Jeremiah’s Integration of Wisdom: Knowing Yahweh through Creation and Covenant

The relationship and integration of different religious traditions within the Hebrew Bible remains a vexing question. Recent studies in Jeremiah have explored aspects of wisdom and so-called wisdom traditions, such as its structural and rhetorical role binding together chapters 7–10 and its theological connections to creation and the created order more broadly. However, the specific interplay between wisdom, covenant, and creation in Jeremiah’s thought has yet to be explored fully.

This paper contributes to this discourse by examining how the prophet Jeremiah employs the theme of wisdom in his prophecy and so fills this gap by demonstrating that Jeremiah conceives of true wisdom as encompassing knowledge and obedience to Yahweh, mediated through his revelation in covenant-law and the created order.

By analyzing Jeremiah’s portrayal of wisdom, this paper argues that his conception of wisdom aligns with themes found in Israel’s Wisdom Literature but with important distinctions and integration. This insight contributes to a deeper understanding of the integration of wisdom within the fabric of Israel’s religious thought and presents Jeremiah as a canonical model for integrating wisdom with covenantal and creational theology, thereby shedding light on the ongoing discussion regarding the relationship between Wisdom Literature and other scriptural texts.