Everyone who has read the prophecy of Jeremiah will have realised that the chapters and prophetic oracles are not in chronological order. This has mystified scholars who sometimes give the impression that Jeremiah is hopelessly jumbled. Could a chiastic structure be the answer? Reading Jeremiah with the possibility of introverted parallelism may open up new understandings as well as clarify more detailed structural features.
In the Literary Guide to the Bible (Eds. Alter and Kermode) published by Collins in 1987 Rosenberg offers the following outline:
a. Historical headnote (1:1-3)
b. Commission (1:4)
c. “Prophet to the nations” theme introduced (1:5-10)
d. Doom for Israel; poetic oracles predominate ( 1-10)
e. Prophet cut off from Anathoth; focus on prophet’s trials and conflicts; prose predominates (11:1-28:17)
f. Optimistic prophecies; renewal of Israel; prose brackets poetic centre (29-31)
e’. prophet returns to Anathoth; focus on prophet’s trials and conflicts; prose predominates (32:1-45:5)
d’. Doom for the nations; poetic oracles predominate (46-51)
c’. “Prophet to the nations” theme culminates (50-51)
b’. Prophet’s concluding message (51:59-64)
a’. Historical appendix (52)
David Dorsey (The Literary Structure of the Old Testament, 1999). acknowledges this publication but suggests a different division into seven parts:
a. Oracles against Judah: coming invasion and disaster from the north (1:1-12:17)
b. Judah’s exile and suffering predicted (13:1-20:18)
c. dated messages of judgment against specific kings and groups (21:1-29:32)
d. Centre- messages of future hope (30:1-33:26)
c’. dated messages of judgment against specific kings and groups (34:1-35:19)
b’. Judah’s fall and exile (36:1-45:5)
a’. Oracles against the nations: coming invasion and disaster from the north (46:1-51:64)
appendix: fall of Jerusalem (52:1-34)
I have been reading Jeremiah paying attention to the reason the prophet gives for the coming judgement and it has revealed a potential chiastic structure for Jer 32-34. I do not know Hebrew, but I see many parallels between 32 and 34, both begin with a close copy of the events happening at the time: Nebuchadnezzar fighting against Jerusalem, Jeremiah speaking to Zedekiah, a “word of the Lord”, a specific story (32 it is buying the field, 34 is freeing of slaves, so property is somehow in view), and a set of reasons for the judgement of the Lord. Right in the middle is chapter 33, which seems to center on verse 11 and the promised restoration of the Lord again relating it to property, but more so relating to God’s goodness and chesed love. Just wondering if I’m seeing something helpful and if anyone else sees the same overlap?
Additionally, I find it interesting that idolatry and justice are the paralleled problems for which God is sending judgement. Almost implying that idolatry and mishpat are the same problem.