Jeremiah: Prophet Like Moses
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Jack R. Lundbom
Jack R. Lundbom is a life member at Clare Hall, CambridgeUniversity. Among his prior publications are JeremiahCloser Up and The Hebrew Prophets: AnIntroduction.
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Jeremiah - Jack R. Lundbom
Jeremiah
Prophet Like Moses
JACK R. LUNDBOM
22010.pngJeremiah
Prophet Like Moses
Copyright ©
2015
Jack R. Lundbom. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers,
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8
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97401
.
Cascade Books
An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199
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8
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ISBN
13
:
978-1-62564-791-7
EISBN
13
:
978-1-4982-8001-3
Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Jack R. Lundbom
Jeremiah: prophet like moses
180 + xii p. ;
23
cm. Includes bibliographical references.
Cascade Companions
ISBN
13: 978-1-62564-791-7
1. Bible—Old Testament 2. Bible—Prophets 3. Bible—Jeremiah
I. Title II. Series
BS152a6.57 L76 2015
Manufactured in the U.S.A. 02/05/2015
Scriptural citations are from the RSV, NRSV, JB, AB, or are my own.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Preface
Abbreviations
Chapter 1: A Prophet Like Moses
Chapter 2: I Will Be With You
Chapter 3: I Saw the Earth . . . and the Heavens
Chapter 4: Hear the Words of the Covenant and Do Them
Chapter 5: Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace
Chapter 6: Do Justice and Righteousness
Chapter 7: Is Not My Word Like Fire . . . Like a Hammer?
Chapter 8: Who Can Make My Head Waters . . . My Eyes a Well of Tears?
Chapter 9: Cursed Be the Day, Cursed Be the Man
Chapter 10: Before Me You Shall Stand
Chapter 11: A Prophet to the Nations I Made You
Chapter 12: I Will Cut . . . a New Covenant
Bibliography
Cascade Companions
The Christian theological tradition provides an embarrassment of riches: from scripture to modern scholarship, we are blessed with a vast and complex theological inheritance. And yet this feast of traditional riches is too frequently inaccessible to the general reader.
The Cascade Companions series addresses the challenge by publishing books that combine academic rigor with broad appeal and readability. They aim to introduce nonspecialist readers to that vital storehouse of authors, documents, themes, histories, arguments, and movements that comprise this heritage with brief yet compelling volumes.
recent titles in this series:
Reading Augustine by Jason Byassee
Conflict, Community, and Honor by John H. Elliott
An Introduction to the Desert Fathers by Jason Byassee
Reading Paul by Michael J. Gorman
Theology and Culture by D. Stephen Long
Creation and Evolution by Tatha Wiley
Theological Interpretation of Scripture by Stephen Fowl
Reading Bonhoeffer by Geffrey B. Kelly
Justpeace Ethics by Jarem Sawatsky
Feminism and Christianity by Caryn D. Griswold
Angels, Worms, and Bogeys by Michelle A. Clifton-Soderstrom
Christianity and Politics by C. C. Pecknold
A Way to Scholasticism by Peter S. Dillard
Theological Theodicy by Daniel Castelo
The Letter to the Hebrews in Social-Scientific Perspective
by David A. deSilva
Basil of Caesarea by Andrew Radde-Galwitz
A Guide to St. Symeon the New Theologian by Hannah Hunt
Reading John by Christopher Skinner
Forgiveness by Anthony Bash
Jacob Arminius by Rustin Brian
The Rule of Faith by Everett Ferguson
To
Tony Gelston
Scholar, Colleague, and Friend
Preface
The invitation to write this book on Jeremiah for the Cascade Companions series gives me another opportunity to present one of the truly great Hebrew prophets and extraordinary individuals of the ancient world to the general reader, who will not likely break open a commentary or read a technical essay on the prophet and biblical book bearing his name. I am grateful for the opportunity, and hope the present work will fulfill the publisher’s aim, which is to provide books that combine academic rigor with broad appeal and readability.
I have been generous in citing specific passages from the book of Jeremiah, convinced as I am that by reading the biblical text the reader will gain a sharper insight into what this prophet said and did, and how tradition preserved this legacy, than if too much comment is provided by the interpreter. In the present work there is interpretation, to be sure, but I hope it is not too much.
The essay in chapter 5, Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace,
was given earlier to the Logos Forum in Beijing, China, on October 16, 2014.
I am pleased to dedicate this book to a valued Old Testament colleague and friend, Anthony Gelston, who for many years taught with distinction in the Theology Department of Durham University (UK). Tony was my host at Durham during the 1994–95 academic year, when Linda and I resided in St. Chad’s College, and I was working on my Jeremiah commentary for the Anchor Bible. We both have fond memories of that year, which was Tony’s last year of teaching before retirement. After retirement, Tony began the task of preparing the apparatus for the Minor Prophets in Biblica Hebraica Quinta, which is now published. Readers of the Hebrew Bible, now and for years to come, are in his debt for this important work.
Scriptural translations of Jeremiah are from my Jeremiah Anchor Bible commentary; those of Deuteronomy from my Deuteronomy commentary (Eerdmans, 2014); others are from the RSV or NRSV, in a few cases modified by marginal readings or by my own renderings of the Hebrew.
Jack R. Lundbom
February 14, 2015.
Abbreviations
AB The Anchor Bible. Edited by W. F. Albright and David Noel Freedman.
ANE Ancient Near East
ANET3 James B. Pritchard, ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3rd ed. with supp. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969.
Geog. Strabo, The Geography
HAMR Hymns Ancient and Modern Revised (Norwich, UK: Canterbury, 1981)
Heb Hebrew
Hist. Herodutus, The History
Int Interpretation
JJS Journal of Jewish Studies
LCL Loeb Classical Library
LXX The Greek Septuagint of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament
MT The Massoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament
NKZ Neue Kirchliche Zeitschrift
NRSV New Revised Standard Version of the Bible
RSV Revised Standard Version of the Bible
SEÅ Svensk Exegetisk Årsbok
Sic. Diodorus of Sicily
Chapter 1
A Prophet Like Moses
Life of the Prophet Jeremiah
Call, Acceptance, and Commission
Whereas we know considerably more about Jeremiah than we do about any other Hebrew prophet, about his early years we know very little. We are left to reconstruct his youth and early career from but a few details accompanying chronological notes in the book (1:1–2; 3:6; 25:1–3; 36:1–2), and from oracles within chapters 1–20 and 30–31 containing reform themes and a hope for the return of exiles from Assyria. It is, however, still possible to sketch in broad outline Jeremiah’s life and ministry during the reign of Josiah, even if details are unavailable.¹ From the beginning of Jehoiakim’s reign, i.e., 609 BC, we know much better the activities of the prophet and the march of events because of prose in the book that is dated.
We learn from the superscription to the book that Jeremiah was born into a priestly family at Anathoth, a village three miles north of Jerusalem. Anathoth, although close to the capital city of the Southern Kingdom, nevertheless belonged to Benjamin, which was part of the Northern Kingdom, and it preserved northern traditions at the sanctuary there.
Anathoth was a village of priests, and Jeremiah’s father, Hilkiah, may have descended from Abiathar, a priest of David whom Solomon retired to Anathoth after he became king (1 Kgs 2:26–27). Anathoth preserved traditions from Shiloh, Israel’s first sanctuary located a short distance to the north. Shiloh was remembered not for Eli, its resident priest, but for Samuel who grew up under Eli and became the last of the Judges, a seer of reputation, and most importantly the first in a line of great Israelite prophets. Jeremiah recalled Shiloh’s destruction (Jer 7:12–14; 26:4–6), a memory too painful to receive even passing mention in Israel’s historical accounts. But it was remembered in Ps 78:60.
Jeremiah received his call to be a prophet in the thirteenth year of Josiah (Jer 1:2, 4), which was 627 BC. From the call passage in chapter 1 we see unmistakable parallels between Jeremiah and Samuel. Both grew up in Israelite sanctuaries under the instruction of priests, and both received their first revelation from Yahweh as young boys. Hebrew na‘ar is rightly translated boy
in 1 Sam 3:1, 8 and Jer 1:6–7 (NRSV). Both learned at a young age that Yahweh was about to bring judgment and destruction, and that they were the ones selected to convey that word—in Samuel’s case to Eli the priest (1 Sam 3:11–14), and in Jeremiah’s case to nations and kingdoms
(Jer 1:10). Both were naturally afraid of what this would entail. Samuel was doubtless relieved when Eli accepted the judgment on him and his house (1 Sam 3:18). Jeremiah was given only a promise, but it was a good one: Yahweh would deliver him from all those rising up against him (Jer 1:8).
From the passage reporting Jeremiah’s call it is clear that so far as Jeremiah’s own self-understanding was concerned, the prophet looming largest for him was Moses. Jeremiah’s vision before a budding almond tree recalled Moses’ vision of a burning bush (Jer 1:11–12; Exod 3:2–6), and Jeremiah’s protestation about being unable to speak had a parallel in Moses’ demur about not being eloquent (Jer 1:6; Exod 4:10–17). There was more. In Deuteronomy, which achieved written form in the late monarchy, most likely in the seventh century, Moses too had become a prophet—indeed, he was the greatest of all prophets (Deut 34:10–12). Yahweh told Moses in Deuteronomy that in future days he would raise up a prophet like him:
A prophet I will raise up for them, from the midst of their
brethren, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth,
and he will speak to them all that I command him.
(Deut
18
:
18
)
Jeremiah understood himself to be this prophet like Moses.
He hears Yahweh saying to him:
Look, I have put my words in your mouth,
See, I have appointed you this day,
over the nations and over the kingdoms,
to uproot and to break down,
and to destroy and to overthrow,
to build up and to plant.
(Jer
1
:
9
b–
10
)
Jeremiah did not accept Yahweh’s call when it came to him. Unlike Isaiah, he was not ready to accept. Nor was Yahweh ready for an acceptance. Yahweh said in the vision following that his word awaited a later fulfillment (Jer 1:12).
We learn of Jeremiah’s acceptance only later, when in one of his confessions he reflects back on the time when acceptance took place. Jeremiah says:
Your words were found and I ate them,
and your word was to me for joy,
and for the gladness of my heart,
For your name is called upon me,
Yahweh, the God of hosts.
I sat not in the happy crowd and acted jolly,
because of your hand, all alone I sat,
for with indignation you filled me.
(Jer
15
:
16–17
)
Jeremiah is referring to the finding of the law book in the Temple during the reform of Josiah (2 Kgs 22:8–20), and says that he was joyful when the promised words of Yahweh came into his mouth. He had not been joyful when the call first came. Jeremiah goes on to say, however, that now he is filled with bitterness as the words have penetrated more deeply and have brought him much pain. What was written on this scroll we do not know, but based on the oracle given by the prophetess Huldah after the law book was found (2 Kgs 22:16–17), it appears she was making contemporary a portion of the old Song of Moses poem (Deut 32:15–22).² Jeremiah’s acceptance, in any case, can be dated at 622 BC, when the law book was found. The prophet designate was five years older than he was at the time the call was received.
Jeremiah was now ready to be commissioned for prophetic office, and we can assume the commissioning took place soon after the prophet’s acceptance. The reporting of the divine commissioning comes in Jer 1:13–19, and with it comes another vision, this one of a boiling pot over fire about to spill over. There are rumblings already of a menacing foe coming from the north. Babylon is stirring in the lower Euphrates after Assurbanipal’s death in 627, but not until 612 will it destroy Nineveh with help from the Medes, and not until 605 will Nebuchadnezzar be in the Philistine Plain destroying Ashkelon and Ekron. Nevertheless, a foe is on the rise, and Jeremiah is warned that it will threaten Judah.
Early Career as a Prophet
From 622 to 609 Judah enjoyed a period of relative peace, with the Assyrians pulling out of the territory to the north; the young Josiah carrying out a reform and covenant renewal in Jerusalem; hope arising in the prophet and others that exiles taken away to Assyria would return home and make their way to Zion (Jer 31:1–6, 7–9, 10–14); and that Israel would once again be united as in the time of David and Solomon.
During this time Jeremiah preached major reform themes of doing away with foreign worship and returning to the covenant brokered by Moses at Sinai. Covenant people must return to Yahweh, where the Hebrew word shub also translates as repent
(Jer 2:1–4:4). Jeremiah’s earliest preaching contains echoes of the Song of Moses, which censures in the strongest terms Israel’s abandoning Yahweh and going after other gods.
During Josiah’s reign the prophet doubtless spoke some of