Epistles from Jerusalem: The Paratexts of Syriac 2 Baruch and the Peshitta Jeremiah Corpus

Abstract

This article explores the paratexts of the epistles attributed to Baruch, the scribe of Jeremiah, in Syriac, Peshitta Old Testament manuscripts. In early manuscripts, the epistles ascribed to the figure Baruch are, most commonly, either included in the Jeremiah corpus or embedded in the work known as 2 Baruch. This article argues that 2 Baruch has had a larger influence on the Syriac Christian corpus-building and literary imagination than has been hitherto acknowledged. This hypothesis would explain both the inclusion of two epistles of Baruch in the Peshitta Jeremiah corpus and the appearance of unprecedented readings in the titles and introductory addresses of the epistles attributed to Baruch in this corpus.