52*. “The Literary History of the Book of Jeremiah in the Light of Its Textual History,” Revised version: Emanuel Tov, The Greek and Hebrew Bible (1999), 363–84. (original) (raw)
Textual criticism deals not only with small differences between sources, but also with large ones. One of the key areas in which this type of evidence has become known is in the book of Jeremiah, in which abundant textual data beyond MT are available in the LXX and some in Hebrew sources. Therefore, they are a welcome source for the scholarly inquiry of the book. Some scholars believe that these data illuminate not only the textual transmission of the book, but also its literary development, as they provide a glimpse into the activity that took place during the last stage of the literary growth of the book. The differences between MT, on the one hand, and the LXX and Qumran texts, on the other, seemingly represent solid facts, but scholars espouse different views on their interpretation. The LXX of Jeremiah is shorter than the corresponding MT text by onesixth or one-seventh, and thus potentially has a bearing on the exegesis of that book. In addition, the LXX reflects a different internal sequence of the OAN (Oracles against the Nations), and of their placement in the book. Further, within chapters 10 and 23, the LXX presents a different sequence. The LXX is a translation, and the translator may have shortened his parent text and changed the sequence of translation units, in which case the LXX has no bearing on a deviating Hebrew Vorlage. While these issues were disputed over the last two centuries, they are rarely debated in the twenty-first century because of evidence supporting the trustworthiness of the LXX: the translation style of the Greek Jeremiah is relatively literal, 1 and therefore large-scale shortening or shifting
The Greek and Hebrew Versions of Jeremiah: Is Jeremiah’s Vorlage Somehow Preserved by Both?
The Septuagint (LXX) and Masoretic Text (MT) of the book of Jeremiah demonstrate that Jeremiah’s textual history is one of extremely complexity. This fact was only exaggerated by the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In some ways, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls verified the LXX as primary, in other ways the MT, and still in other ways the scrolls hinted at a possible third version of the book. This has led many to question the current definition of the term “autograph.” Thus, this article will seek to overview the history of research concerning the LXX and MT of Jeremiah in hopes of finding a way forward through the collected minds of the past. This article will not seek to imply any definitive solutions to this problem, but only suggestions that will be inferred from the work of those who came before.
New Light on the Composition of Jeremiah
The Catholic Biblical quarterly, 1999
THE COMPOSITION of the Book of Jeremiah has been subject to intense scrutiny by modern biblical scholars, who have produced a variety of sourcecritical and tradition-historical theories regarding the book. As in the case of nearly all such theories, debate on this book's origin and growth has been hampered by a lack of empirical evidence. Such evidence would consist either of an ancient textual witness to a source whose existence had been surmised by modern scholars or of a clear reference in an ancient text to such a source as a distinct entity. In the absence of documents showing that ancient readers knew putative sources individually, competing theories remain conjectures with similar claims to validity. 1 In this article, I suggest that empirical evi dence does exist to support a source-critical hypothesis regarding the Book I would like to thank Professors Marc Brettler, David Carr, and Michael Fishbane for their comments on this material. 1 On the quest for empirical evidence for theories regarding the origin and growth of biblical books, see the essays in Empirical Models for Biblical Criticism (ed. Jeffrey Tigay; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985). The authors of most of these essays do not find direct empirical support for a source-critical model relating to a particular biblical text. However, several of them do present empirical evidence of analogous phenomena elsewhere in the ancient Near East (i.e., documentation showing that ancient Near Eastern texts outside Israel were compiled in a manner resembling that described by source critics of the Pentateuch). An exception is Emmanuel Τον ("The Composition of 1 Samuel 16-18 in the Light of the Septuagint Version," in Empirical Models [ed. Tigay], 97-130), who argues persuasively that the LXX provides empirical evidence supporting what amounts to a source-critical analysis of one text. 646 COMPOSITION OF JEREMIAH 647 of Jeremiah, because the numerous allusions to Jeremiah in Isaiah 40-66 and Isaiah 34-35 are consistently based on certain blocks of material and not on others. I. Identifying Allusions in Isaiah 40-66 and Isaiah 34-35: A Brief Overview The influence of the Book of Jeremiah on Isaiah 40-66 and Isaiah 34-35 has long been noted, and scholars have collected many examples of parallels they attribute to the use of the former by the author or authors of the latter. 2
Jeremiah 32 in Its Hebrew and Greek Recensions 1
1999
It is widely accepted that the Masoretic Text and Septuagint Version of Jeremiah reflect different Vorlagen, but no final consensus has been reached on the relationship between them. This thesis enters the debate by undertaking a close study of the text of chapter 32, with two questions constantly in mind. Firstly, can a given variant be traced back to the LXX Vorlage (henceforth LXXV), or it is to be seen as a creation of the translator? Secondly, where a variant is judged to arise from LXXV, can a decision be made as to whether it is prior or secondary to the reading of MT?
The character and book of Jeremiah have a minor but intriguing role in the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. In this essay we will begin by looking at the instances where the character of Jeremiah is referenced, highlighting aspects of the narratives that explain or expand the existing biblical text. Following this we will look at how certain characters from Jeremiah, namely the Rechabites and Baruch, have been used by subsequent authors and how these characters have developed from the Jeremianic text. Finally, we will look at some of the instances where passages of the book of Jeremiah are cited. The goal of this essay is to provide insight into the variety of ways that the character and book of Jeremiah were employed by later apocryphal and pseudepigraphal authors. What we see is a willingness by later authors to expand and fill in missing aspects of the narrative, crafting new stories around existing characters.
On the Structure of the Book of Jeremiah
This study introduces three proposed outlines for the Book of Jeremiah that help readers approach the work known for several inherent difficulties. Each section begins with an outline of the Book of Jeremiah offered by a prominent author. Other scholarly views are then presented, highlighting each outline’s strengths and, occasionally, weaknesses.
The Reception of Jeremiah in Modern Hebrew Literature
Religions, 2022
Looking at some illustrative examples of the reception of Jeremiah in modern Hebrew literature, this article explores how both the prophet and the book named after him were reworked by modern Hebrew authors and poets in the body of literary works in Hebrew that emerged during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in Europe in the wake of the Enlightenment
The Question of LXX Jeremiah as a Tool for Literary-Critical Analysis
Vetus Testamentum, 2012
Those who disagree with the accepted theory that LXX reflects an ancient Hebrew version of Jeremiah usually point to the greater coherency of MT as proof of its primacy. This study shows the lack of coherency in MT, stemming from the complexity of the text from a literary-critical perspective, and attempts to answer the question of whether LXX can be used in the literarycritical analysis of MT. At least regarding the passage under discussion (Jer 25:1-14), this question must be answered in the negative. It appears that LXX reflects an adapted and "flattened" version of the text. Without the "rough" version found in MT, a version which preserves the tensions and the seams created in the course of the literary growth of the text, it would be likewise impossible to understand the lack of coherence found in LXX.
The Question of LXX Jeremiah as a Tool for Literary-Critical Analysis — VT 62 (2012)
Those who disagree with the accepted theory that LXX reflects an ancient Hebrew version of Jeremiah usually point to the greater coherency of MT as proof of its primacy. This study shows the lack of coherency in MT, stemming from the complexity of the text from a literary-critical perspective, and attempts to answer the question of whether LXX can be used in the literarycritical analysis of MT. At least regarding the passage under discussion (Jer 25:1-14), this question must be answered in the negative. It appears that LXX reflects an adapted and "flattened" version of the text. Without the "rough" version found in MT, a version which preserves the tensions and the seams created in the course of the literary growth of the text, it would be likewise impossible to understand the lack of coherence found in LXX.
Reading Acts, 2022
John Goldingay’s 2021 Jeremiah commentary in the NICOT series replaces J. A. Thompson’s 1995 commentary (now an Eerdmans Classic Commentary). Besides his major commentary, Goldingay also recently published a short The Theology of Jeremiah (IVP Academic, 2021, reviewed here) and the NICOT volume on Lamentations (Eerdmans, 2022, reviewed here). The sixty-six-page introduction argues the Jeremiah Scroll (as Goldingay calls the book) is a compilation of messages from Yahweh, stories about Jeremiah, and exchanges between Yahweh and Jeremiah. Goldingay outlines a plausible “three horizons” for the composition of the book.
See and Read All These Words: The Concept of the Written in the Book of Jeremiah
2009
Unusually for the HB, the book of Jeremiah contains a high number of references to writers, writing, and the written word. Written during the exilic period, the book demonstrates a key moment in the ongoing integration of writing and the written word into ancient Israelite society. Yet the book does not describe writing in the abstract. Instead, it provides an account of its own textualization, thereby blurring the line between the narrative and the audience that receives it and connecting the text of Jeremiah to the words of the prophet and of YHWH. To authenticate the book of Jeremiah as the word of YHWH, its tradents present a theological account of the chain of transmission from the divine to the prophet, and then to the scribe and the written page. Indeed, the book of Jeremiah extends the chain of transmission beyond the written word itself to include the book of Jeremiah and, finally, a receiving audience. To make the case for this chain of transmission, this study attends in each of three exegetical chapters to writers (including YHWH, prophets, and scribes), the written word, and the receiving audience. The first exegetical chapter describes the standard chain of transmission from the divine to the prophet to the scribe, demonstrating that all three agents in this chain are imagined as writers and that writing was a suitable conduit for the divine word. The narrative account of Jeremiah's textualization is set forth, with special attention to the way in which the narrative points beyond itself to the text of Jeremiah itself. The second exegetical chapter builds upon this argument by v attending to the written word in Jeremiah, pointing especially to Jeremiah's selfreferences (e.g., "in this book," "all these words") as a pivotal element in the extension of the chain of transmission beyond the words in the text to the words of the text. Finally, the third exegetical chapter considers the construction of the audience in the book of Jeremiah, concluding that the written word, as Jeremiah imagines it, is to be received by a worshiping audience through a public reading. vi
Theological Patterning in Jeremiah: A Vital Word through an Ancient Book
Bulletin for Biblical Research
There is growing scholarly interest in detecting how the book of Jeremiah, as historically rooted as it is, guides later readers to hear God’s voice. Building on the previous findings that Jeremiah’s writtenness and organization enable later audiences to discern its relevance, this article considers how theological patterning contributes to this end. By focusing on three patterns, patterned places, nations, and people, it is evident that these networks of recurring, corresponding depictions of the God-human-world relationship assist the reader in grasping the enduring relevance of the prophetic word in Jeremiah.