Jeremiah's Scroll and Linked Zones of Communication

The story of Jeremiah's Scroll and its journey (Jer 36) uses a spatial strategy to link together a set of four separate and distinct locations. They function as part of a chain of events and a series of staged readings. Using a dictated scroll and a professional scribe as his surrogates, the prophet is able to reach into the most restricted realms of authority. His message to the people of Jerusalem will follow a path from his own hidden chambers to the temple complex and on to the office suite in the royal palace. Eventually, the scroll will be read before the king in his private audience chamber completing a journey that has forged a chained linkage of readings and evoked a variety of reactions. What becomes clear in these linked scenes is the manner in which significant space can be manipulated and shaped to achieve the aims of the storyteller.