De val van Gaza. Een oude profetie in een nieuwe belichting

Samenvatting

This article deals with the heading of Jeremiah’s oracle against the Philistines in ch. 47, which has puzzled many interpreters. It is argued that the phrase ‘before Pharaoh took Gaza’ in Jer. 47:1 is a later addition, referring to Pharaoh Neco’s capture of that city in 601/600 BCE, whereas the oracle of 47:2-7 itself is to be dated ca. 604. Neco was able to take Gaza, since some time before he had beaten the Babylonians at the Egyptian border, so that the Babylonians had to withdraw to their homeland. The heading was added to the oracle of Jer 47 in order to warn the people of Judah that YHWH’s judgment through the sword of Babylon was still to be expected, notwithstanding Pharaoh’s success.