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1. Investigating Structure 35
Scholars have noted its awkwardness in v. 3 and BHS suggests transposing
it after mrv TIR. Structural considerations suggest that MT is
right and that the awkwardness is deliberate.
The argument for taking vv. 4-6 together seems, on the contrary,
insecure. We note that 'Seek.. .live' is a recurring refrain that appears
in v. 14 as well as in vv. 4 and 6. Moreover, v. 4 has 'seek me' after
the introductory formula (IF) but vv. 6 and 14 have 'Yahweh' in the
third person. This is not a strong argument, but its force is against
rather than in favour of considering vv. 4-6 as a unit. A further,
more serious problem is that 'Bethel' occurs again in v. 6 thus
producing a ragged structure:
a b c d c b a b
Here, it would be very convenient to accept the LXX's reading fro
^Rifer. Not only would it remove the ragged structure but it would
provide a further inclusio with v. 4. There is no very strong reason
for taking this reading and we could not base any far reaching
conclusions on it.
If we accept the MT it would seem more logical to see the whole
passage like this:
vv. 1-3 A lament and its motivation
vv. 4-5 First exhortation to seek Yahweh and live: no profit in Bethel, Gilgal,
Beersheba, Gilgal, Bethel,
vv. 6-? Second exhortation.
Bethel represents also Gilgal and Beersheba, and thereby Israel as a
(compromised) worshipping community,
vv. 14-? Third exhortation. . .
De Waard argues that his arrangement confirms the secondary character
of the 'list' in v. 6 and refers to Wolff's independent conclusion.
1 Wolff reasons that v. 6 as a whole offers an exegesis of vv. 4-
5: its construction is awkward, it is very like 4.6-13, it is restricted to
Bethel and it is connected with vv. 8-9. This differs from de Waard's
view in taking 'Seek Yahweh and live' as an addition, and in removing
v. 7 from its place (to between v. 9 and v. 10, an option rejected by
de Waard).
1. H.W. Wolff, Joel and Amos (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977), pp. 232-
33, 240-41.