Canon Crossfire

BARUCH

BARUCH

I view Irenaeus as, by far, the most important piece of evidence for Baruch: “the commandments of God, and of the law which endureth for ever. All they that hold it fast (are appointed) to life: but such as leave it shall die… This, beloved, is the preaching of the truth, and this is the manner of our redemption, and this is the way of life, which the prophets proclaimed, and Christ established, and the apostles delivered, and the Church in all the world hands on to her children. This must we keep with all certainty…”

But it is also important to consider comparables—i.e., what the data for “canonical” Scripture looks like. With Baruch, that is easy, since we can just compare it to the other pieces of what was Jeremiah, including Lamentations.

Baruch Chapter 3 (its most-cited chapter) was cited by the early Church more than any chapter in Lamentations and more than 46 of the 52 chapters of Jeremiah, per www.Biblindex.org/citation_biblique/search. Baruch Chapter 5 is the least-cited chapter of Baruch (no surprise: it is only nine verses long). It is cited more than the least-cited chapters of both Lamentations and Jeremiah. In fact, it received 20 cites over 9 verses, while Lamentations Chapter 5 received just 4 cites over 22 verses. There are also 14 “five-chapter stretches” of Jeremiah with fewer citations than the five chapters of Baruch, and even a nine-chapter stretch (39-47).

Book	Ch.	Cites	Book	Ch.	Cites	Book	Ch.	Cites
Jer	2	467	Jer	29	211	Jer	44	77
Jer	31	457	Jer	22	210	Jer	39	75
Jer	1	453	Lam	1	191	Jer	24	72
Jer	23	363	Lam	4	186	Jer	33	71
Jer	25	350	Jer	8	184	Jer	43	68
Jer	17	321	Jer	50	181	Bar	2	67
Bar	3	310	Jer	12	179	Jer	36	67
Jer	3	301	Jer	13	177	Jer	35	64
Jer	5	297	Jer	32	166	Jer	21	59
Lam	3	293	Jer	49	150	Jer	42	55
Jer	4	283	Jer	16	135	Jer	37	54
Jer	9	247	Jer	52	130	Jer	19	46
Jer	7	243	Jer	38	127	Jer	40	43
Jer	51	242	Jer	30	117	Bar	1	41
Jer	10	228	Jer	14	112	Jer	34	37
Jer	15	226	Lam	2	105	Jer	41	35
Jer	18	226	Bar	4	104	Bar	5	20
Jer	6	220	Jer	26	98	Jer	47	20
Jer	20	212	Jer	27	84	Jer	45	19
Jer	48	212	Jer	46	80	Lam	5	4
Jer	11	211	Jer	28	78

So Baruch holds up well by any fair comparison, which is no surprise. We also know that Baruch was read as Scripture and preached upon innumerable times in every single Christian Church for at least 400 years after Christ. The Churches read Jeremiah and preached upon it like all other Scripture, which means they did so on Baruch as well.

As for canon lists, Baruch can be considered a separate Book (itself sometimes united with the Epistle of Jeremiah and sometimes not) or as part of Jeremiah (itself sometimes united with Lamentations and sometimes not). It was never excluded from any Christian canon lists until Jerome.^[1] And that was by Jerome alone: both Rufinus and Athanasius consider Baruch canon (either separately or as part of Jeremiah). Note that, therefore, no one before 450 AD considered it “Ecclesiastical” or “only to be read.”

Origen is the first Father to separate Baruch from Jeremiah—but he did so to distinguish it from the Jewish version of Jeremiah, and never indicates that he excludes it from the Christian canon. In fact, the Fathers either explicitly include Baruch on their canon lists or continue to cite to Baruch as Jeremiah. That was something I looked for: what happened after Origen separated Baruch out? Very little. A fraction called it Baruch, but many did not. Baruch remained canon to everyone except Jerome, regardless of what they called it.

Epiphanius (a Jewish Christian) and the book called the Apostolic Constitutions not only accept Baruch for Christians, but both indicate that some Jews accept Baruch, even in the late fourth century (385 and 380 AD). There is also much earlier evidence for the Jewish acceptance of Baruch: the Greek of both the Book of Jeremiah and Baruch 1:1-3:8 show that they were translated from Hebrew into Greek by the same person (i.e., on the same scroll). Since Sirach refers to the Law and the Prophets as a well-known and accepted collection in the Greek-speaking community of Alexandria, the Greek version of Jeremiah/Baruch 1:1-3:8 must have been completed before 110 BC and accepted by the Jews.^[2] (Recall that as part of his proof of the acceptance of the Old Testament, Don Stewart at the Blue Letter Bible cited to the same sections of Sirach which evidence that Baruch was Jewish Scripture.)^[3] In addition, the Greek (Septuagint) scrolls of Jeremiah sometimes have the Books in the order of Jeremiah, then Baruch, then Lamentations, which indicates that the Jews accepted Baruch as Scripture.^[4]

Eventually, we arrive at Jerome, who does not translate Baruch into Latin and does not mention Baruch on his canon lists.^[5] But no one else agrees.

Later lists are from Councils, so we do not have direct citation evidence to define the reference to Jeremiah. However, that is a “pedantic point” and not a real point, since aside from Jerome, I found zero evidence that any Father or Bishop at such time actually rejected Baruch. Instead, we have plenty of evidence that the practice of considering Baruch part of Jeremiah continued long after this period, such as Theodoret’s commentary on Jeremiah written around 448 AD, a generation after Jerome had died. It includes Baruch and makes no mention of Jerome, his ideas, or the slightest controversy. Theodoret was wealthy and well educated (in Antioch, the Cradle of Christianity), and his Bishopric in Syria (not far from Bethlehem, from where Jerome had been writing) included 800 parishes^[6]—so, he would seem likely to be well-informed. The fact that he does not even mention Jerome’s idea would seem to be some indication that it had not found traction as of 448 AD.

As for citation evidence in general, most citations to Baruch reference all or part of the final three verses of Chapter 3:

35This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of him

36He hath found out all the way of knowledge, and hath given it unto Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved.

37Afterward did he shew himself upon earth, and conversed with men.

That creates a bit of a problem for secondary sources on Baruch. E.g., the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS) is a masterpiece, as respectable as any publication could possibly be, and a multi-denominational effort “(scholars from Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism as well as Jewish participation). …The ACCS was first conceived of in 1993 and inspired by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger [the man who would become Pope Benedict XVI]. The Methodist scholar Thomas C. Oden, one of the leading paleo-orthodox theologians of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, served as the overall ACCS series editor.”^[7]

However, it is close to worthless for our present purposes. For its purposes, ACCS wants to spread the quotes around, rather than give an impression of the Fathers’ actual citations to Baruch. So, they provide eight quotations citing to Baruch Chapter 1 and just five quotations of citations to Baruch 3:35-37. But a search of www.biblindex.org/citation_biblique/search shows 41 for all of Chapter 1 (less than two citations per verse, 30 of which are from one single Father: Theodoret, simply as part of his line-by-line commentary on all of Baruch) and 160 for the three verses at the end of Chapter 3. Thus ACCS gives a reader the exact opposite impression of what part of Baruch the Fathers were focused on.

But it also distorts how important Baruch was, as shown by a footnote: “The citation [to Baruch 3:36-37 (3:37-38 xx)] we have included from Quodvultdeus is only one example among many others; they are, however, very repetitive, and usually do not go beyond stating the prophecy.” Very repetitive—as in, too many to keep reading, so the ACCS does not give them to us. And the Fathers “state the prophecy”—they state it because they state that it is a Scriptural Prophecy fulfilled by Jesus Christ. For us, repetition is exactly what we are concerned with, and each individual example is data showing us what the early Church thought. The Fathers thought it was a key Scriptural Prophecy fulfilled by Christ, and said so very, very repetitively.

As mentioned, Theodoret wrote a commentary on Baruch that was completed around 448 AD, a full generation after Jerome had died. It is part of his commentary on Jeremiah. He knows, of course, that both the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Baruch were written by Baruch, not Jeremiah; yet he, too, considers all the writings as part of one collection known as Jeremiah.

Several things stand out when looking at the distribution of citations across the Book of Baruch. First, Theodoret comments on everything, so I could easily cite him for almost every verse (but I only do so a few times). Second, 3:35-3:37 is quoted so “repetitively” by the ancients that it completely overwhelms the text of the actual Book of Baruch. And yet third, the distribution of citations to Baruch is comparable with other such prophetic works: certain things are, indeed, cited repetitively, and other things (the not very prophetic parts) are almost ignored completely. E.g., Ezekiel Chapter 15 is cited by exactly two people in the first 400 years of the early Church: Theodoret and Origen. Jeremiah Chapter 45: only Theodoret and Origen. Jeremiah Chapter 47: only Theodoret and Didymus. Lamentations Chapter 5: four cites in 450 years. Etc.

Similarly, for Baruch Chapter 1, we have the commentary from Theodoret citing basically every verse, but we also have citations from Eusebius, Hippolytus, and Origen. Chapter 2 is Theodoret again, plus Didymus, Gregory of Nazianzus, Origen, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem and Augustine; Chapter 4 has Theodoret, as always, plus Irenaeus, Origen, Methodius, Ambrose, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Clement of Alexandria, and various anonymous works; Chapter 5 has Theodoret, plus Ambrose, Jerome, and Basil the Great.^[8]

Comparatively, the “rest of” Baruch holds up well. But it is still not a lot, and the fact remains that citations to Baruch are largely to Chapter 3. These are mostly the last three verses, but the first 34 are still cited by Theodoret, Ambrose, Athanasius, Didymus, Chrysostom, Basil, Origen, Dionysius, Jerome, Gregory of Nyssa, Methodius, Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, Saint Patrick, Pachomius, Chromatius, John Cassian, and Augustine.

In order to save space, I do not show the exact wording of every citation to Baruch 3:35-38 as Scripture—actually reading them is, indeed, very repetitive. I discussed the exact language from Irenaeus in exhaustive detail above; below, I have only noted those that I feel qualify as full citations as Scripture (and ignored a few that were not crystal clear), quoting several fully. I also give you links to the others, where available. That will have to suffice. There are 65 of them below, and still more that I could not double check (and so, they are not included in my data set below; as mentioned above, the total comes to 160 at www.biblindex.org/citation_biblique/search).

Noted below are eleven possible references to Baruch in the New Testament.^[9] Most of those have already been discussed at length, but one more is that John may have made another reference to Baruch via Revelation 18:2 (And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird). Compare this to Baruch 4:35, which says of the cities which thy children served (i.e., Babylon, etc.) “fire shall come upon her from the Everlasting, long to endure; and she shall be inhabited of devils for a great time.” That would make multiple references to Baruch from multiple works by John, who taught Polycarp, who taught Irenaeus, who wrote that Baruch was Apostolic preaching.

I was able to review 349 citations to Baruch. www.biblindex‌.org‌/citation_biblique‌/search lists 549, so the information below is missing a great many I could not access. My data set includes 32 Fathers (nine of which were on Kruger’s list of ten Fathers) and 62 of their works. Almost every Father who cited to Baruch 3:35+ expressly stated that it was Prophecy or Scripture, etc. While I do not go into the exact wording for each of those, here are a few notables:

First, from a dispute over John’s teaching. Hippolytus of Rome was writing in 220 AD against Noetus (excommunicated as a heretic). Noetus “accepted the fourth Gospel, but regarded its statements about the Logos as allegorical”^[10]—the very issue that Irenaeus cited as Apostolic preaching, that the Word became flesh. Baruch is accepted as Scripture by both sides:

For whenever they wish to attempt anything underhand, they mutilate the Scriptures. But let him [Noetus] quote the passage as a whole, and he will discover the reason kept in view in writing it. … But what is meant, says he [Noetus], in the other passage: This is God, and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of Him? … But he [the Scripture writer] says: This is our God; there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of Him. He has found out all the way of knowledge, and has given it unto Jacob His servant, and to Israel His beloved. Baruch 3:35-36.^[11]

Later, we find Gregory of Nazianzus (one of the Fathers on Kruger’s list) showing us that John and Baruch are still tied theologically, in yet another dispute over orthodoxy:

They play the same trick with the word that describes the Incarnation, viz.: … “He knew what was in man” (John 2:25) but teaching that it means, He consorted and conversed with men, and taking refuge in the expression which says that He was seen on Earth and conversed with Men. (Baruch 3:37) … for it is from hence that they have derived their second Judaism and … bring in His flesh as a phantom rather than a reality, … and use for this purpose the apostolic expression, understood and spoken in a sense which is not apostolic…Since then these expressions, rightly understood, make for orthodoxy, but wrongly interpreted are heretical…^[12]

Here is another example of the Baruch-John connection, from Athanasius (another Father on Kruger’s list) arguing against the Arians:

If then henceforward openly adopting Caiaphas’s way, they have determined on judaizing, and are ignorant of the text, that verily God shall dwell upon the earth (see Baruch 3:37), let them not inquire into the Apostolical sayings; for this is not the manner of Jews. But if, mixing themselves up with the godless Manichees, they deny that ‘the Word was made flesh,’ (John 1:14) ….^[13]

Ambrose also quotes from Baruch in support of authentic Christian belief—in this case, in support of Paul:

Scripture speaks, in the Book of Jeremiah, of One God, and yet acknowledges both Father and Son. Thus we read: He is our God … He appeared upon earth, and conversed with men. (Baruch 3:35-37). The prophet speaks of the Son, for it was the Son Himself Who conversed with men … Shall we believe the wise of this world, if we believe not the prophets? … Are we to believe the Jews? For God was once known in Jewry. Nay, but they deny that very thing, which is the foundation of our belief, seeing that they know not the Father, who have denied the Son.^[14]

Those are just four examples of Baruch being used to confirm doctrine, incidentally. And three of them make clear that the Prophecy of Baruch is a key support for a doctrine opposed by a “second Judaism,” “Judaizing,” and “Jewry.” The fourth, Hippolytus, uses Baruch to condemn heretics who would mutilate the Christian Scriptures—including Baruch.

Baruch: Annotated

1:1 And these are the words of the book, which Baruch the son of Nerias, the son of Maasias, the son of Sedecias, the son of Asadias, the son of Chelcias, wrote in Babylon, 1:2 In the fifth year, and in the seventh day of the month, what time as the Chaldeans took Jerusalem, and burnt it with fire. 1:3 And Baruch did read the words of this book in the hearing of Jechonias the son of Joachim king of Juda, and in the ears of all the people that came to hear the book,

Theodoret 448 AD cited this section as part of his Commentary on Jeremiah [Not available online].

1:4 And in the hearing of the nobles, and of the king’s sons, and in the hearing of the elders, and of all the people, from the lowest unto the highest, even of all them that dwelt at Babylon by the river Sud. 1:5 Whereupon they wept, fasted, and prayed before the Lord. 1:6 They made also a collection of money according to every man’s power: 1:7 And they sent it to Jerusalem unto Joachim the high priest, the son of Chelcias, son of Salom, and to the priests, and to all the people which were found with him at Jerusalem,

Theodoret 448 AD cited this section as part of his Commentary on Jeremiah [Not available online].

1:8 At the same time when he received the vessels of the house of the Lord, that were carried out of the temple, to return them into the land of Juda, the tenth day of the month Sivan, namely, silver vessels, which Sedecias the son of Josias king of Juda had made, 1:9 After that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried away Jechonias, and the princes, and the captives, and the mighty men, and the people of the land, from Jerusalem, and brought them unto Babylon. 1:10 And they said, Behold, we have sent you money to buy you burnt offerings, and sin offerings, and incense, and prepare ye manna, and offer upon the altar of the Lord our God; 1:11 And pray for the life of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and for the life of Balthasar his son, that their days may be upon earth as the days of heaven:

Theodoret 448 AD cited this section as part of his Commentary on Jeremiah [Not available online]. (Balthasar (referenced in Daniel as well) had been unknown to history until evidence was found in the late 19^th century proving his existence.)

1:12 And the Lord will give us strength, and lighten our eyes, and we shall live under the shadow of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and under the shadow of Balthasar his son, and we shall serve them many days, and find favour in their sight. 1:13 Pray for us also unto the Lord our God, for we have sinned against the Lord our God; and unto this day the fury of the Lord and his wrath is not turned from us. 1:14 And ye shall read this book which we have sent unto you, to make confession in the house of the Lord, upon the feasts and solemn days.

Theodoret 448 AD cited this section as part of his Commentary on Jeremiah [Not available online].

1:15 And ye shall say, To the Lord our God belongeth righteousness, but unto us the confusion of faces, as it is come to pass this day, unto them of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,^[15]

1:16 And to our kings, and to our princes, and to our priests, and to our prophets, and to our fathers:

Theodoret 448 AD cited this section as part of his Commentary on Jeremiah [Not available online].

1:17 For we have sinned before the Lord, 1:18 And disobeyed him, and have not hearkened unto the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in the commandments that he gave us openly:^[16]

Theodoret 448 AD cited this section as part of his Commentary on Jeremiah [Not available online].

1:19 Since the day that the Lord brought our forefathers out of the land of Egypt, unto this present day, we have been disobedient unto the Lord our God, and we have been negligent in not hearing his voice.

Theodoret 448 AD cited this section as part of his Commentary on Jeremiah [Not available online].

1:20 Wherefore the evils cleaved unto us, and the curse, which the Lord appointed by Moses his servant at the time that he brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt, to give us a land that floweth with milk and honey, like as it is to see this day.

Theodoret 448 AD cited this section as part of his Commentary on Jeremiah [Not available online].

1:21 Nevertheless we have not hearkened unto the voice of the Lord our God, according unto all the words of the prophets, whom he sent unto us: 1:22 But every man followed the imagination of his own wicked heart, to serve strange gods, and to do evil in the sight of the Lord our God.

2:1 Therefore the Lord hath made good his word, which he pronounced against us, and against our judges that judged Israel, and against our kings, and against our princes, and against the men of Israel and Juda, 2:2 To bring upon us great plagues, such as never happened under the whole heaven, as it came to pass in Jerusalem, according to the things that were written in the law of Moses; 2:3 That a man should eat the flesh of his own son, and the flesh of his own daughter. 2:4 Moreover he hath delivered them to be in subjection to all the kingdoms that are round about us, to be as a reproach and desolation among all the people round about, where the Lord hath scattered them. 2:5 Thus we were cast down, and not exalted, because we have sinned against the Lord our God, and have not been obedient unto his voice.

Theodoret 448 AD cited this section as part of his Commentary on Jeremiah [Not available online].

2:6 To the Lord our God appertaineth righteousness: but unto us and to our fathers open shame, as appeareth this day. 2:7 For all these plagues are come upon us, which the Lord hath pronounced against us 2:8 Yet have we not prayed before the Lord, that we might turn every one from the imaginations of his wicked heart. 2:9 Wherefore the Lord watched over us for evil, and the Lord hath brought it upon us: for the Lord is righteous in all his works which he hath commanded us. 2:10 Yet we have not hearkened unto his voice, to walk in the commandments of the Lord, that he hath set before us. 2:11 And now, O Lord God of Israel, that hast brought thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and high arm, and with signs, and with wonders, and with great power, and hast gotten thyself a name, as appeareth this day:^[17]

2:12 O Lord our God, we have sinned, we have done ungodly, we have dealt unrighteously in all thine ordinances.

Gregory of Nazianzus 390 AD Oration 16, 12 Cited along with Isaiah without qualification: We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly, for we have forgotten Your commandments. www.‌newadvent.‌‌org/‌fathers/310216.htm

2:13 Let thy wrath turn from us: for we are but a few left among the heathen, where thou hast scattered us. 2:14 Hear our prayers, O Lord, and our petitions, and deliver us for thine own sake, and give us favour in the sight of them which have led us away: 2:15 That all the earth may know that thou art the Lord our God, because Israel and his posterity is called by thy name. 2:16 O Lord, look down from thine holy house, and consider us: bow down thine ear, O Lord, to hear us. 2:17 Open thine eyes, and behold; for the dead that are in the graves, whose souls are taken from their bodies, will give unto the Lord neither praise nor righteousness: 2:18 But the soul that is greatly vexed, which goeth stooping and feeble, and the eyes that fail, and the hungry soul, will give thee praise and righteousness, O Lord. 2:19 Therefore we do not make our humble supplication before thee, O Lord our God, for the righteousness of our fathers, and of our kings.^[18]

2:20 For thou hast sent out thy wrath and indignation upon us, as thou hast spoken by thy servants the prophets, saying, 2:21 Thus saith the Lord, Bow down your shoulders to serve the king of Babylon: so shall ye remain in the land that I gave unto your fathers.

Athanasius 373 AD Letter 13, 6 Cited along with James without qualification: we also, when the enemies are arrayed against us, should… bow the shoulder www.‌newadvent.org/fathers/2806013.htm

2:22 But if ye will not hear the voice of the Lord, to serve the king of Babylon, 2:23 I will cause to cease out of the cites of Judah, and from without Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: and the whole land shall be desolate of inhabitants. 2:24 But we would not hearken unto thy voice, to serve the king of Babylon: therefore hast thou made good the words that thou spakest by thy servants the prophets, namely, that the bones of our kings, and the bones of our fathers, should be taken out of their place.

Cyril of Jerusalem 386 AD Catechetical Lecture 2, 17 What do you think of Nebuchadnezzar? Have you not heard out of the Scriptures that he was bloodthirsty, fierce, lion-like in disposition? Have you not heard that he brought out the bones of the kings from their graves into the light? www.newadvent.org/‌fathers/‌310102.htm

2:25 And, lo, they are cast out to the heat of the day, and to the frost of the night, and they died in great miseries by famine, by sword, and by pestilence. 2:26 And the house which is called by thy name hast thou laid waste, as it is to be seen this day, for the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Juda. 2:27 O Lord our God, thou hast dealt with us after all thy goodness, and according to all that great mercy of thine, 2:28 As thou spakest by thy servant Moses in the day when thou didst command him to write the law before the children of Israel, saying, 2:29 If ye will not hear my voice, surely this very great multitude shall be turned into a small number among the nations, where I will scatter them. 2:30 For I knew that they would not hear me, because it is a stiffnecked people: but in the land of their captivities they shall remember themselves. 2:31 And shall know that I am the Lord their God: for I will give them an heart, and ears to hear:

Augustine 430 AD Letter 217, 7, 26: You surely do not, do you, forbid the Church to pray for non-believers in order that they may become believers … in order that God may give them what he promised through the prophet: a heart for knowing him and ears for hearing? [Per The Works of Saint Augustine, A Translation for the 21st Century, not available online.

Augustine 430 AD On the Gift of Perseverance, 51 It must absolutely be preached, so that he who has ears to hear, may hear. And who has them if he has not received them from Him who says, ‘I will give them a heart to know me, and ears to hear “? www.‌newadvent.org/fathers/15122.htm

Augustine 430 AD Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints, 42 …it is in vain that objectors have alleged, that what we have proved by Scripture testimony from the books of Kings and Chronicles is not pertinent to the subject of which we are discoursing: …do they not think that these instances are appropriate to this subject…? But I think that it was in reference to the kingdom of heaven, and not to an earthly kingdom, that it was said, … I will give them a heart to know me, and ears that hear; Baruch 2:31 or … Let them hear these passages, and whatever others of the kind I have not mentioned… www.‌newadvent.‌org/‌fathers/15121.htm

2:32 And they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and think upon my name, 2:33 And return from their stiff neck, and from their wicked deeds: for they shall remember the way of their fathers, which sinned before the Lord. 2:34 And I will bring them again into the land which I promised with an oath unto their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they shall be lords of it: and I will increase them, and they shall not be diminished. 2:35 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God, and they shall be my people: and I will no more drive my people of Israel out of the land that I have given them.

3:1 O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, the soul in anguish the troubled spirit, crieth unto thee.

Athanasius 335 AD Letter to Serapion I.7.1 The Scripture, in fact, also speaks of the “spirit of man [a person],” as David sings, “I spoke with my heart by night, and my spirit was afflicted! And Baruch prays, saying, “An anguished soul and a saddened spirit raises its cry to you.” Not available online.

3:2 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy; for thou art merciful: and have pity upon us, because we have sinned before thee.

Ambrose 397 AD On Repentance 1, 9, 43 For at the intercession of the prophet, and the entreaty of so great a seer, the Lord was moved and said to Jerusalem, which had meanwhile repented for its sins, and had said: O Almighty Lord God of Israel, the soul in anguish, and the troubled spirit cries unto You, hear, O Lord, and have mercy. 3:1-3:2. www.‌newadvent.‌org/‌fathers/34061.htm

3:3 For thou endurest for ever, and we perish utterly.

Basil the Great 379 AD On the Holy Spirit, 6, 15: We have only touched cursorily on these proofs,… when the Father says, Sit on my right hand; when the Holy Spirit bears witness that he has sat down on the right hand of the majesty Hebrews 8:1 of God; we attempt to degrade him who shares the honour and the throne, from his condition of equality, to a lower state? Standing and sitting, I apprehend, indicate the fixity and entire stability of the nature, as Baruch, when he wishes to exhibit the immutability and immobility of the Divine mode of existence, says, For you sit for ever and we perish utterly…. www.newadvent.org/‌fathers/‌3203.htm

3:4 O Lord Almighty, thou God of Israel, hear now the prayers of the dead Israelites, and of their children, which have sinned before thee, and not hearkened unto the voice of thee their God: for the which cause these plagues cleave unto us. 3:5 Remember not the iniquities of our forefathers: but think upon thy power and thy name now at this time. 3:6 For thou art the Lord our God, and thee, O Lord, will we praise. 3:7 And for this cause thou hast put thy fear in our hearts, to the intent that we should call upon thy name, and praise thee in our captivity: for we have called to mind all the iniquity of our forefathers, that sinned before thee. 3:8 Behold, we are yet this day in our captivity, where thou hast scattered us, for a reproach and a curse, and to be subject to payments, according to all the iniquities of our fathers, which departed from the Lord our God.

Saint Patrick 450 AD Confession 1.1: Cited along with Isaiah without qualification: I was taken as a captive to Ireland with many thousands of people, and deservedly so, because we had turned away from God… [Per Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture]. Not available online

3:9 Hear, Israel, the commandments of life: give ear to understand wisdom.

Clement of Alexandria 198 AD The Instructor 1, 10 [Referred to as the word of a prophet in 1, 10] For wisdom and knowledge are mentioned by the same prophet, when he says, Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life, and give ear to know understanding. www.‌newadvent.‌org/fathers/02091.htm

3:10 How happeneth it Israel, that thou art in thine enemies’ land, that thou art waxen old in a strange country, that thou art defiled with the dead,

Pachomius 348 AD Instructions 16.23: O man, what are you doing in Babylon? “You have grown old in an alien land” because you did not submit to the test and because your relations with God are not proper. [Per Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture] Not available online

Chromatius 407 AD Tractate on Matthew 41, 9 Whence long ago the law had shown the same thing figuratively, that anyone who had touched a dead body is defiled. [Per Chromatius of Aquileia, Sermons and Tractates on Matthew] Not available online.

John Cassian 435 AD Conferences 1, 7, 5 hear the words of the prophet: Why are you grown old in a strange country? www.‌newadvent.‌org/fathers/350807.htm

3:11 That thou art counted with them that go down into the grave?

3:12 Thou hast forsaken the fountain of wisdom.

Athanasius 335 AD 4 Discourses against the Arians 1, 19 [Referred to as from the sacred writers in 1, 12] in the book of Baruch it is written, ‘You have forsaken the Fountain of wisdom’ www.newadvent.org/‌fathers/‌28161.htm

Athanasius 335 AD Four Discourses against the Arians 2, 42 [Referred to as from the sacred writers in 1, 12] Whence the Jews, as denying the Son as well as they, have not the Father either; for, as having left the ‘Fountain of Wisdom,’ as Baruch reproaches them. www.‌newadvent.org/fathers/28162.htm

Athanasius 356 AD De Decretis, 3, 12 when the Word … says, ‘You have forsaken the Fountain of wisdom;’ www.newadvent.org/‌fathers/‌2809.htm

Jerome 419 AD Homily 92: On Psalm 41 (42): quotes Baruch 3:12 to establish the Trinitarian nature of Baptism, per Gary G. Michuta in The Case of the Deuterocanon.Not available online.

3:13 For if thou hadst walked in the way of God, thou shouldest have dwelled in peace for ever.

Clement of Alexandria 198 AD The Instructor 1, 10 [Referred to as the word of a prophet in 1, 10] He says by Jeremiah, Had you walked in the way of God, you would have dwelt for ever in peace… www.‌newadvent.org/fathers/02091.htm

Origen 253 AD Origen, Homily 7 on Jeremiah, 3.3 … about which it is written: Hear Israel. “Why is it that you are in the land of enemies, that you are counted among those in Hades? You have forsaken the fountain of life, the Lord. If you have walked in the way of God, you would have dwelt in peace forever.” [3:9-13] www.vivacatholic.wordpress.com/2007/08/14/origen-and-canon-of-old-testament/

3:14 Learn where is wisdom, where is strength, where is understanding; that thou mayest know also where is length of days, and life, where is the light of the eyes, and peace.

Athanasius 359 AD De Synodis, 41-42 the opponents of Nicaea used Baruch 3:14 to describe the Son. Athanasius counters with an orthodox understanding, per Gary G. Michuta in The Case of the Deuterocanon. www.newadvent.org/‌fathers/2817.htm

3:15 Who hath found out her place? or who hath come into her treasures?

Methodius 311 AD Banquet of the Ten Virgins, 8, 3 Cited along with Exodus, Revelation, etc. without qualification: Now Jeremiah … says: Learn where is wisdom, where is strength, where is understanding; that you may know also where is length of days, and life, where is the light of the eyes, and peace. Who has found out her place? Or who has come into her treasures? www.‌newadvent.org/fathers/062308.htm

3:16 Where are the princes of the heathen become, and such as ruled the beasts upon the earth; 3:17 They that had their pastime with the fowls of the air, and they that hoarded up silver and gold, wherein men trust, and made no end of their getting? 3:18 For they that wrought in silver, and were so careful, and whose works are unsearchable, 3:19 They are vanished and gone down to the grave, and others are come up in their steads.

Clement of Alexandria 198 AD The Instructor 2, 3: the Divine Scripture … says, Where are the rulers of the nations, and the lords of the wild beasts of the earth, who sport among the birds of heaven, who treasured up silver and gold, in whom men trusted, and there was no end of their substance, who fashioned silver and gold, and were full of care? There is no finding of their works. They have vanished, and gone down to Hades. www.‌newadvent.org/‌fathers/‌02092.htm

3:20 Young men have seen light, and dwelt upon the earth: but the way of knowledge have they not known, 3:21 Nor understood the paths thereof, nor laid hold of it: their children were far off from that way. 3:22 It hath not been heard of in Chanaan, neither hath it been seen in Theman. 3:23 The Agarenes that seek wisdom upon earth, the merchants of Meran and of Theman, the authors of fables, and searchers out of understanding; none of these have known the way of wisdom, or remember her paths. 3:24 O Israel, how great is the house of God! and how large is the place of his possession!

Eusebius 325 AD Church History 10, 4, 8 Cited along with Job, Daniel, Luke, etc. without qualification: And let us … honor him and cry aloud, saying, ‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.’ For he is truly great, and great is his house, lofty and spacious and ‘comely in beauty above the sons of men.’ www.‌newadvent.‌org/fathers/250110.htm

3:25 Great, and hath none end; high, and unmeasurable.

Methodius 311 AD Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna, X …even as somewhere the illustrious prophet says, teaching us how incomprehensible thou art. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf06.xi.viii.html

Ambrose 397 AD Hexameron 6, 8, 52 … said the Prophet, ‘how great is the house of God and how vast is the place of his possession ! It is great and hath no end : it is high and immense.  https://archive.org/stream/fathersofthechur027571mbp/fathersofthechur027571mbp_djvu.txt 

3:26 There were the giants famous from the beginning, that were of so great stature, and so expert in war. 3:27 Those did not the Lord choose, neither gave he the way of knowledge unto them: 3:28 But they were destroyed, because they had no wisdom, and perished through their own foolishness.

Augustine 426 AD City of God 15, 23: … There is therefore no doubt that, according to the Hebrew and Christian canonical Scriptures, there were many giants before the deluge … It is this which another prophet confirms when he says, These were the giants, famous from the beginning, that were of so great stature, and so expert in war. Those did not the Lord choose, neither gave He the way of knowledge unto them; but they were destroyed because they had no wisdom, and perished through their own foolishness. www.‌newadvent.‌org/‌fathers/120115.htm

3:29 Who hath gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds?

John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Romans 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) – see below

3:30 Who hath gone over the sea, and found her, and will bring her for pure gold?

Romans 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) – see above

3:31 No man knoweth her way, nor thinketh of her path. 3:32 But he that knoweth all things knoweth her, and hath found her out with his understanding: he that prepared the earth for evermore hath filled it with fourfooted beasts: 3:33 He that sendeth forth light, and it goeth, calleth it again, and it obeyeth him with fear. 3:34 The stars shined in their watches, and rejoiced: when he calleth them, they say, Here we be; and so with cheerfulness they shewed light unto him that made them. 3:35 This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of him 3:36 He hath found out all the way of knowledge, and hath given it unto Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved. 3:37 Afterward did he shew himself upon earth, and conversed with men.

John 1:14 (And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth), per the notes included with the original King James Bible

Note that this would be a prophecy, fulfilled by Jesus.

See also John 1:17 (For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus); Baruch means that God came and lived among men via the commandments of the Torah (see 3:27-28, etc.) – thus the parallel to the Word of God who came in John 1:14.

[Citations by early Church Fathers to 3:35-3:37 as Prophecy, Scripture, etc. are shown in the attached chart]

4:1 This is the book of the commandments of God, and the law that endureth for ever: all they that keep it shall come to life; but such as leave it shall die.

Matthew 5:18: For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Irenaeus of Lyon 180 AD Demonstration of Apostolic Teaching, 97: “Wherefore also Jeremiah saith … This is the book of the commandments of God, and of the law which endureth for ever. All they that hold it fast (are appointed) to life: but such as leave it shall die.”… This, beloved, is the preaching of the truth … which the prophets proclaimed, and Christ established, and the apostles delivered, and the Church in all the world hands on to her children.” www.tertullian.org/‌fathers/irenaeus_02_proof.htm

Father	Year	Work citing Baruch 3:35-37 as Scripture, etc.
Athenagoras	177	Plea for Christians, 9
Athenagoras	177	Plea for Christians 9
Irenaeus	177	Against Heresies 4, 20, 4
Irenaeus	180	Demonstration of Apostolic Teaching, 97
Hippolytus	220	Against Noetus 5
Hippolytus	220	Against Noetus 2
Cyprian	258	Treatise 12, 2, 6
Lactantius	311	The Divine Institutes, 4, 8
Lactantius	311	The Epitome of the Divine Institutes, 44
Athanasius	335	Four Discourses against the Arians 2, 49
Athanasius	335	Four Discourses against the Arians 1, 13, 53
Eusebius	339	Demonstratio Evangelica, 6.19
Hilary	367	On the Trinity, 4, 42
Hilary	367	On the Trinity, 5, 39
Cyril Jeru.	386	Catechetical Lectures, 11, 15
Didymus	386	Commentary on Zechariah 3:6-7
Didymus	386	Commentary on Zechariah 8:23
Greg. Nyssa	386	Against Eunomius 2, 1
Greg. Nyssa	386	Against Eunomius 5, 3
Greg. Nyssa	386	Against Eunomius 6, 4
Gregory Naz.	390	Against Apollinarius (2nd Letter to Cledonius)
Gregory Naz.	390	Oration 30, 13 (Fourth Theological Oration)
Ambrose	397	Exposition of the Christian Faith 1, 28
Ambrose	397	Exposition of the Christian Faith 2, 9, 80
Ambrose	397	Exposition of the Christian Faith 1, 3, 30
Ap. Const.	400	Book 5, 3, 20
Augustine	400	Reply to Faustus 12, 43
Amphilochius	403	Oration I, 2
Epiphanius	403	Panarion, Section 3, Heresy 37, 9, 1 Noetus
Epiphanius	403	Panarion, Section 4, Heresy 49, Arians, 31, 1
Epiphanius	403	Panarion, Section 4, Heresy 49, Arians, 53, 7
Epiphanius	403	Panarion, Section 4, Heresy 51, Photinians, 3, 5
Epiphanius	403	Panarion Section 3, Heresy 37, 2, 1 Noetus
Epiphanius	403	Panarion Section 7, De Fide, 16, 2
Epiphanius	403	Panarion, Section 4, Heresy 49, Arians, 31, 1
Epiphanius	403	Panarion, Section 4, Heresy 49, Arians, 55, 6
Chrysostom	407	Homilies on Matthew, 2, 2
Chrysostom	407	Homilies on Matthew, 19, 12
Chrysostom	407	Homilies on Matthew, 26, 19
Chrysostom	407	Demonstration Against the Jews 8, 6
Chrysostom	407	On the Incomprehensible Nature of God 5, 14-16
Rufinus	409	Commentary on the Apostles’ Creed, 5
Cyril of Alex.	418	Commentary on John 5, IV
Cyril of Alex.	418	Commentary on John 1, Introduction
Cyril of Alex.	418	Commentary on John 1, IX
Cyril of Alex.	418	Letter 31
Cyril of Alex.	418	Festal Letter 4
Cyril of Alex.	418	Festal Letter 10
Augustine	426	City of God 18, 33
Augustine	430	Sermon 277, 16
Augustine	430	Reply to Faustus the Manichean, 12, 43
Augustine	430	Letter 147, 5, 16
Augustine	430	Letter 164, 6, 17
Augustine	430	Exposition on Psalm 47, 15
Augustine	430	Letter 164, 6, 17
Theodoret	430	Commentary on Psalm 67
John Cassian	435	On the Incarnation 5, 5
John Cassian	435	On the Incarnation, 4, 13
John Cassian	435	On the Incarnation, 4, 9
Cyril of Alex.	444	Festal Letter 18
Cyril of Alex.	444	Festal Letter 28
Theodoret	448	Commentary on Baruch
Theodoret	448	Eranistes or the Polymorph, 1
Theodoret	448	Letter to the Monks of the Euphratensian, etc.
Peter Chrysologus	450	Sermon 88

4:2 Turn thee, O Jacob, and take hold of it: walk in the presence of the light thereof, that thou mayest be illuminated. 4:3 Give not thine honour to another, nor the things that are profitable unto thee to a strange nation. 4:4 O Israel, happy are we: for things that are pleasing to God are made known unto us.

Clement of Alexandria 198 AD The Instructor 1, 10: [Referred to as the word of a prophet in 1, 10] For the good is found by him who seeks it, and is wont to be seen by him who has found it. By Jeremiah, too, He sets forth prudence, when he says, Blessed are we, Israel; for what is pleasing to God is known by us — and it is known by the Word, by whom we are blessed and wise. www.newadvent.org/fathers/02091.htm

Apostolic Constitutions 400 AD Book 6, 4, 23 And again: Blessed are we, O Israel, because those things that are pleasing to God are known to us. www.newadvent.org/fathers/07156.htm

Baruch 3:29-4:4 also speaks of wisdom in a way parallel to the Gospel of John’s discourse about Jesus the son of God in John 3:13-21 and 31-36. In both Baruch and John humans cannot ascend to heaven to get wisdom, but rather wisdom in Baruch and the son of the Father in John descend from heaven to humans as a divine gift. In Baruch, wisdom is associated with life, light, and salvation, as is Jesus in John. Wisdom understood as the law dwells with Israel in Baruch just as Jesus dwells with humans as the truth, the word, and the way in John. (I did not specifically mark these general parallels in the text above).

4:5 Be of good cheer, my people, the memorial of Israel. 4:6 Ye were sold to the nations, not for [your] destruction: but because ye moved God to wrath, ye were delivered unto the enemies. 4:7 For ye provoked him that made you by sacrificing unto devils, and not to God.

1 Corinthians 10:20: (But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils), per the notes included with the original King James Bible.

4:8 Ye have forgotten the everlasting God, that brought you up; and ye have grieved Jerusalem, that nursed you. 4:9 For when she saw the wrath of God coming upon you, she said, Hearken, O ye that dwell about Sion: God hath brought upon me great mourning; 4:10 For I saw the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting brought upon them. 4:11 With joy did I nourish them; but sent them away with weeping and mourning. 4:12 Let no man rejoice over me, a widow, and forsaken of many, who for the sins of my children am left desolate; because they departed from the law of God. 4:13 They knew not his statutes, nor walked in the ways of his commandments, nor trod in the paths of discipline in his righteousness. 4:14 Let them that dwell

about Sion come, and remember ye the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting hath brought upon them. 4:15 For he hath brought a nation upon them from far, a shameless nation, and of a strange language, who neither reverenced old man, nor pitied child. 4:16 These have carried away the dear beloved children of the widow, and left her that was alone desolate without daughters. 4:17 But what can I help you? 4:18 For he that brought these plagues upon you will deliver you from the hands of your enemies. 4:19 Go your way, O my children, go your way: for I am left desolate. 4:20 I have put off the clothing of peace, and put upon me the sackcloth of my prayer: I will cry unto the Everlasting in my days.

Athanasius 335 AD Four Discourses against the Arians 1, 12 “…where the sacred writers say, ‘Who exists before the ages,’ and ‘By whom He made the ages,’ they thereby as clearly preach the eternal and everlasting being of the Son, even while they are designating God Himself. … and Baruch wrote, ‘I will cry unto the Everlasting in my days,’ … www.newadvent.org/fathers/28161.htm

4:21 Be of good cheer, O my children, cry unto the Lord, and he will deliver you from the power and hand of the enemies. 4:22 For my hope is in the Everlasting, that he will save you; and joy is come unto me from the Holy One, because of the mercy which shall soon come unto you from the Everlasting our Saviour.

Athanasius 335 AD Four Discourses against the Arians 1, 12 “…where the sacred writers say… and Baruch wrote… shortly after, ‘My hope is in the Everlasting, that He will save you, and joy has come unto me from the Holy One ;’ … who has so little sense as to doubt of the eternity of the Son? www.‌newadvent.org/fathers/28161.htm

4:23 For I sent you out with mourning and weeping: but God will give you to me again with joy and gladness for ever. 4:24 Like as now the neighbours of Sion have seen your captivity: so shall they see shortly your salvation from our God which shall come upon you with great glory, and brightness of the Everlasting. 4:25 My children, suffer patiently the wrath that is come upon you from God: for thine enemy hath persecuted thee; but shortly thou shalt see his destruction, and shalt tread upon his neck. 4:26 My delicate ones have gone rough ways, and were taken away as a flock caught of the enemies. 4:27 Be of good comfort, O my children, and cry unto God: for ye shall be remembered of him that brought these things upon you. 4:28 For as it was your mind to go astray from God: so, being returned, seek him ten times more. 4:29 For he that hath brought these plagues upon you shall bring you everlasting joy with your salvation. 4:30 Take a good heart, O Jerusalem: for he that gave thee that name will comfort thee.

Cyril of Jerusalem 386 AD Catechetical Lecture 3, 16: cited along with Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc. without qualification: Be of good courage, O Jerusalem; the Lord will take away all your iniquities. www.newadvent.org/‌fathers/310103.htm

4:31 Miserable are they that afflicted thee, and rejoiced at thy fall. 4:32 Miserable are the cities which thy children served: miserable is she that received thy sons. 4:33 For as she rejoiced at thy ruin, and was glad of thy fall: so shall she be grieved for her own desolation. 4:34 For I will take away the rejoicing of her great multitude, and her pride shall be turned into mourning. 4:35 For fire shall come upon her from the Everlasting, long to endure; and she shall be inhabited of devils for a great time.

Revelation 18:2 (And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.)

4:36 O Jerusalem, look about thee toward the east, and behold the joy that cometh unto thee from God. 4:37 Lo, thy sons come, whom thou sentest away, they come gathered together from the east to the west by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of God.

Matthew 8:11 (And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.)

Luke 13:29 (And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.)

5:1 Put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of mourning and affliction, and put on the comeliness of the glory that cometh from God for ever.

Ambrose 394 AD Concerning Repentance 1, 9, 43 And the Lord bids them lay aside the garments of mourning, and to cease the groanings of repentance, saying: Put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of your mourning and affliction. and clothe yourself in beauty, the glory which God has given you forever. www.newadvent.‌org/fathers/34061.htm

5:2 Cast about thee a double garment of the righteousness which cometh from God; and set a diadem on thine head of the glory of the Everlasting. 5:3 For God will shew thy brightness unto every country under heaven. 5:4 For thy name shall be called of God for ever The peace of righteousness, and The glory of God’s worship. 5:5 Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high, and look about toward the east, and behold thy children gathered from the west unto the east by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the remembrance of God.

Jerome419 ADLetter 77, 4 I would cite the words of the psalmist: the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, and those of Ezekiel I prefer the repentance of a sinner rather than his death, Ezekiel 18:23 and those of Baruch, Arise, arise, O Jerusalem, and many other proclamations made by the trumpets of the prophets. www.newadvent.org/‌fathers/3001077.htm

5:6 For they departed from thee on foot, and were led away of their enemies: but God bringeth them unto thee exalted with glory, as children of the kingdom. 5:7 For God hath appointed that every high hill, and banks of long continuance, should be cast down, and valleys filled up, to make even the ground, that Israel may go safely in the glory of God, 5:8 Moreover even the woods and every sweetsmelling tree shall overshadow Israel by the commandment of God. 5:9 For God shall lead Israel with joy in the light of his glory with the mercy and righteousness that cometh from him.

Irenaeus of Lyon 180 AD Against Heresies 5.35: And Jeremiah the prophet has pointed out, that as many believers as God has prepared for this purpose, to multiply those left upon earth, should both be under the rule of the saints to minister to this Jerusalem, and that [His] kingdom shall be in it, saying, Look around Jerusalem towards the east… For God shall go before with joy in the light of His splendour, with the pity and righteousness which proceeds from Him. 4:36-5:9. www.newadvent.org/fathers/‌0103535.htm

 Postscript To Baruch: True Churches

My focus ends at 450 AD. But Baruch is a big part of the debate about the Medieval Church, and our experts speak to that. Gallagher translates parts of an article from Pierre-Maurice Bogaert:^[19]

Eventually Jerome’s translation overtook the Old Latin Jeremiah, which had included Baruch … so that [it] virtually disappear[s] in Latin literature for a while.^[20] Gregory the Great (d. 600),^[21] Isidore (d. 636), and Bede (d. 735 AD)^[22] never–or hardly ever–cite or mention Baruch. Jerome’s omission of Baruch … became a more decisive rejection … than, for example, his rejection of the Additions to Daniel and Esther, which he condemned in his prefaces but included in his translations. … The Roman liturgy features Bar 3:9–38 in the Easter Vigil, while other traditions read the same passage on the Saturday before Pentecost. According to Bogaert, “all ancient books cite this reading under the name of Jeremiah,” and he then lists 16 examples, up to the fifteenth century. This liturgical use will contribute toward the reintegration of Baruch into Latin Bibles, though it had disappeared from many (due to Jerome’s influence), such as the Amiatinus [a Codex produced around 700 AD].

Note that this continuing liturgical use is of the part of Baruch that Irenaeus quoted at length, then said: “This, beloved, is the preaching of the truth …which the prophets proclaimed, and Christ established, and the apostles delivered, and the Church in all the world hands on to her children. This must we keep with all certainty…” Make of that what you will.

Otherwise, I am in no position to determine what “many” means on a relative basis, but just from the Bibles specifically noted in Gallagher’s posts, I counted a lot more Bibles that include Baruch than do not. That may be misleading, however, since he is summarizing a French work for us, and maybe neither his posts nor his source are all inclusive. But it is noteworthy, all the same: clearly there is disagreement, not unanimity, in the Middle Ages.

The most ancient witnesses to the grouping of Jerome’s translations are a palimpsest from León (VL 67)^[23] and the Amiatinus^[24] … Neither of these contains Baruch. There are several manuscripts–though fragmentary–that date before 800 and contain Jerome’s Jeremiah. Bogaert lists 11.

So, that is two Bibles plus 11 fragments. The Bibles are “evidence of absence,” but the fragments are not—we really cannot know either way from just a fragment. (We know there are Bibles that have Jerome’s Jeremiah and yet also included the Old Latin Baruch, such as the Codex Cavensis (or Biblia de Danila)—see Gallagher and Meade, p. 256.)

In any event, it is clear that Baruch is included in “many” Bibles in the Middle Ages and not included in “many” other Bibles. I have no way to measure which is the majority and which the minority, but in either case, we see that some are now rejecting Baruch, not including it in the canon, and that this is a development of the Middle Ages, not the early Church.^[25]

Which should be no surprise to anyone. Gallagher says outright: “it had disappeared from many (due to Jerome’s influence).” Before Jerome, we find Baruch; after Jerome, it is absent from “many.” But of course, that is somehow a surprise to many.

And that is exactly why I bring it up: what should we make of the actual situation, where it is in the Middle Ages that some start to reject Baruch? Let us turn back to Professor Kruger. Recall that as he is writing, he has forgotten that Baruch et al. were canon to the early Church and only started to disappear in the Middle Ages. So you will have to “translate” from his mention of “adding books” to the actual situation: that of “subtracting books,” but he gives us reasons to distrust decisions made by the Church of the Middle Ages:

… we must explain how the church in the Middle Ages, and ultimately at the Council of Trent, could divert from this clear foundation and affirm additional books that were not canonical. We noted above that there can be, in principle, “a situation where the Spirit’s testimony was so obscured by the church’s sin and rebellion that the church reached consensus on books that are not canonical.” No doubt we have good reasons to think that the extensive moral and doctrinal corruption of the church in the Middle Ages— which stood in opposition to the consensus of the Jewish believers, as well as the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament-would constitute just such a situation. The apocryphal books would have been attractive to the church during this time since they were used to justify doctrines, like purgatory and prayers for the dead, that were at the heart of the ecclesiastical abuse of power. Indeed, so substantial was this corruption, especially in regard to the gospel message, that legitimate questions can be raised about whether the Roman Catholic Church continued to be the true church of Jesus Christ—and therefore a place where the Spirit was actively working (and if, lacking the Spirit, it is not the true church, then its affirmation of the apocryphal books is not relevant). But even if one accepts Roman Catholicism as a true church, the fact remains that we have good grounds for believing that, in this instance, the Spirit’s witness was widely obscured by the church’s sin and rebellion. Of course, at this point one might raise the following objection: If the church was mistaken about the Old Testament books, how can we be sure that it was not mistaken about the New Testament books? But it is here that we must remember our model: we have warrant for thinking that the church’s consensus is a reliable indicator of canonicity, unless we have good reasons to think the contrary. In regard to the very specific situation of the Roman Catholic Church’s acceptance of the Apocrypha at the Council of Trent, we do have good reasons to think the contrary. But in regard to the New Testament canon, we have no reasons to think that the [early] church was mistaken in this regard. …^[26]

I submit that, once again, Kruger makes an argument for why Baruch, Susanna, and perhaps the other Apocrypha should be Scripture: we cannot trust the Church of the Middle Ages.

Less sarcastically, Kruger does not imagine that it may have worked in reverse; maybe the decision makers in the Church already believed the books were Scripture, which is why they developed the doctrines, which were then taken too far in later years. There are two different theories of what happened, and there is evidence to show which is correct, i.e., which came first: belief that the books were Scripture and therefore a desire to implement doctrines, or a desire to implement doctrines that led to adding the books to the existing Scripture? When we look at the evidence, Baruch itself shows us that the second view (Kruger’s view) is the one that is wrong (at least in part), and that at least some Apocrypha were accepted as Scripture long before the doctrines of the Middle Ages. The only question is whether Kruger’s view is wrong on all the Apocrypha or just some.

Overall, Kruger’s argument for the truth and authenticity of the New Testament is not really a problem for those who accept the Apocrypha. If we accept the Apocrypha, his model works just fine.

But I have already made that point. My new point here is that the early Church Fathers also provide us with evidence of what the early Church was actually like. Since I did the reading, here is my book report. (You’re welcome.) The following are just a few chapter titles from Rufinus’ Apology Against Jerome and Jerome’s Apology Against Rufinus:^[27]

The Apology of Rufinus

• I am no heretic, but declare my faith, that of my baptism.
• Eusebius, if acting honestly, should have shown me what he thought dangerous.
• Jerome’s complaint of new doctrines may be retorted on himself.
• Jerome says that the defenders of Origen are united in a federation of perjury.
• Jerome has not only allowed perjury but has practised it.
• His treatise on Virginity defames all orders of Christians.
• Jerome at Bethlehem had heathen books copied and taught them to boys.
• A Synod, if called on to condemn Origen, must condemn Jerome also.

Jerome’s Apology Against Rufinus

• I had praised Eusebius [and] Origen … and was forced to condemn them as heretics…
• The story of Hilary’s being condemned through his writings having been falsified has no foundation.
• The attack on Epiphanius as a plagiarist of Origen is an outrage …
• Why do you, by threats of death, compel me to answer?
• Had you translated honestly, you would not have had Origen’s heresies imputed to you.
• You swear that you did not write my pretended retractation. Your style betrays you, and I have given a full answer about my translations already.
• You bid me beware of falsification and treachery. You warn me against yourself.
• It was not I who first disclosed your heresies, but Epiphanius long ago …

In just this handful of headlines, we have allegations made against six of the 10 Fathers Kruger cites to as proof that the sheep heard the Shepherd’s voice. They are accused of heresy, dishonesty, plagiarism, perjury, forgery, defaming all Christians, corrupting minors, falsification, treachery, outrage on the church leaders, etc. And those are the Church Fathers: the leaders, the teachers, the best and the brightest, those worth reading and learning from. So what was the rest of the church like…?

At an even earlier date, Acts and the Epistles are full of false preaching (2 Peter 3:14-18, 1 John 4:1-6, Titus 1:10-16, 2 Peter 2, Acts 13:5-12, Acts 15:1-27, Acts 20:29, etc.). 1 John 2:19 notes that the Apostles themselves sent out false preachers: “They went out from us, but they were not of us….” In Revelation, the church of Ephesus had to deal with false Apostles; Pergamos had people who held the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, “which thing I hate;” Thyatira had Jezebel, “which calleth herself a prophetess.” Five of the seven churches in Revelation deal with false teaching.

How did Jesus handle that situation at Thyatira?

And I gave her [Jezebel] space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

He gave her space. He allowed her to continue. A true Church had a cancer in it, one preaching false Prophecy, and Jesus Christ let her continue.

Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

He allows the heresy to continue within His church, and allows it to continue to draw people to their doom.

And so, too, with the disciples: Jesus knew Judas would not be a believer from the very beginning (John 6:64: “Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.”). Yet He sent Judas out to preach (Matthew Ch. 10, Mark 6:7+, Luke Ch. 9). He sends the betrayer, a man He knows does not actually believe, out to preach—the seeming definition of a wolf among the sheep, and it is Jesus Himself who grants the wolf His authority to preach.

Even the good disciples were not able to fully process and preach Jesus’ message. Luke 9:54-56: “And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven… But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” In Galatians 2:11+, we read that “when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. … And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter …”

That they dissembled and “walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel” would seem to meet the definition of Kruger’s “corruption, especially in regard to the gospel message”—and that was done by the chief Disciple (installed as such by Jesus Christ Himself, empowered by Pentecost, Divinely-inspired to write his own Sacred Scriptures, etc.) and many other leaders of the very earliest Church.

Biblically, a true Church always has false preaching going on within it, and we all should know full well that it has always been so and (according to Revelations) will always be so. The disciples had to watch heresy infect their own Church and faithless preachers go out from them to preach lies. They told us not to lose faith but to hold fast: the gates of Hell shall not prevail.

The existence of sin, rebellion, and “corruption, especially in regard to the Gospel message” sounds like a slam dunk argument against a Church—as it surely would be against every single Church ever, were it to be compared to purity. But the only purity is God; the Church was not pure, even in its earliest days. If we want to apply Kruger’s idea, then the Church of the Middle Ages should be compared to the Church of the Bible, and the early Church, and their sin, rebellion, and corruption. Based on my readings into the early Church, I confidently predict that the Church of the Middle Ages would hold up just fine.

After all, for the Church of the Middle Ages to be “a situation where the Spirit’s testimony was so obscured by the church’s sin and rebellion that the church reached consensus on books that are not canonical,” then it would have to be a whole lot worse than Basil the Great’s authentic eye witness testimony from right in the middle of the “canon list era” (the 370s):

… all is in a weak state; the Church has given way before the continuous attacks of her foes … The doctrines of the Fathers are despised; apostolic traditions are set at nought; the devices of innovators are in vogue in the Churches; now men are rather contrivers of cunning systems…^[28]

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[1] Who never expressly says so, and is actually inconsistent about it. However, for the purposes of this book, I treat him as the lone Father rejecting Baruch.

[2] See NIB Introduction to Baruch, p. 931. The reference to the comments in Sirach is to the prologue, written by the grandson of the author of the rest of Sirach, who was translating the grandfather’s Hebrew text into Greek.

[3] www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/right-books-in-old-testament/question17-new-testament-quote-old-testament.cfm.

[4] The NIB Introduction to Lamentations, p. 1016.

[5] Note that the Greek Septuagint version (based on a now-lost Hebrew version) of Jeremiah is considerably older than the more recent Hebrew version (which became the Masoretic text) that Jerome used and mistakenly thought was older. See https://en.wikipedia‌.org/‌wiki/‌Book_of_‌Jeremiah. Baruch is found in Greek but is thought by some to also be based (at least in part) on a now-lost earlier Hebrew/Aramaic version.

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodoret.

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Christian_Commentary_on_Scripture

[8] All the data comes from www.biblindex.org/citation_biblique/search. I was unable to find some of the citations to read, so not all of them are included below.

[9] As noted previously, there is a piece of possible Old Testament evidence as well: in Daniel 9:2, Daniel explicitly mentions Jeremiah, then in 9:5 and 9:8 may have quoted from Baruch (i.e., the Baruch part of Jeremiah) in his prayers. Daniel 9:15 may also be quoting from Baruch 2:11-12; and there may be an allusion to Baruch 2:19 in Daniel 9:20.

[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noetus

[11] www.newadvent.org/fathers/0521.htm

[12] 390 AD Against Apollinarius: www.newadvent.org/fathers/3103a.htm

[13] 335 AD Four Discourses against the Arians 1, 13, 53: www.newadvent.org/fathers/28161.htm

[14] 397 AD Exposition of the Christian Faith 1, 3, 30: www.newadvent.org/fathers/34041.htm

[15] In Daniel 9:2, Daniel explicitly mentions Jeremiah, and then in 9:5 and 9:8 ,he may have quoted from Baruch in his prayers: Daniel 9:8 (O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee).

[16] In Daniel 9:2, Daniel explicitly mentions Jeremiah, and then in 9:5 and 9:8, he may have quoted from Baruch in his prayers: Daniel 9:5 (We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments).

[17] In Daniel 9:2, Daniel explicitly mentions Jeremiah, and then in 9:5 and 9:8, he may have quoted from Baruch in his prayers; and Daniel 9:15 may be quoting from Baruch 2:11-12: And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

[18] In Daniel 9:2, Daniel explicitly mentions Jeremiah, and then in 9:5 and 9:8, he may have quoted from Baruch in his prayers; Daniel 9:15 may be quoting from Baruch 2:11-12; and there may be an allusion to Baruch 2:19 in Daniel 9:20 (And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God).

[19] “Le livre de Baruch dans les manuscrits de la Bible latine. Disparition et réintégration,” Revue bénédictine 115 (2005): 286–342 at www.sanctushieronymus.blogspot.com/search/label/Baruch

[20] I am dubious of this claim, though only as an initial matter, since I have not researched it. But I would insist on comparing the data to references we have for comparable books. I presume that they do not call them the “Dark Ages” for nothing, and I suspect there may actually be little evidence for other comparables in that timeframe (just as I found for the years before 200 AD).

[21] Cites to Tobit, Wisdom, and Sirach (not a complete list: I only noticed these by mistake, since it was often hard to sort out which “Gregory” was of Nyssa, of Nazianzus, the Great, etc.).

[22] Notably, he wrote a complete, line-by-line Scriptural commentary on Tobit.

[23] Which is incomplete, so not all of its contents are known, but it included Wisdom, Sirach, Tobit, Judith, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. I found no mention of whether or not Daniel included Susanna. That is six—and possibly all seven—of the other Apocrypha. www.textus-receptus‌.com/‌wiki/‌Le%C3%B3n_palimpsest

[24] Contains Susanna, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, and 1 and 2 Maccabees (i.e., every Apocrypha except Baruch). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Amiatinus

[25] Note that the existence of diversity and disagreement during the Middle Ages is not an argument for the exclusion of Baruch. Kruger himself makes the point many times that unanimity is not an honest criterion. “For many modern scholars, the validity of the church’s final consensus on the canon is disproved simply by showing that at some point early Christians disagreed over its boundaries. The mere existence of diversity itself has become the argument…” (p. 197).

[26] Chapter 6, Footnote 11, p. 201.

[27]www.newadvent.org/fathers/2705.htm and www.newadvent.org/fathers/2710.htm; there are hundreds of chapter titles of this stuff, let alone hundreds of pages of detailed allegations to read.

[28] www.newadvent.org/fathers/3202090.htm. Basil of course accepted Apocrypha as doctrine of the Fathers and authentic Apostolic tradition, e.g., Letter 8, 10: “Now let us examine, and to the best of our ability explain, the meaning of the words of Holy Scripture, which our opponents seize and wrest to their own sense, and urge against us for the destruction of the glory of the Only-begotten….How then can the two following passages stand? The Spirit of the Lord fills the world…” (Citing Wisdom 1:7 For the Spirit of the Lord filleth the world: and that which containeth all things hath knowledge of the voice) www.newadvent.org/fathers/3202008.htm.