{"id":72317,"date":"2020-03-25T15:48:27","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T13:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=72317"},"modified":"2020-03-25T15:48:27","modified_gmt":"2020-03-25T13:48:27","slug":"baruch-the-lowly-scribe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/baruch-the-lowly-scribe\/","title":{"rendered":"Baruch The Lowly Scribe?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"72317","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":38552,"related_cahpter":"445","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"But they also serve, who only sit and write\r\n\r\n","content":"

Jeremiah assigns the actual writing of the scroll to Baruch son of Neriah, who makes his first appearance here. Baruch’s official title is “scribe”; he was apparently recognized as a professional scribe who read and wrote in Hebrew and Aramaic, and probably held a government position \u2014 like Shaphan the scribe and others. In a chapter dedicated to him, also recorded in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign, Jeremiah wishes to put his new aide in his place:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThus said the Lord, God of Israel, to you, Baruch: You said, “Woe unto me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.” Thus you shall say to him: Thus said the Lord[…] Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them, for I will bring disaster on all flesh \u2014 declares the Lord \u2014 but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life\u201d (45:2-5).<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a rabbinic tradition dating from the second century CE, Baruch grumbles, “Why am I different from all other disciples of prophets? ‘I am worn out with groaning and find no rest’ \u2014 ‘rest’ means nothing but prophecy” (Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Parashat Bo).<\/span><\/p>\n

According to this midrash, Baruch sought to assume the mantle of prophecy, to graduate from scribe (an important position within the monarchic hierarchy) to a role which is essentially anarchic. Jeremiah counters that there would be no purpose in Baruch’s prophecy; destruction has already been decreed, and prophecy has failed to improve the people. Jeremiah deflates his colleague’s prophetic aspirations, telling him: “Should you then seek great things for yourself?” (as if prophecy awards the prophet respect). What greatness can come to a prophet who merely adds another vision of imminent destruction? Instead, Jeremiah refocuses Baruch on recording and documentation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By virtue of this division of labor, many of Jeremiah’s prophecies were preserved. But there is another reason Jeremiah handpicks Baruch for this important task. His position of scribe earns Jeremiah a favorable reputation in the corridors of power. The prophet is an unwanted guest wherever he goes \u2014 he is even persecuted in his hometown. The accuracy of his prophecies regarding Nebuchadnezzar’s rise to power has won him no popularity. On the contrary, it has put his life in danger. Jehoiakim is still loyal to Egypt, and such prophecies can easily be misconstrued as incitement to rebellion. A scroll written by Baruch will certainly be received more agreeably than Jeremiah’s visions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lau, Binyamin. <\/span>Jeremiah: The Fate of a Prophet<\/span><\/i>. Maggid Books, 2013. \u201cThe Scribe Baruch Son of Neriah\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":69252,"id":69252,"title":"jer-lau2","filename":"jer-lau2.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/running-a-gauntlet-of-pain\/jer-lau2\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jer-lau2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":69251,"date":"2020-01-27 21:59:05","modified":"2020-01-27 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