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==Historical-critical textual analysis==

==Historical-critical textual analysis==

Although the letter is extant only in Greek, certain linguistic and stylistic elements point to an original composition in Hebrew or Aramaic, late 4th to early 1st century B.C.. Sources: Jeremiah, chapter 10-2-15 and chapter 29. Original Language: Certain features of the Greek versions presume a semitic ''Vorlage'' (Hebrew or Aramaic). A vorlage (German, "prototype" or "template") refers to a prior version or manifestation of a text under consideration, reconstructed by working backwards from the words of the translation, but unknown in reality, or not extant. Other early versions (Latin, Syriac, Arabic) are translations of the Greek. Possibly composed about 300 B.C. by a Jew living in Babylonia, the text suggests by its intensity that idolatry threatened fidelity to the God of Israel.

Although the letter is extant only in Greek, certain linguistic and stylistic elements point to an original composition in Hebrew or Aramaic, late 4th to early 1st century B.C.. Sources: Jeremiah, chapter 10-:2-15 and chapter 29. Original Language: Certain features of the Greek versions presume a semitic ''Vorlage'' (Hebrew or Aramaic). A vorlage (German, "prototype" or "template") refers to a prior version or manifestation of a text under consideration, reconstructed by working backwards from the words of the translation, but unknown in reality, or not extant. Other early versions (Latin, Syriac, Arabic) are translations of the Greek. Possibly composed about 300 B.C. by a Jew living in Babylonia, the text suggests by its intensity that idolatry threatened fidelity to the God of Israel.

Babylonians are believed to have carried their idols around on their shoulders. Some scholars point to this description as evidence that Jeremias may have actually written this work. Adding to this, the Jewish historian Josephus mentions a legend where Jeremias sends a letter to the exiles in Babylon and commands that it be thrown into the sea after it has been delivered. See Jeremiah 51:59-64.

Babylonians are believed to have carried their idols around on their shoulders. Some scholars point to this description as evidence that Jeremias may have actually written this work. Adding to this, the Jewish historian Josephus mentions a legend where Jeremias sends a letter to the exiles in Babylon and commands that it be thrown into the sea after it has been delivered. See Jeremiah 51:59-64.

===The Qumran fragment===

===The Qumran fragment===

The Letter of Jeremias, like the book of Baruch, was conserved—together with the Greek translation of the Book of Jeremias—in the Septuagint. The oldest witness of the letter is a fragment of a Greek papyrus, written about 160 BC and found among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran.  Though, according to some experts, the idolatry described in the book fits Babylonian cults, the only clear indication of its date is that of the Qumran fragment. Whether the letter was originally written in Greek or is a translation from Hebrew or Aramaic is difficult to decide.  

The Letter of Jeremias, like the book of Baruch, was conserved—together with the Greek translation of the Book of Jeremias—in the Septuagint. The oldest witness of the letter is a fragment of a Greek papyrus, written about 160 BC and found among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran.  Though, according to some experts, the idolatry described in the book fits Babylonian cults, the only clear indication of its date is that of the Qumran fragment. Whether the letter was originally written in Greek or is a translation from Hebrew or Aramaic is difficult to decide.

==References==

==References==