{"id":70677,"date":"2020-02-25T11:31:32","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T09:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=70677"},"modified":"2023-10-17T15:24:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T12:24:01","slug":"the-craftsmen-the-smiths-and-the-figs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-craftsmen-the-smiths-and-the-figs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Craftsmen, the Smiths, and the Figs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[575,680],"acf":{"old_id":"70677","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"424","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Who are they and what role do they play?\u00a0\u00a0\r\n","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In our chapter, Jeremiah prophetically saw two baskets of figs: one edible and one inedible. God informed him that the edible figs represented the Jews in Babylonian exile who will be redeemed, while the inedible figs were those who remained in Jerusalem, or had fled to Egypt, who will be destroyed. The prophecy is dated after the exile by Nebuchadnezzar of former King Jeconiah along with \u201cthe <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">harash<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">masger<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d Who were they and what role did the figs play?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We first encountered the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">harash<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">masger <\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(usually translated as craftsmen and smiths) in 2 Kings 24:14, where their exile was contrasted with the \u201cmost impoverished of the country folk,\u201d who could remain in Judah. Accordingly, Shadal* concluded that \u201cthey are a type of military rank, among the most respectable,\u201d and suggested that the former were armorers, who manufacture (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">harash<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) weapons, and the latter were sentries, who kept the camp enclosed (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">masger<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rashi, on the other hand, inclined towards the homiletical view of the Talmud that identified them with members of the Sanhedrin. They were so-called because when they spoke, everyone else was silenced (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">heresh<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), and because their opinions were so authoritative that after they spoke, the discussion was closed (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sagur<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Curiously, none of the classic exegetes explained the specific significance of the figs, save that Shadal mentioned that fig trees in the Land of Israel produce two crops a year, and Malbim noted that figs rot if left to ripen in the sun for too long. Combining these arboreal insights, we might advance our own interpretation: The edible figs grew first and, as first-fruits destined for the Temple, were subject to special oversight. Thus, they represented the righteous who would be redeemed. The inedible figs grew later and because they had no special significance were left to ripen for too long and rotted. They, therefore, represent the wicked, who were doomed to destruction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*For an explanation of our objectives in studying Shadal\u2019s commentary, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.929.org.il\/lang\/en\/page\/401\/post\/69068\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">see our introduction<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Jeremiah chapter 1.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":70678,"id":70678,"title":"jer24-smiths","filename":"jer24-smiths.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer24-smiths.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-craftsmen-the-smiths-and-the-figs\/jer24-smiths\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jer24-smiths","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":70677,"date":"2020-02-25 09:30:16","modified":"2020-02-25 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