Jeremiah comes to the final prophecy against the nations: Babylon. Spread over two long chapters, he announces that the instrument of God’s wrath against the nations will be punished. I want to focus on a few words in this verse:
Come against her from every quarter;
Jeremiah 50:26
open her granaries;
pile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
The word “granary” (מַאֲבוּס ma’avus) is unique to this verse. Its root is probably אָבַס (avas), which means to fatten. It is used in 1 Kings 4:23 (“fattened fowl”) and Proverbs 15:17 (“fattened ox”). Perhaps it is more general than a place for storing just grain, but seems certain it is related to storing food. Another related word is אֵבוּס (evus), which means manger or cattle-stall. This word is used three times in the Hebrew Bible: Job 39:9, Proverbs 14:4, and Isaiah 1:3. The Greek word φάτνη (phatnē) was used when the Bible was translated into Greek (called the Septuagint), which is also used in Luke 2 to describe where the baby Jesus was placed. While Luke never mentions animals around, early believers connected Luke 2 with Isaiah 1:3, “The ox knows its owner, / and the donkey its master’s [manger]”. This is why an ox and donkey traditionally show up in nativity scenes!
Jeremiah says to pile her (Babylon) up like “heaps of grain” (עֲרֵמָה a’remah). While this word is often specifically about grain (see Ruth 3:7), it can also be used more broadly. For instance, it’s used throughout 2 Chronicles 31:6-9, describing tithes brought to the temple which were piled in heaps. The only time the verb form is used is in Exodus 15:8, describing when the waters “piled up” as the Israelites passed through the Red Sea.
I think of homes destroyed in a fire or other calamity. When the residents return, they salvage what they can but throw the rest into a pile to dump. Babylon spent decades building a glorious empire. In the end however, it fell and its remains were tossed aside by the next empire.
To Ponder…
- Where do traditions come from? Do you have any family traditions that you don’t remember why you do them?
- What have you stored up? How long lasting is it?