Reevaluating the Influence of Jeremiah 10 upon the Apocryphal Epistle of Jeremiah A Case for the Short Edition1

Several scholars have proposed that the book of Jeremiah circulated in at least two editions at one time or another. A considerable portion of the debate has centered on Jer 10, 1-16, a polemic against worship of foreign idols. Furthermore, it is agreed that the Epistle of Jeremiah was based primarily upon the text of Jer 10. To date, the majority has contended that the Epistle was based on the longer text of Jer 10, their strongest piece of evidence being the "scarecrow in a cucumber patch" idiom in 10,5a. This study offers a comparative translation of the Masoretic Text (longer text), the Septuagint (short text), and the Epistle of Jeremiah to determine precisely which text lay before the author of the Epistle as he wrote. From this comparison, it is concluded that the Epistle was based upon the short text of Jer 10. Among other points of argumentation, the "scarecrow" idiom is discredited as the strongest piece of evidence in favor of the longer text. Consequently, the study also provides support for the Two-Edition Theory. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]