A 1:1-3. Introduction.
B 1:4-19. Jeremiah's commission given.
C 2:1 - 20:18. Prophecies addressed to Jerusalem.
D 21:1 - 35:19. History, &c. Jehoiakim. (Not Chrono.)
E 36:1-22. Baruch's mission to Jehoiakim.
D 37:1 - 45:5. History, &c. Zedekiah. (Not Chrono.)
C 46:1 - 51:64-. Prophecies addressed to Nations.
B 51:-64. Jeremiah's commission ended.
A 52:1-34. Conclusion.
For the Canonical order and place of the Prophets, see the Structure of the Books of the O.T. according to the Hebrew Canon and notes on the Structure of the Minor Prophets as a whole
The the Chronological order and the Inner-Relation of the prophetic Books
519 B.C. In the 12th year of his reign JOSIAH begins his Reformation. 2 Chron.34:3.
518 In the 13th year JEREMIAH begins his prophecies. Jer.1:2; 25:3.
513 In the 18th year the LAW is "found" (to which Jeremiah refers to in 15:16, after Josiah's death)
and the Passover held. 2 Kings 22:8. 2 Chron.34:14; 35:19
500 JOSIAH dies. Shallum's 3 months. JEHOIAKIM made king to by Pharoah Necho. 2 Kings 23:34.
497 In the 3rd year of Jehoiakim (Dan.1:1. 2 Kings 24:1-8) NEBUCHADNEZZAR "comes up against Jerusalem,
besieges, and takes city in the year
496 following, which is the 4th of Jehoiakim and 1st of Nebuchanezzar. In this year Daniel is taken to
Babylon. Dan.1:2. 2 Kings 24:1-7. & the Roll is written (Jer.36:1-4) in the 23rd year from
the 13th of Josiah.
495 In the succeeding year, Nebuchanezzar's 2nd year, he has his Dream, and in the 9th month of the
same year Jehoiakim burns the Roll. Dan.2:1-49. Jer.36:23.NOTE "The Roll" was written in the year of the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (496) and it was burned in the year of his Dream (495). The Word of YAHAVEH written and for the last time presented officially to Judah, is followed by its official rejection. Hence the announcement in vision to Nebuchadnezzar: of Nations supremacy until "the Times of the Nations be fulfilled" (1 Kings 21:24).
The Septuagint translation of Jeremiah differs both in matter and form from the Massoetic Hebrew Text. It is a paraphrase rather than a Version, and an Exposition rather than a Translation. It is not therefore to be regarded as representing an independent Hebrew Text, but as a paraphrase, often abbreviated, and often inaccurate. No Hebrew MS. ever seen corresponds with a text from which the Septuagint professes to have been derived.
The prophecies of Jeremiah do not profess to be given in Chronological order; nor is there any reason why they should be given so. Why, we ask, should modern critics first assume that they ought to be, and then condemn them because they are not?
Having regard to the Formulae of prophetic utterances, there appear to be some 51 distinct and clearly marked prophecies, commencing with some such formula as "The Word of Yahaveh came", &c. It would have been well if the Book could have been divided into 51 Chapter (instead of 52) so as to coincide with these.
Jeremiah was "the son of Hilkiah of the priests that were in Anathoth"
HISTORY. He was called very young to the prophetic office; but we have hardly any mention of him during the 18 years between his call and Josiah's death, or during the short reign of Jehoahaz. During the reign of Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin he opposed the Egyptian party, then dominant in Jerusalem, and maintained that the only way of safety lay in accenting the supremacy of the Chaldeans. He was accordingly accused of treachery, and men claiming to be the prophets had "their word of Yahavehh" to set against his. Jer.14:13; 23:7. As the danger from the Chaldeans became more threatening, the persecution of Jeremiah grew hotter. Ch. 18. The people sought his life; then follows the scene in Jer.19:10-13. He was set, however, "as a fenced brazen wall", 15:20, and went on with his work, reproving king and nobles and people. The danger which Jeremiah had so long foretold at last came near. First Jehoiakim, and afterwards his successor Jehoiachin, where carried into exile, 2 Kings 24; but Zedekiah, who was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, was more friendly to the prophet, though powerless to help him. The approach of an Egyptian army, and the consequent departure of the Chaldeans, made the position of Jeremiah full of danger, and he sought to effect his escape from the city; but he was seized and finally thrown into a prison-pit to die, but was rescued. O the return of the Chaldean army he showed his faith in God's promises, and sought to encourage the people by purchasing the field at Anathoth which his kinsman Hanameel wished to get rid of. Jer.32:6-9. At last the blow came. The city was taken, the Temple burnt. The king and his princes shared the fate of Jehoiachin. The prophet gave utterance to his sorrow in Lamentations. After the capture of Jerusalem, by the Chaldeans, we find Jeremiah receiving better treatment; but after the death of Cedaliah, the people, disregarding his warnings, took refuge in Egypt, carrying the prophet with them. In captivity his words were sharper and stronger than ever. He did not shrink, even there, from speaking of the Chaldean king once more as "the servant of Yehovah". Jer.43:10. Secular history shows that Jeremiah, with his scibe Baruch, visited Great Brittan after his time in Egypt, taking with him the daughters of Zedekiah, thus preserving the Davidic king line which still exist in Great Britain today, along with the Stone of Scone, Jacobs pillar!!!
CHARACTER. Cannon Cook says of Jeremiah, "His character is most interesting. We find him sensitive to a most painful degree, timid, shy, hopeless, despondent, constantly complaining and dissatisfied with the course of events, but never flinching from duty.... Timid in resolve, he was unflinching in execution; as fearless when he had to face the whole world as he was dispirited and prone to murmuring when alone with God. Judged by his own estimate of himself, he was feeble, and his mission a failure; really, in the hour of action and when duty called him, he was in very truth "a defensed city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land". !:18. He was a noble example of the triumph of the moral over the physical nature."
(It is not strange that he was despondent when we consider his circumstances. He saw the nation going straight to irredeemable ruin, and turning a deaf ear to all warnings. "A reign of terror had commenced (in the preceding reign), during which not only the prophets but all who were distinguished for religion and virtue were cruelly murdered". "The nation tried to extirpate the religion of Yahovah". Idolatry was openly established", "and such was he universal dishonesty that no man trusted another, and society was utterly disorganized". How could one who saw the nation about to reap the awful harvest they had been sowing, and yet had a vision of what they might have been and might yet be, help indulging in "Lamentation"?)
It omits about 1/8th of the Hebrew Text, or about 2,700 words; while the changes manifest the carelessness and arbitrariness of the translator or translators. Indeed, the Hebrew language does not seem to have been understood, or its meaning apprehended; for, when the sense of a word could not be understood, it was summarily transliterated in Greek characters.
It is needless therefore to treat it seriously, or to set out in any tables wherein such differences consist.
It is the historical portions, which concern JEHOIAKIM and ZEDEKIAH, that are chiefly so affected. And, who was Jehoiakim that his history should be of any importance? Was it not he who "cut up he Word of Yahaveh with a penknife, and cast it in the fire"? Why should not his history be "cut up"? ZEDEKIAH rejected the same Word of Yahaveh. Why should his history be respected?
Secular authors take the liberty of arranging their own literary matter as they choose; why should this liberty be denied to the sacred writers? The fact that the canonical and chronological portions have each their own particular Structures, and both are perfect, shows that both orders have the same Divine Author.
Jeremiah's prophecy is dated (1:2,3) as being "in the days of Josiah...in the 13th year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah...to the end of the 11th year of Zedekiah...to the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the 5th month."
The 13th year of Josiah was 518 B.C.
The 11th year of Zedekiah was 477 B.C.
Therefore the whole period covered by Jeremiah was 41 years.
It is highly probable that this period was exactly 40 years - the last probationary period (#40 = probation) vouchsafed by Yahaveh, before Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple burnt (like the corresponding period of probation covered by the Acts of the Apostles, before the destruction of the second Temple). But, as the month in the 13th year of Josiah, at which the Word first came to Jeremiah, is not stated, the whole period has to be shown as above, viz. 41 years.
JEREMIAH = whom Yahaveh raises up, or launches forth
A A1 1. The Prophet. His Person. A2 2. The Prophet. His Call. Its time. A3 3. The Prophet. His Ministry. Its duration.
518 to 500 B.C.
Jeremiah 1)
1 The words (or, prophecies [vv.4,9; 2:1,4, &c.]. Cp. 36:1,2; but better "words", as the historic portions are also Yahaveh's words. Cp. Amos 1:1) of Jeremiah (= whom Yahaveh raises up, or launches forth. Heb. yirmeyahu) the son of Hilkiah (= Yah is my potion. not the high priest of that name, who was of the line of Eleazar [1 Chron. 6:4,13]; whereas Anathoth (= answer to prayer. It was the priest town) belonged to that of Ithamar [1 Chron. 24:3,6]. Cp.2 Chron. 34), of the priests (besides Jeremiah, Nathan [1 Kigs 4:5], Ezekiel [1:3], and probably Zechariah [1:1] were of priestly origin) that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: (Now Anata, 3 mile north-east of Jerusalem. Jeremiah was persecuted there before he prophesied in Jerusalem [11:21; 12:6]. This prepared him for later conflicts [cp. 12:5,6])
2 To whom the word of the Lord (Yahaveh) came (it is remarkable that, in the four longer prophets, this formula is almost entirely confined to the two who were priests [Jeremiah and Ezekiel]. Cp. Gen. 15:1. 1 Sam. 9:27; 15:10. 2 Sam. 7:4; 24:11. 1 Kings 12:22. 1 Chron. 17:3; 22:8.2 Chron. 11:2; 12:7. Ezek. 1:3; 14:12. Hos. 1:1. Joel 1:1, &c.) in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah (= whom Yahaveh heals. Three kings named here and in v.3. Two others not named here [Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin], who only reigned 3 months each [2 Kings 23:31; 24:8]), in the 13th year of his reign. (a year before Josiah began his reformation [2 Chron. 34:3], 518 B.C. 66 years after Isaiah ended. From 2 Chron. 34:22, Jeremiah was probably still at Anathoth. #13 = rebellion. #66 = idol worship [biblical numerics])
3 It came also in the days (see note on Gen.14:1) of Jehoiakim (= whom Yahaveh sets up) the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. (July-August, the month that Jerusalem was destroyed [52:12. 2 Kings 25:3,8]. After that, Jeremiah continued in the Land [40:1; 42:7]; and, later, in Egypt [chapters 43,44])
B B C a 4-7. Commission given. Command.
b 8-. "Be not afraid". "
D c -8. "I am with you". Encouragement.
d 9,10. "I have this day", &c. "
E e 11. Vision (almond tree). Mission.
f 12. Explanation. "
E e 13. Vision. (seething pot). "
f 14-16. Explanation. "
B C a 17-. Commission given. Command.
b -17. "Be not dismayed}. "
D d 18,19-. "I have this day". Encouragement.
c -19. "I am with you". "
8 Be not afraid of their faces: (see Ex. 3:12; Deut. 31:6. Cp. Ezekiel [Ezek. 2:6]; Paul [Acts 26:17])
for I am with you to deliver you," [is] the Lord's oracle. (You don't have to worry about it.)
9 Then the Lord put forth His hand, and touched my mouth (cp. Isaiah [Isa. 6:6,7]; Ezekiel [Ezek. 2:8,9]; Daniel [Dan. 10:16]). And the Lord said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. (This is inspiration. See Deut.18:18. Cp. Acts 1:16. David's "mouth", but not David's "words".)
10 See, I have this day set you (not only appointed, but installed) over the nations and over the kingdoms, to declare that nations should be rooted out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to declare that others (Israel and Judah) should be restored." (cp. Ezek. 17:22-24. A prophecy still future.)
12 Then said the Lord to me, "You have well seen: for I will hasten My word to perform it." (= I am watching. Forming a figure of speech, "an almond tree....I am watching", thus emphasizing the certainty)
14 Then the Lord said to me, "Out of the north the calamity (see Isa.45:7) shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, (frequently put, as here, by fig., for the principal or greater part) [is] the Lord's oracle; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem (where the kings of Judah had sat to judge and rule. Fulfilled in 39:3, for here the setting is hostile), and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. (It was Nebuchadnezzar. Now, you see it being swarmed.)
16 And I will utter My judgments against them (i.e. the people of Judah) touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken Me (see Deut.28:20), and have burned incense to other gods (this includes the burnt offering and parts of the gift offering), and worshiped the works of their own hands.
17 You therefore gird up your loins (see 1 Kings 18:46), and arise, and speak to them all that I command you: (See Ephesians 6:11-18)
be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound you before them. (may be Englished: "Be not ashamed...Lest I abash you")
18 For, behold, I have given you [as] this day a defensed city, and an iron pillar, and a wall of bronze against the whole land, against the kings of Judah (in vv.18,19, "against" is repeated 7 times, in order to emphasize the fact that as man's thoughts and ways are opposite of Yehovah's [Isa.55:9], it is impossible for a prophet who is Yehovah's spokesman to be other that "against" man. See Deut.33:1. "Kings of Judah", see chapter 36), against the princes thereof (see Chapters 37, 38), against the priests thereof (see Chapters 20, 26), and against the People of the land. (see 34:19; 37:2; 44:21; 52:6)
19 And they shall fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you;
for I am with you, [is] the Lord's oracle, to deliver you.