Jeremiah, Joseph, and the Dynamics of Analogy: On the Relationship between Jeremiah 37–44 and the Joseph Story

This study demonstrates how and why the depiction of the life of the prophet Jeremiah and his contemporaries in Jeremiah 37–44 displays systematic and thoroughgoing analogical correspondences to the Joseph Story in Genesis 37–50. These correspondences prove to represent a strategic part of a larger set of relationships to the Joseph Story found throughout the broader composition of the book of Jeremiah as a whole, as well as in the book of Kings. The present argument proceeds from a descriptive comparison of Jeremiah 37–44 and the composite Joseph Story, intended to provide an initial survey of the contours of this relationship and to serve as a foundation for detailed diachronic consideration elsewhere. The study concludes with reflections on the nature and function of analogical correspondence within this literature.