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Introduction to Jeremiah

                             

Summary of the Book of Jeremiah

This summary of the book of Jeremiah provides information about the title author(s) date of writing chronology theme theology outline a brief overview and the chapters of the Book of Jeremiah.

Author and Date

The book preserves an account of the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah whose personal life and struggles are shown to us in greater depth and detail than those of any other OT prophet. The meaning of his name is uncertain. Suggestions include "The Lord exalts" and "The Lord establishes " but a more likely proposal is "The Lord throws " either in the sense of "hurling" the prophet into a hostile world or of "throwing down" the nations in divine judgment for their sins. Jeremiah's prophetic ministry began in 626 b.c. and ended sometime after 586 (see notes on 1:2-3). His ministry was immediately preceded by that of Zephaniah. Habakkuk was a contemporary and Obadiah may have been also. Since Ezekiel began his ministry in Babylon in 593 he too was a late contemporary of the great prophet in Jerusalem. How and when Jeremiah died is not known; Jewish tradition however asserts that while living in Egypt he was put to death by being stoned (cf. Heb 11:37).

Jeremiah was a member of the priestly household of Hilkiah. His hometown was Anathoth (1:1) so he may have been a descendant of Abiathar (1Ki 2:26) a priest during the days of King Solomon. The Lord commanded Jeremiah not to marry and raise children because the impending divine judgment on Judah would sweep away the next generation (16:1-4). Primarily a prophet of doom he attracted only a few friends among whom were Ahikam (26:24) Gedaliah (Ahikam's son 39:14) and Ebed-Melech (38:7-13; cf. 39:15-18). Jeremiah's closest companion was his faithful secretary Baruch who wrote down Jeremiah's words as the prophet dictated them (36:4-32). He was advised by Jeremiah not to succumb to the temptations of ambition but to be content with his lot (ch. 45). He also received from Jeremiah and deposited for safekeeping a deed of purchase (32:11-16) and accompanied the prophet on the long road to exile in Egypt (43:6-7). It is possible that Baruch was also responsible for the final compilation of the book of Jeremiah itself since no event recorded in chs. 1 - 51 occurred after 580 b.c. (ch. 52 is an appendix added by a later hand).

Given to self-analysis and self-criticism (10:24) Jeremiah has revealed a great deal about himself. Although timid by nature (1:6) he received the Lord's assurance that he would become strong and courageous (1:18; 6:27; 15:20). In his "confessions" (see 11:18-23; 12:1-4; 15:10-21; 17:12-18; 18:18-23; 20:7-18 and notes) he laid bare the deep struggles of his inmost being sometimes making startling statements about his feelings toward God (12:1; 15:18). On occasion he engaged in calling for redress against his personal enemies (12:1-3; 15:15; 17:18; 18:19-23; see note on Ps 5:10) -- a practice that explains the origin of the English word "jeremiad " referring to a denunciatory tirade or complaint. Jeremiah so often expressing his anguish of spirit (4:19; 9:1; 10:19-20; 23:9) has justly been called the "weeping prophet." But it is also true that the memory of his divine call (1:17) and the Lord's frequent reaffirmations of his commissioning as a prophet (see e.g. 3:12; 7:2 27-28; 11:2 6; 13:12-13; 17:19-20) made Jeremiah fearless and faithful in the service of his God (cf. 15:20).

Background

Jeremiah began prophesying in Judah halfway through the reign of Josiah (640-609 b.c.) and continued throughout the reigns of Jehoahaz (609) Jehoiakim (609-598) Jehoiachin (598-597) and Zedekiah (597-586). It was a period of storm and stress when the doom of entire nations -- including Judah itself -- was being sealed. The smaller states of western Asia were often pawns in the power plays of such imperial giants as Egypt Assyria and Babylon and the time of Jeremiah's ministry was no exception. Ashurbanipal last of the great Assyrian rulers died in 627. His successors were no match for Nabopolassar the founder of the Neo-Babylonian empire who began his rule in 626 (the year of Jeremiah's call to prophesy). Soon after Assyria's capital city Nineveh fell under the onslaught of a coalition of Babylonians and Medes in 612 Egypt (no friend of Babylon) marched northward in an attempt to rescue Assyria which would soon be destroyed. King Josiah of Judah made the mistake of trying to stop the Egyptian advance and his untimely death near Megiddo in 609 at the hands of Pharaoh Neco II was the sad result (2Ch 35:20-24). Jeremiah who had found a kindred spirit in the godly Josiah and perhaps had proclaimed the messages recorded in 11:1-8; 17:19-27 during the king's reformation movement lamented Josiah's death (see 2Ch 35:25 and note).

Josiah's son Jehoahaz (see NIV text note on 22:11) also knwn as Shallum is mentioned only briefly in the book of Jeremiah (22:10b-12) and then in an unfavorable way. Neco put Jehoahaz in chains and made Eliakim another of Josiah's sons king in his place renaming him Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz had ruled for a scant three months (2Ch 36:2) and his reign marks the turning point in the king's attitude toward Jeremiah. Once the friend and confidant of the king the prophet now entered a dreary round of persecution and imprisonment alternating with only brief periods of freedom (20:1-2; 26:8-9; 32:2-3; 33:1; 36:26; 37:12-21; 38:6-13 28).

Jehoiakim remained relentlessly hostile toward Jeremiah. On one occasion when an early draft of the prophet's writings was being read to Jehoiakim (36:21) the king used a scribe's knife to cut the scroll apart three or four columns at a time and threw it piece by piece into the firepot in his winter apartment (vv. 22-23). At the Lord's command however Jeremiah simply dictated his prophecies to Baruch a second time adding "many similar words" to them (v. 32).

Just prior to this episode in Jeremiah's life an event of extraordinary importance took place that changed the course of history: In 605 b.c. the Egyptians were crushed at Carchemish on the Euphrates by Nebuchadnezzar (46:2) the gifted general who succeeded his father Nabopolassar as ruler of Babylon that same year. Neco returned to Egypt after heavy losses and Babylon was given a virtually free hand in western Asia for the next 70 years. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in 605 humiliating Jehoiakim (Da 1:1-2) and carrying off Daniel and his three companions to Babylon (Da 1:3-6). Later in 598-597 Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem again and the rebellious Jehoiakim was heard of no more. His son Jehoiachin ruled Judah for only three months (2Ch 36:9). Jeremiah foretold the captivity of Jehoiachin and his followers (22:24-30) a prediction that was later fulfilled (24:1; 29:1-2).

Mattaniah Jehoiachin's uncle and a son of Josiah was renamed Zedekiah and placed on Judah's throne by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 b.c. (37:1; 2Ch 36:9-14). Zedekiah a weak and vacillating ruler sometimes befriended Jeremiah and sought his advice but at other times allowed the prophet's enemies to mistreat and imprison him. Near the end of Zedekiah's reign Jeremiah entered into an agreement with him to reveal God's will to him in exchange for his own personal safety (38:14-27). Even then the prophet was under virtual house arrest until Jerusalem was captured in 586 (38:28).

While trying to flee the city Zedekiah was overtaken by the pursuing Babylonians. In his presence his sons were executed after which he himself was blinded by Nebuchadnezzar (39:1-7). Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard advised Jeremiah to live with Gedaliah whom Nebuchadnezzar had made governor over Judah (40:1-6). After a brief term of office Gedaliah was murdered by his opponents (41:1-9). Others in Judah feared Babylonian reprisal and fled to Egypt taking Jeremiah and Baruch with them (43:4-7). By that time the prophet was probably over 70 years old. His last recorded words are found in 44:24-30 the last verse of which is the only explicit reference in the Bible to Pharaoh Hophra who ruled Egypt from 589 to 570 b.c.

Theological Themes and Message

Referred to frequently as "Jeremiah the prophet" in the book that bears his name (20:2; 25:2; 28:5 10-12 15; 29:1 29; 32:2; 34:6; 36:8 26; 37:2 3 6; 38:9-10 14; 42:2 4; 43:6; 45:1; 46:1 13; 47:1; 49:34; 50:1) and elsewhere (2Ch 36:12; Da 9:2; Mt 2:17; 27:9; see Mt 16:14) Jeremiah was ever conscious of his call from the Lord (1:5; 15:19) to be a prophet. As such he proclaimed words given him by God himself (19:2) and therefore certain of fulfillment (28:9; 32:24). Jeremiah had only contempt for false prophets (14:13-18; 23:13-40; 27:14-18) like Hananiah (ch. 28) and Shemaiah (29:24-32). Many of his own predictions were fulfilled in the short term (e.g. 16:15; 20:4; 25:11-14; 27:19-22; 29:10; 34:4-5; 43:10-11; 44:30; 46:13) and others were -- or will yet be -- fulfilled in the long term (e.g. 23:5-6; 30:8-9; 31:31-34; 33:15-16).

As hinted earlier an aura of conflict surrounded Jeremiah almost from the beginning. He lashed out against the sins of his countrymen (44:23) scoring them severely for their idolatry (16:10-13 20; 22:9; 32:29; 44:2-3 8 17-19 25) -- which sometimes even involved sacrificing their children to foreign gods (see 7:30-34 and notes). But Jeremiah loved the people of Judah in spite of their sins and he prayed for them (14:7 20) even when the Lord told him not to (7:16; 11:14; 14:11).

Judgment is one of the all-pervasive themes in Jeremiah's writings though he was careful to point out that repentance if sincere would postpone the otherwise inevitable. His counsel of submission to Babylon and his message of "life as usual" for the exiles of the early deportations branded him as a traitor in the eyes of many. Actually of course his advice not to rebel against Babylon marked him as a true patriot a man who loved his own people too much to stand by silently and watch them destroy themselves. By warning them to submit and not rebel Jeremiah was revealing God's will to them -- always the most sensible prospect under any circumstances.

For Jeremiah God was ultimate. The prophet's theology conceived of the Lord as the Creator of all that exists (10:12-16; 51:15-19) as all-powerful (32:27; 48:15; 51:57) as everywhere present (23:24). Jeremiah ascribed the most elevated attributes to the God whom he served (32:17-25) viewing him as the Lord not only of Judah but also of the nations (5:15; 18:7-10; 25:17-28; chs. 46 - 51).

At the same time God is very much concerned about individual people and their accountability to him. Jeremiah's emphasis in this regard (see e.g. 31:29-30) is similar to that of Ezekiel (see Eze 18:2-4) and the two men have become known as the "prophets of individual responsibility." The undeniable relationship between sin and its consequences so visible to Jeremiah as he watched his beloved Judah in her death throes made him -- in the pursuit of his divine vocation -- a fiery preacher (5:14; 20:9; 23:29) of righteousness and his oracles have lost none of their power with the passing of the centuries.

Called to the unhappy task of announcing the destruction of the kingdom of Judah (thoroughly corrupted by the long and evil reign of Manasseh and only superficially affected by Josiah's efforts at reform) it was Jeremiah's commission to lodge God's indictment against his people and proclaim the end of an era. At long last the Lord was about to inflict on the remnant of his people the ultimate covenant curse (see Lev 26:31-33; Dt 28:49-68). He would undo all that he had done for them since the day he brought them out of Egypt. It would then seem that the end had come that Israel's stubborn and uncircumcised (unconsecrated) heart had sealed her final destiny that God's chosen people had been cast off that all the ancient promises and covenants had come to nothing.

But God's judgment of his people (and the nations) though terrible was not to be the last word the final work of God in history. Mercy and covenant faithfulness would triumph over wrath. Beyond the judgment would come restoration and renewal. Israel would be restored the nations that crushed her would be crushed and the old covenants (with Israel David and the Levites) would be honored. God would make a new covenant with his people in which he would write his law on their hearts (see 31:31-34 and notes; see also Heb 8:8-12 and note) and thus consecrate them to his service. The new covenant was cast in the form of ancient Near Eastern royal grant treaties and contained unconditional gracious and profoundly spiritual moral ethical and relational promises. The house of David would rule God's people in righteousness and faithful priests would serve. God's commitment to Israel's redemption was as unfailing as the secure order of creation (ch. 33).

Jeremiah's message illumined the distant as well as the near horizon. It was false prophets who proclaimed peace to a rebellious nation as though the God of Israel's peace was indifferent to her unfaithfulness. But the very God who compelled Jeremiah to denounce sin and pronounce judgment was the God who authorized him to announce that the divine wrath had its bounds its 70 years. Afterward forgiveness and cleansing would come -- and a new day in which all the old expectations aroused by God's past acts and his promises and covenants would yet be fulfilled in a manner transcending all God's mercies of old.

Literary Features

Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible containing more words than any other book. Although a number of chapters were written mainly in prose (chs. 7; 11; 16; 19; 21; 24-29; 32-45) including the appendix (ch. 52) most sections are predominantly poetic in form. Jeremiah's poetry is lofty and lyrical. A creator of beautiful phrases he has given us an abundance of memorable passages (e.g. 2:13 26-28; 7:4 11 34; 8:20 22; 9:23-24; 10:6-7 10 12-13; 13:23; 15:20; 17:5-9; 20:13; 29:13; 30:7 22; 31:3 15 29-30 31-34; 33:3; 51:10).

Poetic repetition was used by Jeremiah with particular skill (see e.g. 4:23-26; 51:20-23). He understood the effectiveness of repeating a striking phrase over and over. An example is "sword famine and plague " found in 15 separate verses (14:12; 21:7 9; 24:10; 27:8 13; 29:17-18; 32:24 36; 34:17; 38:2; 42:17 22; 44:13). He made use of cryptograms (see NIV text notes on 25:26; 51:1 41) on appropriate occasions. Alliteration and assonance were also a part of his literary style examples being zarim wezeruha ("foreigners . . . to winnow her " 51:2) and pah∆ad wapah∆at wapah∆ ("Terror and pit and snare " 48:43; see note on Isa 24:17). Like Ezekiel Jeremiah was often instructed to use symbolism to highlight his message: a ruined and useless belt (13:1-11) a smashed clay jar (19:1-12) a yoke of straps and crossbars (ch. 27) large stones in a brick pavement (43:8-13). Symbolic value is also seen in the Lord's commands to Jeremiah not to marry and raise children (16:1-4) not to enter a house where there is a funeral meal or where there is feasting (16:5-9) and to buy a field in his hometown Anathoth (32:6-15). Similarly the Lord used visual aids in conveying his message to Jeremiah: potter's clay (18:1-10) two baskets of figs (ch. 24).

Outline

Unlike Ezekiel the oracles in Jeremiah are not arranged in chronological order. 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. The outline below represents an analysis of the book of Jeremiah in its present canonical order.

I.           Call of the Prophet (ch. 1)

  1. Warnings and Exhortations to Judah (chs. 2 - 35)

A.   Earliest Discourses (chs. 2-6)

                   III.        Sufferings and Persecutions of the Prophet (chs. 36-38)

                  IV.        The Fall of Jerusalem and Its Aftermath (chs. 39-45)

V.           Judgment against the Nations (chs. 46-51)

VI.           Historical Appendix (ch. 52)

¢w¢w¡mNew International Version¡n

 

Introduction to Jeremiah

Jeremiah was a priest a native of Anathoth in the tribe of Benjamin. He was called to the prophetic office when very young about seventy years after the death of Isaiah and exercised it for about forty years with great faithfulness till the sins of the Jewish nation came to their full measure and destruction followed. The prophecies of Jeremiah do not stand as they were delivered. Blayney has endeavoured to arrange them in more regular order namely ch. 1-20; 22; 23; 25; 26; 35; 36; 45; 24; 29; 30; 31; 27; 28; 21; 34; 37; 32; 33; 38; 39; (ver. 15-18 1-14.) 40-44; 46-52. The general subject of his prophecies is the idolatry and other sins of the Jews; the judgments by which they were threatened with references to their future restoration and deliverance and promises of the Messiah. They are remarkable for plain and faithful reproofs affectionate expostulations and awful warnings.

¢w¢w Matthew Henry¡mConcise Commentary on Jeremiah¡n

 

00 Overview

 

JEREMIAH

INTRODUCTION

The prophet¡¦s name and descent

The name Jeremiah was not uncommon (1 Chronicles 12:13; 2 Kings 23:31; cf. Jeremiah 35:3). Our prophet is more precisely described as ¡§son of Hilkiah¡¨ (Jeremiah 1:1) by whom we are not to understand the high priest of this name who held office in Josiah¡¦s days (2 Kings 22:1-20; 2 Kings 23:1-37) since instead of the definite statement which we should then expect we have only a general account: ¡§of the priests at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin¡¨; the high priest without doubt had his seat at Jerusalem; on the other hand the priests settled at Anathoth the old Levitical town (Joshua 21:18) the present Anata (a good hour northeast of Jerusalem; according to Josephus twenty stadia from Jerusalem) probably belonged according to 1 Kings 2:26 to the line of Ithamar not to that of Zadok. (C. Von Orelli.)

The name of Jeremiah is significant. Some have supposed that it means that he was exalted by the Lord. Others assert with more probability that it means set by the Lord as solid foundation; or sent forth by the Lord as lightning from the cloud or as an arrow from a bow. Whichever etymology we adopt the name Jeremiah intimates that whatever he did and suffered all was from the Lord. He was set by God¡¦s hand as a solitary beacon on a lofty tower in a dark night in a stormy sea; lashed by waves and winds but never shaken from his foundations. (Bishop Chris. Wordsworth)

Political state of affairs

His call to the prophetic office came in the thirteenth year of Josiah. Danger was once again gathering round Judah and to Jeremiah was assigned a more directly political position than to any other prophet. The destruction of Sennacherib¡¦s army in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah (B.C. 693) though it had not freed the land from predatory incursions had nevertheless put an end to all serious designs on the part of the Assyrians to reduce it to the same condition as that to which Shalmaneser had reduced Samaria. The danger of Judea really rose from Egypt on the one hand and Babylon on the other. In Egypt Psammetichus put an end to the subdivision of the country and made himself sole master in B.C. 649. As he reigned for fifty-four years he was--during the last eighteen or nineteen years of his life--contemporary with Josiah but it was his successor Necho who slew Josiah at Megiddo. Meanwhile as Egypt grew in strength so Nineveh declined partly from the effects of the Scythian invasion but still more from the growing power of the Medes and from Babylon having achieved its independence. Two years after the battle of Megiddo Nineveh fell before a combined attack of the Medes under Cyaxares and the Babylonians under Nabopalassar. But Nabopalassar does not seem to have been otherwise a warlike king and Egypt remained the dominant power till the fourth year of Jehoiakim. In that year (B.C. 586) Nebuchadnezzar defeated Necho at Carchemish. Having peaceably succeeded his father he returned to Judea and Jehoiakim became his vassal. After three years of servitude Jehoiakim rebelled (2 Kings 24:1) and died. Three months after his son Jehoiachin the queen-mother and a large number of nobles and artificers were carried captive to Babylon. The growth of Egypt into a first-rate power under Psammetichus (2:18 36) raised the question of a close alliance with him. The youthful Jeremiah gave his voice against it. Josiah recognised that voice as inspired and obeyed. His obedience cost him his life at Megiddo; but four years later Necho was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish. On that day the fate of the Jewish nation was decided and the primary object of Jeremiah¡¦s mission then ceased. The ministry of Jeremiah really belonged to the last eighteen years of Josiah¡¦s reign. Judah¡¦s probation was then going on her salvation still possible; though each year Judah¡¦s guilt became heavier her condemnation more certain. But to the eye of man her punishment seemed more remote than ever. Jehoiakim was the willing vassal of Egypt the supreme power. No wonder that being an irreligious man he scorned all Jeremiah¡¦s predictions of utter and early ruin; no wonder that he destroyed Jeremiah¡¦s roll as the record of the outpourings of mere fanaticism. It was his last chance his last offer of mercy; and as he threw the torn fragments of the roll on the fire he threw there in symbol his royal house his doomed city the temple and all the people of the land. It was in this fourth year of Jehoiakim that Jeremiah boldly foretold the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar¡¦s empire and the wide limits over which it would extend. This prophecy (chap. 25) placed his life in danger so that ¡§the Lord hid¡¨ him and Baruch (Jeremiah 36:26). When Jeremiah appears again Nebuchadnezzar was advancing upon Jerusalem to execute the prophecy contained in Jeremiah 36:30-31. And with the death of Jehoiakim the first period of Judah¡¦s history was brought to a close. Though Jeremiah remained with Zedekiah and tried to influence him for good yet his mission was over. He testifies himself that the Jewish Church had gone with Jehoiachin to Babylon. Zedekiah and those who remained in Jerusalem were but the refuse of a fruit basket from which everything good had been culled (chap. 24) and their destruction was a matter of course. Jeremiah held no distinctive office towards them. (Dean Payne Smith.)

Jeremiah¡¦s personal characteristics

The personality of Jeremiah looks out on us from his book in more individual distinctness than that of any other prophet. He reveals himself as a soul of gentle nature yielding tender-hearted affectionate with almost a woman¡¦s thirst for love with which certainly the iron unbending firmness and immovable power of resistance belonging to him in his prophetic sphere are in strange contrast. There were in turn two different widely diverging potencies --the human flesh in its weakness yet with all its lawful generous impulses; and the Divine Spirit with its boundless strength. Thou h the former was thoroughly subject to the latter it suffered sighed bled under the heavy almost intolerable burden laid upon it by God¡¦s Spirit and Word. No doubt the youth received the Divine revelations with delighted eagerness (Jeremiah 15:16); but it went hard with him to be obliged to renounce every joy of youth on account of the hand of the Lord that came upon him and to be obliged to experience and proclaim to his people nothing but wrath ruin woe. How utterly all this cut across his natural inclination (Jeremiah 15:17 f.). Moreover the office of this witness of Jehovah was in itself highly tragical; he had to preach repentance to a people unfaithful to its God while knowing that this final call to salvation would pass away unheeded! He had to picture to the nation and its God-forgetting leaders the terrible danger accruing to it from its guilt and he was not understood because no one wished to understand him! Thus he himself suffered most under the disobedience of the nation which he loved without being able to save it. And at the same time he the warmest noblest friend of his country was forced to let himself be counted among traitors as though in league with the enemy! And yet it was God¡¦s inspiration that compelled him again and again to beat down without mercy every deceitful hope to which sinking courage strove to cling; not cowardice but courage made him dissuade those eager for war; not treachery but love for people and city made him enjoin submission to the conqueror chosen of God. If such a position in some respects like the one forced on Hosea in the last days of the northern kingdom--would have been terribly hard for any one for the deeply sensitive Jeremiah who felt the wounds of his nation as his own it was almost crushing! That he who interceded with priestly heart for Judah saw himself rejected in his constant intercession before God¡¦s throne (Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah 11:14; Jeremiah 14:11; Jeremiah 18:20); that he who consumed himself for the salvation of his country and strove only to avert the ruin threatened by God had to listen to the bitterest suspicions and revilings (Jeremiah 9:1 ff; Jeremiah 12:5 f. 15:10 17:14-18 18:23 etc.) often brought him to despair; nor does he restrain his feelings. Nothing can again cheer him and heal his inner wounds (Jeremiah 8:18; Jeremiah 8:21); he wishes he could dissolve in tears for his poor people (Jeremiah 9:1; Jeremiah 13:17); he would fain dwell alone in the wilderness to escape the wickedness of his surroundings (Jeremiah 9:2); he wishes God had never persuaded him to enter His service since God¡¦s words make him reel like wine (Jeremiah 23:9) and burn in him like fire when he would suppress them (Jeremiah 20:7 ff.). Yea in this conflict between his heart of human feeling and God¡¦s inexorable word he wishes he had never been born (Jeremiah 15:10; Jeremiah 20:14-18) like Job (Job 3:1 ff.). But just because what the Lord announces to him is so painful and contrary to his natural feelings and wishes he is so certain that a stronger one has come upon him; and he opposes with invincible certainty of triumph the false prophets who publish the flattering dreams of their own heart as revelations from above. Over against all outward attacks he stands as an iron pillar and brazen wall (Jeremiah 1:18; Jeremiah 15:20) whilst inwardly mourning the ruin of Judah and Jerusalem as none else does. (C. Von Orelli.)

Jeremiah has been likened to several characters in profane history--to Cassandra the Trojan prophetess whose fate it was never to be believed though prophesying nothing but the truth; to Phocion the rival of Demosthenes in the last generation of Athenian greatness who maintained the unpopular but sound doctrine that if Athens were to escape worse evils she must submit peaceably to the growing power of Macedon; to Dante whose native state Florence was in relation to France and the empire as Palestine was to Egypt and Babylon while the poet like the prophet could only protest without effect against the thickening ills. (A. W. Streane D. D.)

Jeremiah faithful as a prophet

In the midst of his own sorrow and even in the deepest despondency Jeremiah is faithful to his task as a prophet and bold in declaring the Word of the Lord. Though his message was largely directed to immediate affairs it pointed forward to a better dispensation and his words have a meaning for all time.

1. We see fidelity to his calling triumphing over natural timidity throughout his life. See his own words (Jeremiah 20:8-9). He seems ever to have been conscious of the assurance given to him at his call (Jeremiah 1:8; Jeremiah 15:20). And his faith in God¡¦s promise is illustrated in his purchase of a field when the ruin of the country was imminent (32).

2. The truths mainly insisted on by Jeremiah are

(a)--That mere attention to worship or veneration for its forms is worthless (Jeremiah 3:16; Jeremiah 7:8-11; Jeremiah 7:21-23). The law must be written on the heart (Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 4:14; Jeremiah 17:9; Jeremiah 31:33).

(b) Consequently the individual rather than the state is the object of Divine regard (Jeremiah 5:1; Jeremiah 9:1-6; Jeremiah 9:18).

(c) In thus condemning the old Jeremiah anticipates a new order of things. Though he says little of a personal Messiah he prepares His way (see Jeremiah 23:5-8; Jeremiah 30:4-11; Jeremiah 33:14-26). (James Robertson D. D.)

The teaching of jeremiah

The distinctive advance of Jeremiah¡¦s teaching on that of his predecessors is due to his clear recognition of the fact that the Divine purpose could not be realised under the forms of the Hebrew state that the continuity and victory of the true faith could not be dependent on the continuity of the nation. Israel must be wholly dispersed and can only be gathered again by a Divine call addressed to individuals and bringing them one by one into a new covenant with their God written on their hearts. Here for the first time in history the ultimate problem of faith is based on the relation of God to the individual soul; and it is to Jeremiah¡¦s idea of the new covenant that the New Testament teaching directly attaches itself. (Chambers¡¦s Encyclopaedia.)

Jeremiah¡¦s literary style

So far as style can be spoken of in Jeremiah his style perfectly reflects all the articulations of thought and all the hues of emotion of his mind. His was a nature characterised by simplicity reality pathos tenderness and a strange piety but subject to his emotions which were liable to rise into passions. His mind was set on a minor key and his temper elegiac. And to all this his language is true. (A. B. Davidson D. D.)

Arrangement of the prophecies of Jeremiah

The prophecies of Jeremiah are not arranged m chronological order. The earlier portion (chaps. 1-20) has a general character and is a prelude to the rest. Some of these earlier chapters belong to the days of Josiah (Jeremiah 3:6); others to the time of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 13:18). But at the beginning of chap. 21 which is introductory to the second great portion of the book we are carried forward to the days of Zedekiah the last king of Judah. The prophet hastens as it were to the end and sets before us the fate of that king of Judah to be delivered into the hands of the Babylonian monarch Nebuchadnezzar; and the fate of Jerusalem to be destroyed by fire; and of the whole land to be spoiled by Nebuchadnezzar and by the armies of the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 21:1-14). The next chapter (22) contains prophecies delivered in earlier times concerning the predecessors of Zedekiah namely Shallum or Joash the son and successor of the good king Josiah (Jeremiah 22:10-12); and Jehoiakim the elder brother and successor of Shallum (Jeremiah 22:13-19); and concerning Jehoiakim¡¦s son and successor--Jehoiachin Jeconiah or Coniah the immediate predecessor of Zedekiah (Jeremiah 22:24; Jeremiah 22:30). What is the reason of such an arrangement? It was intended to show that Zedekiah the last king of Judah had ample notice from God by the ministry of Jeremiah with regard to the fatal consequences of his own acts both to his country and to himself. If he persisted in his rebellion against God speaking to him by the voice of the prophet. The fulfilment which Zedekiah himself had seen of Jeremiah¡¦s prophecies concerning his three predecessors on the throne was a solemn warning to him that unless he himself repented the predictions of the same prophet concerning himself would be fulfilled also; and it contained also a merciful assurance that if he listened to the prophet¡¦s voice and turned to God with a true penitent heart from his evil ways he would thus escape the punishments hanging over his head. This is a specimen of the principle on which the prophecies of Jeremiah are arranged; and if we bear this principle in mind and apply it to the rest we shall see that these prophecies are not thrown together without method and system but that they have been disposed in such a manner as to exhibit in a clear light the wisdom justice and mercy of God in dealing with His own people and to justify His dispensations in executing His sentence upon them; which after His other methods of correction had been exhausted led at length by the severe but salutary discipline of their captivity of seventy years to their conversion from idolatry and to their restoration to God¡¦s favour and to their own land. (Bishop Chris. Wordsworth.)

The unchronological arrangement of Jeremiah¡¦s prophecies is not without its teachings.

1. As showing that during the length of tune over which the prophet¡¦s work was spread but little care was taken by him to provide for their transmission in any definite order. Like the sibyl of classical antiquity he gave his writings as it were to the winds careless of their fate and left it to others through his long career to collect copy and arrange them as they could.

2. As suggesting the probability that what happened in his case may have befallen the writings of other prophets also such as Isaiah Ezekiel Hosea Amos whose labours were spread over a considerable period of time; and consequently as leaving it open to us to deal freely with the order in which we find them so as to convert them as we best can with the successive stages of the prophet¡¦s life. (Dean Plumptre.)

The very lack of order which is displayed here serves a valuable end in showing that we possess the words of Jeremiah put together in those same troublous times in the course of which they were spoken not arranged with the care and method which would have been afterwards employed to remodel and fit them to men¡¦s notions of propriety. It is not the Book of Jeremiah edited by a future generation but his words as they fell from the inspired lips themselves that are thus in God¡¦s providence preserved to us. (A. W. Streane D. D.)

Contents of the book.--

1. Jeremiah 1:1-19; Jeremiah 2:1-37; Jeremiah 3:1-25; Jeremiah 4:1-31; Jeremiah 5:1-31; Jeremiah 6:1-30; Jeremiah 7:1-34; Jeremiah 8:1-22; Jeremiah 9:1-26; Jeremiah 10:1-25; Jeremiah 11:1-23; Jeremiah 12:1-17; Jeremiah 13:1-27; Jeremiah 14:1-22; Jeremiah 15:1-21; Jeremiah 16:1-21; Jeremiah 17:1-27; Jeremiah 18:1-23; Jeremiah 19:1-15; Jeremiah 20:1-18; Jeremiah 21:1-14. Containing probably the substance of the book of Jeremiah 36:32 and including prophecies from the thirteenth year of Josiah (with a long interval of silence) to the fourth year of Jehoiakim. Jeremiah 1:3 however indicates a later revision and the whole of chap. 1 may have been added as the prophet¡¦s retrospect of his whole work from this its first beginning. Jeremiah 21:1-14 belongs to a later period but may have been placed here as connected by the recurrence of the name of Pashur with Jeremiah 20:2. Jeremiah 22:1-30; Jeremiah 23:1-40; Jeremiah 24:1-10; Jeremiah 25:1-38. Short prophecies against the kings of Judah and the false prophets. Jeremiah 25:13-14 evidently marks the conclusion of a series and that which follows (Jeremiah 25:15-38) the germ of the fuller predictions of Jeremiah 46:1-28; Jeremiah 47:1-7; Jeremiah 48:1-47; Jeremiah 49:1-39 has apparently been placed here as a completion to that of the seventy years of exile.

3. Jeremiah 26:1-24; Jeremiah 27:1-22; Jeremiah 28:1-17. The two great prophecies of the fall of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 26:1-24 belongs to the earlier Jeremiah 27:1-22; Jeremiah 28:1-17 to the later portion of the prophet¡¦s work.

4. Jeremiah 29:1-32; Jeremiah 30:1-24; Jeremiah 31:1-40. The message of comfort to exiles in Babylon.

5. Jeremiah 32:1-44; Jeremiah 33:1-26; Jeremiah 34:1-22; Jeremiah 35:1-19; Jeremiah 36:1-32; Jeremiah 37:1-21; Jeremiah 38:1-28; Jeremiah 39:1-18; Jeremiah 40:1-16; Jeremiah 41:1-18; Jeremiah 42:1-22; Jeremiah 43:1-13; Jeremiah 44:1-30. The history of Jeremiah¡¦s work immediately before and after the capture of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 35:1-19; Jeremiah 36:1-32 are remarkable as interrupting the chronological order which would otherwise have been followed here more closely than elsewhere. The position of chap. 14 as an isolated fragment suggests that it may have been added by Baruch at the close of his narrative of his master¡¦s life.

6. Jeremiah 46:1-28; Jeremiah 47:1-7; Jeremiah 48:1-47; Jeremiah 49:1-39; Jeremiah 50:1-46; Jeremiah 51:1-64. The prophecies against foreign nations ending with the great utterance against Babylon.

7. Jeremiah 52:1-34. Historical appendix. (Dean Plumptre.)
.


 

JEREMIAH

INTRODUCTION

The prophet¡¦s name and descent

The name Jeremiah was not uncommon (1 Chronicles 12:13; 2 Kings 23:31; cf. Jeremiah 35:3). Our prophet is more precisely described as ¡§son of Hilkiah¡¨ (Jeremiah 1:1) by whom we are not to understand the high priest of this name who held office in Josiah¡¦s days (2 Kings 22:1-20; 2 Kings 23:1-37) since instead of the definite statement which we should then expect we have only a general account: ¡§of the priests at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin¡¨; the high priest without doubt had his seat at Jerusalem; on the other hand the priests settled at Anathoth the old Levitical town (Joshua 21:18) the present Anata (a good hour northeast of Jerusalem; according to Josephus twenty stadia from Jerusalem) probably belonged according to 1 Kings 2:26 to the line of Ithamar not to that of Zadok. (C. Von Orelli.)

The name of Jeremiah is significant. Some have supposed that it means that he was exalted by the Lord. Others assert with more probability that it means set by the Lord as solid foundation; or sent forth by the Lord as lightning from the cloud or as an arrow from a bow. Whichever etymology we adopt the name Jeremiah intimates that whatever he did and suffered all was from the Lord. He was set by God¡¦s hand as a solitary beacon on a lofty tower in a dark night in a stormy sea; lashed by waves and winds but never shaken from his foundations. (Bishop Chris. Wordsworth)

Political state of affairs

His call to the prophetic office came in the thirteenth year of Josiah. Danger was once again gathering round Judah and to Jeremiah was assigned a more directly political position than to any other prophet. The destruction of Sennacherib¡¦s army in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah (B.C. 693) though it had not freed the land from predatory incursions had nevertheless put an end to all serious designs on the part of the Assyrians to reduce it to the same condition as that to which Shalmaneser had reduced Samaria. The danger of Judea really rose from Egypt on the one hand and Babylon on the other. In Egypt Psammetichus put an end to the subdivision of the country and made himself sole master in B.C. 649. As he reigned for fifty-four years he was--during the last eighteen or nineteen years of his life--contemporary with Josiah but it was his successor Necho who slew Josiah at Megiddo. Meanwhile as Egypt grew in strength so Nineveh declined partly from the effects of the Scythian invasion but still more from the growing power of the Medes and from Babylon having achieved its independence. Two years after the battle of Megiddo Nineveh fell before a combined attack of the Medes under Cyaxares and the Babylonians under Nabopalassar. But Nabopalassar does not seem to have been otherwise a warlike king and Egypt remained the dominant power till the fourth year of Jehoiakim. In that year (B.C. 586) Nebuchadnezzar defeated Necho at Carchemish. Having peaceably succeeded his father he returned to Judea and Jehoiakim became his vassal. After three years of servitude Jehoiakim rebelled (2 Kings 24:1) and died. Three months after his son Jehoiachin the queen-mother and a large number of nobles and artificers were carried captive to Babylon. The growth of Egypt into a first-rate power under Psammetichus (2:18 36) raised the question of a close alliance with him. The youthful Jeremiah gave his voice against it. Josiah recognised that voice as inspired and obeyed. His obedience cost him his life at Megiddo; but four years later Necho was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish. On that day the fate of the Jewish nation was decided and the primary object of Jeremiah¡¦s mission then ceased. The ministry of Jeremiah really belonged to the last eighteen years of Josiah¡¦s reign. Judah¡¦s probation was then going on her salvation still possible; though each year Judah¡¦s guilt became heavier her condemnation more certain. But to the eye of man her punishment seemed more remote than ever. Jehoiakim was the willing vassal of Egypt the supreme power. No wonder that being an irreligious man he scorned all Jeremiah¡¦s predictions of utter and early ruin; no wonder that he destroyed Jeremiah¡¦s roll as the record of the outpourings of mere fanaticism. It was his last chance his last offer of mercy; and as he threw the torn fragments of the roll on the fire he threw there in symbol his royal house his doomed city the temple and all the people of the land. It was in this fourth year of Jehoiakim that Jeremiah boldly foretold the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar¡¦s empire and the wide limits over which it would extend. This prophecy (chap. 25) placed his life in danger so that ¡§the Lord hid¡¨ him and Baruch (Jeremiah 36:26). When Jeremiah appears again Nebuchadnezzar was advancing upon Jerusalem to execute the prophecy contained in Jeremiah 36:30-31. And with the death of Jehoiakim the first period of Judah¡¦s history was brought to a close. Though Jeremiah remained with Zedekiah and tried to influence him for good yet his mission was over. He testifies himself that the Jewish Church had gone with Jehoiachin to Babylon. Zedekiah and those who remained in Jerusalem were but the refuse of a fruit basket from which everything good had been culled (chap. 24) and their destruction was a matter of course. Jeremiah held no distinctive office towards them. (Dean Payne Smith.)

Jeremiah¡¦s personal characteristics

The personality of Jeremiah looks out on us from his book in more individual distinctness than that of any other prophet. He reveals himself as a soul of gentle nature yielding tender-hearted affectionate with almost a woman¡¦s thirst for love with which certainly the iron unbending firmness and immovable power of resistance belonging to him in his prophetic sphere are in strange contrast. There were in turn two different widely diverging potencies --the human flesh in its weakness yet with all its lawful generous impulses; and the Divine Spirit with its boundless strength. Thou h the former was thoroughly subject to the latter it suffered sighed bled under the heavy almost intolerable burden laid upon it by God¡¦s Spirit and Word. No doubt the youth received the Divine revelations with delighted eagerness (Jeremiah 15:16); but it went hard with him to be obliged to renounce every joy of youth on account of the hand of the Lord that came upon him and to be obliged to experience and proclaim to his people nothing but wrath ruin woe. How utterly all this cut across his natural inclination (Jeremiah 15:17 f.). Moreover the office of this witness of Jehovah was in itself highly tragical; he had to preach repentance to a people unfaithful to its God while knowing that this final call to salvation would pass away unheeded! He had to picture to the nation and its God-forgetting leaders the terrible danger accruing to it from its guilt and he was not understood because no one wished to understand him! Thus he himself suffered most under the disobedience of the nation which he loved without being able to save it. And at the same time he the warmest noblest friend of his country was forced to let himself be counted among traitors as though in league with the enemy! And yet it was God¡¦s inspiration that compelled him again and again to beat down without mercy every deceitful hope to which sinking courage strove to cling; not cowardice but courage made him dissuade those eager for war; not treachery but love for people and city made him enjoin submission to the conqueror chosen of God. If such a position in some respects like the one forced on Hosea in the last days of the northern kingdom--would have been terribly hard for any one for the deeply sensitive Jeremiah who felt the wounds of his nation as his own it was almost crushing! That he who interceded with priestly heart for Judah saw himself rejected in his constant intercession before God¡¦s throne (Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah 11:14; Jeremiah 14:11; Jeremiah 18:20); that he who consumed himself for the salvation of his country and strove only to avert the ruin threatened by God had to listen to the bitterest suspicions and revilings (Jeremiah 9:1 ff; Jeremiah 12:5 f. 15:10 17:14-18 18:23 etc.) often brought him to despair; nor does he restrain his feelings. Nothing can again cheer him and heal his inner wounds (Jeremiah 8:18; Jeremiah 8:21); he wishes he could dissolve in tears for his poor people (Jeremiah 9:1; Jeremiah 13:17); he would fain dwell alone in the wilderness to escape the wickedness of his surroundings (Jeremiah 9:2); he wishes God had never persuaded him to enter His service since God¡¦s words make him reel like wine (Jeremiah 23:9) and burn in him like fire when he would suppress them (Jeremiah 20:7 ff.). Yea in this conflict between his heart of human feeling and God¡¦s inexorable word he wishes he had never been born (Jeremiah 15:10; Jeremiah 20:14-18) like Job (Job 3:1 ff.). But just because what the Lord announces to him is so painful and contrary to his natural feelings and wishes he is so certain that a stronger one has come upon him; and he opposes with invincible certainty of triumph the false prophets who publish the flattering dreams of their own heart as revelations from above. Over against all outward attacks he stands as an iron pillar and brazen wall (Jeremiah 1:18; Jeremiah 15:20) whilst inwardly mourning the ruin of Judah and Jerusalem as none else does. (C. Von Orelli.)

Jeremiah has been likened to several characters in profane history--to Cassandra the Trojan prophetess whose fate it was never to be believed though prophesying nothing but the truth; to Phocion the rival of Demosthenes in the last generation of Athenian greatness who maintained the unpopular but sound doctrine that if Athens were to escape worse evils she must submit peaceably to the growing power of Macedon; to Dante whose native state Florence was in relation to France and the empire as Palestine was to Egypt and Babylon while the poet like the prophet could only protest without effect against the thickening ills. (A. W. Streane D. D.)

Jeremiah faithful as a prophet

In the midst of his own sorrow and even in the deepest despondency Jeremiah is faithful to his task as a prophet and bold in declaring the Word of the Lord. Though his message was largely directed to immediate affairs it pointed forward to a better dispensation and his words have a meaning for all time.

1. We see fidelity to his calling triumphing over natural timidity throughout his life. See his own words (Jeremiah 20:8-9). He seems ever to have been conscious of the assurance given to him at his call (Jeremiah 1:8; Jeremiah 15:20). And his faith in God¡¦s promise is illustrated in his purchase of a field when the ruin of the country was imminent (32).

2. The truths mainly insisted on by Jeremiah are

(a)--That mere attention to worship or veneration for its forms is worthless (Jeremiah 3:16; Jeremiah 7:8-11; Jeremiah 7:21-23). The law must be written on the heart (Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 4:14; Jeremiah 17:9; Jeremiah 31:33).

(b) Consequently the individual rather than the state is the object of Divine regard (Jeremiah 5:1; Jeremiah 9:1-6; Jeremiah 9:18).

(c) In thus condemning the old Jeremiah anticipates a new order of things. Though he says little of a personal Messiah he prepares His way (see Jeremiah 23:5-8; Jeremiah 30:4-11; Jeremiah 33:14-26). (James Robertson D. D.)

The teaching of jeremiah

The distinctive advance of Jeremiah¡¦s teaching on that of his predecessors is due to his clear recognition of the fact that the Divine purpose could not be realised under the forms of the Hebrew state that the continuity and victory of the true faith could not be dependent on the continuity of the nation. Israel must be wholly dispersed and can only be gathered again by a Divine call addressed to individuals and bringing them one by one into a new covenant with their God written on their hearts. Here for the first time in history the ultimate problem of faith is based on the relation of God to the individual soul; and it is to Jeremiah¡¦s idea of the new covenant that the New Testament teaching directly attaches itself. (Chambers¡¦s Encyclopaedia.)

Jeremiah¡¦s literary style

So far as style can be spoken of in Jeremiah his style perfectly reflects all the articulations of thought and all the hues of emotion of his mind. His was a nature characterised by simplicity reality pathos tenderness and a strange piety but subject to his emotions which were liable to rise into passions. His mind was set on a minor key and his temper elegiac. And to all this his language is true. (A. B. Davidson D. D.)

Arrangement of the prophecies of Jeremiah

The prophecies of Jeremiah are not arranged m chronological order. The earlier portion (chaps. 1-20) has a general character and is a prelude to the rest. Some of these earlier chapters belong to the days of Josiah (Jeremiah 3:6); others to the time of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 13:18). But at the beginning of chap. 21 which is introductory to the second great portion of the book we are carried forward to the days of Zedekiah the last king of Judah. The prophet hastens as it were to the end and sets before us the fate of that king of Judah to be delivered into the hands of the Babylonian monarch Nebuchadnezzar; and the fate of Jerusalem to be destroyed by fire; and of the whole land to be spoiled by Nebuchadnezzar and by the armies of the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 21:1-14). The next chapter (22) contains prophecies delivered in earlier times concerning the predecessors of Zedekiah namely Shallum or Joash the son and successor of the good king Josiah (Jeremiah 22:10-12); and Jehoiakim the elder brother and successor of Shallum (Jeremiah 22:13-19); and concerning Jehoiakim¡¦s son and successor--Jehoiachin Jeconiah or Coniah the immediate predecessor of Zedekiah (Jeremiah 22:24; Jeremiah 22:30). What is the reason of such an arrangement? It was intended to show that Zedekiah the last king of Judah had ample notice from God by the ministry of Jeremiah with regard to the fatal consequences of his own acts both to his country and to himself. If he persisted in his rebellion against God speaking to him by the voice of the prophet. The fulfilment which Zedekiah himself had seen of Jeremiah¡¦s prophecies concerning his three predecessors on the throne was a solemn warning to him that unless he himself repented the predictions of the same prophet concerning himself would be fulfilled also; and it contained also a merciful assurance that if he listened to the prophet¡¦s voice and turned to God with a true penitent heart from his evil ways he would thus escape the punishments hanging over his head. This is a specimen of the principle on which the prophecies of Jeremiah are arranged; and if we bear this principle in mind and apply it to the rest we shall see that these prophecies are not thrown together without method and system but that they have been disposed in such a manner as to exhibit in a clear light the wisdom justice and mercy of God in dealing with His own people and to justify His dispensations in executing His sentence upon them; which after His other methods of correction had been exhausted led at length by the severe but salutary discipline of their captivity of seventy years to their conversion from idolatry and to their restoration to God¡¦s favour and to their own land. (Bishop Chris. Wordsworth.)

The unchronological arrangement of Jeremiah¡¦s prophecies is not without its teachings.

1. As showing that during the length of tune over which the prophet¡¦s work was spread but little care was taken by him to provide for their transmission in any definite order. Like the sibyl of classical antiquity he gave his writings as it were to the winds careless of their fate and left it to others through his long career to collect copy and arrange them as they could.

2. As suggesting the probability that what happened in his case may have befallen the writings of other prophets also such as Isaiah Ezekiel Hosea Amos whose labours were spread over a considerable period of time; and consequently as leaving it open to us to deal freely with the order in which we find them so as to convert them as we best can with the successive stages of the prophet¡¦s life. (Dean Plumptre.)

The very lack of order which is displayed here serves a valuable end in showing that we possess the words of Jeremiah put together in those same troublous times in the course of which they were spoken not arranged with the care and method which would have been afterwards employed to remodel and fit them to men¡¦s notions of propriety. It is not the Book of Jeremiah edited by a future generation but his words as they fell from the inspired lips themselves that are thus in God¡¦s providence preserved to us. (A. W. Streane D. D.)

Contents of the book.--

1. Jeremiah 1:1-19; Jeremiah 2:1-37; Jeremiah 3:1-25; Jeremiah 4:1-31; Jeremiah 5:1-31; Jeremiah 6:1-30; Jeremiah 7:1-34; Jeremiah 8:1-22; Jeremiah 9:1-26; Jeremiah 10:1-25; Jeremiah 11:1-23; Jeremiah 12:1-17; Jeremiah 13:1-27; Jeremiah 14:1-22; Jeremiah 15:1-21; Jeremiah 16:1-21; Jeremiah 17:1-27; Jeremiah 18:1-23; Jeremiah 19:1-15; Jeremiah 20:1-18; Jeremiah 21:1-14. Containing probably the substance of the book of Jeremiah 36:32 and including prophecies from the thirteenth year of Josiah (with a long interval of silence) to the fourth year of Jehoiakim. Jeremiah 1:3 however indicates a later revision and the whole of chap. 1 may have been added as the prophet¡¦s retrospect of his whole work from this its first beginning. Jeremiah 21:1-14 belongs to a later period but may have been placed here as connected by the recurrence of the name of Pashur with Jeremiah 20:2. Jeremiah 22:1-30; Jeremiah 23:1-40; Jeremiah 24:1-10; Jeremiah 25:1-38. Short prophecies against the kings of Judah and the false prophets. Jeremiah 25:13-14 evidently marks the conclusion of a series and that which follows (Jeremiah 25:15-38) the germ of the fuller predictions of Jeremiah 46:1-28; Jeremiah 47:1-7; Jeremiah 48:1-47; Jeremiah 49:1-39 has apparently been placed here as a completion to that of the seventy years of exile.

3. Jeremiah 26:1-24; Jeremiah 27:1-22; Jeremiah 28:1-17. The two great prophecies of the fall of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 26:1-24 belongs to the earlier Jeremiah 27:1-22; Jeremiah 28:1-17 to the later portion of the prophet¡¦s work.

4. Jeremiah 29:1-32; Jeremiah 30:1-24; Jeremiah 31:1-40. The message of comfort to exiles in Babylon.

5. Jeremiah 32:1-44; Jeremiah 33:1-26; Jeremiah 34:1-22; Jeremiah 35:1-19; Jeremiah 36:1-32; Jeremiah 37:1-21; Jeremiah 38:1-28; Jeremiah 39:1-18; Jeremiah 40:1-16; Jeremiah 41:1-18; Jeremiah 42:1-22; Jeremiah 43:1-13; Jeremiah 44:1-30. The history of Jeremiah¡¦s work immediately before and after the capture of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 35:1-19; Jeremiah 36:1-32 are remarkable as interrupting the chronological order which would otherwise have been followed here more closely than elsewhere. The position of chap. 14 as an isolated fragment suggests that it may have been added by Baruch at the close of his narrative of his master¡¦s life.

6. Jeremiah 46:1-28; Jeremiah 47:1-7; Jeremiah 48:1-47; Jeremiah 49:1-39; Jeremiah 50:1-46; Jeremiah 51:1-64. The prophecies against foreign nations ending with the great utterance against Babylon.

7. Jeremiah 52:1-34. Historical appendix. (Dean Plumptre.)

¢w¢w¡mThe Biblical Illustrator¡n