Prophet of the Old Testament, Jeremiah was apparently born between 650 and 645 B.C. in Anathoth, a small village about five kilometers from Jerusalem, where he was active as a prophet for nearly forty years.
In the days of Josiah, king of Judah, God called Jeremiah (verse 2) while he was still a child (verse 5).
The Lord gave Jeremiah a blueprint for his prophetic ministry: "Behold, I put my words in your mouth. Look, I appoint you this day over the nations and kingdoms, that you may pluck up and pull down, that you may ruin and destroy, that you may build and plant" (verses 9-10). In other words, God had decided to give Jeremiah the task of proclaiming the destruction and creation of certain nations before the Kingdom of God was established.