Unless otherwise noted, all citations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
This book is a collection of OT texts. It is “dependent on Old Testament texts in nearly every verse.”[1]
Manuscripts
We contain this book in the Septuagint.[2] No ancient Hebrew manuscripts exist for this book, but deSilva contends that scholars believe at least 1:1-3:8 were originally composed in Hebrew.[3]
Authorship
The book claims to be written by Baruch—the friend and secretary of Jeremiah (Jer. 32:12; 36:4; 51:59). But deSilva calls this a “literary fiction.”[4] Metzger writes, “Actually it appears to be a composite work of uneven quality written by two or more authors.”[5]
Date
The date of the book is a mystery. Portions of the book (3:36-4:1) are quite similar to Sirach 24:8, 23. This suggests a date later than 180 BC—though it could be as late as 120 BC.[6] The rest of the book could date anywhere from “the fourth through the second centuries B.C.E.”[7] Metzger states that the book could date as late as the first century AD.[8]
Church Father citations[9]
Athenagoras cites Baruch 3:35 (Legatio pro Christianis, 9).
Irenaeus quotes Baruch 4:36-5:9 (Against Heresies, 5.35).
Clement of Alexandria cites Baruch 3:9-4:5 (Paedagogus, 1.10.91-92).
Origen, Tertullian, Cyprian, and Lactantius all cited Baruch 3:36-37 to refer to the incarnation (Origen, Commentarii in evangelium Joannis; Cyprian, Ad Quirinium testimonia adversus Judaeos, 2.6; Tertullian, Adversus Praxean, 16; Lactantius, Divinarum institutionum libri, V11 4.38).
Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus place Baruch between Jeremiah and Lamentations.[10] Though Metzger writes, “Jerome stated that the Hebrews neither read nor even possess this book.”[11] These early church fathers quoted it because they probably thought it was under the prophet Jeremiah’s authority.
[1] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 198.
[2] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 201.
[3] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 201.
[4] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 203.
[5] Bruce M. Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 89.
[6] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 204.
[7] David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 205.
[8] Bruce M. Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 89.
[9] All of these citations come from David A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 212-213.
[10] Bruce M. Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 94.
[11] Bruce M. Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 93.