Ratapan 2:21
Konteksש (Sin/Shin)
2:21 The young boys and old men
lie dead on the ground in the streets.
My young women 1 and my young men
have fallen by the sword.
You killed them when you were angry; 2
you slaughtered them without mercy. 3
Ratapan 4:20
Konteksר (Resh)
4:20 Our very life breath – the Lord’s anointed king 4 –
was caught in their traps, 5
of whom we thought, 6
“Under his protection 7 we will survive among the nations.”
[2:21] 1 tn Heb “virgins.” The term “virgin” probably functions as a metonymy of association for single young women.
[2:21] 2 tn Heb “in the day of your anger.” The construction בָּיוֹם (bayom, “in the day of…”) is a common Hebrew idiom, meaning “when…” (e.g., Gen 2:4; Lev 7:35; Num 3:1; Deut 4:15; 2 Sam 22:1; Pss 18:1; 138:3; Zech 8:9). This temporal idiom refers to a general time period, but uses the term “day” as a forceful rhetorical device to emphasize the vividness and drama of the event, depicting it as occurring within a single day. In the ancient Near East, military minded kings often referred to a successful campaign as “the day of X” in order to portray themselves as powerful conquerors who, as it were, could inaugurate and complete a victory military campaign within the span of one day.
[2:21] 3 tc The MT reads לֹא חָמָלְתָּ (lo’ khamalta, “You showed no mercy”). However, many medieval Hebrew
[4:20] 4 tn Heb “the anointed one of the
[4:20] 5 tn Heb “was captured in their pits.”
[4:20] 6 tn Heb “of whom we had said.”
[4:20] 7 tn Heb “under his shadow.” The term צֵל (tsel, “shadow”) is used figuratively here to refer the source of protection from military enemies. In the same way that the shade of a tree gives physical relief and protection from the heat of the sun (e.g., Judg 9:15; Job 40:22; Ps 80:11; Song 2:3; Ezek 17:23; 31:6, 12, 17; Hos 4:13; 14:8; Jon 4:5, 6), a faithful and powerful king can provide “shade” (= protection) from enemies and military attack (Num 14:19; Ps 91:1; Isa 30:2, 3; 49:2; 51:16; Jer 48:45; Lam 4:20).
