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2 Baruch

Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch

About this book

Moses and the Giving of the Law

Chapter 59

1 And the bright fourth waters which you have seen are the advent of Moses and Aaron and Miriam and Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb and of all those like them. 2 For at that time the lamp of the eternal law shone on all those who sat in darkness, which announced to them that believe the promise of their reward, and to them that deny, the torment of fire which is reserved for them.⁠ 3 But also the heavens at that time were shaken from their place, and those who were under the throne of the Mighty One were perturbed, when He was taking Moses to Himself 4 For He showed him many admonitions together with the principles of the law and the consummation of the times, as also to you, and likewise the pattern of Zion and its measures, in the pattern of which the sanctuary of the present time was to be made. 5 But then also He showed to him the measures of the fire, also the depths of the abyss, and the weight of the winds, and the number of the drops of rain: 6 And the suppression of anger, and the multitude of patience, and the truth of judgement: 7 And the root of wisdom, and the riches of understanding, and the fount of knowledge: 8 And the height of the air, and the greatness of Paradise, and the consummation of the ages, and the beginning of the day of judgement: 9 And the number of the offerings, and the earths which have not yet come: 10 And the mouth of Gehenna, and the station of vengeance, and the place of faith, and the region of hope: 11 And the likeness of future torment, and the multitude of innumerable angels, and the flaming hosts, and the splendour of the lightning and the voice of the thunders, and the orders of the chiefs of the angels, and the treasuries of light,⁠ and the changes of the times, and the investigations of the law. 12 These are the bright fourth waters which you have seen.

Texts in conversation

Compare 2 Baruch 59:11 and 4 Ezra 6:40

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

2 Baruch describes hidden places shown to Moses, storing light, angels, and time and 4 Ezra similarly describes storehouses of light at creation. Both imagine secret spaces that shape how the world is ordered, reflecting common Jewish apocalyptic ideas.

Passages

2 Baruch 59:11

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch
9 And the number of the offerings, and the earths which have not yet come: 10 And the mouth of Gehenna, and the station of vengeance, and the place of faith, and the region of hope: 11 And the likeness of future torment, and the multitude of innumerable angels, and the flaming hosts, and the splendour of the lightning and the voice of the thunders, and the orders of the chiefs of the angels, and the treasuries of light, and the changes of the times, and the investigations of the law. 12 These are the bright fourth waters which you have seen.
70–135 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Baruch

4 Ezra 6:40

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · 2 Esdras
38 I said, “O Lord, truly you spoke at the beginning of the creation, on the first day, and said this: ‘Let heaven and earth be made,’ and your word perfected the work. 39 Then the spirit was hovering, and darkness and silence were on every side. The sound of man’s voice was not yet there. 40 Then you commanded a ray of light to be brought out of your treasuries, that your works might then appear. 41 “On the second day, again you made the spirit of the firmament and commanded it to divide and to separate the waters, that the one part might go up, and the other remain beneath. 42 “On the third day, you commanded that the waters should be gathered together in the seventh part of the earth. You dried up six parts and kept them, to the intent that of these some being both planted and tilled might serve before you.
70–132 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4 Ezra

References

"... In 2 Baruch, which has come to us in Syriac, there is a brief mention of the “treasuries of the light,” listed among the range of secrets revealed to Moses by God ... 4 Ezra also contains a reference to “treasuries of light,” (6:40), contained in an expanded description of the divine command in Genesis 3. This reflects a wider concern within that book to assert God’s sovereignty over creation, and hence the demands of monotheism. Importantly, while this reference contributes to the growing postbiblical tradition of treasuries that contain light, it has no programmatic or structural significance ..."
Grant Macaskill, “Meteorology and Metrology: Evaluating Parallels in the Ethiopic Parables of Enoch and 2 (Slavonic) Enoch,” JSP 29.2 (2019): 79–99.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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2 Baruch 59:11 and 4 Ezra 6:40

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