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God called Jeremiah to be a prophet—a spokesman for Him—even before he was born. God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). The book of Jeremiah is a record of the prophet’s ministry to the southern kingdom of Judah at a time when God’s people embraced worldly values and immoral living. Jeremiah wrote much of the book during the events it describes, likely between 586 and 570 BC.
Internal clues support Jeremiah’s authorship and help clarify when the book was written. First, Jeremiah identifies himself as the author in the first verse: “The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin” (Jeremiah 1:1). Then, in the next verse, he precisely dates his call to ministry. He writes, “The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah” (Jeremiah 1:2). Josiah reigned from 640—609 BC, making the thirteenth year 627 BC.
In addition to dating Jeremiah’s call, the opening verses outline the duration of his service. This helps pinpoint when the book was written. Jeremiah 1:2 lists kings who ruled during Jeremiah’s ministry. He served “through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile” (Jeremiah 1:3). Thus, Jehoiakim’s reign followed Josiah’s (609—598 BC). Then, Zedekiah’s reign followed Jehoiachin’s (597—586 BC).
In further support of Jeremiah’s authorship, parts of the book are written in the first person. For example, Jeremiah 1:4 reads, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying . . . .” Likewise, Jeremiah 25:3 states, “For twenty-three years . . . the word of the Lord has come to me.” These statements show Jeremiah’s role in composing the book and help indicate the time of its writing.
While Jeremiah was the author of the book of Jeremiah, he employed the services of the scribe Baruch as his amanuensis. Baruch is mentioned in Jeremiah 32:12; 36:4; and 45:1.
Further evidence suggests Jeremiah continued writing late into his ministry. The year 586 BC marks the fall of Jerusalem and the time when Jeremiah was taken to Egypt (Jeremiah 43—44). That passage suggests that he continued ministering until 570 BC. God says, “I am going to deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who want to kill him, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who wanted to kill him” (Jeremiah 44:30). Pharaoh Hophra’s reign ended around 570 BC. This indicates that Jeremiah was still serving when he delivered this prophecy.
God called Jeremiah to a ministry during one of the most spiritually corrupt periods in Judah’s history. The book reflects his experience as a prophet to a nation on the brink of judgment. Taken together, the historical references, first-person accounts, and prophetic content suggest that Jeremiah’s prophecy was written between 586 and 570 BC—during the latter years of Jeremiah’s life and ministry.
