Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Bill Rea <bsr15 AT exchange.canterbury.ac.nz>]

Jan-Wim Wesselius wrote:-

>Did anyone mention Jer. 32:10 yet? It proves that he could at least sign his
>name. It seems unlikely that he could not read, though one cannot, of
>course, gauge his proficiency. Hope this helps,

I translate this verse as:-

10 So I wrote the deed, sealed it, had it witnessed, then I weighed out
the silver on a pair of balances.

In one sense you can't argue with what it says and so my question is
answered that Jeremiah was literate. But I just wonder if it would be
phrased differently if Baruch had done the writing because if we
read on:-

11 Then I had the deed of purchase sealed in accordance with the
commandment and statute, and the open one 12 I gave the deed of purchase
to Baruch, son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the sight of all the
Judeans sitting in the court of the guard. 13 So I instructed Baruch, in
their sight, saying, 14 Thus said YHWH, Creator of the Hosts, God of
Israel, ``Take these deeds, the deed of this purchase, the sealed and
the open deed, and put them in a pottery jar so that they may last a
long time. 15 For thus said YHWH, Creator of the Hosts, God of Israel,
``Houses, fields, and vineyards shall again be purchased in this
land.''

We see that Baruch was present and both copies of the deeds were
placed in his care. So I find Jer 32:10 less than totally convincing.


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