James Tissot 1836 – 1902

Baruch

gouache (17 × 12 cm) — c. 1900 Jewish Museum, New York

James Tissot biography

This work is linked to Jeremiah 36:10

God commanded the prophet Jeremiah to write down all His words. Jeremiah then dictated everything to his friend and aide Baruch, who wrote them on scrolls. Jeremiah himself was unable to go to the temple to speak his prophecies for fear of persecution from king Jehoiakim. So he asked Baruch to do that. Presumably that is what Tissot is portraying here.

Writing down all God's words to Jeremiah must have been quite a task. When asked about how he managed, Baruch replied dryly "He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book."

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