The Two Sons of Neriah and the Two Editions of Jeremiah in the Light of Two Atbash Code-Words for Babylon

Abstract

What, then, can we say about editor II? He lived in Babylonia during the exilie. He had knowledge of people and events in Jeremiah's life which went beyond the facts reported in edition I, and he had access to an entire prophecy not recorded in edition I. Although he was a highly skilled editor, the only book of the Bible known to be edited by him is Jeremiah. He moved the prophecy to Baruch ben Neriah from its place at the end of the book and in its place put the address to Seraiah ben Neriah. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that editor II and Seraiah ben Neriah are the same person.