Introduction to Baruch/ Paraleipomena of Jeremiah
One author has suggested that this ancient work "may well be the original Rip Van Winkle story."1 The reason for this is an episode the author recounts in chapter five. But, to fully appreciate this episode, it must be put into its context. Thus, a chapter by chapter summary follows.
The main characters of the book are Jeremiah, his faithful scribe Baruch, and Abimelech, Jeremiah's Ethiopian friend who had previously rescued Jeremiah from the muddy cistern. In chapter one, Jeremiah is given a revelation that God is about to open the gates of the city for Nebuchadnezzar's army to come in and destroy the it. In the next chapter, the prophet puts dust on his head, weeping, and tells his scribe, Baruch, the awful news. Chapter three recounts Jeremiah's effort to plead with God to forestall the judgment, but God will not be swayed. Thus Jeremiah asks what is to be done with the "holy vessels of the Temple service." He receives instruction that he is to bury them in the earth and guard them "until the coming of the beloved one" (3:12). It is at this point that Jeremiah intercedes for his Ethiopian friend and God tells him to send Abimelech to the vineyard of Agrippa where God promises to shelter him "until I return the people to the city" (3:15).2 But Jeremiah is instructed to go a different direction to Babylon and remain with the deportees until God returns them to the city. That will leave only Baruch (of the three main characters) in the city, which God, in turn, instructs him to do. From this point on, then, it is Baruch, the scribe, who becomes the central figure, until the closing chapter of the book.
Chapter four records the Chaldean takeover of the city and the people being carried away into captivity, including Jeremiah. Baruch is left to remain in the city, and the focus of the chapter is Baruch weeping for his countrymen and confessing the sins of his people. The scene shifts temporarily in chapter five to Abimelech, who, following God's instruction, went for refuge to Agrippa's vineyard "in the shadow of the mountain." Next comes the Rip Van Winkel segment of which an excerpt is given below:
5:1-4 But Abimelech carried the figs in the heat (of the day), and coming upon a tree, he sat under its shade to rest a little. And leaning his head on the basket of figs (and) falling asleep, he slept for sixty-six years, and he did not wake from his sleep. And afterward, when he arose from his sleep, he said, "I slept pleasantly a little, but my head is weighed down because I didn't get enough sleep."
The rest of the chapter explains Abimelech's disorientation and discovery of what had happened and that it had actually been 66 years since the destruction of the city.
In chapter 6, the reunion of Baruch and Abimelech is witnessed. It is an emotional time for both that breaks out into a session of prayer and blessing of God. The two men are then concerned about getting word to Jeremiah, but an angel appears to Baruch and tells him to write a message for Jeremiah, which will be sent the next day by a specially commissioned eagle as a mail courier. In chapter seven, it is just as the angel said; the eagle is there and, in fact, he carries on a conversation with Baruch. He carries the letter to Jeremiah and delivers it during a funeral procession. The eagle lights upon the funeral corpse and the body miraculously comes to life. Jeremiah and the people rejoice and the prophet composes a letter of response and sends it back to Baruch.
Chapter eight is an account of repatriation to the holy city. But because some of them had intermarried with the Babylonians, they were forbidden entrance into the city unless they forsook their wives. Unwilling to do this, they returned to Babylon. They were confronted, however, with the people of Babylon who were offended that these people were willing to leave Babylon secretly, so they were forbidden entrance there also. Consequently, they went into the desert and built a city, which is called Samaria.
The final chapter concludes the story with Jeremiah, his colleagues, and the people of Jerusalem, feasting and sacrificing for nine days over God's goodness to them. During one of Jeremiah's intercessory prayers, it appeared to all the people that he had died. The feasting turned into mourning at the sight of the great prophet's corpse. But the people were divinely informed that in three days his body would rise again to life. When he arose after three days, he recounted to the people what he had seen in his out-of-body experience. He declares that he saw Jesus Christ and that in 477 years He will come to the earth. He will come in both judgment and blessing. But the people turned on the prophet when they heard him declare that the Son of God is coming into the world and they took up stones and stoned him to death.
This is the story of 4 Baruch or Paraleipomena of Jeremiah.3 It can be seen that there are some fanciful elements to it and there are also some Christian interpolations as well (seen most clearly in chapter nine). One thing is clear, however, when reading through the material: the entire focus is on the holy city of Jerusalem. Always, people are either leaving it or entering it after being away, or being refused entrance. Thus, the author is emphasizing the central importance of Jerusalem.
Notes
1Larry R. Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002): 437.
2This is the divine hint that a Rip Van Winkle event is going to occur.
3"Paraleipomena" is a Greek participle that means "the things left out." It is referring to the things left out of the canonical book of Jeremiah. There is confusion about what name to actually call this work. It has been called 3 Baruch, 4 Baruch, Paraleipomena of Jeremiah, the Omissions of Jeremiah, or even "The Rest of the Words of Jeremiah."
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