Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon and the Hermeneutics of Tradition:
A Theological Reading of Jeremiah 7:1–15 and 26:1–24

Abstract

Reading the Old Testament confronts interpreters with the hermeneutical interrelationship between theological traditions that have contributed to the production and growth of the canonical text and interpretative traditions that seek to understand it within a contemporary context. In the present study, Jeremiah’s temple sermon constitutes an illuminating case study in the ways that hermeneutical frameworks influence the interpretation of biblical literature, as well as an opportunity to explore the possible resources that contemporary theological traditions might offer for understanding texts that have been shaped by ancient theological traditions. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a theologically-oriented reading of the two accounts of the temple sermon in Jeremiah 7:1–15 and 26:1–24 from the perspective of the Christian tradition. I argue that both texts may be understood to communicate a conditional message of judgment aimed at provoking the repentance of its audience, and that the hermeneutical relationship between the two texts reinforces this interpretation. The first two chapters provide an orientation to the subject matter and approach of the thesis, as well as an extended critique of two existing frameworks that have influenced the modern understanding of the temple sermon. The third chapter then proposes a reframing of the discussion, by focusing upon the nature of tradition in philosophical and theological perspectives. Chapters four and five offer extended theological readings of Jeremiah 7:1–15 and 26:1–24, respectively, seeking to demonstrate that contemporary theological discourse may provide potentially illuminating resources for biblical interpretation.