2 Baruch

Historical printed page 500

II BARUCH 85. 4--88. 4 4 Because in that place where I am now prostrate, Of old the high priest offered holy sacrifices, | And placed thereon an incense of fragrant odours. . 5 But now our glorying has been made into dust, And the desire of our soul into sand.’ XXXVI-XXXVII. The Vision of the Forest, the Vine, the Fountain and the Cedar. 36 1,2 And when I had said these things I fell asleep there, and I saw a vision in the night. And lo! xxxvi.- a forest of trees planted on the plain, and lofty and rugged rocky mountains surrounded it, and that = A® 3 forest occupied much space. And lo! over against it arose a vine, and from under it there went forth 4a fountain peacefully. Now that fountain came to the forest and was (stirred) into great waves, and those waves submerged that forest, and suddenly they rooted out the greater part of that forest, and 5 overthrew all the mountains which were round about it. And the height of the forest began to be made low, and the top of the mountains was made low and that fountain prevailed greatly, so that it 6 left nothing of that great forest save one cedar only. Also when it had cast it down and had destroyed and rooted out the greater part of that forest, so that nothing was left of it, nor could its place be recognized, then that vine began to come with the fountain in peace and great tranquillity, and it came toa place which was not far from that cedar, and they brought the cedar which had 7 been cast down to it. And I beheld and lo! that vine opened its mouth and spake and said to that cedar: ‘Art thou not that cedar which was left of the forest of wickedness, and by whose means 8 wickedness persisted, and was wrought all those years, and goodness never. And thou didst keep conquering that which was not thine, and to that which was thine thou didst never show compassion, and thou didst keep extending thy power over those who were far from thee, and those who drew nigh thee thou didst hold fast in the toils of thy wickedness, and thou didst uplift thyself always as 9, To one that could not be rooted out! But now thy time has sped and thine hour is come. Do thou also therefore depart, O cedar, after the forest, which departed before thee, and become dust with it, 11 and let your ashes be mingled together. And now recline in anguish and rest in torment till thy last time come, in which thou wilt come again, and be tormented still more.’ 37 And after these things I saw that cedar burning, and the vine growing, itself and all around it, the plain full of unfading flowers. And I indeed awoke and arose. XXXVIII-XL. Juterpretation of the Vision, 38: And I prayed and said: ‘O Lorn, my Lord, Thou dost always enlighten those who are led by 2, 3 understanding. Thy law is life,and Thy wisdom is right guidance. Make known to me therefore 4 the interpretation of this vision. For Thou knowest that my soul hath always walked in Thy law, and from my (earliest) days I departed not from Thy wisdom.’ THE SIXTH SECTION. XXXVI-XLVI. We must insert a seven days’ fast after xxxv to keep the symmetry of the book as constructed by the final editor. The structure of this section is then as follows: first, the omitted fast, then a Messiah vision and its interpretation (xxxvi-xl) with disclosures as to apostates and proselytes (xli. 2-xlii. 8), and an announcement as to Baruch’s coming death (xliii), and finally Baruch’s address to the people (xliv-xlvi). This section is very composite. xxxvi-xl is a Messiah Apocalypse earlier than A.D. 70; xliii-xliv. 7, xlv-xlvi. 6 belongs to B!; the rest mainly to B*. XXXVI-XL. The Second Messiah Apocalypse, A’. (a) Date of A*’—before A.D. 70. Unlike Bt and B* it has no mention of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem ; nor has it a restoration of the city for the Messiah’s rule, or a return of the dispersion. A? is optimistic as regards this world, unlike B?; and centres its hope on the Messiah, not the law, unlike B* and B% (4) Relation of A? to At. In Al the Messiah has a passive réle ; here an active one, destroying the wicked and vindicating Israel. XXXVI. 1. These visions are only found in A? and A®, Elsewhere we have direct revelations. 2. This vision is obviously founded in some respects on Ezek. xvii. 8. rooted out. This word PY is constantly used in the Talmud with reference to the future fate of Rome. if. in anguish. See xxx. 5, where the intermediate state involves some degree of happiness or pain. XXXVII. unfading flowers. Cf. Apoc. Pet. XXXVIII. 1. God Himself interprets this vision for Baruch: but Ramiel the vision in Α (see lv. 3). 2. Thy law is life. Cf. xlv. 2; Sir. xlv.5. Hillel (Aboth. ii. 7): ‘The more law the more life . . . he who gains knowledge of the law gains life in the world to come.’ Also see John vii. 49. Thy wisdom is right guidance. This is based on the Massoretic text of Eccles. x. 10, where the versions vary. . 4. from my (earliest) days. This is the Hebrew idiom ‘2%, as in 1 Kings i. 6. 500