The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (68 page)

 

Explanation of
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
(Ps. i, 1). Interpreted, this saying [concerns] those who turn aside from the way [of the people] as it is written in the book of Isaiah the Prophet concerning the last days,
It came to pass that
[
the Lord turned me aside, as with a mighty hand, from walking in the way of
]
this people
(Isa. viii, 11). They are those of whom it is written in the book of Ezekiel the Prophet,
The Levites
[
strayed far from
me, following] their idols (Ezek. xliv, Prophet, are the sons of Zadok who [seek their own] counsel and follow 10). They are the sons of Zadok who [seek their own] counsel and follow [their own inclination] apart from the Council of the Community.

 

[
Why
]
do the nations
[
rage
]
and the peoples meditate
[
vanity? Why do the
kings
of the earth
]
rise up,
[
and the
]
princes take counsel together against the Lord and against
[
His Messiah
]
?
(Ps. ii, 1). Interpreted, this saying concerns [the kings of the nations] who shall [rage against] the elect of Israel in the last days. 11 This shall be the time of the trial to co[me concerning the house of J]udah so as to perfect ... Belial, and a remnant of the people shall be left according to the lot (assigned to them), and they shall practise the whole Law... Moses. This is the time of which it is written in the book of Daniel the Prophet:
But the wicked shall do wickedly and shall not understand, but the righteous shall purify themselves and make themselves white
(Dan. xii, 10). The people who know God shall be strong. They are the masters who understand...

This short document from Cave 4 (4Q175), dating to the early first century BCE and similar in literary style to the Christian
Testimonia
or collections of messianic proof-texts, includes five quotations arranged in four groups. Only the last of them is followed by an interpretation.

The first group consists of two texts from Deuteronomy referring to the prophet similar to Moses; the second is an extract from a prophecy of Balaam about the Royal Messiah; the third is a blessing of the Levites and, implicitly, of the Priest-Messiah.

The last group opens with a verse from Joshua, which is then expounded by means of a quotation from the sectarian Psalms of Joshua (cf. 4Q379 below, p. 547). Most experts hold that the commentator, bearing in mind the biblical passage, is alluding to three characters: a father (‘an accursed man') and his two sons. However, the verb ‘arose' in the second sentence is in the singular, and it would seem correct to interpret this text as referring to the two brothers only.

For the
editio princeps,
see J. M. Allegro and A. A. Anderson,
DJD,
V, 57-60.

 

The Lord spoke to Moses saying:

You have heard the words which this people have spoken to you; all they have said is right. Othat their heart were always like this, to fear me and to keep my commandments always, that it might be well with them and their children for ever!
(Deut. v, 28-9).
I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren. I will put my words into his mouth and he shall tell them all that I command him. And I will require a reckoning of whoever will not listen to the words which the Prophet shall speak in my Name
(Deut. xviii, 18-19).

 

He took up his discourse and said:

Oracle of Balaam son of Beor. Oracle of the man whose eye is penetrating. Oracle of him who has heard the words of God, who knows the wisdom of the Most High and sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls and his eyes are opened. I see him but not now. I behold him but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel; he shall crush the temples of Moab and destroy all the children of Sheth
(Num. xxiv, 15-17).

 

And of Levi he said:

Give Thy Tummim to Levi, and Thy Urimto Thy pious one whom Thou didst test at Massah, and with whom Thou didst quarrel at the waters of Meribah; who said to his father and mother, ‘I know you not', and who did not acknowledge his brother, or know his sons. For they observed Thy word and kept Thy Covenant. They shall cause Thy precepts to shine before Jacoband Thy Law before Israel. They shall send up incense towards Thy nostrils and place a burnt-offering upon Thine altar. Bless his power, O Lord, and delight in the work of his hands. Smite the loins of his adversaries and let his enemies rise no more
(Deut. xxxiii, 8-11).

 

When Joshua had finished offering praise and thanksgiving, he said:

Cursed be the man who rebuilds this city! May he lay its foundation on his first-born, and set its gate upon his youngest son
(Josh. vi, 26). Behold, an accursed man, a man of Belial, has risen to become a fowler's net to his people, and a cause of destruction to all his neighbours. And [his brother] arose [and ruled in li]es, both being instruments of violence. They have rebuilt [this city and have set up for it] a wall and towers to make of it a stronghold of ungodliness in Israel, and a horror in Ephraim and in Judah ... They have committed an abomination in the land, and a great blasphemy among the children [of Jacob. They have shed blood] like water upon the ramparts of the daughter of Zion and within the precincts of Jerusalem.

Three manuscripts from Cave 4 (4Q159, 4Q513-14), and probably belonging to the turn of the era, include reinterpretations of various biblical laws.

In the first statute, the interpreter deduces from Deut. xxiii, 25—6 that a poor man may eat ears of corn in the field of another person, but is not allowed to take any home. On a threshing-floor, however, he may both eat and gather provisions for his family.

Next follows a statute referring to the half-shekel tax contributed by every Israelite aged twenty to the upkeep of the place of worship. Later Jewish tradition interpreted this passage as instituting a yearly tax to be paid by every male Israelite (cf. Neh. x, 32; Matth. xvii, 24-7; see also the treatise
Shekalim
or
Shekel
Dues in the Mishnah). The Qumran ordinance, however, insists on one single payment, thereby complying with the scriptural rule and at the same time withholding regular support from the Temple in Jerusalem. Here 4Q159 and 4Q513, frs. 1—2, partly overlap.

The third statute (4Q159, frs. 2-4) deals with the prohibition against selling an Israelite as a slave (cf. Lev. xxv, 39-46); with cases to be judged by a court of twelve magistrates; with the forbidden interchange of garments between men and women (cf. Deut. xxii, 5); and with the charge laid by a husband against his wife that she was not a virgin when he married her (Deut. xxii, 13-21).

Finally, 4Q513, frs. 2-4, and 4Q514 legislate on purity rules.

For the
editio princeps,
see J. M. Allegro and A. A. Anderson,
DJD,
V, 6-9; M. Baillet,
DJD,
VII, 287-98.

II
... [And] anyone who has made of it a threshing-floor or a winepress, any destitute [Israelite] who goes into a threshing-floor may eat there and gather for himself and for [his] hou[sehold. But should he walk among corn standing in] the field, he may eat but may not bring it to his house to store it.

Concerning... the money of valuation that a man gives as ransom for his life, it shall be half [a shekel... ] He shall give it only once in his life. Twenty
gerahs
make one shekel according to [the shekel of the sanctuary (cf. Exod. xxx, 12-13) ... ] For the 600,000, one hundred talents; for the 3,000, half a talent (=30
minahs
); [for the 500, five
minahs
;] and for the 50, half a
minah
, (which is) twenty-five shekels (cf. Exod. xxxviii, 25-6)

... before Isra[el]. They shall [n]ot serve Gentiles among foreign[ers, for He has brought them out from the land of] Egypt, and He has commanded concerning them that none shall be sold as a slave... [t]en men and two priests, and they shall be judged before these twelve... spoke in Israel against a person, they shall inquire in accordance with them. Whosoever shall rebel..., shall be put to death for he has acted wilfully.

Let no man's garment be worn by a woman all [the days of her life]. Let him [not] be covered with a woman's mantle, nor wear a woman's tunic, for this is an abomination.

If a man accuses a virgin of Israel (that she is not a virgin), if this is when he marries her, let him say so and they shall examine her [concerning her] trustworthiness. If he has not lied concerning her, she shall be put to death. But if he has humiliated her [false]ly, he shall be fined two
minahs,
[and] shall [not] divorce her all his life....

... [Tw]enty [
gerahs
] make a shekel according to the she[kel of the sanctuary ...] The half-[shekel consists of twe]lv[e
me
]
ahs
, [two]
zuzim
... also sources of uncleanness. The
ephah
and the bath, also sources of uncleanness, have the same capacity, (viz.) ten
‘issarons
(=tenths). A
bath
of wine corresponds to an
ephah
of corn. The
seah
consists of three and one-third
‘issarons,
sources of uncleanness, and the tithe of the
ephah
[is the
‘issaron
].

I He shall not eat... for all the unclean... to count for [him seven days of wa]shing and he shall wash and cleanse on the d[a]y of [his] purification. Whoever has not begun his purification from his ‘fo[un]t' [shall not eat]. [Neither shall he eat] in his first (degree of) uncleanness. All those temporarily unclean shall wash on the day of their [pu]rification, and cleanse (their garments) with water and shall become clean. Afterwards they may eat their bread according to the law of purity. Whoever has not begun his purification from his ‘fount' shall not eat (again?) in his first (degree of) uncleanness. Whoever is still in his first (degree of) uncleanness shall not eat. All those temporarily [un]clean shall on the day of their pu[rification] wash and cleanse (their garments) with water and they shall be clean. Afterwards they may eat their bread according to the l[aw. None] shall e[at] or drink with whomsoev[er] prepares...

A striking mid-first-century BCE document, composed of eleven fragments from Cave 11 and centred on the mysterious figure of Melchizedek, was first published by A. S. van der Woude in 1965. It takes the form of an eschatological midrash in which the proclamation of liberty to the captives at the end of days (Isa. lxi, 1) is understood as being part of the general restoration of property during the year of Jubilee (Lev. xxv, 13), seen in the Bible (Deut. xv, 2) as a remission of debts.

The heavenly deliverer is Melchizedek. Identical with the archangel Michael, he is the head of the ‘sons of Heaven' or ‘gods of Justice' and is referred to as
elohim
and
el.
The same terminology occurs in the Songs for the Holocaust of the Sabbath. These Hebrew words normally mean ‘God', but in certain specific contexts Jewish tradition also explains
elohim
as primarily designating a ‘judge'. Here Melchizedek is portrayed as presiding over the final Judgement and condemnation of his demonic counterpart, Belial/Satan, the Prince of Darkness, elsewhere also called Melkiresha' (cf. pp. 391, 570). The great act of deliverance is expected to occur on the Day of Atonement at the end of the tenth Jubilee cycle.

This manuscript sheds valuable light not only on the Melchizedek figure in the Epistle to the Hebrews vii, but also on the development of the messianic concept in the New Testament and early Christianity.

For the
editio princeps,
see F. García Martinez, E. J. C. Tigchelaar and A. S. van der Woude,
DJD,
XXIII, 221-41.

II
... And concerning that which He said,
In
[
this
]
year ofJubilee
[
each of you shall return to his property
(Lev. xxv, 13); and likewise,
And this is the manner of release:
]
every creditor shall release that which he has lent
[
to his neighbour. He shall not exact it of his neighbour and his brother
],
for God's release
[
has been proclaimed
] (Deut. xv, 2). [And it will be proclaimed at] the end of days concerning the captives as [He said,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
(Isa. lxi, 1). Its interpretation is that He] will assign them to the Sons of Heaven and to the inheritance of Melchizedek; f[or He will cast] their [lot] amid the po[rtions of Melchize]dek, who will return them there and will proclaim to them liberty, forgiving them [the wrong-doings] of all their iniquities.

And this thing will [occur] in the first week of the Jubilee that follows the nine Jubilees. And the Day of Atonement is the e[nd of the] tenth [Ju]bilee, when all the Sons of [Light] and the men of the lot of Mel[chi]zedek will be atoned for. [And] a statute concerns them [to prov]ide them with their rewards. For this is the moment of the Year of Grace for Melchizedek. [And h]e will, by his strength, judge the holy ones of God, executing judgement as it is written concerning him in the Songs of David, who said, ELOHIM
has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgement
(Psalms lxxxii, 1). And it was concerning him that he said, (Let the assembly of the peoples)
return to the height above them;
EL (
god
)
will judge the peoples
(Psalms vii, 7-8). As for that which he s[aid,
How long will you
]
judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
(Psalms lxxxii, 2), its interpretation concerns Belial and the spirits of his lot [who] rebelled by turning away from the precepts of God to ... And Melchizedek will avenge the vengeance of the judgements of God... and he will drag [them from the hand of] Belial and from the hand of all the sp[irits of] his [lot]. And all the ‘gods [of Justice'] will come to his aid [to] attend to the de[struction] of Belial. And
the height
is ... all the sons of God... this ... This is the day of [Peace/Salvation] concerning which [God] spoke [through Isa]iah the prophet, who said, [
How
]
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who proclaims peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion: Your
ELOHIM [
reigns
] (Isa. lii, 7). Its interpretation;
the mountains
are the prophets... and
the messenger
is the Anointed one of the spirit, concerning whom Dan[iel] said, [
Until an anointed one, a prince
(Dan. ix, 25)] ... [And he
who brings
]
good
[
news
],
who proclaims
[salvation]: it is concerning him that it is written... [
To comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion
] (Isa. lxi, 2-3).
To comfort
[
those who mourn:
its interpretation], to make them understand all the ages of t[ime] ... In truth ... will turn away from Belial... by the judgement[s] of God, as it is written concerning him, [
who says toZion
];
your
ELOHIM
reigns. Zion is
..., those who uphold the Covenant, who turn from walking [in] the way of the people. And
your
ELOHIM is [Melchizedek, who will save them from] the hand of Belial.