Bartholomew (Hastings' Dictionary)

One of the apostles, according to the lists of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts (1'^). Both by the early Church and in modern times Bartholomew has been gener- ally identified with Nathanael of the Fourth Gospel, although important authorities can be cited in opposition to this view. The strongest arguments in favour of the identification are — (1) that Bartholomew is never mentioned by St.

John, nor Nathanael by the Synoptists ; (2) that in the lists of the Synoptists, Bartholomew is coupled with Philip, which tallies with St. John's statement that it was Philip that brought Nathanael to Jesus. It is easy to understand how St. John, witli his fondness for symbolism, should have preferred the name Nathanael ( = God has given it) to the mere patronymic Bartholomew ( = son of Tahnai).

Sujiposing the identity established, we know nothing of Nathanael Bar-Talmai further than is recorded in Jn l'"" 21" (see Nathanael). The traditions as to his preaching the gospel in India and his martyrdom are entitled to no credit. J. A. Selbie. BARTIMJEUS (Bo/>7-i/iaios, i.e. the son of Timaius, a name varioiisly derived from the Gr. n/iaios, honourable ; or from the Arab, asamm, blind ; oi from .\ram. tamya, unclean, polluted).

— One of two blind beggars healed by our Lord at the gate of Jericho, and whose name alone is given, apparently from his having been the spokesman (Mk O*'"^, cf. Mt 20=3-», Lk IS'"-"). St. Luke speaks of the healing as taking place as Jesus came nigh unto Jericho, while St. Matt, and St. Mark say that it was as He went out. Various explanations have been offered, as that one blind man was healed at the entrance to old Jericho, and the other, B.

, as Jesus left the new town which had sprung up at some little distance from it. Perhaps what actually happened was that B., beg";in" at the gate of Jericho, was told that Jesus with His co npanj had entered the city, and having heard of Hia power, sought out a blind companion, along with whom he intercepted Jesus as He left the city the next day, and then was healed (so substantially Bengel, Stier, Trench, Ellicott, Wordsworth, M 'Clellan).

If this be so, we have fresh evidence oi the persistence of purpose which throughout the BARUCII JJARLCU, Ai-v^OALYPSE OF 249 iiuitk'iit li. displayed ; while the strong faith which led him to address Jesus by His Messianic title, ' Thou Son of David,' ought not to pass unnoticed. G. iMlLLIGAN. BARUCH (tin; ' blessed '), son of Neriah, was of a very illustrious family (Jos. Ant. x. ix. 1), his brother Seraiah bein" chief chamberlain (i.tjo i;") to Zmlekiah (Jer 51**).

Ilis chief honour, how- ever, lay in his being the devoted friend and secretary of the prophet Jeremiah. Every great soul has, in degree, its Gethsemane : and this event came to lianich (Jer 45) while writing (LXX lypaiper) at Jeremiah's dictation a number of minatory jirophecies against Jerusalem, which he was charged to read on a fast day in the courts of the temple (Jer 36'"*). The stt;rn words, ' Seekest thou great things for thj'sclf?

Seek them not,' braced the young nobleman to 'drink the cup' — to face the wrathful multitude, and to read the protihecies of desolation and woe, which king Jehoiakim afterwards burned (Jer .SO""-'). We ne.xt find Baruch (Jer 32) as witness to the purchase by Jeremiah of a tield in Anathoth, at a time when the jirophct was in prison and the Chaldteans had been for months besieging Jeru- salem. When the city fell during the following year, B.C.

586, Baruch resided with the prophet at Alasphatha (Jos. Ant. x. ix. 1). But after the murder of Gedaliah by Ishmael, the people, afraid of the wrath of the Clialda'ans, and imputing the advice of Jeremiah to remain in Judiea (Jer 42) to the undue influence of I'.aruch over him (Jer 43'), compelled both of them to go with them to Egypt (Jer 43*"'). How lon^ he resided in Egypt is uncertain. Jerome gives as the Heb. tradition that he and .leremiali died there almost at once (Cumment. in I.i.

xxx. 6, 7). Josephus implies that they were both taken to Babylon by Nebuchad- rezzar after he had con(juered Egypt, B.C. 583 (Ant. X. ix. 7). Another tradition states that he remained in Egvpt till the death of Jeremiah, and then went to Babylon, where he died twelve years after the fall of Jerusalem (Hitzig on Nah S*""). With strange disregard of cluonology, Midrash rabba on Ca 5' speaks of B.'irucli as teacher of Ezra in B.C.

458, and thus as forming the link of connexion Jetween the prophets and the scribes. J. T. Mah.shall.