Latvus, in the aforementioned article, interestingly notes the parallel between Gedaliah’s instructions to the people to submit to and not fear Babylon, so that “it shall be well with you” and the Deuteronomic exhortation to obey Yahweh so that it will be well (Deuteronomy 4:40; 5:16, 26; 6:3, 18; 12:25, 28; 22:7). The point is “Contrary to the main line of deuteronomistic history, in this passage it is the foreign nation, not Yahweh, which should be served.” This is evidence of the writer’s “subordinated attitude” toward empire.
Well, no. Yahweh has given dominion to Nebuchadnezzar. Therefore submission to him is submission to Yahweh. That’s the logic of Jeremiah 29, which Gedaliah quite correctly repeats.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Moral Certitude and the Iran War
The current military engagement with Iran calls renewed attention to just war theory in the Catholic tradition.…
The Slow Death of England: New and Notable Books
The fate of England is much in the news as popular resistance to mass immigration grows, limits…
Ethics of Rhetoric in Times of War
What we say matters. And the way we say it matters. This is especially true in times…
