Texts in Conversation
Jeremiah declares even animals are under the power of Babylon, highlighting the empire’s total control. Baruch echoes the language of Jeremiah but uses it to highlight the fleeting nature of power, even the same power to rule over the animals.
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Jeremiah 27:6
Hebrew Bible
4 Charge them to give their masters a message from me. Tell them, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to give your masters this message: 5 “I made the earth and the people and animals on it by my mighty power and great strength, and I give it to whomever I see fit. 6 I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power of my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. 7 All nations must serve him and his son and grandson until the time comes for his own nation to fall. Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon. 8 But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to him. I, the Lord, affirm that I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it with war, starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Baruch 3:16
Deuterocanon
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. 15 Who has found her place? And who has entered her storehouses? 16 Where are the rulers of the nations, and those who lorded it over the animals on earth; 17 those who made sport of the birds of the air, and who hoarded up silver and gold in which people trust, and there is no end to their getting; 18 those who schemed to get silver, and were anxious, but there is no trace of their works?
Date: 150-100 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... It is not my intention to be exhaustive here; my scope in this section is to demonstrate some examples of how the Book of Baruch is close to Jeremiah, while at the same time being quite different from it. This procedure points to two attitudes combined: on the one hand taking the prophet’s words and ideas as inspiration and model, on the other hand developing its own thoughts and expressions ... Some further common features are: (i) The pairing of “house Israel ... (and) house Judah” is typical for Jeremiah. The only other passages using it in the same sense, to link both parts of the people within one verse, are Zechariah 8:13 and Baruch 2:26. As Zechariah depends on the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Baruch rarely uses Zechariah, once again the Book of Baruch apparently seems to draw on Jeremiah. (ii) The expression לברע “evil heart” occurs six times in Jeremiah, and elsewhere only twice, both in Proverbs. The Book of Baruch uses the same phraseology as Jeremiah in Baruch 1:22 and 2:8. (iii) The exhortation to serve the Babylonian king (most markedly in Jeremiah 27:6–14) occurs again in Baruch, there as a desired attitude ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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