Abstract
In this paper the famous saying in Jer 31,29–30 is discussed taking the images of sour fruit and numb teeth as parts of metaphorical language. The two images should be classified as parts of two different root-metaphors: “sour fruit” falls under the tree “you are what you eat”. “Numb teeth” stand in the field of “demolition and ruination”. Their unexpected merger together with the aspect of time—as referred to by the nouns “fathers” and “(grand) children”—suggests that two concepts are communicated: (1) the idea of postponed retribution, and (2) tragic fatalism, The abrogation of the saying should be interpreted as an indication that “in the days to come” people can no longer blame others for their wrongdoings. Within the historical context of exile and return, the abrogation of the saying should not be interpreted as a sign of the rise of individualism, but as a feature of a symbol system that stresses personal responsibility as part of Israel's identity within the immense Persian Empire.
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