Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 33:2
Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD [is] his name;
2. the Lord is his name ] He is God and not man, and so is unchangeable and omnipotent. A similar expression is frequent in Isaiah (Isa 47:4, Isa 48:2, etc.). Cp. Jer 10:16, in connexion, as here, with Jehovah as Creator (“former”) of all things.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
2, 3. These vv. bear a close affinity to several passages in 2 Isaiah (e.g. Isa 45:18, Isa 48:6), and are probably an insertion by a later hand. For the indefinite “that doeth it,” etc., which in the Hebrew still more than the English resembles Isa 22:11 (cp. Jer 33:4 f. here with Isa 22:10), we should probably read with LXX “who made the earth and formed it to establish it.” Cp. Isa 45:18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Or, Thus saith Yahweh the doer of it, Yahweh who formeth it, that He may establish it, Yahweh is His name. The word it means whatsoever Yahweh wills.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. Thus saith the Lord the Maker thereof] osah, the doer of it. That is, he who is to perform that which he is now about to promise. Thus translated by Dahler.-Voici ce que dit l’Eternel, qui fait ce qu’il a dit.-“Thus saith the Lord, who doth that which he hath said.” The word Jehovah, not Lord, should be used in all such places as this.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The maker thereof, that is, say some, of Jerusalem, (so Mr. Calvin,) or the maker of these promises, (so others interpret it,) his name is Jehovah; so as he hath a sufficiency in himself to make good his word to establish Jerusalem, or to establish the word spoken by him for the establishment of it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. maker thereofrather, “thedoer of it,” namely, that which Jeremiah is about to prophesy,the restoration of Israel, an act which is thought now impossible,but which the Almighty will effect.
formed itnamely,Jerusalem (Jer 32:44)[CALVIN]. Rather, “thatformed,” that is, moulds His purpose into due shape forexecution (Isa 37:26).
Lord . . . his name(Exo 3:14; Exo 3:15).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thus saith the Lord, the Maker thereof,…. The Syriac version is, “that made thee”; the prophet. The Septuagint and Arabic versions are, “the Maker of the earth”; see Jer 32:17. Kimchi interprets it of Jerusalem; rather it is to be understood of the New Jerusalem, or church of God in Gospel times. Jarchi seems to understand it of this prophecy or promise, and so others; the promise of restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem; which, if taken of the church of God, may be admitted;
the Lord that formed it, to establish it; who drew the scheme and model of this spiritual building, his church, in his eternal mind, and resolved upon its stability and glory; who forms it, and everyone in it, for himself, and for his praise, in order to establish it in the world; as it will be more especially in the latter day: we often read of the Lord’s establishing his church and people in the world,
Ps 48:8;
the Lord [is] his name; Jehovah, the self-existing Being, the Being of beings; who is able to perform whatever he undertakes, and so is equal to this work, of settling and establishing his interest.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Introduction. – Jer 33:2 . “Thus saith Jahveh who makes it, Jahveh who forms it in order to establish it, Jahveh is His name: Jer 33:3 . Call on me and I will answer thee, and tell thee great and hidden things which thou knowest not.” The reference of the suffixes in , , and is evident from the contents of the propositions: the Lord does what He says, and forms what He wants to make, in order to accomplish it, i.e., He completes what He has spoken and determined on. , to frame, namely, in the mind, as if to think out, just as in Jer 18:11: the expression is parallel with ; in this sense also we find Isa 46:11. , to establish, realize what has been determined on, prepare, is also found in Isa 9:6; Isa 40:20, but more frequently in Jeremiah (Jer 10:12; Jer 51:12, Jer 51:15), and pretty often in the Old Testament generally. On the phrase “Jahveh is His name,” cf. Jer 31:35. The idea contained in Jer 33:2 reminds us of similar expressions of Isaiah, as in Isa 22:11; Isa 37:26; Isa 46:11, etc.; but this similarity offers no foundation for the doubts of Movers and Hitzig regarding the genuineness of this verse. The same holds as regards Jer 33:3. The first proposition occurs frequently in the Psalms, e.g., Jer 4:4; Jer 28:1; Jer 30:9, also in Jer 7:27; Jer 11:14; but with is unusual in Isaiah. The words are certainly an imitation of , Isa 48:6; but they are modified, in the manner peculiar to Jeremiah, by the change of into . The combination noit is elsewhere used only of the strong cities of the Canaanites, Deu 1:28; Deu 9:1; Jos 14:12, cf. Num 13:28; here is transferred to things which lie beyond the limits of human power to discover, and become known to men only through divine revelation. There is no good reason for Ewald’s change of in accordance with Isa 48:6. – On the contents of these verses Hengstenberg remarks: “It may seem strange that, though in the opening part the prophet is promised a revelation of greater, unknown things, for which he is to call on God, yet the succeeding announcement contains scarcely anything remarkable or peculiar.” Graf also adds the remark of Hitzig, that the command to pray, addressed to Jeremiah, cannot have the effect of keeping us from the conclusion that the verses are an addition by a later hand. Ngelsbach replies that the mode of expression presents nothing specially unlike Jeremiah, and that what is most calculated to give the impression of being unlike Jeremiah’s, namely, this introduction in itself, and especially the peculiar turn of Jer 33:3, “Call unto me,” etc., is occasioned by the prayer of the prophet, Jer 32:16-25. To this prayer the prophet had received an answer, Jer 32:36-44; but he is here admonished to approach the Lord more frequently with such a request. The God who has the power to execute as well as make decrees is quite prepared to give him an insight into His great thoughts regarding the future; and of this a proof is at once given. Thus, Jer 33:1-3 must be viewed as the connecting link between Jer 32; 33.
Yet these remarks are not sufficient to silence the objections set forth against the genuineness of Jer 33:2, Jer 33:3; for the specializing title of our chapter, in Jer 33:1, is opposed to the close connection which Ngelsbach maintains between Jer 32; 33. The fact that, in Jer 32, Jeremiah addresses the Lord in prayer for further revelation regarding the purchase of the field, as commanded, and that he receives the information he desired regarding it, gives no occasion for warning to the prophet, to betake himself more frequently to God for disclosures regarding His purposes of salvation. And Ngelsbach has quite evaded the objection that Jeremiah does not obey the injunction. Moreover, the succeeding revelation made in vv. 4-26 is not of the nature of a “proof,” for it does not contain a single great leading feature in God’s purposes as regards the future. – Hengstenberg also points out the difficulty, “that the Scripture everywhere refuses to recognise a dead knowledge as true knowledge, and that the hope of restoration has an obstacle in the natural man, who strives to obscure and to extinguish it; that, consequently, the promise of restoration is always new, and the word of God always great and grand;” but what he adduces for the solution of the difficulty contained in the command, “Call on me, and I will show thee great and unknown things,” is insufficient for his purpose. The objection which expositors have taken to these verses has arisen from an improper application of them; the words have been understood as referring to the request that God should give some revelation regarding the future, or His purposes of deliverance, and as referring to the communication of His purposes for increasing our knowledge of them. But “to call on God” rather signifies to pray to God, i.e., to beseech Him for protection, or help, or deliverance in time of need, cf. Psa 3:5; Psa 28:1; Psa 30:9; Psa 55:17, etc.; and to “answer” is the reply of God made when He actually vouchsafes the aid sought for; cf. e.g., Psa 55:17, “I call on God, and Jahveh answers me (saves me);” Psa 4:2, Psa 4:4; Psa 18:7; Psa 27:7, etc. Consequently, also, “to make known” ( ) is no mere communication of knowledge regarding great and unknown things, no mere letting them be known, but a making known by deeds. The words and , ascribed to the Lord, suggest and require that the words should be thus understood. With the incorrect reference of these words to knowing and making known there is connected the further error, that the command, “Call unto me,” is directed to the person of the prophet, and gives an admonition for his behaviour towards God, for which the text affords on foundation whatever; for it does not run: “Thus saith Jahveh to me” ( ), and the insertion of this is unwarranted, and inconsistent with the use of which introduces the announcement. Hitzig, Graf, and others have passed by this without remark; and what Ngelsbach says about it is connected with his view, already refuted, as to the essential unity of Jer 32; 33. Lastly, Ewald has enclosed Jer 33:3 within parentheses, and considers that the introductory formula of Jer 33:2 is resumed in Jer 33:4: “Yea, thus saith Jahveh.” This is a conclusion hastily formed by one who is in difficulty, for Jer 33:3 has not the nature of a parenthesis. If we allow the arbitrary addition “to me” after the words, “Thus saith the Lord,” Jer 33:2, and if we take the words in their simplest sense – the invocation of the Lord as a call to God for help in need – then Jer 33:2, Jer 33:3 do not contain a mere prelude to the revelation which follows, but an exhortation to the people to betake themselves to the Lord their God in their calamity, when He will make known to them things unattainable by human discernment; for ( , Jer 33:4) He announces, in reference to the ruined houses of the city, that He will repair their injuries.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
But before God promised anything respecting the return of the people, he strengthened the mind of the Prophet by a preface, and also encouraged and animated the godly to entertain good hope. The preface is, that God created and formed Jerusalem There was, then, no doubt but he would at length rescue it from the hands of enemies; nay, that he would raise it up even from hell itself. To prove this, he says that he is Jehovah We hence see why the Prophet, before he recited the promise, honored God with magnificent titles. But it is doubtful whether the past or the present time is to be understood, when it is said, Jehovah the maker of it, Jehovah the former of it; for either would be suitable, — that is, that God at the beginning built Jerusalem and was its founder, or that he had purposed again to create and form it anew. If the past time be taken, then the meaning is, that the city, which had been built by God, could not possibly perish, because his will was that it should remain perpetually. And the same sentiment often occurs in the Prophets, and also in the Psalms. For it was God’s design to be regarded as the founder of Jerusalem, in order that he might distinguish it from all other cities of the world. We know that there is nothing under the sun perpetual, for the whole world is subject to various changes; nay,
“
the fashion of this world,” as Paul says, “passeth away.” (1Co 7:31)
As, then, changes so various take place in all cities, God, by a singular privilege, exempted Jerusalem from this common lot; and hence the Prophet truly and wisely concludes, that the ruin of the city would not be perpetual, because God had formed it. And hence its future restitution is sufficiently proved.
But if any one prefers the present time, then the meaning would be, that he who had resolved to create and form Jerusalem is Jehovah, the God of hosts: no one then can hinder his work. As this sense is not unsuitable, I do not reject it, though I follow the former. We must, at the same time, bear in mind this principle, — that restoration is promised to the Jews, because Jerusalem had been, as it were, chosen by God, so that he took it under his care and protection, so as to preserve it perpetually. Whether then we take the words to be in the past or present time, that God is the creator and former of Jerusalem, we see that the promise of deliverance is founded on the mercy of God, even because he had cliosen Jerusalem for his own habitation, according to what is in the Psalms,
“
His foundations are on the holy mountains.” (Psa 87:1)
And there, also, the pronoun is used instead of God’s name, as here instead of the city’s name, Thus saith Jehovah, who has created it, who has formed it, that he might establish it Here Jerusalem is not named; but the narrative is much more emphatical than if it was expressed, as also in the place we have just quoted, the word God is not given, nor the word Church, if I mistake not, in the 37 chapter of Isaiah (Isa 37:0). When the Prophet says,
“
His foundations are on the holy mountains,”
there is no doubt but that the word God is to be understood, though not expressed. So here, when speaking of the city, he says that Jehovah formed it, or will form it. (86)
He adds, Jehovah is his name Here he exalts the power of God, that the Jews might not set up against him what otherwise might have terrified them, and, as it were, reduced them to a lifeless state, and caused them wholly to faint away. He, therefore, sets before their eyes the power of God, as though he had said, that there would be no obstacle which could delay God’s work, for he had resolved to form and create anew his own city after its demolition; it is, in a word, the same as though he had bidden the people to turn their eyes and all their thoughts to God, to consider his immeasurable power, and so to entertain hope, and thus to look down, as it were, from on high on all the impediments which might have otherwise wholly weakened their confidence.
(86) The Sept. give the present time, “who makes,” etc.; the Vulg. the future, “who will make,” etc.; and the Syr. and the Targ. in the past, “who made,” etc. The verse may be thus rendered, —
Thus saith Jehovah, — Made it hath Jehovah, Having formed it in order to establish it; Jehovah is his name.
That the city is meant cannot be disputed, as the word itself is introduced in the 4 verse (Jer 33:4), and at the end of the 5 verse. In the Sept. it is land, “who makes the land,” and in the Syr., “who made thee:” both which are no doubt wrong. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
2. Maker formed establish The logical order is preserved, but there is a progress from extent to intensity of meaning.
The Lord is his name This appeal to the import of the name Jehovah suggests the stability of his word and the perpetuity of his covenant. The pronouns in this verse, thereof and it, are used impersonally, and mean that which results from the action of the verbs.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 33:2. The maker thereof Who made the earth. Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 33:2 Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD [is] his name;
Ver. 2. Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof. ] i.e., Of the promise of restoration. Jer 32:41-44 Or of Jerusalem, which he is said to make in the sense that he “made Moses and Aaron,” that is, “advanced” them. 1Sa 12:6 , marg.
The Lord is his name.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the Maker thereof = the doer thereof: i.e. the accomplisher of His word.
the LORD. This is not found in some codices, nor in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.
the LORD is His name. The Massorah states that this expression occurs only four times (Exo 15:3. Exo 33:2. Amo 5:8; Amo 9:6). Reference to Pentateuch (Exo 15:3). App-92.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the maker: Osah, rather, “the Doer of it:” that is, He who is to perform that which He is now about to promise; thus rendered by Dahler; Voici ce qui dit l’Eternel, qui fait ce qu’il a dit. “Thus saith the Eternal, who doeth that which he hath said.” Psa 87:5, Psa 102:16, Isa 14:32, Isa 37:26, Isa 43:1, Isa 43:21, Isa 62:7, Heb 11:10, Heb 11:16, Rev 21:2, Rev 21:10
the Lord: or, Jehovah, Jer 32:18, Exo 3:14, Exo 3:15, Exo 6:3, Exo 15:3, Amo 5:8, Amo 9:6
Reciprocal: Deu 26:7 – we cried 1Ki 15:4 – and to establish Isa 22:11 – ye have Jer 16:21 – and they Zec 10:6 – for I am
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 33:2. The pronoun it refers to the earth that contains the fields spoken of in the preceding chapter. The point in the discussion is the fact that God made the earth, therefore He has the power to give it to whomsoever he will.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 33:2. Thus saith the Lord, the maker thereof That is, as many interpreters understand it, of the city of Jerusalem, a figure of that church spoken of before: see Jer 32:36; Jer 32:44, compared with the 4th, 6th, and 9th verses of this chapter. Blaney, however, renders the clause, Thus saith Jehovah the doer of it, Jehovah the framer of it, who also disposeth it, considering the pronoun it as referring to the thing which God here says he is about to do.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
33:2 Thus saith the LORD the {b} maker of this, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD [is] his name;
(b) That is, of Jerusalem, who as he made it, so will he preserve it, read Isa 37:26 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord introduced Himself as the Creator and Establisher of the earth (cf. Jer 32:17; Genesis 1). This was appropriate since He would say that He was going to do some things that required great power.