Jeremiah 2

Mase'ei (Numbers 33:1-36:13) and Haftarah (Jeremiah 2:4-28; 3:4): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary shows teens in their own language how Torah addresses the issues in their world. The conversational tone is inviting and dignified, concise and substantial, direct and informative. Each pamphlet includes a general introduction, two model divrei Torah on the weekly Torah portion, and one model davar Torah on the weekly Haftarah portion. Jewish learning--for young people and adults--will never be the same. The complete set of weekly portions is available in Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin's book The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary (JPS, 2017).

This commentary on the book of Jeremiah understands the book as a work of religious literature, to be examined in its final form and yet with careful attention to the historical contexts of writing and development through which the present text took shape.

The "History of Cambridge" was originally published in 1877. Besides the historical narrative in the first volume, the second volume contains a very full and carefully compiled "Genealogical Register" of the early settlers and their descendants. These volumes are, in the most essential respects, models of what a town history should be. They contain the most important information obtainable from the sources then open to the author, and this is presented in a clear and concise narrative. In the estimation of those most competent to pass judgment, these volumes are authorities. But they are something more than authorities. They not only instruct; they inspire. Nobody deserves the privilege of growing up in this city who does not make himself familiar with these books. They are epitomes of the history, not only of this town, but of a good many other Puritan towns. It fills this place with memories of by-gone scenes and deeds which were precious to the people of those times, and are precious still to us, their descendants or successors.

A startling and thorough treatment of the prophecies of Jeremiah this exposition covers the background and history of the peoples involved in the prophecies of damnation to the nation of Israel, Judah and all those around them. Hope however is also present in the prophecies of a coming messiah realized in the coming of God himself, Jesus the Christ.

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.