This book on Jeremiah seeks to place before a broad audience of students and lay readers one of the truly great Hebrew prophets and extraordinary individuals of the ancient world It lifts up major themes preserved in the book bearing Jeremiah s name one of the most prominent being Jeremiah s understanding of himself as the prophet like Moses Jeremiah remained faithful to his calling during the final days of Israelite nationhood when the remnant of a once great nation fell to Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians in 586 BC He suffered along with everyone else but was nevertheless numbered among the survivors From his confinement in the court of the guard he gave a dispirited remnant many of whom would subsequently make the long journey into faraway exile unambiguous hope for the future announcing just before the nation s fall a new covenant that God would make with his people in future days