Books in Brief: Jeremiah: An Archaeological Companion, Keith N. Schoville, BAR 20:03, May-Jun 1994.

Bible and Beyond

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Jeremiah- An Archaeological Companion

Philip J. King

(Louisville, KY- Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993) 230 pp., $27.00

“Of the making of books there is no end,” said Ecclesiastes (12-12), a dictum illustrated by many works written on the Book of Jeremiah. This prophetic book and the prophet we meet within it are difficult for us moderns, as well as for past generations, to understand. Consequently, scholars continue to write commentaries. Having wrestled with the problems in the Hebrew text of Jeremiah, I am particularly pleased that Philip J. King did not write another commentary. What he has written is aptly named- a companion to the text of the prophet.

This book provides exactly what a reader of Jeremiah needs- illumination. King’s work is not intended to untie all the knotty problems in the text of Jeremiah, but it does help one to understand a wide range of related historical, geographical, cultural and religious issues. Jeremiah, for example, refers to Edom several times (9-26, 25-21, 27-3, 40-11, 49-7, 17, 20, 22), and King provides archaeological evidence from several sites in the Negev that situate Edomites on the southern boundaries of Judah in the decades preceding Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Judah (pp. 53–63). He also helps to illuminate references to the “queen of heaven” found in Jeremiah 7-16–18 and elsewhere. It turns out that the family activity of preparing and baking cakes as offerings to this female deity is directly connected with the worship of Ishtar, the Mesopotamian mother goddess—a clear case of the dominant culture influencing the religious thought and practice of provincial people.

The volume is a mine of useful information drawn from archaeological discoveries and of insights on the life and times of the prophet. It begins with a sketch of Jeremiah the prophet and his book. This is followed by a chapter on the historical background, covering the Syro-Palestinian powers in the era of the prophet and extending eastward to Assyria and Babylon and southwestward to Egypt. A chapter on the geographical setting of Jeremiah’s oracles against the nations (Jeremiah 46–51) nicely combines archaeological data with historical information from Biblical and extra-Biblical sources to give the reader an informed awareness of the historical reality of these nations. Subsequent chapters focus on Edom and Judah.

Archaeology in the Negev and in Jordan in recent years has enriched our knowledge of these areas and of the political changes that occurred in the time of Jeremiah. After reading King, one better understands the Edomites’ insidious infiltration into southern Judah. The Edomites took advantage of the weakening of the Judahite kingdom, caused by the Babylonian invasion that destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

The last five chapters of the book integrate references from Jeremiah with a wealth of information on inscriptions and literacy, worship and architecture, funerary customs and mourning, and agriculture and crafts. As an example of how archaeology illuminates the Biblical record, the chapter on inscriptions alerts the reader to the existence of nearly 400 seal inscriptions dating primarily to the Iron Age II period, 1000 to 586 B.C. (Jeremiah fits in at the end of Iron II). Although well known by archaeologists and Biblical scholars, these seal impressions, or bullae, are largely unknown by the general public. Some of these bullae refer to people mentioned in Jeremiah, including Gemariah son of Shaphan (the scribe of King Jehoiakim) and Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch.a.

With King’s book in hand, the interested Bible reader really has more than a companion to the Book of Jeremiah. It is a companion for all the pre-exilic prophets, and much of the information provided in the last five chapters can illuminate cultural references throughout the Bible. Written in a lucid style, this is also a user-friendly book. In the introductory section, King provides charts on chronology, archaeological periods and the books of the Bible. King also uses illustrations effectively, placing them adjacent to related text references. Chapter endnotes, a selected bibliography and two useful indexes follow the body of the book.

In reading Jeremiah- An Archaeological Companion, we also experience Philip King. King’s balanced presentation of evidence and his gentle turn of phrase are exactly what we who know and appreciate the author would expect. He epitomizes the gentleman and scholar.

a. See Hershel Shanks, “Jeremiah’s Scribe and Confidant Speaks from a Hoard of Clay Bullae,” BAR 13-05.