Review of Michael Avioz, I Sat Alone: Jeremiah among the Prophets (RBL, 2012). (original) (raw)
Related papers
Prophet Versus Prophet in the Book of Jeremiah: In Search of the True Prophets
2009
The aim of this article is to examine the collection of oracles against the prophets in Jeremiah 23:9-40, with special focus on verses 16-17 and 18-22. The questions to which answers will be sought are : Who were the prophets opposing Jeremiah, and why are they called false prophets? What were the reasons for the conflict, and what criteria are applied to judge the opponents? It seems that the collectors of the Jeremiah oracles had their own ideas about what constitutes a true prophet, and were using Jeremiah's oracles to serve their own purpose. We have learnt that the opposing prophets were part of the power structures in Jerusalem and significant contributors to the moral depravity in Judah. We are dealing with a Jerusalem-based prophetic group close to the power base in Jerusalem. They are blamed for transgressions similar to those committed by the kings of Judah, and were therefore as guilty as everyone else in violating the covenant stipulations. Their deception of the peo...
Biblica, 2018
This article traces two significant issues in the polemic among prophets in the book of Jeremiah: the role of theology in their struggle with political events and the polemics in effort to establish authority. It is argued, first, that there are significant theological distinctions between the prophets on the concept of war and on the roles played by God and by humans in victory and in defeat. Second, the struggle over their sources of authority motivated a genuine transformation within prophetic activity (oral and written) that seems to have occurred by the late seventh- and early sixth century BCE.
Old Testament prophets When Natioanl Death Threatens: THE prophets dealt with man, not as an atom, but as a part of a social organism, a living member of a living body. To heal this body when diseased (Isa. I:6), to warn it against coming dissolution, and to bring it back to the paths which lead to perfection in God, was their great and only mission (Jer. 6: 6). Hence, they were always the more numerous when national death threatened. Just before the fall of Samaria and the fall of Jerusalem we find them working in the greatest number and with the greatest energy. (THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS AS SOCIAL REFORMERS. By REV. GEO. STIBITZ,) Jeremiah and Judah: The southern kingdom of Judah fell during Jeremiah's prophetic ministry (586 BC), having been threatened for many years by outside powers—first Assyria and Egypt and then by their eventual conquerors, Babylon. Jeremiah found himself addressing a nation hurtling headlong toward judgment from God. George Barton; How the Babylonian Exile and Jeremiah influenced Jewish thinking and theology: “The influence of the Babylonian exile is discernible in three great realms of life: (I) in the apprehension of religious truth; (2) in the outward organization of the religious life; and (3) in the standards of public morals. We shall endeavor briefly to treat each of these points, but before doing so a few words are necessary with reference to the nature of the exile it." (INFLUENCE OF THE BABYLONIAN EXILE ON THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL, PROFESSOR GEORGE A. BARTON, PH.D.) The Potter's House: Jeremiah’s Potter’s House Prophecy -Historical Situation Sense, & Shaping Social-Collective Consciousness
Getting Closer to Jeremiah: The Word of YHWH and the Literary-Theological Person of a Prophet
Martin Kessler, Hg., Reading the Book of Jeremiah. A …, 2004
In this essay, I attempt to define the dominant role that Jeremiah plays in the book by his name. The focus will not be so much on the biography of the historical prophet or his religiopsychological development but rather on his literary-theological function. Particular attention will be directed to the relationship betweenJeremiah and the word of YHwH, of which the prophet is both the first recipient and the proclaimer. I will also show that the so-called biographical portions (the biography by Baruch and the Confessions) are not extraneous additions but are essential to the book, since they are needed to underscore its central message.
Journal of Biblical Literature, 2019
The prolific study of prophets and prophetic literature has produced several influential scholarly paradigms over the nineteenth, twentieth, and now twenty-first centuries. This article calls attention to two of the paradigms that have shaped our scholarly mind-sets-literary criticism and redaction criticism-and asks what stands behind the different treatments of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the prophets and their books, in these strands of biblical scholarship. The discussion raises challenges to these paradigms concerning three topics: prophets as personae (historical or literary), prophetic activity within the societies of Israel and Judah, and the literary evolution of prophetic literature. The study of prophecy and prophetic literature has grown to be one of the most fascinating and prolific fields within biblical studies. This article developed from one basic question: What stands behind the different treatments of Jeremiah and Ezekiel-both the prophets and their books-that have been offered in biblical scholarship? The study calls attention to two of the paradigms that have shaped our scholarly mind-sets on Jeremiah and Ezekiel over the nineteenth, twentieth, and now twenty-first centuries: literary criticism and redaction criticism. Highlighting their influence on several generations of scholars and their continuous influence on current scholarship of prophecy in general, I examine the basic assumptions held and the observations made by leading scholars on questions concerning Jeremiah and Ezekiel as personae (historical or literary), prophetic activity within early sixth-century Judean societies, and the literary evolution of the prophetic
JBL 138,3, 2019
The prolific study of prophets and prophetic literature has produced several influential scholarly paradigms over the nineteenth, twentieth, and now twenty-first centuries. This article calls attention to two of the paradigms that have shaped our scholarly mindsets—literary criticism and redaction criticism—and asks: What stands behind the different treatments of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the prophets and their books, offered in these strands of biblical scholarship? The discussion raises challenges to these paradigms concerning three topics: prophets as personae (historical or literary), prophetic activity within the societies of Israel and Judah, and the literary evolution of prophetic literature.
ptrsmble: Ruach Hakodesh All the Prophets spoke "in the Holy Spirit"; and the most characteristic sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is the gift of prophecy, in the sense that the person upon whom it rests beholds the past and the future. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit (Hebrew: רוח הקודש, ruach ha-kodesh) refers to the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the universe or over God's creatures, in given contexts.wikipedia) The Holy Spirit of Christ The synoptic Gospels, generally have less to say about the Holy Spirit than the gospel of John. The Gospel of Mark has the least to say and mentions the Holy spirit only six times. Like all the Gospels, Mark highlights baptism by the spirit as the hallmark of Jesus. In fact, that is the highlight of Mark’s writing about the Holy spirit – that the work of Christ is superior and better precisely because he baptizes in the Holy Spirit, not just water. Luke mirrors what Mark says in Chapter 24 verse 49: The “promise of the Father” is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” 1 John 2:27 says "the anointing which you have received of him abides in you" (1 John 2:27). The metaphor for “baptism with the Holy Spirit” became in “Christianity” a pivotal aspect of “Christ.” The metaphor takes the idea of purification of the human body through baptism with water and extends it to purification of the human spirit by baptism in the Holy Spirit. This essay on Jeremiah centers on the frequent focus in Christian theology on social consciousness (i.e. covenant) and social activism - as in justice, etc. I add – of course – that the Holy Spirit as an important aspect of prophecy. I point out that viewing prophecy solely and entirely as a prediction diminishes the true nature of prophecy - and social consciousness as force Congregation & Social Consciousness Perspective in Prophecy The ideal of the prophets is not a church or congregation of worshiping believers, but a community, society, or state of god like men and women living in love and truth together under the Messiah as king, who is filled with the spirit of God, exercising justice and judgment toward the poor and helpless (Isa. 9: I-7; I1: 1-5) The Potter's House: Jeremiah’s Potter’s House Prophecy -Historical Situation Sense, & Shaping Social-Collective Consciousness Jeremiah talks about the compulsion and coercion he felt that compelled him to speak and act: “If I say, “I will not mention him (God), or speak any more in his name, there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.” (Jeremiah 20:9) In Jeremiah’s prophecy deep seated emotions were involved and presumably social instincts as well. In spite of persecution, Jeremiah persists in his behaviors. Yet, Jeremiah seems to believe that God would not put him through what he went through, and questions why he is, in fact, being subjected to persecution. Jeremiah complains that God has deceived him and because of that “I am in derision daily, everyone mocketh me” (Jeremiah 20: 7) Jeremiah: “18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.”