Monday, July 11, 2022

Seder 108: Jeremiah 31:22---"A Woman Encircles a Man"

 There is a fascinating sentence in Jeremiah 31:22.  In the context of a prophecy about Israel's eventual  return from exile to the Promised Land, Jeremiah says, "For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:  a woman encircles a man."

Commentators observe that the word for "created" is bara, a word used only when God is creating something with no help from anyone or anything else, as in "creation from nothing."  The word for "man", geber, refers to a mighty man.

This passage has been the source of lots of discussion---see, for example, Charles Lee Feinberg, "Jeremiah 31:22:  Proverb, Promise, or Prophecy?", Bibliotheca Sacra 123 (1966), 315-324; 124 (1967), 16-21.

One popular Christian interpretation sees this as a prophecy of the Virgin Birth.  A number of church fathers---e.g., Jerome---held this interpretation.  Certainly the miracle of the Virgin Birth is an entirely new, unprecedented creation of God, with a "mighty man" encompassed/enclosed/encircled by (the body of) a woman.  Also, it is the work of Jesus on the cross that makes the new covenant (Jer 31:31-34) possible, and there are some references to the Messiah in the previous chapter (30:9,21).  Still, this interpretation doesn't seem to fit the context of Jeremiah 31:22, even with the phrase "virgin Israel" appearing in verse 21.  

A second possibility, more in keeping with the context, has a woman (the nation of Israel) being enabled by God to overcome the power of enemy nations like Assyria and Babylon (the mighty man), surrounding or hemming in those enemies.  John Calvin proposed an interpretation along these lines.

A third possibility has God causing the woman (the nation of Israel) to embrace or cling to God and/or the Messiah (the mighty man) as never before.  This reading connects with the new covenant promise in verses 31-34.  .  

Today's commentators humbly admit that we don't know the meaning of the passage for sure. For example, Michael L. Brown (Revised Expositor's Bible Commentary) remarks, "Certainty of interpretation is highly unlikely here, given the concise nature of the Hebrew expression, and McKane’s comments that this phrase 'has been a happy hunting-ground for aspiring exegetes' should be remembered."

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