This post is a summary of the article “Jeremiah ‘the Prophet’” by Loren Spendlove in Volume 64 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.
A video introduction to this Interpreter article is now available on all of our social media channels, including on YouTube at https://youtube.com/shorts/El4SP5Ndlic.
The Takeaway
Spendlove argues, based on evidence from the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls, that Jeremiah was not initially listed as “among the prophets” by his contemporaries, a fact that’s reflected in how he’s referred to by Nephi in the Book of Mormon.
The Summary
In this article, Loren Spendlove compares how the title of “prophet” was applied to Jeremiah in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in light of the complex redaction history of the book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament. Derived from the Hebrew
navi, meaning to “to call or proclaim”, Spendlove discusses how being a prophet does not necessarily mean that one was immediately listed “among the prophets”, noting the example of King Saul in 1 Samuel 10. This appears to be the case with Jeremiah, whose changes over time suggest that his title as “prophet” was a much later addition, as evidenced by the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
These alternate sources suggest there were distinct textual traditions for Jeremiah, with the version we use today repeatedly (and at times systematically) adding the term “prophet” as a title, and another with that title conspicuously absent. From the perspective of his contemporaries, Jeremiah would have been seen primarily as a priest, one coming from outside Jerusalem, and with a dim view of Jerusalem’s cadre of temple priests and “prophets”.
The Book of Mormon appears to show a similar divergence in its treatment of Jeremiah. In 1 Nephi, Jeremiah is mentioned twice: once in 1 Nephi 5:13, where Nephi is outlining the contents of the brass plates, and once in 1 Nephi 7:14 where he is explaining to his brothers the apostasy characterizing Jerusalem. In both cases he notes Jeremiah and his prophecies, but lists him separately from “the prophets” and does not give him that specific title. This is in contrast with the Book of Mormon’s third reference to Jeremiah, in Helaman 8:20, which clearly portrays him as a prophet.
As Spendlove concludes”; page 22):
"This is not to say that Jeremiah was not a prophet, nor does it deny that he was called of God to act as a prophet to the house of Israel. The intended point in this article is that Jeremiah was not recognized as being “among the prophets” during his lifetime. It was likely only in the early Persian period that the identity of Jeremiah migrated from priest to prophet. This conclusion is also supported by, and consistent with, Nephi’s depiction of Jeremiah in the Book of Mormon."
The Reflection
Spendlove’s argument is a compelling one overall. It would be nice if we had more references to work with than three when determining how Jeremiah was viewed by the Nephites, and some might read some of those references as calling Jeremiah out as a salient prophetic example rather than denying him the title. But this nevertheless appears to be yet another case where the Book of Mormon exhibits subtle alignment with the complex reality of the biblical record.
