2 Baruch

Historical printed page 513

II BARUCH 56. 6—59. 4 6 For [since] when he transgressed Untimely death came into being, _Grief was named And anguish was prepared, And pain was created, And trouble consummated, And disease began to be established, And Sheol kept demanding that it should be renewed in blood, And the begetting of children was brought about, And the passion of parents produced, And the greatness of humanity was humiliated, And goodness languished. 7,8 What therefore can be blacker or darker than these things? This is the beginning of the black 9 waters which thou hast seen. And from these black (waters) again were black derived, and the to darkness of darkness was produced. For he became a danger to his own soul: even to the angels , 12 became he a danger. For, moreover, at that time when he was created, they enjoyed liberty. And 13 some of them descended, and mingled with the women. And then those who did so were tormented 14in chains. But the rest of the multitude of the angels, of which there is (no) number, restrained 15 themselves. And those who dwelt on the earth perished together (with them) through the waters 16 of the deluge. These are the black first waters. 7: ‘And after these (waters) thou didst see bright waters: this is the fount of Abraham, also his 2 generations and advent of his son, and of his son’s son, and of those like them. Because at that time the unwritten law was named amongst them, And the works of the commandments were then fulfilled, And belief in the coming judgement was then generated, And hope of the world that was to be renewed was then built up, And the promise of the life that should come hereafter was implanted. 3 These are the bright waters, which thou hast seen. 1 ‘And the black third waters which thou hast seen, these are the mingling of all sins, which the nations afterwards wrought after the death of those righteous men, and the wickedness of the land of 2 Egypt, wherein they did wickedly in the service wherewith they made their sons to serve. Never- theless, these also perished at last. 1 ‘And the bright fourth waters which thou hast seen are the advent of Moses and Aaron and 2 Miriam and Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb and of all those like them. 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 3 promise of their reward, and to them that deny, the torment of fire which is reserved for them. But also the heavens at that time were shaken from their place, and those who were under the throne of 4 the Mighty One were perturbed, when He was taking Moses unto Himself. For He showed him many admonitions together with the principles of the law and the consummation of the times, as also to thee, and likewise the pattern of Zion and its measures, in the pattern of which the 6. disease. Text = ‘boasting’ = nban, corrupt for nbnio = ‘disease ’, or Ji>am = ‘boasting’ is corrupt for boas = ‘ disease’, as in Ixxiii. 2. ‘ Disease’ comes with the Fall, but it disappears on the advent of the kingdom, Lxxiii. 2. ᾿ Sheol . . . demanding. For Sheol’s hunger, cf. Prov. xxvii. 20 ; Isa. v. 14. 10. Man’s physical nature became a danger to his spiritual; because of it the angels fell through lust, and in it resided the evil impulse. 11. they enjoyed liberty, i.e. the angels. Cf. 1 En. vi. 2, note. 14. (no) number. Ceriani restored the negative. LVIL. The first bright period is from Abraham to Jacob. 2. This tendency to trace the observance of the law to the patriarchs had already reached its most extreme expres- sion in the Book of Jubilees. the world... to be renewed. In Αἱ and A? at the close of the Messianic kingdom, which in A® ends this world and begins the next (Ixxiv. 2). LVIII. 1. the service ...serve. The text follows the Hebrew of Exod. i. 4, not the LXX. LIX.-2. the lamp .. . darkness. . A Rabbinic application of Isa. ix. 2. the eternal law. Cf. xvii. 6; xv. 5, note. torment of fire, i.e. a material fire to torment the wicked after the resurrection. Cf. xliv. 15, &c. 4. law... times. Text reads ‘laws... time’. the pattern of Zion. Cf. Exod. xxv. 40, ἅς. in the pattern of which . .. made. So by a change of a single letter I have emended the text, which read ‘ which was to be made in the pattern of the sanctuary’, ἄς. This emendation is followed by Ryssel. 11062 513 : 1