Jeremiah, Creation and Wisdom

There is amassing, in the scholarship on both Jeremiah and on wisdom literature, a growing case for connections between Jeremiah and wisdom. Given that the wisdom worldview takes its starting point from the concept of God as creator and shows a particular interest in the natural world, a quest for such themes in Jeremiah is appropriate. It will be seen that the two themes of creation and wisdom intersect in the message and theological outlook of this prophet and form a key area of concern. Jeremiah is not ‘wisdom literature’ by classification, but there is evidence of wisdom’s genres within its pages, part of a rich tapestry of influences, both literary and theological. I also address the elusive question of who ‘the wise’ are that Jeremiah critiques so vociferously and why he does so.