Bible Geek Word Nerd - Jeremiah - See

Walking Through Jeremiah
I See So Clearly

03/13/23

 

As we mentioned in our previous post, we’re reading through the Prophet Jeremiah right now. And our current plan with this page is to dive into interesting or surprising words and phrases we meet along the way, and talk about them. The Text is like a diamond held up to the light, revealing different meanings as you turn it this way and that. Or to repurpose a metaphor that Jesus used, reading the Text is like walking through a field that holds gems, some lying about on the surface, others buried in the soil – some deeper than others. This Walk Through Jeremiah aims to present some of those gems to you as I find them.

 

Today’s post is about Jeremiah 2:31… But wait, you say. We did something from Chapter 2 already! Isn’t it time to move on? Yes, it is time to move. Nevertheless, we remind you that just as G-d is outside of time, so is this Facebook page. At this pace, we could be through with Jeremiah before Christmas…2024…maybe.

 

Back to the Text…

 

Go to Jeremiah 2:31, and read it in your favorite translation (maybe read the whole chapter for context). Then pick a different translation and compare the two versions of verse 31. Let’s take a look at part A of the verse in multiple translations:

 

• “You of this generation, CONSIDER the word of the LORD…” (NIV)
• “Evil generation, PAY ATTENTION to the word of the LORD!” (HCSB)
• “And you, O generation, BEHOLD the word of the LORD!” (NRSV)
• “O my people, LISTEN to the words of the LORD!” (NLT)
• “O generation, SEE the word of the LORD!” (NKJV)

Five English translations, with five different ways to render one Hebrew verb. What is going on here? 

 

The verb behind these various translations is the Hebrew word RAAH (רָאָה), which occurs more than 1500 times in the Hebrew Bible in various forms. Most often, it is a verb. But it can also be a common or proper noun (the Patriarchal name Reuben derives from RAAH). As a verb, it literally means “to see”. Repurposed, RAAH can mean “prophetic vision” and “seer”, depending on context. 

 

 

Our verse read literally then would say: “See the word of the LORD”. Which suggests a puzzle to a translator, particularly a modern one attempting to convert ancient text into something legible for contemporary readers. How can we see a word (unless it’s written, of course)?

 

One of the primary distinctions between ancient thinking and modern thinking lies in the difference between concrete and abstractions language. When the Hebrew Bible describes G-d, it does not prefer to use abstract concepts, but rather concrete ones, communicating with visual terms. Hebrew is much more comfortable with DOING things than with THINKING things. As an at-hand example, when modern Western thinkers use the word “meditate”, we have a mental frame that involves inner thought life. But the Hebrew words we translate into English’s “meditate” are SIACH (which means complain or talk) and HAGAH (which means growl or moan). 

 

So when the Hebrew of Jeremiah 2:31 commands you to “pay attention” to G-d’s word, it begins to paint a picture for you with vivid imagery (see verses 31-37a desert, a young woman with jewelry, evil women, bloody clothing, hands on your head, etc.). You look at a picture because G-d our Father communicates in pictorial language.

 

Now, let’s PAY ATTENTION to an ancient Jewish Rabbi, and LOOK AT His Words:

 

“‘CONSIDER CAREFULLY what you hear,’ He continued. ‘With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.’”

Mark 4:24-25 (NIV)

 

Can you guess what verb Mark has Jesus saying at the beginning of this passage? Jesus says “BLEPÓ (βλέπω) what you hear.” Literally, LOOK AT what you hear. How can you look at what you hear? Well, you can if it’s a picture!

 

SEE you next time!