2 Baruch

Historical printed page 515

II BARUCH 62. 7—65. 2 7 them away captive. But regarding the Gentiles it were tedious to tell how they always wrought 8 impiety and wickedness, and never wrought righteousness, These are the black seventh waters which thou hast seen. 63:1 ‘And the bright eighth waters which thou hast seen, this is the rectitude and uprightness of 2 Hezekiah king of Judah and the grace (of God) which came upon him. For when Sennacherib was stirred up in order that he might perish, and his wrath troubled him in order that he might thereby 3 perish, for the multitude also of the nations which were with him.t When, moreover, Hezekiah the king heard those things which the king of Assyria was devising, (i.e.) to come and seize him and destroy his people, the two and a half tribes which remained: nay, more he wished to overthrow Zion also: then Hezekiah trusted in his works, and had hope in his righteousness, and spake with 4the Mighty One and said: “Behold, for lo! Sennacherib is prepared to destroy us, and he will be boastful and uplifted when he has destroyed Zion.” 5 And the Mighty One heard him, for Hezekiah was wise, And He had respect unto his prayer, because he was righteous. 6,7 And thereupon the Mighty One commanded Ramiel His angel who speaks with thee. And I went forth and destroyed their multitude, the number of whose chiefs only was a hundred and 8 eighty-five thousand, and each one of them had an equal number (at his command). And at that time I burned their bodies within, but their raiment and arms I preserved outwardly, in order that the still more wonderful deeds of the Mighty One might appear, and that thereby His name might 9 be spoken of throughout the whole earth. And Zion was saved and Jerusalem delivered: Israel also to was freed from tribulation. And all those who were in the holy land rejoiced, and the name of the 11 Mighty One was glorified so that it was spoken of. These are the bright waters which thou hast , . seen. 64 1 ‘And the black ninth waters which thou hast seen, this is all the wickedness which was in the days 2 of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah. For he wrought much impiety, and he slew the righteous, and he wrested judgement, and he shed the blood of the innocent, and wedded women he violently polluted, and he overturned the altars, and destroyed their offerings, and drove forth their priests 3 lest they should minister in the sanctuary. And he made an image with five faces: four of them looked to the four winds, and the fifth on the summit of the image as an adversary of the zeal of the 4 Mighty One. And then wrath went forth from the presence of the Mighty One to the intent that 5 Zion should be rooted out, as also it befell in your days. But also against the two tribes and a half 6 went forth a decree that they should also be led away captive, as thou hast now seen. And to such a degree did the impiety of Manasseh increase, that it removed the praise of the Most High from 7 the sanctuary. On this account Manasseh was at that time named “the impious”, and finally his 8 abode was in the fire. For though his prayer was heard with the Most High, finally, when he was cast into the brazen horse and the brazen horse was melted, it served as a sign unto him for the 9hour. For he had not lived perfectly, for he was not worthy—but that thenceforward he might 10 know by whom finally he should be tormented. For he who is able to benefit is also able to torment, 51 ‘Thus, moreover, did Manasseh act impiously, and thought that in his time the Mighty One would 2 not inquire into these things. These are the black ninth waters which thou hast seen. LXIII. 1. the grace. The MS. originally read ‘bounty’. I have with Ryssel added ‘of God’. Ryssel emends and reads ‘ the benignity of God’. 2. This verse is very corrupt. 3. Hezekiah trusted in his works, See xiv. 7, note, There is a play on Hezekiah’s name in the words when retranslated into Hebrew dy prinn mpi. Cf. Sirach xlviii. 22, and 17. 4. There is a play again on ‘ Sennacherib’ and ‘ destroy’ in Hebrew yannd pny ano. 7. In 2 Kings xix. 35 ; Isa. xxxvii. 36, 185,000 is the complete number of the slain. In 2 Chron. xxxii. 21, only the slaughter of the chiefs is mentioned. The text combines the two accounts. 8. Cf. Sanh. 945, where it is said that the souls were burnt up but the bodies preserved. LXIV. 3. he made an image with five faces: four of, ἄς. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 7 says ‘ he set the graven image of the idol’. The Syriac version, however, gives ‘and he set the four-fronted image’. Cf. the Arabic, and also the Talmud, Sanh. 103» ‘ at first he made for it one face, and in the end he made for it four faces that the Shechinah might see and be provoked’. 6. removed the praise. Sanh, 103” says Manasseh erased the divine name and overturned the altar. 7. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11-19, on the other hand, implies that Manasseh was really forgiven on his repentance. 8. his prayer. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 19 ; The Prayer of Manasseh in the Apocrypha. the brazen horse. Cf. the Targum of Chronicles on 2 Chron. xxxiil. 11. Also Apost. Const. ii.22; Anastasius on Ps, vi; Suidas (under Μανασσῆς). 9. Text corrupt. LXV. The writer holds thus that Manasseh, though he prayed, did not really repent. Cf. Sanh. ror, and Sanh. 10, and contrast Debarim ταῦθα 2, where Manasseh is to be saved at the last. 515 1 Gp lao)