Jeremiah, one of the greater prophets of the Old Testament. Jeremiah was of priestly descent, his father being Hilkiah, and he lived in Anathoth, about three miles from Jerusalem. He became a prophet about 629 BC, and continued to prophesy for 41 years, during which period Judah suffered heavy disasters, and Jerusalem was made a heap of ruins by the invasions of the Babylonians. Jeremiah wrote the book of Jeremiah, one of the canonical books of the Old Testament, and possibly Lamentations. Tradition says that the aged prophet was put to death in Egypt for preaching against idolatry.

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