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2 Baruch, also known as the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, is a Jewish pseudepigraphical text thought to have been written in the late first century CE or early second century CE, after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. It attributed to the Biblical Baruch and so associated with the Old Testament, but not regarded as scripture by Jews or any Christian group. It has 87 sections.
Contents |
Manuscript Tradition
The full text is known from a sixth or seventh century CE manuscript in Syriac that was discovered by Antonio Ceriani in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan in 18661. The text can be divided in two parts: the Apocalypse proper (chapters 1-77) and the so called Letter of Baruch to the nine and a half tribes (chapters 78-87) that was already known and is attested in a further thirty-six Syriac manuscripts. With reference to the Apocalypse proper, two excerpts were known from 13th century lectionaries2 of the Syriac Orthodox Church, one Latin except from a quotation in Cyprian3, and also a 4th-5th century CE Greek fragment was found among the manuscripts of Oxyrhynchus4. In 1974 was discovered an Arabic manuscript of the whole text, surely a rather free translation from a Syriac text close to Milan manuscript.
Description
Although the canonical Book of Jeremiah portrays Baruch as Jeremiah's scribe, 2 Baruch portrays him as a prophet in his own right, and superior to Jeremiah. It has a similar style to the writings attributed to Jeremiah – a mix of prayer, lamentation, and visions. Although Baruch writes of Nebuchadnezzar's sac of Jerusalem in 586 BC, it is currently believed as having been written in reaction to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. According to the text, the Temple's sacred objects were rescued from destruction under the protection angels to be returned during the restoration prophesied in the Book of Jeremiah.
The first part of the text is structured in triplets – three fasts each followed by three visions and three addresses to the people. The visions are notable for their discussion of theodicy, the problem of evil, and an emphasis on predestination. The second part of the text is a long letter, which many scholars believe was originally a separate document, which discusses the importance and primacy of Jewish law.
See also
Notes
- ^ Manuscript "B. 21 inf" ff 264a-276a. A. Ceriani Apocalypsis Baruch (notae criticae) in Monumenta sacra et profana 1,2, Milano 1866 pag 73-98
- ^ British Museum, Addit. 14.686, 1255 CE: verses 44:9-15; British Museum, Addit. 14.687, 1256 CE: verses 72:1-73:2; it was found also an other lectionary of 15th century in Kerala with the same excerpts
- ^ Cyprian Testimoniorum adversus Judæos III.29 includes verses 48:36 48:33-34
- ^ P. Oxy. 403, including verses 12:1-13:2 13:11-14:3
Sources
- A.F.J. Klijn 2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch, a new Translation and Introduction in ed. James Charlesworth The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol 1 ISBN 0385096305 (1983)
- F. Leemhuis, A.F.J. Klijn, G.J.H. van Gelder The Arabic Text of the Apocalypse of Baruch: Edited and Translated with a Parallel Translation of the Syriac Text ISBN 9004076085 (1986)
- P. Bettiolo Apocalisse Siriana di Baruc in ed. P.Sacchi Apocrifi dell'Antico Testamento Vol 2 ISBN 9788802076065 (2006)
External links
- Text of 2 Baruch in its ancient versions: Syriac, Greek, and Latin
- Translation from "The Apocrypha and Pseudeipgrapha of the Old Testament", R. H. Charles
- Jewish Encyclopedia: BARUCH, APOCALYPSE OF (Syriac)
- 2 Baruch at earlyjewishwritings.com