Baruch (a.k.a. 1 Baruch)

Called Baruch by most, but 1 Baruch in the LSV for distinction, the opening verses ascribe the book to the well-known assistant to Jeremiah (Jer. 32:12; 36:4, 32; 45:1). It is a collection of four very different compositions, ending with a work entitled “The Letter of Jeremiah,” which circulated separately in major manuscripts of the Greek tradition. The original language was likely Hebrew, but only the Greek and other versions have been preserved. The setting is Babylon, where Baruch reads his scroll to King Jechoniah (Jehoiachin) and the exiles; they react by sending gifts and the scroll to Jerusalem (1:1–14), presumably by the hand of Baruch (1:7). No certain date can be given for the book, but it may have been edited in final form during the last two centuries BC.