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Jeremiah calls on the people to circumcise their hearts, directly echoing the language of Deuteronomy. The phrasing is so similar that Jeremiah is considered to belong to the same literary tradition as Deuteronomy and the broader Deuteronomistic history.
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Deuteronomy 10:16
Hebrew Bible
15 However, only to your ancestors did he show his loving favor, and he chose you, their descendants, from all peoples—as is apparent today. 16 Therefore, circumcise your hearts and stop being so stubborn! 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe,
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Jeremiah 4:4
Hebrew Bible
3 Yes, this is what the Lord has said to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground, do not cast seeds among thorns. 4 Commit yourselves to the Lord; circumcise your hearts people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Otherwise, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done.” 5 The Lord said, “Announce this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Shout out loudly, ‘Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!’
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... There is one more thing connecting the prophet Jeremiah to Deuteronomy and the events surrounding it, and it is probably the strongest evidence of all. As many readers, both traditional and critical, have observed, the book of Jeremiah seems to be written, at several points, in the same language and outlook as Deuteronomy. Parts of Jeremiah are so similar to Deuteronomy that it is hard to believe that they are not by the same person ... On the weight of this collection of evidence, Halpern concluded that Deuteronomy's law code came from the Levitical priests of Shiloh. The evidence also indicated that this group was connected with the full Deuteronomistic history, comprising seven books of the Bible, as well as the book of Jeremiah—or at least part of it ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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