Symbolic Actions of the Prophets Table

18:2 to the house of the potter The Hebrew word used here means “shaper” and is related to one of the terms used to describe Yahweh’s creative activity. In Genesis 2:7, Yahweh shapes Adam from the dust; this act is likely the basis for the potter metaphor for God.

18:3 was doing work at the potter’s wheels The most common method of shaping clay into pottery was to use a potter’s wheel, turned by hand or by foot.

18:4 he made again another vessel Jeremiah uses the potter’s ability to shape and reshape his work as an analogy for Yahweh’s care for His people. Reworking the same clay into a new vessel creates an added layer to the metaphor: Yahweh might reshape a new Israel, foreshadowing Jer 31.

18:6 Like this potter, am I not able to do to you O house of Israel? God as potter and His creation as clay is a common symbol for His sovereignty (see Isa 29:16 and note; Isa 45:9; Isa 64:8; Rom 9:20–23). The imagery is likely based on Gen 2:7. See note on Jer 18:2.

18:8 that nation The hypothetical conditions offered here are similar to Ezekiel’s discussion of moral responsibility in Ezek 18 (compare especially Ezek 18:21).

turns back from its evil A call for communal repentance using the Hebrew verb for “turn” or “repent.” Prophecies of judgment often included a call to repentance.

The Significance of “Shuv” in Jeremiah

I will relent The Hebrew verb here has a wide and nuanced range of meaning. It can be translated as “be sorry,” “show regret,” “show compassion,” or “be comforted,” and it can convey the sense of changing one’s mind based on circumstances or behavior. It is not too late for the people to repent. Yahweh chastised Jeremiah for putting words of repentance in their mouths in Jer 14:7–12. He wants the people to recognize their own sin, but they stubbornly refuse. No one else can intercede on their behalf (see 15:1).

18:10 I will relent See note on Jer 18:8.

18:11 am preparing evil A play on words using yotser, which can be a noun (“potter”) and a verbal form (“shaping”).

18:12 we will go after our own plans The people blatantly reject Yahweh’s call to repent, ignoring the implications of Jeremiah’s analogy with the potter. Jeremiah’s sign-act in 19:1–11, where he breaks a large pot to symbolize the coming destruction of Judah, dramatically emphasizes the absurdity of their response.

18:14 the snow of Lebanon Both rhetorical questions anticipate a negative answer; a positive answer would defy the natural order. A high mountain is going to have snow.

18:15 go into bypaths, not one that is built up A metaphor for Israel wandering from the path Yahweh prepared for them. See Jer 6:16 and note.

18:17 Like the wind from the east I will scatter An east wind is often a scorching, violent windstorm (compare 4:11; Isa 27:8; Job 15:2; Gen 41:6; Jonah 4:8). Judgment by scattering is a common image based on the covenant curses. See Lev 26:33.

I will show them my back Symbolizes rejection, a removal of divine favor and presence.

18:18 plans against Jeremiah Jeremiah’s first two laments similarly focused on attempts on his life. See Jer 11:18–23 and note; 12:1–6 and note.

instruction will not be lost from the priest The people’s reaction depicts their defense of the three central and official religious offices—priest, prophet, and sage. The people believe Jeremiah is at odds with the will of Yahweh as revealed through His priests, His prophets, and the royal counselors. The people refused to believe Jeremiah was right and that their leaders were wrong (compare chs. 28; Ezek 7:26).

18:21 give their children to the famine The people for whom Jeremiah had interceded now reject him (Jer 18:20), so he asks God to bring judgment.