The dating in the book of Jeremiah

Since there is no chronological continuity in the book, the necessary conclusion is that the prophet's words were compiled after Jeremiah's death

The book of Jeremiah opens with the following words: "The words of Jeremiah the son of the priests who are in Anath in the land of Benjamin. Which was the word of Jehovah to him in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah in the thirteenth year of his reign. And it came to pass in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, at the end of Ishti ten years, a year for Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month" (1:3-XNUMX). The saifa of the description implies the end of an era and the beginning of a new era - the exile. And it contains more than an allusion to a great political drama. Whoever wrote this opening tries to be accurate in its dating and states that it is the fifth month and the reference is to the calendar month of Av. Unlike the book of Isaiah, many of Jeremiah's prophecies are dated. We will lay out the dates here according to the order of their appearance in the book and try to learn from them something more about the period and the book itself.

The dated prophecies

1. Chapter 6:XNUMX: "And the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king. You will see what the return of Israel has done, she has gone over every high mountain and under every fresh tree there." Speech of rebuke.
2. Chapter 1 (verses 3-XNUMX): "The thing that happened to Jeremiah over all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah is the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem as aforesaid. From the thirteenth year of Yashyahu ben Amon, king of Judah, to this day. For three and twenty years the word of Jehovah has been to me and I will speak to you testicles and you have not heard a word." A prophecy of rebuke because they did not walk in God's ways.
3. Chapter 1 XNUMX: "In the beginning of the kingdom of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this was what the Lord said" - a warning to the people of what will happen if they do not follow God's path and the people want to kill the prophet.
4. Chapter 1 XNUMX: "In the beginning of the kingdom of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying." The Parable of Morals and Metaphors.
5. Chapter 1:XNUMX: "And it was in that year at the beginning of the kingdom of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, he said to me
Hananiah son of Azor the prophet who is from Gibeon in the house of Jehovah in the eyes of the priests and all the people to say. Hananiah said that he broke the yoke of the king of Babylon. This is a continuation of chapter XNUMX. From a calendar point of view, it is the month of Av.
6. Chapter 1:XNUMX: "The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah is this year, the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar." The Babylonian king's siege of Jerusalem and Jeremiah imprisoned in the court of the target.
7. Chapter 1 XNUMX: "And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, and he was still in the court of the target, saying." Redemption prophecy. Continuation of the previous chapter.
Chapter 1:8: "The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the days of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, to say." My words XNUMX
The prophet in the car house.
9. Chapter 1 XNUMX: "And it was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this was said to Jeremiah."
Jeremiah dictates the scroll of the book to his scribe Baruch ben Naria and asks him to read it to the people in Jehovah's house.
10. Chapter 9:XNUMX: "And it was in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah. In the ninth month, fasting and blessings were announced
Reading the book of Jeremiah.
11. Chapter 22:XNUMX: "And the king sits in the winter house in the ninth month and the hearth is lit before him." Jeremiah's words are read before the king. A continuation of what was said in the previous dating. Since the reference is to winter, it is clear that the reference is to the month of Seli.
12. Chapter 1:XNUMX: "And King Zedekiah son of Josiah reigned under Keniah son of Jehoiakim, who reigned as Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the land of Judah." Zedekiah turns to Jeremiah to pray for him.
13. Chapter 1:2-7: "In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and besieged it. In the second and tenth year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the city was conquered." The siege of Jerusalem lasted XNUMX years and XNUMX months and as a result Zedekiah was captured, taken with his entire family to Babylon where they were destroyed. He himself was blinded and put under arrest. By order of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah was released from the target court and transferred to the custody of Gedaliah ben Ahikam.
14. Chapter 1:XNUMX: "And it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael son of Netanyahu son of Elisha came from the royal seed and the king's rabbi and ten
People went with him to Gedaliah ben Ahikam in the Mitzvah and there they ate bread together with him in the Mitzvah." Gedaliah's murder.
15. Chapter 4:1: "And it came to pass on the second day that Gedaliah was killed and no one knew." The description of the civil war that broke out following the murder and the appeal of Yohanan ben Karach and Vizania ben Hosea to Jeremiah that he would pray for them (Chapter 2:XNUMX-XNUMX).
16. Chapter 7: XNUMX: "And it came to pass at the end of ten days, that the Lord's word came to Jeremiah" the words of comfort "to Yochanan son of Korah and to all the captains of the soldiers who were with him and to all the people from the least to the greatest"
17. Chapter of God 1: "The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah in writing these words on a book from the mouth of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah." Words of rebuke to the king.
18. Chapter Mo. 1-3: "As was the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Gentiles, to the Egyptians, the king of Egypt was defeated by Pharaoh's army, who was on the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, struck in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah." A prophecy for Egypt.
19. Chapter Matthew 34: "Which was the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah the prophet to Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah to say". A prophecy to them.
20. Chapter 59. 60-XNUMX: "The thing that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Sheriah son of Neriah son of Mahsiah in his visit to Zedekiah king of Judah in Babylon in the fourth year of his reign and Sheriah was minister of rest. And Jeremiah wrote all the evil that would come to Babylon in one book, all these things written about Babylon." Prophecy for Babylon.

discussion

If we describe the period of Jeremiah as it is described in the book of 6 Kings, it seems that in the days of the prophet, XNUMX kings reigned in Judah and they are:

1. Josiah-Jeremiah began to prophesy in the 13th year of his reign until the king's death. Altogether in his days Jeremiah had 10 years of prophecy.
2. Jehoahaz son of Yeshihan reigned for 3 months and was exiled by a crippled Pharaoh (23 Kings XNUMX:XNUMX).
3. Eliakim son of Josiah - Josiah's second son was made king by Pharaoh and he changed his name to Jehoiakim (34 Kings 37:11-XNUMX) and he reigned for XNUMX years.
4. Jehoiachin son of Josiah reigned for 3 months and was exiled at the end of Nebuchadnezzar (8 Kings XNUMX:XNUMX).
5. Matanya, Jehoiachin's uncle, was made king by Nebuchadnezzar who changed his name to Zedekiah (11 Kings 11:XNUMX) and reigned for XNUMX years.
6. Gedaliah ben Ahikam ben Shaphan was appointed by the king of Babylon as king of Judah (22 Kings XNUMX:XNUMX).

In terms of dated prophecies, only one prophecy is mentioned regarding Josiah. Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin, the sons of Josiah, are not mentioned at all in the opening of the book of Jeremiah. Perhaps the reason for this lies in the fact that they reigned for a very short time and did not leave any mark that he was in the kingdom of Judah, but this does not mean that Jeremiah did not prophesy during their time, but that he did not see fit to date any prophecy in their time Regarding the period of Josiah, since he reigned for a long period of time, it is unlikely that Jeremiah gave only one prophecy as described in chapter XNUMX. It should be noted that chapter XNUMX to chapter XNUMX does not have any dating and it is therefore reasonable to assume that some of chapters XNUMX-XNUMX belong to the period of Josiah Another question that you should ask is why Gedaliah is not mentioned in the opening of the book since it is a political murder and as such he did leave his mark in contrast to Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin who also reigned for short periods?

In the days of Jehoiakim there are 10 dated prophecies and their chronological order is:

Chapter 1 XNUMX - The beginning of the days of Jehoiakim.
Chapter 1 XNUMX - The beginning of the kingdom of Jehoiakim
Chapter 1 XNUMX - in the days of Jehoiakim.
Chapter 1 - in the days of Jehoiakim.
Chapter 1 XNUMX - in the fourth year of the Hiakims.
Chapter L. 1 - In the fourth year of the Hiakims.
Chapter 1 - In the fourth year of the Levites.
Chapter Mo' 1-3 - in the fourth year of the Hiakims.
Chapter L. 9 - In the fifth year of the Hiakims in the ninth month. The month is calendar.
Chapter L. 22 - In the fifth year of the Hiakims in the ninth month. The month is calendar.

In the days of Zedekiah there are 7 dated prophecies and their chronological order is:

Chapter 1 XNUMX - The beginning of Zedekiah's kingdom.
Chapter Matthew 34 - The beginning of Zedekiah's kingdom.
Chapter 1 - in the fourth year.
Chapter Na' 59-60 - in the fourth year.
Chapter 1-2 - in the ninth year.
Chapter 1 - in the tenth year.
Chapter 1 - in the tenth year.

In the days of Gedaliah there are 3 dated prophecies and they are:

Chapter 1.
Chapter 4.
Chapter 7.

These prophecies are mostly attached to events. The prophet says his words with reference to concrete events. Besides these there are several events that the prophet does not date and they are:

1. Chapter 1 2-XNUMX: "At that time Jehovah spoke and they took out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of his ministers and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves. And I will rule the sun and the moon and all the host of the heavens who love them and who they worship and who follow them and who follow them and who bow down to them and they will not be gathered and they will not be buried. To the doman on the face of the earth there will be".
2. Chapter 1: XNUMX: "Which was the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah about the words of the troubles."
3. Chapter 1:6-XNUMX: Changing the name of Guy ben Hinnom to Guy Haharg.
4. Chapter XNUMX Pashchor ben Amer the priest strikes Jeremiah and the prophet prophesies a difficult prophecy to him and to Jerusalem.
5. Chapter 12:XNUMX: "And Zedekiah the king of Judah spoke all these things, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people and live."
6. Chapter 6:7-XNUMX: "And Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah all these things in Jerusalem. And the army of the king of Babylon is fighting for Jerusalem and all the remaining cities of Judah..."
7. Chapter XNUMX: Jeremiah's prophecy in Egypt.

Some of the undated prophecies can be chronologically associated according to the content context to the verses before them and to know which king's period they belong to. The verses spoken in chapter 2:6, 7:4-10 belong to the last year of Zedekiah's reign, on the eve of his conquest by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. In chapter XNUMX it is said that Pashchor ben Imer the priest beat Jeremiah and put him under arrest in the revolution. As a response to this, Jeremiah said to him, "I will give you a dwelling place for you and all your loved ones, and they will fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes will see, and I will give all Judah into the hand of Babylon, and the flesh of Babylon, and you will be by the sword" (Chapter XNUMX:XNUMX). Such a concrete statement can only be said when the king of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem and its conquest is nothing but a matter of time. These words, then, were said in the last year of Zedekiah, and therefore the total number of prophecies that are accurately known to have been said in the days of this king is XNUMX.

In chapter 1, it is said: "The word that was spoken to Jeremiah to all the Jews who live in the land of Egypt, who live in Magdol and in Tephnes and in the landscape in the land of Peter." The impression we get is that the prophecy was uttered after these exiles had established themselves in Egypt and got used to their new life. From the power of the words that are said later, one can feel that they were said shortly after leaving Jerusalem when the events were fresh, despite being established there, they were still experiencing the power of the trauma of the occupation.

Regarding Gedaliah ben Ahikam, it is clear that he did not reign for a long time. Since the conquest of Jerusalem and the exile began in the fourth month and the murder of Gedaliah took place in the seventh month. From a calendar point of view, it was in the month of Tishrei. He reigned for about 3-4 months.

The rest of the events that were not dated, Jeremiah saw fit to mention them because of their importance, but not to the extent of specifying the date of their occurrence. An intriguing question is the shameful event of removing the dead from their graves. Why didn't the prophet extend it?

If we make a statistical segmentation of the dated prophecies, even though these are small numbers, we will notice the following: in the days of Jehoiakim, who reigned for 13 years, there are 10 dated prophecies. 2 prophecies are not known in which year of his reign they were uttered, 2 prophecies were uttered at the beginning of his reign, 4 prophecies were uttered in the fourth year of his reign and - 2 prophecies in the fifth year. In the days of Zedekiah, who reigned for 12 years, there are 10 dated prophecies. 2 prophecies were spoken at the beginning of his reign, 2 prophecies in the fourth year, 1 prophesy in the ninth year, 2 prophecies in the tenth year and 3 prophecies in the last 12th year of his reign. Examining the distribution of prophecies during the reign of Gedaliah is meaningless since it is a very short period. Another fact Worthy of note is the textual distance between the first dated prophecy that appears in chapter XNUMX and the second dated prophecy in chapter XNUMX. Since the prophecies are linked to events, it can be concluded that the dated years were key years in terms of events in the days of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. It is likely that additional prophecies were uttered in the days of Gedaliah, but the prophet saw fit not to date them.

Conclusions and Summary

Since there is no chronological continuity in the book, the obvious conclusion is that the prophet's words were compiled after Jeremiah's death. The scriptures specifically tell us that with the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah was transferred to Babylon and then came down from Egypt. It is possible that he took all his writings with him wherever he went in order not to lose all his intellectual labor and with the help of Baruch ben Naria he prepared several copies. In any case, there was someone who took care of compiling them after his death and arranging them in the format of a book for future generations with literary and content considerations that are not clear to us. The dated years can testify to the political-military intensity in the last days of the Kingdom of Judah.