The book of Jeremiah presents oracles attibuted to the prophet Jeremiah son of Hilkiah and narratives that depict the major events of his lifetime. Jeremiah lived during one of the most crucial and terrifying periods in the history of the Jewish people in biblical times: the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon, followed by the beginning of the Babylonian exile. Because he is one of the key witnesses to the last years of the kingdom of Judah, Jeremiah emerges as one of the major figures who grappled with the theological problems posed by the destruction of the nation, and who laid the foundations for the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple in the years following the end of the exile.