Jeremiah 20:17 (WEB)
because he didn’t kill me from the womb. So my mother would have been my grave, and her womb always great.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Jeremiah 20:17 (KJV)
Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.
Key words
- רֶחֶםrechem · Hebrew
- 'womb.'
- קֶבֶרqever · Hebrew
- 'grave' — Jeremiah wishes his mother's womb had been his tomb; womb and tomb are set side by side.
Why it matters
In his lament Jeremiah wishes his mother had been his grave, her womb his tomb for ever. Pitre cites this to show that ancient Jews naturally compared the womb and the tomb. That comparison underlies the parallel between Jesus' birth from a sealed virginal womb and his resurrection from a sealed tomb, which the Fathers (Ephrem especially) saw as two witnesses to one mystery.