Baruch and Jeremiah

  • Thread starter Thread starter Reformed_Rob
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Reformed_Rob

Guest
I read Baruch today! Wow, what an amazing book! But, being an inquisitive and cautious person, I’m wondering if anyone would help me with a question.

I know lot’s of Reformed people say that the Catholic Canon is wrong because of errors in the “Deuterocanonical books”> And I’m not taking that approach right away, because if the Catholic church is right on proplerly selecting Scripture, guided by the Holy Spirit, then there should be a solid answer to all those Protestant objections.

Here’s my question:

In Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the remaining people of the Babylonian Exile. It was apparently delivered by a man named Elasah. And what we would think would be the text of the letter is contained in Jeremiah 29. Ok, well in Baruch 6, there is the letter that Jeremiah sent to those who were being led captive to Babylon. The letters are totally different in content.

But, maybe I just answered the question right there. In Jeremiah 29, the letter was to the captives, but the letter of Jeremiah in Baruch was previous to the Jer. 29 letter, in that it was to the people while they were being led into exile. But a question still remains:

Why does Baruch 6:2 say they “will be there for many years, a period 7 generations long” and Jeremiah 29:10 says “Only after 70 years have elapsed for Babylon will I visit you and fulfill for you my promise and bring you back to this place.”

7 generations is longer than 70 years isn’t it?
 
Reformed Rob:
I read Baruch today! Wow, what an amazing book! But, being an inquisitive and cautious person, I’m wondering if anyone would help me with a question.

I know lot’s of Reformed people say that the Catholic Canon is wrong because of errors in the “Deuterocanonical books”> And I’m not taking that approach right away, because if the Catholic church is right on proplerly selecting Scripture, guided by the Holy Spirit, then there should be a solid answer to all those Protestant objections.

Here’s my question:

In Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the remaining people of the Babylonian Exile. It was apparently delivered by a man named Elasah. And what we would think would be the text of the letter is contained in Jeremiah 29. Ok, well in Baruch 6, there is the letter that Jeremiah sent to those who were being led captive to Babylon. The letters are totally different in content.

But, maybe I just answered the question right there. In Jeremiah 29, the letter was to the captives, but the letter of Jeremiah in Baruch was previous to the Jer. 29 letter, in that it was to the people while they were being led into exile. But a question still remains:

Why does Baruch 6:2 say they “will be there for many years, a period 7 generations long” and Jeremiah 29:10 says “Only after 70 years have elapsed for Babylon will I visit you and fulfill for you my promise and bring you back to this place.”

7 generations is longer than 70 years isn’t it?
Click to expand...
I am not sure what those number may represent. The Captivity didnt even last that long. It lasted from the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. to the reconstruction in Palestine of a new Jewish state which began in 538 B.C. A measly 48 years. The Temple was rebuilt around the 70 year mark ( actuallty it was 71). 7 Generations would briing the date up to around 300. Interesting that Alexander the Great conqured Israel in 332 B.C Putting an END to their independance. And during all this time Jews lived in Babylon. Did they all come home after the Macedonians took over? That would put them at the 7 generation mark.
 
40.png
metal1633:
I am not sure what those number may represent. The Captivity didnt even last that long. It lasted from the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. to the reconstruction in Palestine of a new Jewish state which began in 538 B.C. A measly 48 years. The Temple was rebuilt around the 70 year mark ( actuallty it was 71). 7 Generations would briing the date up to around 300. Interesting that Alexander the Great conqured Israel in 332 B.C Putting an END to their independance. And during all this time Jews lived in Babylon. Did they all come home after the Macedonians took over? That would put them at the 7 generation mark.
Click to expand...
According to the time line we used in the Bible Time Line Catholic Scripture Study last year there were several exiles. Israel, the northern kingdom, was exiled by Assyria between 722 and 700 BC. Judah, the southern kingdom, had three separate exiles, 605, 597, and 587 BC. There were also three distinct returns, 538, 522-457 and 444 BC. Baruk, along with Ezekiel, was in exile with the tribe of Judah in Babylon, while Jeremiah was in the south.
 
Thanks guys! That’s more than I was betting on getting!
 
It is also possible that 7 generations and 70 years are symbolic and not meant to be taken literally. 7 is symbolic of perfection or completion and 70 is a multiple of 7.

Recall Matthew 18:20-21: "Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” Certainly Jesus was not saying we must only forgive our brother 490 times and no more.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top