Understanding Jeremiah David A. LeFevre 20 Oct 2016, B nai Shalom annual gathering

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1 Understanding Jeremiah David A. LeFevre 20 Oct 2016, B nai Shalom annual gathering Introduction A quick check of Deseret Book s website revealed twenty commentaries on the book of Isaiah alone. A new one just came out this week. Nearly every year at Education Week, there are one or more classes on Isaiah the last time I taught one, there were three others for a total of four Isaiah classes that year! In the case of Jeremiah, there are only three books on Deseret Book about him, and the best one is almost forty years old (and quite light-weight). I have never seen an Education Week class about Jeremiah except the one I taught about eight years ago, and only thirty people showed up. Yet Jeremiah s book has many of the same characteristics as Isaiah s: it is a mixture of beautiful poetry and prose, it tells of a time of destruction because of wickedness, and it is a powerful story of the Lord trying to work with his people through a prophet. So why doesn t Jeremiah get any respect? I hope to give him some tonight, at least among our little group here, and as best we can in the time we have. If you want more Jeremiah when we re done here, go attend Lynda Cherry s classes on Monday mornings! Background One of the interesting puzzles in the Book of Mormon is found in 1 Nephi 5:13, speaking of the contents of the brass plates: And also the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah; and also many prophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah (1 Nephi 5:13). How did Jeremiah s prophecies get on the plates? They were in Laban s control, who surely would just as soon have killed Jeremiah. They were completely contemporary he only wrote them down (with Baruch) a few years previously. We don t know. Perhaps Zoram put them on the plates? Regardless, it does illustrate the impact Jeremiah had on his own day, that his prophecies would be so recorded in real time. In terms of the book itself, Jeremiah is the largest of the prophetic books in the Old Testament, coming in at 21,673 words. By comparison, Genesis has 20,512, Psalms 19,479, Ezekiel 19,123, Isaiah 16,920 words, and the twelve minor prophets combined have 14, So there is a lot of Jeremiah to read. While the messages of Jeremiah s book revolve around the imminent destruction of Judah by the Babylonians in the early sixth century BC, the book has a complex structure, history, and theology, which can be a barrier to understanding. We ll work through each of these tonight and try and see how they help us appreciate the message and the man. Jeremiah s call First, something about our prophet. In Jeremiah 1:1, we learn he was the son of Hilkiah, was the son of a priest, and came from Anathoth, a small village about 3 miles northeast of Jerusalem. It can be seen from the top of Mount Scopus where the Jerusalem Center is. Jeremiah s name in Hebrew is yirmeyahu, which means either who YHWH has appointed or YHWH establishes whom he appoints. We learn the timing of his ministry in the next two verses (Jeremiah 1:2-3). His call came in the thirteenth 1 Longman and Garland, Expositor s Bible Commentary, Jeremiah Ezekiel, 25; Lundbom, Jeremiah 1-20, 57. 1

2 year of Josiah, which is 627 BC, and went to the capture of Jerusalem in 587 BC (and really, beyond, but his writings stop shortly after that). We don t know Jeremiah s age exactly but we can get a sense of it from Jeremiah 1:6. A child is a range of ages, anything less than 30 in some instances. We do know that Jeremiah was unmarried at the time of his call, so he could have been about 16 to 18 or so at the time. If he was 18 in 627 BC when he was first called, he would have been 36 when Josiah was killed in battle, 48 when Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, took the throne and when Lehi was being called as a prophet, and 58 when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. Jeremiah was taught the nature of his mission from the very beginning (Jeremiah 1:9-10; the words in italics are not in some manuscripts and appear to be added and redundant; compare to Jeremiah 24:6 and 42:10). He was both an agent of destruction and an agent of construction and new life. This language of pulling down and building up is repeated in the book as a theme. The Lord also gave him his messages up front in two metaphors; Jeremiah 1:11-12 and Jeremiah 1: In the first one, the play on words is between almond (shaqed) and hasten (shaqad), though the latter term is better translated here watch or be awake. In the second one, a boiling pot that is in the process of spilling its contents to the south (see NIV translation) prefigures an evil that will come out of the north and fall on the people. More about that when we discuss the history of Jeremiah s times. The Hebrew and Greek versions Structure There are two versions of Jeremiah: one based on the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT) that is the dominant text in the west (and what is in our KJV), and one on the Greek Septuagint (LXX) which is used in the eastern churches. The order of the chapters is different and the LXX has significantly less content (about 14%). The following table shows the relationships of the two texts. 2 MT LXX MT LXX 1:1-25:13a 1:1-25:13a :13b-38 32:13b-38* * 44 51: : * 46:1-2 Egypt 26: * 46: : Philistines Moab 31* 33 40* 49:1-6 Ammon 30:17-21/ :7-22 Edom 30: :23-37 Damascus 30: :28-33 Kedar 30: :34-39 Elam 25:14-20** Babylon 27-28** 39 46* 52 52* * Verses lacking; ** Verses in different order Jeremiah is thus the one of the best examples of seeing the hands of different editors in the Old Testament. Unlike the Book of Mormon where we can see the hand of Mormon and Moroni and Nephi, the chief editors, because they reveal themselves to us by name and by specific commentary, the Old Testament editors are silent except for a very occasional 2 From Lundbom, Jeremiah 1-20, 60. 2

3 anonymous comment. Jeremiah s text shows us how the original writings of the prophet were received by two different people or groups of editors, and organized according to their own perceptions. The biggest change, for example, is in the placement and order of the prophecies to the nations chapters. In the MT, they are placed nearly at the end of the book, after all of Jeremiah s other stories and prophecies. And they are put in a geographical order that starts in the south, moves north, and then east, to end at Babylon (where the editing was likely done). In the LXX, the order is seemingly random, perhaps more like the way Jeremiah recorded it, with Egypt and Babylon, the two main powers, toward the beginning, but not first. And the chapters are in the middle of Jeremiah s narrative, interrupting the story with these prophesies, giving them great weight and importance and perhaps hinting about their timing, in terms of when Jeremiah may have recorded them. Scribes Jeremiah is explicit about two scribes who had a hand in the structure of the book in his own day, and who many scholars believe are the likely organizers of the two versions in existence today. The first was Baruch the son of Neriah (32:12), who was a faithful friend and supporter of Jeremiah for many years. His name is mentioned twenty-three times in the book and he risked much, including his own life, to help Jeremiah in his mission. Baruch s existence has been confirmed by a bulla or seal impression that was found in 1975, probably from the so-called burnt house in Jerusalem (it was purchased on the antiquities market and brought to scholars, as many such small objects are). It reads l berakyahuw ben neriyahuw ha saphar or belonging to Berakyahu, the son of Neriyahu, the scribe. The other scribe is his brother, Seraiah (51:59), who took Jeremiah s book to Babylon and read the condemnatory prophecies toward that kingdom, then said a prayer that they would be fulfilled, wrapped the scroll around a rock, and threw it in the river (Jeremiah 51:59-64). The last verse gives us a clue about the recording of Jeremiah s book at the time of this event: Thus far are the words of Jeremiah is a note from the editor at the time, probably Baruch who recorded his brother s action. The bulla says l seriyahuw neriyahuw, belonging to Seriyahu [ben] Neriyahu. Baruch s friendship and role in preserving Jeremiah s message is illustrated very well in chapter 36. First, Baruch recorded Jeremiah s words (36:1-4), then because Jeremiah was not allowed to go into the temple, Baruch took the scroll and read it in his place, which humbled many of the listeners (36:5-8, 15-19). Gemariah (v. 10) is Ahikam s brother, both sons of Shaphan the scribe (a strong supporter of Jeremiah), and friends to Jeremiah. Michaiah (v. 11) is Shaphan s grandson. They all mean to promote Jeremiah s message, but the king is very hardened and won t hear it. Many in the court (but not all) follow his example. The book was taken to the king, Jehoiakim, and read to him but he reacted poorly (36:22-26), destroying the scroll. To preserve Jeremiah s words, the Lord commanded they be written a second time (36:28-32). Notice the last part: and there were added besides unto them many like words. The second scroll contained even more of Jeremiah s teachings, so we re better off! Biography We know more about Jeremiah the man than about any other of the major or minor prophets. His book is very biographical, giving us insight into his feelings and experiences, and not just his words. We ve also talked about his call in chapter 1. The next likely event in his life chronologically comes in chapter 16 (Jeremiah 16:1-9) where he is told not to marry or to mourn or to celebrate; he was essentially commanded to be a loner. Jeremiah trusted in the Lord s promises to him and boldly fulfilled his mission of proclaiming destruction and subsequent reconstruction. In one event in chapter 26 that probably happened about 606 BC, his life was threatened by men at court, but he boldly proclaimed his message (26:4-8). Jeremiah s defense was no defense he said his message again and told them do whatever they wanted with him (26:12-15). Ahikam stood with him (26:24), and Jeremiah went free (for a time). Ahikam was the son of Shaphan the scribe. Both of them were very supportive of Jeremiah. Ahikam s son was Gedaliah, who played a prominent role after the Babylonian captivity. On another occasion, Jeremiah was also preaching in the temple, but was taken into custody by Pashur, the head of the temple police, who gave him forty lashes ( smote him) and put him in stocks, which means put his hands, feet, and head in holds, bending his wounded body into a distorted and painful position (19:14-15, 20:1-2). The next day, Pashur released him, but Jeremiah condemned him for his actions (20:3-6; Pashur means freedom but Magor-missabib means 3

4 Terror all around ). The story has an abrupt transition next, but imagine the injured Jeremiah, which dried blood all over his back and open wounds, slowly walking out of the temple courtyard to get some help, and he has this conversation with the Lord (20:7-9, then 20:10-18, as he waffles back and forth between faith and despair). In spite of all this and much more Jeremiah never gave up and did continue to trust in God. Later still, Jeremiah had purchased some land in his home town of Anathoth (another story that is a symbol of hope for those carried away they will be back). Jerusalem had been under siege by the Babylonians but they were forced to leave to deal with an approaching Egyptian army. Jeremiah determined to go see his land in the calm after the Babylonians departure, but was stopped by someone in the army who thinks his actions are treasonable (37:11-16). Notice he was smote again, just for going on a walk! The king brought him into the court to talk with him, and Jeremiah restated his prophesy of capture by the Babylonians but asked for leniency, so the king remanded him to a slightly better place and gave him food to eat (37:17-21). From his house arrest situation, Jeremiah continued to teach., which angered more leaders because his message was contrary to their message of resisting Babylon and trusting in Egypt. They threw him in a cistern ( dungeon ) in the target yard of a son of the king named Malchiah (Malkiyahu in Hebrew, meaning my king is YHWH ; 38:4-6). Several have noted that this is similar to the name Mulek in the book of Mormon without the theophoric, and it could be the same one, but Mulek means little king or something similar, and seems like a title that would be applied at a younger age. At any rate, a brace servant of the king (the meaning of Ebed-melech ) pulled him out and Jeremiah remained under the king s and his son s protection in the target yard until Jerusalem was taken by the Babylonians (38:6-8). In none of this is a complaint by Jeremiah recorded; at this point, he seems completely resigned to his fate and just trusts the Lord enough to let it happen. Chronology and Structure Though Jeremiah is the most biographical of the prophetic books, it does not take us through Jeremiah s life in strict chronological order. Many chapters and whole sections are tied to a specific place and time, but as you read the text, it jumps from one era of the prophet s life to another many times. Attempts have been made to put Jeremiah s book in chronological order but that ignores the purpose of the structure, as the final editor(s) of the book have given it to us. It is interesting that the book follows a roughly chronological theme and order in its macro-organization, but within each section, chronology is seemingly ignored. The MT form of book could be divided on a grand scale as follows: First visions and prophecies, early ministry (chapters 1-6) Preaching before the destruction, mid-ministry (chapters 7-31) 3 The conquest of Jerusalem by Babylon (chapters 32-43) 4 Prophecies to the nations (chapters 44-51) 5 Historical summary, from 2 Kings (chapter 52) More significantly is the thematic structure of the book, indicated by several points of internal evidence. For example: 6 Chapters 2-3 group certain revelations and pronouncements into a unit. 4:5 through 10:25 coming judgment-lament preaching with a foe from the north theme throughout the material. Chapters have the theme of hope threaded through the whole section. 3 Though the dates are difficult to determine, I would argue that some of the chapters in this section might in fact belong to the late part of the early ministry, including chapters 10, 15-17, There are flashback sections inserted here that tell important information related to the siege story, in chapters Chapter 45, promising Baruch safety, continues the thought about Jews in Egypt in chapter 44, both of which lead into the prophecies to the nations that follow. 6 Lundbom, Jeremiah 1-20, 86. 4

5 Other scholars see the organization of the book tied to an important phrase, the word of the Lord, which is used more in Jeremiah than any other book in the Bible (58 times) except Ezekiel (his peer, 60 times). Each time the phrase is used, they reason, it starts a new section of the book, helping us discern the structure. Jeremiah s book tells how we got Jeremiah s book, at least parts of it. The first scroll was recorded in 605 BC, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the king, as we already mentioned (36:1-4). Then Baruch read it in the temple and it was taken to the king, who had it read to him and then destroyed it (36:5-26). The Lord then commanded Jeremiah to write the scroll again but this time with more than it had the first time (36:27-32). What was actually on the scroll? We can t be sure at this point, but Jeremiah s book offers some clues. There is a natural grouping of chapters 1-10 and in terms of content, phrases, and other clues, so some scholars see those chapters as the first scroll s content. Others see the break at 25:13, which speaks of all that is written in this book, but the language there refers more to his prophesies against the nations, which in the LXX start immediately after 25:13, so it s more likely a lead-in for those writings. I favor the break at chapter 20. There is mention of other scrolls being written (30:2; 45:1; 51:63), so additional scrolls were evidently written down and kept separately from the first one. Thus the book seems to be broken into smaller segments, such as: 1-20, the first scroll written by Baruch and destroyed by the king, then rewritten 21-23, which are words to the kings Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah 24-25, which collect several incidents from his life in various years into a thematic grouping of his public ministry 30-33, the book of hope, book of comfort, or book of consolation, was added after Jeremiah s letter to the exiles in ch. 29 and his purchase of his cousin s field, to provide hope 37-44, which are the suffering chapters, so called because they bring together many of Jeremiah s persecutions during and after the siege and capture of Jerusalem 24-29, 34-36, and 45, which demonstrate how Judah was ripe for destruction, contrasts the kings Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, and includes Baruch s postscript of his own fate 46-51, the prophecies against the nations 52, which is taken almost directly from 2 Kings 24:18 25:30, though with an interesting addition of a third deportation (52:30) in the 23rd year of Nebuchadrezzar (581 BC) In short, like the Bible itself, the book of Jeremiah was likely written on several scrolls that were kept together and finally compiled (after his death?) into a single scroll, though in two versions: one in Babylon, which became the western or Masoretic/Hebrew text, and one in Egypt, which became the eastern or Septuagint/Greek text. Poetry and Prose Jeremiah s book is a mix of Hebrew poetry and prose (and other writing styles, such as wordplays, drama, and irony). If you are familiar with Hebrew poetry, it is based on structure, not sound, as English poetry can be. The common structure is parallelism, with two or more phrases following after each other, with either similar meaning or opposite meaning, or other variations on that theme. Chiasmus also plays a role in Jeremiah, with three examples: 7 Articulation of the call (1:4-10) Vision of the call (1:11-12) Vision of the commission (1:13-14) Articulation of the commission (1:15-19) Jeremiah weeping for the slain of Judah (8:22-9:2) Jeremiah warning about evil tongues (9:3-6) Jeremiah warning about evil tongues (9:7-9) Jeremiah weeping for all creation (9:10-11) 7 This section relies on Lundbom, Jeremiah 1-20,

6 Welfare of Babylon (29:4-9) Welfare of Jerusalem (29:10-14) Judgment in Jerusalem (29:15-19) Judgment in Babylon (29:20-23) Certain phrases are repeated for emphasis and to tie sections together, sometimes called bracketing or inclusios or doublets. For example, 6:27-30, 7:29, and 8:4-9 are all poetic sections that end with the same verb, reject. Embedded in the middle of this section that is tied together by this word and interrupting the flow, is over a full chapter of prose (7:1-28, 30-34, 8:1-3), perhaps indicating that it wasn t there at first but was moved into that spot by the editor. The entire book itself is bracketed with the phrase, the words of Jeremiah (1:1 and 51:64). Hebrew poetic parallelism is found throughout the book (see The Jewish Study Bible, Tanakh Translation for an excellent display of this). One especially famous set of verses illustrates this marvelously, 31:31-33, the message of the new covenant in the middle of the book of hope, starting with a chiasm (italics added for emphasis of parallel words) then a series of parallel phrases: 31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, 8 I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. History Interpretation is aided by an understanding of the history of Jeremiah s day, the movements of nations and people, the conflicts that were playing out, and the politics of that time. That way when you read that a chapter, for example, happens in the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, you can put that chapter in the context of the events of that time. Let s just look at one example. In Jeremiah 22:10-12, it says this: 10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. 11 For thus saith the Lord touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more: 12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. 8 Chiasm from Hollady, Jeremiah, A Fresh Reading,

7 To understand these verses fully, we have to know something about the people mentioned and the events of their times. At the time of the beginning of Jeremiah s ministry, 627 BC, the dominant world power was Assyria, but the same year that Jeremiah was called, the great Assyrian king Assurbanipal died, leaving a power vacuum. In Babylon, the formerly subservient king, Nabopolassar, took advantage of that and asserted his own independence. So did the young Josiah, the king of Judah at the time who was in his early twenties. No one in Assyria suspected it, but in twenty years their kingdom would be completely gone. Fast forward to 609 BC, and Assyria has suffered defeat after defeat against the new Babylonian empire. They ve gathered their forces at Haran in Syria, against another Babylonian attack. Because Assyria was such a brutal overlord for many years, Judah has allied with Babylon against them, and Josiah believes that defeating Assyria will give him total freedom (he is very wrong). Egypt, on the other hand, see Babylon as the greater immediate threat, and determines to support Assyria so it can continue to battle with Babylon and keep Egypt free from either one. Accordingly, the new Pharoah Necho II, just installed that year, moved his army north to support Assyria. Passing through Judah s territory, Josiah decided to resist their advance, probably hoping to win Babylon s favor. However, he was tragically killed in battle, his body rushed back to Jerusalem. Egypt continued north and joined with Assyria, but Babylon defeats them both. Meanwhile, Josiah s son, Shallum ( retribution ), is declared king by the princes, taking the throne name of Jehoahaz ( YHWH grasps ). As Egypt returned south from their defeat at Haran, they still (rightly) considered themselves the victors over Judah, and Necho met with Jehoahaz, determined he didn t want him on the throne (reasons unknown), and made the king of three months his prisoner, taking him back to Egypt. He selected another of Josiah s sons to reign instead, probably because this one swore allegiance to Necho. The man s name was Eliakim ( God raises ) but he took the throne name of Jehoiakim ( YHWH raises up ). Jehoiakim stayed on the throne in Judah until just before Babylon s first attack on the city (he died on 6 December 598 BC of unknown causes; the attack started in January 597 BC). Knowing this, we can date the passage above to just after Necho returned to Judah in 609 BC and deposed Shallum/Jehoahaz and installed Eliakim/Jehoiakim as king. Jeremiah was telling the people to no longer weep for the great king, Josiah ( the dead ) who had died just a few months previously, but for the new king, Shallum/Jehoahaz, who had been taken away by Egypt, never to see his own country again. Jeremiah had a particular reason to weep for the loss of Jehoahaz, who likely followed more after the ruling philosophy of his father, Josiah, who had been a very righteous king, because Jehoiakim turned out to be a wicked king, giving Jeremiah much grief his whole life. Conclusion Jeremiah s life was full of revelation but also tears. He accepted the Lord s call at a time when the king was righteous and striving to turn the tide of idolatry and wickedness in his kingdom, but soon had to prophecy to a people who rejected all of Josiah s reforms and started a quick, downhill slide to destruction and captivity. Unlike Lehi, who was led away by the Lord to a new Promised Land, or Daniel, who was a prophet to the kings of Judah s conquerors, or Ezekiel, who prophesied to the exiles themselves, Jeremiah was left home to (unsuccessfully) call everyone to repentance and watch the kingdom be destroyed and the throne of David defeated. Through it all, he suffered mocking, humiliation, scourging, imprisonment, and solitude. How tragic it must have felt to him to watch it all disintegrate around him and be powerless to change anything. How devasted he must have felt to see the very death and destruction he had prophesied come to pass. Yet Jeremiah found hope in all this tragedy. He spoke of a day when the people who get new hearts, embrace the Lord and his message, keep their covenants, and experience the joy of the presence of God. His relationship with God was so strong that even when he was certain he could not take another step, the fire of the Spirit within him pushed him on and sustained him one more day, and then another, and then another. We don t know what happened to him when he was carried away to Egypt; his book just ends teasingly: Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. I imagine him continuing to minister to the exiles there. I especially hope he was able to finally marry and perhaps have a child or two. Maybe one day we ll find the last book of Jeremiah somewhere in the Egyptian sands and find out. In the meantime, I pray we can treasure what he has left us, find the same power in the Spirit that he felt in our own difficult times fraught with danger, and have the hope that he engendered in those who embraced the words of YHWH as we embrace his words to us in these latter days. 7

8 Bibliography Berlin, Adele and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds., The Jewish Study Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, Brenton, Lancelot C. L., The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English. London: Hendrickson Publishers, Holladay, William L., Jeremiah 1. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, Holladay, William L., Jeremiah 2. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, Holladay, William L., Jeremiah: A Fresh Reading. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, Jackson, Kent P., ed., Studies in Scripture, Vol. 4: 1 Kings to Malachi. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, Longman, Tremper III and David E. Garland, The Expositor s Bible Commentary, vol. 7, Jeremiah ~ Ezekiel. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, Lundbom, Jack R., Jeremiah New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, Lundbom, Jack R., Jeremiah New York: The Anchor Bible, Lundbom, Jack R., Jeremiah New York: The Anchor Bible, McGee, J. Vernon, Jeremiah and Lamentations. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nyman, Monte S., The Words of Jeremiah. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, Ogden, D. Kelly and Andrew C. Skinner, Verse by Verse, The Old Testament: Vol. 2, 1 Kings through Malachi. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, Rasmussen, Ellis T., A Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, Shead, Andrew G., A Mouth Full of Fire: The Word of God in the words of Jeremiah. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, Sperry, Sidney B., The Spirit of the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, Thompson, J. A., The Book of Jeremiah. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Wright, Christopher J. H., The Message of Jeremiah. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic,