The book of Jeremiah continues to pique scholars’ interests, not only for its expansive content but also for its rich literary diversity, ranging from poems, to narratives, to prayers, to heartfelt personal laments that draw readers into the struggles, pain, challenges, and loneliness endured by one who embraces the prophetic office and exercises the prophetic charism. No one scholar, student of Bible, or educated reader can possibly peruse all of the literature available on this prophetic text. Oxford University Press, however, through its handbook series affords readers the opportunity to gain a general and particular understanding of the book of Jeremiah, one that is concise yet thorough, historically laden yet hermeneutically refreshing. This work, edited by Louis Stulman and Edward Silver, offers a distinct contribution to Jeremiah studies. It packs a lot of information into a massive 683-page work.

The handbook opens with a critical introduction by Stulman and Silver in which they provide an overview of the book of Jeremiah, summarize the state of the field, and lay out their goals and structure for the handbook. Stulman and Silver's introduction provides a wealth of information and scholarly thought that highlights some of the more controversial debates among scholars that include whether Jeremiah was actually a real person or a literary construct. Following the introduction, the handbook's thirty-eight chapters are organized into six parts: “Historical and Cultural Contexts of Origin” (part 1); “Textual History and Structure” (part 2); “Critical Questions of Interpretation” (part 3); “Major Internal Themes” (part 4); “Reception Engagements” (part 5); and “Significance of the Book of Jeremiah for Key Contemporary Political Issues” (part 6). Most of the sections and chapters focus on either the reconstructed historical world behind the text or the world of the text with attention to various literary themes, contested theologies, and the many portraits of the character Jeremiah.

The few chapters that engage the world in front of the text offer new and intriguing thought. For instance, Roberto Tottoli takes up the discussion of Jeremiah in Islamic thought; Rüdiger Görner entertains the figure of Jeremiah in the work of dramatist Stefan Zweig and in the poems of Rainer Maria Rilke. Bungishabaku Katho's chapter, “Jeremiah Interpretation in Subaltern Context,” engages Jeremiah in relation to the realities of the global south and demonstrates how texts can be read in the context of poverty, suffering, and corruption, especially in Africa. Mary Chilton Callaway explores Jeremiah in art as Carolyn Sharp highlights and comments on the many sermons that preachers have preached on Jeremiah. Sharp also notes how the pathos and persistence of the character Jeremiah as a prophetic leader were deeply involved in the geopolitical and theological issues of the biblical times and how the book of Jeremiah is a treasure trove for preachers “seeking to speak fresh words of Gospel truth to their own communities” (633).

The most interesting chapters among so many excellent ones are these three: “Ecological Hermeneutics,” by Kristel Clayville; “Playing with Death: Violent Exceptions and Exceptional Violence in the Book of Jeremiah,” by Steed Vernyl Davidson; and “Jeremiah and Gender,” by Christl M. Maier. Each of these chapters deals with three areas of global concern, and the authors bring the book of Jeremiah into the contemporary world while allowing the contemporary world to impact how readers hear and interpret the book of Jeremiah in relation to planetary devastation, unending and tragic violence, and oppressive sexism reinscribed into cultures today because of gendered language and metaphorical images.

In sum, Stulman's and Silver's edited handbook is well organized, well researched, and well written. The sheer scope and sequence of articles provides readers with an extraordinary understanding of the book of Jeremiah, the breadth and depth of scholarship that the book generates, and how this ancient book continues to have a place in the contemporary world. Those engaged in the study of the prophets and Jeremiah, in particular, will find this work insightful, challenging, and thoroughly engaging.