Thread by @drjohnmeade

1/ Researching #Origen’s philological work on #1Baruch these days. Interesting: Origen may have been the one to give the book its title. A thread summarizing and adapting P-M Bogaert’s insights on the early history of “Baruch.”

2/ Though the debate over whether there was a Hebrew Baruch continues, a consensus appears to be forming that the book only was ever in Greek. Certainly, by Late Antiquity, the book is only known in Greek, but by what title?

3/ All early Eastern Xians from the second-early third century, till Origen, cite passages from #1Baruch as from Jeremiah, not knowing that the book was not in Hebrew but a Greek addition to Jeremiah.

4/ Many Christians after #Origen (Dionysius, Athanasius, Greg Nyssa et al.) began to cite the appendix attributing it to “Baruch.” Origen is the first author on record to use Baruch as a title in his homilies on Jeremiah (ca. early 240’s).

5/ In the early 220’s he made reference to Jeremiah with Lamentations and “the Epistle.” That last title may stand for both the Epistle and Baruch, but it seems to have been only provisional, since Origen doesn’t refer to it again though he uses Baruch 15x in his writings.

6/ Thus Bogaert thinks Origen entitled Baruch + Ep Jer as “Baruch.” How did #Origen know what other Christians had not put together and western Christians were still quite confused over for a long while after (see Augustine’s Civ. 18.33)? So glad you asked?!

7/ Origen’s intense grammatical work in the #Hexapla would have immediately shown him that there was no Hebrew text for #Baruch or the Epistle. What Christians to that point would have assumed to be part of Jeremiah, he showed to be a completely separate work.

8/ He could have noticed the difference and simply supplied the title “Baruch” according to v. 1 and 3. He’s the first to use the title, and the manuscripts most likely originating with him or his immediate followers also used the title “Baruch.” Amazing.

9/ I tell this story because I think it’s interesting in its own right but also because, if this is true, it’s a serious win for ancient philology and should inspire us all to keep researching because steady work leads to advances in knowledge & greater appreciation for the Text.

10/ Have a good Friday and a great weekend.