Jeremiah: A Composite Text

For years, scholars have grappled with the apparent editing that seems to have taken place in the book of Jeremiah. Some have argued for varying degrees of what many of them called “Deuteronomistic” influences.^[1]The “Deuteronomistic Editor” is a term used for the idea proposed in scholarship that much of the Hebrew Bible was edited by individual scribes or scribal schools. These editors had a specific … Continue reading Some argued for Deuteronomistic influence throughout the text of Jeremiah,^[2]Christl M. Maier, “The Nature of Deutero-Jeremianic Texts,” in Jeremiah’s Scriptures: Production, Reception, Interaction, and Transformation, Brill, 2017, p. 103-123. See also: Inter alia … Continue reading while others saw the book of Jeremiah as a combination of the words and writings of Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch in concert with Jeremiah, as well as a later Deuteronomistic editor.^[3]William McKane, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Jeremiah, Vol. 2: Commentary on Jeremiah, XXVI-LII (International Critical Commentary), T & T Clark, 1996, cxxxii. A close examination of the text of Jeremiah reveal that some editing has taken place and that the evidence suggests that Jeremiah is not the author of the entire text.

Here you can read some of the arguments from Biblical scholars who give evidence for the “seams” in the text of Jeremiah’s book that to many scholars, lend credence to the idea that Jeremiah’s oracles and life story went through a series of edits by later authors.