Jeremiah 48 as Christian Scripture

Abstract

The oracle concerning Moab in Jeremiah 48 is one of the 'hard texts' of the OT. This thesis seeks to find a means of reading the oracle in a way that does justice to the text both in its ancient context and in a Christian frame of reference. The opening chapter reviews existing scholarship on this text (and related texts). The two chapters which then follow preface and contextualise the main discussion; they focus, respectively, on the differing textual traditions in MT and LXX, and on the parallel material in Jeremiah 48 and Isaiah 15-16. It transpires that MT Jeremiah 48 contains a more marked note of lament than LXX Jeremiah 31 and that Jeremiah 48 has a broader purview than Isaiah 15-16. Chapters Four and Five then examine how US and UK Christian interpreters have dealt with the text; those from the US are Fretheim, Miller and Brueggemann, while those from the UK are Jones and Clements. The US scholars in particular bring out some key elements of the oracle: the tone of lament (Fretheim), God's sovereignty (Miller), and Moab's pride and plays for power (Brueggemann).The last two chapters offer a fresh reading. Chapter Six proposes that the problematic 48:10 was inserted by a scribe who longed to see the words of Jeremiah 48 brought to completion. Chapter Seven considers Jeremiah 48 as a whole, noting rhetorical features that suggest Moab’s history has a cyclical nature in which Moab's sin leads to her destruction, but then she is restored again. Finally, two film-like imaginative readings explore the possible continuities and differences between Jeremiah 48 in its ancient context and in a Christian frame of reference