Judgment and Promise: An Interpretation of the Book of Jeremiah

by James Gordon McConville

Two rival views dominate contemporary Jeremiah scholarship. One sees the book as essentially a Deuteronomistic product, the other as stemming largely from the prophet himself. McConville enters into dialogue with both sides of the debate before setting out his own approach to reading the book of Jeremiah. He contends that the characterization of Jeremiah as Deuteronomistic obscures its individuality and vitality and retards rather than furthers the task of is elucidation. McConville provides an understanding of the theology and purpose of Jeremiah that informs other major areas of Old Testament study.

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

About the author

J. Gordon McConville is Professor of Old Testament Theology at the University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, England.

Reviews

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me illustrate how highly I regard this book: if you walked into my office and said, "So, I need to understand the book of Jeremiah," I'd just hand you this book. Well,actually...no. I'd write the name of this book on a Post-It and hand the note to you 'cause this book is NEVER leaving my office.

McConville has a very particular agenda: to debunk the myths that 1) Jeremiah is simply a "Deuteronomistic" work (over against Robert Carroll and Winfried Thiel) and 2) it has no overarching organization or theological point (over against William McKane). However, McConville doesn't spend his time poking holes in their arguments; rather, he spends his time building a reading of entire book of Jeremiah sensitive to the book's unique accent and argument.

Masterful, masterful work.

[Debbie Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short review: J. Gordon McConville does a masterful job of weaving together the prophet and his message as he supports his thesis that the book of Jeremiah is the prophet's mature reflection on the message and ministry entrusted to him by the Lord.