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Bible Encyclopedias
Baruch
Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
or Ba´ruch, blessed; the faithful friend and amanuensis of the prophet Jeremiah, was of a noble family of the tribe of Judah, and generally considered to be the brother of the prophet Seraiah, both being represented as sons of Neriah; and to Baruch the prophet Jeremiah dictated all his oracles. During the siege of Jerusalem, Baruch was selected as the depositary of the deed of purchase which Jeremiah had made of the territory of Hanameel, to which deed he had been a witness. In the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiachim, king of Judah (B.C. 605), Baruch was directed to write all the prophecies delivered by Jeremiah up to that period, and to read them to the people, which he did from a window in the Temple upon two solemn occasions. He afterwards read them before the counselors of the king at a private interview, when Baruch being asked to give an account of the manner in which the prophecy had been composed, gave an exact description of the mode in which he had taken it down from the prophet's dictation. Upon this they ordered him to leave the roll, advising that he and Jeremiah should conceal themselves. They then informed the king of what had taken place, upon which he had the roll read to him; but, after hearing a part of it, he cut it with a penknife, and, notwithstanding the remonstrances of his counselors, threw it into the fire of his winter parlor, where he was sitting. He then ordered Jeremiah and Baruch to be seized, but they could not be found. The Jews to this day commemorate the burning of this roll by an annual fast. Another roll was now written by Baruch from the prophet's dictation, containing all that was in the former, with some additions, the most remarkable of which is the prophecy respecting the ruin of Jehoiachim and his house, as the punishment of his impious act. This roll is the prophecy of Jeremiah which we now possess. Baruch, being himself terrified at the threats contained in the prophetic roll, received the comforting assurance that he would himself be delivered from the calamities which should befall Judah and Jerusalem. After the capture of Jerusalem, in the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah, when the Jews, after their return from Babylon, obstinately persisted in their determination to migrate to Egypt, against the remonstrances of the prophet, both Baruch and Jeremiah accompanied them to that country, where they remained until the death of Jeremiah. There is no account in Scripture of Baruch's return from Egypt, but the Rabbins allege that he died in Babylon, in the twelfth year of the exile, Josephus asserts that, he was well skilled in the Hebrew language; and that, after the taking of Jerusalem, Nebuzaradan treated Baruch with consideration, from respect to Jeremiah, whose misfortunes he had shared, and whom he had accompanied to prison and exile (Antiq. x. 9, 1-2).
Public Domain.
Kitto, John, ed. Entry for 'Baruch'. "Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature". https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/kbe/b/baruch.html.
