Jeremiah: Prophet of prayer?: A consideration of the place of intercession in the offie of the prophet in Jeremiah

McCracken, Mark (1990) Jeremiah: Prophet of prayer?: A consideration of the place of intercession in the offie of the prophet in Jeremiah. Honours thesis, Murdoch University.

Abstract

This thesis canvases the general discussion found 1n scholarship on the subject of prophetic intercession in Jeremiah. It then returns to the primary source and considers how the text develops this notion in the broader parameters of the canonical book.

Observations which are made are that, regarding:

(a] The incidence of intercession in Jeremiah The material critical to the question of intercession in Jeremiah is reasonably restricted and has been identified at a number places in the text. These passages are: ( 1) where intercession on the part of Jeremiah is prohibited; ( 2) requests for intercession are made to Jeremiah; ( 3) where the text presents the figure of Jeremiah as one who intercedes or who has interceded; and ( 4) additional texts which are divided into two headings: {a) conflict with other prophets, and ( b) where other figures are involved in the process of intercession.

Word study has revealed a limited number of occasions where prayer 1s referred to in the text and that two verbs(…..) are the most relevant in the MT of Jeremiah in relationship to intercession.

(b) Critical questions concerning intercession These questions are:

(1) Jeremiah as the powerful intercessor. The tendency in the later tradition to present the figure of the prophet as one whose prayers were powerful and miraculous in their effect must be seen as a development beyond what the canonical text itself says about the issue.

(2) The nature of the intercessory element in the prophetic office in Jeremiah. The connection between intercession and the figure of Jeremiah as prophet is rarely detailed explicitly and is often only implied in the text. What is clearest is that intercession is connected in some manner to the figure of Jeremiah in the book.

Other observations are that: (a) the use of the label "the prophet" in some passages, could indicate that the fact that Jeremiah is finally able to intercede after the Fall restores him to the position of full prophetic office; (b) there is a strong and consistent link in most of the intercessory material in Jeremiah between oracle- giving and intercession; and the prophet is presented as acting as the mediator for his community before YHWH at certain Umes whilst at others he is presented as being essentially cut off from them. There is an ambiguity of the 'voice used in passages relating to intercession which is significant.

Item Type:	Thesis (Honours)
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	School of Arts
Notes:	Note to the author: If you would like to make your thesis openly available on Murdoch University Library's Research Repository, please contact: repository@murdoch.edu.au. Thank you.
Supervisor(s):	Boorer, Suzanne
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/41117

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