The Call of Jeremiah and Diaspora Politics
The problem of the significance of Jeremiah's call as a "prophet to the nations" (Jer 1:5) is a singular one. It seems to challenge a self-evident premise of biblical scholarship regarding the primary purpose and function of Israelite prophecy, namely, that for weal or woe, the Israelite prophet was to convey the divine word to Israel (Judah). Surprisingly little sustained scholarly work has been done on the theological significance of the international aspect of Jeremiah's call within the context of the book of Jeremiah.1 Older commentaries that did not emend the text of 1:5 outright tended to read the reference to "the nations" as indicating that the political fate of Israel had consequences for the political fortunes of its neighbors, or conversely, that what happened to surrounding principalities would necessarily have an effect on Israel.2 Even the