A Book Of Jeremiah

Ferment is the correct word by which to characterize current Jeremiah studies, a deep and broad stirring that relies on previous scholarship but that seeks to move beyond that scholarship in bold and new ways. This collection of fine essays not only reflects that ferment but in important ways contributes to it and advances the discussion. Most broadly, the current discussion seeks to move beyond the historical-critical categories of Sigmund Mowinckel and Bernhard Duhm and the classic formulation of three sources, A, B, and C. In Jeremiah as in other parts of biblical scholarship, the new questions concern the inadequacy of historical-critical readings of a positivistic kind and the prospect of synchronic readings, either through ideological analysis that seeks to show that ideology shapes the book, or through canonical readings that find a large theological intentionality to the whole of the book. It turns out, perforce, that ideological and canonical readings are closely twinned in their judgment about the literature. This present collection, which includes both new voices and some of the established major players in the discussion, merits important attention." From the preface, by Walter Brueggemann

Thompson's study on the Book of Jeremiah is part of The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Like its companion series on the New Testament, this commentary devotes considerable care to achieving a balance between technical information and homiletic-devotional interpretation.

The prophet Jeremiah addressed the people of Judah over a forty-year period leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC. The book of Jeremiah addresses the exiles, especially those in Babylon, in the years after the catastrophe. In this Bible Speaks Today volume, we encounter the prophet who delivered the word of God to the people of Israel at the most terrifying time in their history. Understanding Jeremiah's context is essential to understanding his life and message. Even more, Christopher Wright shows, we must encounter the God of Jeremiah—an encounter that should be both profoundly disturbing and ultimately reassuring, as it was for Jeremiah. In the end, Jeremiah is a book about the victory of God's love and grace. God's redemptive work constitutes the book's portrait of the future—a future that we see fulfilled in the New Testament through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah, and ultimately in God's dwelling with his redeemed people forever in the new creation. Part of the beloved Bible Speaks Today series, The Message of Jeremiah offers an insightful, readable exposition of the biblical text and thought-provoking discussion of how its meaning relates to contemporary life. Used by students and teachers around the world, the Bible Speaks Today commentaries are ideal for those studying or preaching the Bible and anyone who wants to delve deeper into the text. This revised edition features lightly updated language and a new interior design.

Of the Major Prophets, Jeremiah is perhaps the least straightforward. It is variously comprised of stories about the prophet Jeremiah, exchanges between Jeremiah and Yahweh, and messages directly from Yahweh--meaning a consciousness of form is essential to the understanding of its content. At times it is written in poetry, resembling Isaiah, while at other times it is written in prose, more similar to Ezekiel. And it is without doubt the darkest and most threatening of the Major Prophets, inviting comparisons to Amos and Hosea. John Goldingay, a widely respected biblical scholar who has written extensively on the entire Old Testament, navigates these complexities in the same spirit as other volumes of the New International Commentary on the Old Testament series--rooted in Jeremiah's historical context but with an eye always trained on its meaning and use as Christian Scripture. After a thorough introduction that explores matters of background, composition, and theology, Goldingay provides an original translation and verse-by-verse commentary of all fifty-two chapters, making this an authoritative and indispensable reference for scholars and pastors as they engage with Jeremiah from a contemporary Christian standpoint.

In Jeremiah 52 in the Context of the Book of Jeremiah, Henk de Waard offers a thorough examination of the final chapter of the book of Jeremiah. Particular attention is paid to the chapter's relationship with the parallel text in 2 Kings 24:18-25:30, to the differences between the Masoretic text and the Old Greek translation, to the literary function of Jeremiah 52 within the book of Jeremiah, and to the chapter's historical context.De Waard shows that, especially in the early text form represented by the Old Greek, Jeremiah 52 is not a mere appendix to the book, but a golah-oriented epilogue, indicating the contrasting destinies of pre-exilic Judah and the exilic community in Babylon.

This new work is a companion volume to de Waard’s work on Isaiah, published in collaboration with the United Bible Societies. The volume moves section by section through the Book of Jeremiah to analyze textual problems and present exegetical solutions.

In Ancient Hebrew Periodization and the Language of the Book of Jeremiah, Aaron Hornkohl attempts to date this biblical work, both as a whole and according to the constituent layers of which it is apparently composed, on the basis of diachronic linguistic typology.