Letter of Jeremiah

At a glance

Length: One chapter, 73 verses in Brenton.⁶
Found in: A separate book in Brenton; Baruch 6 in Catholic Bibles and the KJV Apocrypha.⁶
Genre: Mocking arguments against idols.^{5 sources}5 sources7. Baruch 6:16 8. Baruch 6:23 9. Baruch 6:29 10. Baruch 6:73 11. (ed.)
Setting: People about to be taken to Babylon.^{12 13}
Early copy: Greek fragment 7Q2 from Qumran; Gallagher dates it to the first century BC.^{4 sources}4 sources14. Baruch 6:43 15. Baruch 6:44 16. Authority 17. Gallagher

Summary

Why fear an idol that cannot protect itself? The Letter of Jeremiah uses mockery and repeated warnings to argue that idols are not gods. At the end, it commends a just person who has no idols, turning its attack into a comparison with the life of a just person.^{5 sources}5 sources7. Baruch 6:16 8. Baruch 6:23 9. Baruch 6:29 10. Baruch 6:73 11. (ed.)

A warning before captivity
Opening
The heading addresses future exiles. The letter says their stay in Babylon will last seven generations, unlike the seventy years in Jeremiah 29.^{4 sources}4 sources12. Baruch 6:1 13. (ed.)18. Baruch 6:3 19. Jeremiah 29:10
Look at what these gods cannot do
Arguments against idols
Priests steal the idols’ gold. The images become black with smoke and are covered by bats and birds. Refrains repeat the warning not to fear them.^{10 sources}10 sources1. Baruch 6:10 2. Baruch 6:21 3. Baruch 6:22 4. Baruch 6:70 5. Kohler 7. Baruch 6:16 8. Baruch 6:23 9. Baruch 6:29 10. Baruch 6:73 11. (ed.)
A scarecrow and a just person
Ending
An idol is compared with a scarecrow in a cucumber garden. The conclusion values a just person without idols above these objects of worship.^{10 sources}10 sources1. Baruch 6:10 2. Baruch 6:21 3. Baruch 6:22 4. Baruch 6:70 5. Kohler 7. Baruch 6:16 8. Baruch 6:23 9. Baruch 6:29 10. Baruch 6:73 11. (ed.)

Stories

The guardians take the gold
The idols and their priests
The letter describes idols whose priests steal their gold. Kohler, a Jewish scholar, praises the work’s sarcasm and vivid imagery.^{5 sources}5 sources1. Baruch 6:10 2. Baruch 6:21 3. Baruch 6:22 4. Baruch 6:70 5. Kohler
Birds and bats settle on the gods
The exposed idols
Smoke blackens the idols, and bats and birds cover them. These images form part of the letter’s attack on idols.^{5 sources}5 sources1. Baruch 6:10 2. Baruch 6:21 3. Baruch 6:22 4. Baruch 6:70 5. Kohler

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

Jeremiah 10:1–16 · The attack on idolsmedium confidence
Jewish scholar Kohler reads the Letter as drawing especially on Jeremiah 10, including verse 11. He also names Isaiah 44:9–19, Isaiah 46:1–2, and Psalms 115 and 135 as sources for its attack on idols.^{4 sources}4 sources20. Jeremiah 10:3 21. Jeremiah 10:5 22. Jeremiah 10:11 5. Kohler

Background

2 Maccabees 2:1–3 · The letter’s headinglow confidence
Ball compares the heading with the tradition that Jeremiah warned deportees against gold and silver images. Second Maccabees does not identify this surviving letter by name.^{4 sources}4 sources23. 2 Maccabees 2:1 24. 2 Maccabees 2:2 25. 2 Maccabees 2:3 13. (ed.)

Contrasts

Jeremiah 29:10 · The opening warning
The letter gives seven generations in Babylon, while Jeremiah 29:10 gives seventy years. Ball treats the seven generations as deliberate; Kohler suggests a mistake for seven decades.^{18 19}

Where each church stands

Letter of Jeremiah Full table →

Protestant: Read, not for doctrine (Baruch 6)
Covered by 'Baruch the Prophet' in Article VI; the KJV in our DB prints it as Baruch 6 (kjv Bar.6.1).
Confidence: medium²⁶
Catholic: Scripture (Baruch 6)²⁷
Greek Orthodox: Scripture (separate book (Epistle of Jeremiah))^{28 29 30}
Russian (Slavonic) Orthodox: Varies (separate book (Послание Иеремии))
Marked 'non-canonical' in the Synodal Bible.
^{31 32 30}
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo: Scripture (Lamentations 6, within Säqoqawä Eremyas ('the rest of Jeremiah'))³³

Why some kept it, why others left it out

Greek church bishops Athanasius and Cyril counted the Letter with Jeremiah, Baruch and Lamentations. Latin translator Jerome omitted it with Baruch from his Jeremiah translation. Catholic scholar Gigot defends its inspiration while leaving personal authorship open; the Church of England’s Article VI places Baruch among books read for instruction rather than doctrine. Physical arrangement and authority are separate questions: Greek manuscripts and later versions do not all group the Letter alike.^{6 sources}6 sources34. Alexandria 35. Jerusalem 36. Edgecomb 37. Gigot 5. Kohler 38. England 1919

Kept

Early church: Greek

Athanasius and Cyril included the Letter within the scriptural book of Jeremiah, alongside Baruch and Lamentations.^{34 35}

Catholic

Gigot rests its inspired standing on the Church’s recognition, while leaving open whether Jeremiah himself wrote it.³⁷

Left out

Early church: Latin

Jerome omitted the Letter with Baruch. Gigot reports that he also described it as falsely bearing Jeremiah’s name.^{36 37}

Protestant: Anglican

Article VI puts Baruch, whose sixth chapter contains the Letter in this arrangement, among books read for instruction without establishing doctrine.^{38 6}

Misconceptions

Myth Second Maccabees explicitly quotes the Letter of Jeremiah.
Actually: It recounts Jeremiah warning deportees about idols. Ball discusses a possible relationship with the heading, but the passage does not identify this Letter.^{4 sources}4 sources23. 2 Maccabees 2:1 24. 2 Maccabees 2:2 25. 2 Maccabees 2:3 13. (ed.)

Related books

Sources

40 sources

At a glance

Summary

Contents

A warning before captivity

Look at what these gods cannot do

A scarecrow and a just person