while jeremiah 26–36 constitute a compilation of diverse mate-rial, Jeremiah 37–44 are almost exclusively narrative in nature (though oracles have been incorporated into these narratives). This has led a number of scholars to argue that they derive from a different compositional circle or author than Jeremiah 26–36, but in addition to the elements already discussed, several considerations weigh in against this conclusion. Like the earlier literary unit, this second unit provides an historical background for a number of Jeremiah's oracles (poetry and prose) contained in Jeremiah 1–25. We also encounter indications throughout Jeremiah 37–44 of the fissure between the royal officers (scribes and otherwise) that surfaced in Jeremiah 26–36, with the prophet clearly identified as an ally to some and an enemy to others, contributing to the sense of political and sociological chaos in the twilight years of Judah. This not only would have lent immediacy and authenticity to the narrative for an exilic audience that had experienced a devastating break in the continuity of their own lives via the exile, but it also developed issues that were already present in Jeremiah 1–25, with the prophet's critique of the infallibility of the Davidic dynasty finding fruition in the depiction of the reign of the last king to rule from Jerusalem (this same element surfaces in Jeremiah 34–36, as observed earlier).