What Scripture says
Baruch was a real person: Jeremiah’s scribe, who wrote down his prophecies as Jeremiah dictated them (Jeremiah 36:4, ESV) and read them in the temple. God gives Baruch a personal message in Jeremiah 45. Jeremiah also wrote a real letter to the exiles in Babylon, telling them to settle down, seek the city’s welfare and wait seventy years (Jeremiah 29:1–14).
But the book of Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah are separate works, never part of the Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament doesn’t quote them.
What the evidence says
History
What Baruch contains
Baruch claims to be written by Baruch in Babylon five years after Jerusalem fell (Baruch 1:1–2). It has several distinct parts:
- A prayer of confession (Baruch 1:15–3:8), admitting that Israel’s sins brought the exile. It closely resembles Daniel 9:4–19.
- A poem praising wisdom (Baruch 3:9–4:4), which identifies wisdom with God’s law: “She is the book of the commandments of God, the law that endures forever” (Baruch 4:1).
- A poem of comfort for Jerusalem (Baruch 4:5–5:9), promising the exiles’ return.
What the Letter of Jeremiah contains
The Letter of Jeremiah, printed as Baruch chapter 6 in Catholic Bibles, is a sermon mocking idols, presented as a letter from Jeremiah to the exiles. It repeats the refrain that idols are not gods, so don’t fear them: they can’t speak, see, save themselves or help anyone. It develops themes found in Jeremiah 10:1–16.
Date and authorship
Most scholars think Baruch was written by more than one author, centuries after the real Baruch, perhaps in the 2nd or 1st century BC. Reasons:
- Its parts differ in style, and some may first have been written in Hebrew, others in Greek.
- Its confession borrows from Daniel 9, usually dated later.
- It has historical oddities: it calls Belshazzar the son of Nebuchadnezzar (Baruch 1:11), echoing Daniel 5, and places Baruch in Babylon, while Jeremiah 43:6 says Baruch went to Egypt with Jeremiah.
For the Letter of Jeremiah, a small Greek fragment was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls (7Q2), from around 100 BC, so it existed by then. Its date of composition may be considerably earlier.
| Book | Claimed author | Likely date |
|---|---|---|
| Baruch | Jeremiah’s scribe, writing in Babylon | 2nd–1st century BC |
| Letter of Jeremiah | Jeremiah | 4th–2nd century BC |
Reception
Neither book was ever in the Hebrew canon. They survive in Greek, in the Septuagint, often placed after Jeremiah and Lamentations. Early Christian writers quoted Baruch, sometimes as words of Jeremiah. Catholics and Orthodox include both; Protestants don’t.
Where they meet
Both books echo genuine themes from Jeremiah: repentance, hope for return from exile and the folly of idols. Catholics and Orthodox read them as Scripture. Protestants see them as later works written in the name of Jeremiah’s circle, never accepted in the Hebrew Bible.
What’s still open
The exact date and authorship of the different parts of Baruch.
Bottom line
Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah claim to come from Jeremiah’s scribe and circle, but most scholars date them centuries later, and they were never in the Hebrew canon. They are rated Debated because Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include them.