Jeremiah
From Commontary
The Book of Jeremiah
Contents |
Author
Internal Evidence:
- The book is introduced as "the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah" (Jer 1:1).
- Jeremiah was commanded to record all the words that the LORD spoke to him until that point (Jer 36:2). Baruch son of Neriah wrote down Jeremiah's words at dictation at least two separate times (Jer 36:4, 32; 45:1).
- Jeremiah gave Baruch responsibility to manage his property deed which showed his trust for Baruch (Jer 32:14). Baruch was faithful to follow the instructions of Jeremiah, even when it endangered his own life (Jer 36:8). However, others did not trust Baruch son of Neriah (Jer 43:3).
- Baruch was taken with Jeremiah to Egypt where Jeremiah probably died (Jer 43:6).
External Evidence:
Conclusion
It seems clear that the book consists of the words and prophesies of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah which were dictated to Baruch his secretary. It is a possibility that the final chapter (Jeremiah 52) was not the words of Jeremiah but possibly an addition of his secretary Baruch after Jeremiah's death (Note: Jeremiah 52 consists of Historical Background information not further prophesy). Jeremiah 51:64 states, "Thus far are the words of Jeremiah" (NRSV) implying that the words following were not Jeremiah's words.
Biographical Information
Jeremiah began his ministry in the thirteenth year of King Josiah's reign (Jer 1:2) around 626 BC. By this time Josiah was already one year into purging the land of idolatry (2 Chronicles 34:3). He was from a priestly family in the town of Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin (Jer 1:1). Jeremiah's father, Hilkiah, may have been the same Hilkiah who was the high priest during the reign of Josiah (Jer 1:1; 2 Kings 23:4; 1 Chronicles 6:13; Jer 32:7). It seems that the majority of his own family rejected his prophetic ministry and may have even sought his life (Jer 11:18-23; 20:10). At one point, Jeremiah was almost killed by the priest, prophets and other people in the temple for prophesying against Jerusalem (Jer 26:1-24).
Jeremiah did not marry and have children as a prophetic sign of the coming judgment on Judah (Jer 16:1-3). He traveled to the river Euphrates to hide a loincloth and then returned later to retrieve it as a prophetic sign from the LORD (Jer 13:1-7). This was a grueling journey to undertake. Jeremiah must have been fairly wealthy since he was able to redeem the property of his cousin with no apparent financial difficulty for seventy shekels of silver (Jer 32:9).
Date
If we stick to the conclusion that another person wrote the final chapter of Jeremiah as historical background then we must find the dates for both Jeremiah's completion of the work and of the final addition (probably at Baruch's hand). If there was not a final addition then their will be only one date to find.
Internal Evidence:
- Latest historical date mentioned in the book is "the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachim of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month" which was the same year that "King Evil-merodach of Babylon ... began to reign" (NRSV) (Jer 52:31). Jehoiachin's death is also mentioned in Jeremiah 52:34, therefore the book would have to be completed in its entirety after the death of Jehoiachin.
- If we don't not include the final chapter for a first compiling by Jeremiah, then the last historical date mentioned is Gedaliah's death four months after the fall of Jerusalem (Jer 39:2; 41:1). (The fall of Jerusalem happened in the ninth day, of the fourth month, of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah of Juduh (Jer 39:2)). The last historical event recorded happened some time after the fall of Jerusalem though. The remaining Judeans all fled to Egypt (Jer 43:7) and in Egypt Jeremiah prophesied and called the people to repentance (Jer 44:1). Jeremiah could have compiled the work without chapter 52 at the earliest a few years after the fall of Jerusalem.
- The towns of Judah and Jerusalem were still a desolation at the time of the book being compiled (Jer 25:18; 44:6,22). This implies that the book was compiled after the fall of Jerusalem but before the return from exile or very soon after the return from exile. The exile lasted for seventy years and then the LORD brought back the exiles (Jer 29:10). (Note: there is some debate about when to start the clock to count the seventy years, because there were three separate times that people were exiled from Judah to Babylon. Lets assume we use the fall of Jerusalem as the start date.)
External Evidence:
- Jerusalem fell in 586 BCE.
Conclusion:
Occasion & Purpose
Themes
Sin, Judgment, Reconciliation, Call to repentance
Contemporary Prophets
Habbakuk, Daniel, Ezekiel, Huldah the prophetess (2 Kings 22:14), Uriah (Jer 26:20)
