Jeremiah

Abstract

This chapter examines the complex contents and elusive structure of the book of Jeremiah. Beginning with the familiar poetry/prose distinction, consideration of a series of other characteristics reveals a nuanced and varied picture of the contents of the book of Jeremiah. Four categories of poetry and five of prose emerge: “oracular,” “eschatological,” “liturgical,” and the “Oracles against the Nations”; and “sermons,” “reports of public events,” “reports of Jeremiah’s private reception of the divine word,” the Deuteronomistic addendum to the book, and editorial structuring devices such as headings and introductions. Despite the difficulty of determining the principle or principles manifest in the structure of the book of Jeremiah, the editors/curators of the tradition(s) left certain clear indications of their organizing activity. Headings, the designation “scroll/book,” and themes unify collections within the book. Here, the problem of two versions manifests itself, with MT and LXX diverging with respect to the order, structure, and contents of the second and third major sections of the book.