Deuteronomy 30:15

Hebrew Bible

13 And it is not across the sea, as though one must say, ‘Who will cross over to the other side of the sea and get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ 14 For the thing is very near you—it is in your mouth and in your mind so that you can do it. 15Look! I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand, and death and disaster on the other. 16 What I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to obey his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. Then you will live and become numerous and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are about to possess. 17 However, if you turn aside and do not obey, but are lured away to worship and serve other gods,

Baruch 3:9

Deuterocanon

7 For you have put the fear of you in our hearts so that we would call upon your name; and we will praise you in our exile, for we have put away from our hearts all the iniquity of our ancestors who sinned against you. 8 See, we are today in our exile where you have scattered us, to be reproached and cursed and punished for all the iniquities of our ancestors, who forsook the Lord our God. 9 Hear the commandments of life, O Israel; give ear, and learn wisdom! 10 Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies, that you are growing old in a foreign country, that you are defiled with the dead, 11 that you are counted among those in Hades?

 Notes and References

"... The similarity in phraseology and ideology between the book of Deuteronomy and wisdom literature, particularly the book of Proverbs, has been extensively documented. The author of the book of Baruch is aware of this similarity and in the frame of the wisdom poem (Baruch 3:9–15; 4:1–4), has adroitly exploited the commonalities in thought and expression between the two types of literature to fuse wisdom teaching with the teachings of Torah. (the association of “wisdom/law” and “life” in Deuteronomy 4:40; 30:15; Proverbs 6:23; Baruch 4:1) In this way he encompasses wisdom within the bounds of the teaching of Torah expressed in the book of Deuteronomy. This fusion of wisdom with the Deuteronomic Torah has been extended by the author of Baruch 3:9–4:4. The wisdom poem (Baruch 3:15–38) which, as shown above, is modeled on Job 28:12–28, has been viewed from the perspective of Deuteronomy 4 and 30. These two chapters, which form the beginning and conclusion of the long farewell address of Moses in the book of Deuteronomy, contain many correspondences and may be regarded as a type of inclusio for the main contents of the book. They are regarded as coming from a relatively later exilic layer and appear to sum up much of the book’s teaching ..."

Henderson, Ruth Studies on Baruch: Composition, Literary Relations, and Reception (pp. 43-59) De Gruyter, 2016

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.