¹ sn The three alcoves are parallel to the city gates found at Megiddo, Hazor, and Gezer.

² tn <i>Hebi> “The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shean and its surrounding towns, Taanach and its surrounding towns, the people living in Dor and its surrounding towns, the people living in Ibleam and its surrounding towns, or the people living in Megiddo and its surrounding towns.”

³ tn <i>Hebi> “Beth Shean and its surrounding towns, Ibleam and its surrounding towns, the residents of Dor and its surrounding towns, the residents of Endor and its surrounding towns, the residents of Taanach and its surrounding towns, the residents of Megiddo and its surrounding towns, three of Nepheth.”

⁶ sn These three geographical designations may refer to provinces established by the Assyrians in 734-733 <span class="smcaps">b.c.span> The “way of the sea” is the province of Dor, along the Mediterranean coast, the “region beyond the Jordan” is the province of Gilead in Transjordan, and “Galilee of the nations” (a title that alludes to how the territory had been overrun by foreigners) is the province of Megiddo located west of the Sea of Galilee. See Y. Aharoni, <i>Land of the Biblei>, 374.

² sn The precise dating of this prophecy is uncertain. Several proposals have been suggested, the most likely of which is that the prophecy was delivered in 609 <span class="smcaps">b.c.span> in conjunction with Pharaoh Necho’s advance into Palestine to aid the Assyrians. That was the same year Josiah was killed by Necho at the battle of Megiddo and four years before Necho was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, the foe from the north. The prophecy presupposes that Ashkelon is still in existence (v. <data ref="Bible:Je 47:5">5data>); hence it must be before 604 <span class="smcaps">b.cspan>. For a fairly complete discussion of the options see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, <i><data ref="Bible:Je 26-52">Jeremiah 26-52data>i> (WBC), 299-300.

¹ sn As the next verse makes clear, the king who will never return to see his native land is Shallum, also known as Jehoahaz (cf. <data ref="Bible:1Ch 3:15">1 Chr 3:15data>; <data ref="Bible:2Ki 23:30">2 Kgs 23:30data>, <data ref="Bible:2Ki 23:33-34">33-34data>). He was made king by popular acclaim after the death of his father, Josiah, who was killed at Megiddo trying to stop Pharaoh Necho from going to the aid of the Assyrians. According to <data ref="Bible:2Ki 23:32">2 Kgs 23:32data> Jehoahaz was a wicked king. He was deposed by Necho and carried into exile, where he died. The dead king alluded to is his father, Josiah, who was a godly king and was accordingly spared from seeing the destruction of his land (<data ref="Bible:2Ki 22:20">2 Kgs 22:20data>).

¹ sn What are being contrasted here are the relative peace and prosperity under the reign of Manasseh, who promoted all kinds of pagan cults, including the worship of astral deities (<data ref="Bible:2Ki 21:2-9">2 Kgs 21:2-9data>), and the disasters that befell Judah after the reforms of Josiah, which included the removal of all the cult images and altars from Jerusalem and Judah (<data ref="Bible:2Ki 23:4-15">2 Kgs 23:4-15data>). The disasters included the death of Josiah himself at the battle of Megiddo; the deportation of his son Jehoahaz to Egypt; the death of Jehoiakim; the deportation of Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) and many other Judeans in 597 <span class="smcaps">b.c.span>; the death by war, starvation, and disease of many Judeans during the siege of Jerusalem in 588-86 <span class="smcaps">b.c.span>; and the captivity of many of those who survived. Instead of seeing these as punishments for their disobedience to the <span class="smcaps">Lordspan>, as Jeremiah had preached to them, they saw these as consequences of their failure to continue the worship of the foreign gods.

¹ sn The <i>fourth year that Jehoiakim…was ruling over Judahi> would have been 605/4 <span class="smcaps">b.cspan>. Jehoiakim began his rule in 609/8 <span class="smcaps">b.c.span> after his father Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo. Necho had installed him as puppet king in place of his brother Jehoahaz, who was deposed by Necho after a reign of only three months (<data ref="Bible:2Ki 23:31-35">2 Kgs 23:31-35data>). According to <data ref="Bible:Je 46:2">Jer 46:2data>, that was the year in which Nebuchadnezzar defeated Jehoiakim’s suzerain Necho at Carchemish. That was also the year that Jerusalem came under attack and submitted to Babylonian control after a brief siege (<data ref="Bible:Da 1:1">Dan 1:1data>; see the study note on <data ref="Bible:Je 25:1">25:1data> for the reason for the difference in the dating between <data ref="Bible:Je 25:1">Jer 25:1data>; <data ref="Bible:Je 36:2">36:2data>; and <data ref="Bible:Da 1:1">Dan 1:1data>). These events confirmed what Jeremiah had been saying about the foe from the north (<data ref="Bible:Je 4:6">4:6data>; <data ref="Bible:Je 6:1">6:1data>; <data ref="Bible:Je 15:12">15:12data>) and would have provided the impetus for the hopes that the people would repent if they were reminded about what Jeremiah had been saying.

² sn The year referred to would be 605 <span class="smcaps">b.c.span> Jehoiakim had been placed on the throne of Judah as a puppet king by Pharaoh Necho after the defeat of Josiah at Megiddo in 609 <span class="smcaps">b.c.span> (<data ref="Bible:2Ki 23:34-35">2 Kgs 23:34-35data>). According to <data ref="Bible:Je 46:2">Jer 46:2data> Nebuchadnezzar defeated Necho at Carchemish in that same year. After defeating Necho, Nebuchadnezzar had hurried back to Babylon, where he was made king. After being made king, he then returned to Judah and attacked Jerusalem (<data ref="Bible:Da 1:1">Dan 1:1data>. The date given there is the third year of Jehoiakim but scholars are generally agreed that the dating there is based on a different system than the one here. It did not count the part of the year before New Year’s day as an official part of the king’s official rule. Hence, the third year there is the fourth year here.) The identity of the foe from the north referred to in general terms (<data ref="Bible:Je 4:6">4:6data>; <data ref="Bible:Je 6:1">6:1data>; <data ref="Bible:Je 15:12">15:12data>) now becomes clear.

⁴ tn <i>Hebi> “O Perfect One.” Alternately, “O Shunammite” or “O Shulammite.” The term <span class="hebrew">הַשּׁוּלַמִּיתspan> (<span class="translit">hashulammitspan>) has been variously translated: “Shulammite maiden” (NEB); “maiden of Shulam” (JB); “O maid of Shulem” (NJPS); “the Shulammite” (KJV; NASB; NIV). The meaning of the name <span class="hebrew">הַשּׁוּלַמִּיתspan> is enigmatic and debated. LXX renders it <span class="greek">ἡ Σουλαμιτἰspan> (<span class="translit">hē Soulamitispan>, “O Shulamite”) and Vulgate renders it <i>Sulamitisi> (“O Shulamite”). A few Hebrew <span class="smcaps">mssspan> read the plural <span class="hebrew">הַשּׁוּלַמּוֹתspan> (<span class="translit">hashulammotspan>) but the Masoretic tradition reads <span class="hebrew">הַשּׁוּלַמִּיתspan> as the versions confirm. Eight major views have emerged in the history of interpretation of the Song. They are arranged, as follows, in order from most likely (views 1-2), plausible (views 3-5), unlikely (view 6), to bizarre (views 7-8): (1) <span class="hebrew">שׁוּלַמִּיתspan> is a substantival use of the adjectival form <i>qutali> <span class="hebrew">שׁוּלָםspan> (<span class="translit">shulamspan>, “perfection”) with the gentilic suffix <span class="hebrew">יתspan>- from the root <span class="hebrew">שָׁלֵםspan> (<span class="translit">shalemspan>, “to be complete, perfect”): “the perfect, unblemished one” (Fox). This approach is reflected in rabbinic exegesis of the 12th century: “The meaning of the Shulammite is ‘perfect, without spot’” (Midrash Rabbah). (2) <span class="hebrew">שׁוּלַמִּיתspan> is Qal passive participle with the feminine adjectival suffix <span class="hebrew">יתspan>- from the root <span class="hebrew">שָׁלֵםspan> (“peace”): “the peaceful one” or “the pacified one” (Andre, Robert, Joüon). This is reflected in Vulgate <i>pacificusi> (“the pacified one”), and Aquila and Quinta <span class="greek">ἡ ἐηρυνεούσαspan> (<span class="translit">hē eēruneousaspan>) “the peaceful one” (Andre Robert, Joüon). (3) <span class="hebrew">שׁוּלַמִּיתspan> is an alternate form of the gentilic name “Shunammite” (<span class="hebrew">שׁוּנַמִּיתspan>) used to refer to inhabitants of Shunem (<data ref="Bible:1Ki 1:15">1 Kgs 1:15data>; <data ref="Bible:2Ki 4:12">2 Kgs 4:12data>). This is reflected in LXX <span class="greek">ἡ Σουλαμιτἰspan> (<span class="translit">hē Soulamitispan>, “O Shulamite”). This is supported by several factors: (a) Gentilic names are formed by the suffix <span class="hebrew">יתspan>- and the prefixed article to a place-name, e.g., <span class="hebrew">הַיְּרוּשָׁלַמִיתspan> (<span class="translit">hayy<sup>esup>rushalamitspan>, “the Jerusalemite”) is from <span class="hebrew">יְרוּשָׁלַםspan> (<span class="translit">y<sup>esup>rushalamspan>, “Jerusalem”); (b) the interchange between lateral dental <span class="hebrew">לspan> (<span class="translit">lamedspan>) and nasal dental <span class="hebrew">נspan> (<span class="translit">nunspan>) is common in the Semitic languages (S. Moscati, <i>Comparative Grammari>, 32, §8.26); (c) the town of Shunem was also known as Shulem, due to the common interchange between <span class="hebrew">נspan> (<span class="translit">nunspan>) and <span class="hebrew">לspan> (<span class="translit">lamedspan>) in Hebrew (Aharoni, 123), as seen in Eusebius’ Onomasticon in which Shunem = Shulem; and (d) later revisions of the LXX read <span class="greek">ἡ Σουναμωτἰspan> (<span class="translit">hē sounamōtispan>, “the Shunamite”) instead of the Old Greek <span class="greek">ἡ Σουλαμωτἰspan> (<span class="translit">hē soulamōtispan>, “the Shulamite”). Shunem was a town in the Jezreel Valley at the foot of Mount Moreh near Mount Tabor and situated about nine miles east of Megiddo, fifteen miles northwest of Beth Shean, and five miles north of Jezreel (<data ref="Bible:Jos 19:18">Josh 19:18data>; <data ref="Bible:1Sa 28:4">1 Sam 28:4data>; <data ref="Bible:2Ki 4:8">2 Kgs 4:8data>). During the Roman period, the town was called Shulem. See Y. Aharoni, <i>The Land of the Biblei>, 24, 152, 172, 442, 308. Some scholars suggest that “Shul/nammite” refers to Abishag, the beautiful virgin from the village of Shunem who warmed elderly King David and was sought by Adonijah (<data ref="Bible:1Ki 2:13-25">1 Kgs 2:13-25data>). Other scholars argue that Abishag has been imported in the Song on too slender grounds. (4) <span class="hebrew">שׁוּלַמִּיתspan> is the feminine form of the masculine name <span class="hebrew">שְׁלֹמֹהspan> (<span class="translit">sh<sup>esup>lomohspan>, “Solomon”), just as Judith is the feminine of Judah: “Shulamith” or “Solomonette” or “Solomoness” (Lowth, Goodspeed, Rowley). The feminine ending <span class="hebrew">־יתspan> may be suffixed to masculine personal names to transform them into feminine names. A similar form occurs in the Ugaritic designation of Daniel’s wife as Lady Daniel (e.g., <span class="translit">mtt dntyspan>). An anonymous Jewish commentator of the 12th century wrote: “The Shulammite was beloved of Solomon, for she was called after the name of her beloved.” The 16th century commentator Joseph Ibn Yahya wrote: “And the calling of her ‘Shulammite’ was determined by reason of her devotion to the Holy One (Blessed be He) who is called Shelomoh.” (5) As a combination of views 3-4, <span class="hebrew">שׁוּלַמִּיתspan> is a wordplay formed by the combination of the feminine name <span class="hebrew">שְׁלֹמִיתspan> (<span class="translit">sh<sup>esup>lomitspan>, “Shelomite”) from <span class="hebrew">שְׁלֹמֹהspan> (“Solomon”) and the gentilic name <span class="hebrew">הַשּׁוּנַמִּיתspan> (“the Shunammite”) denoting a woman from Shunem: “Solomoness/Shunammite.” (6) <span class="hebrew">שׁוּלַמִּיתspan> is related to the Arabic root <span class="translit">salamaspan> “consummation gift” (given to a bride the morning after the wedding): “O Consummated One” or “O Bride” (Hirschberg). (7) Those espousing a cultic interpretation of Canticles take <span class="hebrew">שׁוּלַמִּיתspan> as the name or epithet of the Canaanite moon goddess Ishtar, designated by the feminine form of the name Shelem, the name of her lover Tammuz, called Dod or Shelem (T. J. Meek). (8) An alternate cultic interpretation takes <span class="hebrew">שׁוּלַמיתspan> as a conflation of the name of the Assyrian war-goddess “Shulmanith” (Ishtar) and the gentilic name “the Shunammite” for a woman from Shunem (Albright). See M. V. Fox, <i>The Song of Songs and the Egyptian Love Songsi>, 157-58; T. J. Meek, “Canticles and the Tammuz Cult,” <i>AJSLi> 39 (1922-23): 1-14; E. J. Goodspeed, “The Shulammite,” <i>AJSLi> 50 (1933): 102-104; H. H. Rowley, “The Meaning of ‘The Shulammite’,” <i>AJSLi> 56 (1938): 84-91; W. F. Albright, “The Syro-Mesopotamian God Sulman-Esmun and Related Figures,” <i>AfOi> 7 (1931-32): 164-69; W. F. Albright, “Archaic Survivals in the Text of Canticles,” <i>Hebrew and Semitic Studiesi>, 5; H. H. Hirschberg, “Some Additional Arabic Etymologies in Old Testament Lexicography,” <i>VTi> 11 (1961): 373-85; M. H. Pope, <i>Song of Songsi> (AB), 596-600.