וְאַתָּה֙ תִּנָּבֵ֣א אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם אֵ֥ת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם יְהוָ֞ה מִמָּרֹ֤ום יִשְׁאָג֙ וּמִמְּעֹ֤ון קָדְשֹׁו֙ יִתֵּ֣ן קֹולֹ֔ו שָׁאֹ֤ג יִשְׁאַג֙ עַל־נָוֵ֔הוּ הֵידָד֙ כְּדֹרְכִ֣ים יַֽעֲנֶ֔ה אֶ֥ל כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֖י הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (Jeremiah 25:30)
And you shall prophesy to them all these words, and say to them: “From on high YHWH will roar, and from His holy dwelling He will give forth His voice—He will roar, He will roar against His habitation—shouts like treaders He will respond with, to all the inhabitants of the earth.”
Introduction: Thunder from the Heights
The prophetic vision in Jeremiah 25:30 is a thunderous oracle. YHWH is depicted not with serene whispers, but with a terrifying, repeated roar from His holy abode. At the center of this verse lies a powerful interplay of grammatical form and rhetorical effect—especially in the doubled verb שָׁאֹ֤ג יִשְׁאַג֙ and the imagery-enhancing paronomasia that enhances the auditory impact.
The Grammar of Roaring: שָׁאֹ֤ג יִשְׁאַג֙
We encounter a poetic construction where the verb שָׁאַג appears twice in rapid succession:
- שָׁאֹג: Qal infinitive absolute
- יִשְׁאַג: Qal imperfect third masculine singular
This is a classic case of the infinitive absolute preceding the imperfect verb—a construction used for emphasis and intensity in Biblical Hebrew. The forceful repetition magnifies the action, much like bolding or underlining might do in modern text.
Colorful Syntax Table: שָׁאֹג יִשְׁאַג
| Form | Stem | Conjugation | Function | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁאֹג | Qal | Infinitive Absolute | Pre-verbal intensifier | Intensifies the following imperfect |
| יִשְׁאַג | Qal | Imperfect | Main verb | Future roar: “He will surely roar” |
Infinitive Absolute Constructions in Prophetic Style
The infinitive absolute combined with the imperfect is a common prophetic tool. It dramatizes the message, expresses certainty, and creates an echo effect. Other common uses include reinforcement of commands or predictions (e.g., “dying you shall die”).
In Jeremiah 25:30, the repeated root שׁ־א־ג is particularly fitting since it imitates sound: it is an onomatopoeic choice (“sha’ag!”) evoking the terrifying rumble of divine wrath.
Masoretic and Literary Layers
The Masoretes carefully preserved the phonetic rhythm with disjunctive accents around שָׁאֹ֤ג, ensuring the pause before the roar resumes in יִשְׁאַג. This double verb repetition is not a stutter but a poetic design—the growl crescendos and then explodes again.
This technique also fits with prophetic parallelism. The verse aligns imagery of sound: roar, voice, shout, tread. Each carries physical and emotional weight. The roar devastates metaphorical “habitations” (נָוֵ֔הוּ), echoing judgment across the earth.
Prophetic Soundscapes: The Roar and the Response
The ending phrase הֵידָד כְּדֹרְכִים (shouting like treaders) ties YHWH’s voice to the imagery of harvest and trampling. The prophet merges natural sound (roaring, shouting) with agricultural labor and divine judgment. This imagery is woven through the verse not only through meaning but reinforced by form.
When Syntax Shouts Louder Than Words
The double roar שָׁאֹג יִשְׁאַג is not just style—it is syntactic theology. It emphasizes God’s action in history, His unstoppable judgment, and His overwhelming voice that reverberates over the nations. In poetic Hebrew, when syntax intensifies, prophecy becomes audible. The earth itself becomes a theater of divine speech.
