Changes

See [[Apocrypha]].

See [[Apocrypha]].

==Canonical Status==

==Canonical status==

The Letter of Jeremiah is included in the inspired text among the Books of the Bible of the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Russian Orthodox Churches. It is considered apocryphal in the Jewish and Protestant canons. It is not included in the Hebrew Scriptures of the [[Tanakh]], but is included among the Old Testament Apocrypha of Protestants. It is included in Orthodox Bibles (Septuagint) as a separate book. In the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church|Ethiopian Orthodox canon]], it forms part of the "Rest of Jeremiah", along with 4 Baruch (also known as the ''Paraleipomena of Jeremiah''). In the Roman canon in Catholic Bibles, it is a [[Biblical Canon|deuterocanonical]] work originally appended as a sixth chapter to the Book of Baruch in the Vulgate as the final chapter of Baruch. (The Book of Baruch itself is thus regarded as an apocryphal book of the Old Testament by only about one in four Christian believers.<ref name=Prot/>)

The Letter of Jeremiah is included as an inspired text among the Books of the Bible of the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Russian Orthodox Churches. It is considered apocryphal in the Jewish and Protestant canons. It is not included in the Hebrew Scriptures of the [[Tanakh]], but is included among the Old Testament Apocrypha of Protestants. It is included in Orthodox Bibles (Septuagint) as a separate book. In the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church|Ethiopian Orthodox canon]], it forms part of the "Rest of Jeremiah", along with 4 Baruch (also known as the ''Paraleipomena of Jeremiah''). In the Roman canon in Catholic Bibles, it is a [[Biblical Canon|deuterocanonical]] work originally appended as a sixth chapter to the Book of Baruch in the Vulgate as the final chapter of Baruch. (The Book of Baruch itself is regarded as an apocryphal book of the Old Testament by less than one-third of Christian believers.<ref name=Prot/>)

==Alternate Titles==  

==Alternate titles==  

The Epistle of Jeremiah is also known as The Letter of Jeremiah, The Epistle of Jeremias, and Epistle of Jeremy.  

The Epistle of Jeremiah is also known as The Letter of Jeremiah, The Epistle of Jeremias, and Epistle of Jeremy.  

The letter attacks the folly of idolatry as did Jeremias' letter “to those who were to be taken to Babylon as captives.” See Jeremiah, chapter 10:2-15 and chapter 29.

The letter attacks the folly of idolatry as did Jeremias' letter “to those who were to be taken to Babylon as captives.” See Jeremiah, chapter 10:2-15 and chapter 29.

The author warns the Hebrew exiles that they will remain in captivity for seven generations, and that during that time they will see the worship paid to idols. Readers are exhorted not to participate, because the idols are created by men, without the powers of speech, hearing, or self-preservation. In verse 70 the author compares an idol to a scarecrow—impotent to protect, but it deludes the imagination.

The author warns the Hebrew exiles that they will remain in captivity for seven generations, and that during that time they will see the worship paid to idols. Readers are exhorted not to participate, because the idols are created by men, without the powers of speech, hearing, or self-preservation. The Letter contains ten warnings that end in a kind of refrain that the idols are not gods and are not to be feared (vv. 14, 22, 28, 39, 44, 51, 56, 64, 68). In verse 70 the author compares an idol to a scarecrow in a cucumber patch—impotent to protect, but its appearance deludes the imagination.

===Outline===

===Outline===

The Book of Baruch, Chapter 6: Letter of Jeremias.

The Book of Baruch, Chapter 6: Epistle of Jeremias.

*6:1 - "The Letter of Jeremiah"

*6:1 - "A copy of the letter which Jeremiah sent to those who were to be taken to Babylon as captives"

*6:2-6:7 - The People Face a Long Captivity

*6:2-7 - The People Face a Long Captivity

*6:8-6:39 - The Helplessness of Idols

*6:8-39 - The Helplessness of Idols

*6:40-6:73 - The Foolishness of Worshiping Idols

*6:40-73 - The Foolishness of Worshiping Idols

==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.

Babylonians are believed to have carried their idols around on their shoulders. Some scholars point to this description as evidence that Jeremiah/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.

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 appear to be Jeremiah, chapter 10:2-15 and chapter 29. Regarding the original language of the manuscript(s) from which it has been translated, certain features of the Greek versions indicate 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, or not extant in reality. 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.

Most scholars argue that the author was not Jeremias, but a Hellenistic Jew who lived in Alexandria, that it is not a letter, nor was it written by Jeremiah, but was composed by an anonymous Jewish author, probably of the diaspora in Babylon (or Egypt) or of Hellenistic Palestine, and is a literary fiction ''pseudonymously'' credited to Jeremiah, as a homily attacking the folly of idolatry. Whoever the author, the work was written with a serious practical purpose: to instruct the Jews not to worship the gods of the Babylonians, but to worship only the Lord. It is a polemic against the worship of idols, developed around a verse in the Book of Jeremiah (10:11), stating that false gods shall perish. The author’s primary target was probably the Babylonian deity Tammuz, an agricultural god whose cult was associated with orgiastic fertility rites.

Most scholars argue that the author was not Jeremias, but a Hellenistic Jew who lived in Alexandria, that it is not a letter, nor was it written by Jeremiah, but was composed by an anonymous Jewish author, probably of the diaspora in Babylon (or Egypt) or of Hellenistic Palestine, and is a literary fiction ''pseudonymously'' credited to Jeremiah, as a homily attacking the folly of idolatry. Whoever the author, the work was written with a serious practical purpose: to instruct the Jews not to worship the gods of the Babylonians, but to worship only the Lord. It is a polemic against the worship of idols, developed around a verse in the Book of Jeremiah (10:11), stating that false gods shall perish. The author’s primary target was probably the Babylonian deity Tammuz, an agricultural god whose cult was associated with orgiastic fertility rites.

===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 Epistle 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 (7QLXXEpJer). According to some experts, although 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==