I have been working to figure out the most likely historical order of the chapters of Jeremiah. For example, the chapters relating to Jehoiakim clearly come before the chapters relating to Zedekiah. So I jumped from Jeremiah 20 to chapter 25 to chapter 36 and back to chapter 22.
However, I missed some chapters. I believe the order I should have followed is 20, 25, 26, 35, 36, 45, 22. In other words, I missed three chapters. Today, I want to fill in those gaps. As a sidenote, some think chapters 7-10 might also relate to the reign of Jehoiakim.
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1. Jeremiah 26 comes from early in the reign of Jehoiakim (26:1). [1] In Jeremiah 25, the prophet predicted that Israel would go into exile. In this next chapter, Yahweh commands Jeremiah to go prophecy in the temple. Yahweh still holds out hope that they will turn back to him (26:3). See my "next" post on Jeremiah 36 on God's omniscience in Jeremiah. As before, Jeremiah warns that the Jerusalem temple might end up like Shiloh (cf. Jer. 7).
The response is not repentance. Rather, they tell Jeremiah he is going to die for preaching against the temple (26:8). Officials come from the king's house to the temple to say the same. Jeremiah reminds them that he is speaking for Yahweh. It is they who need to change their ways so that Yahweh will change his mind about destroying Jerusalem and its temple (26:13). They can do what they want with him, but they will experience the consequences (26:15).
So in verses 16-19, some more cautious voices respond. They remind them of how Micah prophesied similar things during the reign of Hezekiah (26:18). But they repented and Yahweh changed his mind about letting the Assyrians destroy them (26:19).
Then we hear the fate of a prophet who did not escape like Jeremiah. A prophet named Uriah preached against Jehoiakim and had to flee to Egypt to escape death. They hunted him down, brought him back, and killed him (26:20-23). However, Jeremiah was under the protection of Ahikam.
2. Jeremiah 35 should have come next in the series. In this chapter, Jeremiah gives a test to a clan known as the Rechabites. Perhaps this was a family of Nazirites. An ancestor of theirs, Jonadab, had committed to Yahweh that his family and descendants would not drink wine (which implies that Jeremiah and most in Israel did). Jonadab the son of Rechab lived some 200 years earlier.
Jeremiah tests them. He takes them to the temple and offers them wine. They do not accept the offer. Then Jeremiah praises them, contrasting them with the rest of Judah, which was faithless.
Another commitment they had was to live in tents rather than build houses. However, because of the threat of Nebuchadnezzer, they were staying (presumably with others) within the city walls.
3. I have already looked at Jeremiah 36. In that chapter, Jeremiah sends Baruch to the temple since he has been forbidden from coming there. The chapter to which I should have gone next is Jeremiah 45.
After Baruch had read the scroll of Jeremiah's prophecies in the temple and also taken it to the king, he and Jeremiah are told to go into hiding so that they are not put to death. This very short chapter gives Jeremiah's words thereafter to Baruch. Jeremiah tells Baruch not to expect great things of his life. Judah will be destroyed. Baruch will survive, but he will live in the context of great suffering.
[1] Jeremiah 26 is Jeremiah 33 in the LXX.
[2] Jeremiah 35 is Jeremiah 42 in the LXX.
[3] Jeremiah 45 is Jeremiah 51:31-35 in the LXX.
Scroll I (same in MT and LXX)Jeremiah 1 (Josiah, 628BC)
Jeremiah 2
Jeremiah 3
Jeremiah 4
Jeremiah 5
Jeremiah 6
Jeremiah 7
Jeremiah 8
Jeremiah 9
Jeremiah 10
Jeremiah 11 (Jehoiakim, 609BC)
Jeremiah 12
Jeremiah 13-18
19. Jeremiah 19-20
Scroll II (different order in MT and LXX)
20. Jump to Jeremiah 25 (605BC, Jeremiah 32 LXX)
21. Jeremiah 26 and 35
22. Jump to Jeremiah 36 (605BC, Jeremiah 43 LXX)
Jeremiah 45
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