Jeremiah
Israelite / Jew Hebrew, priest of Anathoth (Benjamin) · Divided Kingdom · Old Testament
- Also called
- Jeremias, Jeremy
- Name means
- The LORD exalts (commonly given)
- Role
- Weeping prophet of Judah's last days
- When
- c. 627-580 BC (traditional)
What they did
Called as a youth to be a prophet unto the nations. He warned Judah for forty years, was imprisoned and rejected, and saw Jerusalem fall to Babylon.
Why it matters: the purpose of their role
Amid judgment he announced God's new covenant, with the law written on the heart, fulfilled through Christ's blood (Luke 22:20).
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV)
Bible references
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: Jeremiah 1:1 (KJV)
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV)
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Jeremiah 31:31 (KJV)
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Matthew 16:14 (KJV)
Family
- Father
- Hilkiah
God told him not to take a wife in that place (Jeremiah 16:2).