4 Baruch
ancient pseudepigraphical text included in the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible
Fourth Baruch is a pseudepigraphical text of the Old Testament. Paralipomena of Jeremiah appears as the title in several Ancient Greek manuscripts of the work, meaning "things left out of (the Book of) Jeremiah." It is part of the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible.
Origin and transmission
4 Baruch is usually dated to the first half of the 2nd century AD. Abimelech's sleep of 66 years, instead of the usual 70 years of Babylonian captivity, makes scholars tend toward the year AD 136, that is, 66 years after the fall of the Second Temple in AD 70. This dating is coherent with the message of the text.
The text is known in both full-length and reduced versions. The full-length versions came down to us in Greek (older manuscripts dated 10th–11th centuries and 15th century), in Ethiopic Ge'ez (titled Rest of the Words of Baruch, the older manuscript dated to the 15th century), in Armenian, and in Slavic. The shortened versions have come down to us in Greek (named Meneo), Romanian and Slavic.
Some parts of 4 Baruch appear to have been added in the Christian era, such as the last chapter; due to these insertions, some scholars consider 4 Baruch to have Christian origins.
Synopsis
4 Baruch uses a simple and fable-like style, with speech-making animals, fruit that never rots, and an eagle sent by the Lord that revives the dead.
The Lord reveals to Jeremiah that Jerusalem will be destroyed because of the impiety of the Israelites.
The public source identifies “4 Baruch” as ancient pseudepigraphical text included in the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Baruch, ancient and pseudepigraphical.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “4 Baruch”, the useful work is to connect “ancient pseudepigraphical text included in the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 20, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1848799. VIAF identifies the subject as 1487151002100030280000. The Library of Congress control number is n97080934. None of the 3 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “4 Baruch”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 4 Baruch primary sources, 4 Baruch archive and Baruch research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “4 Baruch”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “4 Baruch” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.