The Seal of Baruch, Jeremiah’s
Scribe
By Kyle Pope
Ancient
Road Publications
The
prophet Jeremiah was asked to carry out one of the most difficult
tasks ever assigned to any servant of God. During the last years of
the kingdom of Judah Jeremiah was to prophesy that because of their
sin they must accept the yoke of Babylon and not resist. He was
imprisoned, opposed by false prophets, threatened with death, and
viewed as a traitor. Yet through him God prophesied the exile and
return of the Jews and ultimately the coming of the new covenant
(31:31-34).
Baruch, the Son of Neriah
Jeremiah, like all servants of God, had co-workers who contributed
to his work and shared his hardship. Scripture tells of one
companion named Baruch, the son of Neriah, his friend, co-worker and
scribe in these difficult years.
From the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign (605 BC), God assured
Baruch that his life would be spared when Jerusalem fell (45:1-5).
He was not to seek “great things” but was promised, “I will give
your life to you as a prize in all places wherever you go” (45:5,
NKJV).
The same year, when Jeremiah was prevented from going into the
temple, he dictated a scroll to Baruch which he read in the temple
(36:1-10). The scroll urged the people to accept the inevitability
of Babylon’s control and repent. When Michaiah and some noblemen
heard the words they took Baruch aside. Michaiah urged Baruch and
Jeremiah to hide while they appealed to the king (36:11-19). As the
scroll was read to Jehoiakim, he cut it in two and burned it. He
then commanded his son Jerahmeel, and others to seize Baruch and
Jeremiah (36:20-26). When Jeremiah learned of the king’s response he
dictated another scroll to Baruch with the same words and a prophecy
against Jehoiakim (36:27-32).
Seventeen years later (588 BC), when Jeremiah was imprisoned by
Zedekiah during the Babylonian siege, Baruch was entrusted with the
the purchase deeds of a field Jeremiah bought as a sign of the Jews
return (32:1-16). Baruch was to put the deeds in an earthen vessel,
“that they may last many days.” This demonstrated that, “houses and
fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land”
(32:14,15).
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Timeline
• 609
BC Josiah dies opposing Pharoah Neco at Megiddo.
Jehoahaz reigns 3 months & is imprisoned by Neco. Neco
makes Eliakim (Jehoiakim) king.
• 605 BC Nebuchadnezzar becomes king of Babylon &
defeats Neco at Carchemish.
• 598 BC Egyptian alliance fails. Jerusalem is
captured by Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar takes Jehoiakim to
Babylon. Coniah (Jehoiachin) reigns 3 months & is also
taken to Babylon. Mattaniah (Zedekiah) is made king.
• 589 BC Zedekiah rebels against Babylon &
Jerusalem is besieged.
• 587 BC Jerusalem falls to Babylon & both the
city and temple are burned. Zedekiah is blinded,
imprisoned & sons are killed before him. Captives are
taken to Babylon. Gedeliah is made Babylonian governor.
• 586 BC Gedeliah is murdered. |
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When the city fell and captives were taken
away Gedaliah was made the governor of Judah (ca. 587-6 BC.) After
Gedaliah was murdered, some desired to flee to Egypt to escape the
control of Babylon. When Jeremiah declared God’s opposition to this
plan, some charged: “Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us,
to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to
death or carry us away captive to Babylon.” (43:3). This suggests
that Baruch was also falsely viewed as an ally of Babylon because he
declared God’s punishment by their hand. Both Baruch and Jeremiah
were taken by force to Egypt with others who had been spared captivity
(43:1-7). Here they may have died.
Discovery of Baruch’s Seal
In 1975 the first few pieces of 200 clay bullae were discovered in
the shop of an antiquities dealer in East Jerusalem.1 Bullae are
lumps of clay which were attached to documents and impressed with a
seal. From the shape of its Hebrew characters (which vary throughout
history) scholars date the collection to the 6th century BC, the
time of Jeremiah. Within this collection are two bullae believed to
have belonged to Baruch, and Jerahmeel (see above).
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The three lines on the Baruch bulla read: “(Belonging) to Berekhyahu,
the son of Neriyahu, the scribe.” The suffix -yahu was a common
epithet attached to names in Judah, meaning, “blessed of Jehovah.”
While translations sometimes render it “-iah” (cf. Baruch’s father
Ner-iah), some texts drop it altogether.2 The bulla is now displayed
in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem
The March/April 1996 issue of Biblical Archeology Review featured an
article on another bulla belonging to a private collector from the
same seal. What is unique about this is the clear impression of a
fingerprint on the upper left of the bulla. The article suggested
this was the “fingerprint of Jeremiah’s scribe.” 3 While it is
presumptuous to assume this is Baruch’s fingerprint, at the very
least discoveries such as this remind us that the people of the
Bible were not imaginary figures from fairy tales, but real souls
who served our God in the past.
Borrowed from Ancient Road Publications -
http://kmpope.home.att.net
1
Shanks, Hershel. “Jeremiah’s Scribe and Confidant Speaks from a Hoard
of Clay
Bullae.” Biblical Archeology Review 4 (1987): 58-65.
2
Gesenius, William. Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old
Testament. (Boston:
Crocker and Brewster. 1860). p. 382.
3
Shanks, Hershel. “Fingerprint of Jeremiah’s Scribe.” Biblical
Archeology Review 2 (1996): 36-38.
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