New Testament Relevence of Baruch/ Paraleipomena of Jeremiah
The relevance for New Testament studies with Paraleipomena of Jeremiah is somewhat minimal. This does not take away from the interest of the storyline, for it is rather unique and compelling. Of course, one point of relevance relates to the motif of resurrection. Though the author's development of resurrection is limited, it does serve as a reference point for possible lines of Jewish thought on such an important subject. Of course, if one attributes the entire work to a Jewish Christian, then, it would offer little contribution to Judaistic thinking on bodily resurrection. But many ascribe only the reference at the end of chapter 6 (on the test at the Jordan River) and the final chapter as a Christian interpolation. If the rest of the work is indeed by an early first century Jew, then the significant about bodily resurrection in 6:6-8 becomes even more significant. This entire theme may be the primary reason the church fathers preserved and perpetuated this work.1
There are some other parallels of minor import which Helyer notes. One of the most significant is his observation of the definite article in front of the noun "faith" in 7:1 when the eagle hails Baruch and commends him for being "a steward of the faith." He then explains that the definite article is never used in the Pauline church epistles with the definite article in such a way as to refer to a body of doctrine. He does, however, employ this in the pastoral epistles (e.g. 1 Timothy 3:9, "Hold fast to the mystery of the faith").2
Notes
1Larry R. Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002): 442.
2Ibid., 442-43. The other minor parallels he lists are in 9:4 with John 1:9; 9:14 with Rom. 15:5-6; 9:20 with John 1:9 and Acts1:11-12; 9:21 with Matt. 5:6 and 14:19-20.
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This page is provided by Roger DePriest, M.A., Ph.D. student, as part of the "Apocalyptic and the New Testament" site project.