Jeremiah

Definition and Meaning

Jeremiah (abbreviated Jer.) is the twenty-fourth of the thirty-nine books of the Protestant Old Testament and consists of fifty-two chapters. Together with Isaiah, Ezekiel, and others, it is classified among the Major Prophets, the longer prophetic books. It is often cited as the longest book in the Bible by word count. The book takes its name from the prophet who is its central figure and its traditional author. Because he often grieved and lamented over the people's sin and the coming judgment, he is commonly called "the weeping prophet."

Biblical and Historical Background

According to Jeremiah 1:1–3, Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. He was called in the thirteenth year of King Josiah and ministered until Jerusalem fell to Babylon and the people were carried away into captivity. The scribe Baruch wrote down his words (Jeremiah 36), and after the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah is recorded as having been taken to Egypt (Jeremiah 43).

The book's principal contents include the following:

• Proclamations of judgment against idolatry and injustice
• The prophecy that the Babylonian captivity would last seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11–12; 29:10)
• The promise of a new covenant in which the law is written on the heart (Jeremiah 31:31–34). This passage is quoted in Hebrews 8.

The Septuagint version of Jeremiah, the ancient Greek translation, is known to be shorter than the Hebrew text and to arrange its chapters differently. The book that immediately follows, Lamentations, has also traditionally been attributed to Jeremiah.

Practice in the Korean Church

In Korean churches, the following verses are especially widely used:

• Jeremiah 33:3 ("Call unto me, and I will answer thee…"): frequently cited as a motto for tongsung prayer (praying aloud together), committed prayer, and special early-morning prayer meetings.
• Jeremiah 29:11: commonly used on New Year's Scripture cards and as a word of encouragement.
• Jeremiah 1:5–7: often read in sermons on calling and at youth gatherings.

Churches that follow the lectionary of the church year (a list of passages appointed for reading in each season) may read the new covenant passage (Jeremiah 31:31–34) during Lent.

Interpretations of the new covenant passage differ by theological tradition. Presbyterian and Reformed traditions that follow covenant theology hold that this promise has been fulfilled in Christ and the church. Some Baptist and independent churches that follow a dispensationalist interpretation hold that the promise also concerns what will be accomplished for the nation of Israel in the future. Views also differ on how the book was formed. Conservative denominations and seminaries generally regard Jeremiah and Baruch as its authors, while some in progressive theological circles accept the theory that the present book took shape through several stages of editing.