call, of his share in the
propagation of Deuteronomy, of the plot of the men of Anathoth against
him, of his symbolic action with his waist-cloth, and of his visit to the
house of the Potter--are (except in the formal titles to some of them) told
in the first person by Jeremiah himself,(39) while from 604-3 onwards the
biographical narratives are much more numerous and, except in three of
them,(40) the Prophet appears only in the third person. This coincidence
of the first appearance of Baruch as the Prophet's associate with the
start of a numerous series of narratives of the Prophet's life in which he
appears in the third person can hardly be accidental.

* * * * *

Such, then, are the data which the Book of Jeremiah offers for the task of
determining the origins and authenticity of its very diverse contents.
After our survey of them, those of you who are ignorant of the course of
recent criticism will not be surprised to learn that virtual agreement now
exists on certain main lines, while great differences of opinion continue
as to details--differences perhaps irreconcilable. It is agreed that the
book is the result of a long and a slow growth, stretching far beyond
Jeremiah's time, out of various sources; and that these sources are in the
main three:--

A. Collections of genuine Oracles and Discourses of Jeremiah--partly made
by himself.

B. Narratives of his life and times by a contemporary writer or writers,
the principal, if not the only, contributor to which is (in the opinion of
most) the Scribe Baruch.

C. Exilic and Post-Exilic additions in various forms: long prophecies and
narratives; shorter pieces included among the Prophet's own Oracles; and
scattered titles, dates, notes and glosses.

Moreover, there is also general agreement as to which of these classes a
very considerable number of the sections of the Book belong to. There is
not, and cannot be, any doubt about the bulk of those which are apparently
exilic or post-exilic. It is equally certain that a large number of the
Oracles are Jeremiah's own, and that the most of the Narratives are from
his time and trustworthy. But questions have been raised and are still
receiving opposite answers as to whether or not some of the Oracles and
Narratives have had their original matter coloured or expanded by later
hands; or have even in whole been foisted upon the Prophet or his
contemporary biographer from legendary sources.