Tag Archives: Jeremiah 3:1

“Would He Return?”: Analyzing הֲיָשׁוּב in Jeremiah 3:1

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Biblical Hebrew
לֵאמֹ֡ר הֵ֣ן יְשַׁלַּ֣ח אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־אִשְׁתֹּו֩ וְהָלְכָ֨ה מֵאִתֹּ֜ו וְהָיְתָ֣ה לְאִישׁ־אַחֵ֗ר הֲיָשׁ֤וּב אֵלֶ֨יהָ֙ עֹ֔וד הֲלֹ֛וא חָנֹ֥וף תֶּחֱנַ֖ף הָאָ֣רֶץ הַהִ֑יא וְאַ֗תְּ זָנִית֙ רֵעִ֣ים רַבִּ֔ים וְשֹׁ֥וב אֵלַ֖י נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה׃ (Jeremiah 3:1) Saying, “Behold, if a man sends away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, will he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly defiled? But you have played the whore with many lovers; yet return to me,” declares YHWH. Covenant, Divorce, and the Question of Return Jeremiah 3:1 opens with a rhetorical allusion to Deuteronomic law regarding divorce and remarriage (cf.… Learn Hebrew
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The Semantics and Syntax of Rhetorical Questioning in Jeremiah 3:1

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Biblical Hebrew
Introduction to Jeremiah 3:1 Jeremiah 3:1 employs rhetorical questioning to communicate a strong legal and theological argument. The verse presents a hypothetical scenario regarding divorce and remarriage, paralleling Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. The structure of rhetorical questions in Biblical Hebrew is a crucial element in prophetic literature, often used to provoke thought and emphasize moral or legal dilemmas. This passage consists of: A conditional-like clause posing a legal question (הֵ֣ן יְשַׁלַּ֣ח אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־אִשְׁתֹּו, “If a man sends away his wife…”). A rhetorical question implying the impossibility of return (הֲיָשׁ֤וּב אֵלֶ֨יהָ֙ עֹ֔וד, “Will he return to her again?”).… Learn Hebrew
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