Messianism in the Second Book of Baruch

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the Messianism in the Second Book of Baruch, an early Jewish literature written in Israel around 100 AD. To achieve this goal, texts from 2 Baruch that describe the Messiah and Messianic Age were selected (29-30, 39-42, 72-74). After analyzing the three Messianic texts in consideration of the larger context of the Old Testament and early Jewish literature, a conclusion was reached by synthesizing the results of each analysis. A summary of Messianic thought in 2 Baruch is as follows. In 2 Baruch, the Messiah is described as the warrior-king Messiah who destroys and judges Israel’s unrighteous oppressors, and as the protector of the righteous remnant of the end times. He is also the pre-existing Messiah who will appear at the appointed time to usher in the age of salvation in the world. With his advent the age of the Messiah begins, which is described as the ideal state of the Garden of Eden. The Messianic Age is also described as a great Banquet in which the two primordial monsters, Leviathan and Behemoth, will be provided as food for the “remnant.” This Banquet is described as a time of continuous abundance. Healing dew, manna, fruit of the earth and wine will also be given. In other words, the Messianic Age is the restoration of creation to its pre-fall state, or the restoration of a nutritious paradise for the remnant. In a word, the Messianic Age is a ‘New Creation.’ Also, when the monsters of the beginning are destroyed, the desert is restored to the garden, and God gives manna to his people again, it is the ‘New Exodus.’ This image of the Messianic Banquet implies the role of the Messiah as a priest. Then, the Messiah in 2 Baruch can be said to be the pre-existing ‘warrior-king-priest Messiah.’ The Messiah’s time is limited, and when his reign is over, the Messiah returns to God, followed by the resurrection of all the dead. After that, it is said that the true new world, the ‘World to Come’ will come.