The Divine Lamp

UPDATE: Oops!  The original  post should have included a note on verse 10, and now does.

Note #1: I’m quoting from Young’s Literal Translation of the bible, the reader may wish to use a more modern and up to date version, such as the NAB or the RSV.  This text uses the name Jehovah for God, a famous mispelling of the divine name ( יהוה) YHWY.

Note #2: at the bottom of the post you will see a”Topic” link which will allow you to participate in a forum on this post.  Please feel free to add comments, critigues, insights, or ask questions.

The Superscription:  Jeremiah 1:1-3

Jer 1:1  Words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who are in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin,
Jer 1:2  unto whom the word of Jehovah hath been in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign,
Jer 1:3  and it is in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, till the completion of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, till the removal of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

Notes on 1:1

Jeremiah. The meaning of the name is uncertain, however some scholars speculate that it means “one raised up by the Lord.”  If this is the case it calls to mind the prophecy of Moses in Deut 18:15-18: “The Lord thy God will raise up for you a prophet…I (God) will raise up for them a prophet like you (Moses) from among their brothers, and will put my words into his mouth.”  The ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy is found in our Lord (see Acts 3:19-23), whom many mistook for Jeremiah, raised from the dead (Matt 16:14).

Hilkiah. The name of Jeremiah’s father.  A high priest with this name found the book of the Law in the temple during repairs undertaken by the reform of King Josiah (2 Kings 22:4 ff).  Some have speculated that this was Jeremiah’s father, however, the fact that the prophet’s father is referred to in general terms as “(one” of the priests that were in Anathoth” rather than high priest militates against this.

Anathoth. A priestly town in the region of the Tribe of Benjamin (Josh 21:18; 1 Ch 6:45).  According to Isaiah 10:30 it was just a few miles north of Jerusalem.  Just as our Lord’s own townspeople opposed him (Mark 6:1-6; Luke 4:16-30), so too, the people of Anathoth opposed Jeremiah (11:21-23).

Notes on 1:2

Commenting on verse 1 the Protestant commentator Albert Barnes writes:

The usual title of the prophetic books is “the Word of the Lord,” but the two books of Amos and Jeremiah are called the words of those prophets, probably because they contain not merely the words of those prophets, probably because they contain not merely prophecies, but also the record of much which belongs to the personal history of the writers. This title might therefore be translated the “life of Jeremiah” or “acts of Jeremiah,” though some understand by it a collection of the prophecies of Jeremiah.

But this explanation fails to account for what is said in 1:9 And Jehovah putteth forth His hand, and striketh against my mouth, and Jehovah saith unto me, `Lo, I have put my words in thy mouth.

In the days of Josiah, king of Judah…in the thirteenth year of his reign. Jeremiah describes himself a youth in 1:6, suggesting a date of birth circa 650-645 B.C.  The thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign was circa 626.  Josiah was one of the greatest kings of the Davidic line.  He instituted a widespread reform of the covenant (2 Kings 22-23; 2 Ch 33-34).

Notes on 1:3

till the removal of Jerusalem in the fifth month. A reference to the Babylonian exile of 587 B.C.  In fact, Jeremiah’s ministry lasted beyond this time.  For an explanation see footnote 2 of the NAB.

The Call of Jeremiah (part 1) 1:4-10

Jer 1:4  And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5  `Before I form thee in the belly, I have known thee; and before thou comest forth from the womb I have separated thee, a prophet to nations I have made thee.’
Jer 1:6  And I say, `Ah, Lord Jehovah! lo, I have not known–to speak, for I am a youth.’
Jer 1:7  And Jehovah saith unto me, `Do not say, I am a youth, for to all to whom I send thee thou goest, and all that I command thee thou speakest.
Jer 1:8  Be not afraid of their faces, for with thee am I to deliver thee, –an affirmation of Jehovah.’
Jer 1:9  And Jehovah putteth forth His hand, and striketh against my mouth, and Jehovah saith unto me, `Lo, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10  I have set thee this day over the nations, and over kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant.

The Call of Jeremiah (part 1) Notes on 1:4

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me.  A stock prophetic phrase found throughout the prophetic books.

Notes on 1:5

`Before I form thee in the belly, I have known thee; and before thou comest forth from the womb I have separated thee, a prophet to nations I have made thee.’ Note the contrast in tenses: “Before I form thee…”, “before thou comest forth.”  Using the present tense of future events is typical of prophetic literature.  It commuicates the idea that what is being prophecied will come to pass (except when a prophecy is conditional, i.e., wont come to apss if the people repent).  Here, the contrast in tenses seems to emphasize the certainty of God’s foreknowledge of the prophet.  St Paul tells us that God chose him before his birth to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles (i.e., poeple of the nations) in Gal 1:15:16. See also Luke 1:13-17.

Notes on 1:6

And I say, `Ah, Lord Jehovah! lo, I have not known (how) to speak, for I am a youth.’ This reminds one of Moses’ initial response to his call in Exodus 4:10.  There Moses claimed to be a poor speaker, here Jeremiah appeals to his youth or inexperience in speaking to men concerning important subjects.

Notes on 1:7

Do not say, I am a youth, for to all to whom I send thee thou goest, and all that I command thee thou speakest. His youth and inexperience are irrelevant where God’s power is concerned.  The authority of the word, and, consequently the authority of the one preaching it, comes from the source of the word and the mission, namely God.

Notes on 1:8

Be not afraid of their faces, for with thee am I to deliver thee, –an affirmation of Jehovah.’ “Face” is Hebrew idiom for presence: “Be not afraid in their presence.”  “With thee I am” is not merely a statement of the divine presence.  The promise of the divine presence when given in the context of a mission is a promise and guarrantee of divine help and power in the performance of that mission.  See God’s promise to deliver St Paul in Acts 26:17.

Notes on 1:9

And Jehovah putteth forth His hand, and striketh against my mouth, and Jehovah saith unto me, `Lo, I have put my words in thy mouth. God’s striking the mouth of the prophet calls to mind the fact that the angel touched Isaiah’s lips with an ember in Isaiah 6:7.  the words “I have put my words into thy mouth” recalls the commissioning of Moses in Exodus 4:10-17.

Words and themes found in verse 7-9 are typical of prophetic call narratives (see Exek 3:1-10; Matt 28:18-20; ect).

Notes on 1:10

I have set thee this day over the nations, and over kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant.  Jeremiah’s mission is for both Jew and Gentile; and his message is one of both weal and woe.  See 18:7-9; 25:15-38; chapters 30-31,  46-51; ect.

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