| Jeremiah 1 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) A high-resolution scan of the Aleppo Codex showing theBook of Jeremiah (the sixth book in Nevi'im) | |
| Book | Book of Jeremiah |
| Hebrew Bible part | Nevi'im |
| Order in the Hebrew part | 6 |
| Category | Latter Prophets |
| Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 24 |
Jeremiah 1 is the firstchapter of theBook of Jeremiah in theHebrew Bible or theOld Testament of theChristianBible. This book, one of theNevi'im or Books of the Prophets, contains the prophecies attributed to theprophetJeremiah. This chapter serves as an introduction to the Book of Jeremiah and relates Jeremiah's calling as a prophet.[1][2]
The original text of this chapter, as with the rest of theBook of Jeremiah, was written inHebrew. Since the division of the Bible intochapters in themedieval period, this chapter is divided into 19 verses.
Some earlymanuscripts containing the text of this chapter inHebrew are of theMasoretic Text tradition, which includes theCodex Cairensis (895),the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916),Aleppo Codex (10th century), andCodex Leningradensis (1008).[3]
There is also a translation intoKoine Greek known as theSeptuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of theSeptuagint version includeCodex Vaticanus (B;B; 4th century),Codex Sinaiticus (S;BHK:S; 4th century),Codex Alexandrinus (A;A; 5th century) andCodex Marchalianus (Q;Q; 6th century).[4]
Theparashah sections listed here are based on theAleppo Codex.[5] Jeremiah 1 is theFirst prophecy in theProphecies of Destruction (Jeremiah 1–25) section. {P}: openparashah; {S}: closedparashah.
TheNew King James Version (NKJV) organises this chapter as follows:
while theEvangelical Heritage Version notes that Jeremiah's firstvisions begin from verse 11.[6] The Old Testament scholarJ. A. Thompson organises the chapter as follows.[7]
This superscription provides an introduction to the whole book by stating authoritative claims for its content.[8] For 40 years Jeremiah conveyed the word of the Lord to the people, from the 13th year ofKing Josiah (627 BCE) until thedeportation of the people from Jerusalem (587 BCE).[8]
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:[9]
This verse is an "editorial introduction" which is reasonably comprehensive as it contains the prophet's "name, family, status and place of origin," and more complete than most books of prophets.[1] According toJudges 21:17–18,Anathoth was one of thelevitical or priestly cities located within the land of thetribe of Benjamin, about 3 miles northeast of Jerusalem.[2] The prophecies of Jeremiah andAmos (Amos 1:1) are attributed to them individually in the opening words of the relevant biblical books, while in other cases, such asHosea 1:1,Joel 1:1 andMicah 1:1, their prophecies are described from the outset as "the word of the Lord".Septuagint version has "The word of God which came to Jeremiah" for "The words of Jeremiah".[2]
to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.[10]
"The 13th year of his reign": The prophetic career of Jeremiah started in about627 BCE.[11][12] An argument that this is the year of Jeremiah's birth cannot be reconciled with the expression "the word of the Lord came".[11] This verse (as emphasized further inJeremiah 25:3) affirms that the conveyed words are not Jeremiah's own creation, but of supernatural origin, that is, from Yahweh.[11][13] This time period was five years after Josiah had initiated a religious reformation (in his 8th year of reign, 632 BC) and five years before the finding of the Book of Law in the 18th year of his reign, in 622 BCE.[14] Although Josiah was 16 years old when he "began to seek after the God ofDavid his father" (2 Chronicles 34:3), it was in his 12th year of reign (he was 20 years old; 629/628 BCE) when he began the repudiation of the "official Assyrian cult" with a "radical purge of all kinds of idolatrous practices both in Judah and in Northern Israel" (cf.2 Chronicles 34:3–7), one year before Jeremiah was called and about the same timeSinsharishkun took the throne of Assyria,[14] following the chaos afterAshurbanipal's death, asthe Assyrian Empire rapidly diminished.[15]
It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.[16]
"The fifth month": The official ministry of Jeremiah ends at the time of the deportation of the people from Jerusalem (July/August 587 BCE) in the early part of the 6th century BCE.[13][17]
The account of Jeremiah's call certifies him to be a true prophet.[8] Verses 4–10 contain the poetic audition in form of a dialogue between Jeremiah, speaking in the first person, andYahweh (the LORD), whose words are written as quoted statements.[8] The subsequent part (verses 11–19) is in the form of prose visions.[8]
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:[18]
The formula of this statement is reused inJeremiah 2:1.[19]
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.[20]
"I sanctified you": "I set you apart"[21] (Jeremiah 1:5:NIV) – this was "a designation for theprophetic function rather an inwardsanctification".[22]
Then said I,
Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.[23]
"Ah" is rendered "Alas" in theDarby Translation andNew International Version, and thisHebrew word in the opinion of biblical commentator A. W. Streane: "expresses not so much an entreaty that things should be arranged otherwise, as a lament that they are as they are".[24]
But the Lord said unto me,
Say not, I am a child:
for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee,[25]
Just as withMoses andIsaiah, Yahweh rejected any excuses and proceeded with His instruction: "for you will go," and Jeremiah has to say all what Yahweh commanded him.[26]
Be not afraid of their faces:
for I am with thee to deliver thee,
saith the Lord.[27]
Repeated again at the end of verse 19, closing this chapter:
... for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee. (Jeremiah 1:19)
Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth.
And the Lord said unto me,
Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.[29]
Yahweh commissioned Jeremiah to be His spokesperson by a "symbolic gesture of touching Jeremiah's mouth" (cf.Numbers 23:5;Deuteronomy 18:18,Isaiah 6:7;Ezekiel 2:9–3:2).[28]
Verses 11–16 records the dialogue between Jeremiah, speaking in the first person, and Yahweh (the LORD), whose words are written as quoted statements.[8] Jeremiah saw a visions of "a branch of an almond tree" (verses 11–12) and then a vision of "a boiling pot tilt away from the north" (verses 13–16).[8] Yahweh, not Jeremiah, interprets both visions: the first one to assure the prophet (and the audience) of the certainty of the prophecies, and the second to point at "the foe from the north" which is revealed inJeremiah 20:4–6 asBabylon.[8]
The word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?"
And I said, "I see a branch of analmond tree"
Then the Lord said to me,
"You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it".[30]
"Branch" is alternatively translated as a "rod" of an almond tree (KJV,ASV). The meaning is poetic, referring to a blossoming almond tree. These verses contain aplay on words using theHebrewshaqed (almond) andshoqed (watching over). Thompson notes that in modern times Anathoth (modern village Anata) is still "a center for almond growing" and display memorable views of blooming almond trees in the early spring.[31]
13 "I see a pot that is boiling", I answered. "It is tilting toward us from the north.14 The Lord said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land.[32]
Israel's enemy "always comes from the north": theJerusalem Bible notes thatEzekiel 26:7 andJoel 2:20 also express this point.[33] InZechariah's final vision after theexiles have returned to Jerusalem, he foresees "the pacifying of the north country".[34][35]
"For behold, I am calling
All the families of the kingdoms of the north," says the Lord;
"They shall come and each one set his throne
At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
Against all its walls all around,
And against all the cities of Judah."[36]
ThemedievalJewish commentatorRashi considered that this prophecy, "They shall come and each one set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem", was fulfilled as reported inJeremiah 39:3: "All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate".[37]
These verses can be seen as connecting back toverses 4–10 or be a separate fragment where Yahweh gave a charge (verse 17) and a promise (verses 18–19) to Jeremiah in connection to the call.[38] Speaking directly using imperatives Yahweh prepares Jeremiah for the battle, that Jeremiah must announce everything in the face of opposition and he will prevail because Yahweh strengthens him as "a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall".[19] Although the encouraging assurance is directed to Jeremiah, it may also have resonances for the readers in exile.[19]