complete verse (Jeremiah 32:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 32:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “‘Your brother Hanamel from your other father (paternal cousin) who is called Shallum will come to you. He will say to you, ‘My brother, buy for yourself my land which is in Anathoth, because you are my nearest brother so it is fitting for you to redeem that land.’ ’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Hanamel the child of Shalum who (is) my uncle will-go to me and will-say, ‘Buy my field/farm at Anatot. Because you are my nearest relative, you have the right and responsibility to buy it.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Your cousin Hanamel, the son of Shallum your uncle, will come to you. He will say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, your hometown. Because you are my closest relative, it is written in our laws that you have the right to buy it before I ask if anyone else wants to buy it.’ ’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 32:7

For Behold see 1.6.

Hanamel is mentioned also in verses 8, 9, and 12, but nowhere else in the Old Testament.

Shallum: One standard Bible dictionary lists fourteen persons of this name in the Old Testament. This man, Jeremiah’s uncle, is referred to only here.

Anathoth: See 1.1.

The right of redemption by purchase is yours: For whatever reason, Hanamel was forced to sell this field, and offered it to Jeremiah in the hope that it would remain within the family. In ancient Israel, land was regarded as a sacred possession (1Kgs 21.3), and laws were made to protect ownership by keeping it within the same family (see Lev 25.25-28; Ruth 4.3-4).

It may be helpful to break this verse up into more than one sentence, because otherwise there is too much information given to understand it easily. For example, translators can say something like the following:

• Look, Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you and ask you to buy his field at Anathoth. As his nearest relative, you have the right to buy it for yourself.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .