Two Old Testament metaphors express the rigor, thoroughness, and even pain that can be involved in repentance: circumcising one’s heart (Jer. 4:4) and breaking up fallow ground with a plow (Hosea 10:12). Shub, the Hebrew word that dominates the language of repentance, is one of the most frequently used verbs in the Old Testament. It is used over 100 times in the book of Jeremiah alone.
