This volume contains the proceedings of a Symposium “Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah”, arranged by the Edinburgh Prophecy Network in the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh, 11–12 May 2007. Prophetic studies are undergoing radical changes at the moment, following the breakdown of a methodological consensus in humanities and biblical studies. One of the challenges today concerns the question how to deal with history in a “post-modern” age. The French Annales School and narrative theory have contributed toward changing the intellectual climate of biblical studies dramatically. Whereas the “historical Jeremiah” was formerly believed to be hidden under countless additions and interpretations, and changed beyond recognition, it was still assumed that it would be possible to recover the “real” prophet with the tools of historical critical methods. However, according to a majority of scholars today, the recovery of the historical Jeremiah is no longer possible. For this reason, we have to seek new and multimethodological approaches to the study of prophecy, including diachronic and synchronic methods. The Meeting in Edinburgh in 2007 gathered specialists in prophetic studies from Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the USA, focusing on different aspects of the prophet Jeremiah. Prophetic texts from the whole Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern prophecy are taken into consideration.

This project examines two areas where there are important interpretive problems: the composition of the book of Jeremiah and, specifically, the provenance of and ideological functions served by the text of Jeremiah on the one hand; and the redactional interests in prophecy evident in the Deuteronomistic History on the other. The book argues that two distinct political groups can be seen to vie for theological authority via their literary portrayals of traditions about Jeremiah and prophets generally in the Deutero-Jeremianic prose - a group in Babylon after the deportations of 597 B.C.E. that is attempting to claim political and cultic authority, and a group remaining behind in Judah after 597 that counters the political claims and related interpretive moves made by the Babylonian traditionists. The book then illustrates through analysis of prophetic roles in Jeremiah, Kings, and Deuteronomy 18 that there are substantial and fundamental discontinuities between the view of prophecy and the prophetic word presented in the Deuteronomic texts and the view presented in the Deutero-Jeremianic texts. The results of the present study challenge the widely accepted scholarly thesis of monolithic redaction of the book of Jeremiah at the hands of the same 'Deuteronomists' whose work is evident in the Deuteronomistic History.

This revised and enlarged edition of Joseph Blenkinsopp's 1983 book will be a welcome addition to the libraries of serious Biblical scholars. The author critically recounts the history of Israelite prophecy from a social-historical perspective.

Presents the complete text of the New Revised Standard Version Bible, with the Aprocryphal/Deuterocanonical books; and features annotations in a single column across the page bottom, in-text background essays on the major divisions of the biblical text, and other reference tools.

This volume advances the scholarly discussion of Jeremiah via rigorous feminist and postcolonialist theorizing of texts and interpretive issues in that prophetic book. The essays here, by seasoned scholars of Jeremiah, offer significant traction on the biblical book's construction of the persona of Jeremiah and the subjectivity of Judah as subaltern; analysis of gendered imagery for the speaking subject in Jeremiah and for the Judean social body; exploration of rhetorics of imperialism and resistance; and theological implications of feminist-critical perspectives on YHWH and other deities represented in Jeremiah. Essays here deftly synthesize historical, literary, and ideological-critical insights in service of nuanced inquiry into Jeremiah as complex cultural production. The collection represents the growing edge of recent critical thinking on Jeremiah in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. It should prove invaluable in shaping the parameters of the continuing scholarly conversation on the Book of Jeremiah.

There is a longstanding scholarly debate on the nature of prophecy in ancient Israel. Until now, no study has based itself on the semantics of the Hebrew lexeme nābîʾ ("prophet"). This investigation by William L. Kelly discusses the nature and function of prophecy in the corpus of the Hebrew book of Jeremiah. It analyses all occurrences of nābîʾ in Jeremiah and performs a close reading of three primary texts, Jeremiah 1.4–19, 23.9–40 and 27.1–28.17. The result is a detailed explanation of how prophecy works, and what it meant to call someone a nābîʾ in ancient Israel. Combining the results of the semantic analysis and close readings, the study reaches conclusions for six main areas of study: (1) the function and nature of prophecy; (2) dreams and visions; (3) being sent; (4) prophets, priests and cult; (5) salvation and doom; and (6) legitimacy and authority. These conclusions explain the conceptual categories related to nābîʾ in the corpus. I then situate these findings in two current debates, one on the definition of nābîʾ and one on cultic prophecy. This study contributes to critical scholarship on prophecy in the ancient world, on the book of Jeremiah, and on prophets in ancient Israel. It is the first major study to analyse nābîʾ based on its semantic associations. It adds to a growing consensus which understands prophecy as a form of divination. Contrary to some trends in Jeremiah scholarship, this work demonstrates the importance of a close reading of the Masoretic (Hebrew) text. This study uses a method of a general nature which can be applied to other texts. Thus there are significant implications for further research on prophecy and prophetic literature.

Epp-Tiessen sheds light on the compositional history, structure, and theology of the book of Jeremiah by demonstrating that a large concentric unit of material focusing on true and false prophecy stands at the center of the book. This unit, titled "Concerning the Prophets" (23:9), utilizes the heritage of Jeremiah to contrast the nature of true and false prophecy in order to warn the Second Temple community of the disastrous consequences of false prophecy and to highlight the saving potential of true prophecy. False prophecy leads to doom because it ignores the moral failings of the community, promises well-being in the face of catastrophe, and reinforces the misleading theological certainties of Judah's pre-587 way of life. In contrast, the true prophet Jeremiah challenges the faith community to embrace the physical and spiritual dislocation of the Babylonian destruction. Post-disaster life stands under the saving purposes of YHWH, but the only way forward is to learn the painful lessons of catastrophe and heed the prophetic summons to repent and embrace a Torah-based way of life.

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 "Prince of Bible Expositors" presents the stirring events of Jeremiah's career in this volume--one of the most oustanding works on this subject ever published. In these chapters, the character of this "prophet of strength and tears" is analyzed and appraised and his dealings with the people are carefully pursued and portrayed, while his "prophetic utterances which constituted the word of Jehovah to a decadent age" are interpreted in a masterly manner. This unabridged edition embraces the penetrating analysis and warm devotional spirit which characterizes all of Dr. Morgan's writing. The world has seen but one G. Campbell Morgan, whose messages are as popular, effective, and inspiring today in printed form as they were when preached from the pulpit. What the artist portrays with his brush, G. Campbell Morgan reveals with his pen, a pen that never rested from its labors in the cause of Christ.