The conflict between the prophet Jeremiah and the prophet Hananiah is about who was proclaiming the true word of God. The confrontation between these two prophets in the Temple is a classic example of prophetic messages that claimed to represent God’s will for Israel. Yet, one prophet was wrong and the other was right.

For many years Jeremiah had preached that Yahweh would bring judgment upon Judah. He had proclaimed that Judah should not join an alliance to fight against Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Instead, Jeremiah proclaimed that the nation should submit to the king of Babylon and thus avoid war and its terrible consequences.

On the other hand, Hananiah proclaimed that Yahweh would defend the nation and that the vessels of the temple, which had been taken to Babylon, would soon be returned to the Temple, together with Jehoiachin, the Judean king who had been taken into exile in Babylon.

Hananiah’s message was accepted by the people who heard the two prophets in the Temple, but his message ran contrary to the message of Jeremiah and the messages of the prophets who preceded him.

The five studies on Jeremiah and Hananiah listed below seek to place this prophetic conflict in a historic context. These studies also seek to study Hananiah’s ideology and explain why Jeremiah represents the legitimate prophetic tradition of Israel.

Studies on Jeremiah and Hananiah

Jeremiah and Hananiah

Jeremiah and Hananiah: The Historical Context

Jeremiah and Hananiah: Jeremiah’s Ministry

Jeremiah and Hananiah: The Confrontation in the Temple

Jeremiah and Hananiah: True and False Prophecy in Israel

Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

NOTE: Did you like this post? Do you think other people would like to read this post? Be sure to share this post on Facebook and share a link on Twitter or Tumblr so that others may enjoy reading it too!

I would love to hear from you! Let me know what you thought of this post by leaving a comment below. Be sure to like my page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, follow me on Tumblr, Facebook, and subscribe to my blog to receive each post by email.

If you are looking for other series of studies on the Old Testament, visit the Archive section and you will find many studies that deal with a variety of topics.