When did this word from the Lord come to Jeremiah?

The central theme in this section of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:1–29:32) is the opposition Jeremiah faced in Judah throughout his ministry. Jeremiah 26:1–24 highlighted the political opposition he faced, especially from King Jehoiakim. In Jeremiah 27:1–29:32 the other source of major opposition is described: the false prophets. This conflict with the false prophets has already been mentioned in the book (Jeremiah 14:11–16; Jeremiah 23:9–40) and is expanded on here.

There are certain very clear features in the Hebrew text that identify Jeremiah 27:1–29:32 as a narrative that existed independently before being inserted into the book at this point.¹ The most obvious of these features is the fact that only in these chapters is the Hebrew spelling for Lord, ya, rather than yahu as in the rest of the book. Also, the Babylonian king’s name is spelt Nebuchadnezzar, whereas in the rest of the book it is spelt Nebuchadrezzar. The most likely scenario is that these chapters were compiled shortly after the events occurred and the distinctive literary features suggest that someone other than Baruch wrote them.² Regardless of who compiled the chapters, they were included at this point of the book and they give crucial insight into the impact that false prophets had on both Jeremiah and the people of Judah.

The three chapters (Jeremiah 27:1–29:32) have the same historical background. The opening verse of Jeremiah 27:1–22 says that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah. The events recorded in Jeremiah 28:1–17 are closely linked to the events of Jeremiah 27:1–22 with the words, In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year (Jeremiah 28:1). The events of Jeremiah 27:1–22 and Jeremiah 28:1–17 therefore take place in the year 594/593 BC, the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. He became king of Judah after King Jeconiah and his mother had been taken into exile after the Babylonian invasion in 597 BC (see Jeremiah 22:24–30). The events of Jeremiah 29:1–32 occur earlier in Zedekiah’s rule, shortly after the invasion of 597 BC. Once again, we see how events are not always arranged chronologically in the book.