The Apocrypha: The Book of Baruch

by Anonymous, B. Brown

Genres: Religion

Kindle Edition

Published July 8, 2020

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Paht (Pat) Satji · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Book of Baruch serves as a reminder for Jewish communities to reconnect with scripture and to repent, when they face persecution through later oppressors (Greeks, Romans).

It also serves as testimony to Jeremiah, as Baruch was his scribe (after the Babylonian exile). Baruch advises three steps towards redemption: prayer of repentance, recognising the divine wisdom of the Torah (as human wisdom leads to obsession with money and status) and hope for the restoration of Israel (whether you believe this literally or symbolically).

The last chapter or Baruch 6, is actually a letter of Jeremiah in which Jeremiah mocks idol worship (and warns that even after Bablyon, there will come others who do the same). I found this verse hilarious: "Their wooden Gods overlaid with gold and silver are like a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers, protecting nothing."

[Meka · Rating 4 out of 5]

A standard book that I would have expected somewhat in the Bible but the different types of texts contained in a few chapters could explain why this certain book may not be in the canonical Bible; lack of consistency which may raise doubts to authorship or time periods of writing.

However, interesting point I have learnt is that Baruch is the secretary of prophet Jeremiah.
Additionally the final chapter of this book, Chapter 6, brought this book up to 4 stars; such bold truth and facts about idol worship! Amen.

[Dean Ryan Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never heard of BARUCH even once. After reading his prophetic book which was the seventh and the last apocrypha book in New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE), I discovered he worked for Jeremiah, who was my favorite prophet in the Old Testament. The contents about false gods were good but were simply a re-echo of other prophetic books.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jewish book of ethical teachings written by the Judahite scribe Baruch ben Neriah, Jeremiah’s scribe around the period of the Maccabees. It’s a reflection on the circumstances of the Jewish exiles from Babylon with meditations on theology and history of Israel

[Delanie Dooms · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Goodspeed's translation.

This book is a composite of a few different texts that only nominally connect to one another, making them feel more surreal than perhaps was intended. They are stitched together in this wise:

First, a prayer against God's wrath (he has a done a lot, they are praying for him to stop);
Second, an exhortation on Wisdom's goodness;
Third, two poem's about the Jewish return to Jerusalem;
Last, a letter from Jeremiah condemning idolatry.

The exhortation on wisdom seems to follow the same Wisdom = following God approach as previous texts. The two poems lead into each other--the first is Jerusalem speaking about her woeful widowhood and wishing for the Jews to return to her and God, then next a poem directed at Jerusalem saying that this will be so. The final letter takes for granted that the heathen gods are not only symbolized by the statues they worship, but literally incarnate in them, and takes from this latter premise most of the mockery of such gods. (They do not have power; they are degraded; they will rot as everything else.) This literal translation of heathen religion does little, in my mind, with showing much about those religions. Idolatry, one must think, is a concept primarily around believing in false gods, whether this is capitalism or Ba'al, in opposition to the truth. Here we see presented an argument that is perhaps preaching to the choir or simply not taking seriously it's opposition.