Jeremiah
About this date: A prophet's narrative setting, ministry dates, and the composition history of the book bearing a prophetic name are related but distinct.
Prophet of Jerusalem's fall and a promised new covenant.
Historical context
Prophetic books and narratives address covenant infidelity, injustice, worship, imperial crisis, judgment, and restoration. A traditional book title does not establish authorship of every passage.
Key points
- Prophet of Jerusalem's fall and a promised new covenant.
- Primary reading: Jeremiah 1; 30–33. Read the complete passage in its literary context.
- Read an oracle in its literary unit and historical horizon; a prophet's ministry and a book's final composition are distinct questions.
Scripture
- Jeremiah 1; 30–33 — Principal biblical passage cluster for Jeremiah; check the summary against the complete text.
Primary sources
Jeremiah's oracle says:
Jeremiah's restoration oracle explicitly promises a new covenant to Israel and Judah.
I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah
Passage context and translation
Within a larger promise of restoration, Jeremiah contrasts the promised covenant with the covenant broken after the exodus and continues with the law written inwardly.
Before the excerpt
Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that
After the excerpt
not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
Sources and further reading
- USCCB introduction to Jeremiah
Literary and historical introduction; not independent verification of every narrated event.