who prey on you I will make a
prey.
For I will restore health to you,
and your wounds I will heal,
says the Lord,
because they have called you an
outcast:
It is Zion; no one cares for her!
Thus says the Lord:
I am going to restore the fortunes of the
tents of Jacob,
and have compassion on his
dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound,
and the citadel set on its rightful site.
Out of them shall come thanksgiving,
and the sound of merrymakers.
I will make them many, and they shall not
be few;
I will make them honored, and they
shall not be disdained.
Their children shall be as of old,
their congregation shall be established
before me;
and I will punish all who oppress them.
Their prince shall be one of their own,
their ruler shall come from their
midst;
I will bring him near, and he shall

approach me,
for who would otherwise dare to
approach me?
says the Lord.
And you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.
Look, the storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirlinga tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the
wicked.
The erce anger of the Lord will not
turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intents of his mind.
In the latter days you will understand this.
At that time, says the Lord, I will be
the God of all the families of Israel, and
they shall be my people.
Thus says the Lord:
The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
when Israel sought for rest,
the Lord appeared to himb from far
away.c
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my
faithfulness to you.
Again I will build you, and you shall be
built,
Ovirgin Israel!
Again you shall taked your
tambourines,
and go forth in the dance of the
merrymakers.
31
a
b
c
d
One Ms: Meaning of MT uncertain

Gk: Heb me
Or to him long ago
Or adorn yourself with
Gods punishment, but the time of healing and restoration is at hand. 14. Lovers, that is, political allies. To be in
alliance with a suzerain power, however, meant paying appropriate homage to its deities. This custom lay behind
the connection of religious apostasy and the charge of commiing adultery and fornication. 30.1831.1: Shi to
male subject. The city and its ruler will be restored. 30.18: Its mound, that is, its tell. Cities were built on occupation mounds and, when destroyed, the mound was cleared, lled in, built higher and refortied. 21: Prince . . .
ruler, avoiding the term for king, perhaps reecting a more subdued expectation than that expressed in v. 9.
2324 duplicates 23.1920, and was likely a fragment appended to this section. 31.26: Shi to female subject.
Virgin Israel will dance and celebrate her vineyards. 2: Grace in the wilderness, an Exodus theme (Ex 33.1217)
appropriated as a metaphor for return from exile (see Isa 40.3; 41.1819; 43.19). 3: From far away, see 23.23,
1108 | hebrew bible
jeremiah 31
Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant,
and shall enjoy the fruit.
For there shall be a day when sentinels
will call
in the hill country of Ephraim:
Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the
nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
Save, OLord, your people,
the remnant of Israel.
See, I am going to bring them from the
land of the north,
and gather them from the farthest parts
of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
those with child and those in labor,
together;
a great company, they shall return here.
With weeping they shall come,
and with consolationsa I will lead them
back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall
not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my rstborn.
Hear the word of the Lord, Onations,
and declare it in the coastlands far
away;
say, He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a

ock.
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed him from hands too
strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the
height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the
goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the ock and the
herd;
their life shall become like a watered
garden,
and they shall never languish again.
Then shall the young women rejoice in
the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be
merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them
gladness for sorrow.
I will give the priests their ll of fatness,
and my people shall be satised with
my bounty,
says the Lord.
Thus says the Lord:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her
children,
because they are no more.
Thus says the Lord:
Keep your voice from weeping,
a Gk Compare Vg Tg: Heb supplications
where Gods nature is to be far away rather than close at hand. 31.79: Shi to male subject. The repatriation
of the remnant of Israel. 7: Save, O Lord, a festival cry lying behind the term Hosanna; see Ps 118.25. 8. Blind
. . . lame, those most pitiful and oen discriminated against; cf. Lev 21.18; 2 Sam 5.8. 9: Ephraim was one of the
Joseph tribes, the central power base of Israel (the north). Because of its signicant political power base and its
ancient associations with the Joseph traditions at Shechem, it was considered the rstborn; see Gen 48.820.
1014: Gods announcement to the nations. Using standard imagery, Israels deliverance is declared. 10: Cf.
23.23. 12: Grain . . . wine . . . oil, images of agricultural bounty; see Deut 11.14; Hos 2.8; Joel 2.19,24. 13: Typical
images of joy and celebration; cf. Ps 30.11; Isa 35.10. 14. Fatness, the fat of sacrices was not to be eaten (Lev 3.17;
7.2325), as it was reserved for God and was burned to ashes. This fay ash residue was removed by the priests
following sacricial rites (Lev 6.34), and was a symbol of divine bounty (Ps 36.9). 1520: Rachel comforted and
her children restored. Rachels sons were the ancestors of the Joseph tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh) and the
tribe of Benjamin. Her death in childbirth was an occasion of mourning (see Gen 35.1621). Ramah was in Benjaminite territory (Josh 18.2125), and it was during Benjamins birth that Rachel died. The Joseph tribes were
hebrew bible | 1109
jeremiah 31
and your eyes from tears;
for there is a reward for your work,
says the Lord:
they shall come back from the land of
the enemy;
there is hope for your future,
says the Lord:
your children shall come back to their
own country.
Indeed I heard Ephraim pleading:
You disciplined me, and I took the
discipline;
I was like a calf untrained.
Bring me back, let me come back,
for you are the Lord my God.
For after I had turned away I repented;
and after I was discovered, I struck my
thigh;
I was ashamed, and I was dismayed
because I bore the disgrace of my
youth.
Is Ephraim my dear son?
Is he the child I delight in?
As often as I speak against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore I am deeply moved for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,
says the Lord.
Set up road markers for yourself,
make yourself signposts;
consider well the highway,
the road by which you went.
Return, Ovirgin Israel,
return to these your cities.
How long will you waver,

Ofaithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on
the earth:
a woman encompassesa a man.
Israel: Once more they shall use these words
in the land of Judah and in its towns when I
restore their fortunes:
The Lord bless you, Oabode of
righteousness,
Oholy hill!
And Judah and all its towns shall live there
together, and the farmers and those who
wanderb with their ocks.
I will satisfy the weary,
and all who are faint I will
replenish.
Thereupon I awoke and looked, and my
sleep was pleasant to me.
Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and
the house of Judah with the seed of humans
and the seed of animals. And just as I have
watched over them to pluck up and break
down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil,
so I will watch over them to build and to
plant, says the Lord. In those days they
shall no longer say:

b Cn Compare Syr Vg Tg: Heb and they shall wander
taken captive by the Assyrians in 722 bce, the occasion for Rachels mourning. 18: Ephraim, the more powerful
of the Joseph tribes, and therefore representative of all Israel (the north); see 7.15. 19: Struck my thigh, a sign of
mourning and regret; see Ezek 21.12. 20: Questions normally expecting a negative response. Though Ephraim
does not act like a dear son or delightful child, nevertheless God cannot ultimately turn against him; cf. Hos
11.19. Deeply moved, strong language indicating the churning of ones intestines. 2122: The faithless daughters return. 21: Road markers, or more likely grave markers (see 2 Kings 23.17; Ezek 39.15). Signposts, term used
in v. 15, so likely associated with the mourning at a grave. Israel is to recall its deadly path into exile. 22: A new
thing, cf. Isa 43.19. A woman encompasses a man, a cryptic phrase, perhaps playing on the term faithless. The
word translated encompasses is used of Gods protective care in Deut 32.10. Normally women were under the
protection of male members of their family. 2326: Conclusion to an earlier dream-vision sequence, a sign of
the editing of this material.
31.2740: Three oracles looking forward to Gods radically new future.
31.2730: God will build and plant the new Israel. 28: Watched over . . . to build and to plant, the central theme
of the book; see 1.10,1112. 29: Cf. Ezek 18.14. Unlike Ezekiel, Jeremiah does not refute the saying but simply
retires it from its traditional usage as a respected and honored truth about the nature of God; cf. Ex 20.5; 34.7.
1110 | hebrew bible
jeremiah 32
The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the childrens teeth are set on
edge.
But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth
of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set
on edge.
Lord, when I will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant that I made
with their ancestors when I took them by
the hand to bring them out of the land of
Egypta covenant that they broke, though
I was their husband,a says the Lord. But
this is the covenant that I will make with
the house of Israel after those days, says the
Lord: I will put my law within them, and
I will write it on their hearts; and I will be
their God, and they shall be my people. No
longer shall they teach one another, or say
to each other, Know the Lord, for they
shall all know me, from the least of them to
the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive
their iniquity, and remember their sin no
more.
Thus says the Lord,
who gives the sun for light by day
and the xed order of the moon and the
stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves
roar
the Lord of hosts is his name:

If this xed order were ever to cease
from my presence, says the Lord,
then also the ospring of Israel would
cease
to be a nation before me forever.
Thus says the Lord:
If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below
can be explored,
then I will reject all the ospring of Israel
because of all they have done,
says the Lord.
Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for
the Lord from the tower of Hananel to the
Corner Gate. And the measuring line shall
go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and
shall then turn to Goah. The whole valley
of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the
elds as far as the Wadi Kidron, to the corner
of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be
sacred to the Lord. It shall never again be
uprooted or overthrown.
32

the Lord in the tenth year of King
Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth
a Or master
This principle, however, was already coming under critique; see Deut 24.16; 2 Kings 14.6.
31.3137: The renewed covenant. 32: I was their husband, using the term associated with the Canaanite god
Baal; cf. Hos 2.16; Jer 3.14. God could function as husband or master (Heb baal), and this led to confusion
between God and Baal. In functioning as baal, it is God, not Baal, who gives Israel its grain, wine and oil;
see Hos 2.8. 3334: Though the law (Heb torah, which also means teaching) was traditionally thought of
as being in the heart (Deut 30.14), it would become so instinctual that teaching would become unnecessary, a radically new idea given the strong Deuteronomic concern for teaching (Deut 4.10; 5.1,31; 11.19; 31.1213).
3537: Later additions using standard hymnic language. Gods commitment is as sure as the cosmos is xed and
unfathomable; cf. 33.1926.
31.3840: Jerusalem rebuilt. A later oracle depicting the restoration of Jerusalems walls around its perimeter. On these places, several of which are otherwise unknown, see Neh 3.1,28; 12.39; Zech 14.10; 2 Kings 14.13.
32.133.26: Gods restoration of Israel. These chapters are thematically linked to the Book of Consolation
(chs 3031) and so are included here, even though they should follow ch 34 chronologically; they are dated to
the very end of the reign of Zedekiah and of the Babylonian siege (588586 bce), during which Jeremiah was in
connement. Jer 32.144 centers on the theme that elds shall be bought . . . and deeds shall be signed and
sealed and witnessed (v. 44), using Jeremiahs oer of redeeming family property in Anathoth as a sign. Jer
33.126 centers on the rebuilding of the city and the promise that the city will be given a new name, the Lord
is our righteousness (v. 16).
32.125: Jeremiah purchases the family property. 1: The tenth year . . . the eighteenth year, 588 bce. 35: Jer-
hebrew bible | 1111
jeremiah 32
year of Nebuchadrezzar. At that time the
army of the king of Babylon was besieging
Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was
conned in the court of the guard that was
in the palace of the king of Judah, where
King Zedekiah of Judah had conned him.
Zedekiah had said, Why do you prophesy
and say: Thus says the Lord: I am going to
give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; King Zedekiah of
Judah shall not escape out of the hands of the
Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the
hands of the king of Babylon, and shall speak
with him face to face and see him eye to eye;
and he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and
there he shall remain until I attend to him,
says the Lord; though you ght against the
Chaldeans, you shall not succeed?
Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord
came to me: Hanamel son of your uncle
Shallum is going to come to you and say, Buy
my eld that is at Anathoth, for the right of
redemption by purchase is yours. Then my
cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of
the guard, in accordance with the word of the
Lord, and said to me, Buy my eld that is
at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the
right of possession and redemption is yours;
buy it for yourself. Then I knew that this was
the word of the Lord.
And I bought the eld at Anathoth from
my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the
money to him, seventeen shekels of silver.
I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses,
and weighed the money on scales. Then I
took the sealed deed of purchase, containing
the terms and conditions, and the open copy;
and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch
son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence
of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans
who were sitting in the court of the guard.

In their presence I charged Baruch, saying,
Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed
deed of purchase and this open deed, and put
them in an earthenware jar, in order that they
may last for a long time. For thus says the
Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and
elds and vineyards shall again be bought in
this land.
After I had given the deed of purchase to
Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord,
saying: Ah Lord God! It is you who made the
heavens and the earth by your great power
and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is
too hard for you. You show steadfast love
to the thousandth generation,a but repay
the guilt of parents into the laps of their
children after them, Ogreat and mighty God
whose name is the Lord of hosts, great in
counsel and mighty in deed; whose eyes are
open to all the ways of mortals, rewarding all
according to their ways and according to the
fruit of their doings. You showed signs and
wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day
in Israel and among all humankind, and have
made yourself a name that continues to this
very day. You brought your people Israel out
of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders,
with a strong hand and outstretched arm,
and with great terror; and you gave them
this land, which you swore to their ancestors
to give them, a land owing with milk and
honey; and they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice
or follow your law; of all you commanded
them to do, they did nothing. Therefore you
have made all these disasters come upon
them. See, the siege ramps have been cast
up against the city to take it, and the city,
a Or to thousands
emiahs arrest is narrated in 37.138.28. The prophetic oracle alluded to is 34.23. During a brief liing of the
siege (see 34.822) Jeremiah tried to leave the city, was accused of desertion, and was arrested (37.1116). 4:
Chaldeans, i.e., Babylonians. 7: Right of redemption, to keep property within the extended family, members who
could do so were expected to redeem land that was in jeopardy of being forfeited or sold outside the family;
see Lev 25.2328. 9: Seventeen shekels, ca. 7 oz (194 grams). At this time there was no coinage, and money was
weighed. 11: Sealed deed . . . open copy, contracts were sealed with a signet ring on a clay bulla, but a copy or
summary of the contents was le available on the outside of the scroll for reference and public scrutiny. Storage of such documents in clay jars was common practice. 12: Baruch, son of Neriah, Jeremiahs scribe. See 36.4;
51.59. 1718: Standard hymnic language in creedal form; see Ex 20.56; 34.67. 20: Signs and wonders, a refer-
1112 | hebrew bible
jeremiah 33
faced with sword, famine, and pestilence, has
been given into the hands of the Chaldeans
who are ghting against it. What you spoke
has happened, as you yourself can see. Yet
you, OLord God, have said to me, Buy the
eld for money and get witnessesthough
the city has been given into the hands of the
Chaldeans.
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
See, I am the Lord, the God of all esh; is
anything too hard for me? Therefore, thus
says the Lord: I am going to give this city
into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the
hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon,
and he shall take it. The Chaldeans who
are ghting against this city shall come, set
it on re, and burn it, with the houses on
whose roofs oerings have been made to
Baal and libations have been poured out to
other gods, to provoke me to anger. For the
people of Israel and the people of Judah have
done nothing but evil in my sight from their
youth; the people of Israel have done nothing
but provoke me to anger by the work of their
hands, says the Lord. This city has aroused
my anger and wrath, from the day it was built
until this day, so that I will remove it from my
sight because of all the evil of the people of
Israel and the people of Judah that they did to
provoke me to angerthey, their kings and
their ocials, their priests and their prophets, the citizens of Judah and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem. They have turned their backs
to me, not their faces; though I have taught
them persistently, they would not listen and
accept correction. They set up their abominations in the house that bears my name, and
deled it. They built the high places of Baal
in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to oer up
their sons and daughters to Molech, though
I did not command them, nor did it enter my

mind that they should do this abomination,
causing Judah to sin.
Now therefore thus says the Lord, the
God of Israel, concerning this city of which
you say, It is being given into the hand of the
king of Babylon by the sword, by famine, and
by pestilence: See, I am going to gather
them from all the lands to which I drove
them in my anger and my wrath and in great
indignation; I will bring them back to this
place, and I will settle them in safety. They
shall be my people, and I will be their God.
I will give them one heart and one way, that
they may fear me for all time, for their own
good and the good of their children after
them. I will make an everlasting covenant
with them, never to draw back from doing
good to them; and I will put the fear of me in
their hearts, so that they may not turn from
me. I will rejoice in doing good to them, and
I will plant them in this land in faithfulness,
with all my heart and all my soul.
For thus says the Lord: Just as I have
brought all this great disaster upon this
people, so I will bring upon them all the good
fortune that I now promise them. Fields
shall be bought in this land of which you
are saying, It is a desolation, without human
beings or animals; it has been given into the
hands of the Chaldeans. Fields shall be
bought for money, and deeds shall be signed
and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in
the cities of Judah, of the hill country, of the
Shephelah, and of the Negeb; for I will restore
their fortunes, says the Lord.
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was
still conned in the court of the guard: Thus
33
ence to the plagues tradition (cf. Ex 3.20; 4.21; Deut 34.11). 25: Aer reviewing Israels history of disobedience,
Jeremiah is struck by the irony that, with the land about to be captured by the Chaldeans (the Babylonians) and
all land-tenure about to be nullied, he is being asked to perform such a foolish transaction. 2644: In the face
of Jeremiahs resistance, God restates the promise of restoration. A typically Deuteronomic sermon (vv. 2635)
is followed by words of promise. 29: Roofs were commonly used for many purposes, including religious rituals
both legitimate (Neh 8.16) and illegitimate (19.13; Zeph 1.5). 35: On the rituals in the Hinnom Valley, see 7.31;
19.56. Molech is either the name of a foreign god (1 Kings 11.7) or an epithet for Baal, formed by combining the
vowels of the word for foolishness (Heb boshet) with the consonants of the word for king (melek). 36:
Of which you say, the pronoun here, as in v. 43, is plural, indicating that this is the popular sentiment at this
critical time of the siege. 3941: As in 31.3134, the saving action is here solely Gods, who acts unilaterally in
the face of Israels own uer failure. 44: Benjamin . . . Negeb, see 17.26n.
hebrew bible | 1113
jeremiah 33
says the Lord who made the earth,a the Lord
who formed it to establish itthe Lord is his
name: Call to me and I will answer you, and
will tell you great and hidden things that you
have not known. For thus says the Lord, the
God of Israel, concerning the houses of this
city and the houses of the kings of Judah that
were torn down to make a defense against
the siege ramps and before the sword:b The
Chaldeans are coming in to ghtc and to ll
them with the dead bodies of those whom
I shall strike down in my anger and my
wrath, for I have hidden my face from this
city because of all their wickedness. I am
going to bring it recovery and healing; I will
heal them and reveal to them abundanceb
of prosperity and security. I will restore the
fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel,
and rebuild them as they were at rst. I will
cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin
against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of
their sin and rebellion against me. And this
cityd shall be to me a name of joy, a praise
and a glory before all the nations of the earth
who shall hear of all the good that I do for
them; they shall fear and tremble because of
all the good and all the prosperity I provide
for it.
Thus says the Lord: In this place of
which you say, It is a waste without human
beings or animals, in the towns of Judah and
the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate,
without inhabitants, human or animal, there
shall once more be heard the voice of mirth
and the voice of gladness, the voice of the
bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the
voices of those who sing, as they bring thank
oerings to the house of the Lord:
Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,

for the Lord is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at
rst, says the Lord.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this
place that is waste, without human beings or
animals, and in all its towns there shall again
be pasture for shepherds resting their ocks.
In the towns of the hill country, of the
Shephelah, and of the Negeb, in the land of
Benjamin, the places around Jerusalem, and
in the towns of Judah, ocks shall again pass
under the hands of the one who counts them,
says the Lord.
Lord, when I will fulll the promise I made
to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
In those days and at that time I will cause a
righteous Branch to spring up for David; and
he shall execute justice and righteousness in
the land. In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this
is the name by which it will be called: The
Lord is our righteousness.
For thus says the Lord: David shall never
lack a man to sit on the throne of the house
of Israel, and the levitical priests shall never
lack a man in my presence to oer burnt offerings, to make grain oerings, and to make
sacrices for all time.
a Gk: Heb it
c Cn: Heb They are coming in to ght against the
Chaldeans
d Heb And it
33.126: Oracles of restoration, connected to the previous oracles by their presumed location (Jeremiah in
connement). 4: Houses of this city, introduces the theme of the restoration of Jerusalems buildings. Now the
city itself becomes the subject of visions of restoration; cf. v. 9. The desperation of the city is clear, as the buildings within it are dismantled to use as raw material to defend against the Babylonian siege ramps. 5: Chaldeans,
i.e., Babylonians. 7: At rst, or formerly. 89: Gods favor will be lavished on Israel out of sheer divine mercy,
with no preconditions, and the nations of the world will be astounded to see such benecence. 10: Of which you
say, again the pronoun is plural, expressing popular pessimistic sentiment. 11: Cf. 7.34; 16.9; 25.10. This thanksgiving uses standard psalmic language (Pss 106.1; 107.1; 136.126; Sir 51.12). 13: Shephelah . . . Negeb, see 17.26n.
1416: Echoes 23.56, except that in v. 6 (by which it will be called), it is now the city of Jerusalem that is given
the name rather than the anticipated Davidic ruler. 1718: The rst of three appended oracles regarding Jerusalems leadership, using late language reecting 2 Chr 7.18. The term levitical priests is common to Deuteronomy
but used only here in Jeremiah. 1922: Second appended oracle recalling the argument of 31.3637. Again hopes
are placed on both royal and levitical persons, characteristic of the postexilic hopes for both a Davidic and a
1114 | hebrew bible
jeremiah 34
Thus says the Lord: If any of you could
break my covenant with the day and my
covenant with the night, so that day and
night would not come at their appointed
time, only then could my covenant with my
servant David be broken, so that he would
not have a son to reign on his throne, and my
covenant with my ministers the Levites. Just
as the host of heaven cannot be numbered
and the sands of the sea cannot be measured,
so I will increase the ospring of my servant
David, and the Levites who minister to me.
Have you not observed how these people
say, The two families that the Lord chose
have been rejected by him, and how they
hold my people in such contempt that they
no longer regard them as a nation? Thus
says the Lord: Only if I had not established
my covenant with day and night and the ordinances of heaven and earth, would I reject
the ospring of Jacob and of my servant David and not choose any of his descendants as
rulers over the ospring of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes,
and will have mercy upon them.
34

the Lord, when King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and all his army and all the
kingdoms of the earth and all the peoples

under his dominion were ghting against
Jerusalem and all its cities: Thus says the
Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to King
Zedekiah of Judah and say to him: Thus says
the Lord: I am going to give this city into the
hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall
burn it with re. And you yourself shall
not escape from his hand, but shall surely
be captured and handed over to him; you
shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and
speak with him face to face; and you shall go
to Babylon. Yet hear the word of the Lord,
OKing Zedekiah of Judah! Thus says the
Lord concerning you: You shall not die by
the sword; you shall die in peace. And as
spices were burneda for your ancestors, the
earlier kings who preceded you, so they shall
burn spicesb for you and lament for you, saying, Alas, lord! For I have spoken the word,
says the Lord.
Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke all
these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in
Jerusalem, when the army of the king of
Babylon was ghting against Jerusalem and
against all the cities of Judah that were left,
Lachish and Azekah; for these were the only
fortied cities of Judah that remained.
a Heb as there was burning
b Heb shall burn
priestly leader (compare Zech 4.1114). 22: Cf. Gen 22.1718. 2326: Third appended oracle. Again celebrates the
promise to the two families, but now this is a reference to the entire land of Israel represented by Jacob (Israel)
and David (Judah); cf. the cosmic argument of 31.3637. 25: Covenant with day and night, this radical language
echoes the Priestly language explicit in Gen 9.816 that Gods covenant is with all esh and, indeed, with the
earth, that is, the cosmos. In this tradition, Gen 9 is understood as a recapitulation of creation itself (Gen 1).
34.17: Judgment against Zedekiah. This oracle, spoken during the Babylonian siege, recapitulates the
speech that, according to 32.35, was the basis for Jeremiahs imprisonment. Though v. 5 sounds as though it
is a threat against Zedekiah, it is rather a mitigation of divine judgment, promising Zedekiah a normal death
and burial with full honor; contrast the fate of Jehoiakim in 22.1819, for whom these normal rituals of burial
would not be conducted. In fact, Zedekiahs fate was not this peaceful, according to 52.911; 2 Kings 25.67.
7: Lachish (21 mi [45 km] southwest of Jerusalem) and Azekah (11mi [18 km] north-northwest of Lachish) were
two garrison cities defending Jerusalem on the southwest. Leers found at Lachish from this time indicate the
drama of these nal days, when at last even the signal re from Azekah could no longer be seen and Lachish
alone survived.
34.822: The aborted manumission of slaves. The context for this event is the period when the siege was
briey lied because Egyptian forces under Pharaoh Hophra (Apries) arrived in Judah to aempt to break the
siege of the Babylonian army. Babylonian forces temporarily withdrew from Jerusalem in order to face Hophras
army; see 37.5,11. The manumission was in accord with the principles of Ex 21.2 and Deut 15.12, as referenced in
Jer 34.14. The manumission likely also served practical purposes, given scarcity of food resources and the need
for male support troops. As soon as the siege was lied, however, the people presumed that normality would
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jeremiah 35
The word that came to Jeremiah from the
Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make
a proclamation of liberty to them that all
should set free their Hebrew slaves, male and
female, so that no one should hold another
Judean in slavery. And they obeyed, all the
ocials and all the people who had entered
into the covenant that all would set free their
slaves, male or female, so that they would not
be enslaved again; they obeyed and set them
free. But afterward they turned around and
took back the male and female slaves they
had set free, and brought them again into
subjection as slaves. The word of the Lord
came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Thus says
the Lord, the God of Israel: I myself made a
covenant with your ancestors when I brought
them out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of slavery, saying, Every seventh
year each of you must set free any Hebrews
who have been sold to you and have served
you six years; you must set them free from
your service. But your ancestors did not
listen to me or incline their ears to me. You
yourselves recently repented and did what
was right in my sight by proclaiming liberty
to one another, and you made a covenant
before me in the house that is called by my
name; but then you turned around and
profaned my name when each of you took
back your male and female slaves, whom
you had set free according to their desire,
and you brought them again into subjection
to be your slaves. Therefore, thus says the
Lord: You have not obeyed me by granting

a release to your neighbors and friends; I
am going to grant a release to you, says the
Lorda release to the sword, to pestilence,
and to famine. I will make you a horror to all
the kingdoms of the earth. And those who
transgressed my covenant and did not keep
the terms of the covenant that they made
before me, I will make likea the calf when
they cut it in two and passed between its
parts: the ocials of Judah, the ocials of
Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all
the people of the land who passed between
the parts of the calf shall be handed over
to their enemies and to those who seek their
lives. Their corpses shall become food for the
birds of the air and the wild animals of the
earth. And as for King Zedekiah of Judah
and his ocials, I will hand them over to
their enemies and to those who seek their
lives, to the army of the king of Babylon,
which has withdrawn from you. I am going
to command, says the Lord, and will bring
them back to this city; and they will ght
against it, and take it, and burn it with re.
The towns of Judah I will make a desolation
without inhabitant.
35

the Lord in the days of King Jehoiakim
son of Josiah of Judah: Go to the house of the
Rechabites, and speak with them, and bring
them to the house of the Lord, into one of
a Cn: Heb lacks like
return and therefore the manumission was retracted. 17: A release to you, using the term for the amnesty or
manumission, Jeremiah oers a play on words. 18: Like the calf when they cut it in two, likely a reference to
the fact that covenants were cut (Heb karat, see v. 13) rather than made, and were accompanied by ritual
actions such as those suggested by Gen 15.918. 19: The eunuchs, the Heb term saris is oen used of court
ocials (1 Sam 8.15; 2 Kings 8.6; Jer 29.2; 52.25), indicating perhaps how highly in Judean court life such persons
of ambiguous gender could ascend. Some scholars, however, suggest that the term has two distinct meanings
(ocial and eunuch). There is no indication, however, that the eunuch was a social pariah. The common
scholarly assumption that the laws of Lev 21.20; 22.24 and Deut 23.1 refer to eunuchs is far from certain. 22:
Bring them back, the siege will be resumed.
35.119: The sign of the Rechabites. The clan of the Rechabites traced their origins to Jonadab ben Rechab
(v. 6), and rallied around the anti-agrarian policies indicated in vv. 810, perhaps as a fundamentalist reaction
against cultural assimilation to the perceived values of the Canaanites. Jonadab was remembered as an ally of
the conservative Yahwist Jehu (842814 bce) in his revolt against the syncretistic policies of the Omri dynasty
in the Northern Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 10.15,23). Their faithfulness to their extreme values was used by
Jeremiah as a stark contrast with the faithlessness of the people of Jerusalem, who could not obey even divinely sanctioned norms. 1: King Jehoiakim (608598 bce), a surprising regression in time, perhaps to prepare the
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jeremiah 36
the chambers; then oer them wine to drink.
So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of
Habazziniah, and his brothers, and all his
sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites.
I brought them to the house of the Lord
into the chamber of the sons of Hanan son of
Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the
chamber of the ocials, above the chamber
of Maaseiah son of Shallum, keeper of the
threshold. Then I set before the Rechabites
pitchers full of wine, and cups; and I said to
them, Have some wine. But they answered,
We will drink no wine, for our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, You shall
never drink wine, neither you nor your children; nor shall you ever build a house, or sow
seed; nor shall you plant a vineyard, or even
own one; but you shall live in tents all your
days, that you may live many days in the land
where you reside. We have obeyed the charge
of our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab in all
that he commanded us, to drink no wine all
our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our
daughters, and not to build houses to live in.
We have no vineyard or eld or seed; but we
have lived in tents, and have obeyed and done
all that our ancestor Jonadab commanded us.
But when King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon
came up against the land, we said, Come, and
let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of
the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.
That is why we are living in Jerusalem.
Jeremiah: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel: Go and say to the people of
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Can
you not learn a lesson and obey my words?
says the Lord. The command has been carried out that Jonadab son of Rechab gave to
his descendants to drink no wine; and they
drink none to this day, for they have obeyed
their ancestors command. But I myself have
spoken to you persistently, and you have not
obeyed me. I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently,
saying, Turn now every one of you from your
evil way, and amend your doings, and do not
go after other gods to serve them, and then
you shall live in the land that I gave to you and
your ancestors. But you did not incline your
ear or obey me. The descendants of Jonadab
son of Rechab have carried out the command
that their ancestor gave them, but this people
has not obeyed me. Therefore, thus says the
Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: I am
going to bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem every disaster that I have
pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have
called to them and they have not answered.
But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the
command of your ancestor Jonadab, and kept
all his precepts, and done all that he commanded you, therefore thus says the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab son of
Rechab shall not lack a descendant to stand
before me for all time.
36
In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim

son of Josiah of Judah, this word came
to Jeremiah from the Lord: Take a scroll and
write on it all the words that I have spoken
reader for ch 36, also set during the reign of Jehoiakim. 4: Chamber, prominent families had open rooms in the
Temple complex where they gathered, shared sacricial meals, and conducted other business (36.10; 2 Kings
23.11). Keeper of the threshold, on this important priestly function, see 2 Kings 12.9; 22.4; 23.4; 25.18. 11: When
King Nebuchadrezzar . . . came up against the land, must refer to the Babylonian (Chaldean) incursion into the
Levant in 605604 bce, seing the stage for ch 36. Arameans, centered in Damascus (that is, Syria), who were
oen the historical enemies of Israel and perhaps always a problem for the nomadic clans of herdsmen in the
eastern steppes. 15: See 7.25n.
36.132: Commissioning and reading the scroll of 605 bce. In a pivotal year, the Babylonians defeated the
Egyptians in bale and asserted themselves as the dominant power over Judah, forcing the radical reshaping
of Judean aspirations and allegiances, events introduced in 35.11. As in ch 25, so here the editors use of the
scroll tradition concludes a major section of the oracles (chs 2635), the second such cycle. The oracles
include the chief collection of Jeremiahs uerances from 627 down to 605 bce (compare 25.3 and 36.2). At
this time, Jeremiah was already under a temporary ban from the Temple quarters (36.5), so the story likely
follows the event of his being arraigned and beaten by the Temple overseer Pashhur (20.16), a possible occa-
hebrew bible | 1117
jeremiah 36
to you against Israel and Judah and all the
nations, from the day I spoke to you, from
the days of Josiah until today. It may be that
when the house of Judah hears of all the disasters that I intend to do to them, all of them
may turn from their evil ways, so that I may
forgive their iniquity and their sin.
Then Jeremiah called Baruch son of
Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at
Jeremiahs dictation all the words of the Lord
that he had spoken to him. And Jeremiah
ordered Baruch, saying, I am prevented from
entering the house of the Lord; so you go
yourself, and on a fast day in the hearing of
the people in the Lords house you shall read
the words of the Lord from the scroll that
you have written at my dictation. You shall
read them also in the hearing of all the people
of Judah who come up from their towns. It
may be that their plea will come before the
Lord, and that all of them will turn from their
evil ways, for great is the anger and wrath
that the Lord has pronounced against this
people. And Baruch son of Neriah did all
that the prophet Jeremiah ordered him about
reading from the scroll the words of the Lord
in the Lords house.
In the fth year of King Jehoiakim son of
Josiah of Judah, in the ninth month, all the
people in Jerusalem and all the people who
came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem
proclaimed a fast before the Lord. Then,
in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read
the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the
house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary, which was
in the upper court, at the entry of the New
Gate of the Lords house.
When Micaiah son of Gemariah son of
Shaphan heard all the words of the Lord
from the scroll, he went down to the kings

house, into the secretarys chamber; and
all the ocials were sitting there: Elishama
the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah,
Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of
Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and
all the ocials. And Micaiah told them all
the words that he had heard, when Baruch
read the scroll in the hearing of the people.
Then all the ocials sent Jehudi son of
Nethaniah son of Shelemiah son of Cushi to
say to Baruch, Bring the scroll that you read
in the hearing of the people, and come. So
Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his
hand and came to them. And they said to
him, Sit down and read it to us. So Baruch
read it to them. When they heard all the
words, they turned to one another in alarm,
and said to Baruch, We certainly must
report all these words to the king. Then
they questioned Baruch, Tell us now, how
did you write all these words? Was it at his
dictation? Baruch answered them, He
dictated all these words to me, and I wrote
them with ink on the scroll. Then the
ocials said to Baruch, Go and hide, you
and Jeremiah, and let no one know where
you are.
Leaving the scroll in the chamber of
Elishama the secretary, they went to the
court of the king; and they reported all the
words to the king. Then the king sent
Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from
the chamber of Elishama the secretary;
and Jehudi read it to the king and all the
officials who stood beside the king. Now
the king was sitting in his winter apartment
(it was the ninth month), and there was
a fire burning in the brazier before him.
As Jehudi read three or four columns, the
sion for the ban. As elsewhere, Jeremiah has the assistance of Baruch, who serves as his scribe (see 32.1216;
51.59), and is supported by the family of Shaphan within the royal court and family (Gemariah and Micaiah),
who send Baruch and Jeremiah into protective hiding (v. 19). Piece by piece Jehoiakim burned the scroll, likely
as a means of mitigating the eects of the words of judgment, which would have been received as a type of
curse. Most scholars assume that the second scroll, produced to replace the rst destroyed by Jehoiakim
(vv. 2732), contained the core of material now found in chs 124 (compare 36.29 with 7.20 and 21.6). 6: On a
fast day, that is, on a day specially set aside for public mourning and divine intercession in the face of Judahs
political crisis (v. 9). 12: Elnathan son of Achbor, perhaps the kings father-in-law (2 Kings 24.8) and head of the
mission that brought the prophet Uriah back from Egypt for execution (Jer 26.2223). 22: Winter apartment, or
harvest quarters. On the morality of the royal accumulation of such dwellings, see 22.1317; Am 3.15. Ninth
month, November-December.
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jeremiah 37
kinga would cut them off with a penknife
and throw them into the fire in the brazier,
until the entire scroll was consumed in the
fire that was in the brazier. Yet neither
the king, nor any of his servants who heard
all these words, was alarmed, nor did they
tear their garments. Even when Elnathan
and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king
not to burn the scroll, he would not listen
to them. And the king commanded
Jerahmeel the kings son and Seraiah son
of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to
arrest the secretary Baruch and the prophet
Jeremiah. But the Lord hid them.
Now, after the king had burned the
scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at
Jeremiahs dictation, the word of the Lord
came to Jeremiah: Take another scroll and
write on it all the former words that were in
the rst scroll, which King Jehoiakim of Judah
has burned. And concerning King Jehoiakim
of Judah you shall say: Thus says the Lord,
You have dared to burn this scroll, saying,
Why have you written in it that the king of
Babylon will certainly come and destroy this
land, and will cut o from it human beings
and animals? Therefore thus says the Lord
concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah: He shall
have no one to sit upon the throne of David,
and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat
by day and the frost by night. And I will punish him and his ospring and his servants for
their iniquity; I will bring on them, and on the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the people
of Judah, all the disasters with which I have
threatened thembut they would not listen.
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and
gave it to the secretary Baruch son of Neriah,
who wrote on it at Jeremiahs dictation all the

words of the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah had burned in the re; and many similar
words were added to them.
37
Zedekiah son of Josiah, whom King

Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made king
in the land of Judah, succeeded Coniah son of
Jehoiakim. But neither he nor his servants
nor the people of the land listened to the
words of the Lord that he spoke through the
prophet Jeremiah.
King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah saying, Please
pray for us to the Lord our God. Now
Jeremiah was still going in and out among
the people, for he had not yet been put in
prison. Meanwhile, the army of Pharaoh had
come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans
who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of
them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
Then the word of the Lord came to the
prophet Jeremiah: Thus says the Lord, God
of Israel: This is what the two of you shall say
to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to
inquire of me: Pharaohs army, which set out
to help you, is going to return to its own land,
to Egypt. And the Chaldeans shall return
and ght against this city; they shall take it
and burn it with re. Thus says the Lord: Do
not deceive yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans will surely go away from us, for they
will not go away. Even if you defeated the
whole army of Chaldeans who are ghting
against you, and there remained of them only
a Heb he
37.138.28: The nal arrest of Jeremiah. Two dierent accounts of what was likely one event have been
juxtaposed, recounting the story of Jeremiahs nal connement just before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 bce.
The main story (37.121 and 38.1428), concerning Jeremiahs desire to escape imprisonment in the house of the
secretary Jonathan (37.15,20; 38.26), is embellished with the story of Jeremiahs rescue by the Ethiopian courtier,
Ebed-melech (38.113). As this material begins the third cycle, it resets chronologically to a period prior to the
events mentioned in chs 3233. Jeremiah, not yet under arrest, is still prophesying publicly and openly (37.4;
38.1). During the brief liing of the Babylonian siege (v. 5, see 34.822), Jeremiah aempted to leave Jerusalem
to take care of some family business (vv. 1112). He was arrested for desertion and his fate, which would have
been severe at the hands of the ocials, was soened by allowance of King Zedekiah. In both accounts, Jeremiah is threatened with harsh incarceration but is allowed to stay under royal protection in the court of the guard.
37.110: Jeremiahs response to Zedekiahs request for intercession. The context of the liing of the siege
provides the language for Jeremiahs oracle: the Babylonians (Chaldeans) will be right back, so take no comfort
in the brief respite! 1: Coniah, Jehoiachin. 5: See 34.822n.
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jeremiah 38
wounded men in their tents, they would rise
up and burn this city with re.
Now when the Chaldean army had
withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach
of Pharaohs army, Jeremiah set out from
Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his share of propertya among the people
there. When he reached the Benjamin Gate,
a sentinel there named Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah arrested the prophet
Jeremiah saying, You are deserting to the
Chaldeans. And Jeremiah said, That is a
lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans. But
Irijah would not listen to him, and arrested
Jeremiah and brought him to the ocials.
The ocials were enraged at Jeremiah, and
they beat him and imprisoned him in the
house of the secretary Jonathan, for it had
been made a prison. Thus Jeremiah was
put in the cistern house, in the cells, and
remained there many days.
Then King Zedekiah sent for him, and received him. The king questioned him secretly
in his house, and said, Is there any word
from the Lord? Jeremiah said, There is!
Then he said, You shall be handed over to the
king of Babylon. Jeremiah also said to King
Zedekiah, What wrong have I done to you or
your servants or this people, that you have put
me in prison? Where are your prophets who
prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this
land? Now please hear me, my lord king: be
good enough to listen to my plea, and do not
send me back to the house of the secretary
Jonathan to die there. So King Zedekiah
gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to
the court of the guard; and a loaf of bread was

given him daily from the bakers street, until
all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah
remained in the court of the guard.
Now Shephatiah son of Mattan,
Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son
of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah
heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to
all the people, Thus says the Lord, Those
who stay in this city shall die by the sword,
by famine, and by pestilence; but those who
go out to the Chaldeans shall live; they shall
have their lives as a prize of war, and live.
Thus says the Lord, This city shall surely
be handed over to the army of the king of
Babylon and be taken. Then the ocials
said to the king, This man ought to be put to
death, because he is discouraging the soldiers
who are left in this city, and all the people, by
speaking such words to them. For this man
is not seeking the welfare of this people, but
their harm. King Zedekiah said, Here he
is; he is in your hands; for the king is powerless against you. So they took Jeremiah
and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah,
the kings son, which was in the court of the
guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now
there was no water in the cistern, but only
mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
Ebed-melech the Ethiopian,b a eunuch
in the kings house, heard that they had put
Jeremiah into the cistern. The king happened to be sitting at the Benjamin Gate, So
Ebed-melech left the kings house and spoke
38

b Or Nubian; Heb Cushite
37.1121: Jeremiahs incarceration in the Court of the Guard. 12: Jeremiah was from the Benjaminite town of
Anathoth (1.1) and would later be invited to redeem some family property there (32.79). 16: Cistern house, apparently a vaulted room formerly used as a cistern for water storage. Jeremiah believed that incarceration here
would be deadly (v. 20), perhaps because while there he was under threat of some particularly hostile princes
and did not enjoy any royal protection. 21: The court of the guard was located in the royal palace itself, under
direct supervision of the king (32.2).
38.113: An alternate account regarding Jeremiah and Ebed-melech. This story develops the theme of the
conict between Zedekiah and his pro-Egyptian advisers, who were particularly opposed to Jeremiahs message of capitulation to the Babylonians. The charge that Jeremiah was discouraging the soldiers is similar to a
charge made in the Lachish leers against certain other royal princes (likely those associated with the Shaphan
party) that they too were discouraging the troops. That the opposition of this party is lethal to Jeremiahs safety
(v. 4) is brought out in this story. Here the cistern into which Jeremiah is thrown has a dierent name and is located in the court of the guard itself (v. 6). 1: Gedaliah son of Pashhur, see 20.1; Jucal (Jehucal), see 37.3; Pashhur,
see 21.1. 6: The cistern was nearly dry, indicating a time shortly before Nebuchadrezzars nal assault, August
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jeremiah 38
to the king, My lord king, these men have
acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet
Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern
to die there of hunger, for there is no bread
left in the city. Then the king commanded
Ebed-melech the Ethiopian,a Take three men
with you from here, and pull the prophet
Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.
So Ebed-melech took the men with him and
went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe
ofb the storehouse, and took from there old
rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down
to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. Then
Ebed-melech the Ethiopiana said to Jeremiah,
Just put the rags and clothes between your
armpits and the ropes. Jeremiah did so.
Then they drew Jeremiah up by the ropes
and pulled him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance
of the temple of the Lord. The king said to
Jeremiah, I have something to ask you; do
not hide anything from me. Jeremiah said
to Zedekiah, If I tell you, you will put me to
death, will you not? And if I give you advice,
you will not listen to me. So King Zedekiah
swore an oath in secret to Jeremiah, As the
Lord lives, who gave us our lives, I will not
put you to death or hand you over to these
men who seek your life.
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, Thus
says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God
of Israel, If you will only surrender to the
ocials of the king of Babylon, then your
life shall be spared, and this city shall not be
burned with re, and you and your house
shall live. But if you do not surrender to the
ocials of the king of Babylon, then this city
shall be handed over to the Chaldeans, and
they shall burn it with re, and you yourself
shall not escape from their hand. King
Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the

Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans,
for I might be handed over to them and they
would abuse me. Jeremiah said, That will
not happen. Just obey the voice of the Lord
in what I say to you, and it shall go well with
you, and your life shall be spared. But if you
are determined not to surrender, this is what
the Lord has shown me a vision of all the
women remaining in the house of the king of
Judah being led out to the ocials of the king
of Babylon and saying,
Your trusted friends have seduced you
and have overcome you;
Now that your feet are stuck in the mud,
they desert you.
All your wives and your children shall be
led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself
shall not escape from their hand, but shall be
seized by the king of Babylon; and this city
Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, Do not
let anyone else know of this conversation,
or you will die. If the ocials should hear
that I have spoken with you, and they should
come and say to you, Just tell us what you
said to the king; do not conceal it from us, or
we will put you to death. What did the king
say to you? then you shall say to them, I
was presenting my plea to the king not to
send me back to the house of Jonathan to
die there. All the ocials did come to Jeremiah and questioned him; and he answered
them in the very words the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him,
for the conversation had not been overheard.
And Jeremiah remained in the court of the
guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.
a Or Nubian; Heb Cushite

b Cn: Heb to under
586 bce (52.57). 7: A eunuch in the kings house, see 34.19n concerning the social position of such eunuchs. 9: No
bread le in the city, an editorial comment, which does not suit the context but aempts to relate this alternate
account sequentially to the main story line (see 37.21).
38.1428: An alternate account of Jer 37.1721. 17: Surrender, that is, go out, abandon the city. 19. Zedekiah
is afraid of reprisals against him by those who, already having surrendered, are aligned with King Jehoiachin
in exile and who regard Zedekiah as an illegitimate heir to the throne; cf. the good and bad gs in ch 24. 22.
Your feet are stuck in the mud, an image recalling Jeremiahs experience in v. 6 and possibly accounting for the
linking of these variant traditions. 26. House of Jonathan, connecting this story to that of the main story line (Jer
37.2021) rather than to the story line of 38.113.
hebrew bible | 1121
jeremiah 39
Hamath
Riblah
R. Euphrates
Mediterranean
Sea
BABYLONIA
Aram
Migdol
Heliopolis
Memphis
Ju
Tahpanhes
da
Mizpah
Babylon
Ammon
Jerusalem
Moab
Edom
EGYPT
0
100
200 Miles
ile
R. N
P A TH RO S Red Sea
100
200 Kilometers
Chs 39, 52: Babylon and Judah in the early sixth century bce.
39
In the ninth year of King Zedekiah

of Judah, in the tenth month, King
Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and all his army
came against Jerusalem and besieged it; in
the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth
month, on the ninth day of the month, a
breach was made in the city. When Jerusalem was taken,a all the ocials of the king
of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate:
Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim
the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag,
with all the rest of the ocials of the king of
Babylon. When King Zedekiah of Judah and
all the soldiers saw them, they ed, going out
of the city at night by way of the kings garden
through the gate between the two walls; and
they went toward the Arabah. But the army
of the Chaldeans pursued them, and overtook
Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and when
they had taken him, they brought him up to

King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, at Riblah,
in the land of Hamath; and he passed sentence on him. The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before
his eyes; also the king of Babylon slaughtered
all the nobles of Judah. He put out the eyes
of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters to take
him to Babylon. The Chaldeans burned the
kings house and the houses of the people,
and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard
exiled to Babylon the rest of the people who
were left in the city, those who had deserted
to him, and the people who remained. Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the
land of Judah some of the poor people who
a This clause has been transposed from 38.28
39.118: The fall of Jerusalem. The Hebrew text indicates that ch 39 is a smooth continuation of ch 38 (see
textual note a at 39.3), as does the reference to the court of the guard (Jer 39.14; see 38.28). The account here
basically follows that of 52.416 and 2 Kings 25.122. 12: The ninth year . . . the eleventh year, the siege of
Jerusalem began in January 587 and lasted until July 586 bce when the walls were breached. 3: Rabsaris and
Rabmag are titles of Babylonian ocials. Sat in the middle gate, on the dispensing of justice in the gate as a sign
of foreign conquest, see 1.15; 43.10. 4: Arabah, the ri valley of the Jordan River and Dead Sea, which continues
southward to the Gulf of Aqaba. 5: Riblah, about 70 mi (110 km) north of Damascus, had earlier served as the
Egyptian provincial capital (2 Kings 23.33), and was where the Babylonian governorship likewise was temporarily established. According to 52.613 and 2 Kings 25.39, there was a one-month lag between the breaching
of the walls of Jerusalem and the sacking of the city. 9: According to 52.29, the Babylonians deported a total
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jeremiah 40
owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and
elds at the same time.
King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon gave
command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying,
Take him, look after him well and do him
no harm, but deal with him as he may ask
you. So Nebuzaradan the captain of the
guard, Nebushazban the Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer the Rabmag, and all the chief ofcers of the king of Babylon sent and took
Jeremiah from the court of the guard. They
entrusted him to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son
of Shaphan to be brought home. So he stayed
with his own people.
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah
while he was conned in the court of the
guard: Go and say to Ebed-melech the
Ethiopian:a Thus says the Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel: I am going to fulll my words
against this city for evil and not for good, and
they shall be accomplished in your presence
on that day. But I will save you on that day,
says the Lord, and you shall not be handed
over to those whom you dread. For I will
surely save you, and you shall not fall by the
sword; but you shall have your life as a prize
of war, because you have trusted in me, says

the Lord.
40
The word that came to Jeremiah

from the Lord after Nebuzaradan
the captain of the guard had let him go from
Ramah, when he took him bound in fetters
along with all the captives of Jerusalem and
Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.
The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and
said to him, The Lord your God threatened
this place with this disaster; and now the
Lord has brought it about, and has done as
he said, because all of you sinned against the
Lord and did not obey his voice. Therefore
this thing has come upon you. Now look, I
have just released you today from the fetters
on your hands. If you wish to come with me
to Babylon, come, and I will take good care
of you; but if you do not wish to come with
me to Babylon, you need not come. See, the
whole land is before you; go wherever you
think it good and right to go. If you remain,b
then return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of
a Or Nubian; Heb Cushite
of eight hundred thirty-two persons in this second deportation. 14: Because Gedaliah was a member of the
pro-Babylonian party, from the family of Shaphan, Nebuchadrezzar appointed him to serve as governor of
the new Babylonian province (40.5). 1518. Words of deliverance for Ebed-melech and his family. See 38.713.
40.143.13: Political crisis results in the ight of Judeans to Egypt. Following the destruction of Jerusalem,
the territorial governorship under Gedaliah was established in Mizpah, the venerable site associated with the
ancient judgeship of Samuel (1 Sam 7.16), located between Jerusalem and Bethel. An aempted insurrection led
by a member of the royal family, Ishmael son of Nethaniah (see 41.1), led to the assassination of Gedaliah and
a debate by the Judeans who were le as to whether their future lay in staying in Judah or in ight to Egypt to
avoid certain Babylonian repercussions. Against the advice of Jeremiah, the decision is made to ee to Egypt.
40.16: With some slight changes in detail, 40.16 repeats the information from 39.1114. Though the opening
of the speech of the captain of the guard (vv. 24) is likely Deuteronomistic rhetoric, victorious kings in fact did
claim the support of the deity of the conquered territory. So Cyrus of Media, aer conquering Babylon, claimed
to have been supported by Marduk, the god of Babylon. Compare 2 Kings 18.1922, where the Assyrian ocial
claims the support of Israels God for the Assyrian invasion. 1: Ramah (31.15n.) was a transit point for deportees.
Jeremiah was allowed to choose exile or residence in Judah. Choosing the laer, he was placed in the custody
of Gedaliah, the newly appointed governor of Judah with whose family Jeremiah had long been friendly (26.24;
36.10). Gedaliahs family gures prominently, not only in the life of Jeremiah but also at the Judean court and in
relation to the Deuteronomic reform. Gedaliahs grandfather Shaphan delivered the newly discovered law scroll
to King Josiah (2 Kings 22.313). Gedaliahs father, Ahikam, a member of the delegation sent to the prophetess
Huldah (2 Kings 22.1214), was Jeremiahs champion as well (26.24). Gedaliahs uncle Gemariah (36.24) and rst
cousin Micaiah (36.25) play similar, though unsuccessful, roles with regard to Jeremiahs scroll that was read to
king Jehoiakim. Another of Gedaliahs uncles, Elasah, delivered Jeremiahs leer to the exiles (29.3). The close
connection between this aristocratic family, the Deuteronomic movement, and the prose of the book of Jeremiah is intriguing.
hebrew bible | 1123
jeremiah 41
Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the towns of Judah, and stay
with him among the people; or go wherever
you think it right to go. So the captain of the
guard gave him an allowance of food and a
present, and let him go. Then Jeremiah went
to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and
stayed with him among the people who were
left in the land.
When all the leaders of the forces in the
open country and their troops heard that
the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah
son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had
committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who
had not been taken into exile to Babylon,
they went to Gedaliah at MizpahIshmael
son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah,
Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of
Ephai the Netophathite, Jezaniah son of the
Maacathite, they and their troops. Gedaliah
son of Ahikam son of Shaphan swore to them
and their troops, saying, Do not be afraid
to serve the Chaldeans. Stay in the land and
serve the king of Babylon, and it shall go well
with you. As for me, I am staying at Mizpah
to represent you before the Chaldeans who
come to us; but as for you, gather wine and
summer fruits and oil, and store them in your
vessels, and live in the towns that you have
taken over. Likewise, when all the Judeans
who were in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in other lands heard
that the king of Babylon had left a remnant
in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of
Ahikam son of Shaphan as governor over
them, then all the Judeans returned from all
the places to which they had been scattered
and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at
Mizpah; and they gathered wine and summer
fruits in great abundance.
Now Johanan son of Kareah and all the

leaders of the forces in the open country came
to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, Are
you at all aware that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to
take your life? But Gedaliah son of Ahikam
would not believe them. Then Johanan
son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at
Mizpah, Please let me go and kill Ishmael
son of Nethaniah, and no one else will know.
Why should he take your life, so that all the
Judeans who are gathered around you would
be scattered, and the remnant of Judah would
perish? But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said
to Johanan son of Kareah, Do not do such a
thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.
In the seventh month, Ishmael son
of Nethaniah son of Elishama, of the
royal family, one of the chief ocers of the
king, came with ten men to Gedaliah son
of Ahikam, at Mizpah. As they ate bread
together there at Mizpah, Ishmael son of
Nethaniah and the ten men with him got up
and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam son
of Shaphan with the sword and killed him,
because the king of Babylon had appointed
him governor in the land. Ishmael also killed
all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at
Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there.
On the day after the murder of Gedaliah,
before anyone knew of it, eighty men arrived
from Shechem and Shiloh and Samaria, with
their beards shaved and their clothes torn,
and their bodies gashed, bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple
of the Lord. And Ishmael son of Nethaniah
came out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to
them, Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.
When they reached the middle of the city,
41
40.741.18: Gedaliahs governorship and his assassination. 40.712: Gedaliah assured his countrymen
that he would represent them before the Babylonians (Chaldeans) and urged them to return to their elds and
towns. When they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance, Gedaliahs assurance that life in the land
could continue seemed conrmed. 14: The Ammonites, when not ghting Israel, were oen their allies against
larger imperial powers. Baalis of Ammon supported a nationalistic revolution in Judah led by Ishmael, a member
of the royal family, but Gedaliah refused to heed the warnings for his own safety. 41.1: As they ate bread, ancient
rules of hospitality and table fellowship bound host and guest to faithfulness toward one another. Ishmaels
act was therefore particularly heinous. 3: Chaldean, Babylonian. 5: Eighty pilgrims from the north going to Jerusalem, likely to commemorate the day of atonement. Since animal sacrice was suspended, they brought what
might be appropriate for the occasion. To lure them to their deaths, Ishmael feigns their own ritual actions of
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jeremiah 42
Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with
him slaughtered them, and threw thema into a
cistern. But there were ten men among them
who said to Ishmael, Do not kill us, for we
have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey
hidden in the elds. So he refrained, and did
not kill them along with their companions.
Now the cistern into which Ishmael had
thrown all the bodies of the men whom he
had struck down was the large cisternb that
King Asa had made for defense against King
Baasha of Israel; Ishmael son of Nethaniah
lled that cistern with those whom he had
killed. Then Ishmael took captive all the
rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the
kings daughters and all the people who were
left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah
son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah
took them captive and set out to cross over to
the Ammonites.
But when Johanan son of Kareah and all
the leaders of the forces with him heard of all
the crimes that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had
done, they took all their men and went to
ght against Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They
came upon him at the great pool that is in
Gibeon. And when all the people who were
with Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and
all the leaders of the forces with him, they
were glad. So all the people whom Ishmael
had carried away captive from Mizpah turned
around and came back, and went to Johanan
son of Kareah. But Ishmael son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and
went to the Ammonites. Then Johanan son
of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with
him took all the rest of the people whom Ishmael son of Nethaniah had carried away captivec from Mizpah after he had slain Gedaliah
son of Ahikamsoldiers, women, children,
and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back
from Gibeon.d And they set out, and stopped
at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt because of the Chaldeans;
for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael
son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of
Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made
governor over the land.
Then all the commanders of the
forces, and Johanan son of Kareah and
Azariahe son of Hoshaiah, and all the people
from the least to the greatest, approached
the prophet Jeremiah and said, Be good
enough to listen to our plea, and pray to the
Lord your God for usfor all this remnant.
For there are only a few of us left out of many,
as your eyes can see. Let the Lord your God
show us where we should go and what we
should do. The prophet Jeremiah said to
them, Very well: I am going to pray to the
Lord your God as you request, and whatever
the Lord answers you I will tell you; I will
keep nothing back from you. They in their
turn said to Jeremiah, May the Lord be a
true and faithful witness against us if we do
42
a Syr: Heb lacks and threw them; compare verse 9

b Gk: Heb whom he had killed by the hand of
Gedaliah
c Cn: Heb whom he recovered from Ishmael son of

Nethaniah
d Meaning of Heb uncertain

e Gk: Heb Jezaniah
mourning. 9: On the building projects of King Asa of Judah (908867 bce) in conjunction with his war against
King Baasha of Israel (906883 bce), including those at Mizpah, see 1 Kings 15.1622. 12. The great pool . . . in
Gibeon, the site of the bale between the forces of Joab and Abner (2 Sam 2.13). 17: Geruth Chimham, perhaps
meaning ef of Chimham, referring to property given to Barzillais son Chimham (see 2 Sam 19.3740); precise
location unknown.
42.122: The remnant under the leadership of Johanan son of Kareah asks Jeremiah for divine guidance regarding their plan to go to Egypt. That this takes place near Bethlehem (41.17) suggests that Jeremiah was not at
his home in Mizpah but was with the group rescued by Johanan. At rst the people seem to be open to whatever
direction God provides (vv. 56). But as the conversation progresses, it is apparent that their earlier plan to go
to Egypt was already set, and they were not open to divine direction. Even before hearing the peoples response,
Jeremiah presumes that they have disobeyed (v. 21). Much depends on the signicance of the participle saying
in v. 13 (But if you continue to say . . .) and the use of the innitive in v. 18 (when you go . . .). As in earlier times,
Egypt was a place of refuge for those eeing Judah for one reason or another; see 26.21; Gen 12.10; 46.6; 1 Kings
11.40. 1: Azariah, MT reads Jezaniah, but see textual note e and cf. 43.2.
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jeremiah 43
not act according to everything that the Lord
your God sends us through you. Whether it
is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the
Lord our God to whom we are sending you,
in order that it may go well with us when we
obey the voice of the Lord our God.
At the end of ten days the word of the
Lord came to Jeremiah. Then he summoned
Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all
the people from the least to the greatest, and
said to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of
Israel, to whom you sent me to present your
plea before him: If you will only remain in
this land, then I will build you up and not pull
you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you
up; for I am sorry for the disaster that I have
brought upon you. Do not be afraid of the
king of Babylon, as you have been; do not be
afraid of him, says the Lord, for I am with you,
to save you and to rescue you from his hand.
I will grant you mercy, and he will have
mercy on you and restore you to your native
soil. But if you continue to say, We will not
stay in this land, thus disobeying the voice of
the Lord your God and saying, No, we will
go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not
see war, or hear the sound of the trumpet, or
be hungry for bread, and there we will stay,
then hear the word of the Lord, Oremnant
of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God
of Israel: If you are determined to enter Egypt
and go to settle there, then the sword that
you fear shall overtake you there, in the land
of Egypt; and the famine that you dread shall
follow close after you into Egypt; and there
you shall die. All the people who have determined to go to Egypt to settle there shall die
by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence;
they shall have no remnant or survivor from
the disaster that I am bringing upon them.
For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God
of Israel: Just as my anger and my wrath were
poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
so my wrath will be poured out on you when

you go to Egypt. You shall become an object of
execration and horror, of cursing and ridicule.
You shall see this place no more. The Lord
has said to you, Oremnant of Judah, Do not go
to Egypt. Be well aware that I have warned you
today that you have made a fatal mistake.
For you yourselves sent me to the Lord your
God, saying, Pray for us to the Lord our God,
and whatever the Lord our God says, tell us
and we will do it. So I have told you today,
but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord
your God in anything that he sent me to tell
you. Be well aware, then, that you shall die
by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in
the place where you desire to go and settle.
When Jeremiah nished speaking to
all the people all these words of the
Lord their God, with which the Lord their
God had sent him to them, Azariah son of
Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and
all the other insolent men said to Jeremiah,
You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did
not send you to say, Do not go to Egypt to
settle there; but Baruch son of Neriah is
inciting you against us, to hand us over to the
Chaldeans, in order that they may kill us or
take us into exile in Babylon. So Johanan
son of Kareah and all the commanders of
the forces and all the people did not obey
the voice of the Lord, to stay in the land of
Judah. But Johanan son of Kareah and all
the commanders of the forces took all the
remnant of Judah who had returned to settle
in the land of Judah from all the nations to
which they had been driven the men, the
women, the children, the princesses, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the
guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam
son of Shaphan; also the prophet Jeremiah
and Baruch son of Neriah. And they came
into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey
the voice of the Lord. And they arrived at
Tahpanhes.
43
43.113: The ight to Tahpanhes and Jeremiahs oracle. The leaders dismiss Jeremiahs oracle as a lie, suggesting that he is colluding with Baruch for their destruction. This insinuates a role for Baruch otherwise le
unexplored in the book. The fears of Babylonian reprisal may not have been overdrawn, since 52.30 indicates
that ve years following the destruction of Jerusalem, there was a third deportation of Judeans, perhaps in
response to political crises such as that of the assassination of Gedaliah. 6: Nebuzaradan, see 39.1114; 40.16.
7: Tahpanhes was an Egyptian border fortress in the eastern Nile Delta; see 2.16. There were Judean refugee settlements in many areas of Egypt (see 44.1), especially at the military garrison of Elephantine in the upper Nile.
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jeremiah 44
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes: Take some large stones
in your hands, and bury them in the clay
pavementa that is at the entrance to Pharaohs
palace in Tahpanhes. Let the Judeans see you
do it, and say to them, Thus says the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to send
and take my servant King Nebuchadrezzar
of Babylon, and heb will set his throne above
these stones that I have buried, and he will
spread his royal canopy over them. He shall
come and ravage the land of Egypt, giving
those who are destined for pestilence, to
pestilence,
and those who are destined for
captivity, to captivity,
and those who are destined for the
sword, to the sword.
Hec shall kindle a re in the temples of
the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them
and carry them away captive; and he shall
pick clean the land of Egypt, as a shepherd
picks his cloak clean of vermin; and he shall
depart from there safely. He shall break the
obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of
Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt
he shall burn with re.
44
The word that came to Jeremiah for

all the Judeans living in the land of
Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis,
and in the land of Pathros, Thus says the
Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have
brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of
Judah. Look at them; today they are a desolation, without an inhabitant in them, because of the wickedness that they committed,
provoking me to anger, in that they went to
make oerings and serve other gods that they
had not known, neither they, nor you, nor
your ancestors. Yet I persistently sent to you
all my servants the prophets, saying, I beg
you not to do this abominable thing that I
hate! But they did not listen or incline their
ear, to turn from their wickedness and make
no oerings to other gods. So my wrath
and my anger were poured out and kindled
in the towns of Judah and in the streets of
Jerusalem; and they became a waste and a
desolation, as they still are today. And now
thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of
Israel: Why are you doing such great harm to
b Gk Syr: Heb I
c Gk Syr Vg: Heb I
910: A prophetic sign-act indicating Babylonian control over Egypt. On seing up the royal throne at the gate,
see 39.3. 12: Pick clean, the Hebrew suggests a shepherd wrapping himself in a garment (see 1 Sam 28.14; Ps
109.19), but the LXX understood it to refer to removing lice. The verb can mean to grasp tightly (Isa 22.17). 13:
Obelisks of Heliopolis, the Hebrew reads the stone pillars of Beth-shemesh, but Beth-shemesh means house
of the Sun. Heliopolis, or city of the Sun, was the ancient center with a temple for the worship of the sun, as
indicated by its name. It was located in the Nile Delta 6 mi (10 km) northeast of Cairo, and was also known as
On (Gen 41.45,50; 46.20).
44.130: Dispute over disaster and divine purpose. A nal oracle against the Jewish refugee communities
in Egypt (cf. ch 43), in the context of a confrontation concerning why Judah has experienced the present crisis.
In standard Deuteronomistic language, Jeremiah associates the disaster with the peoples faithlessness toward
God (vv. 210). He meets popular resistance from those who insist that the disaster has come precisely because
they had discontinued their ancient syncretistic ritual practices, especially that of the adoration of and homage
paid to the goddess known as the queen of heaven, probably Astarte, variously known as Ishtar in Babylon
and Ashtart in Canaan (vv. 1519). The insinuation is that the reform movement of Josiah, with its restriction
of worship to the Jerusalem Temple and its purging of the land of all syncretistic and foreign worship elements, was the cause of oense. Jeremiahs Deuteronomistic argument brackets that of the people, because
it represents the fundamental theological principle of the book as prepared by its Deuteronomistic editors. 1:
Expands the focus far beyond the Jewish community in Tahpanhes (Jer 43.113). Migdol, like Tahpanhes, lay in
the eastern Nile Delta and was associated with the Exodus (Ex 14.2). It was apparently the closest Egyptian garrison to Judah (Ezek 29.10). Memphis (or Noph), was the ancient imperial capital located at the head of the Nile
Delta; see 2.16. Pathros was a designation for upper (i.e., southern) Egypt, and is listed alongside and parallel to
Egypt in several lists (e.g., Isa 11.11); on the Jewish colony at Elephantine in upper Egypt, see 43.7n. 4: See 7.25n.
hebrew bible | 1127
jeremiah 44
yourselves, to cut o man and woman, child
and infant, from the midst of Judah, leaving
yourselves without a remnant? Why do you
provoke me to anger with the works of your
hands, making oerings to other gods in the
land of Egypt where you have come to settle?
Will you be cut o and become an object of
cursing and ridicule among all the nations of
the earth? Have you forgotten the crimes of
your ancestors, of the kings of Judah, of theira
wives, your own crimes and those of your
wives, which they committed in the land of
Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? They
have shown no contrition or fear to this
day, nor have they walked in my law and my
statutes that I set before you and before your
ancestors.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel: I am determined to bring
disaster on you, to bring all Judah to an end.
I will take the remnant of Judah who are
determined to come to the land of Egypt to
settle, and they shall perish, everyone; in the
land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and
by famine they shall perish; from the least to
the greatest, they shall die by the sword and
by famine; and they shall become an object
of execration and horror, of cursing and ridicule. I will punish those who live in the land
of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with
the sword, with famine, and with pestilence,
so that none of the remnant of Judah who
have come to settle in the land of Egypt shall
escape or survive or return to the land of
Judah. Although they long to go back to live
there, they shall not go back, except some
fugitives.
Then all the men who were aware that
their wives had been making oerings to
other gods, and all the women who stood
by, a great assembly, all the people who lived
in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered
Jeremiah: As for the word that you have
spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are
not going to listen to you. Instead, we will

do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out
libations to her, just as we and our ancestors,
our kings and our ocials, used to do in the
towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. We used to have plenty of food, and
prospered, and saw no misfortune. But from
the time we stopped making oerings to the
queen of heaven and pouring out libations to
her, we have lacked everything and have perished by the sword and by famine. And the
women said,b Indeed we will go on making
oerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her; do you think that we
made cakes for her, marked with her image,
and poured out libations to her without our
husbands being involved?
Then Jeremiah said to all the people,
men and women, all the people who were
giving him this answer: As for the oerings
that you made in the towns of Judah and in
the streets of Jerusalem, you and your ancestors, your kings and your ocials, and the
people of the land, did not the Lord remember them? Did it not come into his mind?
The Lord could no longer bear the sight of
your evil doings, the abominations that you
committed; therefore your land became a
desolation and a waste and a curse, without
inhabitant, as it is to this day. It is because
you burned oerings, and because you
sinned against the Lord and did not obey the
voice of the Lord or walk in his law and in his
statutes and in his decrees, that this disaster
has befallen you, as is still evident today.
Jeremiah said to all the people and all the
women, Hear the word of the Lord, all you
Judeans who are in the land of Egypt, Thus
says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You
and your wives have accomplished in deeds
a Heb his
b Compare Syr: Heb lacks And the women said
9: Their wives, the Hebrew his wives may have in mind the specic case of Solomon (1 Kings 11.113), whose
wives led him to apostasy and the schism of the empire. 15: It is strange that Jeremiah, who apparently seled
as a hostage in Tahpanhes, is here addressed by Jews residing in upper Egypt. 17: The worship of the queen of
heaven was popular throughout the ancient world, including popular religious expression in Israel (compare
the worship of Aphrodite and Venus). Her worship included the making of raisin cakes to her, expressive of
prayers for fertility (v. 19). This goddess represented the evening-star phase of the planet Venus, while in Canaan her brother, Ashtar, represented the morning-star phase (see Isa 14.1215, which refers to an ancient myth
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jeremiah 46
what you declared in words, saying, We are
determined to perform the vows that we
have made, to make oerings to the queen
of heaven and to pour out libations to her.
By all means, keep your vows and make your
libations! Therefore hear the word of the
Lord, all you Judeans who live in the land
of Egypt: Lo, I swear by my great name, says
the Lord, that my name shall no longer be
pronounced on the lips of any of the people
of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, As
the Lord God lives. I am going to watch over
them for harm and not for good; all the people
of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall
perish by the sword and by famine, until not
one is left. And those who escape the sword
shall return from the land of Egypt to the land
of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant
of Judah, who have come to the land of Egypt
to settle, shall know whose words will stand,
mine or theirs! This shall be the sign to you,
says the Lord, that I am going to punish you
in this place, in order that you may know that
my words against you will surely be carried
out: Thus says the Lord, I am going to give
Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the
hands of his enemies, those who seek his life,
just as I gave King Zedekiah of Judah into the
hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, his
enemy who sought his life.
45
The word that the prophet Jeremiah

spoke to Baruch son of Neriah, when
he wrote these words in a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of King
Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah: Thus says
the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, OBaruch:
You said, Woe is me! The Lord has added
sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my
groaning, and I nd no rest. Thus you shall
say to him, Thus says the Lord: I am going
to break down what I have built, and pluck
up what I have plantedthat is, the whole
land. And you, do you seek great things for
yourself? Do not seek them; for I am going to
bring disaster upon all esh, says the Lord;
but I will give you your life as a prize of war in
every place to which you may go.
46

the prophet Jeremiah concerning the
nations.
Concerning Egypt, about the army of
Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by
the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which
King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon defeated
in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of
Josiah of Judah:
Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
Harness the horses;
mount the steeds!
associated with Ashtar, the day star who ushers in the light of morning); see also 7.18n. 27: Watch over them
for harm, it is deeply ironic that this last oracle addressed to the people echoes the language with which the
book began (1.1112), suggesting that, in spite of the hope of 31.28, the book tragically ends where it began for
these Egyptian refugees. The promise resides with the exiles in Babylon. 30: Pharaoh Hophra (Apries, ruled ca.
589570 bce) was assassinated by an enemy within the Egyptian court.
45.15: Words of promise to Baruch. This third and nal cycle of oracles is concluded, as were the earlier
two, by recollecting the scroll of 605 bce (see 36.46,2732). Using the central code language of the book, a
nal negative judgment is given: building yields to breaking down and planting yields to plucking up (see 1.10;
etc.). But Baruch is reassured of his own survival. 5: Prize of war, see 21.9; 38.2; 39.18.
46.151.64: Oracles against the nations. Prophetic books commonly have collections of such oracles directed against Israels enemies (see Isa 1323, Ezek 2532, Am 12). These oracles may preserve one of the early
functions of prophecy as war prophecy: undermining the strength of the enemy with curses and psychologically fortifying the home troops for victory. The placement of these oracles is a major dierence between the
Hebrew and Greek traditions of the book of Jeremiah, with the laer (the Septuagint [LXX]) locating the oracles
within the context of ch 25. The Hebrew and Greek traditions also dier in their ordering of the specic oracles.
The Hebrew tradition begins with the oracle against Egypt, connecting with the geographical orientation of
the previous chapters. The general sweep is then from west to east (or, using the language of the text, from
south to north) and concludes with the lengthy oracle against Babylon (chs 5051), the major enemy in the
book of Jeremiah.
46.228: Against Egypt, two oracles. The rst oracle (vv. 312) is set in the context of Babylons defeat of
hebrew bible | 1129
jeremiah 46
BASHAN
Carchemish
Mediterranean
Sea
ARAM
Sidon
Damascus
ELAM
BABYLO N IA
Tyre
GILEAD
s
igri
R.T
R. Euphrates
Mediterranean
Sea
MEDIA
ASSYRIA
Arpad
Hamath
Cyprus
Babylon
(EPHRAIM)
R. Jordan
ISRAEL
AMMON
A
TI
Jerusalem
PH
IL
Heshbon
Gu
lf
ARABIA
le
Ni
IS
Pe
rs
ia
EGYPT
Rabbah
Teman
Thebes
Dedan
on
Wa
JUDAH
Dead
Sea
rn
di A
MOAB
Dibon
ea
S
Red
Gaza
Kedar
R.
Ashkelon
Migdol
Tahpanhes
Memphis
ET HI OP I A
The Negeb
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
EDOM (TEMAN)
200 Miles
200 Kilometers
SH EBA
Chs 4651: Places mentioned in the oracles against foreign nations.
Take your stations with your helmets,

whet your lances,
put on your coats of mail!
Why do I see them terried?
They have fallen back;
their warriors are beaten down,
and have ed in haste.
They do not look back
terror is all around!
says the Lord.
The swift cannot ee away,
nor can the warrior escape;
in the north by the river Euphrates
they have stumbled and fallen.
Who is this, rising like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge?
Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge.
It said, Let me rise, let me cover the
earth,
let me destroy cities and their

inhabitants.
Advance, Ohorses,
and dash madly, Ochariots!
Let the warriors go forth:
Ethiopiaa and Put who carry the shield,
the Ludim, who drawb the bow.
That day is the day of the Lord God of
hosts,
a day of retribution,
to gain vindication from his foes.
The sword shall devour and be sated,
and drink its ll of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrice
in the land of the north by the river
Euphrates.

b Cn: Heb who grasp, who draw
Egypt in 605 bce at Carchemish on the Euphrates (vv. 6,10), solidifying Babylonian control over the Levant; cf.
36.132. The second oracle (vv. 1328) is set in the context of the later invasion of Egypt by the Babylonian army
(compare 43.913). 2: Pharaoh Neco II ruled ca. 610595 bce. 3: Buckler . . . shield, two dierent sizes of shields:
the rst smaller and the second covering the entire body. The unusual poetic meter of these verses mimics the
sound of marching armies (compare Nah 2.19). 5: Terror is all around, language celebrating the Egyptian defeat;
see 6.25n.; 20.3,10; 49.29. 78: Like the annual ooding of the Nile, Egypts pretensions rose above manageable
levels. 9: Ethiopia (Heb Cush), Put, and the Ludim were all African nations known for their military prowess (see
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jeremiah 46
Go up to Gilead, and take balm,
Ovirgin daughter Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
there is no healing for you.
The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
for warrior has stumbled against warrior;
both have fallen together.
The word that the Lord spoke to the
prophet Jeremiah about the coming of King
Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon to attack the
land of Egypt:
Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in
Migdol;
proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;
Say, Take your stations and be ready,
for the sword shall devour those around
you.
Why has Apis ed?a
Why did your bull not stand?
because the Lord thrust him down.
Your multitude stumbledb and fell,
and one said to another,c
Come, let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
because of the destroying sword.
Give Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the name
Braggart who missed his chance.
As I live, says the King,
whose name is the Lord of hosts,
one is coming
like Tabor among the mountains,
and like Carmel by the sea.
Pack your bags for exile,
sheltered daughter Egypt!
For Memphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, without inhabitant.
A beautiful heifer is Egypt
a gady from the north lights upon her.
Even her mercenaries in her midst

are like fatted calves;
they too have turned and ed together,
they did not stand;
for the day of their calamity has come
upon them,
the time of their punishment.
She makes a sound like a snake gliding
away;
for her enemies march in force,
and come against her with axes,
like those who fell trees.
They shall cut down her forest,
says the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because they are more numerous
than locusts;
they are without number.
Daughter Egypt shall be put to shame;
she shall be handed over to a people
from the north.
The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
said: See, I am bringing punishment upon
Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt
and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh
and those who trust in him. I will hand
them over to those who seek their life, to
King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and his ofcers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as
in the days of old, says the Lord.
But as for you, have no fear, my servant
Jacob,
and do not be dismayed, OIsrael;
for I am going to save you from far
away,
a Gk: Heb Why was it swept away
b Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Gk: Heb and fell one to another and they said
Gen 10.6,13; Ezek 27.10). 11: Gilead . . . balm, see 8.22n. 14. Migdol . . . Memphis . . . Tahpanhes, see 44.1n. 15: Why
has Apis ed, following the Greek text, underlying which is a dierent word division; MT reads Why is it fallen?
Apis was a bull deity worshiped in Memphis and the subject of elaborate sacricial and burial rituals. The ight
of Apis represents the retreat of the imperial Egyptian armies. 18: Like Tabor, a prominent mountain in the Galilee. Like Carmel, a prominent mountain point protecting the seaward (west) end of the Jezreel valley: 20: Gady
from the north, that is, Babylon. 21: Egypts troops have ed like their Apis bull (v. 15). 22: The snake gliding away
may recall the royal emblem on the Egyptian crown. 25: Amon of Thebes, the major deity and religious center of
upper Egypt. 26: Aerward Egypt shall be inhabited, that the oracle concludes with a brief word of promise for
the restoration of Egypt is strange, but consistent with 48.47; 49.6,39. 2728: A doublet of 30.1011 in the exilic
hebrew bible | 1131
jeremiah 47
and your ospring from the land of
their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and no one shall make him afraid.
As for you, have no fear, my servant
Jacob,
says the Lord,
for I am with you.
I will make an end of all the nations
among which I have banished you,
but I will not make an end of you!
I will chastise you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you
unpunished.
47

the prophet Jeremiah concerning the
Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:
Thus says the Lord:
See, waters are rising out of the north
and shall become an overowing
torrent;
they shall overow the land and all that
lls it,
the city and those who live in it.
People shall cry out,
and all the inhabitants of the land shall
wail.
At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs
of his stallions,
at the clatter of his chariots, at the
rumbling of their wheels,
parents do not turn back for children,
so feeble are their hands,
because of the day that is coming
to destroy all the Philistines,
to cut o from Tyre and Sidon
every helper that remains.
For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
the remnant of the coastland of

Caphtor.
Baldness has come upon Gaza,
Ashkelon is silenced.
Oremnant of their power!a
How long will you gash yourselves?
Ah, sword of the Lord!
How long until you are quiet?
Put yourself into your scabbard,
rest and be still!
How can itb be quiet,
when the Lord has given it an order?
Against Ashkelon and against the
seashore
there he has appointed it.
48
Concerning Moab.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:

Alas for Nebo, it is laid waste!
Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;
the fortress is put to shame and broken
down;
the renown of Moab is no more.
In Heshbon they planned evil against her:
Come, let us cut her o from being a
nation!
You also, OMadmen, shall be brought to
silence;c
the sword shall pursue you.
Hark! a cry from Horonaim,
Desolation and great destruction!
a Gk: Heb their valley

b Gk Vg: Heb you
c The place-name Madmen sounds like the Hebrew
verb to be silent
language of Second Isaiah.

47.17: Against Philistia. This oracle alludes to the Babylonian destruction of the Philistine city of Ashkelon
in 694 bce (see vv. 5, 7). 4: Tyre and Sidon were part of Phoenicia rather than Philistia, and elsewhere are listed
separately from Philistia (25.2022; Am 1.610; Ezek 25.1528.26). The Philistines were associated with the ancestral land of Caphtor (Crete, Gen 10.14; Deut 2.23; Am 9.7), but Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia were connected in
tradition (Joel 3.4), all associated with incursions of Hellenic groups, and therefore are grouped together and
combined here. 5: For similar signs of lamentation, cf. 16.6; 41.5. 67: Sword of the Lord, 12.1; 25.31; Isa 34.6.
48.147: Against Moab. This lengthy oracle is comprised of a number of originally independent oracles,
several of which are found in other prophetic collections. 1: Although Nebo, Kiriathaim, and other Moabite
cities were sometimes controlled by the Israelites (Mesha inscription; Num 32.37), they were traditionally part
of Moabite territory (Deut 32.49). 2: In Heshbon they planned evil, a play on words, since plot or plan is Heb
hashab.
Heshbon, a northern Moabite city, is modern Hesban. 35: On the place names Horonaim and the
.
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jeremiah 48
Moab is destroyed!
her little ones cry out.
For at the ascent of Luhith
they goa up weeping bitterly;
for at the descent of Horonaim
they have heard the distressing cry of
anguish.
Flee! Save yourselves!
Be like a wild assb in the desert!
house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their

condence.
How can you say, We are heroes
and mighty warriors?
The destroyer of Moab and his towns has
come up,
and the choicest of his young men have
gone down to slaughter,
says the King, whose name is the Lord
of hosts.
The calamity of Moab is near at hand
and his doom approaches swiftly.
Mourn over him, all you his neighbors,
and all who know his name;
say, How the mighty scepter is broken,
the glorious sta!
Surely, because you trusted in your

strongholdsc and your treasures,
you also shall be taken;
Chemosh shall go out into exile,
with his priests and his attendants.
The destroyer shall come upon every
town,
and no town shall escape;
the valley shall perish,
and the plain shall be destroyed,
as the Lord has spoken.
Come down from glory,

and sit on the parched ground,
enthroned daughter Dibon!
For the destroyer of Moab has come up
against you;
he has destroyed your strongholds.
Stand by the road and watch,
you inhabitant of Aroer!
Ask the man eeing and the woman
escaping;
say, What has happened?
Moab is put to shame, for it is broken
down;
wail and cry!
Tell it by the Arnon,
that Moab is laid waste.
Set aside salt for Moab,

for she will surely fall;
her towns shall become a desolation,
with no inhabitant in them.
Accursed is the one who is slack in doing
the work of the Lord; and accursed is the one
who keeps back the sword from bloodshed.
Moab has been at ease from his youth,
settled like wined on its dregs;
he has not been emptied from vessel to
vessel,
nor has he gone into exile;
therefore his avor has remained
and his aroma is unspoiled.
Therefore, the time is surely coming,
says the Lord, when I shall send to him
decanters to decant him, and empty his
vessels, and break hise jars in pieces. Then
Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the
Judgment has come upon the tableland,

upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mephaath,
a
b
c
d
e
Cn: Heb he goes

Gk Aquila: Heb like Aroer
Gk: Heb works
Heb lacks like wine
Gk Aquila: Heb their
ascent of Luhith, see Isa 15.15. Their locations are unknown. 6: Like a wild ass (Heb aroer) in the desert, a reference to the Moabite town Aroer (17.6; Deut 2.36; 2 Kings 10.33). 7: Chemosh, the national god of the Moabites;
see Judg 11.24; 1 Kings 11.7. 9: Salt for Moab refers to the ancient practice of salting a conquered territory to
destroy its soils fertility for generations to come; see Judges 9.45. But this is also a wordplay on the terms salt
(Heb tsits) and fall or go out (Heb tetse). 10: Probably an editorial comment. 1112: Uses language
referring to Moabs well-known viticulture; see vv. 3233. 13: Bethel represented religious apostasy in prophetic
critique (Hos 10.15; Am 3.14; 4.4; 5.56), because of the worship associated with the calf that Jeroboam installed
there (1 Kings 12.2631; 2 Kings 10.29). 18. Dibon, a Moabite city located near Aroer north of the Wadi Arnon (v.
hebrew bible | 1133
jeremiah 48
and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Bethmeon, and Kerioth, and Bozrah, and all
the towns of the land of Moab, far and near.
The horn of Moab is cut o, and his arm is
broken, says the Lord.
Make him drunk, because he magnied
himself against the Lord; let Moab wallow
in his vomit; he too shall become a laughingstock. Israel was a laughingstock for you,
though he was not caught among thieves; but
whenever you spoke of him you shook your
head!
Leave the towns, and live on the rock,
Oinhabitants of Moab!
Be like the dove that nests
on the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
We have heard of the pride of Moab
he is very proud
of his loftiness, his pride, and his
arrogance,
and the haughtiness of his heart.
I myself know his insolence, says the
Lord;
his boasts are false,
his deeds are false.
Therefore I wail for Moab;
I cry out for all Moab;
for the people of Kir-heres I mourn.
More than for Jazer I weep for you,
Ovine of Sibmah!
Your branches crossed over the sea,
reached as far as Jazer;a
upon your summer fruits and your vintage
the destroyer has fallen.
Gladness and joy have been taken away
from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have stopped the wine from the wine
presses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy;
the shouting is not the shout of joy.
Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;b as far
as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to
Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For even
the waters of Nimrim have become desolate.

And I will bring to an end in Moab, says the
Lord, those who oer sacrice at a high place
and make oerings to their gods. Therefore
my heart moans for Moab like a ute, and
my heart moans like a ute for the people
of Kir-heres; for the riches they gained have
perished.
For every head is shaved and every beard
cut o; on all the hands there are gashes, and
on the loins sackcloth. On all the housetops
of Moab and in the squares there is nothing
but lamentation; for I have broken Moab like
a vessel that no one wants, says the Lord.
How it is broken! How they wail! How
Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab
has become a derision and a horror to all his
neighbors.
Look, he shall swoop down like an eagle,
and spread his wings against Moab;
the townsc shall be taken
and the strongholds seized.
The hearts of the warriors of Moab, on
that day,
shall be like the heart of a woman in
labor.
Moab shall be destroyed as a people,
because he magnied himself against
the Lord.
Terror, pit, and trap
are before you, Oinhabitants of Moab!
says the Lord.
Everyone who ees from the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and everyone who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the trap.
For I will bring these thingsd upon Moab
in the year of their punishment,
says the Lord.
a
b
c
d
Two Mss and Isa 16.8: MT the sea of Jazer

Cn: Heb From the cry of Heshbon to Elealeh
Or Kerioth
Gk Syr: Heb bring upon it
20). 19: Aroer, see v. 6n. 31: Kir-heres, otherwise known as Kir-hareseth (see Isa 16.7,11), is modern el-Kerak, the
imposing and easily defended Moabite city 18 km (11 mi) east of the Dead Sea. 32: Vine of Sibmah, see vv. 1112n.;
Isa 16.8,9. 34: References several towns in Moab; see map on p. 1130. Cf. Isa 15.46; Num 32.3 36: Moans . . . like
a ute, normally utes are associated with joyful sounds (Isa 5.12; 30.29); cf. Isa 16.11. 37: Characteristic rituals
of mourning. On all the hands, or perhaps between the hands, that is, marks made by slashing ones chest
1134 | hebrew bible
jeremiah 49
In the shadow of Heshbon
fugitives stop exhausted;
for a re has gone out from Heshbon,
a ame from the house of Sihon;
it has destroyed the forehead of Moab,
the scalp of the people of tumult.a
Woe to you, OMoab!
The people of Chemosh have perished,
for your sons have been taken captive,
and your daughters into captivity.
Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab
in the latter days, says the Lord.
Thus far is the judgment on Moab.
49
Concerning the Ammonites.
Thus says the Lord:

Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its towns?
Therefore, the time is surely coming,
says the Lord,
when I will sound the battle alarm
against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate mound,
and its villages shall be burned with
re;
then Israel shall dispossess those who
dispossessed him,
says the Lord.
Wail, OHeshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, Odaughtersb of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth,
lament, and slash yourselves with
whips!c
For Milcom shall go into exile,
with his priests and his
attendants.
Why do you boast in your strength?
Your strength is ebbing,
Ofaithless daughter.
You trusted in your treasures, saying,
Who will attack me?
I am going to bring terror upon you,
says the Lord God of hosts,
from all your neighbors,
and you will be scattered, each
headlong,
with no one to gather the fugitives.
But afterward I will restore the fortunes
of the Ammonites, says the Lord.
Concerning Edom.
Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the
prudent?
Has their wisdom vanished?
Flee, turn back, get down low,
inhabitants of Dedan!
a Or of Shaon
b Or villages
c Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
or back; see Zech 13.6. 45: Heshbon, see v. 2n. Sihon, the legendary Amorite king of Heshbon; see the ancient
ballad in Num 21.2728. 47: Moabs fortunes will be restored, as will those of Ammon (49.6) and Elam (49.39).
49.16: Against Ammon. The oracle against Ammon follows that of Moab, as the two are connected in tradition; see Gen 19.3038; Deut 23.3. Both Moab and Ammon had recently been used by the Babylonians as proxies
in the eort to subdue Judah (2 Kings 24.2). 1: Milcom . . . Gad, as the east-Jordanian tribe of Reuben tried to
establish itself in territory claimed by Moab, so the east-Jordanian tribe of Gad was in competition with the Ammonites, whose national god was Milcom (1 Kings 11.5,33) and who eventually became independent of Israel,
thereby claiming their own territory (2 Kings 15.29). 3: Reference to several major Ammonite towns, including
Heshbon, the old Amorite city of Sihon (see 48.2n.; Num 21.2124) and the capital, Rabbah (2 Sam 11.1), modern
day Amman. Ai here probably does not refer to the ancient city of Ai near Bethel. The word is also the Heb term
for ruin, and may be used here in reference to Rabbah. 6: Restore the fortunes, see 48.47n.
49.722: Against Edom. South of Ammon and Moab, Edom was the third eastJordanian country that competed with Israel for territory and independence. Parts of this oracle are also found with variations in the book
of Obadiah. 78: Teman, perhaps in northern Arabia, was associated with Esau, the ancestor of Edom (Gen
36.1,811,15). Ancient traditions connected the God of Israel with Teman (Hab 3.3), and it was associated with
ancient wisdom (Bar 3.2223). As Edoms brother, Israel recognized a strained kinship with the Edomites,
but the relationship soured as Edom too was used as a proxy by Babylon (Ps 137.79). Dedan, a region in north-
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jeremiah 49
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon
him,
the time when I punish him.
If grape-gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
even they would pillage only what they
wanted.
But as for me, I have stripped Esau
bare,
I have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His ospring are destroyed, his kinsfolk
and his neighbors; and he is no more.
Leave your orphans, I will keep them
alive;
and let your widows trust in me.
For thus says the Lord: If those who
do not deserve to drink the cup still have to
drink it, shall you be the one to go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished; you
must drink it. For by myself I have sworn,
says the Lord, that Bozrah shall become an
object of horror and ridicule, a waste, and an
object of cursing; and all her towns shall be
perpetual wastes.
I have heard tidings from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among
the nations:
Gather yourselves together and come
against her,
and rise up for battle!
For I will make you least among the
nations,
despised by humankind.
The terror you inspire
and the pride of your heart have
deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,a
who hold the height of the hill.
Although you make your nest as high as
the eagles,
from there I will bring you down,
says the Lord.
Edom shall become an object of horror;

everyone who passes by it will be horried
and will hiss because of all its disasters. As
when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors were overthrown, says the Lord, no one
shall live there, nor shall anyone settle in it.
Like a lion coming up from the thickets of
the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will
suddenly chase Edomb away from it; and
I will appoint over it whomever I choose.c
For who is like me? Who can summon me?
Who is the shepherd who can stand before
me? Therefore hear the plan that the Lord
has made against Edom and the purposes
that he has formed against the inhabitants
of Teman: Surely the little ones of the ock
shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall
be appalled at their fate. At the sound of
their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound
of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea.d
Look, he shall mount up and swoop down
like an eagle, and spread his wings against
Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of
Edom in that day shall be like the heart of a
woman in labor.
Concerning Damascus.
Hamath and Arpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear, they are troubled like the
seae
that cannot be quiet.
Damascus has become feeble, she
turned to ee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
a Or of Sela
b Heb him
c Or and I will single out the choicest of his rams:
d Or Sea of Reeds
e Cn: Heb there is trouble in the sea
west Arabia associated with trade (Ezek 25.1529). 13: Bozrah, modern Buseirah, a great fortress city in northern
Edom. 16: Cles of the rock, Edom was known for its mountainous and hill-top dwellings such as at Sela (rock);
see textual note a. 18: Sodom and Gomorrah, see 20.16n. A doublet of 50.40, but appropriately located here,
given Edomite associations with the southern Arabah. 19: Lion . . . thickets of the Jordan, see 12.5n. 21: Red Sea
or Sea of Reeds (see textual note d), here probably referring to the eastern arm of the Reed Sea, the Gulf of
Aqaba.
49.2327: Against Damascus, the capital of Aram, one of Israels traditional enemies. 23: On the connection
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jeremiah 50
as of a woman in labor.
How the famous city is forsaken,a
the joyful town!b
Therefore her young men shall fall in her
squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in
that day,
And I will kindle a re at the wall of
Damascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of
Ben-hadad.
Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of
Hazor that King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon
defeated.
Thus says the Lord:
Rise up, advance against Kedar!
Destroy the people of the east!
Take their tents and their ocks,
their curtains and all their goods;
carry o their camels for yourselves,
and a cry shall go up: Terror is all
around!
Flee, wander far away, hide in deep
places,
Oinhabitants of Hazor!
says the Lord.
For King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon
has made a plan against you
and formed a purpose against you.
Rise up, advance against a nation at ease,
that lives secure,
says the Lord,
that has no gates or bars,
that lives alone.
Their camels shall become booty,
their herds of cattle a spoil.

I will scatter to every wind
those who have shaven temples,
and I will bring calamity
against them from every side,
says the Lord.
Hazor shall become a lair of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
no one shall live there,
nor shall anyone settle in it.
The word of the Lord that came to the
prophet Jeremiah concerning Elam, at the
beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of
Judah.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am going
to break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of
their might; and I will bring upon Elam
the four winds from the four quarters of
heaven; and I will scatter them to all these
winds, and there shall be no nation to which
the exiles from Elam shall not come. I will
terrify Elam before their enemies, and before
those who seek their life; I will bring disaster
upon them, my erce anger, says the Lord. I
will send the sword after them, until I have
consumed them; and I will set my throne
in Elam, and destroy their king and ocials,
says the Lord.
But in the latter days I will restore the
fortunes of Elam, says the Lord.
50
The word that the Lord spoke

concerning Babylon, concerning
the land of the Chaldeans, by the prophet
Jeremiah:
a Vg: Heb is not forsaken

b Syr Vg Tg: Heb the town of my joy
of the neighboring kingdoms of Arpad and Hamath, see 2 Kings 18.34; Isa 36.19; 10.9; 37.13. 27: On this stylized
language, see Am 1.4,14. Ben-hadad, name of several of the kings of Aram-Damascus.
49.2833: Against Kedar and Hazor. Kedar was a collective name for Ishmaelite nomadic tribes (Gen 25.13)
who lived in tents (Ps 120.5; Song 1.5) and grazed sheep and goats (Ezek 27.21). Hazor here must also refer
to desert nomadic wanderers. As such, they lived in unwalled villages (v. 31) and their economy was based
upon camel caravaneering (vv. 29,32). 28: In midwinter 599598 bce Nebuchadrezzar led a successful campaign
against the Arab tribes in the eastern desert. 29: Terror is all around, see 46.5n. 32: Shaven temples, a mark of
eastern nomadic groups; see 9.26n.; 25.23.
49.3439: Against Elam. The unusually long introduction to this oracle suggests that it was a later addition to the collection. One of the few dated oracles, it is placed in the context of the beginning of the reign
of Zedekiah following the rst deportation (597 bce). Elam, with its capital at Susa, lay to the east of Babylon.
The reference to the bow of Elam (v. 35) highlights its reputation (Isa 22.6). 36: On the traditional division of the
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jeremiah 50
Declare among the nations and
proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
do not conceal it, say:
Babylon is taken,
Bel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
Her images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.
For out of the north a nation has come up
against her; it shall make her land a desolation, and no one shall live in it; both human
beings and animals shall ee away.
In those days and in that time, says
the Lord, the people of Israel shall come,
they and the people of Judah together; they
shall come weeping as they seek the Lord
their God. They shall ask the way to Zion,
with faces turned toward it, and they shall
come and joina themselves to the Lord by
an everlasting covenant that will never be
forgotten.
My people have been lost sheep; their
shepherds have led them astray, turning them
away on the mountains; from mountain to
hill they have gone, they have forgotten their
fold. All who found them have devoured
them, and their enemies have said, We are
not guilty, because they have sinned against
the Lord, the true pasture, the Lord, the hope

of their ancestors.
Flee from Babylon, and go out of the
land of the Chaldeans, and be like male goats
leading the ock. For I am going to stir up
and bring against Babylon a company of
great nations from the land of the north; and
they shall array themselves against her; from
there she shall be taken. Their arrows are
like the arrows of a skilled warrior who does
not return empty-handed. Chaldea shall be
plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated,
says the Lord.
Though you rejoice, though you exult,
Oplunderers of my heritage,
though you frisk about like a heifer on the
grass,
and neigh like stallions,
your mother shall be utterly shamed,
and she who bore you shall be
disgraced.
Lo, she shall be the last of the nations,
a wilderness, dry land, and a desert.
Because of the wrath of the Lord she
shall not be inhabited,
a Gk: Heb toward it. Come! They shall join
heavens into four quadrants, each with its wind, see Ezek 37.9; Zech 2.6; 6.5. 39: On the restoration of Elams
fortunes, see 48.47; 49.6.
50.151.58: Against Babylon. The oracle against Babylon (Chaldea) appears last in the list, reecting its historical importance and the cosmic aspects of Jeremiahs proclamation of judgment against the nations (25.11
14). This lengthy oracle, made up of numerous fragments, expresses both a harsh judgment upon Babylon and
visions of restoration for Judah. Lacking is the sense expressed elsewhere that Babylon was an agent in Gods
purposeful design (see 27.611). Instead the oracle stresses the arrogance and deance of Babylon, which will
now face retribution from Israels God.
50.13: Babylons destruction is announced. 2: Bel, a title of Marduk, the chief deity of Babylon, related
to the Canaanite title baal, lord, master (Isa 46.1); cf. Bel 1.122. Merodach refers to the chief patron deity of
Babylon, Marduk, creator of the world in Babylonian mythology and founder of the city of Babylon. The name
appears in the Bible only otherwise in the royal names Merodach-baladan (2 Kings 20.12=Isa 39.1) and Evilmerodach (52.31). 3: Even Babylon, the enemy from the north, is subject to her own enemies from the north
(1.14; 50.9,4142). Babylon was conquered by Cyrus, head of a coalition of Medes and Persians, in 539 bce, but
the image here may be more literary and mythological than historical.
50.410: The restoration of Israel and Judah, envisioning the reestablishment of the united tribal alliance.
7: Metaphor of lost sheep being devoured by predators, but compare with 2.3 and its ritual associations. 8: Cf.
Isa 48.20.
50.1116: The Lords vengeance against Babylon. 12: Your mother, that is, Babylon. Cities can oen be spoken of as mothers to their inhabitants or surrounding villages.
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jeremiah 50
but shall be an utter desolation;
everyone who passes by Babylon shall be
appalled
and hiss because of all her wounds.
Take up your positions around Babylon,
all you that bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
for she has sinned against the Lord.
Raise a shout against her from all sides,
She has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen,
her walls are thrown down.
For this is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her,
do to her as she has done.
Cut o from Babylon the sower,
and the wielder of the sickle in time of
harvest;
because of the destroying sword
all of them shall return to their own
people,
and all of them shall ee to their own
land.
Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by
lions. First the king of Assyria devoured it,
and now at the end King Nebuchadrezzar of
Babylon has gnawed its bones. Therefore,
thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
I am going to punish the king of Babylon and
his land, as I punished the king of Assyria. I
will restore Israel to its pasture, and it shall
feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and on the
hills of Ephraim and in Gilead its hunger shall
be satised. In those days and at that time,
says the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be
sought, and there shall be none; and the sins
of Judah, and none shall be found; for I will
pardon the remnant that I have spared.
Go up to the land of Merathaim;a
go up against her,
and attack the inhabitants of Pekodb
and utterly destroy the last of them,c
says the Lord;
do all that I have commanded you.

The noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction!
How the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
How Babylon has become
a horror among the nations!
You set a snare for yourself and you were
caught, OBabylon,
but you did not know it;
you were discovered and seized,
because you challenged the Lord.
The Lord has opened his armory,
and brought out the weapons of his
wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a task to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
pile her up like heaps of grain, and destroy
her utterly;
let nothing be left of her.
Kill all her bulls,
let them go down to the slaughter.
Alas for them, their day has come,
the time of their punishment!
Listen! Fugitives and refugees from the
land of Babylon are coming to declare in Zion
the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for his temple.
Summon archers against Babylon, all
who bend the bow. Encamp all around her;
let no one escape. Repay her according to her
deeds; just as she has done, do to herfor
she has arrogantly deed the Lord, the Holy
One of Israel. Therefore her young men
shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers
shall be destroyed on that day, says the Lord.
a Or of Double Rebellion
b Or of Punishment
c Tg: Heb destroy after them
50.1720: Israel restored. 19: Carmel, a promontory in the western Jezreel Valley, and Bashan in Transjordan
were known for their fertility (Isa 33.9; Nah 1.4; Ezek 39.18).
50.2132: The military assault on Babylon. 21: Merathaim, used only here, is perhaps a derisive term for
Babylon meaning double rebellion, probably playing on the name of southern Babylon, mat marrati, land
of the lagoons. Pekod was a part of Babylonian territory or an allied territory; see Ezek 23.23. Also a play on
words, since Heb paqad commonly means to aend to, as in punishing (vv. 18,27). 24: You set, Heb I set.
hebrew bible | 1139
jeremiah 50
I am against you, Oarrogant one,
says the Lord God of hosts;
for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
The arrogant one shall stumble and fall,
with no one to raise him up,
and I will kindle a re in his cities,
and it will devour everything around
him.
overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their

neighbors, says the Lord, so no one shall live
there, nor shall anyone settle in her.
Look, a people is coming from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of
the earth.
They wield bow and spear,
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride upon horses,
set in array as a warrior for battle,
against you, Odaughter Babylon!
Thus says the Lord of hosts: The people

of Israel are oppressed, and so too are the
people of Judah; all their captors have held
them fast and refuse to let them go. Their
Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his
name. He will surely plead their cause, that
he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to
the inhabitants of Babylon.
A sword against the Chaldeans, says the
Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against her ocials and her sages!
A sword against the diviners,
so that they may become fools!
A sword against her warriors,
so that they may be destroyed!
A sword against hera horses and against
hera chariots,
and against all the foreign troops in her
midst,
so that they may become women!
A sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
A droughtb against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
For it is a land of images,
and they go mad over idols.
Therefore wild animals shall live with
hyenas in Babylon,c and ostriches shall inhabit her; she shall never again be peopled, or
inhabited for all generations. As when God
The king of Babylon heard news of them,

and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
Like a lion coming up from the thickets
of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I
will suddenly chase them away from her; and
I will appoint over her whomever I choose.d
For who is like me? Who can summon me?
Who is the shepherd who can stand before
me? Therefore hear the plan that the Lord
has made against Babylon, and the purposes
that he has formed against the land of the
Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the ock
shall be dragged away; surely theire fold shall
be appalled at their fate. At the sound of
the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the
nations.
a
b
c
d
Cn: Heb his

Another reading is A sword
Heb lacks in Babylon
Or and I will single out the choicest of her rams:
e Syr Gk Tg Compare 49.20: Heb lacks their
50.3334: Israels redeemer will plead her cause. The terminology is of family redemption in a legal suit (cf.
Isa 47.4).
50.3540: Judgment against Babylon. Using a repeating phrase (a sword [Heb hereb]
against . . . ),
.
changes images to a drought [Heb horeb]
against in v. 38. 36: Diviners, but Heb suggests a derogatory term
.
for those who prale on about nothing. 37: They may become women, a common slander made against foreign
soldiers. Compare 51.30; Isa 19.16; Nah 3.13. 40: Sodom and Gomorrah, see 20.16n.
50.4143: The assault of the enemy from the north. See v. 3n.
50.4446: The Lord is a lion. Thickets of the Jordan, see 12.5n. Shepherd, a metaphor for king.
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jeremiah 51
51
Thus says the Lord:

I am going to stir up a destructive
winda
against Babylon
and against the inhabitants of Lebqamai;b
and I will send winnowers to Babylon,
and they shall winnow her.
They shall empty her land
when they come against her from every
side
on the day of trouble.
Let not the archer bend his bow,
and let him not array himself in his coat
of mail.
Do not spare her young men;
utterly destroy her entire army.
They shall fall down slain in the land of
the Chaldeans,
and wounded in her streets.
Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the Lord of hosts,
though their land is full of guilt
before the Holy One of Israel.
Flee from the midst of Babylon,

save your lives, each of you!
Do not perish because of her guilt,
for this is the time of the Lords
vengeance;
he is repaying her what is due.
Babylon was a golden cup in the Lords
hand,
making all the earth drunken;
the nations drank of her wine,
and so the nations went mad.
Suddenly Babylon has fallen and is
shattered;
wail for her!
Bring balm for her wound;
perhaps she may be healed.
We tried to heal Babylon,

but she could not be healed.
Forsake her, and let each of us go
to our own country;
for her judgment has reached up to heaven
and has been lifted up even to the skies.
The Lord has brought forth our
vindication;
come, let us declare in Zion
the work of the Lord our God.
Sharpen the arrows!
Fill the quivers!
The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings
of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the
vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for his
temple.
Raise a standard against the walls of
Babylon;
make the watch strong;
post sentinels;
prepare the ambushes;
for the Lord has both planned and done
what he spoke concerning the
inhabitants of Babylon.
You who live by mighty waters,
rich in treasures,
your end has come,
the thread of your life is cut.
The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself:
Surely I will ll you with troops like a
swarm of locusts,
and they shall raise a shout of victory
over you.
a Or stir up the spirit of a destroyer

b Leb-qamai is a cryptogram for Kasdim, Chaldea
51.110: A wind will blow against Babylon. The image of winnowing is used ironically to depict a destructive wind that goes far beyond simply separating grain from cha. 1: Leb-qamai, a cryptic atbash reading for
Kasdim, meaning Chaldea or Babylon; see textual note b; cf. 25.26n.; 51.41. Also, the term qamai sounds
like the word for standing grain (Heb qamah) which is being winnowed, so that Leb-qamai suggests heart
of the standing grain. 7: On Gods cup of wine, see 25.1529. Here it is Babylon herself who is Gods cup. The
nations drink and go mad (the same word as in 50.38).
51.1114: The Medes a+ack Babylon. Cyrus was king of the empire of Media and Persia, and aacked Babylon in 539 bce. 13: Mighty waters, Babylon was surrounded by the Euphrates and other waterways as natural
defenses. 14: Troops like a swarm of locusts, cf. Joel 1.12.11 for the connection of a locust plague and the invasion
of enemy troops.
hebrew bible | 1141
jeremiah 51
It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his
wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out
the heavens.
When he utters his voice there is a
tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the
ends of the earth.
He makes lightnings for the rain,
and he brings out the wind from his
storehouses.
Everyone is stupid and without
knowledge;
goldsmiths are all put to shame by their
idols;
for their images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they
shall perish.
Not like these is the Lord,a the portion
of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
You are my war club, my weapon of
battle:
with you I smash nations;
with you I destroy kingdoms;
with you I smash the horse and its rider;
with you I smash the chariot and the
charioteer;
with you I smash man and woman;
with you I smash the old man and the
boy;
with you I smash the young man and the
girl;
with you I smash shepherds and their
ocks;
with you I smash farmers and their teams;

with you I smash governors and
deputies.
I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all
the wrong that they have done in Zion, says
the Lord.
I am against you, Odestroying
mountain,
says the Lord,
that destroys the whole earth;
I will stretch out my hand against you,
and roll you down from the crags,
and make you a burned-out mountain.
No stone shall be taken from you for a
corner
and no stone for a foundation,
but you shall be a perpetual waste,
says the Lord.
Raise a standard in the land,
blow the trumpet among the nations;
prepare the nations for war against her,
summon against her the kingdoms,
Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz;
appoint a marshal against her,
bring up horses like bristling locusts.
Prepare the nations for war against her,
the kings of the Medes, with their
governors and deputies,
and every land under their dominion.
The land trembles and writhes,
for the Lords purposes against Babylon
stand,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation,
without inhabitant.
a Heb lacks the Lord
51.1519: A hymn of praise to God. A doublet of 10.1216 appended here to contrast the power of the God of
Israel with the impotence of the idols of Babylon.
51.2024: Refers back to the kings of the Medes (v. 11) as Gods weapon of war to be used against Babylon.
The repeated term I smash (Heb nipatsti) is related to the term for war club (Heb mapets), a common
weapon in the ancient Near East.
51.2533: Babylon is destroyed and le desolate as Babylons famous ziggurat (articial temple mound)
will be made an extinct burned-out volcano (v. 25). 26: Aer cities were destroyed, their stone blocks were
oen reused in the rebuilding process. Even Babylons ruins, however, will be unt for future use. 2733: Ararat,
ancient Urartu, modern Armenia, north of Lake Van. Minni, Manneans living south of Lake Urmia. Ashkenaz,
the Scythians. See Gen 8.4; 10.3. All were defeated by the Medes in the early sixth century bce. 27: Marshal, a
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jeremiah 51
The warriors of Babylon have given up
ghting,
they remain in their strongholds;
their strength has failed,
they have become women;
her buildings are set on re,
her bars are broken.
One runner runs to meet another,
and one messenger to meet another,
to tell the king of Babylon
that his city is taken from end to end:
the fords have been seized,
the marshes have been burned with
re,
and the soldiers are in panic.
For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God
of Israel:
Daughter Babylon is like a threshing oor
at the time when it is trodden;
yet a little while
and the time of her harvest will come.
King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon has
devoured me,
he has crushed me;
he has made me an empty vessel,
he has swallowed me like a monster;
he has lled his belly with my delicacies,
he has spewed me out.
May my torn esh be avenged on
Babylon,
the inhabitants of Zion shall say.
May my blood be avenged on the
inhabitants of Chaldea,
Jerusalem shall say.
I am going to defend your cause
and take vengeance for you.
I will dry up her sea
and make her fountain dry;

and Babylon shall become a heap of
ruins,
a den of jackals,
an object of horror and of hissing,
without inhabitant.
Like lions they shall roar together;
they shall growl like lions whelps.
When they are inamed, I will set out
their drink
and make them drunk, until they
become merry
and then sleep a perpetual sleep
and never wake, says the Lord.
I will bring them down like lambs to the
slaughter,
like rams and goats.
How Sheshacha is taken,
the pride of the whole earth seized!
How Babylon has become
an object of horror among the nations!
The sea has risen over Babylon;
she has been covered by its tumultuous
waves.
Her cities have become an object of
horror,
a land of drought and a desert,
a land in which no one lives,
and through which no mortal passes.
I will punish Bel in Babylon,
and make him disgorge what he has
swallowed.
The nations shall no longer stream to him;
the wall of Babylon has fallen.
a Sheshach is a cryptogram for Babel, Babylon
military ocial (Nah 3.17). 28: Prepare, lit. sanctify; see 6.4n. 30: Become women, see 50.37n.
51.3444: God will seek vengeance against Babylon for devouring Judah. The theme of Babylon devouring Judah (v. 34) ushers in a theme pursued through this section. That Israel is devoured is a common theme
(see 10.25; 30.16). But here the image is combined with the common mythological image of the sea-monster
swallowing with a voracious appetite (v. 34; Ps 69.15; Prov 1.12), in turn combined with the polemic that Bel,
the god of Babylon, has such a voracious appetite (v. 44), but will be forced by God to disgorge all he has
devoured in conquest. See Jer 50.2 and the polemic in Bel 1.122, where Bel is characterized principally by his
voracious appetite. 36: Dry up her sea, that is, the mythological enemy, the sea-dragon with its all-consuming
appetite, representing the power of destructive chaos. Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon, was the hero god
who slew the dragon Tiamat, and who himself was depicted as a dragon on murals throughout Babylon. 41:
Sheshach, as in v. 1, cryptogram for Babel (Babylon); see 25.26n. 42: See v. 36. 44: Bel, see 50.2n. Make him disgorge, that is, bring out, leading into what follows.
hebrew bible | 1143
jeremiah 51
Come out of her, my people!
Save your lives, each of you,
from the erce anger of the Lord!
Do not be fainthearted or fearful
at the rumors heard in the land
one year one rumor comes,
the next year another,
rumors of violence in the land
and of ruler against ruler.
Assuredly, the days are coming
when I will punish the images of
Babylon;
her whole land shall be put to shame,
and all her slain shall fall in her midst.
Then the heavens and the earth,
and all that is in them,
shall shout for joy over Babylon;
for the destroyers shall come against
them out of the north,
says the Lord.
Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,
as the slain of all the earth have fallen
because of Babylon.
You survivors of the sword,
go, do not linger!
Remember the Lord in a distant land,
and let Jerusalem come into your mind:
We are put to shame, for we have heard
insults;
dishonor has covered our face,
for aliens have come
into the holy places of the Lords house.
Therefore the time is surely coming, says
the Lord,
when I will punish her idols,
and through all her land
the wounded shall groan.
Though Babylon should mount up to
heaven,
and though she should fortify her

strong height,
from me destroyers would come upon her,
says the Lord.
Listen!a cry from Babylon!
A great crashing from the land of the
Chaldeans!
For the Lord is laying Babylon waste,
and stilling her loud clamor.
Their waves roar like mighty waters,
the sound of their clamor resounds;
for a destroyer has come against her,
against Babylon;
her warriors are taken,
their bows are broken;
for the Lord is a God of recompense,
he will repay in full.
I will make her ocials and her sages
drunk,
also her governors, her deputies, and
her warriors;
they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and
never wake,
says the King, whose name is the Lord
of hosts.
The broad wall of Babylon
shall be leveled to the ground,
and her high gates
The peoples exhaust themselves for
nothing,
and the nations weary themselves only
for re.a
The word that the prophet Jeremiah
commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of
a Gk Syr Compare Hab 2.13: Heb and the nations for
re, and they are weary
51.4549: Israel is urged to come out as that which is disgorged from Babylon. The gure of Babylon
continued for a long time to symbolize the power of Gods great destructive enemy in biblical tradition; see
Rev 18.221.
51.5058: Babylons ultimate destruction. 50: Remember . . . distant land, normally a dicult task; cf. Ps
137.4. 51: Aliens, unlike strangers (sojourners), aliens are dangerous to the solidarity of the community and
threaten its integrity. Therefore aliens (Heb zarim) are discriminated against in a way that goes far beyond
the favorable concern shown to sojourners. 53: Mount up to heaven, that is, assert itself against Gods authority;
cf. Isa 14.13.
51.5964: The scroll thrown into the Euphrates. The oracles against Babylon (all these words, v. 60) were,
1144 | hebrew bible
jeremiah 52
Mahseiah, when he went with King Zedekiah of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year
of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster.
Jeremiah wrote in aa scroll all the disasters
that would come on Babylon, all these words
that are written concerning Babylon. And
Jeremiah said to Seraiah: When you come
to Babylon, see that you read all these words,
and say, OLord, you yourself threatened to
destroy this place so that neither human beings nor animals shall live in it, and it shall be
desolate forever. When you nish reading
this scroll, tie a stone to it, and throw it into
the middle of the Euphrates, and say, Thus
shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because
of the disasters that I am bringing on her.b
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
52
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old

when he began to reign; he reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem. His mothers name
was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. Indeed,
Jerusalem and Judah so angered the Lord
that he expelled them from his presence.
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of
Babylon. And in the ninth year of his reign,
in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the
month, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon
came with all his army against Jerusalem,
and they laid siege to it; they built siegeworks against it all around. So the city was
besieged until the eleventh year of King
Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the fourth
month the famine became so severe in the
city that there was no food for the people of

the land. Then a breach was made in the city
wall;c and all the soldiers ed and went out
from the city by night by the way of the gate
between the two walls, by the kings garden,
though the Chaldeans were all around the
city. They went in the direction of the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued
the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains
of Jericho; and all his army was scattered,
deserting him. Then they captured the king,
and brought him up to the king of Babylon at
Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed
sentence on him. The king of Babylon killed
the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also
killed all the ocers of Judah at Riblah. He
put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him
in fetters, and the king of Babylon took him
to Babylon, and put him in prison until the
day of his death.
In the fth month, on the tenth day of
the monthwhich was the nineteenth year
of King Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon
Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard
who served the king of Babylon, entered
Jerusalem. He burned the house of the
Lord, the kings house, and all the houses of
Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.
All the army of the Chaldeans, who were
with the captain of the guard, broke down all
the walls around Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan
the captain of the guard carried into exile
a Or one
b Gk: Heb on her. And they shall weary themselves
c Heb lacks wall
according to this account, sealed in a scroll and then taken to the Euphrates by courier and thrown in as a prophetic sign and curse that Babylon would so sink in divine disaster. This action is dated to 594 bce, the year of
the likely aborted revolt against Babylon; see 27.128.17n. The emissaries sent by Zedekiah to Babylon here may
have been in response to a rearmation of treaty support by Zedekiah of his Babylonian overlords. 59: Seraiah
. . . Neriah . . . Mahseiah, apparently Seraiah was Baruchs brother; see 32.16. Quartermaster, or perhaps chief
of storage houses, an appropriate ocial to send to convince the king of Babylon that no revolt was planned.
64: Thus far are the words of Jeremiah, an additional comment calling aention to the supplementary character
of the appendix in ch 52.
52.134: The fall and looting of Jerusalem. Vv. 127 are nearly identical to 2 Kings 24.1825.21. Vv. 2830
provide statistics regarding the numbers of Judeans taken into exile during the three deportations, gures not
recorded elsewhere. Vv. 3134 are excerpted nearly verbatim from 2 Kings 25.2730. This historical recitation
from the Deuteronomistic History makes a ing ending to the Deuteronomistically edited book of Jeremiah.
1: Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, ruled ca. 597586 bce. 3: A tragic theological conclusion consistent with the
Deuteronomistic perspective; see 2 Kings 23.2627. 411: January 587 to August 586 bce. On the aempted
escape and capture of Zedekiah and his fate, cf. 39.110. 1214: The h month continued to be memorialized in
hebrew bible | 1145
jeremiah 52
some of the poorest of the people and the rest
of the people who were left in the city and
the deserters who had defected to the king of
Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans.
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard
left some of the poorest people of the land to
be vinedressers and tillers of the soil.
The pillars of bronze that were in the
house of the Lord, and the stands and the
bronze sea that were in the house of the
Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and
carried all the bronze to Babylon. They
took away the pots, the shovels, the snuers, the basins, the ladles, and all the vessels
of bronze used in the temple service. The
captain of the guard took away the small
bowls also, the repans, the basins, the pots,
the lampstands, the ladles, and the bowls
for libation, both those of gold and those of
silver. As for the two pillars, the one sea,
the twelve bronze bulls that were under the
sea, and the stands,a which King Solomon
had made for the house of the Lord, the
bronze of all these vessels was beyond weighing. As for the pillars, the height of the one
pillar was eighteen cubits, its circumference
was twelve cubits; it was hollow and its
thickness was four ngers. Upon it was a
capital of bronze; the height of the capital
was ve cubits; latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, encircled the top of the
capital. And the second pillar had the same,
with pomegranates. There were ninety-six
pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates encircling the latticework numbered one
hundred.
The captain of the guard took the chief
priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah,
and the three guardians of the threshold;
and from the city he took an ocer who

had been in command of the soldiers, and
seven men of the kings council who were
found in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people
of the land; and sixty men of the people of
the land who were found inside the city.
Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard
took them, and brought them to the king of
Babylon at Riblah. And the king of Babylon
struck them down, and put them to death at
Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went
into exile out of its land.
This is the number of the people whom
Nebuchadrezzar took into exile: in the seventh year, three thousand twenty-three Judeans; in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he took into exile from Jerusalem eight
hundred thirty-two persons; in the twentythird year of Nebuchadrezzar, Nebuzaradan
the captain of the guard took into exile of the
Judeans seven hundred forty-ve persons; all
the persons were four thousand six hundred.
In the thirty-seventh year of the exile
of King Jehoiachin of Judah, in the twelfth
month, on the twenty-fth day of the month,
King Evil-merodach of Babylon, in the year he
began to reign, showed favor to King Jehoiachin of Judah and brought him out of prison;
he spoke kindly to him, and gave him a
seat above the seats of the other kings who
were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin
put aside his prison clothes, and every day of
his life he dined regularly at the kings table.
For his allowance, a regular daily allowance
was given him by the king of Babylon, as long
as he lived, up to the day of his death.
a Cn: Heb that were under the stands
commemoration of the destruction of the Temple; see Zech 7.3,5; 8.19. 17: Pillars of bronze, see 1 Kings 7.1516.
On the bronze sea and Ahazs reforms, see 1 Kings 7.2326; 2 Kings 16.17. 2223: Pomegranates were a particularly
important symbol used in Israels ritual decorations, adorning both priestly wear and the Temple furnishings;
see Ex 28.33; 39.2425; 1 Kings 7.1820,42. 24: Chief priest, a relatively late title for the principal priest (head
priest, or rst priest), alongside his principal assistant, the second priest; compare with the term high
priest (lit. great priest) in 2 Kings 12.10; 22.4,8; Hag 1.1. 30: On the signicance of the third deportation (581
bce), see 43.113. 31. Evil-merodach (562560 bce), Babylonian king whose name means man of Marduk; see
50.2n.
LAMENTATIONS
name, authorship, and location in canon
The name Lamentations is a translation of the title of the book as it appears in the Septuagint, Threnoi. In the
Hebrew Bible the book is titled Ekah, literally How, which is the rst word of the initial verse, How lonely
sits the city.
In the Christian canon, Lamentations follows Jeremiah, who was traditionally thought to have been its author. While Jewish tradition also ascribes the books authorship to Jeremiah, in the Hebrew Bible Lamentations
is located in the Writings, among the Five Scrolls. It is read liturgically on the Ninth of Av, the day of public
mourning in commemoration of the destruction of the First and Second Temples. (The First Temple was destroyed in 586 bce by the Babylonians, and the Second Temple in 70 ce by the Romans.) In Christian tradition,
readings from Lamentations are part of the Holy Week liturgies. The traditional ascription of authorship to Jeremiah derives from the impetus to ascribe all biblical books to inspired biblical authors as those books became
authoritative or canonical. Jeremiah, a prophet who lived during the last days of the kingdom of Judah and
prophesied its demise, was an obvious choice for Lamentations. According to 2 Chr 35.25, Jeremiah composed
laments for the death of King Josiah. This suggests that already by the time of Chronicles, Jeremiah had a reputation as an author of laments.
date and historical context

The ve poems that comprise Lamentations, each with its distinctive tone and theme, were initially composed
to lament the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians, which brought the independent
country of Judah to an end (see 2 Kings 25.821). The sequence of the chapters is not chronological, and despite
the vividness of their descriptions, the poems may not have been wrien by eyewitnesses to the events. The
dating of the book is clearly aer 586 bce and before the end of the sixth century bce, when the Temple was
rebuilt, but the exact time, place, and reason for their composition is unknown. Perhaps the poems were used
at the site of the ruined Temple to commemorate its loss.
genre
An ancient Near Eastern tradition of laments over the destruction of cities goes back to the Sumerian laments
of the early second millennium bce (e.g., Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur, Lamentation over the
Destruction of Sumer and Ur, Nippur Lament). Despite the generic similarity, however, there is no direct line
of inuence from the Sumerian laments to the book of Lamentations. Moreover, the Sumerian laments were
recited on the occasion of the rebuilding of a temple, so their story has a happy ending. Not so in the book
of Lamentations, where hopes for the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple remain unrealized, and God, who is
so movingly implored to end his peoples suering and exile and to restore them to their former condition,
never responds. The poems in Lamentations resemble Pss 74 and 79, also wrien in the aermath of Jerusalems destruction (see also Ps 137), but the origin and development of the Jerusalem-laments in Israel remains
unknown. The destruction of city and Temple was an unprecedented event in Judah; and perhaps a new genre
arose to ll a new need.
structure, interpretation, and guide to reading

The books rst four poems (chs 1; 2; 3; 4) are alphabetic acrostics, a formal device found elsewhere in the Bible
(e.g., Pss 111; 112; 145; Prov 31.1031), in which each verse or stanza begins with successive leers of the Hebrew
alphabet, twenty-two in all. Chapter 3 is a triple acrostic; all three verses of each stanza begin with the same
leer. Chapter 5, although not an acrostic, also contains twenty-two verses. In Lamentations this formal device
gives expression to the enormity or totality of the destruction (extending from A to Z) and also aempts to
give structure and closure to the incomprehensible events and unstructured pain that engulfed Judah and its
inhabitants.
The language of the book is highly poetic and extraordinarily moving, so much so that at times we want to
avert our eyes from the violence and suering described. The experiences of warfare, siege, famine, and death
hebrew bible | 1147
lamentations 1
are individualizedbrave men reduced to begging, mothers unable to nourish their children. The national
catastrophe is thus made real, as society disintegrates and people die or are deported. All of this is addressed
to God, so that he may feel the suering of his people and save them. The entire book may be thought of as an
appeal for Gods mercy. Yet God remains silent.
If the book fails to move God, it fullls another function, that of public mourning which both relives and
commemorates a catastrophe of incomprehensible proportion. Lamentations does not create a new theology.
It assumes the theology of Deuteronomy, where sin leads to divine punishment and exile (see Deut 28). God is
responsible for the disaster; the Babylonians are merely divine agents. So, God, whose power is not diminished
despite the Temples destruction, must be the one to end the Babylonian dominance and bring about the return from exile. Repentance, the antidote to sin, is mentioned but is not central (this is not penitential prayer);
rather, the idea in Lamentations is that the punishment, even if deserved, outweighs the sin. The immediacy of
the disproportionate punishment drowns out everything else.
As a short book, Lamentations can easily be read in one siing. Each chapter is a window through which a
poet aempts to render chaos into language in the formal structure of the acrostic.
Adele Berlin
How lonely sits the city

that once was full of people!
How like a widow she has become,
she that was great among the nations!
She that was a princess among the
provinces
has become a vassal.
She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has no one to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously
with her,
they have become her enemies.
Judah has gone into exile with suering
and hard servitude;
she lives now among the nations,
and nds no resting place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
in the midst of her distress.
The roads to Zion mourn,
for no one comes to the festivals;
all her gates are desolate,

her priests groan;
her young girls grieve,a
and her lot is bitter.
Her foes have become the masters,
her enemies prosper,
because the Lord has made her suer
for the multitude of her
transgressions;
her children have gone away,
captives before the foe.
From daughter Zion has departed
all her majesty.
Her princes have become like stags
that nd no pasture;
they ed without strength
before the pursuer.
Jerusalem remembers,
in the days of her aiction and
wandering,
1.122. Lament over the destroyed Jerusalem. The chapter has two sections, vv. 111, the lament of the narrator, and vv. 1222, the lament of the city. Shame, mourning, and suering are the main themes. The phrase
no one to comfort her/me occurs four times (vv. 2,9,17,21; cf. vv. 7,16) and emphasizes unceasing mourning.
1.111: The poet laments Jerusalem. Jerusalem is personied as a woman, widowed, abandoned, and
shamed. 1: How, or woe is a common beginning of dirges (Isa 1.21; Jer 48.17; Lam 2.1; 4.1). 2: Lovers, Judahs
political allies who failed to support her. The term also hints that Jerusalem, by taking lovers, was unfaithful to
God. 3: Suering and hard servitude is reminiscent of the Egyptian bondage (Ex 1.14; 2.23; 3.7,17; 4.31; 5.11; 6.6),
to which the Babylonian exile is likened. 6: Daughter Zion, or Mistress Zion, a common epithet (e.g., 1.15; 2.1;
1148 | hebrew bible
lamentations 1
all the precious things
that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the foe,
and there was no one to help her,
the foe looked on mocking
over her downfall.
Jerusalem sinned grievously,
so she has become a mockery;
all who honored her despise her,
for they have seen her nakedness;
she herself groans,
and turns her face away.
Her uncleanness was in her skirts;
she took no thought of her future;
her downfall was appalling,
with none to comfort her.
OLord, look at my aiction,
for the enemy has triumphed!
Enemies have stretched out their hands
over all her precious things;
she has even seen the nations
invade her sanctuary,
those whom you forbade
to enter your congregation.
All her people groan
as they search for bread;
they trade their treasures for food
to revive their strength.
Look, OLord, and see
how worthless I have become.
Is it nothing to you,a all you who pass by?
Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
which was brought upon me,
which the Lord inicted

on the day of his erce anger.
From on high he sent re;
it went deep into my bones;
he spread a net for my feet;
he turned me back;
he has left me stunned,
faint all day long.
My transgressions were bounda into a
yoke;
by his hand they were fastened
together;
they weigh on my neck,
sapping my strength;
the Lord handed me over
to those whom I cannot withstand.
The Lord has rejected
all my warriors in the midst of me;
he proclaimed a time against me
to crush my young men;
the Lord has trodden as in a wine press
the virgin daughter Judah.
For these things I weep;
my eyes ow with tears;
for a comforter is far from me,
one to revive my courage;
my children are desolate,
for the enemy has prevailed.
Zion stretches out her hands,
but there is no one to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against
Jacob
4.22) conveying the sense of dear lile Zion. 8: Mockery, or banished. Nakedness, shame, especially sexual
shame (cf. Isa 47.5; Jer 13.22; Ezek 16.37; Nah 3.5). 9: Uncleanness, not from menstruation but from sexual impropriety. Jerusalems sin was unfaithfulness to God, the taking of other lovers. 10: Precious things, the Temple
treasures looted by the victors (cf. 2 Chr 36.10). The Babylonian invasion is conveyed in sexual terms, as a rape
of Jerusalem by someone who had no rights of access to her. 11: Jerusalem speaks in the nal line, and continues
speaking in vv. 1216 and 1822.
1.1222. Jerusalems lament. 12: Was brought, the Heb word is much stronger and actually conveys violence
(cf. 1 Sam 31.4; Jer 38.19; Judg 19.25). Day . . . anger, like the day of the Lord, when God comes in judgment
against Judah itself (e.g., Am 5.18). 15: Trodden as in a wine press, crushed so the blood runs out (see Deut 32.14;
Isa 63.12). Virgin, part of the epithet daughter Zion (see 1.6n.), Heb betulah means a girl of marriageable
age. 17: Jacob, a common term for Judah in postexilic literature. Filthy thing, a menstruant, who is ritually impure, not t to come into contact with holy things and o-limits for sexual contact. Jerusalems lovers (vv.
hebrew bible | 1149
lamentations 2
that his neighbors should become his
foes;
Jerusalem has become
a lthy thing among them.
The Lord is in the right,
for I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
and behold my suering;
my young women and young men
have gone into captivity.
I called to my lovers
but they deceived me;
my priests and elders
perished in the city
while seeking food
to revive their strength.
See, OLord, how distressed I am;
my stomach churns,
my heart is wrung within me,
because I have been very rebellious.
In the street the sword bereaves;
in the house it is like death.
They heard how I was groaning,
with no one to comfort me.
All my enemies heard of my trouble;
they are glad that you have done it.
Bring on the day you have announced,
and let them be as I am.
Let all their evil doing come before you;
and deal with them
as you have dealt with me

because of all my transgressions;
for my groans are many
and my heart is faint.
How the Lord in his anger

has humiliateda daughter Zion!
He has thrown down from heaven to earth
the splendor of Israel;
he has not remembered his footstool
in the day of his anger.
The Lord has destroyed without mercy
all the dwellings of Jacob;
in his wrath he has broken down
the strongholds of daughter Judah;
he has brought down to the ground in
dishonor
the kingdom and its rulers.
He has cut down in erce anger

all the might of Israel;
he has withdrawn his right hand from them
in the face of the enemy;
he has burned like a aming re in Jacob,
consuming all around.
He has bent his bow like an enemy,
with his right hand set like a foe;
he has killed all in whom we took pride
in the tent of daughter Zion;
he has poured out his fury like re.
2,19) distance themselves from her. The narrator interrupts Jerusalems speech, just as she did his (1.9c). 18:
An admission of sin, but the emphasis is on the suering. 20: Stomach, innards, the seat of emotions. In the
street, beer outside, that is, outside the city walls where the ghting took place. Inside the besieged city the
inhabitants were ravaged by famine and disease (see Ezek 7.15). 22: Not simply vindictive revenge, this is a plea
to restore the world order in which Israel is safe under Gods protection and its enemies are banished. Chapters
3 and 4 end in a similar manner. The trope of the destruction of the enemy is common in psalms of lament.
2.122: The Lord has become like an enemy. The tone changes from the despair of ch 1 to anger, with a
concomitant shi from a focus on the victim to a focus on God, the perpetrator. Many verbs of strong military
action portray God as a destroying enemy: e.g., thrown down, destroyed, cut down, burned, bent his
bow, killed.
2.110: God in his anger ba+les against Jerusalem, destroying the city and the country of Judah. 1: How, see
1.1n. Humiliated, or made loathsome. The splendor of Israel, the Temple, thought of as a link between heaven
and earth. That link is now broken and formal ritual access to God is cut o. Footstool, i.e., the ark of the covenant or the Temple. God is envisioned as a king siing in heaven with his feet touching the Temple (see Ps
132.7; Isa 60.13; Ezek 43.7; 1 Chr 28.2). 3: His right hand, Gods ghting arm and the symbol of his power and protection is intentionally withheld from Judah (Ex 15.6,12; Isa 41.10; Pss 48.10; 89.13; 98.1). 4: Tent, an old-fashioned
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lamentations 2
The Lord has become like an enemy;
he has destroyed Israel.
He has destroyed all its palaces,
laid in ruins its strongholds,
and multiplied in daughter Judah
mourning and lamentation.
The elders of daughter Zion

sit on the ground in silence;
they have thrown dust on their heads
and put on sackcloth;
the young girls of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground.
He has broken down his booth like a

garden,
he has destroyed his tabernacle;
the Lord has abolished in Zion
festival and sabbath,
and in his erce indignation has spurned
king and priest.
My eyes are spent with weeping;

my stomach churns;
my bile is poured out on the ground
because of the destruction of my
people,
because infants and babes faint
in the streets of the city.
The Lord has scorned his altar,

disowned his sanctuary;
he has delivered into the hand of the
enemy
the walls of her palaces;
a clamor was raised in the house of the
Lord
as on a day of festival.
They cry to their mothers,

Where is bread and wine?
as they faint like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
as their life is poured out
on their mothers bosom.
The Lord determined to lay in ruins

the wall of daughter Zion;
he stretched the line;
he did not withhold his hand from
destroying;
he caused rampart and wall to lament;
they languish together.
Her gates have sunk into the ground;
he has ruined and broken her bars;
her king and princes are among the
nations;
guidance is no more,
and her prophets obtain
no vision from the Lord.
What can I say for you, to what compare

you,
Odaughter Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you, that I may comfort
you,
Ovirgin daughter Zion?
For vast as the sea is your ruin;
who can heal you?
Your prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity
to restore your fortunes,
but have seen oracles for you
that are false and misleading.
All who pass along the way
clap their hands at you;
way of referring to the homes in Judah and to the Temple in Jerusalem (cf. 2 Sam 7.6). 6: His booth, a temporary
shelter (Job 27.18; Jon 4.5) and also the Temple (Pss 27.5; 76.3). Like a garden, the Temple was destroyed easily,
as if it were a booth or hut in a garden. 7: Clamor, the exultant crowing of the invading and plundering enemy
has replaced the joyful sounds of the crowds coming to the Temple on festivals. 810: We see the towers, walls,
and gates disintegrate. The movement is from top to boom, ending with the inhabitants siing on the ground
in mourning. 8: Stretched the line, like an architect, God made a plan for unbuilding the city (cf. 2 Kings 21.13; Isa
34.11; Jer 31.39; Zech 1.16; Job 38.5). 9: Guidance, Heb torah.
2.1119: The narrators reaction. 11: The narrators words echo those of Jerusalem in 1.20. Streets, broad
places near the gates, squares. The babies are fainting and dying in public. 12: Where is bread and wine, that
is, the stored up food supplies, the staples. There is no food le anywhere. Bread, lit. grain. On their mothers
bosom, or, lap. The mothers are holding their children where they should nd comfort (Ruth 4.16) as they
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lamentations 3
they hiss and wag their heads
at daughter Jerusalem;
Is this the city that was called
the perfection of beauty,
the joy of all the earth?
All your enemies
open their mouths against you;
they hiss, they gnash their teeth,
they cry: We have devoured her!
Ah, this is the day we longed for;
at last we have seen it!
The Lord has done what he purposed,
he has carried out his threat;
as he ordained long ago,
he has demolished without pity;
he has made the enemy rejoice
over you,
and exalted the might of your foes.
Cry alouda to the Lord!
Owall of daughter Zion!
Let tears stream down like a torrent
day and night!
Give yourself no rest,
your eyes no respite!
Arise, cry out in the night,
at the beginning of the watches!
Pour out your heart like water
before the presence of the Lord!
Lift your hands to him
for the lives of your children,

who faint for hunger
at the head of every street.
Look, OLord, and consider!
To whom have you done this?
Should women eat their ospring,
the children they have borne?
Should priest and prophet be killed
in the sanctuary of the Lord?
The young and the old are lying
on the ground in the streets;
my young women and my young men
have fallen by the sword;
in the day of your anger you have killed
them,
slaughtering without mercy.
You invited my enemies from all around
as if for a day of festival;
and on the day of the anger of the Lord
no one escaped or survived;
those whom I bore and reared
my enemy has destroyed.
I am one who has seen aiction

under the rod of Gods b wrath;
he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
a Cn: Heb Their heart cried

b Heb his
starve to death. 15: Clap . . . hiss . . . wag, gestures of surprise and derision. The trope of the passer-by witnessing
the shame of the victims and reacting with shock is common and provides an additional perspective to that of
Zion and the narrator. Perfection of beauty, see Ezek 16.14; 27.3; Ps 50.2. Joy of all the earth, see Jer 51.41; Ps 48.2.
16: The enemies mock and taunt the victims, taking credit for Judahs destruction, which v. 17 ascribes to God.
The Babylonians never appear in the book (only Edom is named, in 4.21). 17: Ordained long ago, the decree that
if Judah sinned, the Temple would be destroyed and the people exiled from their land (1 Kings 9.69). 18: Wall,
the physical city should cry out to God on behalf of its people. 19: Watches, the night was divided into three
watches (see Ex 14.24; 1 Sam 11.11; Song 3.13; 5.7). Nighime is when suering seems hardest to bear and when
many prayers are oered, with the expectation that God will respond in the morning (cf. Ps 30.5).
2.2022: Jerusalems address to God. 20: Eat their ospring, cannibalism was a result of the famine during a
siege (4.10; 2 Kings 6.28) and a punishment for violating the covenant (Deut 28.5357); this is a common trope
in describing a siege. It is the reversal of the norm, in which women feed their children. 2122: Slaughtering, as if
preparing meat for food or sacrice. The idea continues in the next verse, where God invites the enemies as if for
a day of festival when they would participate in a sacricial meal in the Temple. Day of the anger of the Lord, the
time of punishment, like the day of the Lord, when God will punish those who deserve it (cf. 1.12; 2.1).
3.166: The complaint of the one who has seen aiction. The longest and most complex poem of the
book, arranged as a triple acrostic: each stanza has three short verses assigned to each successive leer of
the alphabet. The logical subdivisions according to content do not correspond to the alphabetic structure,
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lamentations 3
against me alone he turns his hand,
again and again, all day long.
He has made my esh and my skin waste
away,
and broken my bones;
he has besieged and enveloped me
with bitterness and tribulation;
he has made me sit in darkness
like the dead of long ago.
He has walled me about so that I cannot
escape;
he has put heavy chains on me;
though I call and cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer;
he has blocked my ways with hewn stones,
he has made my paths crooked.
He is a bear lying in wait for me,
a lion in hiding;
he led me o my way and tore me to
pieces;
he has made me desolate;
he bent his bow and set me
as a mark for his arrow.
He shot into my vitals
the arrows of his quiver;
I have become the laughingstock of all

my people,
the object of their taunt-songs all day
long.
He has lled me with bitterness,
he has sated me with wormwood.
He has made my teeth grind on
gravel,
and made me cower in ashes;
my soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is;
so I say, Gone is my glory,
and all that I had hoped for from the
Lord.
The thought of my aiction and my
homelessness
is wormwood and gall!
My soul continually thinks of it
and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never
ceases,a
his mercies never come to an end;
a Syr Tg: Heb Lord, we are not cut o
with the result that the reader is pulled along from one thought to the next and interrupted by a new stanza
in mid-thought. The chapter uses the language of lament and of wisdom or theological reection on Gods
punishment and mercy. The mood alternates between despair and hope. The identity of the male speaker has
long been debated. Some think he was a historical individual (Jeremiah, Jehoiachin, or Zedekiah have been suggested), but it seems preferable to take him as a literary persona, the counterpart of the female city speaking
in 1.1222. He is a Job-like gure, using some phraseology similar to Jobs (especially in vv. 2539), crying out to
God from his suering, trying to make sense of the terrible event, and to provoke Gods response. But unlike
Job, this speaker is not successful, for God never answers him.
3.120: The lament of the male persona, who appears to be a survivor in exile, or perhaps the collective
voice of the people. Verses 113 are constructed on the image of God as a bad shepherd who leads his ock into
dark and dangerous places (exile), in stark contrast to the image of God as a good shepherd (as in Ps 23). 1: I am
one, (lit. I am the man). Heb geber is clearly masculine although NRSV has stripped it of gender. Rod of Gods
wrath, the shepherds rod, normally an instrument of protection, is here the rod with which God punishes, as
in Isa 10.5, where Assyria is the rod of Gods wrath. 2: Driven and brought, like a ock (cf. Isa 40.11; Ps 78.5253).
6: Darkness like the dead, exile is oen compared to darkness, prison, and death. In exile the Judeans were cut
o from access to Gods Temple, like a dead person. The dead of long ago, beer, like the eternally dead, those
who have no hope of life. 8: He shuts out my prayer, see 3.44n. 10: Bear . . . lion, from being a bad shepherd God
changes into the dangerous wild animals from whom the shepherd is supposed to protect his ock (cf. David
in 1 Sam 17.3437). 1213: Instead of shooting at the wild animals, God shoots at the speaker. God is elsewhere
a divine archer who shoots disaster from his bow; cf. Deut 32.2324; Ps 38.23; Job 16.1213. 15: Bierness . . .
wormwood, a common symbol of suering, see 3.19; 4.21; Jer 9.14; Job 9.18. 17: My soul, my being or self.
3.2124: Despair turns to hope in these transitional verses framed by Therefore I have hope/Therefore I will
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lamentations 3
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion, says my soul,
therefore I will hope in him.
The Lord is good to those who wait for
him,
to the soul that seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for one to bear
the yoke in youth,
to sit alone in silence
when the Lord has imposed it,
to put ones mouth to the dust
(there may yet be hope),
to give ones cheek to the smiter,
and be lled with insults.
For the Lord will not
reject forever.
Although he causes grief, he will have
compassion
according to the abundance of his
steadfast love;
for he does not willingly aict
or grieve anyone.
When all the prisoners of the land
are crushed under foot,
when human rights are perverted
in the presence of the Most High,
when ones case is subverted
does the Lord not see it?
Who can command and have it done,

if the Lord has not ordained it?
Is it not from the mouth of the Most
High
that good and bad come?
Why should any who draw breath
complain
about the punishment of their sins?
Let us test and examine our ways,
and return to the Lord.
Let us lift up our hearts as well as our
hands
to God in heaven.
We have transgressed and rebelled,
and you have not forgiven.
You have wrapped yourself with anger
and pursued us,
killing without pity;
you have wrapped yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.
You have made us lth and rubbish
among the peoples.
All our enemies
have opened their mouths against us;
panic and pitfall have come upon us,
devastation and destruction.
My eyes ow with rivers of tears
because of the destruction of my
people.
My eyes will ow without ceasing,
without respite,
hope in him. 22: Steadfast love . . . mercies . . . faithfulness, aributes of God representing covenant loyalty (Ex
34.67; see also 2 Sam 7.15; Ps 89.24).
3.2539: Drawing on wisdom thought, the poet nds reasons for hope in the face of suering. 2527: Good
begins each verse, applied to God and to human patience. Humans must wait for Gods merciful help, and in
the meantime accept the burden of their suering (bear the yoke). 29: Put ones mouth to the dust, accept Gods
discipline submissively (cf. Mic 7.17; Ps 72.9). 33: Willingly, beer willfully (lit. from his heart). God does not
mete out punishment capriciously. 3439: Standard biblical theology: all is ordained by God, who is the source
of both good and evil (cf. Job 2.10; Isa 45.7); punishment received is punishment deserved.
3.4047: Communal lament. The discourse shis back to lament, although now in the rst-person plural
with direct address to God. At the beginning the tone is conciliatory, but then becomes accusatory. 4041: As if
persuaded by 3.2529, the speakers call for self-examination, repentance, and contrition. 41: Li up our hearts
as well as our hands, a call for sincerity in repentance, not merely going through the motions of prayer. 4244: A
devastating turning point: confession of sin does not bring forgiveness. 44: Wrapped yourself with a cloud, the
cloud through which God revealed himself at Sinai (Ex 19.16), and which protects the people from fatal direct
contact with the divine, is here perceived as a barrier that God erected to prevent prayer from reaching him.
3.4866: Individual lament. The rst-person singular I returns, emphasizing the personal dimension of
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lamentations 4
until the Lord from heaven
looks down and sees.
My eyes cause me grief
at the fate of all the young women in
my city.
The whispers and murmurs of my

assailants
are against me all day long.
Whether they sit or risesee,
I am the object of their taunt-songs.
Those who were my enemies without

cause
have hunted me like a bird;
they ung me alive into a pit
and hurled stones on me;
water closed over my head;
I said, I am lost.
Pay them back for their deeds, OLord,

according to the work of their hands!
Give them anguish of heart;
your curse be on them!
Pursue them in anger and destroy
them
from under the Lords heavens.
I called on your name, OLord,

from the depths of the pit;
you heard my plea, Do not close your ear
to my cry for help, but give me relief!
You came near when I called on you;
you said, Do not fear!
How the gold has grown dim,

how the pure gold is changed!
The sacred stones lie scattered
at the head of every street.
The precious children of Zion,
worth their weight in ne gold
how they are reckoned as earthen pots,
the work of a potters hands!
You have taken up my cause, OLord,

you have redeemed my life.
You have seen the wrong done to me,
OLord;
judge my cause.
You have seen all their malice,
all their plots against me.
Even the jackals oer the breast

and nurse their young,
but my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.
You have heard their taunts, OLord,

all their plots against me.
The tongue of the infant sticks

to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
the suering. 53: Pit, a cistern for holding water or for imprisoning people (cf. Jer 38.6), and also the grave or
the netherworld (Sheol; cf. Isa 14.15; Pss 30.3; 88.4). 54: Water closed over my head, the water in the cistern, but
also a metaphor for desperation (see Jon 2.67; 2 Sam 22.56 = Ps 18.56). 56: The verbs translated in the past
tense here and in the following verses probably express a wish for the future. 5860: Legal language. The poet
casts himself as a plainti in court where God will judge him innocent and the enemy guilty (cf. 3.3436). 63:
Whether they sit or rise, whatever they do, at all times. 6466: A call for retribution; see 1.22. 66: From under the
Lords heavens, there is no place in Gods world for the wicked.
4.122: The community under siege in Jerusalem. The physical and social eects of starvation are graphically described. The progression is realistic: rst the children and then the adults. Degradation and debasement
is the main theme; those once well-o are now destitute, those once healthy are dying or dead. Much of the
eect is achieved by the contrast in color, the before and the aer, as the rich palee of the colors of wealth
and health (gold, scarlet, white, red, sapphire in vv. 1,2,5,7,8) is drained away to blackness. Heat is another dimension, the unrelenting heat of the summer siege, the dry and blackened skin (v. 8), the parched mouths (v. 4),
Gods burning anger seing re to Zion (v. 11). There is no shade, no protection provided by God or the king (v.
20). Like chs 1 and 2, this chapter contains a single alphabetic acrostic and opens with the word How (see 1.1n).
4.110: The suering of the siege. 1: Sacred stones, or gems, and gold, though appearing to be meant literally, are metaphors for the children (v. 2). 2: Earthen pots were cheap and easily broken and discarded, while
gold was an expensive and durable material. The children are likened to throw-away objects because no one
can care for them. 3: Jackals, considered despicable scavengers. Ostriches, thought to be cruel and neglectful
parents (cf. Job 39.1318). My people has become cruel, not willingly but from desperation; they are no longer able
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lamentations 4
the children beg for food,
but no one gives them anything.
The kings of the earth did not believe,

nor did any of the inhabitants of the
world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.
Those who feasted on delicacies

perish in the streets;
those who were brought up in purple
cling to ash heaps.
It was for the sins of her prophets

and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed the blood of the righteous
in the midst of her.
For the chastisementa of my people has

been greater
than the punishmentb of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment,
though no hand was laid on it.c
Blindly they wandered through the

streets,
so deled with blood
that no one was able
to touch their garments.
Her princes were purer than snow,

whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
their hairc like sapphire.d
Now their visage is blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as wood.
Away! Unclean! people shouted at

them;
Away! Away! Do not touch!
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
it was said among the nations,
They shall stay here no longer.
Happier were those pierced by the sword

than those pierced by hunger,
whose life drains away, deprived
of the produce of the eld.
The Lord himself has scattered them,

he will regard them no more;
no honor was shown to the priests,
no favor to the elders.
The hands of compassionate women

have boiled their own children;
they became their food
in the destruction of my people.
Our eyes failed, ever watching

vainly for help;
we were watching eagerly
for a nation that could not save.
The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;

he poured out his hot anger,
and kindled a re in Zion
that consumed its foundations.
a
b
c
d
Or iniquity
Or sin
Or lapis lazuli
to care for their children. 4: The tongue . . . sticks to the roof of its mouth, an expression meaning that no sound is
uered (Ezek 3.26; Ps 137.6; Job 29.10). The children are too weak even to cry. 6: Sodom, whose punishment was
legendary (Gen 19.2425), was overthrown in an instant, whereas Jerusalem was made to suer long agony. 78:
The colors associated with vigor have disappeared; now people are dried up. 10: See 2.20n.
4.1116: Gods wrathful punishment. 12: The Judean belief in the inviolability of Zion, that God would never
permit his city to be destroyed (see Pss 46.5; 48.38), is here aributed even to foreigners, a creative use of
the passers-by trope (see 2.15n). 1314: Prophets . . . priests, those most associated with purity and vision are
described as the most blind and deled. 15: Away! Unclean! The public warning that lepers must give so that no
one will come in contact with them (Lev 13.4546).
4.1722: The voice of the community. As in 3.4047, the speaker is we, describing the nal days of the
siege and the fall of Jerusalem. 17: For a nation that could not save, most likely Egypt, the major power opposed
to Babylonia (see Jer 37.510; Isa 30.7). Contrary to what prophets like Jeremiah advised, Judah relied on help
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lamentations 5
They dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
our end drew near; our days were
numbered;
for our end had come.
Our pursuers were swifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains,
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
The Lords anointed, the breath of our
life,
was taken in their pits
the one of whom we said, Under his
shadow
we shall live among the nations.
Rejoice and be glad, Odaughter Edom,
you that live in the land of Uz;
but to you also the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip
yourself bare.
The punishment of your iniquity,
Odaughter Zion, is accomplished,
he will keep you in exile no longer;
but your iniquity, Odaughter Edom, he

will punish,
he will uncover your sins.
Remember, OLord, what has befallen

us;
look, and see our disgrace!
Our inheritance has been turned over to
strangers,
our homes to aliens.
We have become orphans,
fatherless;
our mothers are like widows.
We must pay for the water we drink;
the wood we get must be bought.
With a yokea on our necks we are hard
driven;
we are weary, we are given no rest.
We have made a pact withb Egypt and
Assyria,
to get enough bread.
Our ancestors sinned; they are no
more,
and we bear their iniquities.
a Symmachus: Heb lacks With a yoke

b Heb have given the hand to
from another nation, not from God. 19: Perhaps an allusion to the aermath of the fall of Jerusalem, when
Zedekiah and his soldiers ed the city and were pursued and captured by the Babylonian army (2 Kings 25.45).
20: The Lords anointed, the breath of our life, . . . under his shadow, royal epithets (1 Sam 24.7; 2 Sam 1.14,16; Pss
17.8; 91.1). The reference is most likely to Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, whose defeat signals the failure of
the Davidic dynasty to protect the people. 2122: A curse on Edom, a neighbor of Judah who was a vassal to
Babylonia. Edom is oen singled out for negative comment in postexilic literature (Ezek 35; Ob 11; Ps 137.7).
Edom is synonymous with Esau (Gen 36.1) and therefore the traditional enemy or rival of Jacob/Israel (=Judah).
21: Rejoice and be glad, an ironic statement. Daughter Edom, an epithet parallel to Daughter Zion. Uz, a region
in southern Jordan or northwestern Arabia, oen connected with Edom (Gen 36.28; Jer 25.20; Job 1.1; 1 Chr
1.42). The cup, of Gods wrath (see 3.15; Jer 25.1529; 49.12; 51.7; Hab 2.1516), which will make Edom drunk. Strip
yourself bare, expose your nakedness and be shamed as Jerusalem was (1.810). 22: The most hopeful sentiment
in the book (cf. Joel 4).
5.122: A prayer of the survivors in Judah in the a%ermath of the destruction. A call to God to notice the
abject state of his people in Judah and to restore them to their previous condition. The chapter resembles
communal laments and also penitential prayers of the Second Temple period. 1: The plea to God to remember is
framed by Why have you forgoen in v. 20. Remember means to pay mind to and forget means to ignore.
23: The breakdown of the institution of the family. 2: Our inheritance, ancestral land was to be kept within
the family. Here the reference may be to individual real estate or to the country as a whole. Strangers, those
outside the family. Aliens, foreigners. 3: Fatherless, an orphan is a person without a father. Widows and orphans
are defenseless and required special protection (e.g., Isa 1.23; Ps 68.5). 45: Harsh economic conditions; rampant ination. Water and wood are basic necessities. 6: Egypt and Assyria, traditional superpowers and enemyinvaders of Israel, are oen found in parallelism even when, as in this period, Assyria was long gone (Isa 52.4;
Zech 10.1011). 7: Iniquities also means punishment. Earlier sinful generations did not suer punishment like
the current generation. Did the current generation also see itself as sinful and deserving of punishment, or do
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lamentations 5
Slaves rule over us;
there is no one to deliver us from their
hand.
We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
because of the sword in the wilderness.
Our skin is black as an oven
from the scorching heat of famine.
Women are raped in Zion,
virgins in the towns of Judah.
Princes are hung up by their hands;
no respect is shown to the elders.
Young men are compelled to grind,
and boys stagger under loads of wood.
The old men have left the city gate,
the young men their music.
The joy of our hearts has ceased;
our dancing has been turned to mourning.
The crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!

Because of this our hearts are sick,
because of these things our eyes have
grown dim:
because of Mount Zion, which lies
desolate;
jackals prowl over it.
But you, OLord, reign forever;
your throne endures to all generations.
Why have you forgotten us completely?
Why have you forsaken us these many
days?
Restore us to yourself, OLord, that we
may be restored;
renew our days as of old
unless you have utterly rejected us,
and are angry with us beyond measure.
they think they are paying unfairly for the sins of their ancestors? The verse is ambiguous. 8: Slaves rule over
us, previously Judah was ruled by its own king but now it is governed by the lackeys of the Babylonian king (cf.
2 Kings 25.24). 9: Food is scarce. The sword in the wilderness, a dicult phrase which may mean that scavenging
in the countryside was dangerous because of marauders. Alternatively, it is a metaphor for the dehydration and
starvation of the inhabitants of Judah, who suer famine that resembles the famine of the siege (v. 10 and cf.
4.8). 1114: Social order has disintegrated; violence and indignity abound. Women are shamed sexually; leaders
are shamed publicly; young and old are denied their proper calling and subjected to abusive labor. 12: Hung up,
impalement of corpses was a form of public shaming (Deut 21.22; Josh 10.2627; 1 Sam 31.10). By their hands,
probably meaning by the hands of the enemy (see v. 8), since victims were not generally hung by their hands.
A beer interpretation may be that this is not a form of execution or corpse display, but a form of torture and
humiliation of the living, like puing a person in the stocks. 13: To grind, a task normally done by women (Ex
11.5; Isa 47.2; Job 31.10) or slaves (Judg 16.21) and therefore demeaning if undertaken by a man. The Hebrew is
pull the millstone, which may refer to a large milling operation in which a donkey would normally pull the
heavy millstone, making this line parallel in meaning to the next one. Boys stagger under loads of wood, humans
are made to do the work of animals, beasts of burden. 14: City gate, the location of business and legal transactions (Ruth 4.1; Job 29.7). 16: The crown, the emblem of kingship, the Davidic dynasty. Or perhaps the crenellated walls of the city. We have sinned, an admission of guilt (cf. 3.42 and 5.7n). 18: Jackals, or foxes, proverbial
inhabitants of ruined cities (see 4.3; Ezek 13.4; Isa 34.1117; Zeph 2.1315). 19: A strong theological statement:
Even though Gods earthly throne, the Temple, lies in ruins, God continues to reign forever. 21: A wish that the
former relationship with God be reinstated. 22: The book ends in tragic despair, with the suggestion that Gods
rejection of the people continues. Unless is dicult in the Hebrew; perhaps it is beer translated but instead,
or even more literally, for if, suggesting that the conclusion of the conditional clause has been withheld, thus
perpetuating indenitely the divine rejection with which the book ends.
EZEKIEL
name
The book is named for the prophet to whom it is aributed. His name, Ezekiel, means God strengthens.
Gods strengthening turns out to be imperative for Ezekiel, whose rebellious audience is characterized by ingrained deance and stubbornness (see 2.5n. [rebellious house]; 3.89n. [hard]).
location in canon
Ezekiel is the last of the three major prophets, the others being Isaiah and Jeremiah. Their books are arranged
in presumed chronological order: the rst part of the book of Isaiah focuses on the prophet Isaiahs ministry
in Jerusalem in the late eighth century bce; the prophet Jeremiah was active in the late seventh and early sixth
centuries; and Ezekiels prophecies follow those of Jeremiah, his older contemporary. (In many English Bibles,
following the order of the Septuagint [LXX], Lamentations comes between Jeremiah and Ezekiel.) According
to the Talmud and in some manuscripts there was another order for the major prophets, in which Ezekiels
combined message of judgment and salvation appears between Jeremiahs predominant tone of sorrow and
Isaiahs emphatic promises.
authorship
The only information we have about the prophet comes from the book itself. In this collection, Gods divine
prerogative overshadows and submerges the prophetic personality. Since Ezekiel is a literary character within
his own prophecies, his shocking and mystifying actions must oen be interpreted in a highly symbolic and
theological manner, not necessarily as a window into the prophets actual personality.
Some facts seem established. Ezekiel was a Judean exile in Babylonia, living in the deportee selement of
Tel-abib (see 3.15n.). His prophetic career stretched from 593 to at least 571 bce. The prophet and his school
the followers who edited and preserved his prophecieswere members of a lineage of priests in Israel known
as the Zadokites (see 1.13n.; 44.1531n.).
At the time of Ezekiels exile, the Zadokites controlled the Israelite high priesthood and held power at the
Jerusalem Temple. They took a specic priestly theology with them into exile, preserved elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible as a source of the Pentateuch known as the Holiness School. The priestly theology of the Holiness
School thoroughly infuses the book of Ezekiel.
date of composition and historical context

Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, and his followers edited, expanded, and preserved them, in the sixth century bce
in Babylonia, during the exile of the Judeans from their homeland. The exile thus forms the historical context of
the book, and at several points, particularly in the allegory in 17.124, Ezekiel refers to the Babylonian subjugation of Judah.
The Babylonians under Nebuchadrezzar II (ruled 605562 bce) defeated the Egyptians in 605 at the battle of Carchemish. The Egyptians had allied with the great Assyrian empire, which the Babylonians destroyed
between 614 and 609. Although these victories made Babylonia the leading political power in Syria-Palestine,
including the territory of Judah, the Judeans, oen acting in concert with other neighboring states, eventually
rebelled. The Babylonians, in an escalating response to the continued eorts of the Judeans to throw them o,
exiled the Judeans in two phases, spaced about a decade apart. They rst besieged Jerusalem in 597 during the
reign of King Jehoiakim, who died during the siege. When his successor, his son Jehoiachin, surrendered to the
Babylonians, he, along with many of the Judean ruling class, was exiled to Babylon. The Babylonians installed a
puppet king, Zedekiah; when he, too, aempted to rebel, they destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 586, and
exiled much of the population, except the poorest, to Babylon.
Ezekiel was among the rst group of exiles, taken to Babylonia in 597. Even so, he remained well informed
about events in Judah, and his prophecies concern both the exiles and those who remained in Judah. He could
address both communities as a single entity, since they were in frequent contact with each other, and both
were passionately concerned about the fate of Jerusalem. Neither group accepted Ezekiels indictment of their
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guilt or believed his prophecies about Jerusalems coming destruction. Aer the destruction took place, the
prophets words turned to themes of renewed hope, regeneration, and blessing.
literary history
The prophet and his followers composed the book in writing and preserved it for the specic purpose of instructing readers at a later time. The wrien composition and the careful preservation of Ezekiel contrast with
much of the other prophetic literature in the Bible, which was spoken directly to a contemporaneous audience.
Many of the words of prophets, such as Isaiah, were wrien down only a considerable time aer they had been
spoken; therefore they could be, and oen were, modied to adapt them to situations that arose in later times.
In Ezekiel, however, there are clear indications of an originally wrien composition and of an early intention to
preserve the text. For instance, the thoroughgoing chronological notations show that Ezekiel and his followers
took great care to demonstrate the timeliness and veracity of Ezekiels oracles, and thereby their authority as
prophecy. This care for the wrien text and its accurate transmission, as well as for the preservation of authoritative traditions such as the Holiness School material (see Interpretation section), mark a breakthrough in the
development of wrien scripture in Israel, and therefore help us to understand the historical processes that
created the biblical canon over the centuries.

The book of Ezekiel is complex, but fortunately its organization and outline are agreeably simple. Chapters
124 are set before the fall of Jerusalem and are largely prophecies of doom against the city and against Judah.
An extended body of material on Ezekiels call to prophesy begins this section in chs 13. Chapters 2532 are
prophecies against foreign nations, forming a bridge between Ezekiels initial message of doom and his ultimate message of hope. The hope comes in the prophecies of restoration, chs 3348, dating from the time aer
Jerusalems fall. Clearly the capture and destruction of Jerusalem in 586 was the critical moment in Ezekiels
prophetic career. The prophecies of restoration include an apocalyptic passage (chs 3839) and an extended
blueprint for the restored Temple and land (chs 4048).
interpretation
Ezekiel and his editors were Jerusalem priests at the center of Judean society, and as such were proponents of
Zion theology, the traditions that emphasized Gods choice of Zion (Jerusalem), the holy city, as his home,
and the protection that resulted from this choice (see 2 Sam 7.417; Pss 46; 132) both for the city and for the
Davidic dynasty whose capital it was. The exile of the Judean elite and the destruction of Jerusalem directly
challenged this theology, since they called into question Gods promises to Zion of eternal protection. Ezekiel
answered these challenges with cosmic, eschatological, and apocalyptic visions of a rebuilt Zion that will fulll
Gods promises despite the fall of the earthly Jerusalem (see 1.2225n.,2628n.; 37.28n.; 38.12n.; 43.7n.; 48.35n.).
In these visions particularly, Ezekiel anticipated much that was yet to come in the biblical writings, including
later developments of apocalypticism (see especially Dan 712 and, in the New Testament, the book of Revelation).
The specic language and laws of the priests and the traditions of the Temple heavily inuenced Ezekiel as
a Zadokite. A signicant body of these traditions, the Holiness School (HS) can be found in the Pentateuch.
(Multiple references to the Pentateuch in this introduction and in the annotations that precede the notation
[HS] are included in this body of material, except where noted.) The Holiness School material extends beyond
the connes of Lev 1726 (known as the Holiness Code or Holiness Collection), and includes other parts of
the Pentateuch oen identied as belonging to the Priestly source (P). The relationship between God and Israel
assumed by the Holiness School is that of a vassal-covenant (see Lev 26.9,15,25), a type of agreement in which
guarantees on one side are specically linked to responsibilities on the other, with signicant sanctions if the
responsibilities of vassalage are not met. For Ezekiel this covenant form proved invaluable in interpreting the
exile, since it allowed for the possibility that delement, injustice, and covenant indelity on Israels part could
lead to punishments, including exile, without annulling Gods eternal promises to Israel (Lev 26.42).
In his allegory of the unfaithful wife (ch 16), the prophet rehearses the failed history of the Israelites vassalcovenant with God. As in a marriage, with all its mutual obligations, God pledged myself to you and entered
into a covenant with you (16.8). Because Jerusalem proves an adulterous wife, however, God determines to
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divorce her and expose her to be stoned (16.40; cf. Lev 20.10 [HS]). Jerusalem is doomed, because the people
have despised the oath, breaking the covenant (16.59; cf. 17.19).
For the Holiness School, Gods land is a delicately organized structure of holiness, subject to overthrow
through the spread of uncleanness and bloodshed. It is like an uneasy stomach, ready to vomit out those who
dele it (Lev 18.2428). Ezekiel, in 36.1619, insists that just such regurgitation has now happened. The land has
fallen victim to delement, and Gods people have lost possession of it just as the Holiness School warned they
would. Deling any part of the land, Gods holy territory, constitutes an assault of impurity on Gods shrine (Lev
15.31; 19.30; 26.2; Num 5.3; 19.13; Ezek 8.6; 9.9). If the pollution of the sanctuary becomes willful and chronic, it
will eventually force out Gods glory (Num 35.34; Ezek 10.19; 11.2223). Exposed to catastrophic judgment, the
people become cut o (Ezek 37.11).
Despite Israels lack of obedience to the covenant, Ezekiel prophesies a renewed covenantal relationship
aer the exile (16.60,62). God will guarantee this new vassal-covenants success by transplanting new obedient
hearts into the people (11.1920; 16.60; 36.2628; 37.2327). Under Gods new plan, the people will follow my
statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God (11.20;
cf. 36.27; Lev 26.3 [HS]).
The Holiness School stresses the unique sacredness of the people and land of Israel, in the midst of which
dwells the glory of the Lord. This sacredness includes not only ritual and worship but also morality and social
justice. The tangible dwelling of Gods glory in the Temple at the center of Israel brings sanctity to all people
and groups arrayed around it. It means the realization of Lev 20.26, where God proclaims: You shall be holy to
me; for I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples to be mine.
Since Israel is so intimately associated with God in this theology, the people must constantly grow in personal and collective holiness through their interaction with the divine presence (Ezek 11.12; 20.12; 37.28; Lev
11.4445; 19.2; 20.7,26 [HS]). Gods people, in Ezekiels ideal world, emulate the holiness of God that sojourns
in their midst (37.27; 43.9; cf. Ex 25.8; 29.4546; 40.34; Lev 26.11; Num 5.3; 35.34 [HS]). From the midst of Israel,
God radiates the divine holiness out to the entire land and to every sector of society (37.28; cf. Ex 31.13; Lev
21.15,23; 22.32 [HS]).
guide to reading
The prophecies in the book of Ezekiel are among the most fascinating and puzzling writings in the Bible. The
prophet expresses his thought through a variety of literary forms, including symbolic action reports, visions,
allegories, denunciations, and legal arguments. He sometimes uses bizarre or extreme imagery and elaborates
it to an almost excessive point. He has inspired fear, awe, and wonder in readers because he aempts not
merely to name but also to embody Gods sovereignty, holiness, and mystery in words that come close to the
limits of expression.
At rst this variety, intricacy, and elaboration can seem confusing. It is easy to get lost in Ezekiels images
and forget his larger concerns; it is easy as well to pick out striking passages and ignore the context of the book
as a whole. But Ezekiel makes a coherent eort to deal with profound and dicult issues, and readers should
honor this eort by aending to the full sweep of the book in all its profundity. Ezekiels book has been carefully
put together and preserved for the instruction of later readers.
Ezekiels character as a literary text makes it a complex book to read and interpret. Much of the other prophetic material of the Bible, as oral literature, generally uses less elaborate forms; Ezekiel, however, is made up
of intricate, deliberately composed literary creations. Although some scholars have viewed such literary ornamentation and intricacy as indicating confused layers of literary growth, more recently scholars have argued for
literary integrity in the texts, even when the nal form has resulted from a process of transmission and editing.
One of the characteristic features of the book is the frequent repetition of key words or phrases, such as mortal (literally, son of man), for the sake of my holy name, and so that you/they will know that I am the Lord.
Important aspects of the theology of Ezekiel are reinforced by the repetition of these and other formulas.
The style of Ezekiel does not always render reality by direct representation. Instead, it probes behind or
beyond observable things and events, using metaphors and mythic poetry to portray the underlying structure
of existence or the transcendent realities beneath both plain sensory observation and historical records. The
visions in Ezekiel show both inner and outer realities, going beyond or abolishing normal sensory and temporal
bounds.
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ezekiel 1
Because of these literary qualities, reading Ezekiel requires a sophisticated approach, in order to avoid mistaking some of the descriptions for historical events, observable behaviors, or factual reports. For example,
some interpretations of Ezekiels behavior take it as evidence of a disoriented or abnormal personality. But the
descriptions of these actssuch as muteness (3.2227), holding prolonged, agonizing postures (4.48), and
a failure to mourn (24.1527)are not evidence of psychological illness but are instead literary images that
have rich theological import. The book portrays Ezekiel engaging in bizarre and disturbing behavior in order to
provoke recollection of preceding scripture and intense theological reection. A profound reorientation in the
relationship of God and Israel is imminent, the authors believe, and they ask their audience to detect radical
implications for life and faith in the metaphorical and parabolic character of their descriptions.
Stephen L. Cook
In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month,

on the fth day of the month, as I was
among the exiles by the river Chebar, the
heavens were opened, and I saw visions of
God. On the fth day of the month (it was
the fth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin),
the word of the Lord came to the priest
Ezekiel son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of
the Lord was on him there.
As I looked, a stormy wind came out
of the north: a great cloud with brightness
around it and re ashing forth continually,

and in the middle of the re, something like
gleaming amber. In the middle of it was
something like four living creatures. This was
their appearance: they were of human form.
Each had four faces, and each of them had
four wings. Their legs were straight, and
the soles of their feet were like the sole of a
calfs foot; and they sparkled like burnished
bronze. Under their wings on their four
sides they had human hands. And the four
had their faces and their wings thus: their
1.13.27: The call of Ezekiel. 1.13: Superscription. Ezekiel was a Zadokite priest (v. 3; 4.56n.; 44.1531n.),
steeped in the theological traditions of Zion and of the Holiness School (see Introduction). Despite being a
deportee, he never loses his priestly identity (cf. 43.12n.), although many priestly tasks would be impossible
for him in exile away from Jerusalem. The thirtieth year, probably Ezekiels own age. At the age for assuming his
duties at the Jerusalem Temple (Num 4.3 [HS]), Ezekiel sought solitude outside his selement (see 3.1415) to
reect on what course his life might instead take in exile. Fih day of the fourth month . . . h year of the exile
would be July 31, 593 bce. This would make Ezekiel y years old in 573 when he envisioned the ideal Temple
at the end of his book (40.1n.), so his career ts the normal twenty-year span of a priests active service (Num
4.3,23,30 [HS]). Chebar, a canal near Nippur, providing articial irrigation from the Euphrates. It is mentioned
also in h-century Babylonian documents. 3: The name Ezekiel means God strengthens. Hand of the Lord
(3.14,22; 8.1; 33.22; 37.1; 40.1), a metaphor highlighting how God is about to seize the prophet, exercising control
over his person, so that he will undergo the same types of divine compulsions and ecstatic trances experienced
by Israels early prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 18.46; 2 Kings 3.15). The prophetic narratives of Ezekiel, like the prophetic legends of the books of Kings, depict stupendous, wondrous events in a manner intended
to enliven readers imaginations. Chaldeans, Babylonians.
1.428a: The throne-chariot vision. Cf. the imagery in 1 Kings 22.1922; Isa 6.19. The rst two-thirds of
Ezekiels vision of God describes the creatures and wheels below the platform supporting Gods throne. In
Ezekiels theology of Gods transcendence, God is clearly far removed from earthly perception. A graduated,
spatial system of layered holiness with wheels, heavenly creatures, and a crystalline expanse separates the
prophet from the divine presence. 4: Stormy wind . . . cloud . . . and re are phenomena oen associated with
the appearance of God (see Ps 18.812; Nah 1.3), as are the sound of mighty waters and thunder (v.24; see
also 43.2; Ps 29.3). Brightness . . . re ashing forth continually, as in the Holiness School, Gods glory appears as
a brilliant, ery radiance (Ex 24.17; 40.38; Num 16.35, all HS). Something like, Ezekiel struggles to nd words to
express transcendent reality. 514: The living creatures are later identied as cherubim (10.15,20), guardians of
Gods throne (see Ex 25.1822; 1 Kings 6.2328), namely winged, human-headed lions or bulls exhibiting the
qualities of mobility, intelligence, and strength. Uncharacteristically, the creatures Ezekiel sees have four faces
1162 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 1
wings touched one another; each of them
moved straight ahead, without turning as
they moved. As for the appearance of their
faces: the four had the face of a human being,
the face of a lion on the right side, the face
of an ox on the left side, and the face of an
eagle; such were their faces. Their wings
were spread out above; each creature had
two wings, each of which touched the wing
of another, while two covered their bodies.
Each moved straight ahead; wherever the
spirit would go, they went, without turning
as they went. In the middle ofa the living
creatures there was something that looked
like burning coals of re, like torches moving
to and fro among the living creatures; the re
was bright, and lightning issued from the re.
The living creatures darted to and fro, like a
ash of lightning.
As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a
wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.b As
for the appearance of the wheels and their
construction: their appearance was like the
gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same
form, their construction being something like
a wheel within a wheel. When they moved,
they moved in any of the four directions
without veering as they moved. Their rims
were tall and awesome, for the rims of all
four were full of eyes all around. When the
living creatures moved, the wheels moved
beside them; and when the living creatures
rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the
wheels rose along with them; for the spirit
of the living creatures was in the wheels.
When they moved, the others moved; when

they stopped, the others stopped; and when
they rose from the earth, the wheels rose
along with them; for the spirit of the living
creatures was in the wheels.
Over the heads of the living creatures
there was something like a dome, shining like
crystal,c spread out above their heads. Under the dome their wings were stretched out
straight, one toward another; and each of the
creatures had two wings covering its body.
When they moved, I heard the sound of
their wings like the sound of mighty waters,
like the thunder of the Almighty,d a sound of
tumult like the sound of an army; when they
stopped, they let down their wings. And
there came a voice from above the dome
over their heads; when they stopped, they let
down their wings.
And above the dome over their heads
there was something like a throne, in appearance like sapphire;e and seated above
the likeness of a throne was something that
seemed like a human form. Upward from
what appeared like the loins I saw something
like gleaming amber, something that looked
like re enclosed all around; and downward
from what looked like the loins I saw something that looked like re, and there was a
splendor all around. Like the bow in a cloud
on a rainy day, such was the appearance of
a
b
c
d
e
Gk OL: Heb And the appearance of

Heb of their faces
Gk: Heb like the awesome crystal
Or lapis lazuli
(v. 10). 13: Torches, cf. Gen 15.17. 1521: The four . . . wheels (cf. the four faces of the creatures) to Gods throne
are a crucial element in Ezekiels reconciling his central priestly belief that God had chosen and dwelled in
Zion with the earthly Zions coming destruction by the Babylonians (see Introduction). Its wheels mean that
the real, cosmic Zion-throne has omnidirectional mobility and is not tied down to earthly Jerusalem. See also
1.2628n. 18: Full of eyes, symbolic of omniscience (10.12; Zech 4.2,5,10). 2225: A dome, referring to the cosmic
rmament of Gen 1.68, which separates earth and heaven. Jerusalem and its Temple mount symbolize the cosmic mountain where heaven and earth intersect at the dome. 2628: Thus the Lord was still really enthroned
atop the cosmos, even though Jerusalem, the symbol of Gods cosmic dwelling (Pss 26.8; 63.2; 102.16), was to
be destroyed by the Babylonians. 26: Seemed like a human form, Ezekiel provides a rather humanlike image of
God in keeping with the imagery of the Holiness School; the Mesopotamian god Ashur can also be depicted as
a human gure with a glowing upper torso and a aming lower body. Other biblical traditions, such as those
in Isa 4066 and in the Priestly Torah, would be aghast that Ezekiel would dare associate God with any sort
of likeness or appearance (see Isa 40.18,25; 46.5). 28: Appearance of the likeness, the qualied language again
emphasizes Gods transcendence and cosmic power (see 1.4n.). Gods self is three levels removed from Ezekiels
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the splendor all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard
the voice of someone speaking.
He said to me: Omortal,a stand up on your
feet, and I will speak with you. And when
he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and
set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to
me. He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you
to the people of Israel, to a nationb of rebels
who have rebelled against me; they and their
ancestors have transgressed against me to this
very day. The descendants are impudent and
stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you
shall say to them, Thus says the Lord God.
Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they
are a rebellious house), they shall know that
there has been a prophet among them. And
you, Omortal, do not be afraid of them, and
do not be afraid of their words, though briers
and thorns surround you and you live among
scorpions; do not be afraid of their words, and
do not be dismayed at their looks, for they are
a rebellious house. You shall speak my words
to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear;
for they are a rebellious house.
But you, mortal, hear what I say to you;
do not be rebellious like that rebellious
house; open your mouth and eat what I give
you. I looked, and a hand was stretched out

to me, and a written scroll was in it. He
spread it before me; it had writing on the
front and on the back, and written on it were
words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
He said to me, Omortal, eat what is
oered to you; eat this scroll, and go,
speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my
mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. He
said to me, Mortal, eat this scroll that I give
you and ll your stomach with it. Then I ate
it; and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.
He said to me: Mortal, go to the house
of Israel and speak my very words to them.
For you are not sent to a people of obscure
speech and dicult language, but to the
house of Israel not to many peoples of
obscure speech and dicult language, whose
words you cannot understand. Surely, if I
sent you to them, they would listen to you.
But the house of Israel will not listen to
you, for they are not willing to listen to me;
because all the house of Israel have a hard
forehead and a stubborn heart. See, I have
made your face hard against their faces, and
a Or son of man; Heb ben adam (and so throughout

the book when Ezekiel is addressed)
b Syr: Heb to nations
description of God. The glory of the Lord is not Gods self, but divine holiness made present, tangible, and accessible; see further 10.122n. It is Israels divinely appointed role to receive this holiness, be transformed by it,
and then reect it back to God.
1.28b3.27: Ezekiels commissioning. The length of this section helps buress Ezekiels authority in the face
of opposition and perhaps reects his own resistance to Gods commissioning. 1.28b2.8a: Ezekiel is commissioned in a series of addresses. 1:28b: Fell on my face, a reaction of awe, and a gesture of submission to authority
(also 3.23; 43.3). 2.1: Mortal (Heb ben adam, see textual note a), a member of the category of humanity.
Ezekiel emphasizes that God and the divine realm tower above this category; the idiom occurs ninety-three
times in the book. Yet in Ezekiels Holiness School theology God brings the holy realm of the creator and the
profane realm of creatures into permanent contact. 2: Spirit (see 3.12,14,24), a vigorous empowerment that
Ezekiel experiences at receiving Gods word. 3: Transgressed, violated the terms of the covenant with God of
the Holiness School (Lev 26.9,15,25). In this type of covenant, there are punishments for disobedience: Israel
can forfeit its status as Gods people on Gods land. 5: Rebellious house, a phrase unique to Ezekiel (2.5,6,8;
3.9,26,27; 12.2,3,9,25; 17.12; 24.3) that expresses one of his major themes: Judahs deance and contempt for
Gods holiness (ch 20). The theme has roots in the Holiness School, which emphasizes the peoples ingrained
tendency toward stubbornness and irreverence (cf. Num 17.10). 6: Briers and thorns . . . scorpions, though Ezekiel
is a priestly ocial, his message will be met with hostility.
2.8b3.3: In keeping with the contemporary emergence of the concept of Gods word as sacred text, Ezekiel
is told to eat a scroll (cf. Jer 1.9; Zech 5.14). The scroll depicts the coming, xed judgment of Judah; see 3.22
27n. 3.3: Jeremiahs metaphor (Jer 15.16) becomes concrete in Ezekiel. Gods word is sweet (Ps 19.10), even when
its contents involve pain. 3.49: Preparation for resistance. 56: Obscure speech, like the language of Judahs
enemies, perceived as harsh and unintelligible (Isa 33.19; Jer 5.15). 89: Hard, or strong; compare the meaning
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your forehead hard against their foreheads.
Like the hardest stone, harder than int, I
have made your forehead; do not fear them
or be dismayed at their looks, for they are a
rebellious house. He said to me: Mortal, all
my words that I shall speak to you receive in
your heart and hear with your ears; then
go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to
them. Say to them, Thus says the Lord God;
whether they hear or refuse to hear.
Then the spirit lifted me up, and as the
glory of the Lord rosea from its place, I heard
behind me the sound of loud rumbling; it was
the sound of the wings of the living creatures
brushing against one another, and the sound
of the wheels beside them, that sounded like
a loud rumbling. The spirit lifted me up and
bore me away; I went in bitterness in the heat
of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong
upon me. I came to the exiles at Tel-abib,
who lived by the river Chebar.b And I sat there
among them, stunned, for seven days.
At the end of seven days, the word
of the Lord came to me: Mortal, I have
made you a sentinel for the house of Israel;
whenever you hear a word from my mouth,
you shall give them warning from me. If
I say to the wicked, You shall surely die,
and you give them no warning, or speak to
warn the wicked from their wicked way, in
order to save their life, those wicked persons
shall die for their iniquity; but their blood I

will require at your hand. But if you warn
the wicked, and they do not turn from their
wickedness, or from their wicked way, they
shall die for their iniquity; but you will have
saved your life. Again, if the righteous turn
from their righteousness and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before them,
they shall die; because you have not warned
them, they shall die for their sin, and their
righteous deeds that they have done shall not
be remembered; but their blood I will require
at your hand. If, however, you warn the
righteous not to sin, and they do not sin, they
shall surely live, because they took warning;
and you will have saved your life.
Then the hand of the Lord was upon me
there; and he said to me, Rise up, go out into
the valley, and there I will speak with you.
So I rose up and went out into the valley;
and the glory of the Lord stood there, like the
glory that I had seen by the river Chebar; and
I fell on my face. The spirit entered into me,
and set me on my feet; and he spoke with me
and said to me: Go, shut yourself inside your
house. As for you, mortal, cords shall be
placed on you, and you shall be bound with
a Cn: Heb and blessed be the glory of the Lord
b Two Mss Syr: Heb Chebar, and to where they lived.
Another reading is Chebar, and I sat where they sat
of Ezekiels name, God strengthens (1.3n.). 1011: A nal charge.

3.1215: Ezekiel returns to his people. 12: Glory of the Lord, see 10.122n. 14: Ezekiel feels either Gods anger
at the people or his own distress over his dicult task. The hand of the Lord, see 1.3n. 15: Tel-abib, (mound of
the deluge), not modern Tel Aviv but a selement of exiles near Nippur, not far from the Chebar canal. Chebar,
1.13n.
3.1621: The sentinel. Prophets as sentries (Jer 6.17; Hab 2.1) provide early warnings of possible dangers
(cf. 2 Kings 9.17). Ezekiel is assured that his personal responsibility is limited to delivering such warnings; the
members of his audience are accountable for their responses (18.132; see also 33.19). 16: The word of the Lord
came to me, a form of expression occurring about y times in Ezekiel, which marks the beginnings of nearly
all his main units of prophetic speech.
3.2227: Ezekiels speechlessness. The hand of the Lord was upon me, a phrase that in Ezekiel frequently
introduces a vision; cf. 1.3n. The valley, a specic site near Tel-abib (see 37.1n.). It was probably a low-lying area,
perhaps with a spring. Ezekiels speechless state is best seen as one of the characteristic literary metaphors of
the book, with a complex relationship to observable reality (Ezekiel is not literally speechless aer this point;
cf. 11.25). The metaphors meaning is bound up with the growing signicance of wrien, authoritative scripture
in Ezekiels time. In view of this development, Ezekiel must fall speechless, and let the scroll that he has swallowed (2.8b3.3n.) have its fulllment. The judgments of scripture (such as those of the book of Habakkuk) are
now inevitable. The metaphor of speechlessness helps structure the book of Ezekiel. The judgments of the
swallowed scroll play themselves out in the rst half of Ezekiel, aer which he regains his speech (24.2527;
33.2122).
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ezekiel 4
them, so that you cannot go out among the
people; and I will make your tongue cling
to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall
be speechless and unable to reprove them;
for they are a rebellious house. But when I
speak with you, I will open your mouth, and
you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord
God; let those who will hear, hear; and let
those who refuse to hear, refuse; for they are
a rebellious house.
And you, Omortal, take a brick and set it
before you. On it portray a city, Jerusalem; and put siegeworks against it, and build
a siege wall against it, and cast up a ramp
against it; set camps also against it, and plant
battering rams against it all around. Then
take an iron plate and place it as an iron
wall between you and the city; set your face
toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and
press the siege against it. This is a sign for the
house of Israel.
Then lie on your left side, and place
the punishment of the house of Israel upon
it; you shall bear their punishment for the
number of the days that you lie there. For I
assign to you a number of days, three hundred ninety days, equal to the number of the
years of their punishment; and so you shall

bear the punishment of the house of Israel.
When you have completed these, you shall
lie down a second time, but on your right
side, and bear the punishment of the house
of Judah; forty days I assign you, one day for
each year. You shall set your face toward
the siege of Jerusalem, and with your arm
bared you shall prophesy against it. See, I
am putting cords on you so that you cannot
turn from one side to the other until you have
completed the days of your siege.
And you, take wheat and barley, beans
and lentils, millet and spelt; put them into
one vessel, and make bread for yourself.
During the number of days that you lie on
your side, three hundred ninety days, you
shall eat it. The food that you eat shall
be twenty shekels a day by weight; at xed
times you shall eat it. And you shall drink
water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; at xed
times you shall drink. You shall eat it as a
barley-cake, baking it in their sight on human
dung. The Lord said, Thus shall the people
of Israel eat their bread, unclean, among the
nations to which I will drive them. Then
I said, Ah Lord God! I have never deled
4.124,27: Prophecies of doom against Judah and Jerusalem. 4.15.17: Actions symbolizing Jerusalems coming siege. Like Ezekiels speechlessness, these actions appear to be literary metaphors rather than observable
performances (e.g., see 4.48n.). In Ezekiel, reality is more complex than the merely observable. 4.13: A brick
(common in Babylonia) inscribed, before baking, with a drawing of Jerusalem. Archaeologists have unearthed
several ancient clay bricks like this one, inscribed with city plans. An iron plate, a baking griddle, symbolizing
the barrier between the city and God. 48: More than simple, nonverbal dramatization, Ezekiels symbolic actions contain complex layers of meaning. At one level the postures commanded of Ezekiel illustrate the coming
siege of Jerusalem. At a deeper level, they also depict both Gods pre-siege punishments of Israel in the land
over the previous 390 years (v. 5; see Lev 26.1432 [HS]) and Gods post-siege punishment of Judah in exile over
the course of forty years (v. 6; cf. Num 14.34 [HS]). 45: Punishment, or iniquity. Bearing the weight of Israels
iniquity was a normal function of Israelite priests such as Ezekiel (Num 18.1 [HS]). 56: The gure of 390 years
may be Ezekiels retrospective tabulation of the years that Israel polluted the Temple with its iniquity, from the
time of its dedication by Solomon until its imminent destruction. The second gure of forty years (roughly
one generation) represents Judahs coming period of exile outside of the promised land. The gure echoes
the period of wilderness wanderings in the book of Numbers (see Num 14.34 [HS]). As with the wanderings of
Numbers, the exile in Babylonia may set the stage for a new beginning of God with Israel. 917: Coarse bread
and rationing symbolize the rigors of the coming siege of Jerusalem (cf. Jer 19.9; Lam 4.10). 9: The necessity of
mixing grains in odd combinations indicates scarcity of foodstus. 1011: Twenty shekels, approximately 8 oz.
(228 gr). One-sixth of a hin, approximately .67 qt. (64 liters). On this extremely meager diet, Jerusalems inhabitants would toer on the brink of starvation (vv. 1617). 1213: Siege symbolism again blurs into exile symbolism here. Human dung, considered unclean (Deut 23.1214), represents the deling eects of exile to an unclean
land. (Lands outside Israel were deemed unclean, since Gods holy presence did not reside there to purify and
sanctify the territory; cf. Josh 22.19; Hos 9.3; Amos 7.17. Zech 3.35 shows how those in the tradition of Ezekiel
came to terms with the delement of the exile aer the return.) Ezekiel was allowed to substitute dried cows
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myself; from my youth up until now I have
never eaten what died of itself or was torn by
animals, nor has carrion esh come into my
mouth. Then he said to me, See, I will let
you have cows dung instead of human dung,
on which you may prepare your bread.
Then he said to me, Mortal, I am going
to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem;
they shall eat bread by weight and with
fearfulness; and they shall drink water by
measure and in dismay. Lacking bread
and water, they will look at one another in
dismay, and waste away under their punishment.
And you, Omortal, take a sharp sword;
use it as a barbers razor and run it over
your head and your beard; then take balances for weighing, and divide the hair. One
third of the hair you shall burn in the re
inside the city, when the days of the siege are
completed; one third you shall take and strike
with the sword all around the city;a and one
third you shall scatter to the wind, and I will
unsheathe the sword after them. Then you
shall take from these a small number, and
bind them in the skirts of your robe. From
these, again, you shall take some, throw them
into the re and burn them up; from there
a re will come out against all the house of
Israel.
Thus says the Lord God: This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the center of the
nations, with countries all around her. But
she has rebelled against my ordinances and
my statutes, becoming more wicked than
the nations and the countries all around her,
rejecting my ordinances and not following
my statutes. Therefore thus says the Lord
God: Because you are more turbulent than
the nations that are all around you, and
have not followed my statutes or kept my

ordinances, but have acted according to the
ordinances of the nations that are all around
you; therefore thus says the Lord God: I, I
myself, am coming against you; I will execute
judgments among you in the sight of the
nations. And because of all your abominations, I will do to you what I have never
yet done, and the like of which I will never
do again. Surely, parents shall eat their
children in your midst, and children shall eat
their parents; I will execute judgments on
you, and any of you who survive I will scatter
to every wind. Therefore, as I live, says the
Lord God, surely, because you have deled
my sanctuary with all your detestable things
and with all your abominationstherefore
I will cut you down;b my eye will not spare,
and I will have no pity. One third of you
shall die of pestilence or be consumed by
famine among you; one third shall fall by
the sword around you; and one third I will
scatter to every wind and will unsheathe the
sword after them.
My anger shall spend itself, and I will
vent my fury on them and satisfy myself; and
they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken
in my jealousy, when I spend my fury on
them. Moreover I will make you a desolation and an object of mocking among the nations around you, in the sight of all that pass
by. You shall bec a mockery and a taunt, a
warning and a horror, to the nations around
you, when I execute judgments on you in
anger and fury, and with furious punishmentsI, the Lord, have spoken when I
a Heb it
b Another reading is I will withdraw
c Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb It shall be
dung (v. 15), a common fuel in the Near East. 14: Cf. Lev 17.1016 (HS). 16: In Ezekiels antecedent text, Lev 26.26
(HS), Gods breaking the sta of bread (food supply) is a penalty for violating the Holiness School covenant.
5.117: The razor symbolizes military defeat (Isa 7.20). The defeated people are then destroyed in three dierent
ways. Even the surviving remnant undergoes further judgment. 3: Objects could be carried in the folds of ones
garments (Hag 2.12). 5: Center of the nations, Jerusalem was viewed as the mythic center of the earth (see 38.12,
center [lit., navel] of the earth; 43.1317n.). 8: Formulaic language for challenging someone to a duel. God is
resolved to come against Jerusalem as an enemy. Sight of the nations, Ezekiel is concerned throughout the book
that the nations, as well as Israel, understand Gods holiness. Israel should have been an object lesson in holiness to other nations. 10: Cannibalism was a curse for breaking the Holiness School covenant (Lev 26.29). 11:
If textual note b is the correct reading, this verse anticipates the departure of the Lords glory from the Temple
described in 10.122 and 11.2225. 12: Pestilence . . . famine, cf. the Holiness School covenant sanctions in Lev
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ezekiel 6
loose against youa my deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will let
loose to destroy you, and when I bring more
and more famine upon you, and break your
sta of bread. I will send famine and wild
animals against you, and they will rob you of
your children; pestilence and bloodshed shall
pass through you; and I will bring the sword
upon you. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Omortal, set your face toward the
mountains of Israel, and prophesy against
them, and say, You mountains of Israel, hear
the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord
God to the mountains and the hills, to the
ravines and the valleys: I, I myself will bring a
sword upon you, and I will destroy your high
places. Your altars shall become desolate,
and your incense stands shall be broken; and
I will throw down your slain in front of your
idols. I will lay the corpses of the people of
Israel in front of their idols; and I will scatter
your bones around your altars. Wherever you
live, your towns shall be waste and your high
places ruined, so that your altars will be waste
and ruined,b your idols broken and destroyed,
your incense stands cut down, and your works
wiped out. The slain shall fall in your midst;
then you shall know that I am the Lord.
But I will spare some. Some of you shall
escape the sword among the nations and be

scattered through the countries. Those of
you who escape shall remember me among
the nations where they are carried captive,
how I was crushed by their wanton heart that
turned away from me, and their wanton eyes
that turned after their idols. Then they will
be loathsome in their own sight for the evils
that they have committed, for all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the
Lord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this
disaster upon them.
Thus says the Lord God: Clap your hands
and stamp your foot, and say, Alas for all the
vile abominations of the house of Israel! For
they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by
pestilence. Those far o shall die of pestilence; those nearby shall fall by the sword; and
any who are left and are spared shall die of
famine. Thus I will spend my fury upon them.
And you shall know that I am the Lord,
when their slain lie among their idols around
their altars, on every high hill, on all the
mountain tops, under every green tree, and
under every leafy oak, wherever they oered
pleasing odor to all their idols. I will stretch
out my hand against them, and make the land
a Heb them
b Syr Vg Tg: Heb and be made guilty
26.2526. 13: They shall know . . . , 6.7n. 16: Sta of bread, 4.16n. 17: 14.21; Lev 26.22 (HS).
6.114: Two prophecies against Israels idolatry. 110: The mountains of Israel, the central highland ridge of
the promised land representing, in Ezekiel, the entire homeland territory (19.9; 33.38; 34.14; 35.12; 37.22; 38.8).
Mountains symbolized the intersection of earth and heaven, so Israels typography points to its unique status
as Gods holy land and the worlds center (38.12; cf. Lev 26.1112; Zech 2.12). Degrading this holy status, Israels
mountains are here associated with illegitimate worship (v. 9; cf. 18.6). 2: Set your face toward, an idiom of
Ezekiel (cf. 13.17; 20.46; 21.2; 25.2; 28.21; 29.2; 35.2; 38.2) calling for a hostile orientation based on Gods angry
disposition. 3: High places were ritual installations or shrines. Their destruction was a curse for breaking the Holiness School covenant (Lev 26.30). 4: Idols translates Ezekiels characteristic term gillulim, found in Lev 26.30
and thirty-nine times in Ezekiel, compared with eight times elsewhere in the Bible. The term is contemptuous,
probably equating idols with sheep droppings. The people are devoted to vile futility. 6: Towns shall be waste,
Lev 26.31 (HS). 7: You shall know . . . , one of over sixty similar closing declarations in Ezekiel (see vv. 10,1314).
Ezekiel shares an emphasis on recognition of the Lord with the Holiness School (e.g., Ex 6.7; 7.5; 10.2; 16.12;
31.13). He prophesies that Gods judging and saving acts will prove Gods sovereign identity and result in human recognition of God. The central purpose of Gods work on earth is to evoke this recognition, which in the
understanding of Ezekiel and the Holiness School means being drawn into direct experience of Gods life. God
is focused on making Israel holy, and nothing is more important than for Israel to align itself with this intention
(see Ex 10.2; 16.32; Lev 23.43 [HS]). In general, the book of Ezekiel de-emphasizes the prophets human experience, focusing instead on Gods desire to reveal the mystery and otherness of Gods own self. 9: The people
will nally despair of their state of alienation from God. 1114: A second prophecy of judgment, beginning with
an expressive action (cf. 21.14n.) communicating divine distress and anger over the peoples abominations. 11:
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ezekiel 7
desolate and waste, throughout all their settlements, from the wilderness to Riblah.a Then
they shall know that I am the Lord.
The word of the Lord came to me: You,

Omortal, thus says the Lord God to the
land of Israel:
An end! The end has come
upon the four corners of the land.
Now the end is upon you,
I will let loose my anger upon you;
I will judge you according to your ways,
I will punish you for all your
abominations.
My eye will not spare you, I will have no
pity.
I will punish you for your ways,
while your abominations are among you.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
Disaster after disaster! See, it comes.
An end has come, the end has come.
It has awakened against you; see, it comes!
Your doomb has come to you,
Oinhabitant of the land.
The time has come, the day is near
of tumult, not of reveling on the
mountains.
Soon now I will pour out my wrath upon
you;
I will spend my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your ways,
and punish you for all your
abominations.
My eye will not spare; I will have no pity.
I will punish you according to your
ways,
while your abominations are among
you.
Then you shall know that it is I the Lord who
strike.
See, the day! See, it comes!

Your doomb has gone out.
The rod has blossomed, pride has
budded.
Violence has grown into a rod of
wickedness.
None of them shall remain,
not their abundance, not their
wealth;
no pre-eminence among them.b
The time has come, the day draws near;
let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller
mourn,
for wrath is upon all their multitude.
For the sellers shall not return to what has
been sold as long as they remain alive. For
the vision concerns all their multitude; it
shall not be revoked. Because of their iniquity, they cannot maintain their lives.b
They have blown the horn and made
everything ready;
but no one goes to battle,
for my wrath is upon all their
multitude.
The sword is outside, pestilence and
famine are inside;
those in the eld die by the sword;
those in the cityfamine and
pestilence devour them.
If any survivors escape,
they shall be found on the mountains
like doves of the valleys,
all of them moaning over their iniquity.
All hands shall grow feeble,
all knees turn to water.
They shall put on sackcloth,
horror shall cover them.
Shame shall be on all faces,
a Another reading is Diblah
Sword . . . famine . . . pestilence, Lev 26.2526 (HS). 14: Stretch out my hand, a repeated expression of Ezekiel
denoting hard, crushing judgment (14.9,13; 16.27; 25.7; 35.3). From the wilderness of southern Judah to Riblah in
central Syria was the maximum extent of Israelite territory.
7.127: Prophecies on the approaching end. 14: The theme, the end, is reminiscent of Am 8.2. 3: Cf. Ps 78.49.
59: The day (v. 7) of the end is the day of the Lord, the time of Gods appearance to defeat evil and establish
justice (Am 5.1820; Isa 2.11,1217; Joel 1.15). The experience will be nothing short of cataclysmic, leaving nothing unchanged (Zeph 1.1418). 9: See v. 4. 1027: The end spells dissolution of normal life. 10: The rod, the term
both connotes discipline and evokes a similar Hebrew word meaning injustice. 12: The joys and sorrows of
daily life and commerce (Prov 20.14) are rendered moot by the approach of Jerusalems end. 14: The trumpet
calls to the defense, but the people are too enfeebled to respond. 18: Wearing coarse sackcloth and shaving the
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ezekiel 8
baldness on all their heads.
They shall ing their silver into the
streets,
their gold shall be treated as unclean.
Their silver and gold cannot save them on
the day of the wrath of the Lord. They shall
not satisfy their hunger or ll their stomachs
with it. For it was the stumbling block of their
iniquity. From theira beautiful ornament,
in which they took pride, they made their
abominable images, their detestable things;
therefore I will make of it an unclean thing to
them.
I will hand it over to strangers as booty,
to the wicked of the earth as plunder;
they shall profane it.
I will avert my face from them,
so that they may profane my treasuredb
place;
the violent shall enter it,
they shall profane it.
Make a chain!c
For the land is full of bloody crimes;
the city is full of violence.
I will bring the worst of the nations
to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the
strong,
and their holy places shall be profaned.
When anguish comes, they will seek
peace,
but there shall be none.
Disaster comes upon disaster,
rumor follows rumor;

they shall keep seeking a vision from the
prophet;
instruction shall perish from the priest,
and counsel from the elders.
The king shall mourn,
the prince shall be wrapped in despair,
and the hands of the people of the land
shall tremble.
According to their way I will deal with
them;
according to their own judgments I will
judge them.
And they shall know that I am the Lord.
In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on
the fth day of the month, as I sat in my
house, with the elders of Judah sitting before
me, the hand of the Lord God fell upon me
there. I looked, and there was a gure that
looked like a human being;d below what appeared to be its loins it was re, and above
the loins it was like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming amber. It stretched out
the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of
my head; and the spirit lifted me up between
earth and heaven, and brought me in visions
of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the
gateway of the inner court that faces north,
a
b
c
d
Syr Symmachus: Heb its

Or secret
Gk: Heb like re
head (baldness) were both intentional displays of mourning (cf. 27.31; Am 8.10; Isa 22.12). The disaster will also
provoke involuntary reactions of horror and shame. 19: Zeph 1.18. 20: Beautiful ornament, perhaps the gold and
silver of the Temple treasury, used to fashion idolatrous images (16.17; 2 Kings 21.7). 22: My treasured place, the
land of Israel, and particularly Jerusalem, containing Gods Temple. 23a: Perhaps a call to be chained together in
a long train for exile (cf. Nah 3.10; Jer 40.1), but see textual note c. 23b: Social ethics, as well as idolatry, concern
Ezekiel and the Holiness School (12.19; 28.16; cf. Gen 6.11). 24: Human arrogance has no place in the Zion theology used by Ezekiel (see Introduction), which stresses Gods sovereignty (Lev 26.19 [HS]). 2527: The confusion
and brutality of the invasion and siege.
8.111.25: The Temple visions. 8.118: The vision of idolatry (September 17, 592 bce). In his vision of wickedness in Jerusalems Temple, Ezekiel saw beyond the observable oenses of his time into the ingrained, polluted
essence of the shrine. 1: The elders in exile with the prophet (also his audience in 14.1; 20.1) were the traditional
leaders, from premonarchic times, of Israels family lines and kin groups. During the exile, they stepped in to
ll the leadership vacuum among the deportees. The hand of the Lord God (see 1.3n.) grips Ezekiel suddenly,
yanking him into a vision of a scene far removed, both spatially and temporally, from his seing in Babylonia.
2: The gure is described in terms similar to those in 1.2627. 3: By a lock of my head, cf. Bel 36. The gateway to
the Temples inner court is also termed the altar gate (v. 5), as it led from the outer court to the great altar of
sacrice. The image of jealousy is probably the carved image of the goddess Asherah that King Manasseh set up
in the Temple (2 Kings 21.7). Though removed by Ezekiels time (2 Kings 23.6), it stood out starkly in the proph-
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ezekiel 9
to the seat of the image of jealousy, which
provokes to jealousy. And the glory of the
God of Israel was there, like the vision that I
had seen in the valley.
Then Goda said to me, Omortal, lift up
your eyes now in the direction of the north.
So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and
there, north of the altar gate, in the entrance,
was this image of jealousy. He said to me,
Mortal, do you see what they are doing, the
great abominations that the house of Israel
are committing here, to drive me far from
my sanctuary? Yet you will see still greater
abominations.
And he brought me to the entrance of
the court; I looked, and there was a hole in
the wall. Then he said to me, Mortal, dig
through the wall; and when I dug through
the wall, there was an entrance. He said to
me, Go in, and see the vile abominations
that they are committing here. So I went
in and looked; there, portrayed on the wall all
around, were all kinds of creeping things, and
loathsome animals, and all the idols of the
house of Israel. Before them stood seventy
of the elders of the house of Israel, with
Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among
them. Each had his censer in his hand, and
the fragrant cloud of incense was ascending.
Then he said to me, Mortal, have you seen
what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of images?
For they say, The Lord does not see us, the
Lord has forsaken the land. He said also
to me, You will see still greater abominations
that they are committing.
Then he brought me to the entrance
of the north gate of the house of the Lord;
women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. Then he said to me, Have you seen
this, Omortal? You will see still greater
abominations than these.
And he brought me into the inner court of
the house of the Lord; there, at the entrance
of the temple of the Lord, between the porch
and the altar, were about twenty-ve men,
with their backs to the temple of the Lord,
and their faces toward the east, prostrating
themselves to the sun toward the east. Then
he said to me, Have you seen this, Omortal?
Is it not bad enough that the house of Judah
commits the abominations done here? Must
they ll the land with violence, and provoke
my anger still further? See, they are putting
the branch to their nose! Therefore I will act
in wrath; my eye will not spare, nor will I have
pity; and though they cry in my hearing with a
loud voice, I will not listen to them.
Then he cried in my hearing with a loud
voice, saying, Draw near, you executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand. And six men came from
a Heb he
ets transhistorical perception. 4: See 3.2223. On the glory of the God of Israel, see 10.122n. 713: The Temple
stands infested by an ongoing rebellion against Gods hierarchies of holiness that began in the wilderness period. The elders of Judah with censers inside the secret gatehouse chamber perform the very same improper
act as that described in Num 16.2,17,35 (HS). Ezekiel views the scriptural story in Num 16 as prototypical, and
it informs his assessment of the preexilic Temples wickedness (see also 44.614n.). 10: Cf. 23.14; Deut 4.1718.
11: The elders here are in the prophets vision of Jerusalem, and are not the same as those in v. 1. The mention of
Jaazaniah among the encroachers upon the holy precincts is particularly disturbing, given his familys record
of faithfulness. His father Shaphan was active in King Josiahs reform movement (2 Kings 22), and his brother
Ahikam and nephew Gedaliah assisted and protected Jeremiah (Jer 26.24; 39.14). 12: The elders idea that the
Lord has forsaken the land becomes a self-fullling prophecy (see 11.2223). 1415: Tammuz, a Mesopotamian
god; the weeping was for his descent into the underworld. Transtemporal perception is again suggested here,
since Ezekiel sees the weeping rite in the sixth month (v. 1) and not in the fourth month (June-July), when it was
normally practiced. 1618: The climactic abomination seen by Ezekiel was sun worship. Its practice in Israel is
evidenced by texts such as 2 Kings 23.5,11 and by an Israelite ritual stand found at Taanach that depicts the sun
as a deity. 17: The branch gesture may be an obscene expression. The Hebrew text originally referred to Gods
nose, but the scribes toned down the oensive image. 18: The judgment is irrevocable (see 14.1223n.).
9.111: The punishment of the guilty. 12: From the upper gate (Jer 20.2) come the executioners (divine functionaries sent to punish) and a man clothed in linen, who functions as the Lords scribe, as did the Mesopotamian god Nabu among the seven Babylonian planetary deities. Linen, a bleached fabric signifying purity, was
hebrew bible | 1171
ezekiel 10
the direction of the upper gate, which faces
north, each with his weapon for slaughter in
his hand; among them was a man clothed in
linen, with a writing case at his side. They
went in and stood beside the bronze altar.
Now the glory of the God of Israel had
gone up from the cherub on which it rested
to the threshold of the house. The Lord
called to the man clothed in linen, who had
the writing case at his side; and said to him,
Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and
put a mark on the foreheads of those who
sigh and groan over all the abominations that
are committed in it. To the others he said
in my hearing, Pass through the city after
him, and kill; your eye shall not spare, and
you shall show no pity. Cut down old men,
young men and young women, little children
and women, but touch no one who has the
mark. And begin at my sanctuary. So they
began with the elders who were in front of
the house. Then he said to them, Dele
the house, and ll the courts with the slain.
Go! So they went out and killed in the city.
While they were killing, and I was left alone,
I fell prostrate on my face and cried out, Ah
Lord God! will you destroy all who remain
of Israel as you pour out your wrath upon
Jerusalem? He said to me, The guilt of
the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly
great; the land is full of bloodshed and the
city full of perversity; for they say, The Lord
has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not
see. As for me, my eye will not spare, nor
will I have pity, but I will bring down their

deeds upon their heads.
Then the man clothed in linen, with the
writing case at his side, brought back word,
saying, I have done as you commanded
me.
Then I looked, and above the dome
that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something
like a sapphire,a in form resembling a throne.
He said to the man clothed in linen, Go
within the wheelwork underneath the cherubim; ll your hands with burning coals from
among the cherubim, and scatter them over
the city. He went in as I looked on. Now the
cherubim were standing on the south side
of the house when the man went in; and a
cloud lled the inner court. Then the glory
of the Lord rose up from the cherub to the
threshold of the house; the house was lled
with the cloud, and the court was full of the
brightness of the glory of the Lord. The
sound of the wings of the cherubim was
heard as far as the outer court, like the voice
of God Almightyb when he speaks.
When he commanded the man clothed
in linen, Take re from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim, he went
in and stood beside a wheel. And a cherub
stretched out his hand from among the
cherubim to the re that was among the
10
a Or lapis lazuli
b Traditional rendering of Heb El Shaddai
worn by divine messengers (Dan 10.5) and also by priests (44.17; Lev 6.10 [HS]). 3: On the departure of the glory,
see 10.122n. The cherub, in the singular (also 10.4), is used of the inanimate pair of statues in the Temple that
formed part of the divine throne. The actual living entities are referred to with the Heb plural, cherubim. 4:
The mark was the Heb leer taw, made like an X. 6: The elders are those of 8.16. 7: Ezekiels Holiness School
traditions stressed that corpses dele (Lev 21.1; Num 5.23; 9.6; 19.11,13 [HS]). 8: All who remain, those remaining
in Palestine aer the initial deportation of 597 bce.
10.122 and 11.2225: The departure of the Lords glory from the Temple is repeatedly described in each
of three versions of Jerusalems abandonment (9.3; 10.4; 11.22). The glory of the Lord is the revealed, objective presence of the majesty of God, manifesting Gods holiness in ery radiance (1.28n.; Lev 9.23; Num 20.6).
The paern of movement of the glory of the Lord helps structure the book of Ezekiel. The glory has been
present in Jerusalem, even when the citys inhabitants felt forsaken by it (8.4,12b), but because of their wickedness it departs, rst to the doorway of the Temple (also 9.3), and then to the east gate of the Temples outer
court (10.1819). It then leaves the desecrated sanctuary. The departure continues in 11.2225, where the glory
heads east over the Mount of Olives toward Babylon. It was in Babylonia that Ezekiel rst saw the glory of the
Lord (1.28; 3.2223; cf. 8.4; 11.16). Eventually, the prophet envisions it returning to the restored Temple (43.25;
44.4). 1: Cherubim, see 1.514n. 2: Man clothed in linen, see 9.12n. Burning coals, cf. Isa 31.9; Ps 18.1013. 34: The
throne-chariot comes to collect the glory of the Lord from the cherub statues (see 9.3n.). The cloud lling the
1172 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 11
cherubim, took some of it and put it into the
hands of the man clothed in linen, who took
it and went out. The cherubim appeared to
have the form of a human hand under their
wings.
I looked, and there were four wheels
beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub;
and the appearance of the wheels was like
gleaming beryl. And as for their appearance, the four looked alike, something like a
wheel within a wheel. When they moved,
they moved in any of the four directions
without veering as they moved; but in whatever direction the front wheel faced, the others followed without veering as they moved.
Their entire body, their rims, their spokes,
their wings, and the wheelsthe wheels
of the four of themwere full of eyes all
around. As for the wheels, they were called
in my hearing the wheelwork. Each one
had four faces: the rst face was that of the
cherub, the second face was that of a human
being, the third that of a lion, and the fourth
that of an eagle.
The cherubim rose up. These were the
living creatures that I saw by the river Chebar.
When the cherubim moved, the wheels
moved beside them; and when the cherubim
lifted up their wings to rise up from the earth,
the wheels at their side did not veer. When
they stopped, the others stopped, and when
they rose up, the others rose up with them;
for the spirit of the living creatures was in
them.
Then the glory of the Lord went out
from the threshold of the house and stopped
above the cherubim. The cherubim lifted
up their wings and rose up from the earth in
my sight as they went out with the wheels

beside them. They stopped at the entrance
of the east gate of the house of the Lord; and
the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
These were the living creatures that I
saw underneath the God of Israel by the river
Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim. Each had four faces, each four wings,
and underneath their wings something like
human hands. As for what their faces were
like, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. Each one
moved straight ahead.
The spirit lifted me up and brought
me to the east gate of the house of the
Lord, which faces east. There, at the entrance
of the gateway, were twenty-ve men; among
them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur, and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, ocials of the people.
He said to me, Mortal, these are the men
who devise iniquity and who give wicked
counsel in this city; they say, The time is
not near to build houses; this city is the pot,
and we are the meat. Therefore prophesy
against them; prophesy, Omortal.
Then the spirit of the Lord fell upon me,
and he said to me, Say, Thus says the Lord:
This is what you think, Ohouse of Israel; I
know the things that come into your mind.
You have killed many in this city, and have
lled its streets with the slain. Therefore
thus says the Lord God: The slain whom you
have placed within it are the meat, and this
city is the pot; but you shall be taken out of it.
You have feared the sword; and I will bring
the sword upon you, says the Lord God. I
will take you out of it and give you over to the
hands of foreigners, and execute judgments
11
Temple recalls Ex 16.10; 40.3435 (HS); it both conceals and reveals the divine presence. 12: Eyes all around, see
1.18n. 14: That of the cherub, the bull face of 1.10 (some ancient cherubim were bovine). 15: Chebar, 1.13n.
11.125: Judgment and promise. 11.113: A disputation over the city. Jaazaniah and Pelatiah are otherwise
unknown ocials of the people (a postexilic title). Wicked counsel perhaps refers to the plot between Egypt and
the pro-Egyptian counselors of King Zedekiah of Judah against the Babylonian king Nebuchadrezzar (Jer 27.13;
37.5,7,11). 3: Having a false condence in Zions ironclad invulnerability (the pot), they assure the populace of the
citys security. They put o domestic construction, perhaps because they have now appropriated the houses of
the slain (v. 6) and of the deportees (v. 15). Alternatively, they are urging that all construction be concentrated
on fortifying Jerusalem for their planned rebellion. The pot, an impenetrable metal cauldron or a sturdy crock
where food was safely stored. Ezekiel returns to the symbol of the pot in 24.38. 513: Ezekiel has formulated
a far more sophisticated Zion theology than their rather denuded conception (see 1.1521n.,2628n.). Accusing the leaders of gross violence (7.23; ch 22), he tells them that a morally complacent trust in Zion will not
protect them (cf. 24.114), but they will be judged at the border of Israel (v. 11; perhaps Riblah; see 6.14n.; 2 Kings
hebrew bible | 1173
ezekiel 12
upon you. You shall fall by the sword; I will
judge you at the border of Israel. And you
shall know that I am the Lord. This city
shall not be your pot, and you shall not be the
meat inside it; I will judge you at the border
of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the
Lord, whose statutes you have not followed,
and whose ordinances you have not kept, but
you have acted according to the ordinances of
the nations that are around you.
Now, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah
son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my
face, cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah
Lord God! will you make a full end of the
remnant of Israel?
Mortal, your kinsfolk, your own kin, your
fellow exiles,a the whole house of Israel, all of
them, are those of whom the inhabitants of
Jerusalem have said, They have gone far from
the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God:
Though I removed them far away among the
nations, and though I scattered them among
the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to
them for a little whileb in the countries where
they have gone. Therefore say: Thus says the
Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples,
and assemble you out of the countries where
you have been scattered, and I will give you the
land of Israel. When they come there, they
will remove from it all its detestable things and
all its abominations. I will give them onec

heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will
remove the heart of stone from their esh and
give them a heart of esh, so that they may
follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and
obey them. Then they shall be my people, and
I will be their God. But as for those whose
heart goes after their detestable things and
their abominations,d I will bring their deeds
upon their own heads, says the Lord God.
Then the cherubim lifted up their wings,
with the wheels beside them; and the glory of
the God of Israel was above them. And the
glory of the Lord ascended from the middle of the city, and stopped on the mountain
east of the city. The spirit lifted me up and
brought me in a vision by the spirit of God
into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision
that I had seen left me. And I told the exiles
all the things that the Lord had shown me.
12

Mortal, you are living in the midst
of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see
but do not see, who have ears to hear but do
not hear; for they are a rebellious house.
a
b
c
d
Gk Syr: Heb people of your kindred

Or to some extent
Another reading is a new
Cn: Heb And to the heart of their detestable things
and their abominations their heart goes
25.6,1821). 13: Pelatiahs death is a prediction within the prophetic vision, not an actual event. Ezekiels desperate question at the end of this verse receives a reassuring negative answer in vv. 1421, an authentically early
(pre-586 bce, see v. 15) oracle of promise in Ezekiel.
11.1421: The future lies with the exiles. This passage disputes the claim of those who remained in the
land that the exiles were bearing Gods punishment, and that their property thus now belonged to those who
remained. Ezekiel warns them that God is with his exiled people and will restore them. It is the exile group
that constitutes the true Israel (cf. 20.4142). 15: Your fellow exiles, see textual note a; the rare Heb noun translated kindred denotes people who, according to the Holiness School, should be defended against the permanent alienation of their land (Lev 25.2528). The Jerusalemites are violating Holiness School traditions (see
45.89n.). 16: A sanctuary, the Hebrew indicates that the glory of the Lord is now tabernacling with the exiles
in Babylonia rather than with those who remained behind (v. 23). 1721: Promise of restoration to the exiles.
The prophecy is authentic to the prophets message before the citys fall in 586 bce, as shown by its concern
with contemporaries inhabiting Jerusalem before its destruction (v. 21). 19: New heart, see 36.26n. 20: The new
covenant, cf. 16.60; 36.2728; 37.23,27. 24: Chaldea, Babylonia.
11.2225: Two reports conclude the Temple visions. 2223: See 10.122n. The mountain east of the city is the
Mount of Olives.
12.120: Two symbolic actions. 12.116: First symbol, an exiles baggage. Ezekiel symbolizes the Jerusalemites coming exile by collecting whatever goods exiles could carry (Jer 10.17; 46.19) and leaving the city.
Features within this text later revealed themselves as stunningly applicable to events surrounding Zedekiah
1174 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 12
Therefore, mortal, prepare for yourself an
exiles baggage, and go into exile by day in
their sight; you shall go like an exile from
your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are
a rebellious house. You shall bring out your
baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for
exile; and you shall go out yourself at evening
in their sight, as those do who go into exile.
Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry
the baggage through it. In their sight you
shall lift the baggage on your shoulder, and
carry it out in the dark; you shall cover your
face, so that you may not see the land; for I
have made you a sign for the house of Israel.
I did just as I was commanded. I brought
out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile,
and in the evening I dug through the wall with
my own hands; I brought it out in the dark,
carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.
In the morning the word of the Lord
came to me: Mortal, has not the house of
Israel, the rebellious house, said to you,
What are you doing? Say to them, Thus
says the Lord God: This oracle concerns
the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of
Israel in it. Say, I am a sign for you: as I
have done, so shall it be done to them; they
shall go into exile, into captivity. And the
prince who is among them shall lift his baggage on his shoulder in the dark, and shall
go out; hea shall dig through the wall and
carry it through; he shall cover his face, so
that he may not see the land with his eyes.
I will spread my net over him, and he shall
be caught in my snare; and I will bring him
to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet
he shall not see it; and he shall die there. I
will scatter to every wind all who are around
him, his helpers and all his troops; and I will
unsheathe the sword behind them. And

they shall know that I am the Lord, when I
disperse them among the nations and scatter
them through the countries. But I will let
a few of them escape from the sword, from
famine and pestilence, so that they may tell
of all their abominations among the nations
where they go; then they shall know that I am
the Lord.
Mortal, eat your bread with quaking, and
drink your water with trembling and with
fearfulness; and say to the people of the
land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the
inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel:
They shall eat their bread with fearfulness,
and drink their water in dismay, because their
land shall be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who live in
it. The inhabited cities shall be laid waste,
and the land shall become a desolation; and
you shall know that I am the Lord.
Mortal, what is this proverb of yours about
the land of Israel, which says, The days are
prolonged, and every vision comes to nothing? Tell them therefore, Thus says the
Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb,
and they shall use it no more as a proverb in
Israel. But say to them, The days are near,
and the fulllment of every vision. For
there shall no longer be any false vision or
attering divination within the house of
Israel. But I the Lord will speak the word
that I speak, and it will be fullled. It will no
longer be delayed; but in your days, Orebellious house, I will speak the word and fulll
it, says the Lord God.
a Gk Syr: Heb they
(the prince, v. 12), who le Jerusalem by night at the citys fall. The oracle was then revised to bring out this applicability. It now species how Zedekiah was captured (17.20) and blinded (may not see, vv. 6,12; 2 Kings 25.4,7;
Jer 39.110). 2: Cf. Isa 6.10. 34: An exiles baggage, deportees typically carried large sacks with supplies and
personal items for the long trek into exile. Such sacks appear in several Assyrian reliefs, including a depiction
of Judean captives from Lachish. 5: Dig through the wall, either the prophet switched roles and portrayed Jerusalems besiegers breaching the citys walls (cf. Jer 39.2) or he depicts fugitives aempting to dig their way out
of the city (through partially breached walls). 12: The Heb text may mean they [the besiegers] will dig through
the wall to bring [the prince] out through it (see textual note a). 14: 5.2,12; 17.21; Lev 26.33 (HS). 1516: 14.2123.
12.1720: Second symbol, eating with trembling. The peoples emotional breakdown at the approaching
invasion (cf. Ps 80.5) is prophesied.
12.2128: Disputations about prophecy. Ezekiel condemns the peoples skepticism about prophecies of
hebrew bible | 1175
ezekiel 13
Mortal, the house of Israel is saying, The
vision that he sees is for many years ahead;
he prophesies for distant times. Therefore
say to them, Thus says the Lord God: None
of my words will be delayed any longer, but
the word that I speak will be fullled, says the
Lord God.
Mortal, prophesy against the prophets
of Israel who are prophesying; say to those
who prophesy out of their own imagination:
Hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the
Lord God, Alas for the senseless prophets
who follow their own spirit, and have seen
nothing! Your prophets have been like
jackals among ruins, OIsrael. You have not
gone up into the breaches, or repaired a wall
for the house of Israel, so that it might stand
in battle on the day of the Lord. They have
envisioned falsehood and lying divination;
they say, Says the Lord, when the Lord
has not sent them, and yet they wait for the
fulllment of their word! Have you not seen
a false vision or uttered a lying divination,
when you have said, Says the Lord, even
though I did not speak?
Because you have uttered falsehood and envisioned lies, I am against you, says the Lord
God. My hand will be against the prophets
who see false visions and utter lying divinations; they shall not be in the council of my
people, nor be enrolled in the register of the
house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land
of Israel; and you shall know that I am the
13
Lord God. Because, in truth, because they

have misled my people, saying, Peace, when
there is no peace; and because, when the
people build a wall, these prophetsa smear
whitewash on it. Say to those who smear
whitewash on it that it shall fall. There will
be a deluge of rain,b great hailstones will fall,
and a stormy wind will break out. When the
wall falls, will it not be said to you, Where is
the whitewash you smeared on it? Therefore thus says the Lord God: In my wrath I
will make a stormy wind break out, and in
my anger there shall be a deluge of rain, and
hailstones in wrath to destroy it. I will break
down the wall that you have smeared with
whitewash, and bring it to the ground, so
that its foundation will be laid bare; when it
falls, you shall perish within it; and you shall
know that I am the Lord. Thus I will spend
my wrath upon the wall, and upon those who
have smeared it with whitewash; and I will
say to you, The wall is no more, nor those
who smeared it the prophets of Israel
who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and
saw visions of peace for it, when there was no
peace, says the Lord God.
As for you, mortal, set your face against
the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own imagination; prophesy
against them and say, Thus says the Lord
God: Woe to the women who sew bands on
all wrists, and make veils for the heads of
persons of every height, in the hunt for hua Heb they
b Heb rain and you
judgment (vv. 22,27; Jer 5.12; 17.15). 2628: Second disputation.

13.123: Oracles against false prophecy. 116: A major challenge for Ezekiel was opposing false prophets,
particularly ones advocating nationalistic hope. Such prophets gave the people a false security that robbed
them of their chance to nd life amid the coming judgment. 4: Jackals among ruins have no regard for their surroundings and actually contribute to their decay (Lam 5.18). 5: True prophets would care enough about their
people to go up into the breaches (like Moses, Ps 106.23), i.e., to risk their lives by arguing with God on the
peoples behalf (9.8; 11.13). Day of the Lord, see 7.59n. 1016: Whitewash, beer plaster. The false prophets
messages (Jer 23; 2729), like mud-plaster that dissolves in a storm, were futile aempts to bolster the people,
despite their ultimate defenselessness before Gods inevitable coming judgment. Peace . . . no peace, cf. Jer 6.14;
8.11.
13.1723: Against sorceresses. For a meager fee (v. 19), some exiles safeguarded the wicked and aacked
their enemies through black magic. Bands and veils (perhaps head clothes or necklaces with amulets attached) were likely magical devices used in Babylonian witchcra to aack and defend, respectively. Magic was
prevalent in ancient Babylonia. 18: The hunting may have involved snatching victims souls from their bodies.
The sorceresses entrap souls like hunters trapping prey, luring people to their deaths.
1176 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 14
man lives! Will you hunt down lives among
my people, and maintain your own lives?
You have profaned me among my people
for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread,
putting to death persons who should not die
and keeping alive persons who should not
live, by your lies to my people, who listen to
lies.
Therefore thus says the Lord God: I am
against your bands with which you hunt
lives;a I will tear them from your arms, and let
the lives go free, the lives that you hunt down
like birds. I will tear o your veils, and save
my people from your hands; they shall no
longer be prey in your hands; and you shall
know that I am the Lord. Because you have
disheartened the righteous falsely, although
I have not disheartened them, and you have
encouraged the wicked not to turn from their
wicked way and save their lives; therefore
you shall no longer see false visions or practice divination; I will save my people from
your hand. Then you will know that I am the
Lord.
Certain elders of Israel came to me and
sat down before me. And the word
of the Lord came to me: Mortal, these men
have taken their idols into their hearts, and
placed their iniquity as a stumbling block
before them; shall I let myself be consulted by
them? Therefore speak to them, and say to
them, Thus says the Lord God: Any of those
of the house of Israel who take their idols
into their hearts and place their iniquity as a
stumbling block before them, and yet come
to the prophetI the Lord will answer those
who come with the multitude of their idols,
in order that I may take hold of the hearts of
the house of Israel, all of whom are estranged
from me through their idols.
14
Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus

says the Lord God: Repent and turn away
from your idols; and turn away your faces
from all your abominations. For any of those
of the house of Israel, or of the aliens who reside in Israel, who separate themselves from
me, taking their idols into their hearts and
placing their iniquity as a stumbling block
before them, and yet come to a prophet to
inquire of me by him, I the Lord will answer
them myself. I will set my face against them;
I will make them a sign and a byword and cut
them o from the midst of my people; and
you shall know that I am the Lord.
If a prophet is deceived and speaks a
word, I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet,
and I will stretch out my hand against him,
and will destroy him from the midst of my
people Israel. And they shall bear their
punishmentthe punishment of the inquirer
and the punishment of the prophet shall be
the same so that the house of Israel may
no longer go astray from me, nor dele themselves any more with all their transgressions.
Then they shall be my people, and I will be
their God, says the Lord God.
Mortal, when a land sins against me by
acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand
against it, and break its sta of bread and
send famine upon it, and cut o from it
human beings and animals, even if Noah,
Daniel,b and Job, these three, were in it, they
would save only their own lives by their
righteousness, says the Lord God. If I send
wild animals through the land to ravage it,
so that it is made desolate, and no one may
a Gk Syr: Heb lives for birds
b Or, as otherwise read, Danel
14.111: A legal case involving consultation. Ezekiel uses the legal language of the Holiness School to indict
sinful elders who try to consult God. Consultation is refused, since the words for the situation have already
been inscribed as scripture (see 3.2227n.). For now there will be no negotiation, only performance (12.28). 5:
Idols, not necessarily only false gods here, but any religious duplicity. 6: Repent, cf. 18.21,30; 33.11. 7: Aliens, see
47.2123n. 911: Deceived prophets will be punished similarly to those inquiring of them. For the Lord deceiving prophets, see 1 Kings 22.23.
14.1223: The inevitability of Gods judgment. Infamous Sodom might have been spared for a sucient
number of righteous people (Gen 18.2233), but Jerusalems impending punishment is inevitable (since it is
already a maer of scriptural record, 2.8b3.3n.). Under these circumstances, only righteous individuals themselves can be saved. 14: Noah (Gen 6.9) and Job (Job 1.1) are renowned in the Bible for their righteousness. Ezekiels references to Daniel (also 28.3) suggest the Canaanite Danel (see textual note b) of the Ugaritic texts (ca.
hebrew bible | 1177
ezekiel 15
pass through because of the animals; even
if these three men were in it, as I live, says the
Lord God, they would save neither sons nor
daughters; they alone would be saved, but the
land would be desolate. Or if I bring a sword
upon that land and say, Let a sword pass
through the land, and I cut o human beings
and animals from it; though these three
men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God,
they would save neither sons nor daughters,
but they alone would be saved. Or if I send
a pestilence into that land, and pour out my
wrath upon it with blood, to cut o humans
and animals from it; even if Noah, Daniel,a
and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God,
they would save neither son nor daughter;
they would save only their own lives by their
righteousness.
For thus says the Lord God: How much
more when I send upon Jerusalem my four
deadly acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild
animals, and pestilence, to cut o humans
and animals from it! Yet, survivors shall
be left in it, sons and daughters who will be
brought out; they will come out to you. When
you see their ways and their deeds, you will
be consoled for the evil that I have brought
upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought
upon it. They shall console you, when you
see their ways and their deeds; and you shall
know that it was not without cause that I did
all that I have done in it, says the Lord God.
Omortal, how does the wood of the
vine surpass all other wood
the vine branch that is among the trees
of the forest?
15
Is wood taken from it to make anything?

Does one take a peg from it on which to
hang any object?
It is put in the re for fuel;
when the re has consumed both ends
of it
and the middle of it is charred,
is it useful for anything?
When it was whole it was used for
nothing;
how much lesswhen the re has
consumed it,
and it is charred
can it ever be used for anything!
Therefore thus says the Lord God: Like
the wood of the vine among the trees of the
forest, which I have given to the re for fuel,
so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I will set my face against them; although
they escape from the re, the re shall still
consume them; and you shall know that I am
the Lord, when I set my face against them.
And I will make the land desolate, because
they have acted faithlessly, says the Lord God.
Mortal, make known to Jerusalem
her abominations, and say, Thus says the
Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your
birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your
father was an Amorite, and your mother a
Hittite. As for your birth, on the day you
were born your navel cord was not cut, nor
were you washed with water to cleanse you,
nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in cloths.
No eye pitied you, to do any of these things
16
a Or, as otherwise read, Danel
1400 bce), who is described as an ideally righteous ruler. 21: On the four agents of divine judgment, see 5.17 (cf.
5.10n.; 33.27). The four scenarios in vv. 1314,1516,1718, and 1920 each highlighted one of the agents. 2223:
Console, since their wicked behavior would prove the justice of Gods judgment.
15.18: Analogy of the useless vine. The wood of the vine is good only when it is cultivated in a vineyard and
produces; a wild vine of the forest is practically uselessits fruit may be poisonous (2 Kings 4.3940), and it is
unusable for woodworking. This metaphor for Jerusalem shows it has no worthiness on its own. 7: They escaped
from total destruction back in 597 bce, when the Babylonians rst aacked Jerusalem.
16.163: The allegory of the unfaithful wife. 18: Jerusalem, the foundling. 3: Jerusalems historical ancestry
here suggests a predisposition to apostasy. Ezekiel conveys a ruthless theological image of sin as deep rooted
and ineradicable (cf. Gen 8.21; Ps 51.5). The Canaanites, Amorites, and Hiites were Israels predecessors in the
Promised Land (e.g., Ex 3.8,17; Josh 3.10), whom God commanded Israel to drive out. According to Ezekiels Holiness School traditions, they were depraved peoples who deled the land through their abominations (vv. 44
52; Lev 18.2425). As Israel took root in the land, it did not fully drive out the inhabitants but oen assimilated
them, their practices, and their cities. The prophet is literally correct that Jerusalem was a Canaanite city, which
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for you out of compassion for you; but you
were thrown out in the open eld, for you
were abhorred on the day you were born.
I passed by you, and saw you ailing
about in your blood. As you lay in your blood,
I said to you, Live! and grow upa like a plant
of the eld. You grew up and became tall
and arrived at full womanhood;b your breasts
were formed, and your hair had grown; yet
you were naked and bare.
I passed by you again and looked on
you; you were at the age for love. I spread
the edge of my cloak over you, and covered
your nakedness: I pledged myself to you and
entered into a covenant with you, says the
Lord God, and you became mine. Then I
bathed you with water and washed o the
blood from you, and anointed you with oil.
I clothed you with embroidered cloth and
with sandals of ne leather; I bound you in
ne linen and covered you with rich fabric.c
I adorned you with ornaments: I put bracelets on your arms, a chain on your neck, a
ring on your nose, earrings in your ears, and
a beautiful crown upon your head. You
were adorned with gold and silver, while
your clothing was of ne linen, rich fabric,c
and embroidered cloth. You had choice our
and honey and oil for food. You grew exceedingly beautiful, t to be a queen. Your fame
spread among the nations on account of
your beauty, for it was perfect because of my
splendor that I had bestowed on you, says
the Lord God.
But you trusted in your beauty, and

played the whore because of your fame, and
lavished your whorings on any passer-by.d
You took some of your garments, and made
for yourself colorful shrines, and on them
played the whore; nothing like this has ever
been or ever shall be.c You also took your
beautiful jewels of my gold and my silver that
I had given you, and made for yourself male
images, and with them played the whore;
and you took your embroidered garments
to cover them, and set my oil and my incense
before them. Also my bread that I gave
youI fed you with choice our and oil and
honeyyou set it before them as a pleasing
odor; and so it was, says the Lord God. You
took your sons and your daughters, whom
you had borne to me, and these you sacriced
to them to be devoured. As if your whorings were not enough! You slaughtered my
children and delivered them up as an oering
to them. And in all your abominations and
your whorings you did not remember the
days of your youth, when you were naked
and bare, ailing about in your blood.
After all your wickedness (woe, woe to
you! says the Lord God), you built yourself a platform and made yourself a lofty
place in every square; at the head of every
a
b
c
d
Gk Syr: Heb Live! I made you a myriad

Cn: Heb ornament of ornaments
Heb adds let it be his
King David captured and assimilated (2 Sam 5.610). 4: Rubbing the skin with salt may have been thought to
make it rm; alternatively, the salt may have functioned as an antibacterial agent. Wrapping infants in swaddling cloths was a sign of care (Wis 7.4), which this infant was not given. 57: By Gods intervention, this abandoned and exposed infant grew into full womanhood. Breasts and pubic hair indicate sexual maturity. 8: Covering
a womans nakedness with a garment is a euphemism for taking a wife and sharing in her sexuality (Ruth 3.9;
Deut 22.30; 27.20). I pledged myself, see 20.5. The bilateral, mutually commied, and legally binding relationship
of marriage constituted a covenant in the ancient world (Mal 2.14; Prov 2.17). Several biblical texts depict Gods
covenant with Israel as a marriage (Hos 13; Jer 2.2; 31.32; Isa 50.1; 54.56). In like manner, ancient Near Eastern
vassal treaties spoke of the covenant relationship between sovereigns and their subjects in terms of love. 914:
The beautiful bride. 9: The blood may signify the breaking of the virginal brides hymen (see Deut 22.1321).
Alternatively, due to the time compression of the allegory, the birth blood of v. 6 may still be in mind. 1534:
Sexual betrayal. The image of Israel as a sexually unfaithful wife was rst popularized by Hosea, for whom the
image had both literal reference to sexualized worship (Hos 4.1014) and metaphorical reference to religious
apostasy in general (Hos 2.13). Ezekiel adopts the image as a metaphor from Hosea and Jeremiah (Jer 3.113),
intensies it to shocking extremes, and expands it into a quasi-biography of Israels indelity. This biography
will climax in Jerusalems destruction. 2022: Children were oered as human sacrices (20.26,31; 23.37; 2 Kings
23.10; Jer 7.31; 32.35; Isa 57.5,9), against the prohibitions of the Holiness School (Lev 18.21; 20.2). 2334: The Zion
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ezekiel 16
street you built your lofty place and prostituted your beauty, oering yourself to every
passer-by, and multiplying your whoring.
You played the whore with the Egyptians,
your lustful neighbors, multiplying your
whoring, to provoke me to anger. Therefore
I stretched out my hand against you, reduced
your rations, and gave you up to the will of
your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. You played the whore with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; you played
the whore with them, and still you were not
satised. You multiplied your whoring with
Chaldea, the land of merchants; and even
with this you were not satised.
How sick is your heart, says the Lord
God, that you did all these things, the deeds
of a brazen whore; building your platform
at the head of every street, and making your
lofty place in every square! Yet you were not
like a whore, because you scorned payment.
Adulterous wife, who receives strangers
instead of her husband! Gifts are given
to all whores; but you gave your gifts to all
your lovers, bribing them to come to you
from all around for your whorings. So you
were different from other women in your
whorings: no one solicited you to play the
whore; and you gave payment, while no
payment was given to you; you were different.
Therefore, Owhore, hear the word of
the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Because
your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whoring with your
lovers, and because of all your abominable
idols, and because of the blood of your
children that you gave to them, therefore,
I will gather all your lovers, with whom you
took pleasure, all those you loved and all
those you hated; I will gather them against
you from all around, and will uncover your
nakedness to them, so that they may see all
your nakedness. I will judge you as women
who commit adultery and shed blood are
judged, and bring blood upon you in wrath
and jealousy. I will deliver you into their
hands, and they shall throw down your platform and break down your lofty places; they
shall strip you of your clothes and take your
beautiful objects and leave you naked and
bare. They shall bring up a mob against
you, and they shall stone you and cut you to
pieces with their swords. They shall burn
your houses and execute judgments on you
in the sight of many women; I will stop you
from playing the whore, and you shall also
make no more payments. So I will satisfy
my fury on you, and my jealousy shall turn
away from you; I will be calm, and will be
angry no longer. Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have
enraged me with all these things; therefore,
I have returned your deeds upon your head,
says the Lord God.
Have you not committed lewdness beyond
all your abominations? See, everyone who
theology (see Introduction), in which Ezekiel was steeped, advocated trust in Gods exclusive sovereignty over
geopolitics (cf. Isa 7.89). Given this divine prerogative, foreign alliances were a form of unfaithfulness. 26: Israels illicit relations with Egypt culminated for Ezekiel in the negotiations in the early sixth century bce of King
Zedekiah of Judah with Pharaoh Psammetichus II for assistance against Babylonia (17.7n.). Lustful neighbors, the
Hebrew denotes their oversized genitals (cf. 23.20). 27: A probable reference to the Assyrian king Sennacheribs
transfer of Judean territory to the Philistine cities of Ashdod, Ekron, and Gaza in 701 bce. Sennacheribs annals
describe the event. Who were ashamed, even the foreign Philistines were embarrassed by Jerusalems behavior.
28: Judah willingly became an Assyrian vassal in 734 bce (see 2 Kings 16.78), aer which Assyria dominated
the region until the rise of the Babylonians, who destroyed their empire between 614 and 609 bce. Assyrian
records mention that King Manasseh of Judah (698/687642 bce) was a loyal vassal. 29: Chaldea, Babylonia.
Aer the bale of Carchemish in 605 bce, Babylonia became the leading political power in Syria-Palestine. Already in the eighth century bce, King Hezekiah of Judah entertained a Babylonian embassy to the dismay of the
prophet Isaiah, according to 2 Kings 20.1219. Later, King Jehoiakim of Judah (608598 bce) became a vassal of
Babylonia (2 Kings 24.1) as did King Zedekiah (597586 bce; 17.1314; 2 Kings 24.20; 2 Chr 36.13). 3034: Instead
of receiving income for her services, Jerusalem invited her lovers and paid them. 33: Gis, see 2 Kings 16.79;
18.1416; 23.3435; Jer 2.18 for examples of Judahs payment of tribute to foreign powers. 3543: The threat of
punishment. Foreign nations (her lovers) will turn against her. God will divorce her and expose her to be stoned
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uses proverbs will use this proverb about
you, Like mother, like daughter. You are
the daughter of your mother, who loathed
her husband and her children; and you are
the sister of your sisters, who loathed their
husbands and their children. Your mother
was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
Your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with
her daughters to the north of you; and your
younger sister, who lived to the south of you,
is Sodom with her daughters. You not only
followed their ways, and acted according to
their abominations; within a very little time
you were more corrupt than they in all your
ways. As I live, says the Lord God, your
sister Sodom and her daughters have not
done as you and your daughters have done.
This was the guilt of your sister Sodom:
she and her daughters had pride, excess of
food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the
poor and needy. They were haughty, and
did abominable things before me; therefore
I removed them when I saw it. Samaria has
not committed half your sins; you have committed more abominations than they, and
have made your sisters appear righteous by
all the abominations that you have committed. Bear your disgrace, you also, for you
have brought about for your sisters a more
favorable judgment; because of your sins
in which you acted more abominably than
they, they are more in the right than you. So
be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear
righteous.
I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and the
fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and
I will restore your own fortunes along with
theirs, in order that you may bear your

disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have
done, becoming a consolation to them. As
for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters
shall return to their former state, Samaria
and her daughters shall return to their
former state, and you and your daughters
shall return to your former state. Was not
your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth
in the day of your pride, before your
wickedness was uncovered? Now you are a
mockery to the daughters of Arama and all
her neighbors, and to the daughters of the
Philistines, those all around who despise
you. You must bear the penalty of your
lewdness and your abominations, says the
Lord.
Yes, thus says the Lord God: I will deal
with you as you have done, you who have
despised the oath, breaking the covenant;
yet I will remember my covenant with
you in the days of your youth, and I will
establish with you an everlasting covenant.
Then you will remember your ways, and
be ashamed when Ib take your sisters, both
your elder and your younger, and give them
to you as daughters, but not on account of
myc covenant with you. I will establish
my covenant with you, and you shall know
that I am the Lord, in order that you may
remember and be confounded, and never
open your mouth again because of your
shame, when I forgive you all that you have
done, says the Lord God.
a Another reading is Edom

b Syr: Heb you
c Heb lacks my
(Lev 20.10). 4458: Additional accusation. This section elaborates the preceding theme, showing Jerusalem
to be so much worse than Samaria (2 Kings 17) and Sodom (Gen 19), both of which were destroyed, that they
appear righteous by comparison (Jer 3.11). 46: Elder sister, beer bigger sister (which makes more sense historically). Likewise, Sodom is a smaller sister, not necessarily a younger one (by Canaanite geopolitical standards,
Sodom was an unimpressive city-state). 49: Ezekiel does not represent Sodoms characteristic sin in sexual
terms but primarily as social and moral injustice, especially toward the poor and needy. His perspective expands
on Gen 18.20 and 19.13. Ezekiels Holiness School traditions especially stressed social justice and care for the
poor (Lev 19.915,3335; 23.22; 25.1317 [HS]). 5358: God will restore all three sisters, humiliating Jerusalem by
puing it on the same footing as Samaria and Sodom. 57: Aram should probably be read as Edom (see textual
note a; cf. 36.5). 5963: Jerusalems restoration. God will remember the covenant with the ancestors, as the Holiness School anticipated (Lev 26.4345), as well as his marriage contract with Jerusalem (v. 8). 62: Will establish
my covenant (see also v. 60), a phrase characteristic of the Holiness School (e.g., Gen 17.7; Ex 6.4; Lev 26.9 [HS]).
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17

Omortal, propound a riddle, and
speak an allegory to the house of Israel. Say:
A great eagle, with great wings and long
pinions,
rich in plumage of many colors,
came to the Lebanon.
He took the top of the cedar,
broke o its topmost shoot;
he carried it to a land of trade,
set it in a city of merchants.
Then he took a seed from the land,
placed it in fertile soil;
a planta by abundant waters,
he set it like a willow twig.
It sprouted and became a vine
spreading out, but low;
its branches turned toward him,
its roots remained where it stood.
So it became a vine;
it brought forth branches,
put forth foliage.
There was another great eagle,
with great wings and much
plumage.
And see! This vine stretched out
its roots toward him;
it shot out its branches toward him,
so that he might water it.
From the bed where it was planted
it was transplanted
to good soil by abundant waters,
so that it might produce branches
and bear fruit
and become a noble vine.
Say: Thus says the Lord God:
Will it prosper?
Will he not pull up its roots,

cause its fruit to rota and wither,
its fresh sprouting leaves to fade?
No strong arm or mighty army will be
needed
to pull it from its roots.
When it is transplanted, will it thrive?
When the east wind strikes it,
will it not utterly wither,
wither on the bed where it grew?
Say now to the rebellious house: Do you
not know what these things mean? Tell them:
The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took
its king and its ocials, and brought them
back with him to Babylon. He took one of
the royal ospring and made a covenant with
him, putting him under oath (he had taken
away the chief men of the land), so that the
kingdom might be humble and not lift itself
up, and that by keeping his covenant it might
stand. But he rebelled against him by sending ambassadors to Egypt, in order that they
might give him horses and a large army. Will
he succeed? Can one escape who does such
things? Can he break the covenant and yet
escape? As I live, says the Lord God, surely
in the place where the king resides who made
him king, whose oath he despised, and whose
covenant with him he brokein Babylon he
shall die. Pharaoh with his mighty army
and great company will not help him in war,
when ramps are cast up and siege walls built
to cut o many lives. Because he despised
the oath and broke the covenant, because he
gave his hand and yet did all these things, he
shall not escape. Therefore thus says the
17.124: The allegorical fable of the eagles. Verses 110 are the fable, and vv. 1121 interpret it. 110: The
fable. 34: Great eagle, the Babylonian king Nebuchadrezzar; Lebanon, Jerusalem; the top of the cedar, house of
David (Jer 22.23); topmost shoot, Jehoiachin, Judean king who was exiled to Babylon in 597 bce (2 Kings 24.816);
land of trade, Babylonia; city of merchants, Babylon; seed from the land, Zedekiah, the last king of Judah (597586
bce). 5: Placed it in fertile soil, i.e., made him king in Judah (2 Kings 24.17). 6: Low, submissive to King Nebuchadrezzar. Branches turned toward him, loyal in his vassalage. 7: Another great eagle, Psammetichus II of Egypt (594
588 bce), with whom Zedekiah negotiated for assistance against Babylonia (Jer 37.5). 910: Zedekiah will be
unable to resist Nebuchadrezzar (he, v. 9; the east wind, v. 10) for long, though the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem
lasted nineteen months (2 Kings 25.14). 1121: The interpretation. 13: Under oath, 2 Chr 36.13. Nebuchadrezzar would have to punish Zedekiah for violating his oath of loyalty (see v. 7n.). 17: The original text read, and
not with a mighty army shall he [Nebuchadrezzar] deal with him (as in v. 9b). The verse was revised aer the
siege of Jerusalem to reect historical detail, thus bringing out the prophecys correlation with its fulllment.
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ezekiel 18
Lord God: As I live, I will surely return upon
his head my oath that he despised, and my
covenant that he broke. I will spread my net
over him, and he shall be caught in my snare;
I will bring him to Babylon and enter into
judgment with him there for the treason he
has committed against me. All the picka of
his troops shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind; and
you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.
I myself will take a sprig
from the lofty top of a cedar;
I will set it out.
I will break o a tender one
from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will plant it
on a high and lofty mountain.
On the mountain height of Israel
I will plant it,
in order that it may produce boughs and
bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
in the shade of its branches will nest
winged creatures of every kind.
All the trees of the eld shall know
that I am the Lord.
I bring low the high tree,

I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree
and make the dry tree ourish.
I the Lord have spoken;
I will accomplish it.
What do you mean by repeating this
proverb concerning the land of Israel, The
parents have eaten sour grapes, and the childrens teeth are set on edge? As I live, says
the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be
used by you in Israel. Know that all lives are
mine; the life of the parent as well as the life
of the child is mine: it is only the person who
sins that shall die.
If a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right if he does not eat upon the
mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of
the house of Israel, does not dele his neighbors wife or approach a woman during her
menstrual period, does not oppress anyone,
but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits
no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and
covers the naked with a garment, does not
take advance or accrued interest, withholds
18
a Another reading is fugitives
1921: Just as Nebuchadrezzar will not overlook Zedekiahs breaking his oath of loyalty, so also will God punish him for breaking the Lords covenant with Israel (16.59). 2224: The fable expanded, an allegory about the
restoration of the Davidic monarchy. As in v. 3, the top of a cedar is the house of David, but now God becomes
the great eagle who is protecting and cultivating it. For the image of the coming king as a twig or branch, cf. Isa
11.1; Jer 23.56; 33.15; Zech 3.8; 6.12. Other passages in Ezekiel that speak of a new, ideal Davidic king include
29.21; 34.2324; 37.2425. Loy mountain, Mount Zion (cf. Isa 2.2). Noble cedar, the archetypical cosmic tree
in Near Eastern mythology. Planted at the center of the world, it connects heaven and earth and oers shelter
to all peoples.
18.132: Being accountable. 14: The text does not necessarily deny the notion of corporate (communal)
punishment or contradict the statement of Ex 20.5 that parents can pass on the consequences of sin to their
children. In places such as 16.44 and 20.4,30 Ezekiel arms that sins and their punishments may involve longterm consequences for individuals and for the corporate community. What Ezekiel is stressing is that the exiles
cannot hide behind a defense of fatalism but must take responsibility for their present circumstances and their
future. The prophets audience is far from an innocent generation, and it is not appropriate for them to view
their present fate as inexorably determined by past actions of their ancestors (cf. Jer 31.2930, which quotes
the same proverb). 4: Ezekiels stress on individual responsibility is not innovative but recalls Num 16:2224 (HS;
cf. Deut 24.16). God, who owns all lives, i.e., the spirits of all esh (Num 16.22 [HS]), desires life for each human creature (cf. Ezek 18.23,32; 33:11), and those Israelites who separate themselves from all oenders against
Gods holiness will surely nd salvation in the midst of Gods judgment (Num 16.24 [HS]; cf. Deut 24.16). 59:
First, righteous generation. The list includes both ritual and ethical provisions; Ezekiels theology shares with
the Holiness School a concern with the entire range of sin from ceremonial to moral. 6: Eat upon the mountains,
idolatrous sacrices at high places (6.114). Li up his eyes, seek aid from (cf. 23.27; 33.25). Dele his neighbors
wife, Lev 18.20 (HS). Menstrual period, Lev 18.19 (HS). 7: Oppress anyone, Lev 25.17 (HS). Restores to the debtor his
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ezekiel 18
his hand from iniquity, executes true justice
between contending parties, follows my statutes, and is careful to observe my ordinances,
acting faithfullysuch a one is righteous; he
shall surely live, says the Lord God.
If he has a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things
(though his fathera does none of them), who
eats upon the mountains, deles his neighbors wife, oppresses the poor and needy,
commits robbery, does not restore the pledge,
lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, takes advance or accrued interest;
shall he then live? He shall not. He has done
all these abominable things; he shall surely
die; his blood shall be upon himself.
But if this man has a son who sees all
the sins that his father has done, considers,
and does not do likewise, who does not eat
upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the
idols of the house of Israel, does not dele
his neighbors wife, does not wrong anyone,
exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but
gives his bread to the hungry and covers the
naked with a garment, withholds his hand
from iniquity,b takes no advance or accrued
interest, observes my ordinances, and follows
my statutes; he shall not die for his fathers
iniquity; he shall surely live. As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed
his brother, and did what is not good among
his people, he dies for his iniquity.
Yet you say, Why should not the son
suer for the iniquity of the father? When
the son has done what is lawful and right,
and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. The person who
sins shall die. A child shall not suer for the
iniquity of a parent, nor a parent suer for
the iniquity of a child; the righteousness of
the righteous shall be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be his own.
But if the wicked turn away from all their

sins that they have committed and keep all my
statutes and do what is lawful and right, they
shall surely live; they shall not die. None of
the transgressions that they have committed
shall be remembered against them; for the
righteousness that they have done they shall
live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the
wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that
they should turn from their ways and live?
But when the righteous turn away from their
righteousness and commit iniquity and do the
same abominable things that the wicked do,
shall they live? None of the righteous deeds
that they have done shall be remembered; for
the treachery of which they are guilty and the
sin they have committed, they shall die.
Yet you say, The way of the Lord is unfair.
Hear now, Ohouse of Israel: Is my way unfair?
Is it not your ways that are unfair? When the
righteous turn away from their righteousness
and commit iniquity, they shall die for it; for the
iniquity that they have committed they shall
die. Again, when the wicked turn away from
the wickedness they have committed and do
what is lawful and right, they shall save their
life. Because they considered and turned away
from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die.
Yet the house of Israel says, The way of the
Lord is unfair. Ohouse of Israel, are my ways
unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?
Therefore I will judge you, Ohouse of
Israel, all of you according to your ways,
says the Lord God. Repent and turn from
all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity
will be your ruin.c Cast away from you all
a Heb he
b Gk: Heb the poor
c Or so that they shall not be a stumbling block of
iniquity to you
pledge, returns any security on a loan once a debt is repaid. Robbery, Lev 19.13 (HS). 8: Interest, Lev 25.36 (HS).
Executes true justice, Lev 19.15 (HS); Zech 7.9. 1013: Second, wicked generation. A life opposite to that of the
father is represented. 10: Shedder of blood, 16.38; 22.3; 23.45; 33.25; Num 35.3334 (HS). 1418: Third, righteous
generation; another reversal. 1920: Summation: neither the righteousness nor the wickedness of a previous
generation is transferable to the next; cf. Deut 24.16. 2124: Within an individuals life the same argument pertains. 23: See v. 4n. 2529: To object is to misunderstand Gods justice; cf. 33.17,20. 3032: The invitation to repentance is open (cf. 14.6; 33.11). The prophets call that the people create for themselves a new heart and a new
spirit is later replaced by an emphasis that God will have to take the initiative and perform this action (36.26n.;
cf. 11.19; Jer 32.39). Why will you die? see 33.11n.
1184 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 19
the transgressions that you have committed
against me, and get yourselves a new heart
and a new spirit! Why will you die, Ohouse
of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the
death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn,
then, and live.
As for you, raise up a lamentation for
the princes of Israel, and say:
What a lioness was your mother
among lions!
She lay down among young lions,
rearing her cubs.
She raised up one of her cubs;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured humans.
The nations sounded an alarm against
him;
he was caught in their pit;
and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
When she saw that she was thwarted,
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.
He prowled among the lions;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured people.
And he ravaged their strongholds,a
and laid waste their towns;
the land was appalled, and all in it,
at the sound of his roaring.
The nations set upon him
from the provinces all around;
they spread their net over him;
he was caught in their pit.
19
With hooks they put him in a cage,

and brought him to the king of
Babylon;
they brought him into custody,
so that his voice should be heard no more
on the mountains of Israel.
Your mother was like a vine in a
vineyardb
transplanted by the water,
fruitful and full of branches
from abundant water.
Its strongest stem became
a rulers scepter;c
it towered aloft
among the thick boughs;
it stood out in its height
with its mass of branches.
But it was plucked up in fury,
cast down to the ground;
the east wind dried it up;
its fruit was stripped o,
its strong stem was withered;
the re consumed it.
Now it is transplanted into the
wilderness,
into a dry and thirsty land.
And re has gone out from its stem,
has consumed its branches and fruit,
so that there remains in it no strong stem,
no scepter for ruling.
This is a lamentation, and it is used as a
lamentation.
a Heb his widows
b Cn: Heb in your blood
c Heb Its strongest stems became rulers scepters
19.114: Two funeral dirges. 19: First dirge. 1: Lamentation, a parody of a dirge, condemning the exploitative
and high-handed rule of Judahs last monarchs. Princes, monarchic rulers (cf. 12.10; 19.1; 34.24; 37.25; 44.13n.).
2: The lioness is Judah (cf. Gen 49.9). 34: The rst cub is Jehoahaz, the king who was taken to Egypt in 609 bce
(2 Kings 23.3034; Jer 22.1012; 2 Chr 36.4). 59: The identity of the second cub is less certain. It could be King
Jehoiachin, who was exiled to Babylon in 597 bce (Jer 22.2430; 2 Kings 24.816), but is more likely King Zedekiah, likewise exiled to Babylon in 586 bce (2 Kings 25.7; Jer 39.7). If the laer, the two cubs would have the same
literal mother, Hamutal (2 Kings 23.31; 24.18; Jer 52.1). Alternatively, the second cub is Zedekiahs predecessor,
King Jehoiakim, although the biblical references to his being brought into custody (v. 9) by Nebuchadrezzar
and the Babylonians are of questionable historicity (2 Chr 36.6; Dan 1.12). Jehoiakim ts the description of the
second cub in that the land was appalled (v. 7) during his reign (cf. 2 Kings 24.4; Jer 22.1319).
19.1014: Second dirge. 10: The vine is Judah, and its wild, towering growth signals arrogant pride. 1113:
The strongest stem is King Zedekiah, who was dried up by the east wind (Nebuchadrezzar, 17.10) and transplanted
(taken to Babylon). If the reading of textual note c is correct, however, two Judean kings, both Jehoiachin and
Zedekiah, are in view.
hebrew bible | 1185
ezekiel 20
20
In the seventh year, in the fth

month, on the tenth day of the
month, certain elders of Israel came to
consult the Lord, and sat down before me.
And the word of the Lord came to me:
Mortal, speak to the elders of Israel, and say
to them: Thus says the Lord God: Why are
you coming? To consult me? As I live, says
the Lord God, I will not be consulted by you.
Will you judge them, mortal, will you judge
them? Then let them know the abominations
of their ancestors, and say to them: Thus
says the Lord God: On the day when I chose
Israel, I swore to the ospring of the house
of Jacobmaking myself known to them in
the land of EgyptI swore to them, saying, I
am the Lord your God. On that day I swore
to them that I would bring them out of the
land of Egypt into a land that I had searched
out for them, a land owing with milk and
honey, the most glorious of all lands. And I
said to them, Cast away the detestable things
your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do
not dele yourselves with the idols of Egypt;
I am the Lord your God. But they rebelled
against me and would not listen to me; not
one of them cast away the detestable things
their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the
idols of Egypt.
Then I thought I would pour out my wrath

upon them and spend my anger against them
in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted
for the sake of my name, that it should not be
profaned in the sight of the nations among
whom they lived, in whose sight I made
myself known to them in bringing them out
of the land of Egypt. So I led them out of
the land of Egypt and brought them into
the wilderness. I gave them my statutes
and showed them my ordinances, by whose
observance everyone shall live. Moreover I
gave them my sabbaths, as a sign between me
and them, so that they might know that I the
Lord sanctify them. But the house of Israel
rebelled against me in the wilderness; they
did not observe my statutes but rejected my
ordinances, by whose observance everyone
shall live; and my sabbaths they greatly
profaned.
upon them in the wilderness, to make an
end of them. But I acted for the sake of my
name, so that it should not be profaned in
the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had
brought them out. Moreover I swore to
them in the wilderness that I would not bring
them into the land that I had given them, a
land owing with milk and honey, the most
20.144: Israels pa+ern of rebellion. The passage is not intended as a chronological account but as a theological narrative about the peoples ingrained waywardness, evident in a paern of rebellion despite Gods selfrevelation (vv. 59,1017,1826). Israel has repeatedly failed to know the Lord, appreciate the Lords holiness
(vv. 12,20,26), and demonstrate this holiness before the world (vv. 9,14,22,39,41). The eect of Ezekiels rhetoric
is to drive home how this same rebellious paern is inevitable for the present generation (vv. 3032). 14: Date:
August 14, 591 bce. All consultation of the Lord is prohibited (see v. 31n.; 3.2227n.; 14.111n.). 59: Rebellion in
Egypt. 5: I am the Lord your God, Ex 6.7 (HS). 6: On Gods oath to bring the people to the promised land, see Ex
6.8 (HS). A land owing with milk and honey, v. 15; Lev 20.24 (HS; cf. Ex 3.8; Deut 6.3). Most glorious of all lands, in
Ezekiel God is intensely, even patriotically devoted to the sacred land of Israel (Lev 25.23 [HS]; Ezek 7.22; 34.26;
35.10; 36.5). 78: I am the Lord your God, Lev 19.4 (HS). Idolatrous worship in Egypt is mentioned explicitly in
Josh 24.14. The Exodus narratives themselves lack information on Hebrew worship practices in Egypt, but Ex
32.16 suggests that the people had grown comfortable with worship of images and orgiastic rites. 9: For the
sake of my name (vv. 14,22,39,44; cf. 36.2023; 39.7,25; 43.78), the motif in Ezekiel of Gods intense concern
with the honor of the divine name comes straight out of the Holiness School (see Lev 18.21; 19.12; 20.3; 21.6;
22.2,32 [HS]). The motif emphasizes the mystery of Gods mercy (see 36.2232n.) over against Israels fossilized
heart (cf. 2.4; 3.7; 20.33; 36.26). The people are not, and have not been, pleasing to God, so God must act in a
manner set by Gods character (Gods name) and by Gods intention to infuse the world with divine holiness,
not based on how humans make God feel. Only Gods proactive grace has preserved Israel in the past and gives
the people hope for the future. 1017: Rebellion in the wilderness. 11: Lev 18.5 (HS). 1213: Ezekiel is inuenced
by the emphasis on the sabbath in the Holiness School (Ex 31.13; Lev 19.30; 26.2 [HS]). In this tradition, keeping
the sabbath is a sign of the holiness and priestly service of all Gods people. For a particular example of violation
of the sabbath within the narratives of the Holiness School, see Ex 16.2730. 13b17: Ex 32.914; Num 14.1120;
1186 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 20
glorious of all lands, because they rejected
my ordinances and did not observe my
statutes, and profaned my sabbaths; for their
heart went after their idols. Nevertheless
my eye spared them, and I did not destroy
them or make an end of them in the wilderness.
I said to their children in the wilderness,
Do not follow the statutes of your parents,
nor observe their ordinances, nor dele
yourselves with their idols. I the Lord am
your God; follow my statutes, and be careful
to observe my ordinances, and hallow my
sabbaths that they may be a sign between
me and you, so that you may know that I
the Lord am your God. But the children
rebelled against me; they did not follow my
statutes, and were not careful to observe my
ordinances, by whose observance everyone
shall live; they profaned my sabbaths.
upon them and spend my anger against
them in the wilderness. But I withheld my
hand, and acted for the sake of my name, so
that it should not be profaned in the sight
of the nations, in whose sight I had brought
them out. Moreover I swore to them in the
wilderness that I would scatter them among
the nations and disperse them through the
countries, because they had not executed
my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes
and profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes
were set on their ancestors idols. Moreover
I gave them statutes that were not good and
ordinances by which they could not live. I
deled them through their very gifts, in their
oering up all their rstborn, in order that I
might horrify them, so that they might know
that I am the Lord.
Therefore, mortal, speak to the house
of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord
God: In this again your ancestors blasphemed

me, by dealing treacherously with me. For
when I had brought them into the land that
I swore to give them, then wherever they
saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there
they oered their sacrices and presented
the provocation of their oering; there they
sent up their pleasing odors, and there they
poured out their drink oerings. (I said
to them, What is the high place to which
you go? So it is called Bamaha to this day.)
Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus
says the Lord God: Will you dele yourselves
after the manner of your ancestors and go
astray after their detestable things? When
you oer your gifts and make your children
pass through the re, you dele yourselves
with all your idols to this day. And shall I be
consulted by you, Ohouse of Israel? As I live,
says the Lord God, I will not be consulted by
you.
What is in your mind shall never happenthe thought, Let us be like the nations,
like the tribes of the countries, and worship
wood and stone.
As I live, says the Lord God, surely with
a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and
with wrath poured out, I will be king over
you. I will bring you out from the peoples
and gather you out of the countries where
you are scattered, with a mighty hand and
an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured
out; and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter
into judgment with you face to face. As I
entered into judgment with your ancestors in
the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will
enter into judgment with you, says the Lord
God. I will make you pass under the sta,
a That is High Place
Deut 9.2529. 1826: Rebellion of the next generation. 2526: The people may have been using the law of
the rstborn (Ex 22.29; 34.19) to legitimate child sacrice (16.2022n.). The notion that Gods law may be an
occasion of punishment, unique in the Hebrew Bible, recurs in Rom 7.713. 2732: Application of the passage
to Ezekiels contemporaries. 29: High place, 6.3n. The Heb word for high place (bamah) is explained by the
preceding words (what [mah] and go [ba]). 31: On making children pass through the re, see 16.2022n.;
23.37; Deut 18.10; 2 Kings 16.3; 17.17; 21.6. The end of the verse echoes v. 3, forming an inclusio (envelope) around
the passage. Judgment on the peoples faithless state is xed: Ezekiel can not intervene for them with God (see
3.2227n.). 3338: A new Exodus and judgment in the wilderness. This is an oracle of promise, but with an
angry tone dating prior to Jerusalems destruction in 586 bce. God will triumph with Israel, through force if necessary. (In accord with Zion theology, the election of Gods people is ultimately irrevocable. See Introduction;
hebrew bible | 1187
ezekiel 21
and will bring you within the bond of the
covenant. I will purge out the rebels among
you, and those who transgress against me; I
will bring them out of the land where they
reside as aliens, but they shall not enter the
land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am
the Lord.
As for you, Ohouse of Israel, thus says
the Lord God: Go serve your idols, every
one of you now and hereafter, if you will not
listen to me; but my holy name you shall no
more profane with your gifts and your idols.
For on my holy mountain, the mountain
height of Israel, says the Lord God, there all
the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve
me in the land; there I will accept them, and
there I will require your contributions and
the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred
things. As a pleasing odor I will accept you,
when I bring you out from the peoples, and
gather you out of the countries where you
have been scattered; and I will manifest my
holiness among you in the sight of the nations. You shall know that I am the Lord,
when I bring you into the land of Israel, the
country that I swore to give to your ancestors. There you shall remember your ways
and all the deeds by which you have polluted
yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves
for all the evils that you have committed.
And you shall know that I am the Lord,
when I deal with you for my names sake, not
according to your evil ways, or corrupt deeds,
Ohouse of Israel, says the Lord God.
aThe word of the Lord came to me:
Mortal, set your face toward the south,
preach against the south, and prophesy
against the forest land in the Negeb; say to
the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the
Lord: Thus says the Lord God, I will kindle
a re in you, and it shall devour every green
tree in you and every dry tree; the blazing
ame shall not be quenched, and all faces

from south to north shall be scorched by
it. All esh shall see that I the Lord have
kindled it; it shall not be quenched. Then I
said, Ah Lord God! they are saying of me, Is
he not a maker of allegories?
b The word of the Lord came to me:
Mortal, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries;
prophesy against the land of Israel and say
to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: I am
coming against you, and will draw my sword
out of its sheath, and will cut o from you
both righteous and wicked. Because I will
cut o from you both righteous and wicked,
therefore my sword shall go out of its sheath
against all esh from south to north; and all
esh shall know that I the Lord have drawn
my sword out of its sheath; it shall not be
sheathed again. Moan therefore, mortal;
moan with breaking heart and bitter grief
before their eyes. And when they say to you,
Why do you moan? you shall say, Because
of the news that has come. Every heart will
melt and all hands will be feeble, every spirit
will faint and all knees will turn to water. See,
it comes and it will be fullled, says the Lord
God.
And the word of the Lord came to me:
Mortal, prophesy and say: Thus says the
Lord; Say:
A sword, a sword is sharpened,
it is also polished;
it is sharpened for slaughter,
honed to ash like lightning!
How can we make merry?
You have despised the rod,
and all discipline.c
21
a Ch 21.1 in Heb
b Ch 21.6 in Heb
Lev 26.42 [HS].) As in the wilderness (Num 14.2635 [HS]), the unfaithful will be purged. 37: Pass under the sta,
see Lev 27.32 (HS). 3944: Final acceptance. Aer the new Exodus, God will restore the people to Zion, and their
sacrices will again be acceptable. Deity, nation, and land will be united in covenant once and for all. 40: Ezekiels Zion theology (cf. 5.5n.; 28.14; 40:2; 43.12; Ob 16; Zech 8.3; Joel 3.17). Mountain height of Israel, 17.23; 34.14.
20.4521.32: Sword prophecies (Lev 26.25,33 [HS]). 20.4521.7: The sword against all esh. 20.4549: South
and Negeb both stand for Judah and Jerusalem, which lie south of their aackers. 49: The people cannot take a
claim of Jerusalems vulnerability seriously (see 2.6n.; 3.7; 33.32). 21.15: The preceding forest re is interpreted
as the sword of God. 67: The message is reiterated through an expressive action.
21.817: Song of the sword. The sword is rst polished (vv. 813), and then it will be engaged (vv. 1417). 12:
1188 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 21
The sworda is given to be polished,
to be grasped in the hand;
it is sharpened, the sword is polished,
to be placed in the slayers hand.
Cry and wail, Omortal,
for it is against my people;
it is against all Israels princes;
they are thrown to the sword,
together with my people.
Ah! Strike the thigh!
For consider: What! If you despise the rod,
will it not happen?b says the Lord God.
And you, mortal, prophesy;
strike hand to hand.
Let the sword fall twice, thrice;
it is a sword for killing.
A sword for great slaughter
it surrounds them;
therefore hearts melt
and many stumble.
At all their gates I have set
the pointb of the sword.
Ah! It is made for ashing,
it is polishedc for slaughter.
Attack to the right!
Engage to the left!
wherever your edge is directed.
I too will strike hand to hand,
I will satisfy my fury;
I the Lord have spoken.
The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, mark out two roads for the sword of the
king of Babylon to come; both of them shall
issue from the same land. And make a signpost,
make it for a fork in the road leading to a city;
mark out the road for the sword to come to
Rabbah of the Ammonites or to Judah and tod
Jerusalem the fortied. For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the fork
in the two roads, to use divination; he shakes

the arrows, he consults the teraphim,e he
inspects the liver. Into his right hand comes
the lot for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to
call out for slaughter, for raising the battle cry,
to set battering rams against the gates, to cast
up ramps, to build siege towers. But to them
it will seem like a false divination; they have
sworn solemn oaths; but he brings their guilt to
remembrance, bringing about their capture.
Because you have brought your guilt to
remembrance, in that your transgressions are
uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins
appearbecause you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.f
As for you, vile, wicked prince of Israel,
you whose day has come,
the time of nal punishment,
thus says the Lord God:
Remove the turban, take o the crown;
things shall not remain as they are.
Exalt that which is low,
abase that which is high.
A ruin, a ruin, a ruin
I will make it!
(Such has never occurred.)
Until he comes whose right it is;
to him I will give it.
As for you, mortal, prophesy, and say,
Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; say:
a
b
c
d
e
f
Heb It
Tg: Heb wrapped up
Gk Syr: Heb Judah in
Or the household gods
Or be taken captive
Strike the thigh, a sign of mourning (Jer 31.19). 14: Strike hand to hand, in vexation (also v. 17; cf. 6.11).
21.1832: The sword of Nebuchadrezzar. 1824: A symbolic act. 20: Rabbah (modern Amman, Jordan), capital of Ammon (25.5). 21: Perhaps from Riblah (see 2 Kings 25.6), Nebuchadrezzar uses divination to determine
which rebel to aack rst: belomancy (i.e., casting of arrows inscribed with names of projected victims); necromancy (teraphim were a traditional familys religious images, perhaps ancestor gurines [Gen 31.19; 1 Sam 19.13],
sometimes expected to convey messages to the living [see Zech 10.2]); and hepatoscopy (making predictions
based on the congurations and markings of animal livers). 22: The sword is about to fallon Jerusalem! 23: The
results of the divination seem false to the Jerusalemites, since they believe Jerusalem invulnerable (20.49n.).
2527: The sword will strike Zedekiah, Judahs last king (Jer 21.7). To him, i.e., to Nebuchadrezzar. Ezekiel turns
language drawn from Gen 49.10 upside down in order to destroy the false hopes of the Jerusalemites. 21.2832:
A poem addressing the Babylonian sword directly and telling it of its own eventual punishment. 28: A prose
introduction alerts the Ammonites (see v. 20) that their glee over the swords work (25.3,6) will be short-lived.
hebrew bible | 1189
ezekiel 22
A sword, a sword! Drawn for slaughter,
polished to consume,a to ash like
lightning.
Oering false visions for you,
divining lies for you,
they place you over the necks
of the vile, wicked ones
those whose day has come,
the time of nal punishment.
Return it to its sheath!
In the place where you were created,
in the land of your origin,
I will judge you.
I will pour out my indignation upon you,
with the re of my wrath
I will blow upon you.
I will deliver you into brutish hands,
those skillful to destroy.
You shall be fuel for the re,
your blood shall enter the earth;
you shall be remembered no more,
for I the Lord have spoken.
You, mortal, will you judge, will you
judge the bloody city? Then declare to it all
its abominable deeds. You shall say, Thus
says the Lord God: A city! Shedding blood
within itself; its time has come; making
its idols, deling itself. You have become
guilty by the blood that you have shed, and
deled by the idols that you have made; you
have brought your day near, the appointed
time of your years has come. Therefore I
have made you a disgrace before the nations,
and a mockery to all the countries. Those
who are near and those who are far from
you will mock you, you infamous one, full of
tumult.
The princes of Israel in you, everyone
according to his power, have been bent on
shedding blood. Father and mother are
treated with contempt in you; the alien residing within you suers extortion; the orphan
and the widow are wronged in you. You have
22
despised my holy things, and profaned my

sabbaths. In you are those who slander to
shed blood, those in you who eat upon the
mountains, who commit lewdness in your
midst. In you they uncover their fathers
nakedness; in you they violate women in
their menstrual periods. One commits
abomination with his neighbors wife; another lewdly deles his daughter-in-law; another
in you deles his sister, his fathers daughter.
In you, they take bribes to shed blood;
you take both advance interest and accrued
interest, and make gain of your neighbors by
extortion; and you have forgotten me, says
the Lord God.
See, I strike my hands together at the
dishonest gain you have made, and at the
blood that has been shed within you. Can
your courage endure, or can your hands
remain strong in the days when I shall deal
with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will
do it. I will scatter you among the nations
and disperse you through the countries, and
I will purge your lthiness out of you. And
Ib shall be profaned through you in the sight
of the nations; and you shall know that I am
the Lord.
The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, the house of Israel has become dross to
me; all of them, silver,c bronze, tin, iron, and
lead. In the smelter they have become dross.
Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because
you have all become dross, I will gather you
into the midst of Jerusalem. As one gathers silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into a
smelter, to blow the re upon them in order
to melt them; so I will gather you in my anger
and in my wrath, and I will put you in and
melt you. I will gather you and blow upon
a Cn: Heb to contain
b Gk Syr Vg: Heb you
c Transposed from the end of the verse; compare
verse 20
29: Divination (v. 21) has directed the swords use. 3032: Although Nebuchadrezzar served as Gods agent, he
himself, and Babylonia, will eventually face Gods judgment.
22.131: Prophecies of smelting judgment. 22.116: A prophecy against Jerusalem, the bloody city. The indictment of vv. 612 contains a catalogue of sins based on the regulations of the Holiness School (Lev 1820).
1316: In scorn and anger (strike my hands together, 21.14,17) God will punish this bloody city (18.10n.; Num
35.3334 [HS]).
22.1722: Israel is dross. The judgment will be like a smelter in which base metals are removed.
1190 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 23
you with the re of my wrath, and you shall
be melted within it. As silver is melted in a
smelter, so you shall be melted in it; and you
shall know that I the Lord have poured out
my wrath upon you.
Mortal, say to it: You are a land that is
not cleansed, not rained upon in the day of
indignation. Its princesa within it are like
a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have
devoured human lives; they have taken
treasure and precious things; they have
made many widows within it. Its priests
have done violence to my teaching and have
profaned my holy things; they have made no
distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the dierence
between the unclean and the clean, and they
have disregarded my sabbaths, so that I am
profaned among them. Its ocials within
it are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding
blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.
Its prophets have smeared whitewash on
their behalf, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, Thus says the Lord
God, when the Lord has not spoken. The
people of the land have practiced extortion
and committed robbery; they have oppressed
the poor and needy, and have extorted from
the alien without redress. And I sought for
anyone among them who would repair the
wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it;
but I found no one. Therefore I have poured
out my indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the re of my wrath; I have
returned their conduct upon their heads, says

the Lord God.
Mortal, there were two women, the
daughters of one mother; they played the
whore in Egypt; they played the whore in
their youth; their breasts were caressed there,
and their virgin bosoms were fondled. Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah
the name of her sister. They became mine,
and they bore sons and daughters. As for
their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
Oholah played the whore while she was
mine; she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriorsb clothed in blue, governors
and commanders, all of them handsome
young men, mounted horsemen. She bestowed her favors upon them, the choicest
men of Assyria all of them; and she deled
herself with all the idols of everyone for
whom she lusted. She did not give up her
whorings that she had practiced since Egypt;
for in her youth men had lain with her and
fondled her virgin bosom and poured out
their lust upon her. Therefore I delivered her
into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of
the Assyrians, for whom she lusted. These
uncovered her nakedness; they seized her
sons and her daughters; and they killed her
with the sword. Judgment was executed
upon her, and she became a byword among
women.
23
a Gk: Heb indignation. 25A conspiracy of its prophets

22.2331: All classes are corrupt. This oracle seems to come aer Jerusalems fall in 586 bce (see v. 31) and
describes Judahs sinfulness in retrospect. All classes of Judean society were corrupt, and all must be punished;
cf. Jer 8.810; Zeph 3.34. 26: 42.20; 44.23; Lev 10.1011 (HS). 28: 13.1016n. 30: 13.5n.
23.149: The allegory of the sisters, Oholah and Oholibah (cf. ch 16). 14: Introduction. 3: In Egypt, thus
Israels apostasy was deep-rooted (20.59). 4: The wordplay Oholah, her [own] tent, (i.e., Samaria, which had
been the northern kingdom of Israel), and Oholibah, my tent [is] in her (i.e., Jerusalem), may suggest that
though the northern kingdom had shrines to Yahweh, Gods real dwelling (tent) was in Jerusalem, thus emphasizing the enormity of Judahs apostasy. The two names are reminiscent of the Israelites origins as tentdwelling peoples (see Gen 36.2 for a similar type of name). Oholah/Samaria is a bigger sister, not necessarily
an elder one (see 16.46n.). Ezekiel borrowed the image of the marrying of sisters from Jeremiah (Jer 3.611). 510:
Oholah. The northern kingdom is condemned for its alliances with Assyria (e.g., 2 Kings 15.19; 17.3). Like Jeremiah (4.30; same rare word for lovers as in Ezek 23.5,9), Ezekiel viewed foreign alliances as disloyalty to God.
For Ezekiel, true realism was not political pragmatism but trust in Gods geopolitical prerogative. 10: The fall of
Samaria to Assyria in 722 bce. 1121: Indictment of Oholibah. Jerusalem, like Samaria, is condemned for its foreign alliances. Judah had allied itself with Assyria (2 Kings 16.79) and then with Babylon (17.13; 2 Kings 24.1,17;
hebrew bible | 1191
ezekiel 23
Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was
more corrupt than she in her lusting and in
her whorings, which were worse than those
of her sister. She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriorsa
clothed in full armor, mounted horsemen, all
of them handsome young men. And I saw
that she was deled; they both took the same
way. But she carried her whorings further;
she saw male gures carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,
with belts around their waists, with owing
turbans on their heads, all of them looking like ocersa picture of Babylonians
whose native land was Chaldea. When she
saw them she lusted after them, and sent
messengers to them in Chaldea. And the
Babylonians came to her into the bed of love,
and they deled her with their lust; and after
she deled herself with them, she turned
from them in disgust. When she carried on
her whorings so openly and aunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had
turned from her sister. Yet she increased
her whorings, remembering the days of her
youth, when she played the whore in the land
of Egypt and lusted after her paramours
there, whose members were like those of
donkeys, and whose emission was like that of
stallions. Thus you longed for the lewdness
of your youth, when the Egyptiansb fondled your bosom and caressedc your young
breasts.
Therefore, OOholibah, thus says the
Lord God: I will rouse against you your lovers
from whom you turned in disgust, and I will
bring them against you from every side: the
Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod
and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians
with them, handsome young men, governors and commanders all of them, ocers
and warriors,d all of them riding on horses.
They shall come against you from the
northe with chariots and wagons and a host
of peoples; they shall set themselves against

you on every side with buckler, shield, and
helmet, and I will commit the judgment to
them, and they shall judge you according to
their ordinances. I will direct my indignation against you, in order that they may deal
with you in fury. They shall cut o your nose
and your ears, and your survivors shall fall
by the sword. They shall seize your sons and
your daughters, and your survivors shall
be devoured by re. They shall also strip
you of your clothes and take away your ne
jewels. So I will put an end to your lewdness
and your whoring brought from the land of
Egypt; you shall not long for them, or remember Egypt any more. For thus says the Lord
God: I will deliver you into the hands of those
whom you hate, into the hands of those from
whom you turned in disgust; and they shall
deal with you in hatred, and take away all the
fruit of your labor, and leave you naked and
bare, and the nakedness of your whorings
shall be exposed. Your lewdness and your
whorings have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations,
and polluted yourself with their idols. You
have gone the way of your sister; therefore I
will give her cup into your hand. Thus says
the Lord God:
You shall drink your sisters cup,
deep and wide;
you shall be scorned and derided,
it holds so much.
You shall be lled with drunkenness and
sorrow.
A cup of horror and desolation
is the cup of your sister Samaria;
a
b
c
d

Two Mss: MT from Egypt
Cn: Heb for the sake of
Compare verses 6 and 12: Heb ocers and called
ones
e Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
cf. Isa 39.18). 17: Judah swung to an anti-Babylonian policy (2 Kings 24.20; Jer 27.3). 19: The passage moves to
the contemporary event of Judahs alliance with Egypt (17.7,15). 20: The reference is to oversized genitals and
ejaculations; cf. 16.26n. Horses are proverbially oversexed (Jer 5.8). 2235: Announcements about Oholibahs
punishment. 23: Kindred allies of the Babylonians included Pekod (an important Aramean tribe in southeast
Babylonia), Shoa and Koa (unknown tribes). The three names sound like Hebrew words for punishment! war
cry! and shriek! and Ezekiel may have chosen the names to produce a striking wordplay. Assyrian troops were
co-opted by their Babylonian conquerors. 3234: The poem of the cup of wrath (Jer 25.1529; Hab 2.16; Ob 16)
1192 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 24
you shall drink it and drain it out,
and gnaw its sherds,
and tear out your breasts;
for I have spoken, says the Lord God. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you
have forgotten me and cast me behind your
back, therefore bear the consequences of
your lewdness and whorings.
The Lord said to me: Mortal, will you
judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare
to them their abominable deeds. For they
have committed adultery, and blood is on
their hands; with their idols they have committed adultery; and they have even oered
up to them for food the children whom they
had borne to me. Moreover this they have
done to me: they have deled my sanctuary
on the same day and profaned my sabbaths.
For when they had slaughtered their
children for their idols, on the same day they
came into my sanctuary to profane it. This is
what they did in my house.
They even sent for men to come from far
away, to whom a messenger was sent, and they
came. For them you bathed yourself, painted
your eyes, and decked yourself with ornaments;
you sat on a stately couch, with a table spread
before it on which you had placed my incense
and my oil. The sound of a raucous multitude was around her, with many of the rabble
brought in drunken from the wilderness; and
they put bracelets on the armsa of the women,
and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
Then I said, Ah, she is worn out with
adulteries, but they carry on their sexual acts
with her. For they have gone in to her, as one
goes in to a whore. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, wanton women. But
righteous judges shall declare them guilty of
adultery and of bloodshed; because they are
adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
For thus says the Lord God: Bring up an

assembly against them, and make them an
object of terror and of plunder. The assembly shall stone them and with their swords
they shall cut them down; they shall kill their
sons and their daughters, and burn up their
houses. Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, so that all women may take
warning and not commit lewdness as you
have done. They shall repay you for your
lewdness, and you shall bear the penalty for
your sinful idolatry; and you shall know that
I am the Lord God.
In the ninth year, in the tenth month,
on the tenth day of the month, the
word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, write
down the name of this day, this very day. The
king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem
this very day. And utter an allegory to the
rebellious house and say to them, Thus says
the Lord God:
Set on the pot, set it on,
pour in water also;
put in it the pieces,
all the good pieces, the thigh and the
shoulder;
ll it with choice bones.
Take the choicest one of the ock,
pile the logsb under it;
boil its pieces,c
seethed also its bones in it.
24

Woe to the bloody city,
the pot whose rust is in it,
whose rust has not gone out of it!
a
b
c
d
Heb hands
Compare verse 10: Heb the bones
Two Mss: Heb its boilings
Cn: Heb its bones seethe
links Jerusalems fate with Samarias. 3649: The case against the sisters. As adulterers are stoned (Lev 20.10),
so the adultery (i.e., idolatry, child sacrice, profanation of the sabbath, foreign alliances) of Samaria and Judah
has been and will be punishedwith death. 37: 16.2022n. 40: Cf. vv. 1617. 48: Oholibahs fate becomes an
object lesson (cf. v. 10; 26.16; 27.35; 30.9).
24:114: The allegory of the pot is a disputation with those still quoting nationalistic slogans about Jerusalem being as inviolable as a cauldron (11.3). Ezekiel turns the cauldron image on its head by depicting it as a
dirty pot about to be cleaned by overheating (like a modern self-cleaning oven; vv. 5,9) until the bones inside
are burned (v. 10). 1: January 15, 588 bce, the day that the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem began. 5: Jerusalem will
be boiled as its assailants heap siege equipment around it. 68: Going beyond mere interpretation, these verses
expand the image of the pot to provide reasons for Jerusalems punishment. Rust, or, alternatively, encrusted
hebrew bible | 1193
ezekiel 24
Empty it piece by piece,
making no choice at all.a
For the blood she shed is inside it;
she placed it on a bare rock;
she did not pour it out on the ground,
to cover it with earth.
To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance,
I have placed the blood she shed
on a bare rock,
so that it may not be covered.
Woe to the bloody city!
I will even make the pile great.
Heap up the logs, kindle the re;
boil the meat well, mix in the spices,
let the bones be burned.
Stand it empty upon the coals,
so that it may become hot, its copper
glow,
its lth melt in it, its rust be consumed.
In vain I have wearied myself;b
its thick rust does not depart.
To the re with its rust!c
Yet, when I cleansed you in your lthy
lewdness,
you did not become clean from your
lth;
you shall not again be cleansed
until I have satised my fury upon you.
I the Lord have spoken; the time is coming,
I will act. I will not refrain, I will not spare, I
will not relent. According to your ways and
your doings I will judge you, says the Lord
God.
Mortal, with one blow I am about to take
away from you the delight of your eyes; yet

you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your
tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud; make
no mourning for the dead. Bind on your
turban, and put your sandals on your feet;
do not cover your upper lip or eat the bread
of mourners.d So I spoke to the people in
the morning, and at evening my wife died.
And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.
Then the people said to me, Will you
not tell us what these things mean for us,
that you are acting this way? Then I said
to them: The word of the Lord came to me:
Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the
Lord God: I will profane my sanctuary, the
pride of your power, the delight of your eyes,
and your hearts desire; and your sons and
your daughters whom you left behind shall
fall by the sword. And you shall do as I have
done; you shall not cover your upper lip or
eat the bread of mourners.d Your turbans
shall be on your heads and your sandals on
your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but
you shall pine away in your iniquities and
groan to one another. Thus Ezekiel shall be
a sign to you; you shall do just as he has done.
When this comes, then you shall know that I
am the Lord God.
And you, mortal, on the day when I
take from them their stronghold, their joy
a
b
c
d
Heb piece, no lot has fallen on it

Vg Tg: Heb of men
gunk (also vv. 1112), represents injustice and bloodguilt (22.612).

24.1527: The sign of the death of Ezekiels wife. Ezekiels symbolic action shows the people that the loss
of the Temple and cherished persons at Jerusalems ery destruction in 586 bce will bring profound recognition, reverent awe, and the submergence of ego. The people will mirror Aarons silent mourning following the
release of holy re in Lev 10.17, when God manifested the divine holiness and took two of Aarons sons with
one blow. Ezek 24.17 uses the same Heb verb as Lev 10.3. 1617: The Lord commands the prophet to stie all
expressions of grief and forgo all rituals of mourning, such as the unbinding of the hair, the removal of shoes,
the covering of the upper lip, and the eating of the bread of mourners. Ezekiel is again drawing from Lev 10.17,
where the Holiness School stresses that Aarons silence at Gods epiphany should properly include shunning
all participation in mourning and funerary rituals. Holiness and death are antithetical realities for the Holiness
School, and those in contact with Gods holiness must avoid the realm of death, mourning, and burial (see
44.25n.). In acting out Aarons avoidance of mourning, Ezekiel conveys to the people that the fall of Jerusalem
will be a major epiphany of divine holiness on earth. 2224: The peoples deep, silent grief will signify a profound discernment of divine judgment (in contrast to their previous skepticism and enmity toward Ezekiel).
It will also entail recognition of Gods otherness (v. 24), which will aord the exiles the gracious opportunity
1194 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 25
Carchemish
Mediterranean
Sea
Nineveh
AS S YRI A
Cyprus
gris
Sidon
i
R.T
R. Euphrates
Mediterranean
Sea
MED I A
Asshur
ARAM
Damascus
Tyre
EL AM
B AB YL O NI A
Babylon
Samaria
R. Jordan
ISRAEL
(EPHRAIM)
AMMON
A
IS
TI
Rabbah
IL
Jerusalem
Heshbon
rs
EGYPT
ia
Gu
lf
Tema
Thebes
Dedan
PH
Gath?
Ashkelon
Dead
Sea
O P HI R
MOAB
Red
JUDAH
Gaza
Pe
Dumah
le
Ni
Ekron
Kedar
R.
Ashdod
Migdol
Tahpanhes
Memphis
Sea
The Negeb
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
Kir
ETHIOPIA
0
EDOM (SEIR)
200 Miles
200 Kilometers
S HEB A
Chs 2532: Places mentioned in the oracles against foreign nations.
and glory, the delight of their eyes and their

hearts aection, and alsoa their sons and
their daughters, on that day, one who has
escaped will come to you to report to you
the news. On that day your mouth shall be
opened to the one who has escaped, and you
shall speak and no longer be silent. So you
shall be a sign to them; and they shall know
that I am the Lord.
25

Mortal, set your face toward the
Ammonites and prophesy against them. Say
to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord
God: Thus says the Lord God, Because you
said, Aha! over my sanctuary when it was

profaned, and over the land of Israel when
it was made desolate, and over the house of
Judah when it went into exile; therefore I am
handing you over to the people of the east for
a possession. They shall set their encampments among you and pitch their tents in
your midst; they shall eat your fruit, and they
shall drink your milk. I will make Rabbah
a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for
ocks. Then you shall know that I am the
Lord. For thus says the Lord God: Because
you have clapped your hands and stamped
a Heb lacks and also
for self-transcendence. 2527: The release from speechlessness predicted. The prophets muted response to
the death of his wife has been a continuation of the divinely imposed bridling of his tongue in eect since his
commissioning (3.2227). When word of the fall of Jerusalem reaches Ezekiel (see 33.2122), his tongue will be
loosed (3.27), and he will proclaim a new message of restoration. At that time, Ezekiels speechlessness will be
transferred to and appropriated by the people (v. 23). That is, they will fully accept Gods insistence from the
start of the book on radically prioritizing the divine intention and its sure performance. They will drop a false
reliance on the pride of their power (v. 21) and their stronghold (v. 25).
25.132.32: Oracles against the nations. This part of Ezekiel is an eective bridge between the books message of doom and its message of hope. Here, doom for Israels antagonists spells hope for Israel itself. Seven nations (Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon, and Egypt) will be punished before Israel is restored (36.57).
25.117: Oracles against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. 17: Against Ammon (21.28; Am 1.1315; Jer
49.16). Ammon, which had maliciously gloated over Judahs fall (Lam 2.1516), is to be occupied by the people
of the east (v. 4; cf. Isa 11.14), i.e., nomadic Arab tribes. 5: Rabbah (modern Amman, Jordan) was the Ammonite
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ezekiel 26
your feet and rejoiced with all the malice
within you against the land of Israel, therefore I have stretched out my hand against
you, and will hand you over as plunder to the
nations. I will cut you o from the peoples
and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you shall know
that I am the Lord.
Thus says the Lord God: Because Moaba
said, The house of Judah is like all the other
nations, therefore I will lay open the ank
of Moab from the townsb on its frontier, the
glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim. I will give it along
with Ammon to the people of the east as a
possession. Thus Ammon shall be remembered no more among the nations, and I will
execute judgments upon Moab. Then they
shall know that I am the Lord.
Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom
acted revengefully against the house of Judah
and has grievously oended in taking vengeance upon them, therefore thus says the
Lord God, I will stretch out my hand against
Edom, and cut o from it humans and animals, and I will make it desolate; from Teman
even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword.
I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the
hand of my people Israel; and they shall act
in Edom according to my anger and according
to my wrath; and they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord God.
Thus says the Lord God: Because with
unending hostilities the Philistines acted in
vengeance, and with malice of heart took
revenge in destruction; therefore thus says
the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand
against the Philistines, cut o the Cherethites,
and destroy the rest of the seacoast. I will ex-
ecute great vengeance on them with wrathful

punishments. Then they shall know that I am
the Lord, when I lay my vengeance on them.
In the eleventh year, on the rst day of
the month, the word of the Lord came
to me: Mortal, because Tyre said concerning
Jerusalem,
Aha, broken is the gateway of the peoples;
it has swung open to me;
I shall be replenished,
now that it is wasted,
therefore, thus says the Lord God:
See, I am against you, OTyre!
I will hurl many nations against you,
as the sea hurls its waves.
They shall destroy the walls of Tyre
and break down its towers.
I will scrape its soil from it
and make it a bare rock.
It shall become, in the midst of the sea,
a place for spreading nets.
I have spoken, says the Lord God.
It shall become plunder for the nations,
and its daughter-towns in the country
shall be killed by the sword.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
For thus says the Lord God: I will bring
against Tyre from the north King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, king of kings, together
with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great and
powerful army.
Your daughter-towns in the country
he shall put to the sword.
He shall set up a siege wall against you,
cast up a ramp against you,
and raise a roof of shields against you.
26
a Gk Old Latin: Heb Moab and Seir

b Heb towns from its towns
capital. 811: Against Moab. Cf. Jer 48. 8: Cf. 20.32. 9: God will lay bare Moabs high tableland (ank) through the
destruction of the three northern fortied cities named. 1214: Against Edom. Cf. Jer 49.722; Ob; Ps 137.3. 12:
Vengeance, Ob 1014; Ps 137.7. 13: Destruction will stretch from Teman to Dedan, localities also associated with
Edom in Jer 49.78. 1517: Against Philistia. Cf. Jer 47. Cherethites, probably Cretans (the Philistines originally
came from the islands of the Aegean Sea; cf. 1 Sam 30.14; Am 9.7; Zeph 2.5; Jer 47.4).
26.128.19: Oracles against Tyre. 26.121: Tyre is to be destroyed by Nebuchadrezzar. 16: Tyre is judged for
gloating over the fall of Jerusalem, a commercial rival, and for looking forward to taking over the citys trade. 1:
Both the (partially preserved) Hebrew and Septuagint texts date the passage several months before Jerusalems
fall, anticipating it as having occurred already (v. 2). 714: Nebuchadrezzar will besiege the island city, which
lay about a half-mile (1 km) oshore from the mainland city, aer destroying the outlying selements on the
mainland (daughter-towns, v. 8). In fact, Nebuchadrezzar besieged the island of Tyre (aer the mainland fell) for
thirteen years. Tyre lost the war, but it was not destroyed or pillaged (as prophesied, v. 12). This state of aairs is
1196 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 27
He shall direct the shock of his battering
rams against your walls
and break down your towers with his
axes.
His horses shall be so many
that their dust shall cover you.
At the noise of cavalry, wheels, and
chariots
your very walls shall shake,
when he enters your gates
like those entering a breached city.
With the hoofs of his horses
he shall trample all your streets.
He shall put your people to the sword,
and your strong pillars shall fall to the
ground.
They will plunder your riches
and loot your merchandise;
they shall break down your walls
and destroy your ne houses.
Your stones and timber and soil
they shall cast into the water.
I will silence the music of your songs;
the sound of your lyres shall be heard
no more.
I will make you a bare rock;
you shall be a place for spreading nets.
You shall never again be rebuilt,
for I the Lord have spoken,
says the Lord God.
Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Shall
not the coastlands shake at the sound of
your fall, when the wounded groan, when
slaughter goes on within you? Then all the
princes of the sea shall step down from their
thrones; they shall remove their robes and
strip o their embroidered garments. They
shall clothe themselves with trembling, and
shall sit on the ground; they shall tremble
every moment, and be appalled at you. And
they shall raise a lamentation over you, and
say to you:
How you have vanisheda from the seas,

Ocity renowned,
once mighty on the sea,
you and your inhabitants,b
who imposed yourc terror
on all the mainland!d
Now the coastlands tremble
on the day of your fall;
the coastlands by the sea
are dismayed at your passing.
For thus says the Lord God: When I make
you a city laid waste, like cities that are not
inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you,
and the great waters cover you, then I will
thrust you down with those who descend
into the Pit, to the people of long ago, and I
will make you live in the world below, among
primeval ruins, with those who go down to
the Pit, so that you will not be inhabited or
have a placee in the land of the living. I will
bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be
no more; though sought for, you will never be
found again, says the Lord God.
Now you, mortal, raise a lamentation
over Tyre, and say to Tyre, which sits at the
entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples
on many coastlands, Thus says the Lord God:
OTyre, you have said,
I am perfect in beauty.
Your borders are in the heart of the seas;
your builders made perfect your beauty.
They made all your planks
of r trees from Senir;
they took a cedar from Lebanon
to make a mast for you.
27
a
b
c
d
e
Gk OL Aquila: Heb have vanished, Oinhabited one,

Heb it and its inhabitants
Heb their
Cn: Heb its inhabitants
Gk: Heb I will give beauty
addressed in 29.1721. Tyre nally fell to Alexander the Great in 332 bce. 11: Strong pillars probably refer to standing stones that represented deities. 14: Cf. vv. 45. 1518: Dirge of the princes of the sea, perhaps coastal cities in
trade alliance with Tyre. 1921: The simile of the aack of the sea in v. 3 is here converted and heightened into
mythic metaphor. The waters of the primordial deep (Gen 1.2) will cover the wasted city, which will descend into
the Pit (Sheol, see 31.1518; 32.1732; Isa 14.15), the abode of the dead.
27.136: Dirge over the ship Tyre. Ezekiels use of metaphorical language here as elsewhere serves his need
to push beyond the ordinarily observable and speak of ultimate realities. 125: Tyres glory. 2: Lamentation, better, a funerary dirge, in which present downfall is contrasted with past glory. 3: I am perfect in beauty is supposed to be Jerusalems epithet (16.14; Lam 2.15), not Tyres. 59: The text shis directly into the ship metaphor.
hebrew bible | 1197
ezekiel 27
From oaks of Bashan
they made your oars;
they made your deck of pinesa
from the coasts of Cyprus,
inlaid with ivory.
Of ne embroidered linen from Egypt
was your sail,
serving as your ensign;
blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah
was your awning.
The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad
were your rowers;
skilled men of Zemerb were within you,
they were your pilots.
The elders of Gebal and its artisans were
within you,
caulking your seams;
all the ships of the sea with their mariners
were within you,
to barter for your wares.
Parasc and Lud and Put
were in your army,
your mighty warriors;
they hung shield and helmet in you;
they gave you splendor.
Men of Arvad and Helechd
were on your walls all around;
men of Gamad were at your towers.
They hung their quivers all around your
walls;
they made perfect your beauty.
Tarshish did business with you out of
the abundance of your great wealth; silver,
iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your
wares. Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded
with you; they exchanged human beings

and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. Beth-togarmah exchanged for your
wares horses, war horses, and mules.
The Rhodianse traded with you; many
coastlands were your own special markets; they brought you in payment ivory
tusks and ebony. Edomf did business
with you because of your abundant goods;
they exchanged for your wares turquoise,
purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral,
and rubies. Judah and the land of Israel
traded with you; they exchanged for your
merchandise wheat from Minnith, millet,g
honey, oil, and balm. Damascus traded
with you for your abundant goodsbecause of your great wealth of every kind
wine of Helbon, and white wool. Vedan
and Javan from Uzalg entered into trade for
your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and sweet
cane were bartered for your merchandise.
Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths
for riding. Arabia and all the princes of
Kedar were your favored dealers in lambs,
rams, and goats; in these they did business
with you. The merchants of Sheba and
a Or boxwood
b Cn Compare Gen 10.18: Heb your skilled men,
c
d
e
f
g
OTyre
Or Persia
Or and your army
Gk: Heb The Dedanites
Another reading is Aram
The good ship Tyre was constructed of the best materials. 5: Senir is Mount Hermon, located in southern Syria
(Deut 3.9). 6: Bashan is east of the Sea of Galilee, known for its oak forests. 7: Elishah is probably Cyprus. 89:
The ships crew was from Sidon, Arvad, Zemer (textual note b), and Gebal (Byblos), Phoenician island and port
cities. 10: The ships warriors included those from Persia (textual note c), Lud (Lydia in western Asia Minor), and
Put (Libya). 11: Literal reality (Tyre as a city) momentarily intrudes into Ezekiels ship metaphor. Arvad, see v. 8.
Helech, possibly Cilicia, in southeastern Asia Minor. The men of Gamad are perhaps the Cimmerians or Cappadocians in eastern Asia Minor. 1225: A (mostly prose) description of the gallant ships cargo of rich wares from
many nations. Tyres commercial empire is described rst in horizontal fashion from west to east (vv. 1215): Tarshish, perhaps Tartessus in southern Spain or Sardinia; Javan, Ionians, i.e., the Greeks of the Aegean; Tubal and
Meshech, Assyrian Tabal and Mushki, peoples seled in Asia Minor; Beth-togarmah, Assyrian Tilgarimmu,
in eastern Asia Minor (Armenia), east of the southernmost Halys River, east of Tubal. The description then
moves vertically from south to northeast (vv. 1619): Edom; Judah and Israel; Minnith, an Ammonite city (Judg
11.33); Damascus; Helbon, a famed wine center thirteen miles north of Damascus. The Arabian region is treated
next (vv. 2022): Dedan, in northwest Arabia; Kedar, a tribal group of northern Arabia; Sheba and Raamah, in
southwest Arabia. Several Mesopotamian cities conclude the list (v. 23): Haran, in northwest Mesopotamia;
Canneh, a town near Haran; Eden, the Aramaean state of Bit-Adini, south of Haran; Asshur, south of Nineveh;
1198 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 28
Raamah traded with you; they exchanged
for your wares the best of all kinds of
spices, and all precious stones, and gold.
Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of
Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with
you. These traded with you in choice garments, in clothes of blue and embroidered
work, and in carpets of colored material,
bound with cords and made secure; in
these they traded with you.a The ships of
Tarshish traveled for you in your trade.
So you were lled and heavily laden
in the heart of the seas.
Your rowers have brought you
into the high seas.
The east wind has wrecked you
Your riches, your wares, your
merchandise,
your mariners and your pilots,
your caulkers, your dealers in
merchandise,
and all your warriors within you,
with all the company
that is with you,
sink into the heart of the seas
on the day of your ruin.
At the sound of the cry of your pilots
the countryside shakes,
and down from their ships
come all that handle the oar.
The mariners and all the pilots of the sea
stand on the shore
and wail aloud over you,
and cry bitterly.
They throw dust on their heads
and wallow in ashes;
they make themselves bald for you,
and put on sackcloth,
and they weep over you in bitterness of soul,
with bitter mourning.
In their wailing they raise a lamentation
for you,
and lament over you:
Who was ever destroyedb like Tyre

in the midst of the sea?
When your wares came from the seas,
you satised many peoples;
with your abundant wealth and
merchandise
you enriched the kings of the earth.
Now you are wrecked by the seas,
in the depths of the waters;
your merchandise and all your crew
have sunk with you.
All the inhabitants of the coastlands
are appalled at you;
and their kings are horribly afraid,
their faces are convulsed.
The merchants among the peoples hiss
at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
and shall be no more forever.
Mortal, say to the prince of Tyre,
Because your heart is proud
and you have said, I am a god;
I sit in the seat of the gods,
in the heart of the seas,
yet you are but a mortal, and no god,
though you compare your mind
with the mind of a god.
You are indeed wiser than Daniel;c
no secret is hidden from you;
by your wisdom and your
understanding
you have amassed wealth for yourself,
and have gathered gold and silver
into your treasuries.
By your great wisdom in trade
you have increased your wealth,
and your heart has become proud in
your wealth.
28
a Cn: Heb in your market

b Tg Vg: Heb like silence
c Or, as otherwise read, Danel
Chilmad, unidentied. 25: Ships of Tarshish, see 1 Kings 10.22; 22.48; Ps 48.7; Isa 23.1. 2636: With this section,
the dirge shis from picturing Tyres past glory to describing its sudden end. As in 19.12, the east wind (sirocco)
is an agent of destruction (cf. Ps 48.7). The sudden end of the great commercial city brings astonishment, fear,
and grief to seafarers, merchants, and inhabitants of the coastlands. 31: 7.18n.
28.110: Oracle against the leader of Tyre. 2: Prince, the Heb term means leader or ruler here. The leader,
who represents the whole people of Tyre, is judged for his pride (a universal oense, Prov 16.5). Hubris leads to
self-deication. Thus the prince of Tyre sat in the seat of the gods (cf. Isa 14.1314). Heart of the seas, see 28.14n.
hebrew bible | 1199
ezekiel 28
Because you compare your mind
with the mind of a god,
therefore, I will bring strangers against
you,
the most terrible of the nations;
they shall draw their swords against the
beauty of your wisdom
and dele your splendor.
They shall thrust you down to the Pit,
and you shall die a violent death
Will you still say, I am a god,
in the presence of those who kill you,
though you are but a mortal, and no god,
in the hands of those who wound
you?
You shall die the death of the
uncircumcised
by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, says the Lord God.
Moreover the word of the Lord came to
me: Mortal, raise a lamentation over the
king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the
Lord God:
You were the signet of perfection,a

full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God;
every precious stone was your
covering,
carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire,b turquoise, and emerald;
and worked in gold were your settings
and your engravings.a
On the day that you were created
they were prepared.
With an anointed cherub as guardian I
placed you;a
you were on the holy mountain of God;
you walked among the stones of re.
You were blameless in your ways
from the day that you were created,
until iniquity was found in you.
In the abundance of your trade
you were lled with violence, and you
sinned;
b Or lapis lazuli
3: In the Ugaritic tablets, Danel is the wise judge of widows and orphans (see 14.14n.). 610: The leader will be
slain by the most terrible of the nations, Babylonia (30.1011), and come to an ignominious end (the death of the
uncircumcised, v. 10) in the Pit (v. 8), that is, Sheol, where the unfortunate dead are cut o from life and community (32.30). Like the Israelites, the Phoenicians practiced circumcision, and would be shocked to experience a
postmortem fate in the abysmal depths of the netherworld where unclean and vile souls were conned.
28.1119: A dirge over the king of Tyre. The passage reworks 28.110 based on a mythic tale in which a celestial gure succumbed to ambition and met his downfall through hubris (cf. the Ugaritic myth of Athtar). Since
this myth was familiar outside of Israel, it provided Ezekiel a basis for the judgment of a nation such as Tyre that
was outside Israels covenant. 12: The judgment of the king of Tyre serves as a concrete instance of the downfall
of an archetypal being, but the text (especially vv. 14 and 16) is ambiguous as to whether this being was with a
cherub, or, more likely, was a great cherub himself (see v. 14n. and v. 16b n.). A cherub would t Ezekiels mythic
tale well, since cherubim have an unstable, animalistic nature vulnerable to the lure of the cosmic center that
they guard (cf. 28.2). Furthermore, in ancient Near Eastern myth, cherubim are nowhere companions to humans, as the NRSV translation would have it, but are interlocked with the divine presence itself (cf. 1.514n.).
Wisdom, a characteristic trait of cherubim. Cf. the Ugaritic god Athtar, celebrated for knowledge and understanding, but unable successfully to occupy the throne at the cosmic center for which he longed. 13: Eden,
ancient images of cherubim oen appear in association with highly stylized trees, which mark paradise, where
God is present (cf. Gen 3.24; Ezek 31.9; 41.18). With the cherubs covering of precious stones, cf. the stones of
the high priests breastplate in Ex 28.1720, which itself must have had a symbolic connection to Eden. 14: The
translation of the verse is contested (see textual note a). The Heb reads, You were an anointed cherub. The
outstretched, shielding wings of a cherub made it an eective guardian of the cosmic center. Tyres ruler might
initially have appreciated the comparison to a cherub. A magnicent, ninth-century Phoenician ivory depicts
a human monarch in the guise of a semidivine cherub. The garden paradise of Eden (v. 13) sat atop the mythic
cosmic mountain, the holy mountain of God that connects earth and heaven. Rivers ow from Gods mountain
to ll earths lakes and oceans, making the mountain the heart of the seas (v. 2; cf. 47.112; Gen 2.1014; Ps
46.4; Zech 14.8). Stones of re, the stars of heaven, the astral coterie of the cherub. Arrayed in delicate balance
1200 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 29
so I cast you as a profane thing from the
mountain of God,
and the guardian cherub drove you out
from among the stones of re.
Your heart was proud because of your
beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake
of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I exposed you before kings,
to feast their eyes on you.
By the multitude of your iniquities,
in the unrighteousness of your trade,
you profaned your sanctuaries.
So I brought out re from within you;
it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
in the sight of all who saw you.
All who know you among the peoples
are appalled at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
and shall be no more forever.
Mortal, set your face toward Sidon, and
prophesy against it, and say, Thus says the
Lord God:
I am against you, OSidon,
and I will gain glory in your midst.
They shall know that I am the Lord
when I execute judgments in it,
and manifest my holiness in it;
for I will send pestilence into it,
and bloodshed into its streets;
and the dead shall fall in its midst,
by the sword that is against it on every

side.
And they shall know that I am the Lord.
The house of Israel shall no longer nd
a pricking brier or a piercing thorn among all
their neighbors who have treated them with
contempt. And they shall know that I am the
Lord God.
Thus says the Lord God: When I gather
the house of Israel from the peoples among
whom they are scattered, and manifest my
holiness in them in the sight of the nations,
then they shall settle on their own soil that I
gave to my servant Jacob. They shall live in
safety in it, and shall build houses and plant
vineyards. They shall live in safety, when I
execute judgments upon all their neighbors
who have treated them with contempt. And
they shall know that I am the Lord their God.
In the tenth year, in the tenth month,
on the twelfth day of the month, the
word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, set
your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and
prophesy against him and against all Egypt;
speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God:
I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great dragon sprawling
in the midst of its channels,
saying, My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.
I will put hooks in your jaws,
and make the sh of your channels
stick to your scales.
29
about the holy center of the universe, cherubim may covet the centers power. 1619: The dirge moves from the
cherubs past glory to an account of his downfall through hubris. 16a: The actual referent (Tyres corrupt trade)
intrudes into the allegorical gure (the primal cherubs sin) here. 16b: The NRSV is following the Septuagint (cf.
Gen 3.2324). The Heb reads, I drove you out, O guardian cherub. For demotions of supernatural gures, cf.
Ps 82.67; Isa 14.12; Lk 10.18. 1718: The cherub arrogated to himself the seat of the gods (v. 2). Mimicking the
hubris of this diabolical, celestial cherub, the earthly king of Tyre profaned his land. To the ground, in Ugaritic
myth, Athtars descent is also said to be to the earth/underworld.
28.2026: Oracle against Sidon, another Phoenician city, on the Mediterranean coast north of Tyre. 22: A
good example of Ezekiels Priestly language (cf. Ex 14.1718; Lev 10.3). 2426: Sidons doom spells Gods vindication. 24: Cf. Num 33.55 (HS). 2526: Cf. 34.28; Lev 25.19.
29.132.32: Prophecies against Egypt. 29.116: Against Pharaoh (January 7, 587 bce). 3: In a prophecy with
strong Egyptian avoring, the pharaoh is depicted as a monstrous crocodile of the Nile, whom God will cast on
the land as carrion. Dragon, the Heb term oen refers to the mythical monster of watery chaos (see 32.2n.), but
here, as in Ex 7.812, its basic denotation is the reptilian crocodile (a signature creature of Egypt). (The Heb term
takes on more of its common mythological connotations in 32.116.) Its channels, the Nile delta and canals. My
own; I made it, in Egyptian religion the pharaoh created and controlled the Nile. 4: Hooks, cf. 38:4; Isa 37.29. Fish
of your channels, the Egyptians and their mercenaries. 6b9a: Sta of reed, compare the Assyrian Rabshakehs
hebrew bible | 1201
ezekiel 30
I will draw you up from your channels,
with all the sh of your channels
sticking to your scales.
I will ing you into the wilderness,
you and all the sh of your channels;
you shall fall in the open eld,
and not be gathered and buried.
To the animals of the earth and to the
birds of the air
I have given you as food.
Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall
know
that I am the Lord
because youa were a sta of reed
to the house of Israel;
when they grasped you with the hand,
you broke,
and tore all their shoulders;
and when they leaned on you, you broke,
and made all their legs unsteady.b
Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will
bring a sword upon you, and will cut o from
you human being and animal; and the land
of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
Because youc said, The Nile is mine, and
I made it, therefore, I am against you, and
against your channels, and I will make the
land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation,
from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border
of Ethiopia.d No human foot shall pass
through it, and no animal foot shall pass
through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years.
I will make the land of Egypt a desolation
among desolated countries; and her cities
shall be a desolation forty years among cities
that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians
among the nations, and disperse them among
the countries.
Further, thus says the Lord God: At the
end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians
from the peoples among whom they were
scattered; and I will restore the fortunes

of Egypt, and bring them back to the land of
Pathros, the land of their origin; and there
they shall be a lowly kingdom. It shall be
the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never
again exalt itself above the nations; and
I will make them so small that they will
never again rule over the nations. The
Egyptianse shall never again be the reliance
of the house of Israel; they will recall their
iniquity, when they turned to them for aid.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord
God.
In the twenty-seventh year, in the rst
month, on the rst day of the month, the
word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, King
Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army
labor hard against Tyre; every head was made
bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare;
yet neither he nor his army got anything
from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had
expended against it. Therefore thus says the
Lord God: I will give the land of Egypt to King
Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon; and he shall
carry o its wealth and despoil it and plunder
it; and it shall be the wages for his army.
I have given him the land of Egypt as his
payment for which he labored, because they
worked for me, says the Lord God.
On that day I will cause a horn to sprout
up for the house of Israel, and I will open
your lips among them. Then they shall know
that I am the Lord.
Mortal, prophesy, and say, Thus says
the Lord God:
30
a
b
c
d
e
Gk Syr Vg: Heb they

Syr: Heb stand
Gk Syr Vg: Heb he
Or Nubia; Heb Cush
Heb It
similar belilement of Egypt in 2 Kings 18.21; Isa 36.6. Pharaoh Hophras aack against Nebuchadrezzar in the
spring of 588 had failed to relieve Jerusalem (Jer 37.510). 10: Migdol to Syene, northern and southern Egyptian
localities, together signifying all Egypt. 11: Forty years, 4.6; Num 14.33 (HS). 1316: The only promise of Egyptian
restoration in Ezekiel, though Egypt will be restored only as a lowly kingdom. 14: Pathros, southern Egypt.
29.1721: Egypt as wages for Nebuchadrezzar, instead of Tyre. Ezekiels latest dated oracle, April 26, 571
bce. This unique passage amends the Tyre prophecies (26.12) in light of subsequent events. Nebuchadrezzar will
get sucient plunder from Egypt to compensate for his lack of booty from the siege of Tyre. The preservation of
an earlier, embarrassingly unfullled prophecy (ch 26) in the book shows how quickly Ezekiels prophecies took
on scriptural authority. 21: Horn may refer to a reestablished Davidic monarch in Israel (Ps 132.17); cf. 17.2224n.
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ezekiel 30
Wail, Alas for the day!
For a day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
a time of dooma for the nations.
A sword shall come upon Egypt,
and anguish shall be in Ethiopia,b
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and its wealth is carried away,
and its foundations are torn down.
Ethiopia,b and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia,
and Libya,c and the people of the allied landd
shall fall with them by the sword.
and they shall draw their swords against

Egypt,
and ll the land with the slain.
I will dry up the channels,
and will sell the land into the hand of
evildoers;
I will bring desolation upon the land and
everything in it
by the hand of foreigners;
I the Lord have spoken.
I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in
Memphis;
there shall no longer be a prince in the
land of Egypt;
so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
I will make Pathros a desolation,
and will set re to Zoan,
and will execute acts of judgment on
Thebes.
I will pour my wrath upon Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and cut o the hordes of Thebes.
I will set re to Egypt;
Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
and Memphis face adversaries by day.
The young men of On and of Pi-beseth
shall fall by the sword;
and the cities themselvesg shall go into
captivity.
Thus says the Lord:

Those who support Egypt shall fall,
and its proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
they shall fall within it by the sword,
says the Lord God.
They shall be desolated among other
desolated countries,
and their cities shall lie among cities
laid waste.
Then they shall know that I am the
Lord,
when I have set re to Egypt,
and all who help it are broken.
On that day, messengers shall go out
from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting
Ethiopians;e and anguish shall come upon
them on the day of Egypts doom;f for it is
coming!
I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,
by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of
Babylon.
He and his people with him, the most
terrible of the nations,
shall be brought in to destroy the land;
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Heb lacks of doom

Or Nubia; Heb Cush
Compare Gk Syr Vg: Heb Cub
Or Nubians; Heb Cush
Heb the day of Egypt
Heb and they
30.119: The doom of Egypt. 19: Since the time of the prophet Amos (Am 5.1820), the day of the Lord
was Gods judgment day on the Israelites (7.59n.; 13.5); later, as here, it became Israels restoration day but
remained doomsday for the nations (38.18; 39.8). Put, and Lud, see 27.10n. 69: Egypts allies will collapse. Migdol
to Syene, see 29.10n. Unsuspecting Ethiopians, the enormity of Egypts fall is emphasized by describing onlookers reactions. 1012: Nebuchadrezzar is Egypts destroyer. 12: Channels, see 29.3n. 1319: All Egypt will be destroyed. Images are condemned in Holiness School texts, such as Lev 19.4; 26.1. Memphis, south of Cairo, was
the ancient capital of lower (northern) Egypt. Pathros, see 29.14n. Zoan, in the northeast delta region. Thebes,
capital of upper Egypt, is present-day Karnak and Luxor. Pelusium, east of Zoan, in the delta region. On is Heliopolis, slightly northeast of Memphis. Pi-beseth, Bubastis, in the eastern delta. Tehaphnehes, Tahpanhes, on
Egypts northeastern frontier.
hebrew bible | 1203
ezekiel 31
At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
when I break there the dominion of
Egypt,
and its proud might shall come to an end;
the citya shall be covered by a cloud,
and its daughter-towns shall go into
captivity.
Thus I will execute acts of judgment on
Egypt.
Then they shall know that I am the
Lord.
In the eleventh year, in the rst month,
on the seventh day of the month, the word of
the Lord came to me: Mortal, I have broken
the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; it has not
been bound up for healing or wrapped with
a bandage, so that it may become strong to
wield the sword. Therefore thus says the
Lord God: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt,
and will break his arms, both the strong arm
and the one that was broken; and I will make
the sword fall from his hand. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and
disperse them throughout the lands. I will
strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon,
and put my sword in his hand; but I will
break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan
before him with the groans of one mortally
wounded. I will strengthen the arms of the
king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh
shall fall. And they shall know that I am the
Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of
the king of Babylon. He shall stretch it out
against the land of Egypt, and I will scatter
the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then
they shall know that I am the Lord.
In the eleventh year, in the third
month, on the rst day of the month,
the word of the Lord came to me: Mor-
31
tal, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his

hordes:
Whom are you like in your greatness?
Consider Assyria, a cedar of
Lebanon,
with fair branches and forest shade,
and of great height,
its top among the clouds.b
The waters nourished it,
the deep made it grow tall,
making its rivers owc
around the place it was planted,
sending forth its streams
to all the trees of the eld.
So it towered high
above all the trees of the eld;
its boughs grew large
and its branches long,
from abundant water in its shoots.
All the birds of the air
made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the animals of the eld
gave birth to their young;
and in its shade
all great nations lived.
It was beautiful in its greatness,
in the length of its branches;
for its roots went down
to abundant water.
The cedars in the garden of God could
not rival it,
nor the r trees equal its boughs;
the plane trees were as nothing
compared with its branches;
no tree in the garden of God
was like it in beauty.
a Heb she
b Gk: Heb thick boughs
c Gk: Heb rivers going
30.2026: Pharaoh disarmed. April 29, 587 bce. The body imagery of broken arms represents military defeat.
Nebuchadrezzar had broken one arm of Hophra the year before (vv. 2021; see 29.6b9a n.). The next time, he
will break both arms (vv. 2226).
31.118: The comparison between Assyria and Egypt. Date, June 21, 587 bce. Ezekiel uses the archetype of
the cosmic tree (see 17.2224n.) to emphasize that, as with Assyria, the cause for Egypts fall will be pride
(hubris). 3a: The fact of the downfall undergone by great Assyria, the superpower preceding Babylonia, supports the credibility of Ezekiels judgments against Egypt. See Nah 3.810 for a similar comparison of Egypt
and Assyria. Ezekiels image of Assyria as a tree may have its source of inspiration in Isa 10.3334. 3b9: A dirge
for the cosmic tree begins by describing its former glory. 4: The deep (Heb tehom), here, the worlds subterranean sweet-waters (Gen 7.11), which nourished the tree so that it reached into the heavens and sheltered all
life (cf. Dan 4). 79: The splendor of the great cedar was incomparable (v. 18), surpassing those in the garden of
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ezekiel 32
I made it beautiful
with its mass of branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden
that were in the garden of God.
Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because ita towered high and set its top among
the clouds,b and its heart was proud of its
height, I gave it into the hand of the prince
of the nations; he has dealt with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. Foreigners from the most terrible of the nations have
cut it down and left it. On the mountains and
in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and
its boughs lie broken in all the watercourses
of the land; and all the peoples of the earth
went away from its shade and left it.
On its fallen trunk settle
all the birds of the air,
and among its boughs lodge
all the wild animals.
All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to lofty height or set their tops
among the clouds,b and that no trees that
drink water may reach up to them in height.
For all of them are handed over to
death,
to the world below;
along with all mortals,
with those who go down to the Pit.
Thus says the Lord God: On the day it
went down to Sheol I closed the deep over
it and covered it; I restrained its rivers, and
its mighty waters were checked. I clothed
Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of
the eld fainted because of it. I made the
nations quake at the sound of its fall, when
I cast it down to Sheol with those who go
down to the Pit; and all the trees of Eden,
the choice and best of Lebanon, all that were

well watered, were consoled in the world
below. They also went down to Sheol with
it, to those killed by the sword, along with its
allies,c those who lived in its shade among
the nations.
Which among the trees of Eden was
like you in glory and in greatness? Now you
shall be brought down with the trees of Eden
to the world below; you shall lie among the
uncircumcised, with those who are killed by
the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his horde,
says the Lord God.
In the twelfth year, in the twelfth
month, on the rst day of the month,
the word of the Lord came to me: Mortal,
raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of
Egypt, and say to him:
You consider yourself a lion among the
nations,
but you are like a dragon in the
seas;
you thrash about in your streams,
trouble the water with your feet,
and foul yourd streams.
In an assembly of many peoples
I will throw my net over you;
and Ie will haul you up in my
dragnet.
I will throw you on the ground,
on the open eld I will ing you,
32
a
b
c
d
e
Syr Vg: Heb you

Gk: Heb thick boughs
Heb its arms
Heb their
Gk Vg: Heb they
God (28.13). 1018: The trees two-phased disaster. God will have it cut down; the life it sheltered will be dispersed (vv. 1014). Once felled, it will go down still farther (vv. 1518), to the Pit (v. 14), i.e., to Sheol, the abode
of the dead, where it will lie with those who died in untimely, violent, or dishonorable ways. 11: Prince of the
nations, Nabopolassar (626605 bce), founder of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, who, in alliance with the Medes,
destroyed the Assyrian Empire in a series of bales between 614 and 609 bce. 18: Uncircumcised, see 28.610n.,
32.1732n.
32.116: Dirge over Pharaoh. Date, March 3, 585 bce. Although Pharaoh fancied himself a lion (v. 2; symbol of
world-ranging power), Ezekiel declares he is beer viewed as a sea-monster. 2: Dragon, a monstrous crocodile
as in 29.3, but here with some of the fantastic proportions of the mythological chaos monster that the term
signies in Job 7.12; Ps 74.13; Isa 27.1; 51.9. In his hubris, Pharaoh aspires to rock the cosmos (in the seas, cf. Isa 27.1
and the watery chaos of Pss 46.3; 93.3). Verses 2,1314 show, however, that in reality he can stir up only a lile
local trouble, muddying the water with his feet. 38: His punishment. Verses 68 recall the day of the Lord
(see 30.19n.; Isa 13.10; Joel 2.2,30), in which God overcomes all opposing forces. They also echo the Exodus
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ezekiel 32
and will cause all the birds of the air to
settle on you,
and I will let the wild animals of the
whole earth gorge themselves
with you.
I will strew your esh on the mountains,
and ll the valleys with your carcass.a
I will drench the land with your owing
blood
up to the mountains,
and the watercourses will be lled with
you.
When I blot you out, I will cover the
heavens,
and make their stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give its light.
All the shining lights of the heavens
I will darken above you,
and put darkness on your land,
says the Lord God.
I will trouble the hearts of many peoples,
as I carry you captiveb among the
nations,
into countries you have not known.
I will make many peoples appalled at
you;
their kings shall shudder because of
you.
When I brandish my sword before them,
they shall tremble every moment
for their lives, each one of them,
on the day of your downfall.
For thus says the Lord God:
The sword of the king of Babylon shall
come against you.
I will cause your hordes to fall
by the swords of mighty ones,
all of them most terrible among the
nations.
They shall bring to ruin the pride of
Egypt,
and all its hordes shall perish.
I will destroy all its livestock

from beside abundant waters;
and no human foot shall trouble them any
more,
nor shall the hoofs of cattle trouble
them.
Then I will make their waters clear,
and cause their streams to run like oil,
says the Lord God.
When I make the land of Egypt desolate
and when the land is stripped of all that
lls it,
when I strike down all who live in it,
then they shall know that I am the
Lord.
This is a lamentation; it shall be chanted.
The women of the nations shall chant
it.
Over Egypt and all its hordes they shall
chant it,
says the Lord God.
In the twelfth year, in the rst month,c
on the fteenth day of the month, the word
of the Lord came to me:
Mortal, wail over the hordes of Egypt,
and send them down,
with Egyptd and the daughters of majestic
nations,
to the world below,
with those who go down to the Pit.
Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down! Be laid to rest with the
uncircumcised!
They shall fall among those who are killed
by the sword. Egypte has been handed over to
the sword; carry away both it and its hordes.
The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with
a
b
c
d
e
Symmachus Syr Vg: Heb your height

Gk: Heb bring your destruction
Gk: Heb lacks in the rst month
Heb it
Heb It
plagues against Egypt: blood (Ex 7.17); darkness (Ex 10.2123 [HS]). 910: The nations reactions (cf. 26.16; 27.35).
1115: The sword of God (v. 10; 30.4; Lev 26.25,33 [HS]) is concretely the Babylonians sword (cf. 30.25). 14: Reversing v. 2, God restores the Niles natural state (cf. Lev 26.3435 [HS]).
32.1732: Egypt in the underworld. The Septuagints date (textual note c) is April 27, 586 bce. Like Tyre
(28.10), Egypt belongs in the section of the underworld (the Pit, Sheol) reserved for the uncircumcised
and those who are executed or who die violent or untimely deaths. They do not enjoy the status of the honored war-dead, who were properly buried (v. 27). The Egyptians apparently practiced circumcision, as did the
Edomites (v. 29) and the Sidonians (v. 30; cf. 28.10n.). Thus, their fate is to the disgrace of all three peoples.
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their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: They
have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, killed by the sword.
Assyria is there, and all its company,
their graves all around it, all of them killed,
fallen by the sword. Their graves are set in
the uttermost parts of the Pit. Its company is
all around its grave, all of them killed, fallen
by the sword, who spread terror in the land of
the living.
Elam is there, and all its hordes around
its grave; all of them killed, fallen by the
sword, who went down uncircumcised into
the world below, who spread terror in the
land of the living. They bear their shame with
those who go down to the Pit. They have
made Elama a bed among the slain with all its
hordes, their graves all around it, all of them
uncircumcised, killed by the sword; for terror
of them was spread in the land of the living,
and they bear their shame with those who go
down to the Pit; they are placed among the
slain.
Meshech and Tubal are there, and all
their multitude, their graves all around
them, all of them uncircumcised, killed by
the sword; for they spread terror in the land
of the living. And they do not lie with the
fallen warriors of long agob who went down
to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose
swords were laid under their heads, and
whose shieldsc are upon their bones; for
the terror of the warriors was in the land of
the living. So you shall be broken and lie
among the uncircumcised, with those who
are killed by the sword.
Edom is there, its kings and all its
princes, who for all their might are laid with
those who are killed by the sword; they lie
with the uncircumcised, with those who go
down to the Pit.
The princes of the north are there, all of

them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone
down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie
uncircumcised with those who are killed by
the sword, and bear their shame with those
who go down to the Pit.
When Pharaoh sees them, he will be
consoled for all his hordesPharaoh and all
his army, killed by the sword, says the Lord
God. For hed spread terror in the land of the
living; therefore he shall be laid to rest among
the uncircumcised, with those who are slain
by the swordPharaoh and all his multitude,
says the Lord God.
OMortal, speak to your people and
say to them, If I bring the sword upon a
land, and the people of the land take one of
their number as their sentinel; and if the
sentinel sees the sword coming upon the
land and blows the trumpet and warns the
people; then if any who hear the sound of
the trumpet do not take warning, and the
sword comes and takes them away, their
blood shall be upon their own heads. They
heard the sound of the trumpet and did
not take warning; their blood shall be upon
themselves. But if they had taken warning,
they would have saved their lives. But if
the sentinel sees the sword coming and does
not blow the trumpet, so that the people are
not warned, and the sword comes and takes
any of them, they are taken away in their
iniquity, but their blood I will require at the
sentinels hand.
33
a
b
c
d
Heb it
Gk Old Latin: Heb of the uncircumcised
Cn: Heb iniquities
Cn: Heb I
2230: A roster. In its dishonorable demise Egypt will join others who were objects of Gods wrath (Isa 14.911),
such as Assyria (31.317); Elam (defeated by Assyria, its western neighbor); Meshech and Tubal (see 27.1225n.);
Edom (25.1214); princes of the north (unnamed rulers in Phoenicia and Syria); and Sidon (28.2026). 23: The uttermost parts of the Pit constitute, in mythic poetry, a fate opposite to the goal of ascending to heaven (Isa 14.15).
33.139.29: Prophecies of Israels restoration. 33.120: Clarication of Ezekiels role. The social seing is
given in v. 10. The exiles are now resigned to their condemnation and to Jerusalems destruction, but this resignation has led to an unanticipated, paralyzing hopelessness. Ezekiel delivers two responses to their demoralized state: God desires people to live, and sin is forgivable. 19: God reminds Ezekiel of his commission as a sentinel (3.1621). This metaphor had originally assuaged Ezekiels personal reluctance about his calling. Here the
prophets role as sentinel is stressed again to explain how the intention behind Ezekiels doom prophecy is not
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ezekiel 33
So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel
for the house of Israel; whenever you hear
a word from my mouth, you shall give them
warning from me. If I say to the wicked,
Owicked ones, you shall surely die, and
you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn
from their ways, the wicked shall die in their
iniquity, but their blood I will require at your
hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn
from their ways, and they do not turn from
their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
Now you, mortal, say to the house of
Israel, Thus you have said: Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we
waste away because of them; how then can
we live? Say to them, As I live, says the
Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of
the wicked, but that the wicked turn from
their ways and live; turn back, turn back
from your evil ways; for why will you die,
Ohouse of Israel? And you, mortal, say
to your people, The righteousness of the
righteous shall not save them when they
transgress; and as for the wickedness of
the wicked, it shall not make them stumble when they turn from their wickedness;
and the righteous shall not be able to live
by their righteousnessa when they sin.
Though I say to the righteous that they
shall surely live, yet if they trust in their
righteousness and commit iniquity, none
of their righteous deeds shall be remembered; but in the iniquity that they have
committed they shall die. Again, though
I say to the wicked, You shall surely die,
yet if they turn from their sin and do what
is lawful and right if the wicked restore
the pledge, give back what they have taken
by robbery, and walk in the statutes of life,

committing no iniquitythey shall surely
live, they shall not die. None of the sins
that they have committed shall be remembered against them; they have done what is
lawful and right, they shall surely live.
Yet your people say, The way of the Lord
is not just, when it is their own way that
is not just. When the righteous turn from
their righteousness, and commit iniquity,
they shall die for it.b And when the wicked
turn from their wickedness, and do what is
lawful and right, they shall live by it.b Yet
you say, The way of the Lord is not just.
Ohouse of Israel, I will judge all of you according to your ways!
In the twelfth year of our exile, in the
tenth month, on the fth day of the month,
someone who had escaped from Jerusalem
came to me and said, The city has fallen.
Now the hand of the Lord had been upon
me the evening before the fugitive came; but
he had opened my mouth by the time the
fugitive came to me in the morning; so my
mouth was opened, and I was no longer unable to speak.
Mortal, the inhabitants of these waste
places in the land of Israel keep saying, Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is
surely given us to possess. Therefore say to
them, Thus says the Lord God: You eat esh
with the blood, and lift up your eyes to your
idols, and shed blood; shall you then possess
the land? You depend on your swords,
a Heb by it
b Heb them
death but life, to call the people to repentance. 1020: Repentance as the way to life. This oracle reemphasizes
ch 18 and its stress on the moral autonomy of generations. Earlier this material had aimed to convict the exiles
of their personal culpability. Here, Ezekiels theme of taking responsibility is used to show that ones personal
sinfulness is forgivable. 11: Cf. 18.23n.; 18.31. Gods impassioned plea is for all to nd life, even the wicked.
33.2122: Release from speechlessness. Escaped from Jerusalem, escaped death by exile to Babylonia. The
exiles from Jerusalem arrived in Babylonia on January 19, 585 bce, about half a year aer Jerusalems fall. (See
Ezra 7.9 for a comparable travel time.) Ezekiels concurrent release from the speechlessness of 3.2627 was
predicted at 24.27. The event is a watershed: the wrien judgment on Jerusalem of scripture, symbolized by
the wrien scroll of 2.910, had been fullled, and now a new prophetic message of promise was possible.
33.2333: Resistance in the homeland and in exile. 2329: Disputation over possession of homeland property. Verse 24 reveals the social seing. The homelanders are repeating their earlier claim to the land (11.15; cf.
Isa 51.2). Verses 2526 indict them in terms echoing 18.120; 22.11; Lev 19.16,26 (HS). On the three punishments
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ezekiel 34
you commit abominations, and each of you
deles his neighbors wife; shall you then
possess the land? Say this to them, Thus
says the Lord God: As I live, surely those who
are in the waste places shall fall by the sword;
and those who are in the open eld I will
give to the wild animals to be devoured; and
those who are in strongholds and in caves
shall die by pestilence. I will make the land
a desolation and a waste, and its proud might
shall come to an end; and the mountains of
Israel shall be so desolate that no one will
pass through. Then they shall know that
I am the Lord, when I have made the land a
desolation and a waste because of all their
abominations that they have committed.
As for you, mortal, your people who talk
together about you by the walls, and at the
doors of the houses, say to one another, each
to a neighbor, Come and hear what the word
is that comes from the Lord. They come
to you as people come, and they sit before
you as my people, and they hear your words,
but they will not obey them. For attery is on
their lips, but their heart is set on their gain.
To them you are like a singer of love songs,a
one who has a beautiful voice and plays well
on an instrument; they hear what you say,
but they will not do it. When this comes
and come it will!then they shall know that
a prophet has been among them.
Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them
to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God:
Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been
feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds
feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe
yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the
fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. You
have not strengthened the weak, you have
34
not healed the sick, you have not bound up

the injured, you have not brought back the
strayed, you have not sought the lost, but
with force and harshness you have ruled
them. So they were scattered, because there
was no shepherd; and scattered, they became
food for all the wild animals. My sheep were
scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were
scattered over all the face of the earth, with
no one to search or seek for them.
Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word
of the Lord: As I live, says the Lord God,
because my sheep have become a prey, and
my sheep have become food for all the wild
animals, since there was no shepherd; and
because my shepherds have not searched for
my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the
Lord: Thus says the Lord God, I am against
the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep
at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds
feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from
their mouths, so that they may not be food
for them.
For thus says the Lord God: I myself will
search for my sheep, and will seek them out.
As shepherds seek out their ocks when
they are among their scattered sheep, so I will
seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all
the places to which they have been scattered
on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will
bring them out from the peoples and gather
them from the countries, and will bring them
into their own land; and I will feed them on
the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses,
and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I
a Cn: Heb like a love song
in v. 27, cf. 5.17; 14.21. 3033: With the fulllment of his prophecy of Jerusalems destruction, Ezekiels popularity
grew among the exiles. Unfortunately, the response of many exiles to Ezekiels words was shallow, lacking in
personal commitment. 32: Love songs, the Hebrew indicates that Ezekiels words were just erotic entertainment
to them; the same word is mistranslated aery in v. 31.
34.131: The shepherds of Israel. 110: Israels kings are symbolized by sheepherders, contracted by God to
care for Gods livestock, the people (my sheep, v. 6); the same metaphor is widely used in the ancient Near East.
But they had abused their people and scaered them. The chapter combines priestly (Holiness School, see
below) and Jeremianic (Jer 10.21; 23.14) language. 5: Wild animals, Judahs aackers, especially Babylonia. 710:
Punishment of the herders and rescue of the ock. 1116: God is the good shepherd (Isa 40.11; Jer 31.10) who
will gather the entire dispersed ock. 12: Day of clouds and thick darkness, the Day of the Lord, as in Joel 2.2 and
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ezekiel 35
will feed them with good pasture, and the
mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing
land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on
the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the
shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them
lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the
lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I
will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen
the weak, but the fat and the strong I will
destroy. I will feed them with justice.
As for you, my ock, thus says the Lord
God: I shall judge between sheep and sheep,
between rams and goats: Is it not enough
for you to feed on the good pasture, but you
must tread down with your feet the rest of
your pasture? When you drink of clear water,
must you foul the rest with your feet? And
must my sheep eat what you have trodden
with your feet, and drink what you have
fouled with your feet?
Therefore, thus says the Lord God to
them: I myself will judge between the fat
sheep and the lean sheep. Because you
pushed with ank and shoulder, and butted
at all the weak animals with your horns until
you scattered them far and wide, I will
save my ock, and they shall no longer be
ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and
sheep.
I will set up over them one shepherd,
my servant David, and he shall feed them: he
shall feed them and be their shepherd. And
I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant
David shall be prince among them; I, the
Lord, have spoken.
I will make with them a covenant of peace
and banish wild animals from the land, so
that they may live in the wild and sleep in the

woods securely. I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send
down the showers in their season; they shall
be showers of blessing. The trees of the eld
shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield
its increase. They shall be secure on their soil;
and they shall know that I am the Lord, when
I break the bars of their yoke, and save them
from the hands of those who enslaved them.
They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour
them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall
make them afraid. I will provide for them a
splendid vegetation so that they shall no more
be consumed with hunger in the land, and no
longer suer the insults of the nations. They
shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with
them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my
people, says the Lord God. You are my sheep,
the sheep of my pasturea and I am your God,
says the Lord God.
Mortal, set your face against Mount
Seir, and prophesy against it, and say to it,
I am against you, Mount Seir;
I stretch out my hand against you
to make you a desolation and a waste.
I lay your towns in ruins;
you shall become a desolation,
and you shall know that I am the Lord.
Because you cherished an ancient enmity,
and gave over the people of Israel to the
power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their nal punishment;
35
a Gk OL: Heb pasture, you are people
Zeph 1.15 (see 30.19n.; 32.38n.) 16: The focus shis to Gods care for needy individuals within the ock and to
Gods judgment of particular sheep (not just their shepherds). 1731: A new order for Israel. 1724: Sheep, good
and bad, are found in the ock; the bad must be separated out (20.38). 2324: God will install a Davidic ruler
over the people (37.2225; Jer 23.36; 30.9; Zech 6.12). Prince, see 44:13n. 2531: An announcement of future
blessedness dependent on the Holiness School: God will banish wild animals (v. 25; see Lev 26.6 [HS]), bless
the people from Mount Zion (my hill, v. 26), and break the bars of their yoke (v. 27; see Lev 26.13 [HS]). Thus, the
people will live in safety (v. 28; see Lev 26.56 [HS]). 29: Insults, see 36.15.
35.136.15: Oracle on behalf of the mountains of Israel. 35.115: Oracles against Edom. Edom has already
been judged in Ezekiels middle section (25.1214). The present description of its grabbing of land belonging
to Israel (v. 10; cf. 1 Esd 4.50) has been placed here as a foil for the restoration message of 35.136.15. Ezekiels
prophecies of restoration generally have as foils past wrongs, which they aim to reverse. 14: First oracle. 2:
Mount Seir is the plateau in which Sela, the Edomite capital, was located. 59: Second oracle. 5: Cf. 25.12; Ob
1014; Ps 137.7. The ancient enmity refers to the rivalry between Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites, and Jacob,
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ezekiel 36
therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will
prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue
you; since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed shall pursue you. I will make Mount
Seir a waste and a desolation; and I will cut
o from it all who come and go. I will ll its
mountains with the slain; on your hills and
in your valleys and in all your watercourses
those killed with the sword shall fall. I will
make you a perpetual desolation, and your
cities shall never be inhabited. Then you shall
know that I am the Lord.
Because you said, These two nations
and these two countries shall be mine, and
we will take possession of them,although
the Lord was there therefore, as I live,
says the Lord God, I will deal with you
according to the anger and envy that you
showed because of your hatred against them;
and I will make myself known among you,a
when I judge you. You shall know that I,
the Lord, have heard all the abusive speech
that you uttered against the mountains of
Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they
are given us to devour. And you magnied
yourselves against me with your mouth, and
multiplied your words against me; I heard it.
Thus says the Lord God: As the whole earth
rejoices, I will make you desolate. As you
rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of
Israel, because it was desolate, so I will deal
with you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir,
and all Edom, all of it. Then they shall know
that I am the Lord.
And you, mortal, prophesy to
the mountains of Israel, and say:
Omountains of Israel, hear the word of the
Lord. Thus says the Lord God: Because
36
the enemy said of you, Aha! and, The

ancient heights have become our possession, therefore prophesy, and say: Thus
says the Lord God: Because they made you
desolate indeed, and crushed you from all
sides, so that you became the possession
of the rest of the nations, and you became
an object of gossip and slander among the
people; therefore, Omountains of Israel,
hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the
Lord God to the mountains and the hills, the
watercourses and the valleys, the desolate
wastes and the deserted towns, which have
become a source of plunder and an object of
derision to the rest of the nations all around;
therefore thus says the Lord God: I am
speaking in my hot jealousy against the rest
of the nations, and against all Edom, who,
with wholehearted joy and utter contempt,
took my land as their possession, because of
its pasture, to plunder it. Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to
the mountains and hills, to the watercourses
and valleys, Thus says the Lord God: I am
speaking in my jealous wrath, because you
have suered the insults of the nations;
therefore thus says the Lord God: I swear
that the nations that are all around you shall
themselves suer insults.
But you, Omountains of Israel, shall
shoot out your branches, and yield your fruit
to my people Israel; for they shall soon come
home. See now, I am for you; I will turn to
you, and you shall be tilled and sown; and
I will multiply your population, the whole
house of Israel, all of it; the towns shall be
a Gk: Heb them
the ancestor of the Israelites; see Gen 25.2134; 27, narratives informed by the history of the two peoples.
1013: Third oracle. 10: Two nations, Israel and Judah. The Lord was there until the glory le (see 11.2225n.);
however, the glory will return (48.35). 1415: Fourth oracle. 15a: As Edom rejoiced over Judahs fall (Ob 12), so the
world will rejoice over Edoms fall. 36:112: Deliverance as punishment. Mountains of Israel, see 6.110n. The
highlands, representing all Israel, are here promised deliverance and blessing as a sort of pseudo-punishment
for being desolated and slandered. Though dispossessed by Edom (35.115) and surrounding nations (Neh 2.19),
Israel will be restored to her heritage. This oracle reverses ch 6 (e.g., contrast v. 10 with 6.47). 5: Gods personal
identication with the land of Israel is shown by the phrase my land (cf. Lev 25.23 [HS]). 812: Gods redemption goes beyond the peoples repatriation and inner healing to include Gods granting them a new fruitfulness
within a physically transformed environment. See also vv. 3338. 9: Lev 26.9 (HS). 10: All of it, including the
northern kingdom (37.2122). 11: Lev 26.9 (HS). 12: An editorial transition to vv. 1315. 1315: No more disgrace.
The land had been feared as a devouring land at least since the time that Israel rst reconnoitered it (Num
13.32). In Ezekiels new Exodus and selement, there will be no place for such defamation.
hebrew bible | 1211
ezekiel 36
inhabited and the waste places rebuilt; and
I will multiply human beings and animals
upon you. They shall increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as in
your former times, and will do more good to
you than ever before. Then you shall know
that I am the Lord. I will lead people upon
youmy people Israeland they shall
possess you, and you shall be their inheritance. No longer shall you bereave them of
children.
Thus says the Lord God: Because they
say to you, You devour people, and you
bereave your nation of children, therefore
you shall no longer devour people and no
longer bereave your nation of children, says
the Lord God; and no longer will I let you
hear the insults of the nations, no longer
shall you bear the disgrace of the peoples;
and no longer shall you cause your nation to
stumble, says the Lord God.
Mortal, when the house of Israel lived on
their own soil, they deled it with their ways
and their deeds; their conduct in my sight
was like the uncleanness of a woman in
her menstrual period. So I poured out my
wrath upon them for the blood that they had
shed upon the land, and for the idols with
which they had deled it. I scattered them
among the nations, and they were dispersed
through the countries; in accordance with
their conduct and their deeds I judged
them. But when they came to the nations,
wherever they came, they profaned my holy

name, in that it was said of them, These are
the people of the Lord, and yet they had to
go out of his land. But I had concern for
my holy name, which the house of Israel had
profaned among the nations to which they
came.
Therefore say to the house of Israel,
Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your
sake, Ohouse of Israel, that I am about
to act, but for the sake of my holy name,
which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. I will sanctify
my great name, which has been profaned
among the nations, and which you have
profaned among them; and the nations
shall know that I am the Lord, says the
Lord God, when through you I display my
holiness before their eyes. I will take you
from the nations, and gather you from all
the countries, and bring you into your own
land. I will sprinkle clean water upon
you, and you shall be clean from all your
uncleannesses, and from all your idols I
will cleanse you. A new heart I will give
you, and a new spirit I will put within you;
and I will remove from your body the heart
of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I
will put my spirit within you, and make you
follow my statutes and be careful to observe
my ordinances. Then you shall live in the
land that I gave to your ancestors; and you
shall be my people, and I will be your God.
I will save you from all your unclean-
36.1638: Gods honor as the cause of the restoration. 1621: Historical prologue. According to the Holiness School, when the homeland becomes deled, it vomits out its inhabitants (Lev 18.25,28). This is what has
happened to the exiled Israelites. 17: Uncleanness, see Lev 15.1930 (Priestly tradition); 18.19 (HS). 20: My holy
name, 20.9n. Gods name was desecrated (cf. Lev 20.3; 22.2,32 [HS]) either because the exile made God look
powerless to protect the Israelites (NRSVs interpretation; cf. Num 14.16) or because Gods people from Gods
own land prove to be depraved (alternate sense of the Hebrew). 2232: Verses 22 and 32 form an envelope
around this section by their parallel assertions that the restoration is not something deserved. Gods mercy is
unmerited by the people and even precedes their repentance (see 20.9n). According to v. 31, the people show
remorse only aer their restoration to the land. This chapter thus moves beyond texts such as Lev 26.4042;
Jer 31.1820, where repentance is the driving motivation behind restoration. 24: A reversal of v. 19. 25: God will
sprinkle them (cf. Num 19.20 [HS]; Ps 51.7) with water, purifying them, inasmuch as human beings cannot make
themselves clean. 26: Ezekiels calls to repentance have failed (see 18.31n.). A radical, new creation (cf. 11.19; Ps
51.10) will be needed to break the peoples bondage to the cycles of sin and retribution of Israels past (ch 20).
The concept of excising the peoples old incorrigible heart of stone (cf. 2.4; 3.79; Zech 7.12) and engraing a
completely new heart goes beyond Jer 31.33 and Deut 30.16, and is in keeping with Ezekiels focus on Gods
sovereignty in eecting salvation (20.3334). 27: The infusion of Gods spirit (cf. 37.14; 39.29; Ps 51.1011; Joel
2.29; Zech 12.10) eects a fundamental regeneration of the people, so that obedience to the covenant (Lev 26.3
1212 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 37
nesses, and I will summon the grain and
make it abundant and lay no famine upon
you. I will make the fruit of the tree and
the produce of the field abundant, so that
you may never again suffer the disgrace of
famine among the nations. Then you shall
remember your evil ways, and your dealings
that were not good; and you shall loathe
yourselves for your iniquities and your
abominable deeds. It is not for your sake
that I will act, says the Lord God; let that be
known to you. Be ashamed and dismayed
for your ways, Ohouse of Israel.
Thus says the Lord God: On the day
that I cleanse you from all your iniquities,
I will cause the towns to be inhabited, and
the waste places shall be rebuilt. The
land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in
the sight of all who passed by. And they
will say, This land that was desolate has
become like the garden of Eden; and the
waste and desolate and ruined towns are
now inhabited and fortified. Then the
nations that are left all around you shall
know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the
ruined places, and replanted that which
was desolate; I, the Lord, have spoken, and
I will do it.
Thus says the Lord God: I will also let the
house of Israel ask me to do this for them: to
increase their population like a ock. Like
the ock for sacrices,a like the ock at
Jerusalem during her appointed festivals, so
shall the ruined towns be lled with ocks of
people. Then they shall know that I am the
Lord.
37
The hand of the Lord came upon me,

and he brought me out by the spirit
of the Lord and set me down in the middle
of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me
all around them; there were very many lying
in the valley, and they were very dry. He
said to me, Mortal, can these bones live? I
answered, OLord God, you know. Then
he said to me, Prophesy to these bones, and
say to them: Odry bones, hear the word of
the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these
bones: I will cause breathb to enter you, and
you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and
will cause esh to come upon you, and cover
you with skin, and put breathb in you, and
you shall live; and you shall know that I am
the Lord.
So I prophesied as I had been commanded;
and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a
noise, a rattling, and the bones came together,
bone to its bone. I looked, and there were
sinews on them, and esh had come upon
them, and skin had covered them; but there
was no breath in them. Then he said to me,
Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and
say to the breath:c Thus says the Lord God:
Come from the four winds, Obreath,c and
breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
I prophesied as he commanded me, and the
breath came into them, and they lived, and
stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
Then he said to me, Mortal, these bones
are the whole house of Israel. They say, Our
a Heb ock of holy things
b Or spirit
c Or wind or spirit
[HS]) will come naturally from now on and the restoration will be permanent. 2930: Lev 26.4 (HS). 3336: The
skeptical nations (v. 20) will recognize Israels transformation to a paradise as Gods act. 35: Garden of Eden, Gen
2.414; cf. Ezek 47.112n.; Isa 51.3. God will now be at home in Israel just as in Gods garden, Eden. 3738: Note
the reversal of 14.3; 20.3,31. As Jerusalem always bustled with ocks at pilgrimage times, Israel will now teem
with human interaction, mutuality, and spiritual energy (a blessing of the Holiness School covenant; Lev 26.9).
Thus, the proliferation of the ock will signal its consecration (see textual note a).
37.114: Vision of the valley of dry bones. 1: A valley, in Heb, the valley, suggesting that this is the same
locale as in 3.22; 8.4. 3: Ezekiel does not yet realize that this vision refers to the reestablishment of the exiles
back in their homeland. Thus bodily resurrection was at least a theoretical possibility for Ezekiel (cf. 1 Kings
17.22; 2 Kings 4.35; 13.21). 48: The rst of two prophecies that are enfolded within the vision. As in Gen 2.7, life
is generated here in two stages. 910: Suspense builds, as a second prophesying is required in order to animate
the bones. Hebrew ruah can mean spirit, breath, or wind; thus there is a constant wordplay here. Four
winds may refer to Godscosmic reach (1.17; Zech 6.5). These slain, the bones identity is still unclear at this point,
the assumption now being that Ezekiel is surveying an old baleeld. (The Hebrew word multitude in v. 10 com-
hebrew bible | 1213
ezekiel 38
bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we
are cut o completely. Therefore prophesy,
and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I
am going to open your graves, and bring you
up from your graves, Omy people; and I will
bring you back to the land of Israel. And
you shall know that I am the Lord, when I
open your graves, and bring you up from your
graves, Omy people. I will put my spirit
within you, and you shall live, and I will place
you on your own soil; then you shall know
that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,
says the Lord.
The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, take a stick and write on it, For Judah, and
the Israelites associated with it; then take
another stick and write on it, For Joseph (the
stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel
associated with it; and join them together
into one stick, so that they may become one
in your hand. And when your people say to
you, Will you not show us what you mean
by these? say to them, Thus says the Lord
God: I am about to take the stick of Joseph
(which is in the hand of Ephraim) and the
tribes of Israel associated with it; and I will
put the stick of Judah upon it,a and make them
one stick, in order that they may be one in my
hand. When the sticks on which you write
are in your hand before their eyes, then say
to them, Thus says the Lord God: I will take
the people of Israel from the nations among
which they have gone, and will gather them
from every quarter, and bring them to their
own land. I will make them one nation in the
land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king

shall be king over them all. Never again shall
they be two nations, and never again shall
they be divided into two kingdoms. They
shall never again dele themselves with their
idols and their detestable things, or with any
of their transgressions. I will save them from
all the apostasies into which they have fallen,b
and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my
people, and I will be their God.
My servant David shall be king over
them; and they shall all have one shepherd.
They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes. They shall live
in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in
which your ancestors lived; they and their
children and their childrens children shall
live there forever; and my servant David
shall be their prince forever. I will make a
covenant of peace with them; it shall be an
everlasting covenant with them; and I will
blessc them and multiply them, and will set
my sanctuary among them forevermore. My
dwelling place shall be with them; and I will
be their God, and they shall be my people.
Then the nations shall know that I the Lord
sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is among
them forevermore.
Mortal, set your face toward Gog,
of the land of Magog, the chief prince of
38
a Heb I will put them upon it

b Another reading is from all the settlements in
which they have sinned
c Tg: Heb give
monly means army.) 1114: The interpretation. Verse 11 nally reveals the actual life seing of the prophecy
by citing words from a lament: The exiles bones are dried, a metaphor for a downcast spirit (Prov 17.22; 15.30).
The metaphor of resurrection is the antidote to such despair. Cut o, a metaphor for being within the power of
death (Ps 88.5; Lam 3.54). In vv. 1214, the passage shis to a metaphor of disinterment as an antidote to this
complaint.
37.1528: The symbolic action of the two sticks (cf. Zech 11.714) envisions the reunication of the Southern (Judah) and Northern (Joseph/Ephraim/Israel) Kingdoms. Full restoration will then be realized (34.28;
36.10): law-abiding living (11.20) in the promised land (28.25) under the Davidic ruler (34.2324) in a covenant of
peace (34.25). At that time, God will permanently return to the central sanctuary (43.9). 22: Mountains of Israel,
6.110n. 25: Prince, monarchic ruler (cf. 12.10; 19.1; 34.24; 44.13n.). 27: Dwelling place, in the theology of the Holiness School, Gods glory properly dwells among Gods people (cf. Ex 25.8; 29.4546; 40.34; Lev 26.11; Num 5.3;
35.34 [HS]). 28: As in the ideal of the Holiness School, God sancties Israel by radiating the divine holiness out
to the entire land (cf. Ex 31.13; Lev 19.2; 21.15; 22.32[HS]).
38.139.29: The Gog of Magog oracles are early apocalyptic literature, describing the imminent aack on
the promised land by an embodiment of evil from the north. Aer a cataclysmic, doomsday bale, God will
1214 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 38
Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him
and say: Thus says the Lord God: I am
against you, OGog, chief prince of Meshech
and Tubal; I will turn you around and put
hooks into your jaws, and I will lead you out
with all your army, horses and horsemen,
all of them clothed in full armor, a great
company, all of them with shield and buckler,
wielding swords. Persia, Ethiopia,a and Put
are with them, all of them with buckler and
helmet; Gomer and all its troops; Bethtogarmah from the remotest parts of the
north with all its troopsmany peoples are
with you.
Be ready and keep ready, you and all the
companies that are assembled around you,
and hold yourselves in reserve for them.
After many days you shall be mustered; in
the latter years you shall go against a land
restored from war, a land where people were
gathered from many nations on the mountains of Israel, which had long lain waste; its
people were brought out from the nations
and now are living in safety, all of them. You
shall advance, coming on like a storm; you
shall be like a cloud covering the land, you
and all your troops, and many peoples with
you.
Thus says the Lord God: On that day
thoughts will come into your mind, and you
will devise an evil scheme. You will say, I
will go up against the land of unwalled villages; I will fall upon the quiet people who
live in safety, all of them living without walls,

and having no bars or gates; to seize spoil
and carry o plunder; to assail the waste
places that are now inhabited, and the people
who were gathered from the nations, who are
acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the
centerb of the earth. Sheba and Dedan and
the merchants of Tarshish and all its young
warriorsc will say to you, Have you come to
seize spoil? Have you assembled your horde
to carry o plunder, to carry away silver and
gold, to take away cattle and goods, to seize a
great amount of booty?
Therefore, mortal, prophesy, and say to
Gog: Thus says the Lord God: On that day
when my people Israel are living securely, you
will rouse yourselfd and come from your
place out of the remotest parts of the north,
you and many peoples with you, all of them
riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty
army; you will come up against my people
Israel, like a cloud covering the earth. In the
latter days I will bring you against my land, so
that the nations may know me, when through
you, OGog, I display my holiness before their
eyes.
Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of
whom I spoke in former days by my sera
b
c
d
Or Nubia; Heb Cush

Heb navel
Heb young lions
Gk: Heb will you not know?
be acknowledged by all nations as the undisputed victor (38.23; 39.2129). At this point in the book, Ezekiels
prophecies of restoration, which aim to reverse preceding tragedies, have not yet reversed Israels Babylonian
destruction. The northern foe here is thus probably an end-time surrogate for Babylon, and for any superpower that has challenged the sovereignty of God. The followers of Ezekiel who recorded these apocalyptic
oracles were central priests of their society, despite the claims of some scholars that all apocalyptic texts derive
from peripheral groups. 38.19: Prophecy against Gog. 2: Gog, a name perhaps derived from Gyges, a seventhcentury bce ruler of Lydia in Asia Minor. For Ezekiels audience, the name would have conjured thoughts of
mysterious and barbaric happenings in the far north. Gog is no symbol in this text but a mythic-realistic entity:
tangibly real, but of mythological proportions. He is Gods archetypal enemy, arising against Gods people on
doomsday. Magog, Gen 10.2. 3: Meshech and Tubal, see 27.1225n.; Gen 10.2. 5: Put, Libya; Gen 10.5. 6: Gomer,
the Cimmerians in Asia Minor (Gen 10.23), far north of Israel. Beth-togarmah, see 27.1225n. 1013: The perspective shis from Gods external control (vv. 39) to Gogs interior motives. 12: Center, see 5.5n. Ezekiel is
arming and re-envisioning Zion theology here. 13: Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish were all engaged in trade; see
27.1225n. 1416: Gods motive is Gods glory. 17: Transition. 1823 (and 39.1116): Expansion of the Gog oracles, radicalizing their apocalyptic and priestly fervor. The radical magnitude of the apocalyptic threat is clear
from the cosmic collapse (cf. Joel 2.10,30; Zech 14.45) and from the seven months (39.12) required to bury the
enemy dead in the region east of the Dead Sea. In keeping with the Ezekiel groups status as priests, increasing
priestly concern accompanies the increased apocalyptic feeling: This section draws heavily on Holiness School
hebrew bible | 1215
ezekiel 39
vants the prophets of Israel, who in those
days prophesied for years that I would bring
you against them? On that day, when Gog
comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord
God, my wrath shall be aroused. For in my
jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare:
On that day there shall be a great shaking in
the land of Israel; the sh of the sea, and
the birds of the air, and the animals of the
eld, and all creeping things that creep on
the ground, and all human beings that are
on the face of the earth, shall quake at my
presence, and the mountains shall be thrown
down, and the clis shall fall, and every wall
shall tumble to the ground. I will summon
the sword against Goga inb all my mountains,
says the Lord God; the swords of all will be
against their comrades. With pestilence and
bloodshed I will enter into judgment with
him; and I will pour down torrential rains and
hailstones, re and sulfur, upon him and his
troops and the many peoples that are with
him. So I will display my greatness and my
holiness and make myself known in the eyes
of many nations. Then they shall know that I
am the Lord.
And you, mortal, prophesy against
Gog, and say: Thus says the Lord
God: I am against you, OGog, chief prince of
Meshech and Tubal! I will turn you around
and drive you forward, and bring you up from
the remotest parts of the north, and lead you
against the mountains of Israel. I will strike
your bow from your left hand, and will make
your arrows drop out of your right hand.
You shall fall on the mountains of Israel,
you and all your troops and the peoples that
are with you; I will give you to birds of prey
of every kind and to the wild animals to be
devoured. You shall fall in the open eld; for
I have spoken, says the Lord God. I will send
re on Magog and on those who live securely
in the coastlands; and they shall know that I
am the Lord.
39
My holy name I will make known among

my people Israel; and I will not let my holy
name be profaned any more; and the nations
shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One
in Israel. It has come! It has happened, says
the Lord God. This is the day of which I have
spoken.
Then those who live in the towns of Israel
will go out and make res of the weapons and
burn thembucklers and shields, bows and
arrows, handpikes and spearsand they will
make res of them for seven years. They
will not need to take wood out of the eld or
cut down any trees in the forests, for they will
make their res of the weapons; they will despoil those who despoiled them, and plunder
those who plundered them, says the Lord God.
On that day I will give to Gog a place for
burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelersc
east of the sea; it shall block the path of the
travelers, for there Gog and all his horde
will be buried; it shall be called the Valley
of Hamon-gog.d Seven months the house
of Israel shall spend burying them, in order
to cleanse the land. All the people of the
land shall bury them; and it will bring them
honor on the day that I show my glory, says
the Lord God. They will set apart men to
pass through the land regularly and bury any
invaderse who remain on the face of the land,
so as to cleanse it; for seven months they
shall make their search. As the searcherse
pass through the land, anyone who sees a
human bone shall set up a sign by it, until the
buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamongog.d (A city Hamonahf is there also.) Thus
they shall cleanse the land.
a
b
c
d
e
f
Heb him
Heb to or for
Or of the Abarim
That is, the Horde of Gog
Heb travelers
That is The Horde
traditions about the deling eect of corpses (Lev 21.1; Num 5.23; 9.6; 19.11,13 [HS]). 18: That day, i.e., the day
of the Lord; see 30.19n.; 39.8. 39.110: The fall of Gog. Gog will be defeated both in the eld (vv. 15) and
back at home (v. 6). Gods holy name will then be established (vv. 78; cf. 20.9n.; 36.22). 910: As in the biblical
conquest narrative (Deut 7.2; 20.1618; Josh 6.24), everything of the enemys is burned as material devoted to
the Lord alone. The huge quantities of war material (enough wood for fuel for seven years) identify this as an
apocalyptic rather than a historical victory. 1116: See 38.1823n. 11: Valley of the Travelers, possibly in the Abarim range (Num 27.12; see textual note c) east of the Dead Sea. Alternatively, the travelers may be the departed,
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ezekiel 40
As for you, mortal, thus says the Lord
God: Speak to the birds of every kind and
to all the wild animals: Assemble and come,
gather from all around to the sacricial feast
that I am preparing for you, a great sacricial
feast on the mountains of Israel, and you
shall eat esh and drink blood. You shall
eat the esh of the mighty, and drink the
blood of the princes of the earthof rams,
of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of them
fatlings of Bashan. You shall eat fat until
you are lled, and drink blood until you
are drunk, at the sacricial feast that I am
preparing for you. And you shall be lled at
my table with horses and charioteers,a with
warriors and all kinds of soldiers, says the
Lord God.
I will display my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that
I have laid on them. The house of Israel
shall know that I am the Lord their God,
from that day forward. And the nations
shall know that the house of Israel went into
captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt
treacherously with me. So I hid my face from
them and gave them into the hand of their
adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. I
dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my
face from them.
Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now
I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and
have mercy on the whole house of Israel;

and I will be jealous for my holy name.
They shall forgetb their shame, and all
the treachery they have practiced against
me, when they live securely in their land
with no one to make them afraid, when I
have brought them back from the peoples
and gathered them from their enemies
lands, and through them have displayed
my holiness in the sight of many nations.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord
their God because I sent them into exile
among the nations, and then gathered
them into their own land. I will leave none
of them behind; and I will never again
hide my face from them, when I pour out
my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the
Lord God.
40
In the twenty-fth year of our exile,

at the beginning of the year, on the
tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth
year after the city was struck down, on that
very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me,
and he brought me there. He brought me,
in visions of God, to the land of Israel, and
set me down upon a very high mountain, on
which was a structure like a city to the south.
When he brought me there, a man was
there, whose appearance shone like bronze,
a Heb chariots
b Another reading is They shall bear
whose great numbers stop up passage to the underworld. 1720: Cf. 39.4b. An invitation to the animal world to
aend an apocalyptic, sacricial feast (cf. Isa 34.57; Zeph 1.7), perhaps a sacred, funerary banquet. 18: Animal
names were frequently used as titles of nobles. Bashan, in northern Transjordan, was noted for its cale. 2129:
Secondary summary and concluding oracles. 25: Now I will restore, a shi in focus to a stage before the endtimes. The victory and restoration are linked here with the familiar language and narrative line of Ezekiel (5.8
[reversed]; 28.26; 34.2830). My holy name, 20.9n. 29: Cf. 36.27n.; 37.9,14; Ps 51.1011; Zech 12.10; Joel 2.2829.
40.148.35: Blueprint for the restored Temple and land. The blueprint that Ezekiel details here includes
new ideal features that aim to prevent the wrongs of the pastthose that led to the destruction of Solomons Temple in 586 bcefrom ever happening again. New Temple fortications and new land boundaries
will demarcate the holiness of the land and people (e.g., 42.20n.) with the Temple functioning as an organizing
center of this holiness (43.12). In accordance with the Holiness School, the plan provides for the selements
and entire people of Israel to be encompassed by the holiness of God, whose dwelling in their midst is now to
be permanently safeguarded (43.7; 44.13; 48.35). This section of Ezekiel does not prophesy a literal future for
the Temple; rather, it oers a Temple plan as an embodiment of the values of Ezekiel and his followers.
40.142.20: The new Temple. Ezekiels Temple complex is modeled on that of Solomon (see 1 Kings 6 and
2 Chr 3), but with key modications, such as immense gate-towers and graded zones of holiness, meant to
secure the hierarchical world of the Holiness School. 40.127: The Temple area and gates: 15: April 28, 573 bce.
On the twenty-h anniversary of his exile, Ezekiel is transported in a vision (cf. 8.23) to the Temple mountain
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ezekiel 40
with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his
hand; and he was standing in the gateway.
The man said to me, Mortal, look closely
and listen attentively, and set your mind
upon all that I shall show you, for you were
brought here in order that I might show it to
you; declare all that you see to the house of
Israel.
Now there was a wall all around the
outside of the temple area. The length of
the measuring reed in the mans hand was
six long cubits, each being a cubit and a
handbreadth in length; so he measured the
thickness of the wall, one reed; and the
height, one reed. Then he went into the
gateway facing east, going up its steps, and
measured the threshold of the gate, one
reed deep.a There were recesses, and each
recess was one reed wide and one reed deep;
and the space between the recesses, ve
cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the
vestibule of the gate at the inner end was
one reed deep. Then he measured the inner
vestibule of the gateway, one cubit. Then
he measured the vestibule of the gateway,
eight cubits; and its pilasters, two cubits;
and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner
end. There were three recesses on either
side of the east gate; the three were of the
same size; and the pilasters on either side
were of the same size. Then he measured
the width of the opening of the gateway,
ten cubits; and the width of the gateway,
thirteen cubits. There was a barrier before
the recesses, one cubit on either side; and
the recesses were six cubits on either side.
Then he measured the gate from the backb
of the one recess to the backb of the other,
a width of twenty-ve cubits, from wall to
wall.c He measuredd also the vestibule,
twenty cubits; and the gate next to the pilaster on every side of the court.e From the
front of the gate at the entrance to the end
of the inner vestibule of the gate was fty
cubits. The recesses and their pilasters had
windows, with shutterse on the inside of the
gateway all around, and the vestibules also
had windows on the inside all around; and
on the pilasters were palm trees.
Then he brought me into the outer court;
there were chambers there, and a pavement,
all around the court; thirty chambers fronted
on the pavement. The pavement ran along
the side of the gates, corresponding to the
length of the gates; this was the lower pavement. Then he measured the distance from
the inner front off the lower gate to the outer
front of the inner court, one hundred cubits.g
Then he measured the gate of the outer
court that faced northits depth and width.
Its recesses, three on either side, and its pilasters and its vestibule were of the same size
as those of the rst gate; its depth was fty
cubits, and its width twenty-ve cubits. Its
windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees
were of the same size as those of the gate that
faced toward the east. Seven steps led up to it;
and its vestibule was on the inside.h Opposite the gate on the north, as on the east, was
a gate to the inner court; he measured from
gate to gate, one hundred cubits.
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Heb deep, and one threshold, one reed deep

Gk: Heb roof
Heb opening facing opening
Heb made
Compare Gk: Heb from before
Heb adds the east and the north
Gk: Heb before them
(very high mountain, 17.22; Isa 2.2). 3: Shone like bronze, a radiant, supernatural gure (cf. 1.7). 5: An outer wall surrounded the entire Temple area. The long cubit was 20.7 in (52.5 cm); the ordinary cubit was 17.5 in (44 cm). The
reed was 10.3 (3.1 m) long. 616: The outer courts east gate-tower was a massive, fortied complex consisting
of a threshold, a long hallway with recesses (side rooms), a second threshold, and an inner vestibule room. Heavy
pilasters (piers) with windows separated the recessed chambers, or guardrooms, inside the gate-tower (three
on each side). This gate is treated further in 43.15; 44.13. The plan of the gate is similar to several excavated
gateways, such as those at Megiddo, Hazor, and Gezer. 8: One cubit, the Hebrew text is problematic here. 16:
Palm trees, see 28.13n.; cf. 1 Kings 6.29,35. 1719: The Temple areas outer courtyard. The thirty chambers around
the courts periphery were probably for the use of the Levites and for people to meet and eat together (Jer 35.2;
Neh 13.412). See also 46.2124. 2027: The other two (northern and southern) gates of the outer courtyard
were identical to the east gate-tower. That there were steps up to the gates (vv. 22,26) shows that the whole
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ezekiel 40
Then he led me toward the south,
and there was a gate on the south; and he
measured its pilasters and its vestibule;
they had the same dimensions as the others. There were windows all around in
it and in its vestibule, like the windows of
the others; its depth was fifty cubits, and
its width twenty-five cubits. There were
seven steps leading up to it; its vestibule
was on the inside.a It had palm trees on its
pilasters, one on either side. There was
a gate on the south of the inner court; and
he measured from gate to gate toward the
south, one hundred cubits.
Then he brought me to the inner court
by the south gate, and he measured the
south gate; it was of the same dimensions as
the others. Its recesses, its pilasters, and
its vestibule were of the same size as the
others; and there were windows all around
in it and in its vestibule; its depth was fty
cubits, and its width twenty-ve cubits.
There were vestibules all around, twentyve cubits deep and ve cubits wide. Its
vestibule faced the outer court, and palm
trees were on its pilasters, and its stairway
had eight steps.
Then he brought me to the inner court
on the east side, and he measured the gate;
it was of the same size as the others. Its
recesses, its pilasters, and its vestibule were
of the same dimensions as the others; and
there were windows all around in it and in its
vestibule; its depth was fty cubits, and its
width twenty-ve cubits. Its vestibule faced
the outer court, and it had palm trees on its
pilasters, on either side; and its stairway had
eight steps.
Then he brought me to the north gate,
and he measured it; it had the same dimensions as the others. Its recesses, its pilas-
ters, and its vestibule were of the same size as

the others;b and it had windows all around.
Its depth was fty cubits, and its width
twenty-ve cubits. Its vestibulec faced
the outer court, and it had palm trees on its
pilasters, on either side; and its stairway had
eight steps.
There was a chamber with its door in
the vestibule of the gate,d where the burnt
oering was to be washed. And in the
vestibule of the gate were two tables on
either side, on which the burnt oering and
the sin oering and the guilt oering were
to be slaughtered. On the outside of the
vestibulee at the entrance of the north gate
were two tables; and on the other side of
the vestibule of the gate were two tables.
Four tables were on the inside, and four
tables on the outside of the side of the gate,
eight tables, on which the sacrices were
to be slaughtered. There were also four
tables of hewn stone for the burnt oering,
a cubit and a half long, and one cubit and
a half wide, and one cubit high, on which
the instruments were to be laid with which
the burnt oerings and the sacrices were
slaughtered. There were pegs, one handbreadth long, fastened all around the inside.
And on the tables the esh of the oering
was to be laid.
On the outside of the inner gateway there
were chambers for the singers in the inner
court, onef at the side of the north gate facing
a Gk: Heb before them
b One Ms: Compare verses 29 and 33: MT lacks were
c
d
e
f
of the same size as the others

Gk Vg Compare verses 26, 31, 34: Heb pilasters
Cn: Heb at the pilasters of the gates
Cn: Heb to him who goes up
Heb lacks one
Temple platform was an elevated area. 2846: The inner gate-towers. Ezekiel is shown three gates (south, east,
north) leading to the inner court corresponding to those leading to the outer court. Only priests could pass
through these inner gates (42.14; 44.19; 46.3). 31: Eight steps, the Temple was built on a succession of terraces,
so that height demarcated gradations of holiness, just as did walled perimeters and gates (vv. 34,37). Holiness
increased as one proceeded farther up and into the Temple. 3843: The vestibules of the inner gates contained
facilities for the preparation of sacrices. Burnt, sin, and guilt oerings, see Lev 1.17.38. 4446: Priests chambers. On the north and south sides of the inner court were buildings for the use of the priests. These may be
small cells (for priests on guard duty?), dierent from the chambers in 42.114. 44: The singers, Levitical priests
(cf. 1 Chr 9.33). East gate, read south gate with the Septuagint. 46b: An editorial clarication that only Zadokite priests, such as Ezekiel and his group, may sacrice at the altar (43.19; 44.1531n.). 40.4741.4: The Temple
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ezekiel 41
south, the other at the side of the east gate
facing north. He said to me, This chamber
that faces south is for the priests who have
charge of the temple, and the chamber that
faces north is for the priests who have charge
of the altar; these are the descendants of
Zadok, who alone among the descendants of
Levi may come near to the Lord to minister to
him. He measured the court, one hundred
cubits deep, and one hundred cubits wide,
a square; and the altar was in front of the
temple.
Then he brought me to the vestibule of
the temple and measured the pilasters of the
vestibule, ve cubits on either side; and the
width of the gate was fourteen cubits; and
the sidewalls of the gate were three cubitsa on
either side. The depth of the vestibule was
twenty cubits, and the width twelveb cubits;
ten steps led upc to it; and there were pillars
beside the pilasters on either side.
Then he brought me to the nave, and
measured the pilasters; on each side
six cubits was the width of the pilasters.d
The width of the entrance was ten cubits;
and the sidewalls of the entrance were ve
cubits on either side. He measured the length
of the nave, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits. Then he went into the inner room
and measured the pilasters of the entrance,
two cubits; and the width of the entrance,
six cubits; and the sidewallse of the entrance,
seven cubits. He measured the depth of the
room, twenty cubits, and its width, twenty
cubits, beyond the nave. And he said to me,
This is the most holy place.
Then he measured the wall of the temple,
six cubits thick; and the width of the side
chambers, four cubits, all around the temple.
The side chambers were in three stories,
one over another, thirty in each story. There
were osetsf all around the wall of the temple
41
to serve as supports for the side chambers,

so that they should not be supported by the
wall of the temple. The passagewayg of the
side chambers widened from story to story;
for the structure was supplied with a stairway
all around the temple. For this reason the
structure became wider from story to story.
One ascended from the bottom story to
the uppermost story by way of the middle
one. I saw also that the temple had a raised
platform all around; the foundations of the
side chambers measured a full reed of six
long cubits. The thickness of the outer wall
of the side chambers was ve cubits; and the
free space between the side chambers of the
temple and the chambers of the court was a
width of twenty cubits all around the temple
on every side. The side chambers opened
onto the area left free, one door toward the
north, and another door toward the south;
and the width of the part that was left free
was ve cubits all around.
The building that was facing the temple
yard on the west side was seventy cubits
wide; and the wall of the building was ve
cubits thick all around, and its depth ninety
cubits.
Then he measured the temple, one
hundred cubits deep; and the yard and the
building with its walls, one hundred cubits
deep; also the width of the east front of the
temple and the yard, one hundred cubits.
Then he measured the depth of the
building facing the yard at the west, together
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Gk: Heb and the width of the gate was three cubits
Gk: Heb eleven
Gk: Heb and by steps that went up
Compare Gk: Heb tent
Gk: Heb width
Gk Compare 1Kings 6.6: Heb they entered
Cn: Heb it was surrounded
proper. The successive entrances to the Temples three rooms become more narrow, symbolizing increasing
holiness (40.48; 41.2; 41.3). 40.49: According to the Septuagint (textual note c), the Temple was ten steps (10
[3 m]; see 41.8) above the level of the inner court. (Again, steps indicate increasing holiness; cf. vv. 22,31.)
In front of the vestibule were freestanding pillars (1 Kings 7.1522). The vestibule (40.4849) was 34 (10.5 m)
x 20.5 (6.3 m). The nave (41.12), which Ezekiel could enter as a Zadokite priest, was 69 (21 m) x 34 (10.5
m). The adytum (inner room or most holy place, 41.34), which Ezekiel did not enter (Lev 16), was a square of
34 (10.5 m) per side (1 Kings 6.16; 7.50; 8.6; Ex 26.3334). 41.515a: Annexes and surroundings. The three
tiers of thirty chambers per tier on the sides of the Temple (1 Kings 6.510) probably stored Temple treasures
(cf. 44.30; 1 Kings 14.26; 2 Kings 14.14) and equipment for Temple services. 10: Chambers of the court, 42.114.
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ezekiel 42
with its galleriesa on either side, one hundred
cubits.
The nave of the temple and the inner room
and the outerb vestibule were paneled,c
and, all around, all three had windows with
recessedd frames. Facing the threshold the
temple was paneled with wood all around,
from the oor up to the windows (now the
windows were covered), to the space above
the door, even to the inner room, and on the
outside. And on all the walls all around in the
inner room and the nave there was a pattern.e
It was formed of cherubim and palm trees,
a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each
cherub had two faces: a human face turned
toward the palm tree on the one side, and the
face of a young lion turned toward the palm
tree on the other side. They were carved on
the whole temple all around; from the oor
to the area above the door, cherubim and
palm trees were carved on the wall.f
The doorposts of the nave were square.
In front of the holy place was something
resembling an altar of wood, three cubits
high, two cubits long, and two cubits wide;g
its corners, its base,h and its walls were of
wood. He said to me, This is the table that
stands before the Lord. The nave and the
holy place had each a double door. The
doors had two leaves apiece, two swinging
leaves for each door. On the doors of the
nave were carved cherubim and palm trees,
such as were carved on the walls; and there
was a canopy of wood in front of the vestibule outside. And there were recessed
windows and palm trees on either side, on
the sidewalls of the vestibule.i
Then he led me out into the outer
court, toward the north, and he
brought me to the chambers that were opposite the temple yard and opposite the building on the north. The length of the building
that was on the north sidej wask one hundred
42
cubits, and the width fty cubits. Across

the twenty cubits that belonged to the inner
court, and facing the pavement that belonged
to the outer court, the chambers rosel gallerym by gallerym in three stories. In front
of the chambers was a passage on the inner
side, ten cubits wide and one hundred cubits
deep,n and itso entrances were on the north.
Now the upper chambers were narrower,
for the galleriesm took more away from them
than from the lower and middle chambers in
the building. For they were in three stories,
and they had no pillars like the pillars of the
outerp court; for this reason the upper chambers were set back from the ground more
than the lower and the middle ones. There
was a wall outside parallel to the chambers,
toward the outer court, opposite the chambers, fty cubits long. For the chambers on
the outer court were fty cubits long, while
those opposite the temple were one hundred
cubits long. At the foot of these chambers
ran a passage that one entered from the east
in order to enter them from the outer court.
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p

Gk: Heb of the court
Gk: Heb the thresholds
Cn Compare Gk 1Kings 6.4: Meaning of Heb
uncertain
Heb measures
Cn Compare verse 25: Heb and the wall
Gk: Heb lacks two cubits wide
Gk: Heb length
Cn: Heb vestibule. And the side chambers of the
temple and the canopies
Gk: Heb door
Gk: Heb before the length
Heb lacks the chambers rose
Gk Syr: Heb a way of one cubit
Heb their
Gk: Heb lacks outer
12: A large auxiliary building stood west of the Temple; it may also have been intended for storage purposes.
15b26: Wall decoration and interior furnishings. 16: The windows were like those in the gates (40.16). 1820:
The Temple aimed to model Eden, Gods cosmic dwelling, where fantastic trees and cherubim are present (cf.
28.13n.; 1 Kings 6.2930). 22: The table in the nave was for the bread of the Presence, see Ex 25.2330 (not HS);
Lev 24.59 (HS).
42.114: The priests chambers. Ezekiel rst sees the north sacristy, which was behind (west of) the north
gate-tower to the inner court. Similar chambers were on the Temples south side (vv. 1012). Perhaps the three
stories of chambers were arranged terrace-fashion against the north and south walls retaining the inner court.
hebrew bible | 1221
ezekiel 43
The width of the passagea was xed by the
wall of the court.
On the southb also, opposite the vacant
area and opposite the building, there were
chambers with a passage in front of them;
they were similar to the chambers on the
north, of the same length and width, with
the same exitsc and arrangements and doors.
So the entrances of the chambers to the
south were entered through the entrance at
the head of the corresponding passage, from
the east, along the matching wall.d
Then he said to me, The north chambers and the south chambers opposite the
vacant area are the holy chambers, where
the priests who approach the Lord shall
eat the most holy oerings; there they shall
deposit the most holy oeringsthe grain
oering, the sin oering, and the guilt offeringfor the place is holy. When the
priests enter the holy place, they shall not
go out of it into the outer court without
laying there the vestments in which they
minister, for these are holy; they shall put
on other garments before they go near to the
area open to the people.
When he had nished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by the
gate that faces east, and measured the temple
area all around. He measured the east side
with the measuring reed, ve hundred cubits
by the measuring reed. Then he turned and
measurede the north side, ve hundred cubits
by the measuring reed. Then he turned and
measurede the south side, ve hundred cubits
by the measuring reed. Then he turned to
the west side and measured, ve hundred cubits by the measuring reed. He measured it
on the four sides. It had a wall around it, ve
hundred cubits long and ve hundred cubits
wide, to make a separation between the holy

and the common.
Then he brought me to the gate, the
gate facing east. And there, the glory
of the God of Israel was coming from the east;
the sound was like the sound of mighty waters; and the earth shone with his glory. Thef
vision I saw was like the vision that I had seen
when he came to destroy the city, andg like
the vision that I had seen by the river Chebar;
and I fell upon my face. As the glory of the
Lord entered the temple by the gate facing
east, the spirit lifted me up, and brought
me into the inner court; and the glory of the
Lord lled the temple.
While the man was standing beside me,
I heard someone speaking to me out of the
temple. He said to me: Mortal, this is the
place of my throne and the place for the soles
of my feet, where I will reside among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel shall
no more dele my holy name, neither they
nor their kings, by their whoring, and by the
corpses of their kings at their death.h When
they placed their threshold by my threshold
and their doorposts beside my doorposts,
with only a wall between me and them, they
were deling my holy name by their abominations that they committed; therefore I
have consumed them in my anger. Now let
them put away their idolatry and the corpses
43
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Heb lacks of the passage

Gk: Heb east
Heb and all their exits
Gk: Heb measuring reed all around. He measured
Gk: Heb Like the vision
Syr: Heb and the visions
Or on their high places
A second, smaller apartment building was opposite, on the outer-court side. 13: On the sacrices, see 40.38
39n.; 44.2831; Lev 2.110; 7.710. 14: See 44.19n. 1520: The measuring completed. The total Temple area was
a square of 861 (262 m) per side. 20: Marking boundaries of holiness, distinguishing between the holy and the
common, was a central concern of Zadokites, such as Ezekiel (22.26; 44.23; Lev 10.1011 [HS]).
43.112: Return of the glory of the Lord. As God on the throne-chariot had forsaken the Temple by the
east gate (10.1819; 11.2223), so Gods glory (see 10.122n.) returns through the same gate (40.616; 44.13)
and dwells in the new Temple (Ex 40.3438 [HS]; 1 Kings 8.1011). 2: Sound of mighty waters, see 1.4n. 3: Chebar,
1.13n. Fell upon my face, 1.28n.; 3.23. 612: God warns against any more deling of the Temple. The text particularly aacks royal encroachment on the Temple, perhaps in constructing shrines to other deities in the Temple
courtyard, and the practice of royal funerary oerings at the Temple (the Hebrew may refer not to corpses but
to deication of deceased kings). 7: Holiness School theology triumphs, as Gods glory takes up permanent
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ezekiel 44
of their kings far from me, and I will reside
among them forever.
As for you, mortal, describe the temple
to the house of Israel, and let them measure
the pattern; and let them be ashamed of their
iniquities. When they are ashamed of all
that they have done, make known to them
the plan of the temple, its arrangement, its
exits and its entrances, and its whole form
all its ordinances and its entire plan and all
its laws; and write it down in their sight, so
that they may observe and follow the entire
plan and all its ordinances. This is the law
of the temple: the whole territory on the top
of the mountain all around shall be most
holy. This is the law of the temple.
These are the dimensions of the altar
by cubits (the cubit being one cubit and a
handbreadth): its base shall be one cubit
high,a and one cubit wide, with a rim of one
span around its edge. This shall be the height
of the altar: From the base on the ground to
the lower ledge, two cubits, with a width of
one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the
larger ledge, four cubits, with a width of one
cubit; and the altar hearth, four cubits; and
from the altar hearth projecting upward, four
horns. The altar hearth shall be square,
twelve cubits long by twelve wide. The
ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits
long by fourteen wide, with a rim around it
half a cubit wide, and its surrounding base,
one cubit. Its steps shall face east.
Then he said to me: Mortal, thus says the
Lord God: These are the ordinances for the
altar: On the day when it is erected for oer-
ing burnt oerings upon it and for dashing

blood against it, you shall give to the levitical
priests of the family of Zadok, who draw near
to me to minister to me, says the Lord God,
a bull for a sin oering. And you shall take
some of its blood, and put it on the four horns
of the altar, and on the four corners of the
ledge, and upon the rim all around; thus you
shall purify it and make atonement for it. You
shall also take the bull of the sin oering, and
it shall be burnt in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area.
On the second day you shall oer a male
goat without blemish for a sin oering; and
the altar shall be puried, as it was puried
with the bull. When you have nished
purifying it, you shall oer a bull without
blemish and a ram from the ock without
blemish. You shall present them before
the Lord, and the priests shall throw salt on
them and oer them up as a burnt oering to
the Lord. For seven days you shall provide
daily a goat for a sin oering; also a bull and
a ram from the ock, without blemish, shall
be provided. Seven days shall they make
atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and
so consecrate it. When these days are over,
then from the eighth day onward the priests
shall oer upon the altar your burnt oerings
and your oerings of well-being; and I will
accept you, says the Lord God.
Then he brought me back to the
outer gate of the sanctuary, which
faces east; and it was shut. The Lord said to
44
a Gk: Heb lacks high
residence amid the Israelites (37.27n.; 37:28n.; 48.35n.). My holy name, 20.9n. 1012: Instructions and statement
of purpose. The Temple plan of chs 4042 provides for the holiness appropriate for Gods eternal presence. 12:
Law of the temple, it was the priests, such as Ezekiel, who transmied such law to people (44.23n.).
43.1317: The altar of burnt oerings (40.47). The altar symbolizes a mythic cosmic center (cf. 5.5n.; 38.12n.),
its shape resembling the Babylonian ziggurats meant to be cosmic centers and gateways to heaven (see Gen
11.4). The base on the ground (v. 14) is literally, the bosom of the earth. The altar hearth (v. 15) in Hebrew is
spelled like the mountain of God. 13: Cubit, see 40.5n. 15: Horns, see 1 Kings 1.50n. 16: Hearth, the altars
top layer, where sacrices were burned. 17: The height of the altar, over 17 (5.2 m), necessitated its having
steps (contrast Ex 20.26). 43.1827: The altars consecration. On the analogy of earlier consecratory rites (Ex
29.3637 (not HS); 40.138 [HS]; Lev 8.1415), the priests of Zadok (40.46n.; 44.1531n.) are to dedicate the altar
upon its completion. 21: Lev 4.1112; 8.1617.
44.13: The outer east gate. This gate-tower (40.614) remains closed, symbolizing its consecration by
Gods entrance (43.4) and Gods permanent presence inside the Temple (43.7). Thus shut, the gate-complex
becomes a ceremonial room. As his sacral privilege, the prince was to enter it from the Temples outer courtyard
to eat his part of the sacricial meal (43.27; Lev 7.15; 22.21). Ezekiels preferred term for Israels monarchic leader
hebrew bible | 1223
ezekiel 44
me: This gate shall remain shut; it shall not
be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for
the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by
it; therefore it shall remain shut. Only the
prince, because he is a prince, may sit in it to
eat food before the Lord; he shall enter by
way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go
out by the same way.
Then he brought me by way of the north
gate to the front of the temple; and I looked,
and lo! the glory of the Lord lled the
temple of the Lord; and I fell upon my face.
The Lord said to me: Mortal, mark well,
look closely, and listen attentively to all that
I shall tell you concerning all the ordinances
of the temple of the Lord and all its laws;
and mark well those who may be admitted
toa the temple and all those who are to be
excluded from the sanctuary. Say to the
rebellious house,b to the house of Israel,
Thus says the Lord God: Ohouse of Israel, let
there be an end to all your abominations in
admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart
and esh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning
my temple when you oer to me my food,
the fat and the blood. Youc have broken my
covenant with all your abominations. And
you have not kept charge of my sacred offerings; but you have appointed foreignersd
to act for you in keeping my charge in my
sanctuary.
Thus says the Lord God: No foreigner,

uncircumcised in heart and esh, of all the
foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary. But the Levites
who went far from me, going astray from
me after their idols when Israel went astray,
shall bear their punishment. They shall be
ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight
at the gates of the temple, and serving in the
temple; they shall slaughter the burnt oering and the sacrice for the people, and they
shall attend on them and serve them. Because they ministered to them before their
idols and made the house of Israel stumble
into iniquity, therefore I have sworn concerning them, says the Lord God, that they shall
bear their punishment. They shall not come
near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come
near any of my sacred oerings, the things
that are most sacred; but they shall bear their
shame, and the consequences of the abominations that they have committed. Yet I will
appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to
do all its chores, all that is to be done in it.
But the levitical priests, the descendants
of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctua
b
c
d
Cn: Heb the entrance of

Gk: Heb lacks house
Gk Syr Vg: Heb They
Heb lacks foreigners
is prince. The term derives from Israels tribal past, and Ezekiel uses it to uphold the kinship networks of the
countryside and the landed patrimonies that supported them (see 45:89n.; 46:18n.). The Holiness School is
concerned with organizing and stabilizing Gods entire holy territory including the countryside, not just an
isolated royal capital. In 34.24 and 37.25, the prince is a Davidic gure in the new era of restoration. Here in chs
4048, the prince is less an ideal royal gure than a civil ruler with immediate, concrete tasks.
44.431: Temple ordinances. 45: A renewed commission. 616: Ezekiels blueprint for the restored priesthood of Israel again redresses past wrongs. Under the inuence of the Holiness School, Ezekiel nds these particular past wrongs encapsulated in Num 1618, a text about the rebellion of Levites during Israels wilderness
wanderings. 78: The primary reference is to a prototypical narrative: the Levites encroachment on priestly
prerogatives in Num 16.40; 18.4,7. The Levites are foreigners, that is outsiders, with respect to the priestly
obligations of the sanctuary and the altar. 1014: Aer their rebellion in the wilderness, the Levites were given
circumscribed responsibilities. Here, the Levites are restored to these responsibilities in the new Temple, as the
Holiness School had specied them (Num 18:34). 10: When Israel went astray, Num 16.2,22,41. Bear their punishment, Num 18.23. 11: The limitation of the slaughtering of sacrices to the Levites, thus disenfranchising the
general populace, is a new holiness stricture that goes beyond Lev 1.5,11. Aend . . . and serve, Num 16.9. 13: Num
18.3. 14: Num 18.4. 1531: The Zadokite priesthood (see 40.46b n.; 43.19; 48.11). The Zadokites, one of at least
three major priestly lineages in ancient Israel, had been the central priests at Jerusalems preexilic Temple. Their
origins trace back to Solomons elevation of Zadok, the founder of the Zadokite lineage, to be chief priest aer
Abiathars banishment (2 Sam 20.25; 1 Kings 1.78,4145; 2.2627). Ezekiel and his group were themselves Zadokite priests. 1 Chr 6.5053 and 24.31 trace Zadoks ancestry back to Eleazar, Aarons son. Here, vv. 1516 refer
1224 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 45
ary when the people of Israel went astray
from me, shall come near to me to minister to
me; and they shall attend me to oer me the
fat and the blood, says the Lord God. It is
they who shall enter my sanctuary, it is they
who shall approach my table, to minister to
me, and they shall keep my charge. When
they enter the gates of the inner court, they
shall wear linen vestments; they shall have
nothing of wool on them, while they minister
at the gates of the inner court, and within.
They shall have linen turbans on their
heads, and linen undergarments on their
loins; they shall not bind themselves with
anything that causes sweat. When they go
out into the outer court to the people, they
shall remove the vestments in which they
have been ministering, and lay them in the
holy chambers; and they shall put on other
garments, so that they may not communicate
holiness to the people with their vestments.
They shall not shave their heads or let their
locks grow long; they shall only trim the hair
of their heads. No priest shall drink wine
when he enters the inner court. They shall
not marry a widow, or a divorced woman,
but only a virgin of the stock of the house
of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a
priest. They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common,
and show them how to distinguish between
the unclean and the clean. In a controversy
they shall act as judges, and they shall decide
it according to my judgments. They shall
keep my laws and my statutes regarding all
my appointed festivals, and they shall keep
my sabbaths holy. They shall not dele
themselves by going near to a dead person;

for father or mother, however, and for son or
daughter, and for brother or unmarried sister
they may dele themselves. After he has
become clean, they shall count seven days for
him. On the day that he goes into the holy
place, into the inner court, to minister in the
holy place, he shall oer his sin oering, says
the Lord God.
This shall be their inheritance: I am
their inheritance; and you shall give them no
holding in Israel; I am their holding. They
shall eat the grain oering, the sin oering,
and the guilt oering; and every devoted
thing in Israel shall be theirs. The rst of all
the rst fruits of all kinds, and every oering of all kinds from all your oerings, shall
belong to the priests; you shall also give to
the priests the rst of your dough, in order
that a blessing may rest on your house. The
priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird
or animal, that died of itself or was torn by
animals.
When you allot the land as an
inheritance, you shall set aside for
the Lord a portion of the land as a holy
district, twenty-ve thousand cubits long
and twentya thousand cubits wide; it shall be
holy throughout its entire extent. Of this, a
square plot of ve hundred by ve hundred
cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fty
cubits for an open space around it. In the
holy district you shall measure o a section
twenty-ve thousand cubits long and ten
thousand wide, in which shall be the sanctu-
45
a Gk: Heb ten
to how Aaron and Eleazar had been faithful during the Levites rebellion (Num 16.11,2022,3640,4650). These
priests were the ancestors of the Zadokites, and Ezekiel views the Zadokites as present embryonically in their
actions. 1516: Num 18.7 (cf. Lev 16.1415). 1731: Priestly rules. 17: Linen vestments, see 9.12n.; Ex 39.2729
(HS). 19: 42.14. Communicate holiness, cf. 46.20. Sanctity could sometimes be transmied through direct contact
with a sacred substance (see Lev 6.18,2627). The goal here is to preserve gradations of sanctity. Failure in this
regard was life-threatening (see Num 16.38 [HS]). 20: The care of the hair, Lev 21.5 (HS). 21: No wine before service, Lev 10.9 (HS). 22: Proper marriage, Lev 21.7,1315 (HS). 23: Teaching of the people, Lev 10.1011 (HS); 2 Chr
17.9; Hag 2.1013. 24: Judges, 1 Chr 23.4; 2 Chr 19.11. 25: Delement by a corpse, see 39.1116n.; Lev 21.13 (HS). 28:
No inheritance, 45.15; 48.814; Num 18.2024 (HS). 2930: Eating sacrices and rst fruits, Num 18.913 (HS);
Lev 2.3; 6.16,26; 7.67. Every devoted thing, Num 18.14 (HS). 31: Lev 7.24; 22.8 (HS).
45.19: The distribution of land (continued in 47.1348.35) is idealized. A holy district is to contain a northern
section for the Levites and a southern section for the sacricing priests. The laer includes the square section
for the Temple area (42.1520) plus an enclosure space (not mentioned earlier). The property of Jerusalem south
of the holy district (v. 6) makes with the holy district (v. 1) a square area of ca. 8 mi (13 km) per side. The prince
hebrew bible | 1225
ezekiel 45
ary, the most holy place. It shall be a holy
portion of the land; it shall be for the priests,
who minister in the sanctuary and approach
the Lord to minister to him; and it shall be
both a place for their houses and a holy place
for the sanctuary. Another section, twentyve thousand cubits long and ten thousand
cubits wide, shall be for the Levites who
minister at the temple, as their holding for
cities to live in.a
Alongside the portion set apart as the
holy district you shall assign as a holding for
the city an area ve thousand cubits wide,
and twenty-ve thousand cubits long; it shall
belong to the whole house of Israel.
And to the prince shall belong the land
on both sides of the holy district and the
holding of the city, alongside the holy district
and the holding of the city, on the west and
on the east, corresponding in length to one
of the tribal portions, and extending from
the western to the eastern boundary of the
land. It is to be his property in Israel. And my
princes shall no longer oppress my people;
but they shall let the house of Israel have the
land according to their tribes.
Thus says the Lord God: Enough,
Oprinces of Israel! Put away violence and
oppression, and do what is just and right.
Cease your evictions of my people, says the
Lord God.
You shall have honest balances, an honest ephah, and an honest bath.b The ephah
and the bath shall be of the same measure,
the bath containing one-tenth of a homer,
and the ephah one-tenth of a homer; the
homer shall be the standard measure. The
shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels, twenty-ve shekels, and fteen shekels
shall make a mina for you.
This is the oering that you shall make:

one-sixth of an ephah from each homer of
wheat, and one-sixth of an ephah from each
homer of barley, and as the xed portion
of oil,c one-tenth of a bath from each cor
(the cor,d like the homer, contains ten baths);
and one sheep from every ock of two hundred, from the pastures of Israel. This is the
oering for grain oerings, burnt oerings,
and oerings of well-being, to make atonement for them, says the Lord God. All the
people of the land shall join with the prince
in Israel in making this oering. But this
shall be the obligation of the prince regarding
the burnt oerings, grain oerings, and drink
oerings, at the festivals, the new moons,
and the sabbaths, all the appointed festivals
of the house of Israel: he shall provide the sin
oerings, grain oerings, the burnt oerings, and the oerings of well-being, to make
atonement for the house of Israel.
Thus says the Lord God: In the rst
month, on the rst day of the month, you
shall take a young bull without blemish, and
purify the sanctuary. The priest shall take
some of the blood of the sin oering and put
it on the doorposts of the temple, the four
corners of the ledge of the altar, and the posts
of the gate of the inner court. You shall do
the same on the seventh day of the month
for anyone who has sinned through error or
ignorance; so you shall make atonement for
the temple.
In the rst month, on the fourteenth day
of the month, you shall celebrate the festival
a
b
c
d
Gk: Heb as their holding, twenty chambers

A Heb measure of volume
Cn: Heb oil, the bath the oil
Vg: Heb homer
(see 44.13n.) is to hold the strips of land to the west and east of this square area. 89: In accordance with the
ideals of the Holiness School (Lev 25.10,2324,42), princes are denied the power to evict subjects from their
family homesteads (cf. 11.15n.; 22.27; 46.18n.).
45.10-17: Weights and measures for oerings. For present-day equivalents of ephah, bath, homer, shekel,
gerah, and mina, see Table of Weights and Measures. The Holiness School insisted on honest measures (see
Lev 19.3536). 1317: The people will bring gis for the regular sacrices to the prince, who, as their representative, will oer them to God. These oerings are additional to the donations given to the priests of
44.30.
45.1825: Festival regulations. 1820: A new annual ritual for purifying the Temple or a one-time, inaugural
purication. 2125: Ezekiels brief festival-calendar highlights the passover (Ex 12; Lev 23.48) and the festival
of booths (the festival of the seventh month in v. 25; see Lev 23.3336). It omits the festival of weeks (Pentecost;
1226 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 46
of the passover, and for seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten. On that day
the prince shall provide for himself and all
the people of the land a young bull for a sin
oering. And during the seven days of the
festival he shall provide as a burnt oering to
the Lord seven young bulls and seven rams
without blemish, on each of the seven days;
and a male goat daily for a sin oering. He
shall provide as a grain oering an ephah for
each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a hin
of oil to each ephah. In the seventh month,
on the fteenth day of the month and for the
seven days of the festival, he shall make the
same provision for sin oerings, burnt oerings, and grain oerings, and for the oil.
Thus says the Lord God: The gate of
the inner court that faces east shall
remain closed on the six working days; but
on the sabbath day it shall be opened and on
the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the
gate from outside, and shall take his stand by
the post of the gate. The priests shall oer his
burnt oering and his oerings of well-being,
and he shall bow down at the threshold of
the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate
shall not be closed until evening. The people
of the land shall bow down at the entrance of
that gate before the Lord on the sabbaths and
on the new moons. The burnt oering that
the prince oers to the Lord on the sabbath
day shall be six lambs without blemish and a
ram without blemish; and the grain oering
with the ram shall be an ephah, and the grain
oering with the lambs shall be as much as
he wishes to give, together with a hin of oil
to each ephah. On the day of the new moon
he shall oer a young bull without blemish, and six lambs and a ram, which shall be
without blemish; as a grain oering he shall
46
provide an ephah with the bull and an ephah

with the ram, and with the lambs as much as
he wishes, together with a hin of oil to each
ephah. When the prince enters, he shall
come in by the vestibule of the gate, and he
shall go out by the same way.
When the people of the land come before
the Lord at the appointed festivals, whoever enters by the north gate to worship shall go out by
the south gate; and whoever enters by the south
gate shall go out by the north gate: they shall
not return by way of the gate by which they
entered, but shall go out straight ahead. When
they come in, the prince shall come in with
them; and when they go out, he shall go out.
At the festivals and the appointed
seasons the grain oering with a young bull
shall be an ephah, and with a ram an ephah,
and with the lambs as much as one wishes to
give, together with a hin of oil to an ephah.
When the prince provides a freewill oering, either a burnt oering or oerings of
well-being as a freewill oering to the Lord,
the gate facing east shall be opened for him;
and he shall oer his burnt oering or his
oerings of well-being as he does on the sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he
has gone out the gate shall be closed.
He shall provide a lamb, a yearling, without blemish, for a burnt oering to the Lord
daily; morning by morning he shall provide
it. And he shall provide a grain oering with
it morning by morning regularly, one-sixth
of an ephah, and one-third of a hin of oil to
moisten the choice our, as a grain oering
to the Lord; this is the ordinance for all time.
Thus the lamb and the grain oering and
the oil shall be provided, morning by morning, as a regular burnt oering.
Thus says the Lord God: If the prince
makes a gift to any of his sons out of his
Lev 23.1521). 24: Ephah and hin, see Table of Weights and Measures.
46.115: Gate regulations and the princes minor oerings. 17: Both weekly and monthly, the prince (see
44.13n.) shall bring oerings (vv. 47) into the inner east gate leading to the altar (40.3234). Kings might have
performed priestly functions in preexilic times (1 Kings 8.63; 2 Kings 16.1213), but now they will stand by while
the priests oer the sacrices. For the sabbath sacrices, see Num 28.910; on Ezekiels emphasis on the sabbath here, see 20.1213n. For the new moon (i.e., monthly) sacrices, see Num 28.1115. 810: Exit procedures.
The great festival crowds require regulations for controlled egress. 1115: Further rules. 11: 45.24; 46.5,7. 12:
When the prince makes a freewill oering (Lev 22.1823 [HS]), the inner east gate (v. 1) may be opened. 1315: The
prince must also provide for daily sacrices (Num 28.38; Ex 29.3842 [HS]).
46.1618: The princes property. Crown property (45.7; 48.2122) was to be inalienable from the royal line.
hebrew bible | 1227
ezekiel 47
inheritance,a it shall belong to his sons, it
is their holding by inheritance. But if he
makes a gift out of his inheritance to one
of his servants, it shall be his to the year of
liberty; then it shall revert to the prince; only
his sons may keep a gift from his inheritance. The prince shall not take any of the
inheritance of the people, thrusting them out
of their holding; he shall give his sons their
inheritance out of his own holding, so that
none of my people shall be dispossessed of
their holding.
Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, to
the north row of the holy chambers for the
priests; and there I saw a place at the extreme
western end of them. He said to me, This
is the place where the priests shall boil the
guilt oering and the sin oering, and where
they shall bake the grain oering, in order
not to bring them out into the outer court
and so communicate holiness to the people.
Then he brought me out to the outer
court, and led me past the four corners of the
court; and in each corner of the court there
was a court in the four corners of the
court were smallb courts, forty cubits long
and thirty wide; the four were of the same
size. On the inside, around each of the four
courtsc was a row of masonry, with hearths
made at the bottom of the rows all around.
Then he said to me, These are the kitchens
where those who serve at the temple shall
boil the sacrices of the people.
Then he brought me back to the
entrance of the temple; there, water
was owing from below the threshold of the
temple toward the east (for the temple faced
east); and the water was owing down from
below the south end of the threshold of the
temple, south of the altar. Then he brought
47
me out by way of the north gate, and led me

around on the outside to the outer gate that
faces toward the east;d and the water was
coming out on the south side.
Going on eastward with a cord in his
hand, the man measured one thousand
cubits, and then led me through the water;
and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured
one thousand, and led me through the water;
and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one
thousand, and led me through the water; and
it was up to the waist. Again he measured
one thousand, and it was a river that I could
not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep
enough to swim in, a river that could not be
crossed. He said to me, Mortal, have you
seen this?
Then he led me back along the bank of the
river. As I came back, I saw on the bank of
the river a great many trees on the one side
and on the other. He said to me, This water
ows toward the eastern region and goes
down into the Arabah; and when it enters
the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water
will become fresh. Wherever the river goes,e
every living creature that swarms will live,
and there will be very many sh, once these
waters reach there. It will become fresh; and
everything will live where the river goes.
People will stand shing beside the seaf
from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place
for the spreading of nets; its sh will be of a
great many kinds, like the sh of the Great
Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not
a
b
c
d
e
f
Gk: Heb it is his inheritance

Gk Syr Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
Heb the four of them
Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb the two rivers go
Heb it
When given to a nonrelative, it had to be returned on the year of liberty (jubilee year, Lev 25.817 [HS]). 18: See
45.89n. Royal appropriation of others ancestral lands (see 1 Kings 21.116; Isa 5.8; Mic 2.2) is strictly forbidden.
46.1924: Sacricial kitchens. 1920: Behind (west of) the priests chambers (42.114) were kitchens for
preparing oerings (42.13) for priestly consumption. Communicate holiness, see 42.14; 44.19n. 2124: Kitchens,
for the Levites to prepare the common-meal sacrices of the general populace, were in all four corners of the
outer court (40.1719).
47.112: The sacred river. From the throne of God (the Temple; 43.7) issue the waters of life, making the
land a new Paradise. This paradisiacal motif (see 28.14n.) is also found in Joel 3.18 and Zech 14.8 (both Zadokite
apocalyptic texts that follow in the tradition of Ezekiel). 8: Arabah, the Jordan valley, in which the Dead Sea (the
sea of stagnant waters) is located. 10: En-gedi to En-eglaim, two springs on the western side of the Dead Sea. The
1228 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 47
become fresh; they are to be left for salt. On
the banks, on both sides of the river, there
will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their
leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail,
but they will bear fresh fruit every month,
because the water for them ows from the
sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and
their leaves for healing.
Thus says the Lord God: These are the
boundaries by which you shall divide the
land for inheritance among the twelve tribes
of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions.
You shall divide it equally; I swore to give it
to your ancestors, and this land shall fall to
you as your inheritance.
This shall be the boundary of the land:
On the north side, from the Great Sea by
way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on
to Zedad,a Berothah, Sibraim (which lies
between the border of Damascus and the
border of Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon,
which is on the border of Hauran. So the
boundary shall run from the sea to Hazarenon, which is north of the border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north.b
This shall be the north side.
On the east side, between Hauran and
Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead
and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and
as far as Tamar.c This shall be the east side.
On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh,
from there along the Wadi of Egyptd to the
Great Sea. This shall be the south side.
On the west side, the Great Sea shall
be the boundary to a point opposite Lebohamath. This shall be the west side.
So you shall divide this land among
you according to the tribes of Israel. You
H AM ATH
Lebo-hamath
DAN
Berothah
AS HE R
N AP HTAL I
Mediterranean
Sea
Damascus
MAN AS S E H
Sea of
Galilee
E P HRAIM
RE UB E N
H AUR AN
GILE AD
JUD AH
L E VI
Jerusalem
B E N JAMIN
S IME ON
Dead
Sea
I SS ACHAR
ZE B UL UN
Tamar
GAD
0
W ater s o f Meribath
of Kadesh
10
20 Miles
20 Kilometers
Chs 4748: Tribal territories in the restored Israel.
shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among
you and have begotten children among
you. They shall be to you as citizens of
Israel; with you they shall be allotted an
inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In
whatever tribe aliens reside, there you shall
assign them their inheritance, says the
Lord God.
a
b
c
d
Gk: Heb Lebo-zedad, 16Hamath

Compare Syr: Heb you shall measure
Heb lacks of Egypt
Great Sea, the Mediterranean. 11: A source of salt would supply Temple rituals (43.24).
47.1348.29: A new holy land. 47.1323: Boundary and allotment instructions. Ezekiels new Exodus and settlement (cf. 20.3338n.; 36.812; 37.14) occasion a new allotment of the land. 14: I swore, 20.6; 36.28. 1520:
National boundaries. Several of the sites mentioned are unidentied. North border: roughly from the Mediterranean (the Great Sea) north of Tyre to Damascus (cf. Num 34.79). It is approximately the northern border of
Solomons territory (1 Kings 8.65). East border: along the Jordan to Tamar, a site south of the Dead Sea (eastern
sea) (Num 34.1012). Territory in the Transjordan is not included in the new land (contrast Num 34.1315). South
border: from Tamar along the southern Negeb through Kadesh-barnea (Meribath-kadesh) to the Wadi of Egypt
(1 Kings 8.65n.) and the Mediterranean (Num 34.35). West border: the Mediterranean Sea (Num 34.6). 2123:
Allotment. That resident aliens and native Israelites should be treated alike was a widespread principle in the
Holiness School: Num 15.29; Lev 19.3334; 24:22. Ezekiel radicalizes the principle to allow aliens to receive their
own alloed portions of land.
hebrew bible | 1229
ezekiel 48
48
These are the names of the tribes:

Beginning at the northern border,
on the Hethlon road,a from Lebo-hamath,
as far as Hazar-enon (which is on the
border of Damascus, with Hamath to the
north), andb extending from the east side to
the west,c Dan, one portion. Adjoining the
territory of Dan, from the east side to the
west, Asher, one portion. Adjoining the
territory of Asher, from the east side to the
west, Naphtali, one portion. Adjoining the
territory of Naphtali, from the east side to
the west, Manasseh, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the
east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion.
Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from
the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Reuben,
from the east side to the west, Judah, one
portion.
Adjoining the territory of Judah, from
the east side to the west, shall be the portion
that you shall set apart, twenty-ve thousand
cubits in width, and in length equal to one of
the tribal portions, from the east side to the
west, with the sanctuary in the middle of it.
The portion that you shall set apart for the
Lord shall be twenty-ve thousand cubits
in length, and twentyd thousand in width.
These shall be the allotments of the holy
portion: the priests shall have an allotment
measuring twenty-ve thousand cubits on the
northern side, ten thousand cubits in width
on the western side, ten thousand in width on
the eastern side, and twenty-ve thousand in
length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the middle of it. This shall
be for the consecrated priests, the descendantse of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did
not go astray when the people of Israel went
astray, as the Levites did. It shall belong to
them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining
the territory of the Levites. Alongside the
territory of the priests, the Levites shall have

an allotment twenty-ve thousand cubits in
length and ten thousand in width. The whole
length shall be twenty-ve thousand cubits
and the width twentyf thousand. They shall
not sell or exchange any of it; they shall not
transfer this choice portion of the land, for it
is holy to the Lord.
The remainder, ve thousand cubits in
width and twenty-ve thousand in length,
shall be for ordinary use for the city, for
dwellings and for open country. In the middle
of it shall be the city; and these shall be its
dimensions: the north side four thousand ve
hundred cubits, the south side four thousand
ve hundred, the east side four thousand ve
hundred, and the west side four thousand
ve hundred. The city shall have open land:
on the north two hundred fty cubits, on
the south two hundred fty, on the east two
hundred fty, on the west two hundred fty.
The remainder of the length alongside the
holy portion shall be ten thousand cubits to
the east, and ten thousand to the west, and it
shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city.
The workers of the city, from all the tribes of
Israel, shall cultivate it. The whole portion
that you shall set apart shall be twenty-ve
thousand cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.
What remains on both sides of the
holy portion and of the property of the city
shall belong to the prince. Extending from
the twenty-five thousand cubits of the holy
portion to the east border, and westward
from the twenty-five thousand cubits to
a
b
c
d
e
f
Compare 47.15: Heb by the side of the way

Cn: Heb and they shall be his
Gk Compare verses 2-8: Heb the east side the west
Compare 45.1: Heb ten
One Ms Gk: Heb of the descendants
Gk: Heb ten
48.129: Tribal and holy-district allotments. All tribes receive equal allotments consisting of idealized strips
of land. Ephraim and Manasseh (Joseph, 47.13) receive a portion each, but Levi, the priestly tribe, is omied,
so that the tribal allotments number twelve in all. 17: Seven tribes north of the central strip (vv. 822; 45.19).
1: Hethlon, Lebo-hamath, sites on the lands northern border (47.15). 822: The central strip. The description
matches and expands 45.19. 11: See 44.616n.; 44.1531n. 15: Ordinary (common as opposed to holy) use,
see 22.26; 42.20n.; 44.23; Lev 10.10 (HS). 1617: The area of Jerusalem, with the surrounding open land, was
exactly one hundred times that of the Temple (42.20), i.e., a square of 1.6 mi (2.6 km) per side. 2122: The allot-
1230 | hebrew bible
ezekiel 48
the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy
portion with the sanctuary of the temple
in the middle of it, and the property of
the Levites and of the city, shall be in the
middle of that which belongs to the prince.
The portion of the prince shall lie between
the territory of Judah and the territory of
Benjamin.
As for the rest of the tribes: from the
east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion.
Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from
the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion.
Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the
east side to the west, Issachar, one portion.
Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the
east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion.
Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the
east side to the west, Gad, one portion. And
adjoining the territory of Gad to the south,
the boundary shall run from Tamar to the
waters of Meribath-kadesh, from there along
the Wadi of Egypta to the Great Sea. This is
the land that you shall allot as an inheritance
among the tribes of Israel, and these are their

portions, says the Lord God.
These shall be the exits of the city: On
the north side, which is to be four thousand
ve hundred cubits by measure, three gates,
the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the
gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named
after the tribes of Israel. On the east side,
which is to be four thousand ve hundred
cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the
gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. On
the south side, which is to be four thousand
ve hundred cubits by measure, three gates,
the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and
the gate of Zebulun. On the west side,
which is to be four thousand ve hundred
cubits, three gates,b the gate of Gad, the gate
of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. The
circumference of the city shall be eighteen
thousand cubits. And the name of the city
from that time on shall be, The Lord is There.
a Heb lacks of Egypt
b One Ms Gk Syr: MT their gates three
ment of the prince, as described in 45.7. 2329: Five tribes south of the central strip. 28: See 47.19.
48.3035: The new Jerusalem. Three gates on each of the citys four sides, each named aer a tribe. 35: The
citys new name (cf. Isa 1.26; 60.14; 62.2; Zech 8.3) reects how Holiness School theology has come into its own.
The name The Lord is There (Heb Yahweh-shammah) reverses 10.1819.
DANIEL
name
The book of Daniel is named for its primary character, the exile from Judea who becomes a counselor and dream
interpreter in the courts of the Babylonian, Median, and Persian kings (chs 16), and who himself is a recipient
of mysterious revelations (chs 712).
The Daniel mentioned in Ezekiel (14.14,20; 28.3) is not the same character as the hero of the book of Daniel,
but a gure of the remote past known also from Ugaritic texts of the fourteenth or thirteenth centuries bce. In
Ezekiel he is paired with Noah and Job: all three were non-Jews whose piety and wisdom were legendary. The
hero of the book of Daniel is similar in knowledge and delity; he is, however, emphatically Jewish.
contents and date of composition

The rst six chapters are examples of the ancient Jewish short story, like Jonah, Esther, Tobit, and similar works.
The purpose of such stories is to edify but also to entertain. More specically, the stories in Daniel 16 are
examples of court tales, narratives that describe the dangers and triumphs experienced by Jewish heroes and
heroines in the courts of foreign kings. Like Joseph in Gen 4041, Daniel succeeds in service to the ruler through
his ability to interpret dreams; like Mordecai in the book of Esther, he succeeds in such service despite challenges by rival politicians. Even though the court tales in Daniel are set in the time of the Babylonian exile and
immediately following the fall of Babylon (in 539 bce), they were most likely composed either in the late Persian
(450333 bce) or early Hellenistic (333170 bce) periods, possibly in the eastern Diaspora. They reect a time in
which the imperial ruler is perceived as ignorant and dangerously unpredictable rather than malevolent, and
a social context in which Jews can live at peace with their non-Jewish neighbors, although without complete
security. The narratives also address a serious theological issue: How could Jews reconcile their belief in the
sovereign power of God with the reality of Gentile imperial rule? In these stories the Gentile kings are shown as
slowly recognizing that it is the Most High who is truly sovereign and that they rule only by divine permission.
The court tales in the rst half of the book contrast with the apocalyptic materials in chs 712, which depict
extreme hostility to foreign governments and feature lengthy periods of universal tribulation rather than temporary personal danger. In this second section, Daniel is not the interpreter of dream visions but the visionary
himself, and he is now in need of an angels interpretive skills. In a series of dreams, he learns of the history of
the Near East from the Babylonian empire in the sixth century, through Persian rule, to the time of Alexander the
Great in the late fourth century, and nally to the aacks against Jewish practice and belief as well as against the
Jerusalem Temple by the Syrian-Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (early second century bce). The increasingly
detailed descriptions of the period following the division of Alexanders empire to the rule of Antiochus suggest
that the apocalyptic sections were composed between 167 and 164 bce during the Maccabean revolt against the
Hellenizing policies of Antiochus and his allies in Jerusalems priestly circles (see 1 Macc 1). This dating makes the
work the latest book in the Hebrew Bible. Its author may have been one of the wise who emphasized condence in a divine plan to redeem Israel from idolatrous leaders, even in the face of martyrdom, and who rejected
the armed resistance of the Maccabees (Dan 11.3335); in the end, the author believed, God would punish the
wicked and redeem the faithful (Dan 12.3). The visions are presented pseudonymously, that is, under the name of
an ancient gure (in this case, Daniel, the sage of the sixth-h centuries bce) who foresees what is to come,
as in other apocalypses such as 2 Esdras, 2 Baruch, and the later Christian Apocalypse of Peter.
language and canonical status

Daniel 2.4b7.28 is wrien in Aramaic, the common language of the Near East during the Persian and early Hellenistic periods; chs 1.12.4a and chs 812 are in Hebrew, which had been eclipsed by Aramaic during this period,
but which enjoyed a literary revival in the second century bce. Complicating the history of the book of Daniel are
additions to the story in some ancient Greek versions: Susanna, the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three
Jews, and Bel and the Dragon. These short works are considered Deuterocanonical by Catholic and Orthodox
churches, that is, as having canonical status; Protestant churches regard them as part of the Apocrypha, and
they have no canonical status in Judaism. (See the Introduction to the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books.)
hebrew bible | 1233
daniel 1
Additional tales belonging to the cycle of stories about Daniel appear among the Dead Sea Scrolls. One text, the
Prayer of Nabonidus (4QprNab), may represent an earlier version of Dan 4.
Jewish tradition places the book of Daniel among the Writings (Heb Ketubim), between the books of Esther and Ezra (see rabbinic discussion in b. Meg. 3a; b. Sanh. 94a). This decision may reect the late date of
composition of Daniel. Christian tradition locates the book among the Prophets, between the books of Ezekiel
and Hosea.
interpretation
Despite the dierent genres and dates of composition, the book of Daniel does have a consistent theme: the
sovereignty of God in history. By juxtaposing the wisdom of the Jewish courtiers in negotiating the diculties of living under an oen arbitrary and dangerous foreign rule with its visions of wars, persecutions, and,
nally, salvation under Gods sovereignty, the book of Daniel oers its readers both advice and consolation.
The folktales speak to all peoples persecuted as religious and ethnic minorities. The apocalyptic materials, whose meanings would have been known to the authors own circle, have provided for more than two
thousand years the occasion for speculation and, oen, hope. Already 1 Macc 2.5960 shows that Daniel
and his three friends served as role models of resistance and deliverance. The apocalyptic materials, with
their promise of divine salvation, also were oen reinterpreted for later circumstances. For example, the
apocalypse of 2 Esdrasa text originally wrien by a Jew but then edited and preserved by the Christian
churchreinterprets the vision of Daniel 7 to express hope for the punishment of Rome and the redemption of Israel following the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ce. Early Christians saw in the gure of the
son of man in Daniel 7 a reference to Jesus, and the synagogue saw in this same gure a reference to the
covenant community of Israel.
Amy-Jill Levine
In the third year of the reign of King

Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged
it. The Lord let King Jehoiakim of Judah fall
into his power, as well as some of the vessels
of the house of God. These he brought to the
land of Shinar,a and placed the vessels in the
treasury of his gods.
Then the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to bring some of the Israelites
of the royal family and of the nobility, young
men without physical defect and handsome,
versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed
a Gk Theodotion: Heb adds to the house of his own
gods
1.121: The Babylonian exile. This rst chapter introduces the young courtier Daniel, his companions in
exile, and the diculties they will face as Jews in the foreign court. 1: The third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim
is 606 bce (see 2 Chr 36.57). Nebuchadnezzar reigned 605562 bce (see 2 Kings 2425; 1 Chr 6; 2 Chr 36; Jer
2729), and invaded Israel in 604, but did not aack Jerusalem until 597, when Jehoiakims son Jehoiachin was
king. The diculties of the

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THE NEW OXFORD

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Fully Revised Fourth Edition

THE NEW OXFORD

Michael D. Coogan, Editor

Copyright 2010 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

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The Hebrew Bible

the historical books

2 Kings (4 Kingdoms in Greek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .531

the poetical and wisdom books

the prophetic books

The Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books

The New Testament

The Acts of the Apostles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1919

letters/epistles in the new testament

General Essays, Tables

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MAPS, CHARTS, AND DIAGRAMS

The sons of David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

Second missionary journey of Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1948

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THE EDITORS PREFACE

contents of the annotated bible

ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF THE

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the apocryphal/deuterocanonical books

Song of Thr . . . . . . . . . . . .Azariah and

Pr Man . . . . The Prayer of Manasseh

Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews

For a detailed discussion of these terms, see Textual Criticism, p. 2192.

Josephus, Against Apion

Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Yoma

Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude

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THE NEW OXFORD

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THE HEBREW BIBLE

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modern source theories

compilation and redaction of the pentateuch

canonical status and location

dates of composition, historical contexts, and literary history

structure and contents

In the beginning when God createda the

good; and God separated the light from the

b Or while the spirit of God or while a mighty wind

and the lesser light to rule the nightand the

Thus the heavens and the earth were

Syr: Heb and over all the earth

correspondences spanning the primeval history

him a helper as his partner. So out of the

God called to the man, and said to him, Where

The descendants of Adam

in pain you shall bring forth children,

The man named his wife Eve,b because

the earth, and anyone who meets me may

b Gk Syr Vg: Heb Therefore

hearts was only evil continually. And the

a Meaning of Heb uncertain