The Book of Jeremiah

Since about last summer (I do this on and off)--so almost a year ago now--I have been trying to read through the entire Hebrew Bible.  I am reading it in English; I simply call it the Hebrew Bible because Jews should not use the term Old Testament, because it implies that something new or better came after, which we don't believe.

Before I started this project, my favorite book of the Bible, hands down, was Esther.  I loved the twisting plot, the court intrigue, the characters.  I loved Esther's bravery.  The fact that this book--in the Bible, mind you--never mentions God made it even more intriguing.  What's not to like?

Now, however, I think I may have found a contender for "Sarah _________'s favorite book of the Hebrew Bible."  It is the book of Jeremiah.  Jeremiah is one of the three major prophets.  The other two are Isaiah and Ezekiel; there are also twelve minor prophets.  Most of the people to whom I have spoken like Isaiah best of these three, especially Third Isaiah.  (It is fairly well-accepted in most circles that the Book of Isaiah was not actually written by the prophet Isaiah, and that there were multiple authors.)  I, however, found Third Isaiah to be a bit too...well...lovey-dovey.  Of the Book of Isaiah, I enjoyed First Isaiah (chapters 1-39) the most, and I like Jeremiah even better.

Many people feel that Jeremiah is judgmental, even violent.  I definitely agree with that, but I have come to realize that I like my Bible stories with a bit of gore.  For example, my favorite Torah (Pentateuch) stories are the plague of quail that massacres the Israelites in the desert and Korach and his followers getting swallowed up by the earth.  Hey, someone has to like those stories, right?!

And now, just for fun, a selfie of me in pajamas: