THE THEOLOGY OF JEREMIAH: THE BOOK, THE MAN, THE MESSAGE, by John Goldingay

A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance

by Benjamin J. Montoya

 

About the Author

John Goldingay (PhD, University of Nottingham; DD, Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth) is senior professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary and lives in Oxford, England. His many books include An Introduction to the Old Testament, A Reader’s Guide to the Bible, Biblical Theology, the three-volume Old Testament Theology, and the seventeen-volume Old Testament for Everyone series. He has also published his translation of the entire Hebrew Bible as The First Testament. He is a Church of England minister, and now that he is back in England likes walking by the Thames, rediscovering English food, worshiping in Christ Church Cathedral, and relearning British English.

 

Editorial Disclaimer

We at Books At a Glance hold enthusiastically to our stated theological commitments. Please note that John Goldingay, whose work we feature here, holds some critical positions that are inconsistent with these commitments. For example, he denies that the prophet Jeremiah is the author of the prophecy. Benjamin Montoya, PhD, will address this matter in his review (posted here). We offer the summary here for its overall value as an overview of the book of Jeremiah, especially for its connections to Christian theology. Furthermore, Goldingay is clearly familiar with the original text of Jeremiah, and his insights from his time in the text are apparent.

 

Introduction

What should we know about Jeremiah as a prophet, his message, and his relevance for today? John Goldingay is an Old Testament scholar with lots of insight into the book of Jeremiah. Consider our summary to learn more!

 

Table of Contents

Part 1:  The Man, the Scroll, the Story, the Messages
Chapter 1  The Man and the Scroll
Chapter 2  Reading Jeremiah Backwards
Chapter 3  The Themes in Jeremiah 1—25
Chapter 4  The Themes in Jeremiah 26—52

Part 2:  The Theology of the Jeremiah Scroll
Chapter 5  God
Chapter 6  The People of God
Chapter 7  Wrongdoing
Chapter 8  Being a Prophet
Chapter 9  The Future

 

Summary

 

Part 1: The Man, the Scroll, the Story, the Messages

 

Chapter 1: The Man and the Scroll

To understand the book, or the scroll, more specifically, of Jeremiah, we must consider a little more about Jeremiah himself. Jeremiah’s background comes from that of a priestly family. What is particularly important about that is that he would have been engaged in teaching and counseling in Anathoth. This background would serve him well when God called him to become a prophet. God called Jeremiah to become a prophet at a young age. Jeremiah’s words, then, must be considered to be God’s words because Jeremiah spoke for God himself. Jeremiah also suffered greatly and provided many lamentations as a result. . . .

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