The Man Jeremiah and his Mission: The Prophet Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, was of the priesthood race, and a native of Anathoth, a village in the tribe of Benjamin, within a few miles of Jerusalem, which had been appointed for the use of the priests, the descendants of Aaron. He was called to the prophetic office when very young; probably when he was fourteen years of age, and in the thirteenth of the reign of Josiah, 629 BC. He continued to prophesy till after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, and about two years afterwards till he died in Egypt. The name Jeremiah translated from the Hebrew word yirmeyahu, means Jehovah throws. In addition, throughout the times of Jeremiah, Jehovah over threw many enemies of Judah.
Jeremiahs’ Style of Writing: Many of the same characteristics may be seen in Jeremiah’s style of writing. He did not possess those gifts, which make the orator. He did not have any of that strength and vigor, nor of that warmth of imagination, which characterize Isaiah and Micah. His usual method is to set his main thought before the mind in a succession of images. They seldom grow out of one another, but simply form a succession of illustrations, each of which is full of poetry. His simile is constantly dismissed almost before it has been fully presented to the mind in order that he may declare his meaning in plain language. This fullness of illustration is exactly in harmony with Jeremiah’s subject. No lot could have been more dreary to a man of intense patriotism like Jeremiah than to see the ruin of his country steadily approaching, to mark each step of its advance, to have to point out its causes, and to know the sole remedy, but also to know that none would heed his words.
Contemporary Kings in during Jeremiah: The kings under whom Jeremiah prophesied succeeded each other in the following order: Josiah; Jehoahaz; Jehoiachin, or Jeconiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah. Only Josiah was a good