Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (Christian Scripture) - MA (CSc)

Department

Theology

First Advisor/Committee Member

Bo Lim, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Old Testament

Keywords

Bible Jeremiah xi 18-23, Bible Jeremiah xii 1-6, Bible Jeremiah xv 10-21, Bible Jeremiah xvii 14-18, Bible Jeremiah xviii 19-23, Bible Jeremiah xx 7-13, Confessions

Abstract

The Confessions of Jeremiah are a collection of six first-person poems in the Book of Jeremiah: Jeremiah 11:18-23; 12:1-6, 15:10-21; 17:14-18; 18:19-23 and 20:7-13. This thesis is an exegetical study of all six Confessions, with a focus on the final form of the book of Jeremiah and the overarching narrative found within the final presentation of the text. Throughout the thesis I have argued that the Confessions fulfill a dual purpose: a communal purpose and an individual purpose. The communal purpose is to represent the pain of the remnant who remain faithful to word of the LORD despite persecution by the unbelieving nation of Judah. The individual purpose of the Confessions is connected with the character of the prophet Jeremiah; by placing the Confession into the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah the Confessions have an individual, prophetic purpose. They represent the difficulty and pain experienced by the prophet because of the prophet’s unique relationship with the word of the LORD. The prophet contains, feels, internalizes and announces the word of the LORD. He, along with the faithful remnant, is persecuted by the unbelieving nation. However, as the one containing the word of the LORD, the prophet also feels and internalizes the emotions connected to the word of the LORD. The prophet experiences personal pain because of persecution, the pain of containing and announcing the word of the LORD, and the pain of the LORD translated through the word into the prophet.

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Additional Rights Information

Copyright held by author.

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