43 THE TEARS OF GOD IN THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH Thus, in those passages that allegedly originate the image of Jere- miah as “the weeping prophet”, the focus is on the tears of YHWH, not Jeremiah. There are seven additional instances of weeping in the book that do not involve Jeremiah or YHWH. Unlike the examples discussed above, grief is not the dominant motive for the tears shed by people other than YHWH and Jeremiah. In these passages tears are more often invoked to describe joy (31,9.15-16; 50,4), repen- tance (3,21), (false) solidarity (41,6), and grief (22,10; 48,5). A pat- tern appears to emerge in the distribution of divine weeping in Jeremiah. YHWH weeps over Israel in the first part of the book, but after 14,17 these tears vanish and YHWH’s tears only reappear in 48,32 in reference to Moab. How might we understand the disap- pearance of YHWH’s weeping? The motif of weeping participates in a wider development within Jeremiah in which strongly emotional divine language expresses YHWH’s deep attachment to Israel, but Is- rael’s rejection of YHWH eventually leads to YHWH’s punishment of Israel. Consequently, the language articulates a gradual “detach- ment” in which YHWH separates YHWH’s self from Israel in order to prepare to bring about the necessary punishment. This detachment means that YHWH will not listen to the cries of Israel (11,11), in- structs Jeremiah not to intercede on their behalf (11,14; 14,11-12; 16,5-7), and says that even Moses and Samuel’s pleas would not be heard (15,1). As these statements of rejection pile up and become more intense, the motif of divine weeping declines and disappears from the book. In several references to weeping, Jeremiah’s tears embody the tears of God. Later, Jeremiah’s refusal to enter into mourning or fasting with the people embodies YHWH’s rejection of Israel and refusal to remain in relationship with the people. When forbidding Jeremiah to enter a house of mourning, YHWH specifi- cally states, “For I have withdrawn my peace (ymwlv) from this peo- ple — oracle of YHWH — [my] love (dsxh) and compassion (~ymxrh)” (Jer 16,5). As a result of this withdrawal of love and com- passion, YHWH no longer weeps for Israel and expects Jeremiah to stop weeping in order to manifest this divine detachment as he had previously manifested YHWH’s care and concern. The weeping of YHWH and Jeremiah suggests a deep attachment to the people of Israel which is threatened by the imminent catas- trophe. The tears express a mixture of grief at separation and em- pathy over Israel’s suffering. Emotional language other than weeping contributes to the development of YHWH’s initial love for © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati