The Letter of Jeremiah is a book found in various Christian Bibles, often included among the Deuterocanonical books. It is not part of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and is considered apocryphal by Protestants. In many Bibles, particularly those following the Septuagint order, it appears as chapter 6 of the Book of Baruch, while in others, it stands as a separate book between Baruch and Lamentations.
The work is presented as a letter written by the prophet Jeremiah to the exiles who were about to be carried captive to Babylon, warning them against the idolatry they would encounter there. Its primary theme is a sustained polemic against idols, satirizing their powerlessness and the irrationality of worshipping them. The letter systematically lists various characteristics of idols and their worshipers, emphasizing that idols are merely human creations, unable to speak, see, hear, or help, contrasting sharply with the living God.
Despite its attribution to Jeremiah, scholarly consensus indicates that the letter is pseudepigraphical, meaning it was written by an author other than the one to whom it is attributed, likely several centuries after the historical Jeremiah. The original language of composition is generally believed to be Greek, though some scholars propose a Semitic original (Hebrew or Aramaic) that was subsequently translated into Greek. The estimated date of composition varies, but most scholars place it in the Hellenistic period, probably in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE, making it a product of Jewish wisdom literature from that era.
The canonical status of the Letter of Jeremiah differs among religious traditions. It is accepted as canonical scripture by the Roman Catholic Church (as part of the Book of Baruch) and by Orthodox Churches. However, it is not part of the Jewish canon and is typically relegated to the Apocrypha in Protestant Bibles. Its literary style is notable for its repetitive, rhetorical, and often sarcastic tone, effectively conveying its message of rejecting idolatry.