Baruch (Heb., blessed), the son of Neriah, a friend and amanuensis of the prophet Jeremiali, whose captivity he appears to have shared, and whom he accompanied to Egypt. His subsequent fate is unknown. He wrote from dictation the prophecies of Jeremiah, and read them to the people from a window of the temple (about 605 B. C); but King Jehoiakim, being displeased with the contents, destroyed the roll, cutting it with a penknife and afterward burning it. Concealing themselves from the persecutions of the king, Baruch and Jeremiah rewrote the whole of the prophecies. The enemies of Jeremiah ascribed to the latter an important influence upon the prophet. Bunsen regards Baruch as the author of the second part of Isaiah. - One of the apocryphal books of the Old Testament bears the name of Baruch. It follows in the Septuagint immediately after the prophecy of Jeremiah. The prologue of the book states that it was read by Baruch to Jeremiah and the people in Babylon by the river Sud (Euphrates); that the people were brought by it to repentance, and sent the book with a letter and presents to Jerusalem. Then follows an exhortation to wisdom and a due observance of the law. Jerusalem is introduced as a widow comforting her children with the hope of a return.

The Roman Catholic theologians generally defend the authenticity of the book, while most of the Protestants regard its spuriousness as fully proved. The first portion of the book, embracing chap. i. to iii. 8, is, according to the unanimous opinion of all writers, a translation from a Hebrew original; according to Ewald and Hitzig, the translation was made by the Alexandrine translator of Jeremiah. Tho remainder is believed to have been written by a Greek author. Ewald thinks it was composed between 360 and 350 B. C.