Who was Jeremiah?

THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

1. QUESTION

Who was Jeremiah, according to the retrieved source texts?

2. PRIMARY TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

The retrieved texts provide the following direct statements about Jeremiah:

1. Jeremiah as Prophet:

   • "Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy" (Jeremiah 19:14, KJV)
   • "Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet" (Jeremiah 28:12, KJV)
   • "The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah" (Jeremiah 45:1, KJV)
   • "The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles" (Jeremiah 46:1, KJV)
   • "Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem" (Jeremiah 29:1, KJV)
   • "The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah" (Jeremiah 51:59, KJV)

2. Jeremiah as Recipient of Divine Communication:

   • "The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth" (Jeremiah 14:1, KJV)
   • "The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD" (Jeremiah 21:1, KJV)

3. Jeremiah as Composer of Laments:

   • "And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations" (2 Chronicles 35:25, KJV)

4. Jeremiah's Activity and Location:

   • "So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD" (Jeremiah 26:7, KJV)
   • "All the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD" (Jeremiah 26:9, KJV)

3. LINGUISTIC/HISTORICAL DATA

From the texts provided:

• Jeremiah ministered during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah (Jeremiah 45:1) and during the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah (Jeremiah 21:1; 51:59).
• His ministry occurred in the context of Babylonian captivity under Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 29:1).
• He dictated prophecies to a scribe named Baruch the son of Neriah (Jeremiah 45:1).

Note: 1 Chronicles 12:10 references a different Jeremiah—a Gadite warrior, "Jeremiah the fifth"—unrelated to the prophet.

4. SCHOLARLY POSITIONS

The texts do not provide interpretive disputes; they uniformly designate the subject as "Jeremiah the prophet" who received "the word of the LORD."

5. SOURCES

• 2 Chronicles 35:25 (KJV)
• Jeremiah 14:1; 19:14; 20:3; 21:1; 26:7, 9; 28:6, 11, 12; 29:1; 45:1; 46:1; 51:59 (KJV)
• 1 Chronicles 12:10 (KJV)

6. CONSENSUS INDICATOR

Clear but limited. The retrieved texts clearly and consistently identify Jeremiah as a prophet of the LORD who ministered in Judah during the late monarchy and Babylonian period. However, the texts do not provide biographical details such as his lineage, birthplace, call narrative, or the full scope of his ministry. Additional source texts (e.g., Jeremiah 1:1–3) would be required to answer these aspects.