The late seventh and early sixth centuries were the most difficult times that the sons of Israel faced. They had survived the idolatrous reigns of Manasseh and Amon without incurring the wrath of Yahweh. Their leader Josiah had brought about extensive religious and political reforms that would seem to insure a bright future for the nation, but with his untimely death these reforms were immediately forgotten and even blamed for the troubles that the nation faced. Prophetic activity was in part responsible for the reformation and for the decline. What made the apostasy great was that the king, the princes, the priests, the landed gentry, and the prophets took part in and were primarily responsible for the great defection. It seemed that only one family, one scribe, and one prophet stood in opposition to the rest of society. At the forefront of the great spiritual conflict was one man, Jeremiah. Being from a family of exiled priests this man took advantage of his lineage, which insured that his person was inviolate, to walk in the streets of Jerusalem and even in courts of the temple and the palace to say, "Hear the word of Yahweh!" For this stance as a man of God, he would suffer loss, abuse, and humiliation. His soul would be in trouble from without and within.

This course will examine his tragedy of his life, the torture of his soul, and the messages that he delivered to his generation. The teacher and the students will enter into the critical discussion that surrounds this prophet's work. The student will be introduced to the tools of scholarly research so that when the course is over he can continue the study of the text in an objective fashion.

Upon completion of this course the student who has applied himself should . . .

• demonstrate a general knowledge of the issues centering on the date, historical context, authorship, and major critical problems associated with this book.
• be familiar with the contents of the book and the major themes developed by the author.
• have gained an appreciation for the literary, liturgical, and devotional values of this portion of biblical material.
• be able to relate the material presented to the needs of modern man.be a able to practice sound hermeneutical principles as he deals with the text.
  
  
  AGENDA

Weeks 1-4: Introduction to the book of Jeremiah

• Date and Authorship
• Structure
• Historicity
• The Contribution of John Bright
• Zechariah and Daniel Reflect on Jeremiah
• Theology: Zion-David (Conditional-Unconditional Covenant), Mosaic Covenant, Shub as a Way to Life
• A Historical Framework

• Jeremiah and His Nation 
  
  
• 627-622: Early Preaching: of Jeremiah
• 622-609: The Silent Years
• 609: The Death of Josiah
• 609-605: Judah as an Egyptian Vassal
• 605-601: Judah as a Babylonian Vassal
• 601-598: A Few Days of Freedom
• 597-594: A Spineless King
• 594: False Prophets and a Failed Council
• 594-588: False Hopes are Raised
• 588-586: The Beautiful Princess is Defiled
• 586-582: Gedaliah is Governor
• 582-?: A Silent End
• God and All His Nations

Weeks 14-15: Theological Reflection

Textbooks are not an option, but a necessity for the completion of this course. The value of a textbook transcends the immediate needs of a course in that it should become an invaluable part of a Christian's library.

        Walter Bruggeman, Jeremiah

Undergraduate:

All students must complete the following two assignments. If the student only does these assignments the maximum grade he will receive in the course is B+.

• There will be two preliminary exams in the course covering the following topics: 
  
  
• The Critical Introduction the Book: This will cover the class lectures and the introduction to Bruggeman's commentaries.
• The content and historical framework of Jeremiah's theology. 
  
  
• There will be a final test over the following topics. 
  
  
• Jeremiah's 70 weeks prophecy
• The New Covenant
• Jeremiah's Hope

The following are acceptable types of projects:
 

• A traditional term paper dealing with one of the following: 
  
  
• The Problem of the Structure of the Book.
• Jeremiah in Jewish Eschatological Thought
• Jeremiah and the Problem of Evil
• Jeremiah the Martyr Prophet
• Nebuchadnezzar: God's Servant
• A Study of Isaiah's Prophecies Concerning the Days of Jeremiah 
  
  
• A translation project based on the Greek, Hebrew, or Latin text of Jeremiah. The student will meet once a week to read the text and discuss grammatical features.

Each project will be assigned one of the following values:

    0     No increase in the student's grade
    1     One Increment Increase
    2     Two Increments Increase
    3     Three Increments Increase

Graduate:

The graduate student must do all of the above assignments. Since this is a graduate level course only an A, B, or F will be assigned as a final grade.  All projects, tests, and papers must be of sufficient quality and value to award graduate credit for the course.

The student who is using this class for his non-thesis option must do a 30-35 page paper for his project. The paper may use either footnotes or endnotes, but not parenthetical notes. The student must show evidence of having read from at least 25 books in preparation for the paper.

The relative value of each project is as follows:

    Test #1: 20 %
    Test #2: 20%
    Final Test: 50%
    Project: 10%

In the thinking of the teacher, the grade of C is an honorable grade. The grade of D is not given, except in rare circumstances, because this is a Bible course in a Bible College. It is inconceivable that a person should receive this grade and claim to have majored in Bible.

The grade a student receives is based upon objective fact and has nothing to do with whether or not the teacher likes him as a person. Mistakes in grading have and can be made. If you think that this is the case, please make an appointment with the professor to discuss the matter.

The penalty that is assessed will be based upon the reason for the tardiness, the importance of the assignment, and any other circumstance that might have bearing on the matter. If a person is habitually tardy or absent, mercy will not be extended.

I usually don't pay attention to what a student wears, BUT if what you wear gets me in trouble then it is forbidden. What I allow in my class is not necessarily what is allowed in someone else's class. Dress each day according to the strictest dress code of the day, which would include the hallway. In both hot and cold weather I do allow shorts (even when it is 30 below). More important than what we wear is how and why we wear it.

The tests and assignments listed may be modified in the sense that the professor may choose to change the due date or cancel the assignment or test completely. No assignment will be added unless it is voluntary and for extra credit. The professor does not guarantee that all listed topics will be covered. Papers will be returned at the professor's discretion. Final tests will not be returned. Student's are responsible to challenge any grade that they think is incorrect by the end of the first week of the following semester