In yesterday’s post we took a quick look at the Prophet Jeremiah: his times and his message. One of the points made was the complexity of the book’s organization and noting that the layout of the book was not chronological. We noted that during the reign of King Josiah, Jeremiah’s ministry was supported by the initiatives of reform from the king. But subsequent kings were not Josiah and at his passing, the priests, court prophets and supporters of the next kings were definitely not in agreement with Jeremiah’s ministry or message.

Jeremiah’s own relatives plotted his death (11:18–12:6). Pashhur, the high priest, had him scourged and thrown into the stocks overnight (20:1–2). He preached against abuses in the temple, was put on trial for his life and barely acquitted (ch. 26). He had to go into hiding during most of the twelve-year reign of King Jehoiakim. When a book of his sermons was read before the king, the king fed the manuscript page by page into a fire (ch. 36).

In 604 BC, while in hiding, Jeremiah dictated to his secretary, Baruch, the gist of what he had preached during his past twenty-three years as a prophet (see ch. 36 and 25:1–14). When the king had Jeremiah’s manuscript burned (36:21–23), Jeremiah had Baruch compose a new manuscript (36:32). Scholars believe that the greater part of this second manuscript has been preserved in chapters 1–20 and chapter 25 of the present Book of Jeremiah. It is speculated that verses 1–14 of chapter 25 are the conclusion of the manuscript written in 604. The rest of the book (chs. 26–52) is made up of biographical material about Jeremiah (chs. 26–44), a collection of Jeremiah’s prophecies against the pagan nations (chs. 45–51), and a final chapter (ch. 52) taken from 2 Kgs 25.

This is why we speak of the Book of Jeremiah reaching “final written form.”  It was up to Baruch and other editors to compile and arrange all of the available material into a cogent form. And so today we will briefly look at the design/structure of this prophetic book. Traditional outlines are offered at the end of this post, but I’d recommend you take a few minutes to watch this overview video of the Book of Jeremiah.

But for those who’d prefer a written outline, the book may be divided as follows:

1. Oracles in the Days of Josiah (1:1–6:30)
2. Oracles Primarily from the Days of Jehoiakim (7:1–20:18)
3. Oracles in the Last Years of Jerusalem (21:1–25:38)
4. The Temple Sermon (26:1–24; cf. 7:1–15)
5. Controversies with the False Prophets (27:1–29:32)
6. Oracles of the Restoration of Israel and Judah (30:1–35:19)
7. Jeremiah and the Fall of Jerusalem (36:1–45:5)
8. Oracles Against the Nations (46:1–51:64)
9. Historical Appendix (52:1–34)

Peter Ellis offers this thematic outline of the book: “The best the reader can do is to try to read each collection of material as a collection, asking of each collection what its message as a whole is. This is the way we shall deal with the book in this commentary. It is not the only way, but it is the least confusing way. Reading the book in its present order, we shall comment on its message under the following headings:”

       Part I Jeremiah’s call (1:1–19)

       Part II Jeremiah’s preaching from 626 to 604 b.c.e. (2:1–20:18)

1. Jeremiah’s earliest sermons (2:1–6:30)
2. The temple sermon (7:1–8:3)
3. Accusations and judgments (8:4–10:25)
4. Deuteronomic sermons, confessions, and parables (11:1–20:18)

       Part III Prophecies against the kings and the false prophets (21:1–25:38)

1. Prophecies against the kings and false prophets (21:1–24:10)
2. The conclusion of Jeremiah’s book (25:1–38)

       Part IV Biographical material and the new covenant (26:1–33:26)

1. The temple sermon (26:1–24)
2. Jeremiah against the false prophets (27:1–29:32)
3. Jeremiah and the new covenant (30:1–33:26)

       Part V Disobedience and destruction (34:1–39:18)

1. The broken pact with the slaves (34:1–22)
2. The Rechabites obey but Israel does not (35:1–19)
3. Contempt for the word of the Lord (36:1–32)
4. Contempt for the Lord’s prophet (37:1–38:28)
5. The fall of Jerusalem (39:1–18)

       Part VI Disobedience to the end (40:1–45:8)

1. Jeremiah at Mizpah (40:1–42:22)
2. Jeremiah in Egypt (43:1–44:30)
3. A message for Baruch (45:1–5)

       Part VII Collected oracles against the nations and conclusion (46:1–52:34)

1. Oracles against the nations (46:1–51:64)
2. Conclusion of the book (52:1–34)
3. The influence of Jeremiah

Image credit: The Prophet Jeremiah, Michelangelo, fresco on ceiling of Sistine Chapel, Vatican City | Public Domain