Jeremiah 36:4
Little is known about Baruch, son of Neriah. A note in The Amplified Bible, citing II Chronicles 34:8, suggests that he may have been the grandson of Maaseiah, who served as the governor of Jerusalem in the days of King Josiah. Baruch may have been attached to a family of means, perhaps a prominent one. He was certainly educated, serving as he did as Jeremiah's secretary. Entrusted with putting down Jeremiah's words for posterity, we can surmise that he was detail-oriented and performance-motivated, able to get a lot of work done and get it done correctly.
Jeremiah 43 and 44 offer us a clue about Baruch's social status. Shortly after Jerusalem's fall, a small number of Jews remaining in the city ask Jeremiah to seek God's counsel regarding what action they should take. After ten days, God tells the people through Jeremiah to remain in the vicinity, around Jerusalem. Specifically, they are not to flee to Egypt in an attempt to escape from the Babylonians. The Jewish leadership rejects God's instruction to them, and ultimately leads the people down to Egypt anyway. One of their reasons for rejecting Jeremiah's comments may be telling. They respond to the prophet, as recorded in Jeremiah 43:2-3:
You speak falsely! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, “Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.” But Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.
It appears that the Jewish leadership saw Baruch as somewhat of a mover-and-shaker, someone who had influence over Jeremiah, as though he, rather than God, were the power behind Jeremiah's words. It is not likely that they would come to this conclusion (erroneous as it was) if Baruch were just a secretary. He was undoubtedly a highly competent, poised person, perhaps prominent to some extent.
Charles Whitaker
Baruch's Complaint (Part One)
