Recent Scholarship on 2 Baruch: 2000-2009

This essay presents scholarship on 2 Baruch published from 2000 to 2009 and discusses the main topics, perspectives and debates addressed in these recent contributions. The first part of the essay provides a general introduction to 2 Baruch, offering a brief overview of the literary contents and historical context of the text, as well as a short résumé of the main debates of scholarship in the period 1866—1999. The second, main, part addresses four topics: (1) recent text editions, translations and critical editions, (2) contributions addressing the composition of 2 Baruch, (3) significant thematic studies, and (4) studies dedicated to the provenance, social situation and reception of 2 Baruch. These issues are discussed with an eye for two prominent debates in recent scholarship on the Pseudepigrapha: first, the debate of the provenance of the Pseudepigrapha, and second, the methodological debate of the relationship between narrative fiction and the historical situation of ancient writings.