Jeremiah 49:14 - Exposition

I have heard a rumour. In Obadiah it is " we have heard," i.e. the company of prophets (comp. Isaiah 53:1 , "Who hath believed our report?" according to one interpretation). Jeremiah, to justify his adoption of the outward form of his prophecy, declares that he is personally responsible for its substance. "Rumour," or as the word is elsewhere rendered, "report," is a technical term for a prophetic revelation ( Obadiah 1:1 ; Isaiah 28:9 , Isaiah 28:19 ; Isaiah 53:1 ; comp. Isaiah 21:10 ; Isaiah 28:22 ); and it is from this Old Testament usage that ἀκοή acquires its special meaning in Romans 10:16 , Romans 10:17 . In fact, ἀκοή , or bearing, is a more exact equivalent of the original. A prophet is one who has "listened in the council of God" ( Job 15:8 , corrected version; comp. Amos 3:7 ), and "when the Lord Jehovah hath spoken, who can but prophesy?" ( Amos 3:8 ). Prophetic perception of Divine truth is so exceptional a thing that it can only be expressed approximately in terms of everyday life. One while it may be called a "hearing," a "report," another while a "vision" or "intuition." He who makes to hear or see is, of course, Jehovah, through the objective influence of his Spirit. It is important to study the Biblical phraseology, which has a depth of meaning too often overlooked, owing to the blunter edge which time has given to our modern speech. An ambassador; rather, a herald. Unto the heathen; rather, unto the nations. There is no religious idea involved; the word goyim literally means "nations," and there is no reason for deviating from the primary sense. In the next verse it is even more necessary to make this correction.