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—Biblical Data:

Son of Hilkiah; prophet in the days of Josiah and his sons.

§ I. Life:

In the case of no other Israelitish prophet is information so full as in that of Jeremiah. The historical portions of the Book of Jeremiah give detailed accounts of his external life evidently derived from an eye-witness—probably his pupil Baruch. Jeremiah's prophecies give an insight into his inner life, and by reason of their subjective quality explain his character and inward struggles. Of a gentle nature, he longed for the peace and happiness of his people, instead of which he was obliged to proclaim its destruction and also to witness that calamity. He longed for peace and rest for himself, but was obliged instead to announce to his people the coming of terrors, a task that could not but burden his heart with sorrow. He had also to fight against the refractory ones among them and against their councilors, false prophets, priests, and princes.

His Family.

Jeremiah was born in the year 650 B.C. at Anathoth, a small town situated three miles north of Jerusalem, in the territory of Benjamin. He belonged to a priestly family, probably the same one as cared for the Ark of the Covenant after the return from Egypt, and the one to which the high priest Eli had belonged, but which had retreated to Anathoth when Abiathar, David's priest, was banished by Solomon (1 Kings 2:26). The family owned property in this place, so that Jeremiah was able to give himself up wholly to his prophetic calling. Devoted as he was exclusively to his high vocation, and realizing that it entailed vexation and involved the proclaiming of disaster, he did not marry (Jeremiah 16:2 et seq.). In the thirteenth year of King Josiah (626 B.C.) while still a young man Jeremiah was called to be a prophet. It was just at this time that the plundering Scythian hordes, which troubled Nearer Asia for decades in the second half of the seventh century, swept past the western boundary of Palestine on their swift horses, to capture rich booty in the ancient civilized land of Egypt (Herodotus, 1:164). Since he continued to prophesy until after the conquest and destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (586 B.C.), Jeremiah's prophetic career covered a period of more than forty years. All the important events of this period are reflected in his prophecies: the publication of the Deuteronomic law (621 B.C.) and the religious reforms instituted by Josiah in consequence; the first deportation to Babylon, that of Jehoiachin, or Jeconiah (597); and the final catastrophe of the Jewish kingdom (586). Strange to say, of all these events the publication of the Deuteronomic law and the religious reforms of Josiah are the least prominently brought out in his writings.

Attitude Toward Jerusalem Priesthood.

It is not improbable that the opposition in which Jeremiah seems to have stood to the priesthood of the central sanctuary at Jerusalem was a continuation of the opposition which had existed from former times between that priesthood and his family and which is traceable to Zadok, the successful opponent of Abiathar. Jeremiah's attitude may also have been influenced by the fact that he considered Josiah's measures too superficial for the moral reformation which he declared to be necessary if the same fate were not to befall the Temple of Zion as had in days gone by befallen the Temple of Shiloh (1 Samuel 4). An inward opposition of Jeremiah to the Deuteronomic law is not to be thought of. This may be seen from the exhortation (ib. 11:1-8) in which Jeremiah calls on his people to hear "the words of this covenant" (ib. 5:3) which God had given to their fathers when He brought them up out of Egypt. In this passage there is a plain reference to the newly found law.

Just as little justifiable is the theory, which has recently been suggested, that Jeremiah in his later years departed from the Deuteronomic law. "The false [lying] pen of the scribe," which, as Jeremiah says, "makes the Torah of Yhwh to falsehood" (Jeremiah 8:8, Hebr.), could not have referred to the Deuteronomic law, nor to its falsification by copyists. Rather, Jeremiah is thinking here of another compilation of laws which was then in progress under the direction of his opponents, the priests of the central sanctuary at Jerusalem. Jeremiah probably expected from them no other conception of law than the narrow Levitical one, which actually is apparent in the legal portions of the so-called Priestly writings and results from the Priestly point of view.

§ II. Prophetic Career:

1. During the Time of King Josiah: No further details of Jeremiah's life during the reign of Josiah are known. This is probably due to the fact, as has recently been suggested,that Jeremiah continued to live in his home at Anathoth during the opening years of his prophetic career. This theory is supported by the description of the prevailing religious rites which he gives in his first prophecies (Jeremiah 4:4) and which applies better to the rough, simple, local cults than to the elaborate ritual of Yhwh in the central sanctuary. "On every hill and under every green tree" (ib. 2:20) they honor the "strangers" (ib. 5:25), e., the Baalim (ib. 2:23), who, introduced from abroad, had taken their place among the local deities. Israel had "acted wantonly" with them from the time when he first settled in the land of Canaan and had even burned his own children for them "in the valley" (ib. 7:31).

Residence in Jerusalem.

The oldest discourses concerning the Scythians (ib. 4:5-31) seem also to have first been written in Anathoth. In them Jeremiah describes the irresistible advance of the people "from the north" which will bring terrible destruction upon the land of Israel on account of its apostasy. Another proof in favor of the theory that Jeremiah continued to live in Anathoth at the outset of his career is that the prophecies before ch. do not concern themselves with the doings of the capital, and that only with his supposed change of residence to Jerusalem begins the account of the external details of his life by his pupil, who was probably originally from Jerusalem and who first became associated with the prophet there. In the capital the simple local cults dwindled into comparative insignificance before the central sanctuary, but on the other hand immorality, frivolity, and deceit made themselves prominent, together with a disregard of the words of the prophet spoken by him to the people by Yhwh's order. Even the prophets took part in the general moral debasement; indeed they were worse than those who erstwhile had "prophesied in the name of Baal" (ib. 2:8), e., the prophets of the Northern Kingdom. The people, moreover, which Jeremiah was to test for its inner worth, as an assayer (ib. 6:27) tests the purity of metal, had lost all its preciousness and was only a generation of wrath.

Imprisonment and Release.

1. During the Time of King Jehoiakim: Jeremiah's removal from Anathoth to Jerusalem seems to have taken place a little before the time of Jehoiakim's accession; at least he appears as a resident in Jerusalem under that king. Just as his sternness and his threat of impending punishments had already displeased his fellow citizens in Anathoth to such an extent that they sought his life (ib. 11:19), so also in Jerusalem general anger was soon aroused against him. The first occasion therefor was an event in the reign of Jehoiakim. Jeremiah preached a sermon in the valley Ben-hinnom against idolatry, and in order to bring the utter and complete ruin of the kingdom of Judah more clearly before the minds of his hearers he broke an earthen pitcher. When immediately afterward he repeated the same sermon in the Temple court, he was put in prison by Pashur, the priest in charge, being liberated, however, on the next day. The following section (ib. ) gives more details. When the people at the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, in spite of the terrible loss they had sustained by the death of Josiah in the unfortunate battle of Megiddo and the resultant establishment of the Egyptian domination, still took comfort in the thought of the Temple and of the protection which the sanctuary was believed to afford, Jeremiah stood in the Temple court and called on the people to improve morally; otherwise the Temple of Jerusalem would share the fate of that of Shiloh. In terrible excitement the priests and prophets cried out that Jeremiah was worthy of death. He, however, was acquitted by the priests and elders, who seem to have had great respect for the word of a prophet, especially in view of the fact that some of the most prominent persons rose up and called to mind the prophet Micah, who had prophesied the same fate for the Temple and for Jerusalem.

Reading of the Roll.

The following incidents in Jeremiah's life are most closely connected with public events as he was more and more drawn into political life by them. In the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the same in which the Babylonians conquered the Egyptians in the battle of Carchemish and thus became the ruling power in the whole of Nearer Asia for almost seventy years, Jeremiah dictated to Baruch the speeches he had composed from the beginning of his career till then, and caused his pupil to read them before the people in the Temple, on a feast-day in the fifth year of Jehoiakim. Upon hearing of this event the highest officers of the court caused Baruch to read the roll once more to them; and afterward, in their dismay at its contents, they informed the king of it. Jehoiakim next caused the roll to be brought and read to him, but scarcely had the reader Jehudi read three or four leaves when the king had the roll cut in pieces and thrown into the brazier by which he was warming himself. Jeremiah, however, who on the advice of the officials had hidden himself, dictated anew the contents of the burnt roll to Baruch, adding "many like words" (ib. 36:32). It was his secretary likewise who (later) wrote into the roll all the new prophecies which were delivered up to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.

Political Attitude.

1. During the Time of Zedekiah: In the original roll which was burned by Jehoiakim, and which probably included practically the prophecies contained in ch. -, Jeremiah had not made any positive demands concerning the political attitude of the kingdom of Judah. He had merely, in accordance with the principle laid down by Hosea and Isaiah, declared that Judah should not take any political stand of her own, and should follow neither after Assyria nor after Egypt, but should wait and do what Yhwh commanded (ib. 2:18,36). But in the course of events he felt impelled to take active part in political affairs. This was during the time of Zedekiah, who had been placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar after the deportation of Jehoiachin (ib. , ).

Advises Acceptance of Yoke.

When, in the fourth year of Zedekiah, ambassadors from the surrounding nations came to deliberate with the King of Judah concerning a common uprising against the Babylonian king, a prophet by the name of Hananiahproclaimed in the Temple the speedy return of Jehoiachin and his fellow exiles as well as the bringing back of the Temple vessels which had been carried off by Nebuchadnezzar, supporting his prophecy by the announcement that the "word of Yhwh" was to the effect that he would "break the yoke of the king of Babylon" (ib. 28:4). Jeremiah then appeared in the market-place with a yoke of wood and counseled the ambassadors, King Zedekiah, and his people to submit voluntarily to the Babylonian power. When Jeremiah appeared also at the Temple, Hananiah tore the yoke from his shoulders and repeated his prophecy of good tidings (ib. 5:10 et seq.). Jeremiah likewise advised the exiles in Babylon to settle there quietly (ib. ), which caused one of them to write to the high priest in Jerusalem directing him to fulfil his duty, to watch over every mad man in the Temple and over every one that "maketh himself a prophet" and, consequently, to put Jeremiah "in prison and in the stocks" (ib. 29:26).

Second Imprisonment.

But destiny was soon fulfilled, and with it came new trials for Jeremiah. Zedekiah had been obliged to succumb to the insistence of the war party and to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonians then marched against Judah to punish Zedekiah and quell the rebellion. When Jeremiah's prophecy was near its fulfilment, the king sent often for him to consult with him and to ascertain how it would go with the people and with himself and what he should do to save himself. Jeremiah told him plainly that the Babylonians would conquer and advised him to surrender before the beginning of hostilities, in order to ward off the worst. Zedekiah, however, did not dare follow this advice, and thus the catastrophe came to pass, not without Jeremiah having in the meantime to endure many hardships owing to the siege. Since he undoubtedly prophesied the overthrow of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and warned against resisting them as well as against trusting in the Egyptians for help, he was regarded as a traitor to his country; and for that reason and because his openly expressed conviction robbed the besieged of their courage, he was placed in confinement. He was treated as a deserter also because he desired to go to his native city on a personal matter at a time when the Babylonians had temporarily raised the siege to march against Hophra, the Egyptian king (the "Apries" of Herodotus), who was advancing against them. Jeremiah was arrested and thrown into a dungeon, whence he was released by the king. He was then confined in the court of the guard in the royal castle, as his discouraging influence on the soldiers was feared. Although he was allowed a certain freedom there, since he continued to make no secret of his conviction as to the final downfall of Judah, the king's officers threw him into an empty cistern. From this also he was rescued by a eunuch with the king's permission, being saved at the same time from death by starvation (ib. , ). He then remained in the lighter captivity of the court prison until he was liberated at the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.

Taken to Egypt.

1. During the Time After the Fall of Jerusalem: The Babylonians handed Jeremiah over to the care and protection of the governor Gedaliah, with whom he lived at Mizpah. After the murder of the governor, Jeremiah seems to have been carried off by Ishmael, the murderer of Gedaliah, and to have been rescued by Johanan and his companions. This may be concluded from the fact that the prophet, with Baruch, was among the non-deported Jews who thought of going to Egypt through fear of the Babylonians. During a stay near Beth-lehem he was asked for God's will on the matter. When, after ten days, he received the answer that they should remain in the country, his warning voice was not heard, the cry being raised against him that Baruch had incited him to give this counsel. Accordingly the Jews dragged the prophet with them, as a hostage (Duhm ["Theologie der Propheten," p. 235]: "as an amulet")to Tahapanhes (e., Daphne, on the eastern branch of the Nile). Here Jeremiah continued to prophesy the destruction by the Babylonians of his fellow refugees as also of the Pharaohs and of the temples of Egypt (ib. -). Here also he must have experienced the anger of the women refugees, who could not be prevented by him from baking cakes and pouring out wine to the "queen of heaven" (ib. 44:15 et seq.).Jeremiah probably died in Egypt. Whether his countrymen killed him, as tradition says, can, on account of the lack of historical data, be neither affirmed nor denied. But his assassination does not seem wholly impossible in view of the angry scene just mentioned. At any rate, his life, even as it had been a continual struggle, ended in suffering. And it was not the least of the tragic events in his life that his chief opponents belonged to the same two classes of which he himself was a member. The priests fought him because he declared sacrifice to be of little importance, and the prophets because he declared that it was self-interest which prompted them to prophesy good for the people.

§ III. Character:

Strong Personality.

1. Character of Personality: The tragic element in Jeremiah's life has already been mentioned. It was heightened by the subjective trait which is peculiar to Jeremiah more than to other prophets, even the older ones. This personal suffering over the hard fate which he is obliged to proclaim to his people as God's changeless will is so strong that he even makes the attempt in earnest intercession to move God to a milder attitude toward the guilty. "Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them and to turn away thy wrath from them" (ib. 18:20). He would undoubtedly like to keep silence and yet must speak: "I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay"—e., "I struggled to keep it within me and I could not" (ib. 20:9). Yhwh even has to forbid his intercession for the sinners (ib. 7:16, 11:14, 14:11), and to forbid the people to seek his intercession (ib. 42:2,4). Jeremiah's sympathy for his countrymen who have been punished by God is so great that at one time the prophetical declaration to the people is changed into the people's petition: "O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing" (ib. 10:24). In moving terms he describes the pain which he feels within him, in his "very heart," when he hears the sound of war and must announce it to the people (ib. 4:19, 8:18-22); and in despair over his sad life he curses the day of his birth (ib. 20:14-18).With this intense sensitiveness on the part of the prophet, it should not cause surprise that, on the other hand, his anger breaks forth against his persecutors and he desires a day of destruction to come upon them (ib. 17:18).

Despondent Tone.

1. Character of His Writing: It is doubtless due to this despondent and often despairing frame of mind that his words frequently make a dull and lifeless impression which is not remedied by a heaping up of synonymous terms; and this is all the more noticeable because the rhythm of the speeches is very feeble and frequently almost disappears. Although this may have been due in part to the fact that Jeremiah did not write his book himself, it is still undeniable that there is a monotony in the contents of his speeches. This may be traced to the conditions of his age. The prophet is always complaining of the sins of the people, particularly of their idolatry, or else describing the catastrophe which is to burst upon them through the hordes from the north. Seldom is there a brighter outlook into a better future.

Relieved by Consolation.

The hope which he had at the beginning, that the people would recognize the evils of idolatry and would turn again to God with inward repentance (ib. -4:4), entirely disappears later in face of the utter perverseness of the people; as does the other hope that Ephraim, the lost favorite of Yhwh, that child of Rachel who had been lost sight of for 100 years, would return from "out of the desert." But when Jeremiah speaks from the depths of his soul the monotony of the content is relieved by the charm of the language in which he, as no other prophet, is able to relate God's words of love to his faithless wife Judah.

His Similes.

From his choice of words it may be concluded that Jeremiah, like Isaiah, was an educated man. The pictures which he paints of outdoor life show a deep, delicate appreciation of nature. The voices of the desert sound in his poems; he speaks of the swift-footed dromedary running to and fro, of the cattle grown wild on the plains, of the thirsty wild ass gasping for breath with dim eyes, and of the bird of prey which the fowler has tied to a stake in order to attract his victim. Even in the description of chaos (ib. 4:25) "Jeremiah does not forget the birds" (Duhm, in the introduction to his translation of Jeremiah, p. ). His is, indeed, rather a lyrical nature, since even without a picture he tarries sometimes in an appreciative contemplation of nature, which corresponds to his sensitive comprehension of the human heart. God's greatness is manifested to him in the sand on the shore, which is placed as an eternal boundary for the sea; "andthough the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it" (ib. 5:22). He observes the lengthening shadows as the day is sinking (ib. 6:4), or the dry wind of the high places which comes in from the wilderness and is too strong to serve either for fanning or for cleansing (ib. 4:11). Now and then with a special touch he raises his pictures of human life above the vagueness which on account of the suppression of details is common to the Old Testament illustrations and examples. He furnishes the "smelter" (), who has been a stereotyped example since the oldest prophets, with bellows (ib. 6:29); as symbols of the joyful existence which his prophecies foretelling punishment will drive away, he mentions, besides the voices of the bridegroom and of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the candle (ib. 25:10; comp. ib. 7:34, 16:9). He also observes how the shepherd counts the sheep of his flock (ib. 33:13).

The symbolic acts of which he makes frequent use, whether he actually carries them out, as in breaking the earthen pitcher, in putting on the cords, and in placing the yoke on his neck, or merely imagines them, as in the allegories in Jeremiah 13:1 et seq., are simple and easily intelligible (Baudissin, "Einleitung," pp. 420 et seq.).

Universality of the Godhead.

1. Character of His Religious Views: In conformity with the subjectivity of his nature, Jeremiah raised the conception of the bond between God and His people far above the conception of a physical relation, and transferred piety from mere objective ceremonies into the human heart (comp. ib. 4:4, 17:9, 29:13, and, if Jeremianic, also 31:31 et seq.). Through this conception of man's relation to the divinity, the idea of the divine universality, if not created by him, was yet (if Amos 9:2-4,5 et seq. be excluded) very clearly demonstrated. Although a large part of the passages in which the universality of God is most clearly expressed (Jeremiah 27:5,11; 32:19; 49:11) are doubtful as regards their authorship, there are nevertheless undoubted passages (ib. 12:14 et seq., and 18:7 et seq.) in which Jeremiah, although from the standpoint that Yhwh is the special God of Israel, expresses his conviction that He can reject nations other than Israel and afterward take them again into His favor. If in these passages the particularistic conception of God is not completely abandoned, nevertheless His universality is the direct consequence of the portrayal, which was first given by Jeremiah, of His omnipresence and omnipotence, filling heaven and earth (ib. 23:23; comp. 2:16). Thus Jeremiah, starting out from his conception of God, can characterize the gods of the heathen as "no gods," and can express his conviction that "among the idols of the heathen there is not one which can cause rain," whereas Yhwh has made all (ib. 14:22; comp. 16:19 et seq.). But in spite of this tendency toward a universalistic conception of God, which later became a firm article of belief, the barriers of the national religion had not yet fallen in Jeremiah's mind. This is shown most clearly by the fact that even he conceives of a final restoration of the tribe of Israel.