Baruc (or Baruch) means “blessed” in Hebrew, from the verb ברך (barak), to kneel or bless. In the Old Testament, it is the name of a companion of the prophet Jeremiah, who served as his scribe and assistant. The Deuterocanonical book of Baruch would have been written by him. A famous bearer was Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), a Dutch Jewish rationalist philosopher.

There are three men in all named Baruch in the Bible, but the best known is the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, and faithful friend and amanuensis of the prophet Jeremiah. The brother of this Baruch, Seraiah, also worked for Jeremiah. He delivered a message to unspecified recipients in Babylon (Jeremiah 51, 59).

Baruch appears in three separate scenes in the book of Jeremiah. First he appears as the keeper of the deed to land in Anathoth, which Jeremiah purchased from his nephew Hanamel (32, 12). Shortly thereafter, Jeremiah dictates a stern message to Baruch and has it recited in public. Some well-meaning officials of King Jehoiakim confiscate the scroll and Jehudi gives it to the king, but he becomes so angry that he destroys it and orders Baruch and Jeremiah arrested. The two escape because, as Jeremiah says, the LORD has hidden them (36, 26).
Later still Baruch and Jeremiah join a contingent of refugees in Egypt to avoid deportation to Babylon (43, 6). In Egypt, Baruch, who is understandably unhappy about the events, receives a message of encouragement from GOD through Jeremiah (46, 1).

Baruch is one of the very few characters in the Bible whose full name (“Berechiah, son of Neriah, the scribe”) was found written on a clay tablet from his time (7th century BCE). The Book of Baruch, however, is most likely pseudepigraphic.

The other two Baruchs are:

A son of Zabbai who worked on the walls after returning from Babylon (Nehemiah 3, 30). Nehemiah also mentions a Baruch among the singers of the sealed document (Nehemiah 10, 6) but most sources equate him with Zabbai’s son.
A son of Col-hozeh, who took up residence in Jerusalem after the repairs (Nehemiah 11, 5).