{"id":71829,"date":"2020-03-16T18:38:34","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T16:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=71829"},"modified":"2020-03-16T18:38:34","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T16:38:34","slug":"in-the-pit-with-jeremiah-and-joseph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/in-the-pit-with-jeremiah-and-joseph\/","title":{"rendered":"In The Pit With Jeremiah And Joseph"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/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":[],"acf":{"old_id":"71829","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":36277,"related_cahpter":"438","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Both are nearly killed for speaking about a divine plan that was too disturbing for their listeners to hear\r\n","content":"

Jeremiah\u2019s final attempt to save Jerusalem from total destruction infuriates the leaders of the city so much that they have him thrown in a pit, intending that he should die.<\/span><\/p>\n

This fate is reminiscent of Joseph. The striking parallels between the two stories are noted by Rabbi David Sabato.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, in both episodes, the text says, \u201cthe pit was empty; there was no water in it.\u201d Neither pit can sustain life. Joseph and Jeremiah\u2019s assailants both intend that the pit experience should be fatal. But rather than murder the victim with their own hands they prefer to inflict a delayed death, so as not to be held directly culpable for the victim\u2019s demise.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, a weak bystander disagrees with the attackers\u2019 plan but fails to stand up to them. In the Joseph story, Reuben, the eldest brother says \u201cshed no blood; cast him into that pit, but do not touch him yourselves,\u201d intending to save him from them\u201d (Gen 37:22). In Jeremiah\u2019s case it is King Zedekiah, who in the last chapter sought out Jeremiah\u2019s prophecy and protects him, who now gives in to the persecutors, saying, \u201che is in your hands, the king cannot oppose you in anything\u201d (Jeremiah 38:5).<\/span><\/p>\n

Third, both are taken out of the pit through the intervention of a non-Jew. Joseph is pulled out by passing Midianites, while Jeremiah is saved by Ebed-melech the Cushite, a servant who protests to the king against Jeremiah\u2019s fate and begs him to pull the dying prophet from the pit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fourth, in both stories, the persecutors deny the benign motives of the victim. Joseph explains his dangerous journey to the desert saying to the mysterious man at Shechem, saying \u201cI seek my brothers\u201d (Gen.37:15). The city leaders tell the king that Jeremiah \u201cis not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm,\u201d when the seer is trying to prevent the city\u2019s complete destruction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, Jeremiah and Joseph are both visionaries who foresee exile and try to prepare people for its wrenching consequences. Joseph says about himself when he reconciles with his brothers in Egypt, \u201c”For God sent me before you to preserve life” (Gen 45:5). His childhood dreams of grandeur are revealed to presage Joseph\u2019s rule in exile.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremiah\u2019s prophecies encompass not just the doom of Jerusalem, but also the way the people will survive in exile: \u201cseek the peace of the city to which I have exiled you, (Jer. 29:7) and their eventual return, \u201cFields shall once again be purchased in the land, (Jer. 32:34).<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Jeremiah and Joseph are despised and nearly killed for glimpsing and speaking about a divine plan that was too disturbing for their listeners to hear.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":71830,"id":71830,"title":"jer38-joseph","filename":"jer38-joseph.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/in-the-pit-with-jeremiah-and-joseph\/jer38-joseph\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jer38-joseph","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":71829,"date":"2020-03-16 16:37:52","modified":"2020-03-16 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