Why Jeremiah is Not Among the Prophets: An Analysis of the Terms ‭איבנ‬ and ‭םיאבנ‬ in the Book of Jeremiah

This analysis of the terms ‭איבנ‬ ‬‭and ‭םיאבנ‬ in the book of Jeremiah, based on Jeremiah LXX and MT, challenges the view that the historical Jeremiah was a classical prophet of judgment. Historically speaking, Jeremiah acted as a prophet ‘pro society’. After 586 BCE, however, a tradition complex d...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: De Jong, M.J. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage 2011
In: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 2011, Volume: 35, Issue: 4, Pages: 483-510
Further subjects:B Book of Jeremiah
B development of Jeremiah corpus
B historical Jeremiah
B false prophets
B classical prophets
B Prophecy
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This analysis of the terms ‭איבנ‬ ‬‭and ‭םיאבנ‬ in the book of Jeremiah, based on Jeremiah LXX and MT, challenges the view that the historical Jeremiah was a classical prophet of judgment. Historically speaking, Jeremiah acted as a prophet ‘pro society’. After 586 BCE, however, a tradition complex developed portraying Jeremiah as a figure ‘contra society’. Jeremiah, depicted as YHWH’s single mouthpiece, was deliberately not called a ‭איבנ‬ in order to distinguish him from the‭ םיאבנ‬, ‘the prophets’ (in general!), portrayed as deceivers of the people. This image of Jeremiah dominated the Jeremiah corpus in the exilic period. Later texts introduced quite another image of the ‭םיאבנ‬, that of faithful servants of YHWH warning the people, and a still later edition of the book presented Jeremiah as ‘prophet to the nations’. The drawing of a distinction of these different prophetic profiles leads to the conclusion that Jeremiah was not among the classical prophets.
ISSN:1476-6728
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0309089211402177