Suffering and the prophetic vocation
Abstract
The "self-disclosures" in Jeremiah, including
not only
the so-called
"confessions" but
also other first
person
material which seems to express the prophet's
inner
feelings,
are examined
in
a
detailed,
exegetical
fashion
with careful attention to-both the ancient versions and the
subsequent
history of exegesis. Special attention
is
given
to the works of Rashi and Kimchi. Three basic
questions are
asked:
1) What do the "self-disclosures"
represent?
2) To
what
degree can the "self-disclosures" be
said to portray
the historical Jeremiah? 3) Why are the "self-disclosures"
included in the corpus of Jeremianic literature?
These questions are approached
by
examining the
relevant passages against the backdrop
of the prophetic
orthodoxy of the late 7th
century B. C., which
is
seen to
consist of commonly
held
notions of the role, message, and
perhaps even temperament of the prophet within the current
socio-religious
framework. This orthodoxy
is
viewed as
having initially defined Jeremiah's understanding of the
prophetic office. But in the "self-disclosures" Jeremiah
wrestles with the other side of
his
experience as a prophet,
the painful and mysterious side, and attempts to forge
a new
understanding of the prophetic vocation.
In the end, the fundamental
element of the prophetic
vocation
for Jeremiah is
seen as the "Word of the Lord."
The prophet's conviction that he had been
entrusted with the
powerful, efficacious
"Word" became the touchstone of both
his vocational self-understanding and
his
authentication
against the false prophets who represented prophetic
orthodoxy. And the "Word"
was ultimately the source of
his
suffering. All of these elements may
be
seen
in the
call-narrative which
is
examined
in detail
as the
introduction to the entire
book.
The closing chapter of the thesis takes a closer
look
at the theological kerygma
of the "self-disclosures,"
particularly
in
relation to the problem of suffering.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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