3:5 Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait?
Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?
5:5 Do not seek Bethel! 1
Do not visit Gilgal!
Do not journey down 2 to Beer Sheba!
For the people of Gilgal 3 will certainly be carried into exile; 4
and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.” 5
9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; 6
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble 7 and settle down. 8
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; 9
they will grow orchards 10 and eat the fruit they produce. 11
1 sn Ironically, Israel was to seek after the Lord, but not at Bethel (the name Bethel means “the house of God” in Hebrew).
map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
2 tn Heb “cross over.”
sn To worship at Beer Sheba, northern worshipers had to journey down (i.e., cross the border) between Israel and Judah. Apparently, the popular religion of Israel for some included pilgrimage to holy sites in the South.
3 tn Heb “For Gilgal.” By metonymy the place name “Gilgal” is used instead of referring directly to the inhabitants. The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
4 tn In the Hebrew text the statement is emphasized by sound play. The name “Gilgal” sounds like the verb גָּלָה (galah, “to go into exile”), which occurs here in the infinitival + finite verb construction (גָּלֹה יִגְלֶה, galoh yigleh). The repetition of the “ג” (g) and “ל” (l) sounds draws attention to the announcement and suggests that Gilgal’s destiny is inherent in its very name.
sn That the people of Gilgal would be taken into exile is ironic, for Gilgal was Israel’s first campsite when the people entered the land under Joshua and the city became a symbol of Israel’s possession of the promised land.
5 tn Heb “disaster,” or “nothing”; NIV “Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”
sn Again there is irony. The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew. How surprising and tragic that Bethel, the “house of God” where Jacob received the inheritance given to Abraham, would be overrun by disaster.
6 tn This line can also be translated “I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel” and is a common idiom (e.g., Deut 30:3; Jer 30:3; Hos 6:11; Zeph 3:20). This rendering is followed by several modern English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, NJPS).
7 tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”
8 tn Or “and live [in them].”
9 tn Heb “drink their wine.”
10 tn Or “gardens.”
11 tn Heb “eat their fruit.”