Inter-Testament Writings

Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, many scholars assumed the books of Nehemiah and Ezra (mid-fifth century BCE) marked the unofficial close of the Hebrew Scripture canon (see Masoretic Text). Yet, many various non-canonical writings were found in the caves above Qumran. Put simply, other Jewish authors produced texts that reflected their religious and cultural situations; some were wisdom literature, some prophetic, some apocalyptic. On this web page, we’re concerned with these types of writings over a three hundred year period, approximately 200 BCE through 100 CE.

2 Baruch

2 Baruch (Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch) was a text in the prophetic tradition of Jeremiah. It mixed lamentation, prayer and visions. A late antiquity, Syriac translation was discovered in 1866 and a loose, Arabic translation was found in 1974. Scholars speculate an author originally penned the text in Hebrew; it was translated into Greek, then into Syriac.

The author claimed to be Baruch ben Neriah, a sixth century BCE scribe of Jeremiah, but asserted his place as a prophet in his own right. The text itself described the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BCE. However, scholars date the writing after the fall of the city to the Romans in 70 CE due to its apocalyptic themes.

2 Baruch 29:3-5

3 And it shall come to pass when all is accomplished that was to come to pass in those parts, that the Messiah shall then begin to be revealed. 4 And Behemoth shall be revealed from his place and Leviathan shall ascend from the sea, those two great monsters which I created on the fifth day of creation, and shall have kept until that time; and then they shall be for food for all that are left.

2 Baruch 30:2-3

2 And it shall come to pass at that time that the treasuries will be opened in which is preserved the number of the souls of the righteous, and they shall come forth, and a multitude of souls shall be seen together in one assemblage of one thought, and the first shall rejoice and the last shall not be grieved. 3 For they know that the time has come of which it is said, that it is the consummation of the times.

2 Baruch 42:8

8 And the dust shall be called, and there shall be said to it: "Give back that which is not thine, and raise up all that thou hast kept until its time."

2 Baruch 48:39

39 Therefore a fire shall consume their thoughts, And in flame shall the meditations of their kidneys be tried; For the Judge shall come and will not tarry.

2 Baruch 50:2

2 For the earth shall then assuredly restore the dead, [Which it now receives, in order to preserve them]. It shall make no change in their form, But as it has received, so shall it restore them, And as I delivered them unto it, so also shall it raise them.

Source

“The Book of the Apocalypse of Baruch" Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha and Sacred Writings. Web. 6 Feb 2024.

2 Esdras (4 Ezra)

2 Esdras was an apocalyptic text known by various names. It’s also known as 4 Esdras, Latin Esdras or Latin Ezra depending upon the manuscript. Some examples redacted the Jewish apocalypse into a larger writing; 2 Esdras (4 Ezra) referred to chapters 3-14 of these manuscripts. In some early Latin Vulgate texts, it was added to the appendix; later Vulgate texts include it as apocrypha.

The author claimed to be Ezra, a fifth century BCE scribe-priest. He led the faithful in Jerusalem after the return from Babylon and helped to restore Jewish piety and religious practices. Because of the apocalyptic themes in the text, however, most scholars held the author used a pseudonym so he could describe conditions after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Hence, they date the text to the late first or early second century CE.

2 Esdras 4:35-37

35 Are not these the very questions which were asked by the righteous in the storehouse of souls: "How long must we stay here? When will the harvest begin, the time when we get our reward?" 36 And the arch-angel Uriel gave them this answer: "As soon as the number of those like yourselves is complete. For the Lord has weighed the world in a balance, 37 he has measured and numbered the ages; he will move nothing, alter nothing, until the appointed number is achieved."

2 Esdras 4:41-2

41 'No, my lord,' I said, 'she cannot.' He went on: 42 'The storehouses of souls in the world below are like the womb. As a woman in travail is impatient to see the end of her labor, so they are impatient to give back all the souls committed to them since time began.

2 Esdras 6:20

20 When the seal will be set on the age that is to pass away, then I will show these signs: the books will be opened before the firmament, and all will see together.

2 Esdras 6:51

51 To Behemoth, you gave one part, which was dried up on the third day, that he should dwell in it, in which are a thousand hills.

2 Esdras 7:32

13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds.

2 Esdras 7:36

36 The pit of torment will appear, and near it will be the place of rest. The furnace of hell will be shown, and near it the paradise of delight.

2 Esdras 8:53

53 The root of evil is sealed up from you. Weakness is done away from you, and death is hidden. Hell and corruption have fled into forgetfulness.

2 Esdras 11:1

1 It came to pass the second night that I saw a dream, and behold, an eagle which had twelve feathered wings and three heads came up from the sea.

2 Esdras 12:11

11 The eagle you saw rising from the sea represents the fourth kingdom in the vision seen by your brother Daniel. 12 But he was not given the interpretation which I am now giving you or have already given you.

2 Esdras 15:36b

36b blood, shed by the sword, will reach as high as a horse's belly, a man's thigh, or a camel's hock.

Source

“2 Esdras, 4 Ezra" Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha and Sacred Writings. Web. 6 Feb 2024.