Charles Siegel

Jeremiah Untangled Charles Siegel

Jeremiah was intensely involved in the politics of his time. For example, he wore a yoke to symbolize that Judah should accept the yoke of Babylonian domination, and this position was so controversial that another prophet broke his yoke and king Zedekiah ultimately put Jeremiah in jail for opposing his war against Babylon.

But the conventional version of the Book of Jeremiah gives little or no background about historical context. It might mention that Jeremiah said something during the reign of Zedekiah, but this is not useful to an ordinary reader who does not know the history of Zedekiah's reign.

Even worse, the conventional version of the Book of Jeremiah is not in chronological order because it is made up of a number of source documents. For example, the text of Jeremiah's Temple sermon is in Chapter 7 because it comes from a source document that contains prophecies by Jeremiah, while the account of how Jeremiah gave the Temple sermon is in Chapter 26 because it comes from a source document that contains stories about Jeremiah. Connections like this one are essential to understanding the book, but they escape the ordinary reader as the book jumps from one historical period to another .

For the first time, this edition arranges the passages in the Book of Jeremiah that can be dated in chronological order, so there is a continuous historical narrative of Jeremiah's life, and it includes historical background so the reader can understand what Jeremiah's concerns were at the time of each passage. Undateable and inauthentic passages are in separate sections.

If readers who are not Biblical scholars want to understand the tumultuous life of this great thinker and poet, this is the book to read.