by Stephen Rodgers

JEREMIAH IN 10 WORDS OR LESS

“After years of sinful behavior, Judah will be punished.”

TITLE

I’ll let you in on a little secret: this section is about to get really repetitious for the next few months.  ALL the prophetic books take their name from the prophet who…well…prophesied them. So there’s really no great mystery here.  However, there may be some good background material…

MSB:

This book gains its title from the human author, who begins with “the words of Jeremiah… ” (Jer 1:1). Jeremiah recounts more of his own life than any other prophet, telling of his ministry, the reactions of his audiences, testings, and his personal feelings. His name means “Jehovah throws,” in the sense of laying down a foundation, or “Jehovah establishes, appoints, or sends.”

Seven other Jeremiahs appear in Scripture (2 Kin. 23:31; 1 Chr. 5:24; 1 Chr. 12:4; 1 Chr. 12:10; 1 Chr. 12:13; Neh. 10:2; Neh. 12:1), and Jeremiah the prophet is named at least 9 times outside of his book (cf. 2 Chr. 35:25; 36:12; 36:21,22; Dan. 9:2; Ezra 1:1; Matt. 2:17; 16:14; 27:9). The Old and New Testaments quote Jeremiah at least 7 times: 1) Dan. 9:2 (compare with Jer 25:11,12; 29:10); 2) Matt. 2:18 (compare with Jer 31:15); 3) Matt. 27:9 (compare with Jer 18:2; 19:2,11; 32:6–9); 4) 1 Cor. 1:31 (compare with Jer 9:24); 5) 2 Cor. 10:17 (compare with Jer 9:24); 6) Heb. 8:8–12 (compare with Jer 31:31–34); and 7) Heb. 10:16,17 (compare with Jer 31:33,34).

Constable:

The title of this book derives from its writer, the late seventh and early sixth-century Judean prophet Jeremiah. The book occupies the second position in the Latter Prophets section of the Hebrew Bible after Isaiah and before Ezekiel, which accounts for its position in the Septuagint and most modern translations.

The meaning of “Jeremiah” is not clear. It could mean “Yahweh founds (or establishes),” “Yahweh exalts,” “Yahweh throws down,” “Yahweh hurls,” or “Yahweh loosens (the womb).”

AUTHOR & AUDIENCE

I’m not aware of any scholar who disputes that Jeremiah son of Hilkiah (who some believe was the priest who discovered the book of the law during the reforms of Josiah, see R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament…others disagree, see below), authored the book that bears his name. Often referred to as the “weeping prophet,” Jeremiah had the unenviable task of prophesying to an unrepentant Jerusalem regarding their impending destruction at the hands of the Babylonians. However, God decreed that Jeremiah was to begin his ministry some 41 years prior to the Babylonians’ arrival, so needless to say, the Israelites were not very responsive. As the MSB puts it:

Jeremiah, who served as both a priest and a prophet, was the son of a priest named Hilkiah (not the High-Priest of 2 Kin. 22:8 who discovered the book of the law). He was from the small village of Anathoth (Jer 1:1), today called Anata, about 3 mi. NE of Jerusalem in Benjamin’s tribal inheritance. As an object lesson to Judah, Jeremiah remained unmarried (Jer 16:1–4). He was assisted in ministry by a scribe, named Baruch, to whom Jeremiah dictated and who copied and had custody over the writings compiled from the prophet’s messages (Jer 36:4,32; 45:1). Jeremiah has been known as “the weeping prophet” (cf. Jer 9:1; 13:17; 14:17), living a life of conflict because of his predictions of judgment by the invading Babylonians. He was threatened, tried for his life, put in stocks, forced to flee from Jehoiakim, publicly humiliated by a false prophet, and thrown into a pit.

Jeremiah is interesting in that it is not only prophetic, but also autobiographical. Jeremiah tells us more about his life and his feelings and attitude during the course of his ministry than any other OT prophet.

Literally, Jeremiah was written to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem. However, when one analyzes the more general context in which it was written, it is difficult to exceed the clarity and brevity of Francis Schaeffer: “The book of Jeremiah and the book of Lamentations show how God looks at a culture which knew Him and deliberately turned away.” (Death in the City)

DATE

For the most part, the writing of the book of Jeremiah is concurrent with it’s setting. Jeremiah began his ministry during the thirteenth year of King Josiah (the last good king of Judah, 640-609 BC), and continued to prophesy and preach throughout the reigns of Jehoahaz (609 BC), Jehoiakim (609-598 BC), Jehoiachin (598-597 BC), and Zedekiah (597-586 BC). He survived the fall of Jerusalem, and was relocated to Egypt against his will following the assassination of Gedaliah.

Per MSB:

He was possibly still ministering in 570 B.C. (see note on 44:30). A rabbinic note claims that when Babylon invaded Egypt in 568/67 B.C. Jeremiah was taken captive to Babylon. He could have lived even to pen the book’s closing scene ca. 561 B.C. in Babylon, when Judah’s king Jehoiachin, captive in Babylon since 597 B.C., was allowed liberties in his last days (52:31–34). Jeremiah, if still alive at that time, was between 85 and 90 years old.

There is also a separate Jewish tradition that states that Jeremiah was stoned to death while in Egypt (some believe that Heb 11:37 references this):

“A late, unattested tradition, mentioned by Tertullian, Jerome, and others, claims that the people of Tahpanhes [in Egypt] stoned Jeremiah to death.” (Charles Lee Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” in Isaiah-Ezekiel, vol. 6 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

Ultimately, we have no incontrovertible information regarding his life beyond 586 BC.

BACKGROUND & SETTING

Per Constable:

The biblical records of the times in which Jeremiah ministered are 2 Kings 21—25 and 2 Chronicles 33—36. His contemporary prophets were Zephaniah and Habakkuk before the Exile, and Ezekiel and Daniel after it began.

Per the MSB:

Politically momentous events occurred in Jeremiah’s day. Assyria saw its power wane gradually; then Ashurbanipal died in 626 B.C. Assyria grew so feeble that in 612 B.C. her seemingly invincible capital, Nineveh, was destroyed (cf. the book of Nahum). The Neo-Babylonian empire under Nabopolassar (625–605 B.C.) became dominant militarily with victories against Assyria (612 B.C.), Egypt (609–605 B.C.), and Israel in 3 phases (605 B.C., as in Dan. 1; 597 B.C., as in 2 Kin. 24:10–16; and 586 B.C., as in Jer. 39,40,52).

Jeremiah records one of the most pivotal moments in OT history: the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. While the northern kingdom had fallen to the Assyrians already, the southern kingdom had held out until now. However, as the Babylonian empire grew, their opinion of Israel shifted from considering them a military ally against Egypt (especially after they successfully fought Egypt to a standstill), to considering them a likely candidate for conquest. And so, in 586 BC the Babylonians successfully attacked and destroyed Jeruasalem, leading the kingdom of Judah off into exile.

This is the time of Jeremiah.

HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL THEMES

There are three major themes in Jeremiah:

• Repentance. Jeremiah called for the people to repent and turn to God to avoid divine judgment (Jer 7:1-15). The people refuse (Jer 5:20-25, 8:4-7), and in response Jeremiah declares that their judgment is now unavoidable (Jer 6:16-21).
• Judgment. The idea of the covenant lawsuit should be a familiar one by now; as a consequence of their disobedience, God will use Babylon to conquer and punish His people.
• Restoration. Jeremiah 30:1-33:26 (called the “Book of Consolation) describes a new covenant (Jer 31:31-33) better than any preceeding prophet. This consolation and covenant would be partially fulfilled in the return of the exiles from Babylon in 538 BC, and ultimately fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ: the Messiah. (1 Cor 11:25; 2 Cor 3:6; Heb 9:15, 12:24).

INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES

The most significant challenge in dealing with Jeremiah is coming to some sort of understanding regarding the structure of the book. The one thing that almost all scholars agree on is that they don’t agree on the structure of Jeremiah (apart from agreeing that whatever it is, it isn’t chronological…Feinberg: “No commentator, ancient or modern, has seriously posited a chronological arrangement of its prophecies.”).

Incidentally, had they been so arranged, the sequence of sections within the book would have been approximately as follows: 1:1—7:15; ch. 26; 7:16—20:18; ch. 25; chs. 46–51; 36:1–8; ch. 45; 36:9–32; ch. 35; chs. 21–24; chs. 27–31; 34:1–7; 37:1–10; 34:8–22; 37:11—38:13; 39:15–18; chs. 32–33; 38:14—39:14; 52:1–30; chs. 40–44; 52:31–34.

A number of structures have been proposed (for example, Richard Patterson suggests that the book reverses Jeremiah’s call to be a prophet to both the nations in general, and to Judah in particular), but ultimately none are universally…or even predominantly…agreed upon.  The MSB doesn’t even attempt a formal arrangement, just states the following: “A frequent challenge is to understand the prophet’s messages in their right time setting, since the book of Jeremiah is not always chronological, but loosely arranged, moving back and forth in time for thematic effect.”

To further underscore this point:

“When we come to inquire whether any principles of arrangement can be observed in the book of Jeremiah, we have to admit that any consistent principles escape us.” (J. A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah)

“. . . it is often difficult to see why certain passages occur at precisely the point where they do occur.” (Edward J. Young, An Introduction to the Old Testament)

LITERARY FEATURES

Per the ESVSB:

Jeremiah is an anthology or collection of writings drawn from an entire lifetime of prophetic ministry. The narrative sections scattered throughout the book are loosely structured around the main events of Jeremiah’s life in ministry, which themselves were shaped by Judah’s decline, fall, and exile in Babylon. But most of the material in the book is prophetic, much of it in the form of poetry. This material does not always follow a historical sequence; the logic of its arrangement is sometimes topical rather than chronological.

OBJECTIONS

There are no significant objections to Jeremiah beyond the various anti-supernaturalistic  biases that one often encounters when dealing with prophetic literature. (Ironically enough, Jeremiah faced a similar problem in that his contemporaries never seriously considered that he spoke for God).

It is interesting to note that the Greek and Hebrew texts differ significantly from one another (by about 12.5%). Additionally, from the fragments discovered at Qumran show that various differing Hebrew texts were in circulation and use even during the time of Jesus. This, however, is not considered an impediment to reliability or canonicity. After all, Jeremiah contains an explanation for that in Jeremiah 36: King Jehoiakim was angry with Jeremiah for his prophesies, and destroyed the copy that Jeremiah had written at that point. However, God ordered Jeremiah to produce a replacement with additional prophecies as well, which he (or Baruch) did.

While it is not uncommon for the Greek (LXX) and Hebrew (MT) to differ from one another, what makes Jeremiah interesting is that the differences between them actually point to the possibility…that there were originally divergent copies of Jeremiah circulating. In other words, the differences may not be due to copyist/translation errors, but rather due to the fact that even in Jeremiah’s time (or shortly thereafter), multiple, non-identical copies of his prophecies were in circulation to prevent them from being destroyed.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

• Jeremiah 18:6
• Jeremiah 29: 11 (caveat: be mindful of context)
• Jeremiah 32:27

DID YOU KNOW?

• Jeremiah is the second-longest book of the Bible (only Psalms is longer)
• Jeremiah is notable for being the book where the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text are most distinct from one another.
• Jeremiah was forbidden by God from getting married.

Other Works Referenced

• Apologetics Study Bible, “Jeremiah”
• Archaeological Study Bible, “Introduction to Jeremiah”
• ESV Study Bible, “Introduction to Jeremiah”
• MacArthur Study Bible, “Jeremiah”
• NET Bible, Jeremiah
• NIV Study Bible, Jeremiah
• Reformation Study Bible, “Jeremiah”
• The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, “Jeremiah”
• Know Your Bible
• Dever, The Message of the Old Testament
• Driscoll, A Book You’ll Actually Read On the Old Testament
• Knight, The Layman’s Bible Handbook