The introduction to the scroll indicates how Jeremiah lived and worked over a number of decades in a tumultuous time. Northern Israel (Ephraim) had been overrun by the Assyrians a century before, so “Israel” now more or less comprised only “Judah,” occupying an area that was for practical purposes smaller than Rhode Island. It centered on Jerusalem, and Jeremiah could speak of “Judah” and “Jerusalem” as if they are almost the same thing. The scroll’s introduction mentions Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah,