“These are the words
Of the letter
That the prophet Jeremiah
Sent from Jerusalem
To the remaining elders
Among the exiles.
It was also sent to
The priests,
The prophets,
Including all the people
Whom King Nebuchadnezzar
Had taken into exile
From Jerusalem
To Babylon.
This was after King Jeconiah,
With the queen mother,
The court officials,
The leaders of Judah,
The leaders of Jerusalem,
The artisans.
With the smiths
Had departed from Jerusalem.”
Apparently Jeremiah wrote a letter to the elders from the first exile in 598 BCE. He sent this letter, like many of Yahweh’s oracles addressed to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, who went to Babylon during the first exile in 598 BCE. King Nebuchadnezzar had taken them from Jerusalem to Babylon. It is hard to tell whether this letter still exists in any form or when it was composed, but probably between 598-587 BCE. King Jeconiah or King Coniah or King Jeconiah of Judah had ruled for only a couple of months when King Nebuchadnezzar removed him in 598 BCE in favor of his uncle King Zedekiah or King Mattaniah (598-587 BCE). At that time, King Jeconiah’s mother, the wife of King Jehoiakim or King Eliakim (609-598 BCE), as well as the court officials and leaders of Judah and Jerusalem went into exile. With them also went the main artisans and iron workers of Jerusalem. Thus the remnant in Jerusalem was like a puppet government for King Nebuchadnezzar. Like the preceding chapter, this is a different numbered chapter in the Greek translation of the Septuagint, chapter 36, not chapter 29 as here.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 