Texts in Conversation
Jeremiah accuses the people of rejecting the fountain of living water, an accusation echoed in Baruch who argues they have abandoned the fountain of wisdom, a reference to the Torah.
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Jeremiah 2:13
Hebrew Bible
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods at all)? But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, for a god that cannot help them at all! 12 Be amazed at this, O heavens. Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded,”says the Lord. 13 “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong: They have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that cannot even hold water. 14 “Israel is not a slave, is he? He was not born into slavery, was he? If not, why then is he being carried off? 15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him; they raise their voices in triumph. They have laid his land waste; his cities have been burned down and deserted.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Baruch 3:12
Deuterocanon
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? 12 You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom. 13 If you had walked in the way of God, you would be living in peace forever. 14 Learn where there is wisdom, where there is strength, where there is understanding, so that you may at the same time discern where there is length of days, and life, where there is light for the eyes, and peace.
Date: 150-100 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... God is portrayed as universal and also as creator (Baruch 3:32–35; Jeremiah 5:22; 10:12; 23:24). He loves Israel especially (Baruch 3:37; Jeremiah 31:3), although the people are sinful and rebellious (Baruch 1:13, 19; 2:10; Jeremiah 2:20–24, 29, and elsewhere). God has addressed them frequently, also through his prophets, but has had no success (Baruch 1:18, 21; 2:20, 24; Jeremiah 7:23–28; 11:7–8, etc.). Nevertheless he is full of mercy and gives his people a future (Baruch 2:27; 3:2; 5:9; Jeremiah 31:20; 33:26; 42:12). Besides these features common to many books of the Old Testament, there are some specific traits linking the Books of Baruch and Jeremiah. Jeremiah 2:13 (17:13) refers to God as “the source of living water”, and the people are accused of having “forsaken the source of living water”. Similarly, Baruch 3:12 talks about Israel, having “forsaken the source of wisdom”; the following context, leading to Baruch 4:1 with its equation of wisdom with the book of God’s commandments, suggests a close connection between the “source of wisdom” and God himself. Thus, although using different terms, the two passages in Jeremiah and Baruch are very close to one another ..."
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