Jeremiah—"son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin," whose most important oracles are recorded in the book after his name—served Judah in the last days of her existence as an independent nation. We hear of his call by God "in the thirteen year of the reign of Josiah," i.e., about 627 BC; " See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant" (Jer 1:10). The last we hear of him he was bundled, against his will, by the rebels of Jerusalem after they had murdered Gedaliah, the governor, and taken into exile in Egypt (Jer 42-43); he probably died there though the fact is not reported. Jeremiah lived in hard times: internationally the Babylonians—in competition with Egypt—was establishing itself as the world hegemon and was quick to interfere and dictate the affairs of lesser nations. Any nation that appeared to be turning her interest in any other direction was severely dealt with. Internally, Judah was ruled by a series of weak and feckless kings who had no interest in Yahweh. In these circumstances, it is not difficult to see that Jeremiah's consistent call to the kings and the nation to repent would not have gone down well and why Jeremiah should eventually lend his name to the word 'jeremiad'—coined in the 18th Cent—for a any litany of mourns or complaints.
Main Facts :
1. Jeremiah was born to a priestly family in the twon of Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.
2. He is mentioned for the first time in the Bible at 2 Chron 35:25, and for the last time in Matt 27:9. He is also referred to in Ezra and Daniel.
3. Jeremiah serves under five different kings:
Josiah (r.640-609 BC),
Jehoahaz (r.609 BC; three months)
Jehoiakim (r.609-598 BC)
Jehoiachin (r.598/7 BC; 3 months)
Zedekiah (r.597-586 BC)
4. His book is, apart from the Psalter, the longest book in the Bible.
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