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Jeremiah

 
Biography: Jeremiah
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Jeremiah (active late 7th-early 6th century B.C.) was one of the four major Jewish prophets. A priest from Anathoth, Israel, he is the reputed author of the Book of Jeremiah.

The dates of Jeremiah's birth and death are not known. It is known that he began his preaching either in the thirteenth year of King Josiah of Judah (626 B.C.) or at the accession of King Jehoiakim of Judah (608). He preached and taught for over 40 years, so his death must have taken place sometime in the first half of the 6th century B.C., probably between 580 and 560 B.C.

The entire background of Jeremiah's life and the words ascribed to him are permeated with the sense of disaster and disintegration which Judaism and Jews underwent in the 6th century B.C. The northern portion of Palestine, the kingdom of Israel, fell to the Assyrians in 622 B.C. A similar fate threatened the south, the kingdom of Judah, with its capital city of Jerusalem. The Assyrians were conquered by the Babylonians. The latter invaded Judea and captured Jerusalem in 587 B.C. A year later the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple, ended the kingdom of Judah, and deported the Jews (the Babylonian Captivity). Many Jews, among them Jeremiah, fled to Egypt for safety. As far as is known, however, Jeremiah died violently, perhaps by crucifixion, perhaps by the sword.

Not all of the writings ascribed to Jeremiah are considered by modern scholars to be really his. In fact, it is not certain that he ever actually wrote a line. It seems more likely that he dictated much of his material to an assistant or secretary called Baruch. Baruch made two collections of Jeremiah's words, one toward the end of the 7th century B.C. (605-600) and one toward the end of the prophet's life. Baruch added some materials of his own, and there were some later additions. Jewish tradition also ascribes the Book of Lamentations and the Book of Kings to Jeremiah.

Jeremiah's words and pronouncements are directly concerned with the febrile political maneuvering between 605 and 586 B.C. and with the Babylonian Captivity. His early message was simple: unless both king and people reformed their morals and returned to the true worship of God as taught by Moses, Jerusalem would be destroyed and its people killed or exiled. Jeremiah's general message was that temple and priesthood and kingship were of no avail if the heart of man was not clean from idolatry, from lies, and from deception of all kinds. His novel contribution as a prophet was his claim that God would replace the Old Covenant with the Israelites by a new covenant. Peculiarly, this new covenant was not to be restricted to Jews but was to include all the world. Jeremiah taught a universalist creed which would embrace all people.

Further Reading

Useful works on Jeremiah include Terrot R. Glover, The Pilgrim: Essays on Religion (1921); John Skinner, Prophecy and Religion: Studies in the Life of Jeremiah (1922); Adam C. Welch, Jeremiah, His Time and His Work (1928); James P. Hyatt and S. R. Hopper, eds., "The Book of Jeremiah," in George A. Battrick, gen. ed., The Interpreter's Bible (1956); and James P. Hyatt, Jeremiah: Prophet of Courage and Hope (1958).

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Encyclopedia of Judaism: Jeremiah
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(7th-6th cent. BCE). Second of the three major prophets in the Prophets section of the Bible. He was born in Anathoth, a small village of priests northeast of Jerusalem. He lived in Jerusalem and his long career, spanning more than four decades, coincided with the fall of the Assyrian Empire and with the rise of Babylonia to supremacy in the Ancient Near East, Judah's alliance with Egypt, which Jeremiah denounced, Babylonia's defeat of Egypt, and the destruction by the Babylonians of the Temple and the Kingdom of Judah. His prophetic call came in 626 BCE, when he was a young man, and covered the reigns of the last kings of Judah.

His political message was to submit to Babylonia and make the most of captivity. This message of submission and doom, graphically conveyed also by symbolic actions, earned him the wrath of the rulers, notably Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, and of the masses, who regarded the prophet as a traitor. He suffered persecution, almost losing his life in one instance. His religious message was also greeted with hostility. He denounced the Temple and the general wickedness of the people, even accusing the spiritual leaders, including the other prophets, of falsehood and hypocrisy. His basic teaching was "not to glory in wisdom, might, and wealth but only in the service of God who is just" (Jer. 9:23-24). He also foretells a new covenant with God, which will be written in the hearts of the Israelites (31:31-34). His insistence on the futility of opposition to the Babylonians made him a persona grata with them after they conquered Jerusalem. He was not exiled to Babylonia (see Exile, Babylonian) with the rest of the elite, being left in Judah, where they expected him to act as a pacifying element. However, after the assassination of the Babylonian-appointed governor, Gedaliah, the other leading Jews who had remained, fearing Babylonian reprisals, fled to Egypt, forcing the prophet to go along with them. He is last heard of denouncing the idolatry of the Jews of Egypt.

In Jewish tradition, Jeremiah is regarded as the author of the Book of Lamentations and (with less probability) of the Books of Kings. See also Jeremiah, Book of.

Bible Guide: Jeremiah
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1. One of the three major prophets. He lived in Jerusalem and his long career coincided with the rise of Babylon to supremacy in the ancient Near East. Jeremiah's call occurred in 626 B.C., the year Nabopolassar captured Babylon. Four years later Judah's king, Josiah, launched a comprehensive reform based on legislation in Deuteronomy. In 612 Nineveh fell to Nabopolassar, and seven years later the rump state of Assyria was defeated at Carchemish by his son, Nebuchadnezzar. This king suppressed a revolt in Judah in 597, taking many Judeans who belonged to the upper social strata into Exile. Some ten years later Nebuchadnezzar crushed Judah, destroying its major cities, including Lachish and Jerusalem. This time the rebel king, Zedekiah, was blinded and almost the entire population of Judah was taken captive. Jeremiah remained in Mizpah, where Gedaliah served as governor, but the murder of this ruler in 582 set events in motion that resulted in Jeremiah's being taken against his will to Egypt. There he ended his life; when last heard from he was still denouncing syncretistic worship and the people were resisting his words.

Born in Anathoth (Anata), a small village about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Jerusalem, Jeremiah seems to have become a prophet at an early age. Associated with his call were two visions: a boiling cauldron and an almond rod. The first signified destruction from the North, and the second warned that the Lord was watching over Judah so as to destroy the nation. Jeremiah's virtual silence about Josiah's reform has prompted several interpreters to suggest that his call actually came as late as 609, the year of Josiah's premature death at the hands of Pharaoh Necho. It is noteworthy that not Jeremiah but a prophetess, Huldah, was consulted about the authenticity of the newly discovered Book of the Law (II Kgs 22:3-14). Perhaps Jeremiah's political views can best be summed up in the words: submit to Babylon and make the most of captivity. For this message he endured considerable persecution: he was thrown into prison, then into a cistern, and was finally held under house arrest. Another prophet, Hananiah, even opposed him, breaking a yoke that Jeremiah wore to symbolize captivity; moreover, the priest Pashhur beat him and put him in stocks. The same hostility greeted Jeremiah's radical religious views. After a sermon in which he denounced the Temple in Jerusalem and predicted its destruction like the earlier one at Shiloh, Jeremiah came very close to losing his life. Fortunately for him, an official named Ahikam lent his support, and a precedent for Jeremiah's views was remembered in the words of the prophet, Micah. Judah's kings seem to have tolerated the words of Jeremiah, although Jehoiakim destroyed the scroll that he dictated to his scribe, Baruch and earnestly sought to kill the author of such denunciations. In return, Jeremiah predicted that the king would have the burial of an ass. One other king, Zedekiah, seems to have been unable to decide whether to heed Jeremiah's advice or not. At least he permitted an Ethiopian eunuch, Ebed-Melech, to rescue the prophet from almost certain death in a damp cistern. Another term that he used frequently was sheker (deception). In his view there was not a single righteous person in the land, and even the religious leaders were guilty of falsehood. This was especially true of the prophets, whom Jeremiah accused of immorality and deception. He tried to devise criteria by which the people could distinguish between a true prophet and a bogus one, but that effort was not very successful. To strengthen the impact of his words, Jeremiah often acted them out (See JEREMIAH, BOOK OF). Jeremiah's message from the very beginning was unpromising: a foe from the North was poised to strike. By his own testimony he delivered that sort of word for more than two decades before putting it into writing.

Jeremiah's sense of values has commended itself to people of all ages: do not glory in wisdom, power or wealth, but glory in the fact that you know the Lord who practices justice (Jer 9:23-24).

2. A man of Libnah, father-in-law of King Josiah.

3. A mighty warrior, head of a family of Manasseh, east of the Jordan.

4. A Benjamite bowman who served under David.

5. Two Gadite warriors who enlisted with David.

6. A prince in the time of Nehemiah.

7. A priest who returned with Zerubbabel from the Babylonian Exile.

8. A Rechabite, father of Jaazaniah, who lived at the time of Jeremiah the prophet.

Concordance
JEREMIAH 1: II Chr 35:25; 36:12, 21-22. Ezra 1:1. Jer 1:1, 11; 7:1; 11:1; 14:1; 18:1, 18; 19:14; 20:1-3; 21:1, 3; 24:3; 25:1-2, 13; 26:7-9, 12, 20,24; 27:1; 28:5-6, 11-12, 15; 29:1, 27, 29-30; 30:1, 32:1-2, 6, 26; 33:1,19, 23; 34:1,6, 8, 12; 35:1,12, 18; 36:1,4, 5, 8, 10, 19,26-27, 32; 37:2-4, 6, 12-18, 21; 38:1,6-7, 9-17, 19-20, 24, 27-28; 39:11, 14-15; 40:1-2, 5-6; 42:2, 4-5, 7; 43:1-2, 6, 8; 44:1, 15, 20,24; 45:1; 46:1,13; 47:1; 49:34; 50:1; 51:59-61, 64; 52:1. Dan 9:2. Matt 2:17; 16:14; 27:9
JEREMIAH 2: II Kgs 23:31; 24:18
JEREMIAH 3: I Chr 5:24
JEREMIAH 4: I Chr 12:4
JEREMIAH 5: I Chr 12:10,13
JEREMIAH 6: Neh 10:2; 12:34
JEREMIAH 7: Neh 12:1, 12
JEREMIAH 8: Jer 35:3

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Jeremiah
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Jeremiah (jĕrĭmī'ə), in the Bible.

1 Prophet of the book of Jeremiah.

2 Father-in-law of Josiah.

3 Rechabite contemporary with Jeremiah the prophet.

4, 5, 6 Three who joined David at Ziklag.

Bible Dictionary: Jeremiah
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A major Israelite prophet; also, a book of the Old Testament that chronicles his life and records his angry lamentations about the wickedness of his people.

  • A “jeremiad” is any long lamentation or angry denunciation.

    • Wikipedia: Jeremiah
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    For other uses, see Jeremiah (disambiguation).

    Jeremiah (Hebrew：יִרְמְיָה, Yirmĭyahu, meaning “Yahweh exalts”;[1] Greek: Ιερεμιας; Latin: Jeremias; in English pronounced /dʒɛrɨˈmaɪ.ə/[2]) was one of the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. His writings are put together in the Book of Jeremiah and traditionally, authorship of the Book of Lamentations is ascribed to him.[3] God appointed Jeremiah to confront Judah and Jerusalem for the worship of idols and other violations of the covenant described in Deuteronomy.[4] According to Jeremiah, the LORD declared that the covenant was broken and that God would bring upon Israel and Judah the curses of the covenant.[5] Jeremiah’s job was to explain the reason for the impending disaster (destruction by the Babylonian army and captivity), “And when your people say, 'Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.'"[6] The LORD said to Jeremiah:

    Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the LORD.

    – Jeremiah 1:17-19 (NIV)

    God’s personal prediction to Jeremiah, “Attack you they will, overcome you they can’t,”[7] was fulfilled many times in the Biblical narrative as Jeremiah warned of destruction of those who continued to refuse repentance and accept more moderate consequences. In return for his adherence to God’s disciplines and speaking God’s words, Jeremiah was attacked by his own brothers,[8] beaten and put into the stocks by a priest and false prophet,[9] imprisoned by the king,[10] threatened with death,[11] thrown into a cistern by Judah’s officials,[12] and opposed by a false prophet.[13] Yet God was faithful to rescue Jeremiah from his enemies. For example, when his prophecies regarding the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem were fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar’s army in 586 BC,[14] Nebuchadnezzar ordered that Jeremiah be freed from prison and treated well.[15]

    Judaism considers the Book of Jeremiah a part of its canon, and regards Jeremiah as the second of the major prophets. Christianity regards Jeremiah as a saint and as a prophet. The New Testament quotes Jeremiah,[16] and it has been interpreted that Jeremiah “spiritualized and individualized religion and insisted upon the primacy of the individual’s relationship with God.”[17]

    The figure of Jeremiah on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, by Michelangelo.

    Contents

    Etymology and pronunciation

    The Hebrew for Jeremiah is יִרְמְיָהוּ which is frequently misspelled יִרְמִיָהוּ. In modern Hebrew, the name is Yirməyāhū. The International Phonetic Alphabet renders the Hebrew as jirməˈjaːhu. The Tiberian vocalization is Yirmĭyahu. In the Greek of the Septuagint, Jeremiah is rendered as Ἰερεμίας. The English is pronounced /dʒɛrɨˈmaɪ.ə/.[18] The name Jeremiah means "Yahweh exalts."[19]

    Biblical narrative

    Timeline of the life and times of Jeremiah. There is slight disagreement (1-2 years) among scholars regarding the dating of many events.

    Jeremiah’s ministry spanned the time period from the thirteenth year of Josiah king of Judah (626 BC) until sometime after the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of Solomon’s Temple (587 BC).[20] Consequently, Jeremiah’s prophetic work spanned the reigns of five kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoichin, and Zedekiah.[21]

    Background

    Jeremiah was born into a priestly family, the son of Hilkiah, a priest at Anathoth, a village 2-3 miles north of Jerusalem.[22][23] Jeremiah came from a landowning family,[24] and refers to a joyful early life,[25] although the words and difficulties recorded in the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations result in him being known as “the weeping prophet.”[26]

    Call, Training, and Early Ministry

    The LORD called Jeremiah to prophetic ministry in about 626 BC,[27] about one year after Josiah king of Judah had turned the nation toward repentance from the widespread idolatrous practices of his father and grandfather. Ultimately, Josiah’s reforms would not be enough to preserve Judah and Jerusalem from destruction, because the sins of Manasseh, Josiah’s grandfather had gone too far.[28] Such was the lust of the nation for false gods that after Josiah’s death, the nation would quickly return to the gods of the surrounding nations.[29] Jeremiah was appointed to reveal the sins of the people and the coming consequences.[30][31]

    Before I created you in the womb, I selected you; Before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet concerning the nations…See, I appoint you this day Over nations and kingdoms: to uproot and pull down, To destroy and overthrow, To build and to plant.

    – Jeremiah 1:1-10 (JPS)

    In contrast to Isaiah, who eagerly accepted his prophetic call,[32] and similar to Moses who was less than eager,[33] Jeremiah resisted the call by complaining that he was only a child and did not know how to speak.[34]

    However, the LORD insisted that Jeremiah go and speak as commanded, and he touched Jeremiah’s mouth and put the word of the LORD into Jeremiah’s mouth.[35] God told Jeremiah to “Get yourself ready!”[36] The disciplines that are specified in Jeremiah 1 are not being afraid, standing up to speak, speaking as told, and going where sent.[37] Other disciplines that contributed to the training of the young prophet and confirmation of his message are described as not turning to the people,[38] not marrying or fathering children,[39] not going to weddings or funerals,[40] not sitting in a house with feasting,[41] and not sitting in the company of merrymakers.[42] Since Jeremiah emerges well trained and fully literate from his earliest preaching, the relationship between him and the Shaphan family has been used to suggest that he may have trained at the scribal school in Jerusalem over which Shaphan presided.[43][44]

    In his early ministry, Jeremiah was primarily a preaching prophet,[45] going where the LORD sent him and preaching oracles in Jerusalem and Judah that supported the reform program of Josiah,[46] predicting consequences for past sins,[47] urging whole-hearted repentance from lusting after idols,[48] and condemning the greed of priests and prophets in supporting false religion for monetary gain.[49] Many years later, God instructed Jeremiah to write down these early oracles and other messages.[50]

    Conspiracy of men of Anathoth and brothers (11:18-12:6)

    Jeremiah opposed the multitude of altars and false worship that appeared throughout the land.[51] He opposed the widespread trend among priests and prophets to minimize the problem and declare peace when the false practices should be considered abominations.[52] Jeremiah declared that these widespread altars were sufficiently serious abominations that they yielded a broken covenant,[53] and that greed was the motive for the priests and prophets to proclaim peace and support worship of false gods in all the towns and on every street.[54]

    Unhappy with Jeremiah’s message, possibly for concern that it would shut down the Anathoth sanctuary, his priestly kin and the men of Anathoth conspired to take his life. However, the LORD revealed the conspiracy to Jeremiah, protected his life, and declared disaster for the men of Anathoth.[55][56] When Jeremiah complains to the LORD about this persecution, the LORD explains that the attacks on him will become worse.[57]

    If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?

    – Jeremiah 12:5 (NAS)

    Conflicts with false prophets

    "Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem" by Rembrandt van Rijn.

    At the same time while Jeremiah was prophesying coming destruction because of the sins of the nation, a number of other prophets were prophesying peace.[58] The LORD had Jeremiah speak against these false prophets.

    ”From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them," says the LORD.

    – Jeremiah 6:13-15 (NIV)

    For example, during the reign of king Zedekiah, The LORD instructed Jeremiah to make a yoke out of straps and wooden crossbars as a visual confirmation of the message that the nation would be subject to the king of Babylon and that listening to the false prophets would bring a much worse disaster. The prophet Hananiah opposed Jeremiah’s message. He took the yoke off of Jeremiah’s neck, broke it, and prophesied to the priests and all the people that within two years the LORD would break the yoke of the king of Babylon.

    Shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "Go and tell Hananiah, 'This is what the LORD says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.' " Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, "Listen, Hananiah! The LORD has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.”

    – Jeremiah 28:12-15 (NIV)

    The failure of the false prophets to expose the people’s sin and prevent their captivity is lamented by the author of Lamentations (traditionally attributed to Jeremiah).

    The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.

    – Lamentations 2:14 (NIV)

    Into the stocks by priest Pashhur

    After Jeremiah had prophesied disaster for Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, Pashhur the priest, chief officer in the temple, beat Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks overnight.[59] After this, Jeremiah expresses lament over the difficulty that speaking God’s word has caused him and regrets becoming a laughingstock and the target of mockery.[60] He recounts how if he tries to shut the word of the LORD inside and not mention God’s name, the word becomes like fire in his heart and he is unable to hold it in.[61] The experiences are so troubling for Jeremiah, that he expresses regret at ever being born.

    Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,"A son is born to you," making him very glad. Let that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon, because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great. Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?

    – Jeremiah 20:14-18(ESV)

    Threat of death and imprisonment by Zedekiah’s officials

    The Biblical narrative portrays Jeremiah as being subject to additional persecutions. After Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be handed over to the Babylonian army, the king’s officials, including Pashhur the priest, tried to convince King Zedekiah that Jeremiah should be put to death because he is discouraging the soldiers as well as the people. Zedekiah answered that he would not oppose them. Consequently, the king’s officials took Jeremiah and put him down into a cistern, where he sank down into the mud. The intent seemed to be to kill Jeremiah by allowing him to starve to death in a manner designed to allow the officials to claim to be innocent of his blood.[62] A Cushite rescued Jeremiah by pulling him out of the cistern, but Jeremiah remained imprisoned until Jerusalem fell to the Babylonian army in 587 BC.[63]

    The Babylonians released Jeremiah, and showed him great kindness, allowing Jeremiah to choose the place of his residence, according to a Babylonian edict. Jeremiah accordingly went to Mizpah in Benjamin with Gedaliah, who had been made governor of Judea.[64]

    Taken to Egypt

    Johanan succeeded Gedaliah, who had been assassinated by an Israelite prince in the pay of Ammon "for working with the Babylonians." Refusing to listen to Jeremiah's counsels, Johanan fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah and Baruch, Jeremiah's faithful scribe and servant with him.[65] There, the prophet probably spent the remainder of his life, still seeking in vain to turn the people to the LORD, from whom they had so long revolted.[66] There is no authentic record of his death.

    Acting out prophetic parables

    The biblical narrative includes a number of cases of Jeremiah being given unusual instructions requiring him to act out parables or behave in ways contrary to expectations of prophetic office. For example, many prophets in scripture are found interceding with God on behalf of the people. Abraham intercedes with God regarding the destruction of Sodom;[67] Moses intercedes for the people after their sin with the golden calf[68] and after the people refuse God’s instruction to go take Canaan;[69] Samuel promises to continue interceding for the people.[70] In contrast, on several occasions, the LORD commands Jeremiah not to intercede for the people.[71]

    So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger.

    – Jeremiah 7:16-18(NIV)

    God was so angry over their sins, that he says that even if Moses and Samuel were to intercede for the people, he would not relent.[72]

    Much like the prophet Isaiah who had to walk stripped and barefoot for three years[73] and the prophet Ezekiel who had to lay on his side for 390 days and eat measured food,[74] Jeremiah is instructed to perform a number of prophetic parables[75] to illustrate the LORD’s message to his people. For example, the LORD commands Jeremiah to bury a linen belt so that it gets ruined to illustrate how the LORD intends to ruin Judah’s pride.[76] Likewise, Jeremiah buys a clay jar and smashes it in the Valley of Ben Hinnom in front of elders and priests to illustrate that the LORD will smash the nation of Judah and the city of Judah beyond repair.[77] The LORD instructs Jeremiah to make a yoke from wood and leather straps and to put it on his own neck to demonstrate how the LORD will put the nation under the yoke of the king of Babylon.[78] In order to contrast the people’s disobedience with the obedience of the Rechabites, the LORD has Jeremiah invite the Rechabites to drink wine, in disobedience to their ancestor’s command. The Rechabites refused, and God commended them.

    This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, “Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?” declares the LORD. “Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather's command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers.’ But you have not paid attention or listened to me. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.”

    – Jeremiah 35:13-16(NIV)

    During the siege of Jerusalem, when it was finally obvious that Jeremiah’s prophesies of disaster would be fulfilled and that destruction and exile were imminent, the LORD instructed Jeremiah to make a real-estate investment by purchasing a field at Anathoth from his cousin Hanamel. Jeremiah obeyed, weighed out the silver on scales, and had the deed witnessed and sealed. The LORD was making the point the nation would eventually be restored and that houses and fields would once again be bought in the land.[79]

    Rabbinic literature

    In Jewish rabbinic literature, especially the aggadah, Jeremiah and Moses are often mentioned together[citation needed]; their life and works being presented in parallel lines. The following ancient midrash is especially interesting, in connection with Deut. xviii. 18, in which "a prophet like Moses" is promised: "As Moses was a prophet for forty years, so was Jeremiah; as Moses prophesied concerning Judah and Benjamin, so did Jeremiah; as Moses' own tribe [the Levites under Korah] rose up against him, so did Jeremiah's tribe revolt against him; Moses was cast into the water, Jeremiah into a pit; as Moses was saved by a slave (the slave of Pharaoh's daughter); so, Jeremiah was rescued by a slave (Ebed-melech); Moses reprimanded the people in discourses; so did Jeremiah."[citation needed]


    Writings and authorship

    Traditional perspectives

    Jeremiah is traditionally credited with authoring the Book of Jeremiah, 1 Kings, 2 Kings and the Book of Lamentations with the assistance and under the editorship of Baruch ben Neriah, his scribe and disciple.

    Contemporary commentary

    Jewish

    Commentator Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote that the book is written as if Jeremiah not only heard as words but personally felt in his body and emotions the experience of what he prophesied, that the verse

    Are not all my words as fire, sayeth the LORD, and a hammer that shatters rock

    was a clue as to how difficult the overwhelming, personality-shattering experience of being a vehicle for Divine revelation was, on one of the most difficult tasks ever assigned, and how difficult it was to be able to see, in advance, one's own failure.[citation needed]

    Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet

    The prophet Jeremiah (on the foreground) sculpted by Aleijadinho at the sanctuary of Bom Jesus of Matosinhos at Congonhas, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

    In July 2007, Assyrologist Michael Jursa translated a cuneiform tablet dated to 595 BC, as describing a Nabusharrussu-ukin as "the chief eunuch" of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. Jursa hypothesized that this reference might be to the same individual as the Nebo-Sarsekim mentioned in Jeremiah 39:3. [80][81]

    Cultural influence

    The prophet Jeremiah inspired the French noun jérémiade, and subsequently the English jeremiad, meaning "a lamentation; mournful complaint,"[82] or further, "a cautionary or angry harangue."[83]

    Jeremiah has periodically been a popular first name in the United States, beginning with the early Puritan settlers, who often took the names of Biblical prophets and apostles.

    Austrian author Stefan Zweig wrote a pacifist play called Jeremiah during World War I.

    Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 1 is also known as "Jeremiah." Its three movements are Prophecy, Profanation, and Lamentation.

    Bertold Hummel named his Symphony No. 3 "Jeremiah". Its four movements are I. Anathot II. Babylon III. Lamentationes Jeremiae and IV. Hymnus-Lakén Jeremiah

    Sting made a reference to the prophet on his album The Soul Cages with his song "Jeremiah Blues (Part 1)".

    Notes

    1. ^ Jeremiah, New Bible Dictionary, Second Edition, Tyndale Press, Wheaton, IL, USA 1987.
    2. ^ Wells, John C. (1990). Longman pronunciation dictionary. Harlow, England: Longman. p. 383. ISBN 0582053838. ) entry "Jeremiah"
    3. ^ ’’Lamentations’’, The Anchor Bible, commentary by Delbert R. Hillers, 1972, pp.XIX-XXIV
    4. ^ Jeremiah, Lamentations, Tremper Longman, Hendrickson Publishers, 2008, pp. 9-11
    5. ^ Jeremiah 11 ESV
    6. ^ Jeremiah 1:17-19 ESV
    7. ^ Jeremiah 1:19 The Anchor Bible
    8. ^ Jeremiah 12:6
    9. ^ Jeremiah 20:1-4, See also The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan, 1995, p. 1501
    10. ^ Jeremiah 37:18, Jeremiah 38:28
    11. ^ Jeremiah 38:4
    12. ^ Jeremiah 38:6
    13. ^ Jeremiah 28
    14. ^ ’’Jeremiah, Lamentations’’, F.B. Huey, Broadman Press, 1993 pp. 433-439
    15. ^ Jeremiah 39:11-40:5
    16. ^ Hebrews 8:8-12 ESV Hebrews 10:16-17 ESV
    17. ^ The New Bible Dictionary, Second Edition, 1982 p. 563; See also Jeremiah 31
    18. ^ Wells, John C. (1990). Longman pronunciation dictionary. Harlow, England: Longman. p. 383. ISBN 0582053838.  entry "Jeremiah"
    19. ^ New Bible Dictionary, Second Edition, Tyndale Press, Wheaton, IL, USA 1987.
    20. ^ ’’Introduction to Jeremiah’’, The Jewish Study Bible, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 917
    21. ^ ’’Jeremiah’’, New Bible Dictionary, Second Edition, Tyndale Press, 1987 pp. 559-560
    22. ^ Jeremiah 1:1
    23. ^ ’’Jeremiah (Prophet)’’, The Anchor Bible Dictionary Volume 3, Doubleday, 1992 p.686
    24. ^ Jeremiah 32:9
    25. ^ Jeremiah 8:18
    26. ^ Who Weeps in Jeremiah VIII 23 (IX 1)? Identifying Dramatic Speakers in the Poetry of Jeremiah, Joseph M. Henderson, Vetus Testamentum, Vol. 52, Fasc. 2 (Apr., 2002), pp. 191-206
    27. ^ Jeremiah, Lamentations, Tremper Longman, Hendrickson Publishers, 2008, p. 6
    28. ^ 2 Kings 23:26-27
    29. ^ 2 Kings 23:32
    30. ^ Jeremiah 1-2
    31. ^ Jeremiah and Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope, Philip Graham Ryken, R. Kent Hughes, 2001, pp.19-36
    32. ^ Isaiah 6
    33. ^ Exodus 4:10-17
    34. ^ ’’Jeremiah (Prophet)’’, The Anchor Bible Dictionary Volume 3, Doubleday, 1992 p.686
    35. ^ Jeremiah 1:6-9
    36. ^ Jeremiah 1:17 NIV
    37. ^ Jeremiah 1
    38. ^ Jeremiah 15:19
    39. ^ Jeremiah 16:2
    40. ^ Jeremiah 16:5
    41. ^ Jeremiah 16:8
    42. ^ Jeremiah 15:17
    43. ^ 2 Kings 22:8-10
    44. ^ ’’Jeremiah (Prophet)’’, The Anchor Bible Dictionary Volume 3, Doubleday, 1992 p.687
    45. ^ Jeremiah 1:7
    46. ^ ’’Jeremiah (Prophet)’’, The Anchor Bible Dictionary Volume 3, Doubleday, 1992 p.687
    47. ^ Jeremiah 2:5, Jeremiah 2:11-13
    48. ^ Jeremiah 3:12-23, Jeremiah 4:1-4
    49. ^ Jeremiah 6:13-14
    50. ^ Jeremiah 36:1-10
    51. ^ Jeremiah 2:26-28
    52. ^ Jeremiah 6:13-14, Jeremiah 8:10-12
    53. ^ Jeremiah 11:1-13
    54. ^ Jeremiah 8:10
    55. ^ Jeremiah 11:18-2:6
    56. ^ ’’Jeremiah (Prophet)’’, The Anchor Bible Dictionary Volume 3, Doubleday, 1992 p.687
    57. ^ Commentary on Jeremiah, The Jewish Study Bible, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 950
    58. ^ Jeremiah 6:13-15, Jeremiah 14:14-16, Jeremiah 23:9-40, Jeremiah 27-28, Lamentations 2:14
    59. ^ Jeremiah 19:14-20:6
    60. ^ Jeremiah 20:7
    61. ^ Jeremiah 20:9
    62. ^ Commentary of Jeremiah, The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan, 1995, p. 1544
    63. ^ Jeremiah 38
    64. ^ Jeremiah 40
    65. ^ Jeremiah 43
    66. ^ Jeremiah 44
    67. ^ Genesis 18
    68. ^ Exodus 32
    69. ^ Numbers 14
    70. ^ 1 Samuel 12
    71. ^ Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14, 14:11
    72. ^ Jeremiah 15:1
    73. ^ Isaiah 20
    74. ^ Ezekiel 4
    75. ^ All the Parables of the Bible, Herbert Lockyer, Zondervan, 1963, pp. 51-61
    76. ^ Jeremiah 13
    77. ^ Jeremiah 19
    78. ^ Jeremiah 27-28
    79. ^ Jeremiah 32
    80. ^ "Ancient Document Confirms Existence Of Biblical Figure". http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=58185&v=1836264811. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
    81. ^ John F. Hobbins (with details on Assyrian names by Charles Halton)
    82. ^ Webster's encyclopedic unabridged dictionary of the English language. New York: Portland House. 1989. pp. 766. ISBN 0-517-68781-X. 
    83. ^ "jeremiad - Definition". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Inc.. 2008. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jeremiad. Retrieved 2008-09-23. 

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    Prophets in the Hebrew Bible
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