📖 Biblical Definition
Late-seventh and early-sixth-century BC prophet (active c. 627-580 BC), son of Hilkiah of Anathoth (a priestly town just north of Jerusalem). Called as a youth in the thirteenth year of Josiah; prophesied through the reigns of Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. He warned of Babylonian judgment, was beaten and imprisoned, witnessed the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC), and was eventually carried to Egypt against his will after the assassination of Gedaliah. Known as the weeping prophet because of his frequent personal lament.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
JEREMIAH, n.
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A scriptural proper name; the seventh-to-sixth-century BC prophet of Anathoth.
📖 Key Scripture
Jeremiah 1:7 — "Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee."
Jeremiah 15:16 — "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart."
Jeremiah 20:9 — "But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones."
Lamentations 3:22 — "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern Christianity wants prophet-power without prophet-suffering; Jeremiah was beaten, mocked, and ignored for forty years.
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Jeremiah's ministry was forty years of preaching with virtually no visible fruit. He warned the kings; they ignored him. He warned the people; they mocked him. He was beaten, locked in stocks, thrown in a dungeon, dropped into a miry cistern. The city he prophesied to fell exactly as he foretold; the people then took him to Egypt against his will and continued not to believe him.
Modern Christianity often wants prophet-power without prophet-suffering. Jeremiah disagrees. The fire shut up in his bones (20:9) was both his burden and his evidence; the words from heaven were both honey and burning coal. Read Jeremiah for the long-faithfulness model. Some assignments do not see fruit until the city falls.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew/Greek roots below.
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H3414 — Yirmeyahu — Jeremiah
H6068 — Anatot — Anathoth
Usage
"Modern Christianity wants prophet-power without prophet-suffering."
"Some assignments do not see fruit until the city falls."
"The fire in his bones was both his burden and his evidence."