In what sense is the Bible “the word of God”? Certainly, the Bible was written by humans. However, there are a number of times when the human authors were citing the words of God himself. Sometimes these are called oracles or sayings of God. This series of books portray humans interacting with God. God wants them to do something and then the humans react. The Bible contains words about God and words of God himself spoken to humans. Thus, we can say that the Bible is the inspired words of God in human terms.
oracles
The call of Jonah (Jon 1:1-1:2)
“Now the word of Yahweh
Came to Jonah,
The son of Amittai.
Saying.
‘Go at once
To Nineveh,
That great city!
Cry out
Against it!
Their wickedness
Has come up
Before me.’”
In typical prophetic fashion, the word of Yahweh came to Jonah. However, there would be no more oracles in this book, since this work continued with a narrative account. Jonah, the son of Amittai, was the very same prophet mentioned in 2 Kings, chapter 14 during the time of King Jeroboam II (783-743 BCE) in the northern kingdom of Israel. Thus, this Jonah was from the northern town, Gath-hepher, that was in the Zebulun territory. The message of this oracle was that Jonah should go to the great city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrians, who destroyed Samaria in 723 BCE. Nineveh was on the outskirts of modern day Mosul, Iraq, on the Tigris River. Obviously, this was a wicked city.
The prostitution of Israel (Hos 4:10-4:12)
“They shall eat,
But not be satisfied.
They shall play the prostitute,
But not multiply.
They have forsaken
Yahweh
To cherish prostitution.
Wine,
With new wine,
Takes away
Understanding.
My people consult
A piece of wood.
Their divining rod
Gives them oracles.
A spirit of prostitution
Has led them astray.
They have left
Their God
To play the prostitute.”
These northern Israelites would eat, but not be satisfied or full. They played the prostitute. They did not increase or multiply. They have cherished prostitution rather than Yahweh. All kinds of wine, new and old, take away understanding. Thus, the Israelite people consult with pieces of wood, the wooden idol gods. Their oracles or sayings come from their magical divining rods or sticks. This concept of prostitution has led them astray. They have left God to be prostitutes to other gods. Obviously, this was an allusion to the prostitution fertility rites and the fact that they were turning to other wooden idol gods, rather than being faithful to Yahweh.
Against the Ammonites (Ezek 25:1-25:2)
“The word of Yahweh
Came to me.
‘Son of man!
Set your face
Toward the Ammonites,
Prophesy against them.’”
Now there are a series of oracles against the various countries around Israel and Judah. As usual, the word of Yahweh came to Ezekiel, the son of man. He was to set his face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them. Who are the Ammonites? In the biblical sense, they are the descendants of Ammon, the son of Lot from the incest incident with his daughter in Genesis, chapter 19. They seem to have been east of the Jordan and north of Moab, but south of Assyria. The country of Ammon existed from about the 10th century to the 4th century BCE in what would have been the Gad territory as outlined in Joshua, chapter 13. Today it is part of the country of Jordan. Jeremiah, chapter 49, had also spoken out against them. They along with the Moabites were the constant enemies of Judah and Israel. At some point, they became part of the Assyrian empire and eventually ceased to exist. They certainly were related to Canaan and spoke a Semitic language.
The false visions (Ezek 13:5-13:7)
“‘You have not gone up
Into the breaches.
You have not
Repaired a wall
For the house of Israel.
Thus it might stand
In battle
On the day
Of Yahweh.
They have envisioned
Falsehood
With lying divinations.
They say.
‘Says Yahweh,’
When Yahweh
Has not sent them.
Yet they wait
For the fulfillment
Of their word.
Have you not seen
A false vision?
Have you not uttered
A lying divination?
You have said.
‘Says Yahweh,’
Even though,
I did not speak.’”
Once again, Yahweh showed a strong opposition to these false prophets who had not repaired any of the walls for the house of Israel. They had not helped Israel prepare for a battle. These prophets have issued false prophetic “so called” divine words. They claimed that they were speaking oracles in the name of Yahweh, when Yahweh had not sent them. They waited for responses from these false visions. They kept lying by saying that Yahweh said this or that, even though Yahweh had not spoken to them.
Against the Israelite mountain high places (Ezek 6:1-6:3)
“The word of Yahweh
Came to me.
‘Son of man!
Set your face
Toward the mountains
Of Israel!
Prophesy against them!
Say!
You mountains of Israel!
Hear the word of Yahweh God!
Thus says Yahweh God
To the mountains,
To the hills,
To the ravines,
To the valleys.
I!
I myself!
Will bring a sword
Upon you.
I will destroy
Your high places.’”
The oracles or words of Yahweh came to Ezekiel, the son of man, personally. He was to prophesy against the mountains of Israel. Yahweh gave him the words to say to the mountains. However, there was an extension from just the mountains to include the hills, the ravines, and even the valleys. Yahweh himself was going to bring a sword, in order to destroy all the high places, where the worship or cultic practices for the various false gods, particularly Baal, took place.
The false visions of the prophets (Lam 2:14-2:14)
Nun
“Your prophets
Have seen
False visions
For you.
They have seen
Deceptive visions.
They have not exposed
Your iniquity
In order to restore
Your fortunes.
But they have seen
False oracles,
Misleading oracles
For you.”
Now we have an element of guilt. This author blames their situation in Jerusalem on the false and deceptive visions of Yahweh’s prophets. Jeremiah often called them the happy prophets, who saw no harm coming. These prophets never challenged the people and their iniquity. They kept talking about restoration with their false and misleading oracles. It almost seems like this is an attempt to say that the prophets had the wrong visions or oracles from Yahweh, rather than the prophets misunderstood these visions or oracles of Yahweh. This verse starts with the Hebrew consonant letter Nun. Each verse after this will use the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet in this acrostic poem.
The exile of the king and princes (Lam 2:9-2:9)
Tet
“Her gates have sunk
Into the ground.
Yahweh has ruined them.
He has broken her bars.
Her king
Is among the nations.
Her princes
Are among the nations.
Guidance of the law
Is no more.
Her prophets obtain
No vision
From Yahweh.”
The gates of Jerusalem have sunk into the ground. Yahweh has ruined the bars on the gates that are now broken. The king and the princes have been scattered among the various nations, so that there is no longer any guidance about the law. The prophets no longer have any visions or oracles from Yahweh. This verse starts with the Hebrew consonant letter Tet. Each verse after this will use the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet in this acrostic poem.
Write a scroll or book (Jer 36:2-36:2)
“Take a scroll!
Write on it
All the words
That I have spoken
To you
Against Israel,
Against Judah,
Against all the nations,
From the day
I spoke to you,
From the days
Of King Josiah
Until today.”
Yahweh tells Jeremiah to write down all the oracles that he told him since the beginning of his prophetic work to the present. He was to get a scroll to write all these oracles that Yahweh had delivered to him against Israel, Judah, and all the nations. He was to go back to the beginning under King Josiah in 626 BCE. Thus this would have been about 20 years worth of Yahweh oracles, with most of it coming when King Josiah was king, since King Jehoiakim had been king for only 4 years. Thus we have some idea about what is in this Book of Jeremiah.
The letter to the exiles (Jer 29:1-29:1)
“These are the words
Of the letter
That the prophet Jeremiah
Sent from Jerusalem
To the remaining elders
Among the exiles.
It was also sent to
The priests,
The prophets,
Including all the people
Whom King Nebuchadnezzar
Had taken into exile
From Jerusalem
To Babylon.
This was after King Jeconiah,
With the queen mother,
The court officials,
The leaders of Judah,
The leaders of Jerusalem,
The artisans.
With the smiths
Had departed from Jerusalem.”
Apparently Jeremiah wrote a letter to the elders from the first exile in 598 BCE. He sent this letter, like many of Yahweh’s oracles addressed to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, who went to Babylon during the first exile in 598 BCE. King Nebuchadnezzar had taken them from Jerusalem to Babylon. It is hard to tell whether this letter still exists in any form or when it was composed, but probably between 598-587 BCE. King Jeconiah or King Coniah or King Jeconiah of Judah had ruled for only a couple of months when King Nebuchadnezzar removed him in 598 BCE in favor of his uncle King Zedekiah or King Mattaniah (598-587 BCE). At that time, King Jeconiah’s mother, the wife of King Jehoiakim or King Eliakim (609-598 BCE), as well as the court officials and leaders of Judah and Jerusalem went into exile. With them also went the main artisans and iron workers of Jerusalem. Thus the remnant in Jerusalem was like a puppet government for King Nebuchadnezzar. Like the preceding chapter, this is a different numbered chapter in the Greek translation of the Septuagint, chapter 36, not chapter 29 as here.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 