Discuss the view that Jeremiah had many different sides to his character.
Candidates are likely to treat this question in terms of the different things that Jeremiah did, as illustrative of the different sides to his character. They might mention some of the following points:
• at his call, Jeremiah displayed hesitation, dismay and modesty
• his family had a priestly background. There are several details in the book which suggest that Jeremiah inherited this part of the family duties, e.g. his Temple Sermon.
• he appears to have had ecstatic visions / experiences, for example his call narrative
• he was a visionary in general (e.g. the basket of figs, 24:1-10)
• he had a marked tendency to perform symbolic acts
• he was a magnificent poet, not least in the ‘confessional’ material
• some scholars think that the ‘I’ of his ‘confessions’ is cultic, and that he is thereby operating as a cultic prophet – a paid functionary who gave professional responses to a lament offered in a cultic context
• he appears to have had a morbid side to his nature, suggested both by the ‘confessions’ and by the general details of his life, such as his withdrawal from family and social life
• he had a deeply personal relationship with Yahweh, illustrated by the words he addresses to God
• he was heavily involved with the history and politics of his time, e.g. perhaps with Josiah’s reform; the Temple sermon; involvement with royalty; the Babylonian crisis / deportations; his removal to Egypt
• his international concerns, seen for example in his oracle against foreign nations
• the charge that he was a traitor / the insistence that he was really a patriot.
Credit these and other suggestions to show character diversity. Credit also attempts to show unity of personality. Some candidates might relate diversity to editorial activity, although this would be an exceptionally high level of a comment.
© Cambridge International Examinations
For more information
Contact us +263779210440 or follow the Facebook page Brian Maregedze or like the page Divinity and History A level
No comments:
Post a Comment