CTC Seminar | Presented by Rev Dr Trevor Tibbertsma

Join us online for the next CTC Seminar presented by Rev Dr Trevor Tibbertsma on Learn where there is Wisdom: A Theological Reading of Baruch 3:9-4:4.

This presentation is an overview of my forthcoming monograph on the Deuterocanonical book of Baruch as a source of enduring wisdom. Illuminated by distinct glimmers of a rich theology of revelation, the chief hortatory goal of the sapiential exhortation of 3:9-4:4 in context is for readers to return to God through adherence to Scripture. This dynamic is, in fact, portrayed as something of a return from death to life, surprisingly resonant with the Prodigal Son. Exploring the Greek poem through originating, early Christian, and modern academic contexts, this study responds to a recent call for a fresh Christian interpretation that critically mediates between the early focus on a solitary verse as a prophecy of the Incarnation and the modern tendency to omit 3:38 as an interpolation. It is a theological reading insofar as it hypothetically grants Baruch’s subject matter as appropriately apprehended through serious theological reflection, while allowing one’s conception of that subject matter to be shaped by what is exegeted from the text through a range of contexts. Its potential significance perhaps chiefly lies in being an up-to-date study of Baruch, which is accountable to the concerns of biblical studies as well as those of Christian theology.