Jeremiah 52 in the Context of the Book of JeremiahI noted the publication of the book here.
Jeremiah 52, the final chapter of the Book of Jeremiah, is very similar to the end of the Book of Kings. The first part of the chapter gives an extensive account of the 587 BC fall of Jerusalem (52:1–30; cf. 2 Kgs 24:18–25:21), while the second part briefly narrates the release of King Jehoiachin from a prison in Babylon some decades later (52:31–34; cf. 2 Kgs 25:27–30). The style and contents of the text indicate that, in the first instance, it was written as the conclusion of Kings. At a later moment, an editor of the Book of Jeremiah considered it appropriate to reuse the material at the end of his own work. Why would he have done so? What could have been his purpose with this final chapter in which the prophet Jeremiah and his words are left unmentioned?
See Also: Jeremiah 52 in the Context of the Book of Jeremiah (VTSup 183. Leiden: Brill, 2020)
By Henk de Waard
Theologische Universiteit Apeldoorn
The Netherlands
April 2020
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