Jeremiah - Dramatized Audio

The book preserves an account of the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah, whose personal life and struggles are shown to us in greater depth and detail than those of any other OT prophet. The meaning of his name is uncertain.


Suggestions include “The Lord exalts” and “The Lord establishes,” but a more likely proposal is “The Lord throws,” either in the sense of “hurling” the prophet into a hostile world or of “throwing down” the nations in divine judgment for their sins. Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry began in 626 b.c. and ended sometime after 586 (see notes on 1:2–3).

His ministry was immediately preceded by that of Zephaniah. Habakkuk was a contemporary, and Obadiah may have been also. Since Ezekiel began his ministry in Babylon in 593, he too was a late contemporary of the great prophet in Jerusalem. How and when Jeremiah died is not known; Jewish tradition, however, asserts that while living in Egypt he was put to death by being stoned (cf. Heb 11:37).

Jeremiah was a member of the priestly household of Hilkiah. His hometown was Anathoth (1:1), so he may have been a descendant of Abiathar (1Ki 2:26), a priest during the days of King Solomon. The Lord commanded Jeremiah not to marry and raise children because the impending divine judgment on Judah would sweep away the next generation (16:1–4). Primarily a prophet of doom, he attracted only a few friends, among whom were Ahikam (26:24), Gedaliah (Ahikam’s son, 39:14) and Ebed-Melech (38:7–13; cf. 39:15–18).

Jeremiah’s closest companion was his faithful secretary, Baruch, who wrote down Jeremiah’s words as the prophet dictated them (36:4–32). He was advised by Jeremiah not to succumb to the temptations of ambition but to be content with his lot (ch. 45). He also received from Jeremiah and deposited for safekeeping a deed of purchase (32:11–16), and accompanied the prophet on the long road to exile in Egypt (43:6–7). It is possible that Baruch was also responsible for the final compilation of the book of Jeremiah itself, since no event recorded in chs. 1–51 occurred after 580 b.c. (ch. 52 is an appendix added by a later hand).

READ MORE: https://tinyurl.com/intro-to-jeremiah