Letter of Jeremiah
- noun
- Literature
- The Letter of Jeremiah warns the exiles in Babylon against idolatry.
Examples
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The Letter of Jeremiah warns the Jews in Babylon not to worship idols.
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Scholars discuss the status of the Letter of Jeremiah within the Apocrypha.
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Many Bible editions include the Letter of Jeremiah as a separate text.
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Many scholars study the Letters of Jeremiah for their historical context.
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The Letter of Jeremiah warns the Jews in Babylon not to worship idols.
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Many Bible editions include the Letter of Jeremiah as a separate text.
-
Scholars discuss the status of the Letter of Jeremiah within the Apocrypha.
Synonyms
A letter in some Bibles warning Jews sent to Babylon not to worship idols
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'letter' + 'of' + the proper name 'Jeremiah', which in English commonly denotes a letter written by or associated with that person, so a learner who knows the constituent words will infer it refers to a letter tied to Jeremiah. While the specific status as an 'Apocryphal book' is specialised background knowledge, the basic referential meaning is transparent and cross-linguistically accessible.
Etymology
The Letter of Jeremiah is a short religious text written as if the prophet Jeremiah had sent a letter to the Jewish people in Babylon warning them 'not to worship idols'. This picture of a prophet writing a warning explains why the work is called a 'letter' and why it reads like a direct warning to the people in exile.