Hope and hopelessness in Jeremiah 2:1–13: An interpretive understanding to help deal with COVID-19

Abstract

This article is an analysis of Jeremiah 2:1–13, to consider the passage’s contribution to the overall theological message of building a framework of hope within the seemingly hopeless coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This will be achieved by first establishing the method of approach in which the historical and literary context of the passage is analysed. This methodology is expected to inform the reading of the text, so as to generate rational and emotional arguments to arrive at the key message that Jeremiah 2 expresses in the midst of the current hopeless global context. This study aims to underscore that hope is always accessible despite extreme circumstances, both in biblical societies (Jr 2) and in the midst of a pandemic.