The book of Baruch was among the last books of the Old Testament to be written. It was written during the last century before Christ, in one of the Jewish communities outside of Palestine.
It includes several texts helpful to the dispersed Jews:
a “prayer of the exiles” which intensified their longing for the Holy Land;
a beautiful poem about wisdom (3:9—4:4);
several texts inspired by the prophets of the exile;
a “letter from Jeremiah,” which is a controversial text against idols (Bar 6).
Because it included some paragraphs written in Jeremiah’s style, it was attributed to Baruch, the prophet’s secretary (see Jer 36).
NOTE: excerpted from the introductory material for this book.
