CHAPTER 1
Commentary Book One: Jeremiah 1–25
Dismantling Judah's Social and Symbolic Worlds
THE CALL OF JEREMIAH AS PROPHET TO THE NATIONS (JEREMIAH 1)
The first chapter of Jeremiah does not appear in its present position by accident. Jeremiah 1 provides a literary overview and programmatic introduction to the entire book. Its three major parts—a superscription (1:1-3), the call of Jeremiah proper (1:4-10), and related vision reports (1:1119)—operate as an interpretive guide that helps the reader negotiate the many difficult twists and turns in this untidy prophetic work.
Literary Analysis
Like almost every prophetic collection in the Bible, Jeremiah begins with an editorial heading that introduces the speaker or supposed writer, his family, and situational context (1:1-3). Modern readers often dismiss these beginnings as inconsequential. To do so, however, risks missing interpretive clues for understanding the present shape of the work and how the material functioned as a sacred text for historical Israel. Beyond introducing Jeremiah son of Hilkiah from the village of Anathoth, the superscription makes the astonishing claim that God authorizes the words that follow. The book of Jeremiah is thus no mere human artifact but a collage of oracles, stories, and prayers with transcendent claims.
At the same time, the editorial heading anchors this literature to ordinary human categories. The divine message bursts into space and time at a particular moment in history: "the word of the LORD came in the days of King Josiah ... in the thirteenth year of his reign ... until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month." Yahweh's utterance is culture-specific; it is geographic and is not disengaged from history, the arena of God's redemptive activity. To universalize the particular is to read against the grain of the text. Local contexts and real-life situations are the playing fields of the divine-human drama and the proper context for interpretation. The paradox of this prophetic speech is that it is both beyond history and rooted in history. Specifically, "the words of Jeremiah," a phrase that opens and closes the collection in 1:1 and 51:63, are nothing less than "the word of Yahweh" or sacred scripture (1:2).
Jeremiah is one of only two prophetic books that opens with the genesis of the prophet's activity (see also Ezek 1–3; cf. more obliquely Hos 1–3). The beginning of Jeremiah's prophetic career appears in the form of an "autobiographical" account of his call. The dialogue between Jeremiah and Yahweh divides into two parts: the call of Jeremiah proper, mostly in poetry (1:4-10) and two supporting vision reports written in prose (1:11-19).
The call of Jeremiah follows a literary pattern (Exod 3; Isa 6; Ezek 1–3; Judg 6:11-18) involving a divine encounter (Jer 1:4), a word of identification (Jer 1:5a), the commission (Jer 1:5b), an objection (Jer 1:6) followed by divine reassurance (Jer 1:7-8) and a sign (Jer 1:9-10; see also vv. 11-13) (Habel 1965, 297-323). This conventional genre functions as textual validation of the written words of Jeremiah. From the outset, the call account represents Jeremiah as a genuine prophet sent by God to speak God's words to the nations. The source of Jeremiah's speech is, therefore, neither the Jerusalemite establishment nor antiestablishment structures, or any other human agency. God authorizes Jeremiah to present in word and deed a harsh critique of Judah and the nations. Given the plethora of competing ideologies in the book, an assertion regarding Jeremiah's authority is critical.
The prose section that follows contains two visionary reports supporting the call of Jeremiah (1:11-19). As is customary in the book, prose material clarifies and elaborates poetry that precedes it. In this instance, the vision experiences underscore Yahweh's resolve to fulfill the divine word amid cosmic shaking. In particular, the text prepares Jeremiah for fierce battles and assures him of God's faithfulness throughout the upheaval.
The call and supporting vision reports together introduce salient aspects of the book. In the most elementary way, we meet its main characters, Yahweh and Jeremiah, whose presence and interplay are essential for the accomplishment of the divine program on earth. We also encounter the text's dominant themes in cryptic form: a "prophet like Moses" proclaiming the word of Yahweh (1:4-10), the utter reliability of this word (1:11-13), its rejection and the resultant dismantling of Judean life by an enemy from the north (1:14-16), a war waged against Jeremiah by the upper-tiers of the social hierarchy (1:17-18), and the cryptic hope of salvation while social and symbolic supports collapse (1:19). Chapter 1 is thus a thematic microcosm of the entire collection.
Exegetical Analysis
"Historical" Introduction (1:1-3)
The superscription of Jeremiah introduces the book as a literary unity despite its complex origins and miscellaneous character (1:1-3). Its major divisions—chapters 1–25 and chapters 26–52—create a unified "scroll." The superscription ascribes this scroll to Jeremiah. The designation "the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah" is significant. It represents the book as the product of a single individual. Apparently the incongruities that beset modern readers do not trouble the early framers. They attribute the multiple voices of the text to the prophet Jeremiah. Later developments are thereby not secondary or inauthentic accretions but are part of a rich reservoir of interpretations and reinterpretations, subsumed under the heading "the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah."
Jeremiah's association with a small village several miles from Jerusalem suggests that the lead character of the book is an outsider to the Jerusalem establishment and its recognized clergy. The writer of 1 Kings records that when Solomon consolidated his reign in the tenth century, he banished the treasonous Abiathar to Anathoth and authorized his rival Zadok as the legitimate family of priests in Jerusalem. Jeremiah's hometown thus implies a fringe and disenfranchised social location. The prophet is not a member of the guild. Nor is he a part of mainstream urban life. Jeremiah is simply an ordinary person with familial and social liabilities. This peripheral role, however, does not prevent Jeremiah from challenging the truth claims and repressive politics of the urban elite. Though uncredentialed, he confronts Judah's power brokers and shatters their entrenched assumptions. His insubordination to state rule creates anxiety and hostility in those well placed in the franchise. The prophet's refusal to knuckle under evokes bitter opposition and earns him the label of communal pariah.
The reference to the "thirteenth year of [King Josiah]" (627) and "the eleventh year of King Zedekiah ... the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month" (587) constitutes the temporal boundaries of Jeremiah. These forty years were the final years of statehood. During Josiah's reign, Judah's well-established systems of governance and piety were still in place. The monarchy was strong, the temple was reformed, the monopoly of the Jerusalem establishment was intact, and foreign forces were held at bay. The nation was robust and stout. But this would soon change. Throughout the reigns of Josiah's successors, Jehoiakim (609–598) and Zedekiah (598–587), Judah would come under attack from within and without, its social and political worlds would unravel, its culture would falter, and its belief systems would come unglued. Creation would return to chaos. The massive breakdown culminates in the "captivity of Jerusalem," which symbolizes the nation's last stand. Although segments of the book come from a period later than 587 (Jer 42–44; 52:31-34), the dark cloud of exile leaves its shadow over every word and event. The exile's shocking, perplexing, and disorienting memory shrouds all reality. The "captivity of Jerusalem" represents the defining moment of the book.
The Call of Jeremiah (1:4-10)
This ominous background sets the stage for the call of Jeremiah. The call narrative presents itself as a conversation between Yahweh and Jeremiah. Yahweh is the one who immediately takes the initiative. The Lord "chooses" Jeremiah before birth, "sets him apart," and "appoints" him "a prophet to the nations." This language of election is well-attested to in the Bible. For example, the "Servant of the Lord" in Isa 40–55 is "formed in the womb" (Isa 44:2, 24) and called before birth (Isa 49:1). Moses, whom God knows by name, is "made/appointed to be" like god to the pharaoh (Exod 7:1). The people of Israel are "known" or "chosen" by God (Hos 13:5; Amos 3:2). And priests are customarily "set apart" or "consecrated" for sacred tasks and sacred places. Using similar words, Paul defends his apostolic vocation by asserting that God had "set him apart" before he was born and called him through grace (Gal 1:15).
Like other great figures in the scriptures, Jeremiah shrinks at the prospect of divine service. "Ah Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy" (1:6). Jeremiah's shortcomings and self-doubt haunt him. He insists that he is too young and inexperienced to address the nations. His hesitation is reminiscent of two heroic figures: Moses and Solomon. When confronted with the huge responsibility of governing Israel, Solomon acknowledges that he is only a "young man" who "does not know how to go out or come in" (1 Kgs 3:7). Described as a "child" himself (Exod 2:7), Moses maintains that he is not "eloquent ... but slow of speech and slow of tongue" (Exod 4:10). Together with those who went before him, Jeremiah merely acknowledges his inability to fulfill the divine mandate, which is an appropriate response to God's beckoning.
God immediately quells Jeremiah's fears. Jeremiah need not be afraid because God promises to protect and go with him. "Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD" (1:8). Although this exact construction occurs primarily in Jeremiah, these words of assurance are far from unusual. Yahweh promises to be near many who find themselves debilitated by fears and uncertainties (e.g., Gen 31:3; Exod 3:12; 19:9; 33:14; Josh 1:5, 9; Judg 6:12, 16). Accompanying God's promise to Jeremiah is the assurance of deliverance, which calls to mind God's liberation of Israel from Egyptian bondage (see Exod 3:8; 5:23; 6:6; 12:27; 18:4; 1 Sam 10:18). As God delivered an oppressed and dispirited people from slavery, so God will rescue a reluctant and conflicted prophet from his enemies.
The Lord then touches Jeremiah's timid mouth, consecrating and empowering him for the task at hand (1:9). When God calls, God empowers. When God demands, God provides the resources to accomplish the assignment. The language here is significant in several accounts. First, the word placed in Jeremiah's mouth by God serves as a sign demonstrating the divine authority of the book. Again, the text claims that God authorizes the words that follow. Second, it casts Jeremiah in a Mosaic mold. The pledge "now I have put my words in your mouth" (1:9b) harkens back to the promise made to the "prophet like Moses" (Deut 18:18). The new Moses will be a "prophet ... from among [his] own kin" in whose mouth God "puts [God's] word" and "who shall speak to them everything that I command" (Deut 18:18). The text intimates that Jeremiah is this figure. Like the first Moses who led the people of Israel out of Egypt to the promised land, so Jeremiah, the second Moses, will straddle two worlds, a country behind him and a country ahead of him. The new Moses will pronounce the death of one world and the birth of another.
Commissioned and equipped for his prophetic task, Jeremiah is now privy to God's work on earth. God appoints Jeremiah as a prophet "over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down ... and to build and to plant" (1:10). This mission not only summarizes the major themes of Jeremiah but it also shapes the major contours of the book. Jeremiah 1–25 highlights the dangerous work of dismantling Judah's civic, cultural, and religious life, while 26–52 moves toward "building and planting." The first part of Jeremiah is a script for demolition, whereas the second begins to map out a new world beyond the cessation of the old one. Jeremiah 1:10 is thus the motto of Jeremiah.
Supporting Vision Reports (1:11-19)
Two vision reports support and embellish the call of Jeremiah. In the first report Jeremiah sees a "branch of an almond [watching] tree" (šaqed). God assures Jeremiah that he will "watch over" (šoqed) the word and eventually fulfill it (1:11-12). This "word" will perplex, disturb, and eventually transform the interior of Judah's social and religious life (cf. Heb 4:12-13). It will subvert political agendas, economic forces, and social conventions in order to accomplish its purposes. Yahweh will see to this. Next Jeremiah observes a boiling pot tipping over from the north, foreshadowing dangerous forces that will descend upon Jerusalem in a dreaded military assault (1:13-16). This alien horde will "set their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah" (1:15). The identity of these forces is unspecified. Their attack, however, will be no mere geopolitical incursion but a divine offensive against a nation in revolt. Yahweh warns Jeremiah that he too must prepare for a formidable battle. However, unlike Judah, his enemies originate from inside the boundaries. The established social and religious hierarchy—the power brokers of the state—will wage combat against him (1:17-19). Though they rise up against Jeremiah, they will not prevail, for Yahweh will be with him and will deliver him.
Theological and Ethical Analysis
Chapter 1 introduces Jeremiah's inaugural encounter with Yahweh as the "[coming of the word of the Lord]" (1:4, 11, 13), a formula customarily reserved for prophetic oracles. The autobiographical call narrative apparently places the "personal" in the "public eye" and affords the prophetic persona a status comparable to that of prophetic speech. Henceforth Jeremiah's experience and mission will transcend his individual existence. His private life, his struggles, prayers, persecution and rejection, and his call—all that creates the prophetic persona—are brought into public scrutiny and in the purview of the listening community. Conventional distinctions between the prophetic word and the prophetic life collapse. In this prophetic drama, the synergy of message and messenger generates the dynamic word of Yahweh. As Abraham Heschel has argued, the prophet is no mere instrument or mouthpiece, no disengaged messenger of God (2001, 30). Jeremiah is a partner or an associate whose entire being embodies God's work on earth (2001, 30-31). As such, the words of Jeremiah together with his screams of protest, rejection, and suffering body bear witness to the divine program for the nations.
Jeremiah appears as a larger-than-life figure in another way. In the opening chapter of the book, a symbiotic relationship between the life and destiny of Jeremiah and Judah begins to take shape. Jeremiah is on a course that corresponds to, contrasts with, and at times intersects that of the community. God calls the prophet and promises to save him; subsequently, God calls and promises to save the nation. The prophet is told that he will suffer the shattering of a world and yet come through the desolation as a wounded survivor. Likewise, the nation will experience the death of a world, which it will survive. In this way, Jeremiah mirrors and fully participates in the fate of his countrymen. The persona of Jeremiah, however, not only parallels Judah but also counters it. The prophet emerges as foil character whose conflicted obedience accentuates the nation's unambiguous disobedience. Whereas Judah and Jerusalem eventually decline God's many gracious invitations, Jeremiah reluctantly accepts God's call. Whereas Judah and Jerusalem cast their lot with other gods, Jeremiah casts his with Yahweh. In due course the obedient prophet will supplant the disobedient nation. God will transform a timid prophet into a "fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall" (1:18). In lieu of one "fortified city" (Jerusalem) going down in ruin, Jeremiah will develop into a "surrogate" city (Nasuti 1987, 258-62). Jeremiah represents one of the faithful who will form a new community of faith.
The call narrative is less concerned with actual personal experiences than theological construction. The text renders a quite particular theological world when it portrays the two major players: God and Jeremiah. As the divine-human drama opens, we encounter a God who is intimately involved in human affairs. God "forms from the womb," "knows," "consecrates," and "appoints" (1:5). In the face of fear and looming opposition, God promises to protect, defend, empower, and support (1:8, 11-13, 19). But God does not choose Jeremiah for Jeremiah's sake. God appoints Jeremiah for the sake of the world. Indeed, Jeremiah's mission as "prophet to the nations" signals God's profound concern for a wayward and rebellious world (see also Jer 46–51). Thus we meet in this first chapter a God whose interests reach far beyond the borders of any single nation (see esp. Jer 46–51).
