Epistle of Jeremy
Encyclopedia
The Letter of Jeremiah, also known as the Epistle of Jeremy, is a deuterocanonical book of the Old Testament
; this letter purports to have been written by Jeremiah
to the Jews who were about to be carried away as captives to Babylon
by Nebuchadnezzar
. It is included in Catholic
Bibles as the final chapter of the Book of Baruch
. It is also included in Orthodox
Bibles as a standalone book. The title of this work is misleading, for it is neither a letter nor was it written by the prophet Jeremiah
.
. The biblical book of Jeremiah
already contains the words of a letter (Jer 29:1-23) sent by Jeremiah "from Jerusalem" to the "captives" in Babylon
. The Letter of Jeremiah portrays itself as a similar piece of correspondence.
As E. H. Gifford puts it, "The fact that Jeremiah had written one such letter to the captives seems to have suggested the idea of dignifying by his name another letter not written in reality till many ages after his death."
Most scholars agree that the author was not Jeremiah. The chief arguments put forward are literary quality, as well as the religious depth and sensitivity. J. T. Marshall adds that the use of "seven generations" (v. 3) rather that "seventy years" (Jer 29:10) for the duration of the exile "points away from Jeremiah towards one who deplored the long exile." The author may have been a Hellenistic Jew who lived in Alexandria
, but it is difficult to say with certainty. The earliest manuscripts containing the Epistle of Jeremiah are all in Greek. The earliest Greek fragment (1st cent. BCE) was discovered in Qumran
. Gifford reports that in his time "the great majority of competent and impartial critics" considered Greek to be the original language. As one of these critics O. F. Fritzsche
put it, "If any one of the Apocryphal books was composed in Greek, this certainly was." The strongest dissenter from this majority view was C. J. Ball, who marshalled the most compelling argument for a Hebrew original. However, Yale
Semitic
scholar C. C. Torrey
was not persuaded: "If the examination by a scholar of Ball's thoroughness and wide learning can produce nothing better than this, it can be said with little hesitation that the language was probably not Hebrew." Torrey's own conclusion was that the work was originally composed in Aramaic. In recent years the tide of opinion has shifted and now the consensus is that the "letter" was originally composed in Hebrew (or Aramaic).
Cave 7, it can be no later than 100 BCE. Further support for this terminus ad quem may be found in a possible reference to the letter in 2 Maccabees
2:1-3.
As mentioned above, the use of "seven generations" rather than "seventy years" points to a later period. Ball calculates the date to be ca. 307-317 BCE. And Tededche notes: "It is well known that many Jews were attracted to alien cults throughout the Greek period, 300 BCE onward, so that the warning in the letter might have been uttered any time during this period."
The earliest evidence we have of the question of its canonicity arising in Christian tradition is in the work of Origen of Alexandria, as reported by Eusebius
in his Church History
. Origen listed Lamentations
and the Letter of Jeremiah as one unit with the Book of Jeremiah
proper, among "the canonical books as the Hebrews have handed them down," though scholars agree that this was surely a slip.
Jerome
provided the majority of the translation work for the vulgar (popular) Latin
translation of the Bible, called the Vulgate
Bible. In view of the fact that no Hebrew text was available, Jerome refused to consider the Epistle of Jeremiah, as the other books he called apocryphal
, canonical.
Despite Jerome's reservations, the epistle is included as chapter 6 of the book of Baruch
in the Old Testament
of the Vulgate. The Authorized King James Version follows the same practice, while placing Baruch in the Apocrypha section as does Luther's Bible
. In the Ethiopian Orthodox canon, it forms part of the "Rest of Jeremiah", along with 4 Baruch
(also known as the Paraleipomena of Jeremiah).
The epistle is one of four deuterocanonical books
found among the Dead Sea scrolls
(see Tanakh at Qumran
). (The other three are Psalm 151
, Ben Sira
, and Tobit
.) The portion of the epistle discovered at Qumran
was written in Greek. This does not preclude the possibility of the text being based on a prior Hebrew or Aramaic text. However, the only text available to us has dozens of linguistic features available in Greek, but not in Hebrew, hence introductions of a Greek editor, not required for minimalist translation.
, or harangue, against idols and idolatry.Bruce M. Metzger suggests "one might perhaps characterize it as an impassioned sermon which is based on a verse from the canonical Book of Jeremiah." That verse is Jer 10:11, the only verse in the entire book written in Aramaic.
The work was written with a serious practical purpose: to instruct the Jews not to worship the gods of the Babylonia
ns, but to worship only the Lord
. As Gifford puts it, "the writer is evidently making an earnest appeal to persons actually living in the midst of heathenism, and needing to be warned and encouraged against temptations to apostasy." The author warned the Hebrew exiles
that they were to remain in captivity for seven generations, and that during that time they would see the worship paid to idols. Readers were extolled not to participate, because the idols were created by men, without the powers of speech, hearing, or self-preservation. Then follows a satirical denunciation of the idols. As Gifford explains, in this folly of idolatry "there is no clear logical arrangement of the thought, but the divisions are marked by the recurrence of a refrain, which is apparently intended to give a sort of rhythmical air to the whole composition." The conclusion reiterates the warning to avoid idolatry.
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
; this letter purports to have been written by Jeremiah
Jeremiah
Jeremiah Hebrew：יִרְמְיָה , Modern Hebrew:Yirməyāhū, IPA: jirməˈjaːhu, Tiberian:Yirmĭyahu, Greek:Ἰερεμίας), meaning "Yahweh exalts", or called the "Weeping prophet" was one of the main prophets of the Hebrew Bible...
to the Jews who were about to be carried away as captives to Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
by Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar was the name of several kings of Babylonia.* Nebuchadnezzar I, who ruled the Babylonian Empire in the 12th century BC* Nebuchadnezzar II , the Babylonian ruler mentioned in the biblical Book of Daniel...
. It is included in Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Bibles as the final chapter of the Book of Baruch
Book of Baruch
The Book of Baruch, occasionally referred to as 1 Baruch, is called a deuterocanonical book of the Bible. Although not in the Hebrew Bible, it is found in the Septuagint and in the Vulgate Bible, and also in Theodotion's version. It is grouped with the prophetical books which also include Isaiah,...
. It is also included in Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
Bibles as a standalone book. The title of this work is misleading, for it is neither a letter nor was it written by the prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah
Jeremiah Hebrew：יִרְמְיָה , Modern Hebrew:Yirməyāhū, IPA: jirməˈjaːhu, Tiberian:Yirmĭyahu, Greek:Ἰερεμίας), meaning "Yahweh exalts", or called the "Weeping prophet" was one of the main prophets of the Hebrew Bible...
.
Author
According to the text of letter, the author is the prophet JeremiahJeremiah
Jeremiah Hebrew：יִרְמְיָה , Modern Hebrew:Yirməyāhū, IPA: jirməˈjaːhu, Tiberian:Yirmĭyahu, Greek:Ἰερεμίας), meaning "Yahweh exalts", or called the "Weeping prophet" was one of the main prophets of the Hebrew Bible...
. The biblical book of Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
already contains the words of a letter (Jer 29:1-23) sent by Jeremiah "from Jerusalem" to the "captives" in Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
. The Letter of Jeremiah portrays itself as a similar piece of correspondence.
| Letter of Jeremiah 1 (KJV) | Jeremiah 29:1 (KJV) |
| A copy of an epistle, which Jeremy sent unto them which were to be led captives into Babylon by the king of the Babylonians, to certify them, as it was commanded by God. | Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives ... and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. |
As E. H. Gifford puts it, "The fact that Jeremiah had written one such letter to the captives seems to have suggested the idea of dignifying by his name another letter not written in reality till many ages after his death."
Most scholars agree that the author was not Jeremiah. The chief arguments put forward are literary quality, as well as the religious depth and sensitivity. J. T. Marshall adds that the use of "seven generations" (v. 3) rather that "seventy years" (Jer 29:10) for the duration of the exile "points away from Jeremiah towards one who deplored the long exile." The author may have been a Hellenistic Jew who lived in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, but it is difficult to say with certainty. The earliest manuscripts containing the Epistle of Jeremiah are all in Greek. The earliest Greek fragment (1st cent. BCE) was discovered in Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
. Gifford reports that in his time "the great majority of competent and impartial critics" considered Greek to be the original language. As one of these critics O. F. Fritzsche
Otto Fridolinus Fritzsche
Otto Fridolinus Fritzsche also Otto Fridolin Fritzsche was a German Protestant theologian...
put it, "If any one of the Apocryphal books was composed in Greek, this certainly was." The strongest dissenter from this majority view was C. J. Ball, who marshalled the most compelling argument for a Hebrew original. However, Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
Semitic
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
scholar C. C. Torrey
Charles Cutler Torrey
Charles Cutler Torrey was an American historian, archeologist and scholar who presented manuscripturial evidence to support alternate views on Christian and Islamic religious sources and origins...
was not persuaded: "If the examination by a scholar of Ball's thoroughness and wide learning can produce nothing better than this, it can be said with little hesitation that the language was probably not Hebrew." Torrey's own conclusion was that the work was originally composed in Aramaic. In recent years the tide of opinion has shifted and now the consensus is that the "letter" was originally composed in Hebrew (or Aramaic).
Date
The date of this work is uncertain. Most scholars agree that it is dependant on certain biblical passages, notably Isa 44:9-20, 46:5-7, and thus can be no earlier than 540 BCE and since a fragment (7Q2) was identified among the scrolls in QumranQumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
Cave 7, it can be no later than 100 BCE. Further support for this terminus ad quem may be found in a possible reference to the letter in 2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book of the Bible, which focuses on the Jews' revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes and concludes with the defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor in 161 BC by Judas Maccabeus, the hero of the work....
2:1-3.
| Letter of Jeremiah vv. 4-6 (NEB) | 2 Maccabees 2:1-3 (NEB) |
| Now in Babylon you will see carried on men's shoulder's gods made of silver, gold, and wood, which fill the heathen with awe. Be careful, then, never to imitate these Gentiles; do not be overawed by their gods when you see them in the midst of a procession of worshippers. But say in your hearts, "To thee alone, Lord, is worship due." | The records show that it was the prophet Jeremiah who ordered the exiles ... not to neglect the ordinances of the Lord, or be led astray by the sight of images of gold and silver with all their finery. |
As mentioned above, the use of "seven generations" rather than "seventy years" points to a later period. Ball calculates the date to be ca. 307-317 BCE. And Tededche notes: "It is well known that many Jews were attracted to alien cults throughout the Greek period, 300 BCE onward, so that the warning in the letter might have been uttered any time during this period."
Canonicity
Although the "letter" is included as a discrete unit in the Septuagint, there is no evidence of it ever having been canonical in the Jewish tradition.The earliest evidence we have of the question of its canonicity arising in Christian tradition is in the work of Origen of Alexandria, as reported by Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
in his Church History
Church History (Eusebius)
The Church History of Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea was a 4th-century pioneer work giving a chronological account of the development of Early Christianity from the 1st century to the 4th century. It was written in Koine Greek, and survives also in Latin, Syriac and Armenian manuscripts...
. Origen listed Lamentations
Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
and the Letter of Jeremiah as one unit with the Book of Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
proper, among "the canonical books as the Hebrews have handed them down," though scholars agree that this was surely a slip.
Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
provided the majority of the translation work for the vulgar (popular) Latin
Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin is any of the nonstandard forms of Latin from which the Romance languages developed. Because of its nonstandard nature, it had no official orthography. All written works used Classical Latin, with very few exceptions...
translation of the Bible, called the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
Bible. In view of the fact that no Hebrew text was available, Jerome refused to consider the Epistle of Jeremiah, as the other books he called apocryphal
Biblical apocrypha
The word "apocrypha" is today often used to refer to the collection of ancient books printed in some editions of the Bible in a separate section between the Old and New Testaments...
, canonical.
Despite Jerome's reservations, the epistle is included as chapter 6 of the book of Baruch
Book of Baruch
The Book of Baruch, occasionally referred to as 1 Baruch, is called a deuterocanonical book of the Bible. Although not in the Hebrew Bible, it is found in the Septuagint and in the Vulgate Bible, and also in Theodotion's version. It is grouped with the prophetical books which also include Isaiah,...
in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
of the Vulgate. The Authorized King James Version follows the same practice, while placing Baruch in the Apocrypha section as does Luther's Bible
Luther Bible
The Luther Bible is a German Bible translation by Martin Luther, first printed with both testaments in 1534. This translation became a force in shaping the Modern High German language. The project absorbed Luther's later years. The new translation was very widely disseminated thanks to the printing...
. In the Ethiopian Orthodox canon, it forms part of the "Rest of Jeremiah", along with 4 Baruch
4 Baruch
The Rest of the Words of Baruch or Paralipomena of Baruch is the pseudepigraphical text that appears in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Old Testament Biblical canon...
(also known as the Paraleipomena of Jeremiah).
The epistle is one of four deuterocanonical books
Deuterocanonical books
Deuterocanonical books is a term used since the sixteenth century in the Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books and passages of the Christian Old Testament that are not part of the Hebrew Bible. The term is used in contrast to the protocanonical books, which are...
found among the Dead Sea scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
(see Tanakh at Qumran
Tanakh at Qumran
The Tanakh is the Hebrew Bible and Qumran is an archaeological site near the Dead Sea. More than two hundred portions of the Tanakh have been found near Qumran, forming part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scrolls were found in a series of caves, which have since been numbered, and these numbers used...
). (The other three are Psalm 151
Psalm 151
Psalm 151 is the name given to a short psalm that is found in most copies of the Septuagint but not in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. The title given to this psalm in the Septuagint indicates that it is supernumerary, and no number is affixed to it: "This Psalm is ascribed to David and...
, Ben Sira
Ben Sira
Jesus ben Sirach , commonly known simply as ben Sirach or Sirach and also rendered "Jesus son of Sirach" or "Jesus Siracides", was the author of the deuterocanonical Wisdom of Sirach and possibly the rabbinical Alphabet of Sirach...
, and Tobit
Book of Tobit
The Book of Tobit is a book of scripture that is part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon, pronounced canonical by the Council of Carthage of 397 and confirmed for Roman Catholics by the Council of Trent...
.) The portion of the epistle discovered at Qumran
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
was written in Greek. This does not preclude the possibility of the text being based on a prior Hebrew or Aramaic text. However, the only text available to us has dozens of linguistic features available in Greek, but not in Hebrew, hence introductions of a Greek editor, not required for minimalist translation.
Contents
The "letter" is actually a satireSatire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, or harangue, against idols and idolatry.Bruce M. Metzger suggests "one might perhaps characterize it as an impassioned sermon which is based on a verse from the canonical Book of Jeremiah." That verse is Jer 10:11, the only verse in the entire book written in Aramaic.
The work was written with a serious practical purpose: to instruct the Jews not to worship the gods of the Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
ns, but to worship only the Lord
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
. As Gifford puts it, "the writer is evidently making an earnest appeal to persons actually living in the midst of heathenism, and needing to be warned and encouraged against temptations to apostasy." The author warned the Hebrew exiles
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
that they were to remain in captivity for seven generations, and that during that time they would see the worship paid to idols. Readers were extolled not to participate, because the idols were created by men, without the powers of speech, hearing, or self-preservation. Then follows a satirical denunciation of the idols. As Gifford explains, in this folly of idolatry "there is no clear logical arrangement of the thought, but the divisions are marked by the recurrence of a refrain, which is apparently intended to give a sort of rhythmical air to the whole composition." The conclusion reiterates the warning to avoid idolatry.
Text editions
- Baars, W. (1961). "Two Palestinian Syriac Texts Identified as Parts of the Epistle of Jeremy," Vetus TestamentumVetus TestamentumVetus Testamentum is an academic journal covering various aspects of the Old Testament....
11:77-81. - Baillet, M., et al., eds. (1962). Les "Petites Grottes" de Qumran, 143. Discoveries in the Judean Desert III. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Fritzsche, O. F.Otto Fridolinus FritzscheOtto Fridolinus Fritzsche also Otto Fridolin Fritzsche was a German Protestant theologian...
(1871). Libri Apocryphi Veteris Testamenti Graece, 102. Lipsiae: F.A. Brockhaus. - Rahlfs, AlfredAlfred RahlfsAlfred Rahlfs was born in Linden, Hannover, Germany. He studied Protestant Theology, Philosophy, and Oriental Languages in Halle and Göttingen, from where he received a Dr. Phil. in 1881...
, ed. (1935). Septuaginta, 2 vols., 2:766-70. Stuttgart: Privilegierte Württembergische Bibelanstalt. - Swete, Henry BarclayHenry Barclay SweteHenry Barclay Swete was an English Biblical scholar. He became Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge in 1890. He is known for his 1906 commentary on the Book of Revelation, and other works of exegesis....
, ed. (1899). The Old Testament in Greek according to the Septuagint, 2nd ed., 3 vols., 3:379-84. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - Weber, Robert, ed. (1994). Biblia sacra: iuxta Vulgatam versionem, 1262-65. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.
- Ziegler, Joseph, ed. (1957). Ieremias, Baruch, Threni, Epistula Ieremiae, 494-504. Göttinger Septuaginta XV. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Translations with commentary
- Ball, C. J. (1913). "Epistle of Jeremy," in The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, ed. R. H. CharlesRobert Henry CharlesRobert Henry Charles was an English biblical scholar and theologian. He is known particularly for English translations of apocryphal and pseudepigraphal works, and editions including Jubilees , the Book of Enoch , and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs which have been widely used.He was...
, 2 vols., 1:596-611. Oxford: Clarendon Press. - Gifford, E. H. (1888). "Epistle of Jeremy," in Apocrypha, ed. Henry Wace, 2 vols., 2:287-303. The Speaker's Commentary. London: John Murray.
- Dancy, J. C. (1972). The Shorter Books of the Apocrypha, 197-209. The Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Moore, Carey A. (1977). Daniel, Esther, and Jeremiah: The Additions. The Anchor Bible 44. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Introductions
- Charles, R. H.Robert Henry CharlesRobert Henry Charles was an English biblical scholar and theologian. He is known particularly for English translations of apocryphal and pseudepigraphal works, and editions including Jubilees , the Book of Enoch , and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs which have been widely used.He was...
(1911). "Jeremy, Epistle Of," in 'Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed.Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh EditionThe Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time...
15:325. - Cheyne, T. K.Thomas Kelly CheyneThomas Kelly Cheyne was an English divine and Biblical critic. He was born in London and educated at Merchant Taylors' School, London, and Oxford University....
(1901). "Jeremiah, Epistle Of," in Encyclopædia Biblica, ed. T. K. Cheyne & J. S. Black, 4 vols., 2:2395. New York: Macmillan. - Fritzsche, O. F.Otto Fridolinus FritzscheOtto Fridolinus Fritzsche also Otto Fridolin Fritzsche was a German Protestant theologian...
(1851). Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch zu den Apokryphen des Alten Testamentes, 205-220. Leipzig: Weidmann. - Kaiser, Otto (2004). The Old Testament Apocrypha: An Introduction, 62-64. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
- Marshall, J. T. (1909). "Jeremy, Epistle Of," in Dictionary of the Bible, ed. James Hastings, 4 vols., 2:578-79. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
- Metzger, Bruce M. (1957). An Introduction to the Apocrypha, 95-98. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Moore, Carey A. (1992). "Jeremiah, Additions To," in Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel FreedmanDavid Noel FreedmanDavid Noel Freedman , son of the writer David Freedman, was a biblical scholar, author, editor, archaeologist, and ordained Presbyterian minister ....
, 6 vols., 3:698-706. New York: Doubleday. - Nickelsburg, George W. E. (1984). "Epistle of Jeremiah," in Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period, ed. Michael E. Stone, 146-49. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
- Oesterley, W. O. E. (1914). The Books of the Apocrypha: Their Origin, Teaching and Contents, 506-8. New York: Revell.
- Pfeiffer, Robert H. (1949). History of New Testament Times with an Introduction to the Apocrypha, 426-32. New York: Harper and Brothers.
- Schürer, EmilEmil SchürerEmil Schürer was a German Protestant theologian.-Biography:Schürer was born at Augsburg.After studying at Erlangen, Berlin and Heidelberg from 1862 to 1866, he became in 1873 professor extraordinarius at Leipzig and eventually professor ordinarius at Göttingen...
(1896). A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, 5 vols., 3:195. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. - Schürer, EmilEmil SchürerEmil Schürer was a German Protestant theologian.-Biography:Schürer was born at Augsburg.After studying at Erlangen, Berlin and Heidelberg from 1862 to 1866, he became in 1873 professor extraordinarius at Leipzig and eventually professor ordinarius at Göttingen...
(1987). The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, rev. and ed. Géza Vermes, et al., 3 vols., 3/2:743-45. Edinburgh: T & T Clark. - Tededche, S. (1962). "Jeremiah, Letter Of," in The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, 4 vols., 2:822-23. Nashville: Abingdon.
- Torrey, C. C.Charles Cutler TorreyCharles Cutler Torrey was an American historian, archeologist and scholar who presented manuscripturial evidence to support alternate views on Christian and Islamic religious sources and origins...
(1945). The Apocryphal Literature: A Brief Introduction, 64-67. New Haven: Yale University Press. - Vriezen, T. C. and A. S. van der Woude (2005). Ancient Israelite and Early Jewish Literature, 542-44. Leiden: Brill.
- Westcott, B. F.Brooke Foss WestcottBrooke Foss Westcott was a British bishop, Biblical scholar and theologian, serving as Bishop of Durham from 1890 until his death.-Early life and education:...
and H. RyleHerbert Edward RyleHerbert Edward Ryle KCVO DD , was an author, Old Testament scholar, and the Dean of Westminster.-Early life:Dr Ryle was born in Onslow Square, South Kensington, London, on 25 May 1856, the second son of John Charles Ryle , the first Bishop of Liverpool, and his second wife, Jessie Elizabeth Walker...
(1893). "Epistle of Jeremiah," in A Dictionary of the Bible, ed. W. Smith, 2nd ed., 3 vols., 1:361. London: John Murray.
External links
- Text of the Epistle of Jeremy from CCEL
- Letter of Jeremiah in the KJV (Letter of Jeremiah) in the New American BibleNew American BibleThe New American Bible is a Catholic Bible translation first published in 1970. It had its beginnings in the Confraternity Bible, which began to be translated from the original languages in 1948....
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Epistle of Jeremiah
- The Catholic Encyclopedia: Baruch
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Epistle of Jeremy
- Introduction and Text of the Letter of Ieremias from the New English Translation of the Septuagint