Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Book of Jeremiah, the Books of Kings and the

Book of Lamentations The Book of Lamentations ( he, אֵיכָה, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megill ...

, with the assistance and under the editorship of

Baruch ben Neriah Baruch ben Neriah ( he, בָּרוּךְ בֶּן־נֵרִיָּה ''Bārūḵ ben Nērīyyā''; c. 6th century BC) was the scribe, disciple, secretary, and devoted friend of the Biblical prophet Jeremiah. He is traditionally credited with autho ...

, his scribe and disciple. In addition to proclaiming many prophecies of

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...

, the God of Israel, the Book of Jeremiah goes into detail regarding the prophet's private life, his experiences, and his imprisonment.

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

both consider the Book of Jeremiah part of their

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

. Judaism regards Jeremiah as the second of the major

prophets In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

. Christianity holds him to be a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

and his words are quoted in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

. Islam also regards Jeremiah as a prophet and his narrative is recounted in Islamic tradition.

Biblical narrative

Chronology

Jeremiah was active as a prophet from the thirteenth year of Josiah,

king of Judah The Kings of Judah were the monarchs who ruled over the ancient Kingdom of Judah. According to the biblical account, this kingdom was founded after the death of Saul, when the tribe of Judah elevated David to rule over it. After seven years, David ...

(626 BC), until after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's Temple in 587 BC. This period spanned the reigns of five kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoahaz,

Jehoiakim Jehoiakim, also sometimes spelled Jehoikim; la, Joakim was the eighteenth and antepenultimate king of Judah from 609 to 598 BC. He was the second son of king Josiah () and Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. His birth name was Eliakim.; ...

Jehoiachin Jeconiah ( he, יְכָנְיָה ''Yəḵonəyā'' , meaning "Yah has established"; el, Ιεχονιας; la, Iechonias, Jechonias), also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin ( he, יְהוֹיָכִין ''Yəhōyāḵīn'' ; la, Ioachin, Joach ...

, and

Zedekiah Zedekiah (), was the 20th and last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. His birth name was Mattaniah/Mattanyahu ( he, מַתַּנְיָהוּ, ''Mattanyāhū'', "Gift of God"; el, Μαθ� ...

. The prophetess

Huldah Huldah ( he, חֻלְדָּה ''Ḥuldā'') was a prophet mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in and . According to the Bible, she was a prophetess. After the discovery of a book of the Law during renovations at Solomon's Temple, on the order of King ...

was a relative and contemporary of Jeremiah while the prophet

Zephaniah Zephaniah (, ) is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish Tanakh, the most prominent one being the prophet who prophesied in the days of Josiah, king of Judah (640–609 BCE) and is attributed a book bearing his name among the ...

was his mentor.

Lineage and early life

Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah, a priest from the land of Benjamin in the village of

Anathoth Anathoth is the name of one of the Levitical cities given to "the children of Aaron" in the tribe of Benjamin (; ). Residents were called Antothites or Anetothites. Name The name of this town may be derived from a Canaanite goddess, `Anat. It ...

. The difficulties he encountered, as described in the books of Jeremiah and

Lamentations The Book of Lamentations ( he, אֵיכָה, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillo ...

, have prompted scholars to refer to him as "the weeping prophet". Jeremiah was called to prophecy c. 626 BC by God to proclaim Jerusalem's coming destruction by invaders from the north. This was because Israel had forsaken God by worshiping the idols of Baal and burning their children as offerings to Baal. The nation had deviated so far from God's laws that they had broken the covenant, causing God to withdraw his blessings. Jeremiah was guided by God to proclaim that the nation of Judah would suffer famine, foreign conquest, plunder, and captivity in a land of strangers.

Calling

SA 160-Jeremia op de puinhopen van Jeruzalem

According to , the

LORD Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

called Jeremiah to prophecy in about 626 BC, about five years before Josiah king of Judah turned the nation toward repentance from idolatrous practices. According to the Books of Kings and Jeremiah, Josiah's reforms were insufficient to save Judah and Jerusalem from destruction, because of the sins of

Manasseh Manasseh () is both a given name and a surname. Its variants include Manasses and Manasse. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh (died 1944), Singaporean rice and opium merchant and hotelier * Jacob Manasseh (die ...

, Josiah's grandfather, and Judah's lustful return to the idolatry of foreign gods after Josiah's death. Jeremiah was said to have been appointed to reveal the sins of the people and the punishment to come. Jeremiah resisted the call by complaining that he was only a child and did not know how to speak, but the Lord placed the word in Jeremiah's mouth, commanding "Get yourself ready!" The qualities of a prophet listed in

Jeremiah 1 Jeremiah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book, one of the Nevi'im or Books of the Prophets, contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. This ch ...

include not being afraid, standing up to speak, speaking as told, and going where sent. Since Jeremiah is described as emerging well trained and fully literate from his earliest preaching, his relationship with the

Shaphan Shaphan ( he, שפן, which means "hyrax"), son of Azaliah, is the name of a scribe or court secretary mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible (2 Kings and ; and parallels in 2 Chronicles ; see also Jeremiah 26:24; ; 39:14; and following; a ...

family has been used to suggest that he may have trained at the scribal school in Jerusalem over which Shaphan presided. In his early years of being a prophet, Jeremiah was primarily a preaching prophet, preaching throughout Israel. He condemned idolatry, the greed of priests, and false prophets. Many years later, God instructed Jeremiah to write down these early oracles and his other messages.

Persecution

Jeremiah's prophecies prompted plots against him. Unhappy with Jeremiah's message, possibly from concern that it would shut down the Anathoth sanctuary, his priestly kin and the men of Anathoth conspired to kill him. However, the Lord revealed the conspiracy to Jeremiah, protected his life, and declared disaster for the men of Anathoth. When Jeremiah complains to the Lord about this persecution, he is told that the attacks on him will become worse. A priest, Pashur the son of Immer, a temple official in Jerusalem, had Jeremiah beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin for a day. After this, Jeremiah laments the travails and mockery that speaking God's word have caused him. He recounts how, if he tries to shut God's word inside, it burns in his heart and he is unable to hold it in.

Conflict with false prophets

While Jeremiah was prophesying the coming destruction, he denounced a number of other prophets who were prophesying peace. According to the book of Jeremiah, during the reign of King Zedekiah, the Lord instructed Jeremiah to make a yoke with the message that the nation would be subject to the king of Babylon. The false prophet Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah's neck and broke it, prophesying that within two years the Lord would break the yoke of the king of Babylon, but Jeremiah prophesied in return: "You have broken the yoke of wood, but you have made instead a yoke of iron."

Relationship with the Northern Kingdom (Samaria)

Jeremiah was sympathetic to, as well as descended from, the

northern Kingdom of Israel The Kingdom of Israel (), or the Kingdom of Samaria, was an Israelite kingdom in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. The kingdom controlled the areas of Samaria, Galilee and parts of Transjordan. Its capital, for the most part, was Sama ...

. Many of his first reported oracles are about, and addressed to, the Israelites at Samaria. He resembles the northern prophet Hosea in his use of language and examples of God's relationship to Israel. Hosea seems to have been the first prophet to describe the desired relationship as an example of ancient Israelite marriage, where a man might be polygamous, while a woman was only permitted one husband. Jeremiah often repeats Hosea's marital imagery.

Babylon

The biblical narrative portrays Jeremiah as being subject to additional persecutions. After Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be handed over to the Babylonian army, the king's officials, including Pashur the priest, tried to convince King Zedekiah that Jeremiah should be put to death for disheartening the soldiers and the people. Zedekiah allowed them, and they cast Jeremiah into a cistern, where he sank down into the mud. The intent seemed to be to kill Jeremiah by starvation, while allowing the officials to claim to be innocent of his blood. Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian, rescued Jeremiah by pulling him out of the cistern, but Jeremiah remained imprisoned until Jerusalem fell to the Babylonian army in 587 BC. The Babylonians released Jeremiah, and showed him great kindness, allowing him to choose the place of his residence, according to a Babylonian edict. Jeremiah accordingly went to

Mizpah in Benjamin Mizpah ( he, מִצְפָּה ''miṣpāh'', 'watch-tower, look-out') was a city of the tribe of Benjamin referred to in the Hebrew Bible. Tell en-Nasbeh is one of three sites often identified with Mizpah of Benjamin, and is located about 12 kilo ...

with

Gedaliah Gedaliah, Gedalia, Gedallah Hirsch, E. G. and Greenstone, J. H. (1906)Gedallah Jewish Encyclopedia or Gedalya(h) ( or ; he, גְּדַלְיָּה ''Gəḏalyyā'' or ''Gəḏalyyāhū'', meaning "Jah has become Great") was, according to the na ...

, who had been made governor of

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...

Egypt

Johanan succeeded

, who had been assassinated by an Israelite prince in the pay of

Ammon Ammon ( Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; he, עַמּוֹן ''ʻAmmōn''; ar, عمّون, ʻAmmūn) was an ancient Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in ...

"for working with the Babylonians." Refusing to listen to Jeremiah's counsel, Johanan fled to Egypt, taking with him Jeremiah and Baruch, Jeremiah's faithful scribe and servant, and the king's daughters. There, the prophet probably spent the remainder of his life, still seeking in vain to turn the people back to God. There is no authentic record of his death.

Historicity

The consensus is that there was a historical prophet named Jeremiah and that portions of the book probably were written by Jeremiah and/or his scribe Baruch. Views range from the belief that the narratives and poetic sections in Jeremiah are contemporary with his life (W. L. Holladay), to the view that the work of the original prophet is beyond identification or recovery (R. P. Carroll). See the extensive analysis in . First there were early collections of oracles, including material in ch. 2–6, 8–10, 13, 21–23, etc. Then there was an early Deuteronomistic redaction which Albertz dates to around 550 BC, with the original ending to the book at 25:13. There was a second redaction around 545-540 BC which added much more material, up to about ch. 45. Then there was a third redaction around 525–520 BC, expanding the book up to the ending at 51:64. Then there were further post-exilic redactions adding ch. 52 and editing content throughout the book. Although Jeremiah was often thought of traditionally as the author of the

, this is probably a collection of individual and communal laments composed at various times throughout the Babylonian captivity. Albertz considers ch. 2 as the oldest, dating shortly after the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC) and ch. 5 after the assassination of

, with the other chapters added later (p. 160).

Religious views

Judaism

In Jewish rabbinic literature, especially the aggadah, Jeremiah and Moses are often mentioned together, their life and works being presented in parallel lines. The following ancient

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

is especially interesting, in connection with , in which "a prophet like Moses" is promised: "As Moses was a prophet for forty years, so was Jeremiah; as Moses prophesied concerning Judah and Benjamin, so did Jeremiah; as Moses' own tribe he Levites under Korahrose up against him, so did Jeremiah's tribe revolt against him; Moses was cast into the water, Jeremiah into a pit; as Moses was saved by a slave (the slave of

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

's daughter); so, Jeremiah was rescued by a slave ( Ebed-melech); Moses reprimanded the people in discourses; so did Jeremiah." The prophet Ezekiel was a son of Jeremiah according to rabbinic literature. I
2 Maccabees 2:4ff
the subject is credited with hiding the Ark, incense altar, and tabernacle on the mountain of Moses.

Christianity

Christian worship

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

regularly included readings from the Book of Jeremiah. The author of the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...

is especially mindful of how the events in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus fulfill Jeremianic prophecies. There are about forty direct quotations of the book in the New Testament, most appearing in Revelation 18 in connection with the destruction of Babylon. The

Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Most ...

also picks up the fulfilment of the prophetic expectation of the new covenant.)

Islam

Jonah and the fish Jeremiah in wilderness Uzeyr awakened after the destruction of Jerusalem

As with many other prophets of the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

, Jeremiah is also regarded as a

in Islam. Although Jeremiah is not mentioned in the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

, Muslim exegesis and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

narrates many instances from the life of Jeremiah and fleshes out his narrative, which closely corresponds with the account given in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Classical historians such as Wahb ibn Munabbih gave accounts of Jeremiah which turned "upon the main points of the Old Testament story of Jeremiah: his call to be a prophet, his mission to the king of Judah, his mission to the people and his reluctance, the announcement of a foreign tyrant who is to rule over Judah." Moreover, some

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

s and tafsirs narrate that the

Parable of the Hamlet in Ruins The Qur'an, in its second chapter, Al-Baqara, , mentions a parable, concerning a man who passed by a hamlet in ruins, and asked himself how God will be able to resurrect the dead on the Day of Judgement. Muslims believe everything in the Quran to ...

is about Jeremiah. Also, in Sura 17(

Al-Isra Al-Isrāʾ ( ar, الإسراء; The Night Journey), also known as Banī Isrāʾīl ( ar, بني إسرائيل; The Children of Israel) is the 17th chapter (sūrah) of the Quran, with 111 verses ( āyāt). The word refers to the "night ...

), Ayah 4–7, that is about the two corruptions of children of Israel on the earth, some hadith and tafsir cite that one of these corruptions is the imprisonment and persecution of Jeremiah. Muslim

narrates a detailed account of the destruction of Jerusalem, which parallels the account given in the Book of Jeremiah.

Archaeology

Nebo-Sarsekim tablet

In July 2007, Assyrologist Michael Jursa translated a

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sh ...

tablet dated to 595 BC, as describing a Nabusharrussu-ukin as "the chief

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...

" of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. Jursa hypothesized that this reference might be to the same individual as the Nebo-Sarsekim mentioned in .

Seals

A 7th-century BC seal of Jehucal, son of Shelemiah and another of Gedaliah, son of Pashhur (mentioned together in Jeremiah 38:1; Jehucal also mentioned in Jeremiah 37:3) were found during excavation by

Eilat Mazar Eilat Mazar ( he, אילת מזר; 10 September 195625 May 2021) was an Israeli archaeologist. She specialized in Jerusalem and Phoenician archaeology. She was also a key person in Biblical archaeology noted for her discovery of the Large Ston ...

in the city of David,

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, in 2005 and 2008, respectively.

Tel Arad ostraca

Pottery shards at

Tel Arad Tel Arad ( he, תל ערד), in Arabic Tell 'Arad (تل عراد), is an archaeological tell, or mound, located west of the Dead Sea, about west of the modern Israeli city of Arad in an area surrounded by mountain ridges which is known as the ...

were unearthed in the 1970s that mention Pashhur, and this reference may be to the same individual mentioned in Jeremiah 20:1.

Veneration

He was first added to Bede's Martyrology.

Feast Day

* 16 January – commemoration of overthrowing the Idols by prophet Jeremiah ( OO) * 7 April –

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

delivers Jeremiah from prison ( OO) * 30 April – Martyrdom of Jeremiah the Prophet ( OO) * 1 May – commemoration in Catholic Church and

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

* 26 June – commemoration in LCMS ( R)

Liturgical hymns

Troparion Prophet Jeremias — Tone 2

Проро́ка Твоего́ Иереми́и па́мять, Го́споди, пра́зднующе,/ тем Тя мо́лим:// спаси́ ду́ши на́ша.

Proroka Tvoego Ieremii pamyat’, Gospodi, prazdnuyushche,/ tem Tya molim:// spasi dushi nasha.

Kontakion Prophet Jeremias — Tone 3

Очи́стив ду́хом, вели́кий проро́че и му́чениче,/ твое́ светоза́рное се́рдце,/ сла́вне Иереми́е,/ проро́чествия дар свы́ше прия́л еси́/ и возопи́л еси́ велегла́сно во страна́х:/ се Бог наш, и не приложи́тся ин к Нему́,// И́же, вопло́щся, на земли́ яви́лся есть.

Ochistiv dukhom, veliky proroche i mucheniche,/ tvoe svetozarnoe serdtse,/ slavne Ieremie,/ prorochestviya dar svyshe priyal yesi/ i vozopil yesi veleglasno vo stranakh:/ se Bog nash, i ne prilozhitsa in k Nemu,// Izhe, voploshchsya, na zemli yavilsya yest’.

Cultural influence

Jeremiah inspired the French noun ''jérémiade'', and subsequently the English ''jeremiad'', meaning "a lamentation; mournful complaint," or further, "a cautionary or angry harangue." Jeremiah has periodically been a popular first name in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, beginning with the early

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

settlers, who often took the names of biblical prophets and apostles. Jeremiah was substituted for the Irish ''Diarmuid/Diarmaid'' (also anglicised as Dermot), with which it has no etymological connection, when Gaelic names were frowned upon in official records. The name Jeremy also derives from Jeremiah.

References

Explanatory notes

Citations

Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * * Hirsch, Emil G.; et al.,
Jeremiah
''

The Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

'' (1906). {{Authority control 570s BC deaths 6th-century BC writers 6th-century BCE Jews 7th-century BC births 7th-century BC writers 7th-century BCE Jews Catholic saints Eastern Orthodox saints English masculine given names Jewish priests Martyrs Oriental Orthodox saints Tribe of Levi