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Deuterocanonical book of the Old Testament of the Bible

The Letter of Jeremiah, also known as the Epistle of Jeremiah, is a deuterocanonical book of the Old Testament; this letter is attributed to Jeremiah and addressed to the Jews who were about to be carried away as captives to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. It is included in Roman Catholic Bibles as the final chapter of the Book of Baruch (Baruch 6). It is also included in Orthodox Bibles as a separate book, as well as in the Apocrypha of the Authorized Version.

According to the text of the letter, the author is the biblical prophet Jeremiah. The biblical Book of Jeremiah itself contains the words of a letter sent by Jeremiah "from Jerusalem" to the "captives" in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:1–23 (NKJV)). 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." Against the traditional view, most contemporary scholars agree that the author was not Jeremiah: one exception is the Roman Catholic commentator F. H. Reusch. 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 than "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 century BC) 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).

The date of this work is uncertain. Most scholars agree that it is dependent on certain biblical passages, notably Isa 44:9–20, 46:5–7, and thus can be no earlier than 540 BC. Since a fragment (7Q2) was identified among the scrolls in Qumran Cave 7, it can be no later than 100 BC. Further support for this terminus ad quem may be found in a possible reference to the letter in 2 Maccabees 2:1–3. Letter of Jeremiah vv. 4–6 (NEB) 2 Maccabees 2:1–3Now 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 c. 317–307 BC. Tededche notes: "It is well known that many Jews were attracted to alien cults throughout the Greek period, 300 BC onward, so that the warning in the letter might have been uttered any time during this period."

The letter is actually a 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: 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. The conclusion reiterates the warning to avoid idolatry.

Baars, W. (1961). "Two Palestinian Syriac Texts Identified as Parts of the Epistle of Jeremy," Vetus Testamentum 11:77–81. Baillet, M., et al., eds. (1962). Les "Petites Grottes" de Qumran, 143. Discoveries in the Judean Desert III. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Rahlfs, Alfred, ed. (1935). Septuaginta, 2 vols., 2:766 70. Stuttgart: Privilegierte Württembergische Bibelanstalt. 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.

Ball, C. J. (1913). "Epistle of Jeremy," in The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, ed. R. H. Charles, 2 vols., 1:596–611. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Dancy, J. C. (1972). The Shorter Books of the Apocrypha, 197–209. The Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gifford, E. H. (1888). "The Epistle of Jeremy," in The Holy Bible according to the authorized version (A. D. 1611). : With an explanatory and critical commentary and a revision of the translation by clergy of the Anglican church. Apocrypha, ed. C. F. Cook, 287–303. London: John Murray. Moore, Carey A. (1977). Daniel, Esther, and Jeremiah: The Additions. The Anchor Bible 44. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

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 Freedman, 6 vols., 3:698–706. New York: Doubleday. Pfeiffer, Robert H. (1949). History of New Testament Times with an Introduction to the Apocrypha, 426–32. New York: Harper and Brothers. Tededche, S. (1962). "Jeremiah, Letter Of," in The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, 4 vols., 2:822 23. Nashville: Abingdon. Torrey, C. C. (1945). The Apocryphal Literature: A Brief Introduction, 64–67. New Haven: Yale University Press.