Why the dates of Jeremiah's prophecy are written
You will find the same thing in what is written about Jeremiah. The time of his prophecy is recorded: when he began, and how far he prophesied. Then the reader, if he does not attend to the reading and examine the intent of the passages set down, will say: this is history, and it is written when Jeremiah began to prophesy, and after how long a time he stopped. What is this history to me?
I read, and I learned that he began to prophesy 'in the days of Josiah son of Amos, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.' Then 'it came to pass in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah,' and he prophesied 'until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah.' And I learned that his prophecy stretched through three kings, 'until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.' What then are we taught through these things, if we attend to the reading?
Greek
Τὸ ὅμοιον εὑρήσετε καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν Ἱερεμίαν. ἀναγέγραπται ὁ χρόνος τῆς προφητείας αὐτοῦ, πότε ἤρξατο καὶ μέχρι πότε προεφήτευσεν. εἶτα ὁ ἐντυγχάνων, ἐὰν μὴ προσέχῃ τῇ ἀναγνώσει μηδὲ ἐζετάςῃ τὸ βούλημα τῶν γεγραμμένων ἀναγνωσμάτων, ἐρεῖ ὅτι ἱστορία ἐστὶν καὶ ἀναγέγραπται, πότε ἤρξατο προφητεύειν Ἱερεμίας καὶ μέχρι πόσου προφητεύσας χρόνου κατέληζε προφητεύων. τί οὖν πρὸς ἐμὲ αὕτη ἡ ἱστορία; ἀνέγνων, ἔμαθον ὅτι ἤρξατο προφητεύειν «ἐν ἡμέραις Ἰωσίου τοῦ υἱοῦ Ἀμὼς βασιλέως Ἰούδα ἕως] ἔτους τρισκαιδεκάτου ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ«· εἶτα «ἐγένετο ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἰωακεὶμ υἱοῦ Ἰωσίου βασιλέως Ιοδυδα« προφητεύων «ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ ἑνδεκάτου ἔτους Σεδεκίου υἱοῦ Ἰωσίου βασιλέως Ἰούδα. καὶ ἔμαθον ὅτι κατὰ τρεῖς βασιλεῖς ἡ προφητεία αὐτοῦ συνεξέτεινεν «ἕως τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐν τῷ πέμπτῳ μηνί. τί οὖν διὰ τούτων διδασκόμεθα, ἐὰν προσέχωμεν τῇ ἀναγνώσει;
About this text
Origen on Jeremiah. Twenty Greek homilies survive. This page publishes the Pass B English for Homilies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Homily 8 remains a machine draft and is not shipped yet. The rest of the volume is still being translated.
English follows Erich Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901). A second transcription of that same edition (First1KGreek TEI) was checked; where the TEI drops or garbles a line, the page image wins. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek. Homilies that survive only in Jerome’s Latin are not on this page yet. When they are, they will be marked at those homilies.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901) (Greek · Homilies 1–20 Greek (this page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20))
- Checked print Archive.org page image and DjVu of GCS III (Greek · Same print as the copy-text)
- Checked print First1KGreek TEI of GCS III (Greek · Same print; encoding errors deferred to the page image)
Where the prints differ
- Homily 1.1 — The TEI omits Ἑβραῖον. English follows the GCS page image: Jonah is “a Hebrew prophet.”
- Homily 1.5 — The TEI dropped Ἰσαάκ. English follows the GCS page image: Isaac born of promise.
- Homily 1.11 — The TEI/OCR of this line is garbled. English follows the GCS page image and the quoted verse: “I have sanctified you.”
- Homily 3.2 — The TEI gaps Matthew 5:45 (sun on the evil and [gap]; rain on [gap] and the unjust). English follows the Gospel wording.
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.