“Take Courage, O Jerusalem…”: Studies in the Psalms of Baruch 4–5

158 Pages·2015·1.028 MB·English

by  Géza G. Xeravits

Géza G. Xeravits
"Take Courage, O Jerusalem…"
Deuterocanonical and
Cognate Literature Studies
Edited by
Friedrich V. Reiterer, Beate Ego and Tobias Nicklas
Volume 25
Géza G. Xeravits
"Take Courage,
O Jerusalem…"
Studies in the Psalms of Baruch 4–5
ISBN 978-3-11-041125-6
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-041182-9
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-041200-0
ISSN 1865-1666
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A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress.
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detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
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
In memory of my father,
Géza Xeravits
(1946–2012)

Preface
The Book of Baruch, this exciting composition of various early Jewish material,
has not provoked as much interest among scholars as it deserves. The analysis
below—which might compensate somewhat this neglect—concentrates on the
two poetic passages that close the Book in its present form.
My interest in these hymns began with a paper read at the 2008 Interna-
tional Conference on the Deuterocanonical Books, held at Pápa, Hungary. Im-
mediately after, my other obligations prevented me from further work on the
topic. Later on, however, the financial support of the Deutsche Forschungsge-
meinschaft that I had the privilege to enjoy made possible the writing of this
small monograph.
Prof. Tobias Nicklas from the University of Regensburg gave invaluable help
in technical matters concerning the DFG scholarship, and, moreover, I several
times enjoyed his hospitality and that of his lovely family when I was in Re-
gensburg. Without Tobias this booklet would not have been written.
I had various conversations with two Hungarian friends and colleagues, Dr.
Balázs Tamási and Dr. Gábor Buzási. Their advice was always stimulating. Dur-
ing my work, some scholars have sent me a good amount of copies and pdf-s of
their contributions, I thank them this without enumerating a long list of names.
Another colleague and friend, Dr. Moyna McGlynn helped in converting my
original Hunglish into an understandable English text. She is the reason why
this book is readable at least from a grammatical viewpoint.
Personally, the period of completing this manuscript proved to be a very
hard time for me, which culminated in the untimely death of my dear father.
Although his perspective was completely different from mine, he always fol-
lowed my career and my writings with interest and appreciation. I dedicate this
volume to his kind memory.
Finally, I must say gratitude for Krisztina, who, with her constant tender-
ness, has always been able to shine from behind the clouds, and to create a
milieu where even the hard work turns to delight.

Géza G. Xeravits

Contents
Preface  vii
Introduction  1
Recent Research  2
Basic Preliminary Remarks  3
The Text of Baruch 4:5–5:9  6
The Structure and Unity of Baruch 4:30–5:6  11
Introduction  11
The Structure of the First Stanza (4:30–35)  12
The Structure of the Second Stanza (4:36–37)  15
The Structure of the Third Stanza (5:1–4)  16
The Structure of the Fourth Stanza (5:5–6)  18
Connecting Features in the Text of the Psalm  20
The Structure and Unity of Baruch 5:7–9  22
Introduction  22
The Structure of Baruch 5:7–9  23
Relationship with Baruch 4:30–5:6  25
The Structure and Unity of Baruch 4:5–29  28
Introduction  28
The Structure of Strophe A.1. (4:5–9a)  30
The Structure of Strophe A.2. (4:9b–13)  33
The Structure of Strophe A.3. (4:14–16)  37
The Structure of the Strophe B (4:17–20)  39
The Structure of the Strophe C.1. (4:21–24)  41
The Structure of Strophe C.2. (4:25–26)  45
The Structure of Strophe D (4:27–29)  47
Connecting Features in the Text of the Psalm  49
The Relationship between the Two Psalms  50
The Biblical Background of the Psalms  52
Introduction  52
Baruch 4:5–9a  54
Baruch 4:9b–13  60
x  Contents
Baruch 4:14–16  64
Baruch 4:17–20  66
Baruch 4:21–24  69
Baruch 4:25–26  73
Baruch 4:27–29  74
Baruch 4:30–35  76
Baruch 4:36–37  79
Baruch 5:1–4  81
Baruch 5:5–6  83
Baruch 5:7–9  84
The Basic Biblical Passages  87
The Nature of the Biblical Background  87
Tradition Historical Background and Theology of the Psalms in Baruch  90
Deuteronomy  90
The Book of Deuteronomy  90
Deuteronomic Worldview  94
Deuteronomistic View of History  96
Deuteronomy and Deuteronomistic View in Early Jewish
Literature  98
Isaiah, Especially Chapters 40–66  106
The Book of Isaiah  106
Isaiah 40–66 in Early Jewish Literature  110
The Book of the Twelve Prophets  116
Are Jeremiah and Lamentations Especially Important for
Baruch 4:5–5:9?  118
Summary  120
Comments on Formative Issues  121
Relationship of the Main Parts  121
Language  123
Dating of Baruch 4:5–5:9  125
Bibliography  130
Index of Sources  142