Jeremiah 2:24 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Jeremiah 2:24
A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
the onager · noun, common masculine singular absolute
used
לִמֻּ֣דli.Mud
H3928
instructed · noun, common masculine singular construct
wilderness
מִדְבָּ֗רmid.Bar
H4057
a pasture (i.e. open field · noun, common masculine singular absolute
up
שָׁאֲפָ֣הsha.'a.Fah
H7602
to inhale eagerly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
wind
ר֔וּחַRu.ach
H7307
wind · noun, common feminine singular absolute
pleasure
בְּאַוַּ֤תbe.'a.Vat
H185
longing · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
occasion
תַּאֲנָתָ֖הּta.'a.na.Tah
H8385
an opportunity or (subjectively) purpose · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
away
יְשִׁיבֶ֑נָּהye.shi.Ve.nah
H7725
to turn back (hence · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
seek
מְבַקְשֶׁ֙יהָ֙me.vak.Shei.ha
H1245
to search out (by any method · verb, piel active participle, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
weary
יִיעָ֔פוּyi.'A.fu
H3286
to tire (as if from wearisome flight) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
month
בְּחָדְשָׁ֖הּbe.cha.de.Shah
H2320
the new moon · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
find
יִמְצָאֽוּנְהָyim.tza.'U.ne.ha
H4672
properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jeremiah 14:6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
Job 39:5-8 Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?
Jeremiah 2:27 Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their fa…
Hosea 5:15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
Job 11:12 For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 2:20-28
In these verses the prophet goes on with his charge against this backsliding people. Observe here,
I. The sin itself that he charges them with - idolatry, that great provocation which they were so notoriously guilty of. 1. They frequented the places of idol-worship (Jer 2:20): "Upon every high hill and under every green tree, in the high places and the groves, such as the heathen had a foolish fondness and veneration for, thou wanderest, first to one and then to another, like one unsettled, and still uneasy and unsatisfied; but in all playing the harlot," worshipping false gods, which is spiritual whoredom, and was commonly accompanied with corporal whoredom too. Note, Those that leave God w…
(Jer 14:6; Job 39:5). "A wild ass," agreeing with "thou" (Jer 2:23).
at her pleasure--rather, "in her ardor," namely, in pursuit of a male, sniffing the wind to ascertain where one is to be found [MAURER].
occasion--either from a Hebrew root, "to meet"; "her meeting (with the male for sexual intercourse), who can avert it?" Or better from an Arabic root: "her heat (sexual impulse), who can allay it?" [MAURER].
all they--whichever of the males desire her company [HORSLEY].
will not weary themselves--have no need to weary themselves in searching for her.
her month--in the season of the year when her sexual impulse is strongest, she puts herself in the way of the males, so that they h…
A wild ass used to the wilderness,.... That is, one that has been brought up in the wilderness, and has been accustomed to live, and run, and range about there; as men in general are compared to this creature for its ignorance, stupidity, folly, stubbornness, and unteachableness, Job 11:12, so the Jewish people are represented as like unto it, for its wantonness and lust:
that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; draws it in at her nostrils, and snuffs it up; or opens her mouth, and takes it in with her breath; drinks it in, and swallows it up at her pleasure: or, "with the desire of her soul" (c); it being grateful and delightful to her. Some read this clause in connection with rendered…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 24.) The swift courser, unfolding its paths: the wild donkey accustomed to solitude, attracted by the desire of its own soul, drew the wind of its love: none shall turn her away: all who seek her shall not be lacking. In her monthly flow they shall find her. In the evening her voice howled, unfolding her paths over the waters of solitude, carried by the wind of her own soul: she was handed over: who shall turn her back? All who seek her shall not labor: and in her humility they shall find her. In this place, the Septuagint edition differs greatly from the Hebrew truth: nevertheless, both have their own meaning. As stated above, I am not defiled; but as if speaking to a woman who has behaved shamefully, it describes her fornication. How, it says, like a light deer, which we called a runner in common language, and even more significantly, Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion translate it as swift courses, it explains her ways, and she is carried swiftly to her pasture. And just as a wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness draws in the wind or the breath of its own desire (for among the Hebrews, both wind and breath are called the same, Ruah), so Israel, or rather Jerusalem, was carried away with all urgency to the desire of lust, and burned with love for all idols; and there is no one who can turn her away from this impulse by their warnings: not because the incapacity of the Prophets did this, but the wicked malice of the one who desires it. Whoever, he says, seeks it, will not labor greatly. In menstruation and in its impurity they will find it. For which reason Aquila, νεομηνίαν, that is, the kalends, Symmachus, month, and Septuagint and Theodotion, interpreted it as "humility". Moreover, according to the Septuagint, the meaning here is: The harlot Jerusalem, according to that woman who is described in Proverbs, at evening she wailed with her voice, and provoked lovers to lust, opened the ways to the most shameful acts, and spread her legs to every passerby (Prov. V and VI). It was a place having the charm of flowing waters, which becomes more delightful when there is solitude all around, so that no one sees those engaged in sexual acts. In her desire, he said, her soul was filled with a spirited air, either being led by a perverse spirit or seeking the refreshment of love: or certainly she sang songs of her own depravity. She is given over, he said,…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Ass — Frequently mentioned throughout Scripture. Of the domesticated species we read of, (1.) The she ass (Heb. ‘athon), so named from its slowness (Gen. 12:16; 45:23; Num. 22:23; 1 Sam. 9:3). (2.) The…
Ass, The Wild · Illustrative of: Israel in their love of idols — Illustrative of: Israel in their love of idols
Menstruation · Of animals — Of animals
Temptation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Jeremiah 2:24
24. A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
24. Onager (sed adhuc retinet foemineum genus, foemina igitur onagri) assueta deserto, in appetitu animae sum (hoc est, pro desiderio, vel, cupidine animae suae colligens ventura occasionis suae (vel, occursus sui) quis inde reducet eam? Quisquis persequitur earn non fatigabitur, in mense suo inveniet eam.
As Jeremiah had called the people a dromedary, so he now calls them a wild ass: "Thou," he says, "art both a dromedary and a wild ass." For when a wild ass has caught the…
All along Israel has been refractory; it cannot and will not cease from idolatry. Jer 2:20. "For of old time thou hast broken thy yoke, torn off thy bands; and hast said: I will not serve; but upon every high hill, and under every green tree, thou stretchedst thyself as a harlot. Jer 2:21. And I have planted thee a noble vine, all of genuine stock: and how hast thou changed thyself to me into the bastards of a strange vine? Jer 2:22. Even though thou washedst thee with natron and tookest much soap, filthy remains thy guilt before me, saith the Lord Jahveh. Jer 2:23. How canst thou say, I have not defiled me, after the Baals have I not gone? See thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done…
Instead of acting like a faithful wife, Israel behaved like a wild animal in heat (2:23-25), a thief (2:26-30), and a prostitute (2:31–3:5).
2:23 The people protested that it was not true that they were Baal worshipers (cp. 2:25). Archaeologists have found small plaques showing an Asherah (female goddess) and a male god resembling Baal, but their inscriptions bear the name of the Lord (Yahweh). Baal worship was apparently sometimes disguised as worship of Israel’s God.
Rashi on Jeremiah 2:24
A wild donkey (salvatico in O.F.) wild, and some interpret it as poulain in O.F., a foal.
accustomed to the desert Accustomed to be in the deserts, so she loves to wander.
that snuffs up the wind She opens her mouth and snuffs up the wind, and he always returns to his place.
her tendency like the sea creatures, who can hinder her? That trait of the sea creatures that she has, for also the sea creature snuffs up the wind, as it is said: “They snuff up the wind like sea creatures” (infra 14:6). Who can hinder her from that trait? So it is with you who can return you from your evil way? her tendency like a sea creature Son dagronemant in O.F., dragon nature. Jonathan rendered it in this mann…
