The Two Figs: Exile and Remnant
Jeremiah 24:1-10
Jer.24.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הראני: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- והנה: ADV
- שני: NUM,m,pl,construct
- דודאי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- תאנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מועדים: ADJ,m,pl
- לפני: PREP
- היכל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אחרי: PREP
- הגלות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נבוכדראצר: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- בבל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- יכניהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהויקים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ואת: CONJ
- שרי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ואת: CONJ
- החרש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- המסגר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מירושלם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ויבאם: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בבל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 24:10-16 (verbal): Independent historical account of Nebuchadnezzar's deportation of Jeconiah (Jehoiachin), the officials, craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem to Babylon—shares the same events and many verbal parallels.
- 2 Chronicles 36:9-10 (verbal): Chronicles' summary of the same deportation: Jehoiachin taken captive and skilled workers removed to Babylon; parallels the cast of persons and the royal context.
- Jeremiah 24:5-7 (structural): Immediate continuation/interpretation of the vision of the two baskets of figs introduced in 24:1—explains the symbolic meaning of the exiles (good figs) and those left in Jerusalem (bad figs).
- Psalm 137:1-4 (thematic): Poetic expression of the Babylonian exile and the captives' grief and longing for Zion—thematises the emotional and communal consequences of the deportations described in Jer 24:1.
- Ezekiel 1:1-3 (allusion): Ezekiel's opening situates him among the Judean exiles by the Chebar in the years after Jehoiachin's deportation; echoes the setting and historical context introduced in Jeremiah 24:1.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs were set before the house of the LORD, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away from Jerusalem Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and the smiths, and had brought them to Babylon.
- The LORD showed me, and behold—two baskets of figs set before the house of the LORD, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried into exile Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and the metalworkers from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
Jer.24.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הדוד: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- תאנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- טבות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- מאד: ADV
- כתאני: PREP,cmp
- הבכרות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- והדוד: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- תאנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- רעות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- מאד: ADV
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- תאכלנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- מרע: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Amos 8:1-2 (verbal): Vision of a summer-fruit basket used as a prophetic sign representing the fate of Israel—parallels Jeremiah's use of baskets of figs as symbolic oracle about the people's condition.
- Hosea 9:10 (thematic): Uses the image of early figs/first-ripe fruit to evoke Israel's origins and remnant status; thematically related to Jeremiah's contrast between good (first-ripe) and bad figs.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (thematic): The vineyard song portrays God's cultivation and judgment on unfruitful Israel—similar motif of agricultural imagery (fruit as moral/ covenantal condition) and divine judgment.
- Ezekiel 17:22-24 (thematic): Promises of transplanting and raising up a remnant that will flourish; resonates with Jeremiah's 'good figs' representing those whom God will restore.
- Luke 13:6-9 (thematic): Parable of the barren fig tree threatened with removal unless it bears fruit—New Testament application of fig imagery to judgment and the need for fruitfulness, echoing Jeremiah's distinction between edible and spoiled figs.
Alternative generated candidates
- One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs; and the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten.
- One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs; and the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten.
Jer.24.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- ירמיהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- תאנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- התאנים: NOUN,f,pl,def
- הטבות: ADJ,f,pl,def
- טבות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- מאד: ADV
- והרעות: ADJ,f,pl,def
- רעות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- מאד: ADV
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- תאכלנה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,pl
- מרע: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 24:5-7 (structural): Immediate interpretive follow-up: God explains the good and bad figs as two groups of people (exiles to Babylon vs. those remaining), so these verses provide the prophetic meaning of the symbolic vision.
- Jeremiah 29:4-14 (thematic): Addresses the fate of Judean exiles in Babylon and promises future restoration (seek welfare, return in 70 years, God’s plans), paralleling the positive destiny assigned to the ‘good figs.’
- Ezekiel 4:1-3 (structural): Another prophetic sign-act (modeling a siege with a brick) used to communicate Judah’s fate; parallels Jeremiah’s use of physical objects (figs) as a visual prophetic symbol.
- Hosea 9:10 (verbal): Employs fig imagery for Israel (‘like first-ripe figs’), connecting the fig motif to descriptions of Israel’s condition and God’s dealings with the people.
- Mark 11:12-14 (cf. Matthew 21:18-22; Luke 13:6-9) (thematic): Jesus’ cursing of the barren fig tree (and the parable of the fig tree) uses the fig as a symbol of fruitfulness and judgment, echoing Jeremiah’s use of good/bad figs to signify blessing versus judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “Figs, figs—very good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”
- And the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs—very good figs, very good; and very bad figs, which cannot be eaten, bad to the point of being worthless.”
Jer.24.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- Jeremiah 1:4 (verbal): Uses the identical prophetic formula (וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר) introducing a divine message and commission to the prophet.
- Zechariah 1:1 (structural): Begins with the same structural device—'the word of the LORD came to Zechariah'—serving to introduce an oracle from the Lord.
- Jonah 1:1 (verbal): 'Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah…'—the same introductory phrase marking the start of prophetic instruction or commissioning.
- Ezekiel 2:1 (verbal): Ezekiel frequently opens oracles with 'the word of the LORD came to me, saying,' paralleling Jeremiah's formula for introducing divine speech.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the word of the LORD came to me:
- Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer.24.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כתאנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הטבות: ADJ,f,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- כן: ADV
- אכיר: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- גלות: NOUN,f,sg,const
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- אשר: PRON,rel
- שלחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- מן: PREP
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כשדים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לטובה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 24:4 (structural): Immediate contrast within the same chapter presenting the 'bad figs' and explaining the differing divine judgments that frame the 'good figs' statement.
- Jeremiah 29:4-7 (thematic): Addresses the exiles in Babylon, urging them to seek the welfare of the city—reflects the idea that exile can be part of God's providential care for Judah.
- Jeremiah 29:10-14 (thematic): God's promise to restore Israel after the exile (after seventy years), reinforcing that the exile sent to Babylon serves a larger salvific purpose.
- Deuteronomy 30:1-5 (allusion): An earlier covenantal promise that God will restore the people to their land after exile—provides canonical precedent for interpreting deportation as ultimately for good.
- Ezekiel 11:17-20 (thematic): God's promise to gather the exiles, bring them back to their land, and give them a new heart—parallels Jeremiah's assurance that the exiles in Babylon are regarded for eventual restoration.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I regard the exiles of Judah whom I have sent from this place to the land of the Chaldeans—for their good.
- “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard the exiles of Judah whom I have sent from this place to the land of the Chaldeans—for their good.
Jer.24.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושמתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- עליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- לטובה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והשבתים: CONJ+VERB,hiphil,imperfect,1,_,sg
- על: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- ובניתים: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- אהרס: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- ונטעתים: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- אתוש: VERB,qal,fut,1,_,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 32:41 (verbal): Uses near-identical language of God’s intent to ‘do them good’ and ‘plant them in this land’—a close verbal and thematic parallel to promises of building and planting.
- Amos 9:14-15 (verbal): God promises to bring back Israel, plant them on their land and they ‘shall no more be pulled up’—language very similar to Jeremiah’s ‘build… and not pull down; and plant… and not pluck up.’
- Ezekiel 36:24-28 (thematic): Promises gathering the exiles, returning them to their land, renewing them (new heart/spirit) and enabling them to dwell in the land—a broader prophetic treatment of the same restoration theme.
- Ezekiel 37:21-22 (thematic): God declares he will take Israel from the nations and bring them into their own land and make them one nation—another prophecy of return and re-establishment parallel to Jeremiah 24:6.
- Jeremiah 29:14 (allusion): God’s promise ‘I will bring you back… I will restore you’ echoes the return and restoration motif of Jeremiah 24:6, linking the covenantal promise of restoration after exile.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will set my eyes upon them for good; I will bring them back to this land, and I will build them, and I will not pluck them up; I will plant them, and I will not uproot them.
- I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them, and I will not pluck them up; I will plant them, and I will not uproot them.
Jer.24.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- לב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לדעת: VERB,qal,inf,-,-,-
- אתי: PRON,1,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- והיו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- לעם: PREP
- ואנכי: PRON,1,sg
- אהיה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- לאלהים: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- ישבו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבם: NOUN,m,sg,poss
Parallels
- Ezek.11:19-20 (verbal): Promise to give a new heart and put a new spirit within them, so they will know God, walk in his statutes, be his people and he their God—language and themes closely parallel Jeremiah 24:7.
- Ezek.36:26-28 (verbal): God pledges a new heart and spirit, inward transformation, and the covenantal formula 'I will be your God, and you shall be my people,' echoing Jeremiah’s promise.
- Deut.30:6 (thematic): Promise that the LORD will circumcise the heart so the people may love and return to God with all their heart—shares the theme of inward change enabling wholehearted return/knowledge of God.
- Jer.31:33-34 (verbal): Within Jeremiah’s own corpus: God will put his law within them, they shall all know the LORD, and 'I will be their God, and they shall be my people'—an expanded articulation of the same covenantal restoration.
- 2 Cor.3:3 (thematic): New Testament reflection on God's law written on hearts by the Spirit (not on tablets), emphasizing internal transformation and knowing God from the heart—the theological fulfillment of Jeremiah’s promise.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will give them a heart to know me—that I am the LORD—and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return to me with all their heart.
- I will give them a heart to know me—that I am the LORD—and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return to me with all their heart.
Jer.24.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכתאנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- הרעות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- תאכלנה: VERB,qal,imprf,3,f,pl
- מרע: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כן: ADV
- אתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- צדקיהו: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ואת: CONJ
- שריו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss3m
- ואת: CONJ
- שארית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הנשארים: PART,m,pl,def
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- והישבים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 24:5-7 (structural): Immediate contrast within the same oracle: 'good figs' promise restoration, while 24:8 introduces the 'bad figs' and their fate—sets up the parallel between two groups.
- Jeremiah 39:4-7 (quotation): Narrative fulfillment of God's handing over Zedekiah and other leaders to the Babylonians; recounts Zedekiah's capture and punishment referenced in 24:8.
- 2 Kings 25:6-7 (quotation): Parallel royal account of Zedekiah's capture, the killing of his sons, and his being bound and taken to Babylon—corroborates the destiny announced in Jer 24:8.
- Jeremiah 43:5-7; 44:1-30 (thematic): Addresses the Judeans who fled to and settled in Egypt and pronounces judgment there—connects with 24:8's mention of 'those who dwell in the land of Egypt.'
- Ezekiel 29:10-12 (allusion): Prophecy that Egypt will be delivered into Nebuchadnezzar's hand and suffer exile—parallels the theme of peoples in Egypt being given over to Babylonian power.
Alternative generated candidates
- But as for the bad figs that cannot be eaten—thus says the LORD—so I will deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.
- But as for the very bad figs that cannot be eaten—thus says the LORD: so I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt,
Jer.24.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתתים: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לזעוה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לרעה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לכל: PREP
- ממלכות: NOUN,f,pl,cs
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לחרפה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ולמשל: CONJ
- לשנינה: PREP
- ולקללה: CONJ
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המקמות: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אדיחם: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- שם: ADV
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:37 (verbal): Uses the covenant‑curse formula—becoming an astonishment, proverb, byword, and curse among the nations—the same language Jeremiah echoes about Judah's fate.
- Leviticus 26:37 (verbal): Part of the Deuteronomic/Levitical curse tradition; similar wording about becoming a byword and reproach among the peoples to describe divine judgment.
- Jeremiah 29:18 (verbal): An internal Jeremiahean parallel that repeats the phraseology (astonishment, hissing, curse, reproach) to describe the exiles’ destiny among the nations.
- Psalm 44:14 (thematic): Speaks of Israel as a reproach and derision among neighbors—themewise connection emphasizing national dishonor and shame before surrounding peoples.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth: a reproach, a taunt, a byword, and a curse in all the places to which I drive them.
- I will make them an object of horror, a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse among all the kingdoms of the earth in all the places where I drive them.
Jer.24.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושלחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- בם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- החרב: NOUN,f,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- הרעב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- עד: PREP
- תמם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מעל: PREP
- האדמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ולאבותיהם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 14:21 (verbal): Uses the same triad—'the sword, famine, and pestilence'—as instruments of divine judgment and speaks of cutting people off from the land, closely matching Jeremiah's language.
- Ezekiel 5:12 (verbal): Announces judgment by dividing the people so that a portion will die by the sword, famine and pestilence; similar wording and distribution of punitive means.
- Leviticus 26:25-26 (thematic): Part of the covenant curses that promise the sword and destruction of food supplies as punishment for disobedience—background covenant theology for Jeremiah's threat.
- Deuteronomy 28:20-22 (thematic): Deuteronomy's curse formulas include pestilence, hunger and military defeat as consequences of covenant unfaithfulness, language and themes echoed in Jeremiah 24:10.
- 2 Chronicles 36:17-21 (structural): Describes the historical fulfillment when Babylon brought sword, exile and suffering upon Judah—an outcome corresponding to the judgments Jeremiah predicts.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until they are consumed from off the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.
- And I will send against them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until none are left of them from off the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.”
And the LORD showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs were set before the house of the LORD, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs; and the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten. And the LORD said to me, 'What do you see, Jeremiah?' And I said, 'Figs— the good figs are very good, and the bad ones are very bad, so bad they cannot be eaten.' And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard the exiles of Judah whom I have sent from this place to the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them, and I will not pull them down; I will plant them, and I will not uproot them.
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with all their heart.'
'And as for the very bad figs that cannot be eaten, thus says the LORD: I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt,
I will make them a horror, a byword, a taunt, and a curse among all the kingdoms of the earth, in all the places to which I shall drive them. And I will send against them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.'