Reading Jeremiah 19:1–13: Integrating Diachronic and Synchronic Methodologies

Abstract

This article combines diachronic and synchronic methodologies to interpret the message of Jer 19:1–13. Bakhtin's concept of dialogic truth is used to propose that the meaning of each stage of development of the text is in conversation with its earlier versions. Therefore, using source and redaction criticism to access earlier stages of the text, this article reads the message of Jer 19:1–13 as the succession of voices that necessarily respond to one another in dialogue. Summarising this dialogic meaning in the categories of transgressors, transgressions and punishment, it will be shown that the current context also connects to different voices in the text.