THE REST OF THE WORDS OF BARUCH - 1 - Lonoon:C.J.CLAY AND SONS,CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,AVE MARIA LANE.

Sep 23, 2026

The work draws attention to an important but long-neglected fragment of apocalyptic literature, valued despite critical disregard. It argues that the tract sheds light on a obscure period in Church development, including the revolt of a false Messiah, and illustrates how doctrinal positions around the Divine Nature of Jesus Christ polarized worshippers. The introduction also frames the text for critical study of how earlier Jewish apocalypses were absorbed and republished by Christians, noting the risks of removing earlier material without considering its surroundings.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages76

Reading Time3 h 12 min

AccessFree to download

THE REST OF THE WORDS OF BARUCH

Introduction

BS2920B37H371889 c.1ROBARTS Buu Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2008 with funding fromMicrosoft Corporation https://archive.org/details/restofwordsofbar0Oharruoft # THE REST OF THE WORDS OF BARUCH. 1 Lonoon:C.J.CLAY AND SONS,CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,AVE MARIA LANE. ambribge:DEIGHTON,BELL,AND CO. Leipsig:F.A.BROCKHAUS arh # THE REST OF THE WORDSOF BARUCH: A CHRISTIAN APOCALYPSE OFTHE YEAR 136 A.D. THE TEXT REVISED VITH AN INTRODUCTION J.RENDEL HARRIS FOEMERLY FELLOW OF CLARE COLLEGE,CAMBRIDGE,AND NoW PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL LANGUAGES IN HAVERFORD COLLEGE,PENNSYLVANIA. LONDON: C.J.CLAY AND SONS,CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE. 10 Cambrioge: PRINTED BY C.J.CLAY,M.A.AND SONS,AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. # THE REST OF THE WORDS OF BARUCH. THE present work is designed to draw attention to an im-portant but hitherto much-neglected fragment of Apocalypticliterature which seems to me to be valuable,in spite of the con-temptuous treatment which it has met with at the hands of thecritics,both to the Eeclesiastical Historian and to the ChristianDogmatist;to the former,on account of the light which it throwson one of the most obscure periods in the growth of the Church,that,viz.,which includes the revolt of the false Messiah;to thelatter,because it helps us to see the manner in which one of theleading doctrines of the Christian Faith polarized the worshippersfor and against itself(as almost every point of Christian doctrinedoes at some time or other in the history of the Church),andsetting a man at variance spiritually with his fellow brought it topass that the sword came down in the house itself to separate theundecided and half-hearted from the convinced and the faithful,that the many who were called might make way for the few whowere chosen.And certainly when we say that in this tract thereader will hear the final farewell of the Church to the Synagogue,and that the parting words will be concerned with the doctrine ofthe Divine Nature of Jesus Christ,we have a right to ask for it acloser and a more careful perusal than it has hitherto met with.Nor is this the only reason why it should be made an object ofattentive study. We hear much said now-a-days about theinterpolation of Jewish Apocalypses by Christians,and it becomesa very interesting matter for critical study to determine how farsuch a tendency to the absorption and republication of earlierliterary productions prevailed in those centuries which wereespecially marked by Apocalyptic activity,and in what mannerthat republication was commonly effected:for it is certain thatin the early Christian literature we constantly disinter fragments of earlier workmanship,and equally certain that nothing leads tosuch reckless criticism as the unskilled or half-skilled attempt todetach the embedded earlier form from its surroundings.Thepresent tract is one in which we are able to point out not only,asI have intimated above,the exact date of its publication,but agreat part of the earlier material which the writer appropriated.We can watch the bookmaker at his task,and can,so to speak,mark the places where the scissors and paste have been used;for this Apocalypse is the degenerate offspring of an illustriousline,perhaps the very last scion of a noble house.The Apocalypticliterature connected with Jeremiah and his companions must havebeen extensive and popular,widely read and full of householdwords;and a great part of this literature is still extant.Weare therefore favourably placed for the study of an interestingproblem in early religious teaching. We may remark further that the Semitic and quasi-Semiticliterature is at its best in the region of Apocalypse:the historicalsituations are better preserved because of the way in whichthey have been disguised;the cipher in which the story was writ-ten has prevented the text from being tampered with.Apoca-lyptic writers do not deal in the flatteries which so often defaceancient history.Josephus

FAQs

What is the purpose of the present work?

The work is designed to draw attention to an important but neglected fragment of apocalyptic literature, arguing for its value despite prior critical dismissal.

Why does the author consider the tract important for Church history?

It is said to shed light on an obscure period in the growth of the Church, including the revolt of the false Messiah.

How does the introduction frame the critical study of Jewish apocalypses in early Christianity?

It emphasizes evaluating how far Christian writers absorbed and republished earlier Jewish apocalyptic material, and warns that detaching embedded earlier forms from their surroundings invites reckless criticism.

Sep 23, 2026

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