_BARUCH_
xlv.
"Thy life will I give unto thee for a prey."--JER. xlv. 5.
The editors of the versions and of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament
have assigned a separate chapter to this short utterance concerning
Baruch; thus paying an unconscious tribute to the worth and importance
of Jeremiah's disciple and secretary, who was the first to bear the
familiar Jewish name, which in its Latinised form of Benedict has been a
favourite with saints and popes. Probably few who read of these great
ascetics and ecclesiastics give a thought to the earliest recorded
Baruch, nor can we suppose that Christian Benedicts have been named
after him. One thing they may all have in common: either their own faith
or that of their parents ventured to bestow upon a "man born unto
trouble as the sparks fly upward" the epithet "Blessed." We can scarcely
suppose that the life of any Baruch or Benedict has run so smoothly as
to prevent him or his friends from feeling that such faith has not been
outwardly justified and that the name suggested an unkind satire.
Certainly Jeremiah's disciple, like his namesake Baruch Spinoza, had to
recognise his blessings disguised as distress and persecution.
Baruch ben Neriah is said by Josephus[58] to have belonged to a most
distinguished family, and to have been exceedingly well educated in his
native language. These statements are perhaps legitimate deductions from
the information supplied by our book. His title "scribe"[59] and his
position as Jeremiah's secretary imply that he possessed the best
culture of his time; and we are told in li. 59 that Seraiah ben Neriah,
who must be Baruch's brother, was chief chamberlain (R.V.) to Zedekiah.
According to the Old Latin Version of the Apocryphal Book of Baruch (i.
1) he was of the tribe of Simeon, a statement by no means improbable in
view of the close connection between Judah and Simeon, but needing the
support of some better authority.
Baruch's relation to Jeremiah is not expressly defined, but it is
clearly indicated in the various narratives in which he is referred
to. We find him in constant attendance upon the prophet, acting both
as his "scribe," or secretary, and as his mouthpiece. The relation was
that of Joshua to Moses, of Elisha to Elijah, of Gehazi to Elisha, of
Mark to Paul and Barnabas, and of Timothy to Paul. It is described in
the case of Joshua and Mark by the term "minister," while Elisha is
characterised as having "poured water on the hands of Elijah." The
"minister" was at once personal attendant, disciple, representative,
and possible successor of the prophet. The position has its analogue
in the service of the squire to the mediæval knight, and in that of an
unpaid private secretary to a modern cabinet minister. Squires
expected to become knights, and private secretaries hope for a seat in
future cabinets. Another less perfect parallel is the relation of the
members of a German theological "seminar" to their professor.
Baruch is first[60] introduced to us in the narrative concerning the
roll. He appears as Jeremiah's amanuensis and representative, and is
entrusted with the dangerous and honourable task of publishing his
prophecies to the people in the Temple. Not long before, similar
utterances had almost cost the master his life, so that the disciple
showed high courage and devotion in undertaking such a commission. He
was called to share with his master at once the same cup of
persecution--and the same Divine protection.
We next hear of Baruch in connection with the symbolic purchase of the
field at Anathoth.[61] He seems to have been attending on Jeremiah
during his imprisonment in the court of the guard, and the documents
containing the evidence of the purchase were entrusted to his care.
Baruch's presence in the court of the guard does not necessarily imply
that he was himself a prisoner. The whole incident shows that
Jeremiah's friends had free access to him; and Baruch probably not
only attended to his master's wants in prison, but also was his
channel of communication with the outside world.
We are nowhere told that Baruch himself was either beaten or
imprisoned, but it is not improbable that he shared Jeremiah's
fortunes even to these extremities. We next hear of him as carried
down to Egypt[62] with Jeremiah, when the Jewish refugees fled thither
after the murder of Gedaliah. Apparently he had remained with Jeremiah
throughout the whole interval, had continued to minister to him
during his imprisonment, and had been among the crowd of Jewish
captives whom Nebuchadnezzar found at Ramah. Josephus probably makes a
similar conjecture[63] in telling us that, when Jeremiah was released
and placed under the protection of Gedaliah at Mizpah, he asked and
obtained from Nebuzaradan the liberty of his disciple Baruch. At any
rate Baruch shared with his master the transient hope and bitter
disappointment of this period; he supported him in dissuading the
remnant of Jews from fleeing into Egypt, and was also compelled to
share their flight. According to a tradition recorded by Jerome,
Baruch and Jeremiah died in Egypt. But the Apocryphal Book of Baruch
places him at Babylon, whither another tradition takes him after the
death of Jeremiah in Egypt.[64] These legends are probably mere
attempts of wistful imagination to supply unwelcome blanks in history.
It has often been supposed that our present Book of Jeremiah, in some
stage of its formation, was edited or compiled by Baruch, and that
this book may be ranked with biographies--like Stanley's Life of
Arnold--of great teachers by their old disciples. He was certainly the
amanuensis of the roll, which must have been the most valuable
authority for any editor of Jeremiah's prophecies. And the amanuensis
might very easily become the editor. If an edition of the book was
compiled in Jeremiah's lifetime, we should naturally expect him to use
Baruch's assistance; if it first took shape after the prophet's death,
and if Baruch survived, no one would be better able to compile the
"Life and Works of Jeremiah" than his favourite and faithful
disciple. The personal prophecy about Baruch does not occur in its
proper place in connection with the episode of the roll, but is
appended at the end of the prophecies,[65] possibly as a kind of
subscription on the part of the editor. These data do not constitute
absolute proof, but they afford strong probability that Baruch
compiled a book, which was substantially our Jeremiah. The evidence is
similar in character to, but much more conclusive than, that adduced
for the authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews by Apollos.
Almost the final reference to Baruch suggests another aspect of his
relation to Jeremiah. The Jewish captains accused him of unduly
influencing his master against Egypt and in favour of Chaldea. Whatever
truth there may have been in this particular charge, we gather that
popular opinion credited Baruch with considerable influence over
Jeremiah, and probably popular opinion was not far wrong. Nothing said
about Baruch suggests any vein of weakness in his character, such as
Paul evidently recognised in Timothy. His few appearances upon the scene
rather leave the impression of strength and self-reliance, perhaps even
self-assertion. If we knew more about him, possibly indeed if any one
else had compiled these "Memorabilia," we might discover that much in
Jeremiah's policy and teaching was due to Baruch, and that the master
leaned somewhat heavily upon the sympathy of the disciple. The qualities
that make a successful man of action do not always exempt their
possessor from being directed or even controlled by his followers. It
would be interesting to discover how much of Luther is Melanchthon. Of
many a great minister, his secretaries and subordinates might say
safely, in private, _Cujus pars magna fuimus_.
The short prophecy which has furnished a text for this chapter shows
that Jeremiah was not unaware of Baruch's tendency to self-assertion,
and even felt that sometimes it required a check. Apparently chapter
xlv. once formed the immediate continuation of chapter xxxvi., the
narrative of the incident of the roll. It was "the word spoken by
Jeremiah the prophet to Baruch ben Neriah, when he wrote these words
in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah in the fourth year of
Jehoiakim." The reference evidently is to xxxvi. 32, where we are told
that Baruch wrote, at Jeremiah's dictation, all the words of the book
that had been burnt, and many like words.
Clearly Baruch had not received Jeremiah's message as to the sin and
ruin of Judah without strong protest. It was as distasteful to him as
to all patriotic Jews and even to Jeremiah himself. Baruch had not yet
been able to accept this heavy burden or to look beyond to the
brighter promise of the future. He broke out into bitter complaint:
"Woe is me now! for Jehovah hath added sorrow to my pain; I am weary
with my groaning, and find no rest."[66] Strong as these words are,
they are surpassed by many of Jeremiah's complaints to Jehovah, and
doubtless even now they found an echo in the prophet's heart. Human
impatience of suffering revolts desperately against the conviction
that calamity is inevitable; hope whispers that some unforeseen
Providence will yet disperse the storm-clouds, and the portents of
ruin will dissolve like some evil dream. Jeremiah had, now as always,
the harsh, unwelcome task of compelling himself and his fellows to
face the sad and appalling reality. "Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I am
breaking down that which I built, I am plucking up that which I
planted."[67] This was his familiar message concerning Judah, but he
had also a special word for Baruch: "And as for thee, dost thou seek
great things for thyself?" What "great things" could a devout and
patriotic Jew, a disciple of Jeremiah, seek for himself in those
disastrous times? The answer is at once suggested by the renewed
prediction of doom. Baruch, in spite of his master's teaching, had
still ventured to look for better things, and had perhaps fancied that
he might succeed where Jeremiah had failed and might become the
mediator who should reconcile Israel to Jehovah. He may have thought
that Jeremiah's threats and entreaties had prepared the way for some
message of reconciliation. Gemariah ben Shaphan and other princes had
been greatly moved when Baruch read the roll. Might not their emotion
be an earnest of the repentance of the people? If he could carry on
his master's work to a more blessed issue than the master himself had
dared to hope, would not this be a "great thing" indeed? We gather
from the tone of the chapter that Baruch's aspirations were unduly
tinged with personal ambition. While kings, priests, and prophets were
sinking into a common ruin from which even the most devoted servants
of Jehovah would not escape, Baruch was indulging himself in visions
of the honour to be obtained from a glorious mission, successfully
accomplished. Jeremiah reminds him that he will have to take his
share in the common misery. Instead of setting his heart upon "great
things" which are not according to the Divine purpose, he must be
prepared to endure with resignation the evil which Jehovah "is
bringing upon all flesh." Yet there is a word of comfort and promise:
"I will give thee thy life for a prey in all places whither thou
goest." Baruch was to be protected from violent or premature death.
According to Renan,[68] this boon was flung to Baruch
half-contemptuously, in order to silence his unworthy and unseasonable
importunity:--
"Dans une catastrophe qui va englober l'humanité tout entière, il est
beau de venir réclamer de petites faveurs d'exception! Baruch aura la
vie sauve partout où il ira; qu'il s'en contente!"
We prefer a more generous interpretation. To a selfish man, unless
indeed he clung to bare life in craven terror or mere animal tenacity,
such an existence as Baruch was promised would have seemed no boon at
all. Imprisonment in a besieged and starving city, captivity and exile,
his fellow-countrymen's ill-will and resentment from first to
last--these experiences would be hard to recognise as privileges
bestowed by Jehovah. Had Baruch been wholly self-centred, he might well
have craved death instead, like Job, nay, like Jeremiah himself. But
life meant for him continued ministry to his master, the high privilege
of supporting him in his witness to Jehovah. If, as seems almost
certain, we owe to Baruch the preservation of Jeremiah's prophecies,
then indeed the life that was given him for a prey must have been
precious to him as the devoted servant of God. Humanly speaking, the
future of revealed religion and of Christianity depended on the survival
of Jeremiah's teaching, and this hung upon the frail thread of Baruch's
life. After all, Baruch was destined to achieve "great things," even
though not those which he sought after; and as no editor's name is
prefixed to our book, he cannot be accused of self-seeking. So too for
every faithful disciple, his life, even if given for a prey, even if
spent in sorrow, poverty, and pain, is still a Divine gift, because
nothing can spoil its opportunity of ministering to men and glorifying
God, even if only by patient endurance of suffering.
We may venture on a wider application of the promise, "Thy life shall
be given thee for a prey." Life is not merely continued existence in
the body: life has come to mean spirit and character, so that Christ
could say, "He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it." In
this sense the loyal servant of God wins as his prey, out of all
painful experiences, a fuller and nobler life. Other rewards may come
in due season, but this is the most certain and the most sufficient.
For Baruch, constant devotion to a hated and persecuted master,
uncompromising utterance of unpopular truth, had their chief issue in
the redemption of his own inward life.
FOOTNOTES:
[58] _Antt._, x. 9, 1.
[59] xxxvi. 26, 32.
[60] In order of time, ch. xxxvi.
[61] xxxii.
[62] xliii.
[63] _Antt._, x. 9, 1.
[64] Bissell's Introduction to Baruch in Lange's Commentary.
[65] So LXX., which here probably gives the true order.
[66] The clause "I am weary with my groaning" also occurs in Psalm vi.
6.
[67] The concluding clause of the verse is omitted by LXX., and is
probably a gloss added to indicate that the ruin would not be confined
to Judah, but would extend "over the whole earth." Cf. Kautzsch.
[68] _Hist. of Israel_, iii., 293.