2 Baruch

Historical printed page 484

II BARUCH 6. 7—9. 1 7 me.’ And I saw him descend into the Holy of Holies, and take from thence the veil, and the holy ark, and the mercy-seat, and the two tables, and the holy raiment of the priests, and the altar of incense, and the forty-eight precious stones, wherewith the priest was adorned and all the holy 8 vessels of the tabernacle. And he spake to the earth with a loud voice: 2 8: 2 3) 4 Say ‘ Earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the mighty God, And receive what I commit to thee, And guard them until the last times, So that, when thou art ordered, thou mayst restore them, So that strangers may not get possession of them. For the time comes when Jerusalem also will be delivered for a time, Until it is said, that it is again restored for ever.’ And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up. And after these things I heard that angel saying unto those angels who held the lamps: ‘ Destroy, therefore, and overthrow its wall to its foundations, lest the enemy should boast and “We have overthrown the wall of Zion, And we have burnt the place of the mighty God.”’ And tye have seized the placet where I had been standing before. Now the angels did as he had commanded them, and when they had broken up the corners of the walls, a voice was heard from the interior of the temple, after the wall had fallen, saying : ‘Enter, ye enemies, And come, ye adversaries ; For he who kept the house has forsaken (it).’ And I, Baruch, departed. And it came to pass after these things that the army of the Chaldees 5 entered and seized the house, and all that was around it. And they led the people away captive, 9: in the mountain where Moses climbed up ‘the tabernacle and the ark and the altar of incense’. This place was to remain unknown till God should gather His people again together. | 2 Macc. ii. 5 the things hidden are these—rjv σκηνὴν καὶ τὴν κιβωτὸν καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τοῦ θυμιάματος. temple: the candlestick, the ark, the fire, the Holy Spirit, and the Cherubim. Josephus it means not ‘censer’ but ‘altar of incense’. Cf. Heb. ix. 1-5 (?), and 2 Macc. as above (τὸ θυσιαστήριον τοῦ θυμιάματος) which mention the altar but not a censer. See Appendix to my Commentary, p. 168. and two on the ephod (Exod. xxviii. 9). Vulg. of that passage; in LXX only twice. Beloved.’ centre, and likewise the temple in which the sacred vessels of the former temple will again be used. During this kingdom the dispersion will again return to Palestine (Ixxvii. 6 ; lxxviii. 7, notes). Jo (wKS30/ or) WAKA? Joos ‘the spirit brought me to the place.’ In vi. 3 a strong spirit carried Baruch aloft over the walls for the vision: now he carries him back to the place beside the oak. maior humana vox excedere deos’. Baruch to tell Jeremiah to go to Babylon, and promises a revelation of what should be in the end. Baruch tells Jeremiah the message, and laments before the temple gates for Zion. and slew some of them, and bound Zedekiah the king, and sent him to the king of Babylon. IX-XII. 4. First Fast of seven Days: Baruch to remain amid the Ruins of Ferusalem and | Feremiah to accompany the Exiles to Babylon. Baruch’s Dirge over Ferusalem. | And I, Baruch, came, and Jeremiah, whose heart was found pure from sins, who had not been | 7. take from thence, &c. In 2 Macc. ii. 4-8 there is a very similar tradition. Jeremiah is warned of God to hide ark, MS.= ‘2S corrupt for δ. The converse corruptiqgn of TDS into JN is found in 1 Sam. xiv. 18. In According to Bammidbar rabba 15, five things were taken away and preserved on the destruction of Solomon’s the altar of incense. The Syriac implies θυμιατήριον. In the LXX this. word = ‘censer’, but in Philo and forty-eight precious stones. Why forty-eight? There were twelve on the breastplate (Exod. xxviii. 15-21) 8. Earth ... of the mighty God, drawn from Jer. xxii. 29. ‘Earth’ is repeated three times also'in Mass., Syr., Mighty God. This title recurs in vii. 1, and xiii. 2, 4. Not in 4 Ezra. : guard them until the last times. Cf. 4 Baruch iii. 8, ‘Preserve the vessels of worship until the coming of the g. restored for ever. A Messianic kingdom of indefinite duration is looked forward to with Jerusalem as its VII. 2. ye have seized the place. The text is impossible here. Possibly 5". worms heen! is corrupt for VIII. 2. 4 Baruch iv. 1. He who kept the house has forsaken it. Cf. Tacitus As. v. 13 ‘Apertae repente delubri fores et audita 5. The writer knows of Zedekiah and his captivity. See note on i. 1. IX. 1. heart ... pure from sins. In Pss. Sol. xvii. 41 the Messiah is said to be καθαρὸς ἀπὸ ἁμαρτίας. THE THIRD SEcTION. IX. 2-XII. 4. After a seven days’ fast amid the ruins of Zion, the word of the Lord bids 484