A book of the Bible.
Baruch
Dictionary:
Bar·uch (bâr'ək, bə-rūk')  |
| Encyclopedia of Judaism: Book of Baruch |
Book of theApocrypha. Attributed to Baruch, Jeremiah's secretary, in the form of a letter sent from Babylonia to Erets Israel after the destruction of the First Temple. It includes five chapters and is divided into four parts. In the first part (1:1-14) Baruch is described as reading the book to the Jews in Babylonia in the fifth year after the destruction of the Temple (i.e. 582 BCE). The introduction is followed by a penitential prayer (1:15-3:8) beseeching the people in Erets Israel to read the book and pray for their exiled brethren. The influence of Daniel 9:4-19 on the prayer establishes an ante quem non of the early Hasmonean period for the composition of the book. The third part (3:9-4:4) is a hymn praising the wisdom of the Torah and the fourth (4:5-5-9) consists of two poems of lamentation and solace. While some scholars maintain that the book is composite in nature, most agree that the introduction and prayer (1.1-3.8) were originally written in Hebrew.
| Bible Guide: Book of Baruch |
An apocryphal book attributed to Baruch, the secretary of Jeremiah. In many manuscripts of the Septuagint, the Greek Bible, this work follows the Book of Jeremiah and it was often cited by Church Fathers as if it were either a part of the Book of Jeremiah or an appendix thereto. The date of writing is uncertain but seems to have been between the 4th century B.C. and the 2nd century A.D.
In the Eastern and Latin churches it is part of the biblical canon, and the text is extant in Greek, Syriac, Syro-Hexaplar, Latin, Armenian, Ethiopic, Coptic and Arabic, although it was probably written either in Hebrew or Greek.
The theme of the book's five chapters, Exile and Return, is to be found in all four parts of the book. The first part (1:1-14) describes how Baruch read his book in Babylonia to the Jewish leaders and others in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem (c. 582 B.C.). The people wept, fasted, prayed and collected money which was sent to Jerusalem, asking the people there to pray for them and read the book. The second part is a penitential prayer (1:15-3:8), which the Jews wrote in Babylon and sent to Jerusalem. A poem on the Torah, the fountain of wisdom forsaken by the people of Israel, is the theme of the third part (3:9-4:4).
The last part consists of two poems of lamentation and comfort. A personified Jerusalem comforts the captives in Babylon by putting her hope in the "Everlasting, that he will save you" (4:22-29). The second poem is a comforting assurance to Jerusalem (4:30-5:9) that her children will be gathered and brought back to her (5:5-6). In the Latin Bible, the Vulgate, the Epistle of Jeremiah (Jeremy) is chapter 6 of the Book of Baruch, but this epistle should be considered as a separate apocryphal writing.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Baruch |
Baruch, early Jewish book included in the Septuagint, but not included in the Hebrew Bible and placed in the Apocrypha in the Authorized Version. It is named for a Jewish prince Baruch (fl. 600 B.C.), friend and editor of Jeremiah the prophet (see Jeremiah, book of the Bible). Baruch comprises: a message from the exiled Jews to the Jews still at home, including a prayer for Palestinian Jews to use, confessing sin and asking divine mercy; a hymn in praise of wisdom, including a reference to the incarnation of Wisdom in the form of the Torah, i.e., the law of God, understood in the early Church as an allusion to the incarnation of Jesus; a consolation of Jerusalem containing a lament; finally chapter 6, which is a letter of Jeremiah warning the exiles against idolatry. While there exist versions of Baruch in Syriac, Ethiopic, Latin and other ancient languages, these are based on the Greek, which in turn probably derives from a Hebrew original. Critics disagree greatly over the dates of Baruch; some see it as a collection of works by several authors. For the Apocalypse of Baruch, or Syriac Baruch, see Pseudepigrapha. For further bibliography, see Apocrypha.
| Wikipedia: Book of Baruch |
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The Book of Baruch, occasionally referred to as 1 Baruch, is called a deuterocanonical book of the Bible. Although not in the Hebrew Bible, it is found in the Septuagint and in the Vulgate Bible, and also in Theodotion's version.[1] There it is found among the prophetical books which also include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the twelve minor prophets. It is named after Baruch ben Neriah, Jeremiah's scribe. Scholars propose that it was written during or shortly after the period of the Maccabees.[2] In the Vulgate, the King James Bible, and many other versions, the Letter of Jeremiah is appended to the end of the Book of Baruch as a sixth chapter.
Contents |
Basic structure
- 1:1-14 Introduction: "And these are the words...which Baruch...wrote in Babylonia.... And when they heard it they wept, and fasted, and prayed before the Lord."
- 1:15-2:10 Confession of sins: "[T]he Lord hath watched over us for evil, and hath brought it upon us: for the Lord is just in all his works.... And we have not hearkened to his voice"
- 2:11-3:8 Prayer for mercy: "[F]or the dead that are in hell, whose spirit is taken away from their bowels, shall not give glory and justice to the Lord..." (cf. Psalms 6:6/5)
- 3:9-4:14 Paean for Wisdom: "Where are the princes of the nations,... that hoard up silver and gold, wherein men trust? ... They are cut off, and are gone down to hell,..."
- 4:5-5:9 Message to those in captivity: "You have been sold to the Gentiles, not for your destruction: but because you provoked God to wrath.... [F]or the sins of my children, he [the Eternal] hath brought a nation upon them from afar...who have neither reverenced the ancient, nor pitied children..."
- Chapter 6: See Letter of Jeremiah
Use in the New Testament
- Lk 13:29 bears relation to Baruch 4:37 [1].
- Jn 3:13 bears relation to Baruch 3:29 (ibid.).
- 1 Cor 10:20 bears relation to Baruch 4:7 (ibid.).
- Jn 1:14 bears relation to Baruch 3:38 as well as to Lev 26:11-12, 1 Kgs 8:27, and Psalms 85:9.
Liturgical use
Western
In the Roman Catholic Church, Bar 3:9-38 is used in the liturgy of Holy Saturday during Passiontide in the traditional lectionary of scriptural readings at Mass. A similar selection occurs during the revised liturgy for the Easter Vigil.[3]
Bar 1:14 - 2:5; 3:1-8 is a liturgical reading within the revised Roman Catholic Breviary[4] for the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Friday Office of Readings. The subject is the prayer and confession of sin of a penitent people:
Justice is with the Lord, our God; and we today are flushed with shame, we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem, that we, with our kings and rulers and priests and prophets, and with our fathers, have sinned in the Lord's sight and disobeyed him. ... And the Lord fulfilled the warning he had uttered against us.... Lord Almighty, ... Hear... and have mercy on us, who have sinned against you... (Bar 1:15-18; 2:1; 3:1-2)
St. Augustine's reflection, which is paired with this reading, on this occasion speaks of prayer: "[S]ince this [that we pray for] is that peace that surpasses all understanding, even when we ask for it in prayer we do not know how to pray for what is right..."; from there he explains what it means that the Holy Ghost pleads for the saints.
Bar 3:9-15, 24-4:4 is a liturgical reading for the Saturday of the same week. The theme is that the salvation of Israel is founded on wisdom: "Learn where prudence is, ... that you may know also where are length of days, and life, where light of the eyes, and peace. Who has found the place of wisdom, who has entered into her treasuries? ... She is the book of the precepts of God, ... All who cling to her will live... Turn, O Jacob, and receive her: ... Give not your glory to another, your privileges to an alien race." Paired with this on the same day is a reading from St. Peter Chrysologus [2], d. A.D. 450, who quotes the Apostle: "let us also wear the likeness of the man of heaven".
It is listed in Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England.[5]. In their liturgical readings for Christmas Eve, Baruch 4:21-29 is read; on Christmas day, Baruch 4:30-5:9. (Both of these are considered Messianic Prophecy in the Anglican tradition)[6]
Eastern
In the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, a selection from Baruch (which is considered an extension of the Book of Jeremiah, and is announced in the services as "Jeremiah") is read as one of the eight Paroemia (Old Testament readings) during the Vesperal Divine Liturgy on Christmas Eve.
Use by theologians and Church Fathers
In Summa Theologiae. III 4 4, Doctor of the Church Thomas Aquinas quotes Baruch 3:38 to affirm that "the Son of God assumed human nature in order to show Himself in men's sight, according to Baruch 3:38: 'Afterwards He was seen upon earth, and conversed with men.'" This is part of his discussion of "the mode of union on the part of the human nature" III 4. He quotes the same passage of Baruch in III 40 1 to help answer "whether Christ should have associated with men, or led a solitary life" III 40.
Church Father St. Clement of Alexandria [3], d. A.D. 217, quoted Baruch 3:16-19, referring to the passage thus: "Divine Scripture, addressing itself to those who love themselves and to the boastful, somewhere says most excellently: 'Where are the princes of the nations...'" (see "Paean for Wisdom" example infra) (Jurgens §410a).
St. Hilary of Poitiers [4], d. A.D. 368, also a Church Father, quoted the same passage as St. Thomas, supra, (3:36-38), citing "Jeremias", about which Jurgens states: "Baruch was secretary to Jeremias, and is cited by the Fathers mostly under the name of Jeremias" (§864n). St. Hilary states: "Besides Moses and Isaias, listen now a third time, and to Jeremias, who teaches the same thing, when He says:..." (Jurgens §864).
Use in the current Catechism of the Catholic Church
Baruch 6 is quoted in CCC §2112 as part of an exposition against idolatry. During the Diaspora the Jews lamented their lapse into idolatry, and their repentance is captured in the Book of Baruch.
References
- ^ "Baruch" by P. P. Saydon, revised by T. Hanlon, in A New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Reginald C. Fuller, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Publishers, 1953, 1975, §504j. The same source states that "[t]here is also evidence that Baruch was read in Jewish synagogues on certain festivals during the early centuries of the Christian era (Thackeray, 107-11)," i.e. Henry St. John Thackeray, The Septuagint and Jewish Worship, 1923.
- ^ Fuller, op. cit., §504h. Also, "late Babylonian"; "alluded to, seemingly, in 2 Mac 2:1-3" in The Jerusalem Bible, 1966, p. 1128.
- ^ Catholic Calendar web page
- ^ Laudis canticum — Latin text — Paul VI, 1 November 1970
- ^ Article VI at episcopalian.org
- ^ Lectionary for Anglican Church at bcponline.org
See also
External links
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Baruch
"Baruch" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.- N.A.B. Introduction to Baruch
- Prophecy of Baruch Full Text by chapter
- Latin Vulgate with Douay-Rheims freeware with bookmarking, search, and other features
- The Book of Baruch Full text from http://St-Takla.org (also available in Arabic)
- World Wide Study Bible: Baruch
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Baruch
| Preceded by Lamentations |
R.Catholic & Orthodox Books of the Bible See Deuterocanon |
Succeeded by Letter of Jeremiah |
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Encyclopedia of Judaism. The New Encyclopedia of Judaism. Copyright © 1989, 2002 by G.G. The Jerusalem Publishing House, Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Bible Guide. Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible. Copyright © 1986 by G.G. The Jerusalem Publishing House, Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Ba (abbreviation)
- Neriah (in the Old Testament)
- Abdeel (in the Old Testament)
- Moyses Baruch (person)
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