Jeremiah 28:8–9 and the Oracles against the Nations

This article focuses on Jer 28:8–9, a text commonly considered as proof for the existence of “prophecies against the nations” as a distinct kind of prophecy in the late monarchic era. The author, however, argues that Jer 28 does not testify to a subgenre of prophecy, but rather to the appearance of foreign nations in prophetic oracles in general, in which they figure as “the enemy” who will be trampled down. According to this understanding, it is not Jeremiah, but Hananiah who prophesies “war” – for Babylonia. And it is Jeremiah who prophesies “peace” – again for Babylonia. In 28:1–14*, which belongs to the earliest narrative traditions relating to Jeremiah, the prophet Jeremiah is depicted as announcing Babylonia’s good fortune, thereby implying that Judah’s survival depends on submission. During a much later, redactional stage, Babylonia’s ruination became part of the preaching ascribed to Jeremiah. It is in this redactional sphere that we can situate the Oracles concerning the Nations. Accordingly, they constitute a literary development, not a subclass of oral prophecy.