“You can hardly discredit 2 Baruch by content on these grounds.”
Indeed I can since 2 Baruch has proved its self to be not only inaccurate but out rightly deceptive from the beginning.
“At least some of these “discrepancies” can easily be resolved, or at least explained by natural difference of perspective and elevated self-esteem.”
Perhaps so but either Baruch went to Egypt with Jeremiah or he didn't, either the temple vessels were hidden in the earth or they went to Babylon, either Baruch wrote this book or he didn't.
I dare say you wouldn't accept this level of untruthfulness under any other circumstances and especially contra to sources you consider unimpeachable.
“So therefore, her you have it, a 1-2 A.D. century Jewish text describes virgins in connection with the priests and therefore with the temple.”
True, however that connection, tenuous as it is, lends nothing to its credibility as there numerous gnostic and “fill in the gaps” writings from the times. It's like citing one blog as proof that another is true and accurate.
There's a reason Jesus said that Christians would worship God not only in spirit but in truth also. That would indicate to me that one must tread carefully when it comes to truth.
We can argue whether 2 Baruch presents a valid historical account of the defeat of Judah and its aftermath, but this is not our topic on hand. I am not arguing that 2 Baruch should be added to the Christian canon, although I do not find 2 Baruch so strikingly out of touch on its biographical and historical points. Obviously, I suggest nothing of the kind for the Talmud. I am simply pointing out that each writer whose work we have examined, perhaps pursuing goals that are suspect, reflects the realities of his time and therefore is a reliable witness — not to the fantastical parents of Jesus invented by the Talmud, not to the fate of the Tabernacle, not to the composition of those seeking refuge in Egypt, — but to the fact that in the Second Temple period a group of Jewish virgins played a certain role connected to the worship in the temple. Pseudo-Baruch (let’s call him that) may have had his own “gaps” he wanted to “fill”, but “filling the gap” about Virgin Mary’s childhood was clearly not among his goals. I lost count how many times I have to make this simple point, and you seem to be an intelligent man. Don’t embarrass yourself.