Jeremiah's Use of Quotations from Other Old Testment Scriptures (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

This paper proceeds in three stages, and sets three goals. First, through the careful study of one prose passage in Jeremiah (11:1-14), I aim to complicate our sometimes simplistic perception of the use of Deuteronomic expressions in Jeremiah. One crucial phrase clearly draws on Priestly style and covenant conceptions, and is repeated in another four prose prophecies within the book (Jer 7:21-28 [22]; 11:1-14 [4, 7]; 31:31-34 [32]; 34:8-22 [13]). Thus, the second goal of this paper is to consider this (Priestly) phrase’s contribution to Jeremiah’s conception of covenant. Third, the proximity of both Deuteronomic and Priestly pentateuchal materials in a single prophetic context moves us beyond questions of authorship to literary strategies of allusion to and exegesis of both Deuteronomic and Priestly pentateuchal materials within the prophecy. The tendency within the book to harmonize diverse pentateuchal traditions has far-reaching implications for the study of both Jeremiah and the Pentateuch.

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.

Jeremiah 1:2-3 gives an account of the time period of his preaching to be the last era of Kingdom of Judah before the Israelites went into exile, and during, which well defines the context within which Jeremiah spoke on behalf of God. It is shaped by few important factors. First, Jeremiah started speaking during the reign of Josiah, one of the most righteous kings of Judah. After Josiah, came four unrighteous kings; Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and, Zedekiah the last King of Judah. People having experienced both righteousness and unrighteousness of kingship in the sight of God, between two immediate Kings, a good ground for Jeremiah to position his message in terms of knowing and not knowing God is created. Secondly, the fact that the book of the law was recovered during Jeremiah’s lifetime (2 Chronicle 34:14) creates both positive and negative environments for him to get his message across to the people. That is, on the one hand, the attitudes of the Israelites changed with the holy vow they took to return to YHWH due to this recovery of the book of the law, and subsequent positive responses and decrees by King Josiah (Jacob Isaacs) , on the other hand, recovery of the book of law also gave Jeremiah’s contemporaries the opportunity to prophesy messages of their own to the community saying that YHWH’s hand will protect them before the hand of the coming Babylonian threat, repeating what YHWH has done to their forefathers during the time of crossing the Jordan and settle in the promised land (John Job, 2016), which challenged Jeremiah’s efforts to get across his message to the intended recipients.

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