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BARUCH
1. Neriah’s son, secretary of the prophet Jeremiah. In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim of Judah (605/604 BC), Baruch wrote down Jeremiah’s prophecy of the evil that God was going to bring upon Judah unless the nation repented (Jer 36:4). God also gave Baruch a special personal message through Jeremiah about humility in service (ch 45).
Baruch read the words of Jeremiah’s prophecy to the people and to the princes (Jer 36:9-19). The message finally reached Jehoiakim, who destroyed the scroll and called for Baruch’s and Jeremiah’s arrest (vv 21-26). In hiding, Baruch again wrote down Jeremiah’s prediction of Judah’s destruction (vv 27-32). Baruch was the brother of Seraiah, a close associate of the later King Zedekiah. Seraiah was eventually deported to Babylon with the king by Nebuchadnezzar. With Nebuchadnezzar laying siege to Jerusalem in 587 BC, a year before its final destruction, the imprisoned Jeremiah purchased a field. His act symbolized the eventual restoration of Israel to the land. Baruch was ordered by Jeremiah to keep the evidence of the purchase safe (Jer 32:12-15).
Two months after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, rebellious Jews murdered Gedaliah, puppet governor of Judah under the Babylonians, and sought to flee to Egypt. Jeremiah advised them to remain in Jerusalem. The rebels blamed Baruch for influencing Jeremiah to give such advice and forced both Baruch and the prophet to accompany them into Egypt (43:1-7).
Scripture does not refer to the final events in Baruch’s life. The Jewish historian Josephus recorded that when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt, Baruch was taken to Babylon. The apocryphal book of Baruch begins by noting that the author was in Babylon (1:1-3). Both accounts, however, are historically questionable.
2. Zabbai’s son, mentioned in connection with the events surrounding the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall (about 445 BC) under the supervision of Nehemiah (Neh 3:20).
3. Individual who signed Ezra’s covenant of faithfulness to God with Nehemiah and others after the exile (Neh 10:6); perhaps the same as #2 above.
4. Col-hozeh’s son, and father of Maaseiah (Neh 11:5).