The present canonical form of the book was probably the result of a long and complex process of collection. The Book of Psalms also underwent compilation in a similar fashion over many years. The compilation is not chronological, but it did occur in stages.
"Precisely how the final form of the prophecy arose is unknown."27
In some cases key words link units of material together. There is also some grouping of subject matter according to genre within the larger sections of the book.28
The attempt to identify the original sources of material in Bible books is a worthy subject of study, but the purpose of these notes is to expound the text.29The book itself indicates that King Jehoiakim destroyed some of Jeremiah's earlier written prophecies and that Baruch rewrote them and added more to form another collection (ch. 36). This information explains to some extent the anthological structure of the book and suggests that Jeremiah, Baruch, and perhaps others added even more prophecies as time passed and that the final product is what we have.
"It is clear that the book assumed its present form either very late in the prophet's lifetime, or more probably after his death."30
