Jeremiah was born and grew up in the village of Anathoth, a few miles northeast of Jerusalem, in a priestly family. ... According to the biblical Book of Jeremiah, he began his prophetic career in 627/626—the 13th year of King Josiah's reign. **A priest from Anathoth, Israel, he is the reputed author of the Book of Jeremiah. **Not all of the writings ascribed to Jeremiah are considered by modern scholars to be really his. In fact, it is not certain that he ever actually wrote a line. It seems more likely that he dictated much of his material to an assistant or secretary called Baruch who was a scribe (read the book that bears his name for more information). Jewish tradition also ascribes the Book of Lamentations and the Book of Kings to Jeremiah. Jeremiah is also known as the "weeping prophet" since he lamented over the forth coming demise over his people in jerusalem. Jeremiah's words and pronouncements are directly concerned with the febrile political maneuvering between 605 and 586 B.C. and with the Babylonian Captivity. His early message was simple: unless both king and people reformed their morals and returned to the true worship of God as taught by Moses, Jerusalem would be destroyed and its people killed or exiled.** Jeremiah's general message was that temple and priesthood and kingship were of no avail if the heart of man was not clean from idolatry, from lies, and from deception of all kinds. His novel contribution as a prophet was his claim that God would replace the Old Covenant with the Israelites by a new covenant. Peculiarly, this new covenant was not to be restricted to Jews but was to include all the world. Jeremiah taught a universalist creed which would embrace all people. ** Jeremiah, was friendly to Nebuchadrezzar, regarding him as Yahweh's instrument for the chastisement of the nation of Judah. It might be that Jeremiah was left in Jerusalem and preached to the remaining people there while the prophet Ezekiel was taken to Babylon by king Nebuchadnezzar with the first set of exiles.
