As a supplement to the below, see the post at this site titled: Is Jeremiah a compilation of multiple speeches?
- Extracts from Some More of the OT Apocrypha: the Letter of Jeremiah, Additions to Daniel, and 1 Maccabees – Bart Ehrman
- Joel Baden at Yale Bible Study – “Jeremiah: Prophet, Collaborator.”
- Did Jeremiah praise God or only rant against idolatry? (Jeremiah 10) – From Searching for the “Original” Bible. Do the Dead Sea Scrolls help? By Emanuel Tov
Extracts from Some More of the OT Apocrypha: the Letter of Jeremiah, Additions to Daniel, and 1 Maccabees – Bart Ehrman
The Letter of Jeremiah
This is one of the shortest books of Apocrypha—it is only one chapter long, and in the Latin tradition of the Roman Catholic Church it is included as the final chapter of the book of Baruch. The book is allegedly written by the prophet Jeremiah, sent to the Judeans bound for Babylonian exile. In exile they will be among people who worship other gods through idols. This book is nothing but an attack on pagan idolatry.
The real historical context of the writing is a situation in which Jews around the world were surrounded by idol worship. It may have been produced in the aftermath of the Maccabean Revolt; it appears to have been composed in Hebrew or Aramaic.
Much of the book consists of a mockery of idols and those who make them. We are told that one idol “holds a scepter, like a district judge, but is unable to destroy anyone who offends it. Another has a dagger in its right hand, and an ax, but cannot defend itself from war and robbers” (Jeremiah 6:14–15). In other words, idols are powerless not only to help their worshipers but even to help themselves. They are made by “carpenters and goldsmiths” and they can be put into any form that the artisan desires. “Those who make them will certainly not live very long themselves; how then can the things that are made by them be gods?” (Jeremiah 6:45–47). “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber bed, which guards nothing, so are their gods of wood, overlaid with gold and silver” (Jeremiah 6:70).
This kind of attack on idolatry makes a lot of sense to most readers today, as it did to Jews in antiquity. On the other hand, pagans who used idols in their worship would have been a bit baffled by it all, since as a rule they did not actually think the idols were gods. The idols were simply representations of gods and, sometimes thought, the physical means through which the transcendent gods worked their power. But to outsiders, such as Jews, the entire worship practices of pagans seemed foolish, and it was easy indeed to mock it by pointing out that idols are made out of wood that rots and metal that rusts, and so have no real existence or power.
Joel Baden at Yale Bible Study – “Jeremiah: Prophet, Collaborator.”
The episode is a converation between Dr. Sarah Drummond and Dr. Joel S. Baden titled “Jeremiah: Prophet, Collaborator.”. Baden directly describes Jeremiah as a historical collaborator with the Babylonians and explains why he interprets Jeremiah’s opposition to armed resistance in those terms. The episode page includes a transcript, so you can read Baden’s words directly rather than relying on a summary.
2. Baden’s exact words: “I read him as sort of historically as a collaborator with the Babylonians.”
He then explains his reasoning: “This is a guy whose entire prophetic career was built on saying, ‘Stop fighting them, just let them in. This is God’s punishment. Let them all come in and conquer us and do whatever they want.’” Baden continues by observing that Jeremiah was hated by his fellow Israelites for this position but was loved by the Babylonians.
3. Biblical passages behind Baden’s interpretation
These passages help explain the historical circumstances underlying his characterization.
| Passage | What the text says |
|---|---|
| Jeremiah 27:1–11 | Jeremiah uses a yoke as a symbol of Babylonian domination and tells the surrounding nations to submit to Nebuchadnezzar rather than resist him. |
| Jeremiah 27:12–15 | Jeremiah urges King Zedekiah of Judah to submit to the king of Babylon. |
| Jeremiah 28:1–17 | Jeremiah disputes the prophet Hananiah, who predicts that Babylon’s domination will soon end. |
| Jeremiah 38:17–23 | Jeremiah tells Zedekiah that surrender will preserve Jerusalem’s survival, whereas resistance will lead to the city’s destruction. |
ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com
Many biblical scholars believe that Jeremiah Chapter 38 is an insertion into the narrative sequence between Chapters 37 and 39, though it is not necessarily out of chronological order. These chapters recount events leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE and are part of the same broader narrative. However, Chapter 38 appears to provide additional detail about Jeremiah’s imprisonment and his interactions with Zedekiah that complement, rather than directly advance, the storyline.
Reasons for This View:
- Repetition of Events:
- Chapter 37 ends with Jeremiah being confined in the court of the guardhouse, and Chapter 39 begins with the fall of Jerusalem.
- Chapter 38 revisits Jeremiah’s situation, describing another imprisonment (in a cistern), raising questions about whether these accounts are separate events or expansions on the same event.
- Thematic and Narrative Flow:
- Chapter 38 provides more depth to Zedekiah’s wavering leadership and fear of Babylonian retaliation. This chapter is often seen as adding context to the decisions described in Chapters 37 and 39.
- The interplay between Jeremiah, Zedekiah, and the court officials in Chapter 38 reveals the political and personal tensions leading up to the city’s fall, enriching the story.
- Literary Style:
- The Book of Jeremiah is not strictly chronological or cohesive in its arrangement. Scholars note that the book may have been compiled from multiple sources or oral traditions, leading to overlaps and insertions for theological emphasis or narrative completeness.
- Textual Evidence:
- Some scholars suggest that the narrative could have been arranged or expanded during the compilation of Jeremiah’s writings after the fall of Jerusalem, possibly by Baruch (Jeremiah’s scribe) or later redactors.
Conclusion:
Rather than being a strictly linear addition, Chapter 38 is often viewed as a detailed vignette, offering a fuller picture of Jeremiah’s plight and Zedekiah’s moral struggle during the siege. It enriches the larger narrative but creates some interpretive challenges due to its overlap with the surrounding chapters.
Did Jeremiah praise God or only rant against idolatry? (Jeremiah 10)
From Searching for the “Original” Bible. Do the Dead Sea Scrolls help? By Emanuel Tov
The prophet Jeremiah is well known for his rants against idolatry. In one of his most outspoken utterances, he eloquently mocks the idols, but also praises the Lord. Listen to the prophet, as quoted in the Masoretic Text (I have put his praise of the Lord in italics, in contrast to his mockery of the idols):
3… For it is the work of a craftsman’s hands.
He cuts down a tree in the forest with an ax,
4 He adorns it with silver and gold,
He fastens it with nails and hammer,
So that it does not totter.
Be not afraid of them, for they can do no harm;
Nor is it in them to do any good.
6 O Lord, there is none like You!
You are great and Your name is great in power.
7 Who would not revere You, O King of the nations?
For that is Your due,
Since among all the wise of the nations
And among all their royalty
There is none like You.
8 But they are both dull and foolish;
[Their] doctrine is but delusion;
It is a piece of wood,2
9 Silver beaten flat, that is brought from Tarshish,
And gold from Uphaz,
The work of a craftsman and the goldsmith’s hands;
Their clothing is blue and purple,
All of them are the work of skilled men.
10 But the Lord is truly God:
He is a living God,
The everlasting King,
At His wrath, the earth quakes,
And nations cannot endure His rage.
(Jeremiah 10:3–10, JPS)
This same pattern continues, but this is enough to raise the question: Have the passages praising the Lord been added by a later scribe or redactor?
The question is raised rather insistently because the verses of praise are lacking in the Septuagint. More recently, in a text of this passage among the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QJerb), the italicized passages praising the Lord are also lacking. On this basis it is often argued that the shorter text from the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls reflect the original form and that the Masoretic Text reflects a later tradition in which the praise of the Lord has been added in contrast to the futility of the idols. Indeed, in the development of Scripture, usually elements were added, not deleted. Moreover, it is intrinsically more plausible that verses of praise were added than omitted.
Which text reflects the original words of the prophet? In an abstract way, both may be original: The short text, containing only the mockery, reflects a first stage in the prophet’s thinking. This early formulation may have been expanded, either by the prophet himself or by a later scribe or redactor. In that case, we learn about the system of expanding text in the course of its literary history. The relatively late Dead Sea Scroll fragment and the Septuagint thus help us to understand the complicated composition history of this book.
Tov, Emanuel. “Searching for the ‘Original’ Bible,” Biblical Archaeology Review 40.4 (2014): 48–53, 68.
