The Prophetic
Call Narrative.
The term nabi’, normally
translated “prophet,” is widely thought to have originally meant “one called,” and
the consciousness of having been divinely called is often thought to be
integral to the prophetic role. The prophetic call narrative includes both
speech and narrative elements and involves a procedure similar to that involved
in the commissioning of a messenger (cf. Gen. 24:34-48). The focal point of the
call narrative is the prophet’s commissioning by God, and for this reason the
narrative could well be designated “the installation of the prophet.” Although
these narratives appear autobiographical, their similar formal features have
recently led some scholars to view them not as reflections of actual experience
but as proclamations serving to legitimate the prophet’s vocation, or (less
probably) as liturgical ordination ceremonies for prophets. That call
narratives tend to be placed at the beginnings of oracle collections indicates
that they function to validate the prophet as a legitimate spokesman of Yahweh.
Since formal patterns are not antithetical to experiences which apparently are
spontaneous and unstructured, prophetic call narratives might well reflect actual
experience and provide a vehicle for legitimating the prophet’s vocation.
Jer. 1.4-10 is typical of a number of
call narratives in the OT (Moses in Exod. 3:-12; Gideon in Jug. 6:11b-17;
Ezekiel in Ezek. 1:1-3:11; Deutero-Isaiah in Isa. 40:1-11):
A. Divine confrontation (v. 4): now
the word of the Lord came to me saying
B. Introductory word (v. 5a): “Before I
formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you;
C. Commission (v. 5b): I appointed you
a prophet to the nations.”
D. Objection (v. 6): Then I said, “Ah,
Lord God: Behold I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”
E. Reassurance (vv. 7-8): But the Lord
said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you you
shall go, and whatever I command you you shall speak. Be not afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”
F. Sign (vv. 9-10): Then the Lord put
forth his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have
put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over
kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and overthrow, to build up
and to plant.”
Although this pattern is rather
elaborate, one can see that the central elements are the commission, the objection,
the reassurance, and the sign. In Jer. 1:4-10 the commission that occurred prior
to Jeremiah’s birth. Such call narratives are found occasionally in apocalyptic
literature (1 Enoch 14-16, 71; 4 Ezra 14), and in the NT (Acts 9, 22, 26; Rev.
1:9-20; 10:8-11). (David E. Aune, Prophecy in Early Christianity and the
Ancient Mediterranean World [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983], 97-98)