The Messiah and the Dead Sea Scrolls
Posted: December 16, 2005
The Gospel of Matthew tells of an occasion on which John the Baptist sent word to Jesus, asking, ‘Are you the one who is coming, or are we to look for another?’ Jesus is reported to have answered, ‘Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind have regained their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them’ (Matt. 11:2-5) (see also Luke7:22).
This account of Jesus’ response to John the Baptist parallels the Dead Sea Scrolls’ Redemption and Resurrection (4Q521) in an amazing way. Curiously, the popular expectations of the Jewish messiah being a royal figure, warrior, or both, are strikingly absent in the following Dead Sea Scrolls fragment. In contrast, "He shall revive the dead," and "heal the critically wounded," for example.
Note: “…” represents missing text and “[ ]” represents hypothetical reconstructions in the scroll manuscript fragments.
Redemption and Resurrection (4Q521):
Frags.2 + 4 Col. 2 “[… For the hea]vens and the earth shall listen to His Messiah [and all w]hich is in them shall not turn away from the commandments of the holy ones. Strengthen yourselves, O you who seek the Lord, in His service.
Will you not find the Lord in this, all those who hope in their heart? For the Lord attends to the pious and calls the righteous by name. Over the humble His spirit hovers, and He renews the faithful in His strength. For He will honor the pious upon the th[ro]ne of His eternal kingdom, setting prisoners free, opening the eyes of the blind, raising up those who are bo[wed down. (Ps. 146:7-8)] And for[ev]er I shall hold fast [to] those [who h]ope and in His faithfulness sh[all…] and the frui[t of] good [dee]ds shall not be delayed for anyone and the Lord shall do glorious things which have not been done, just as He said. For He shall heal the critically wounded, He shall revive the dead, He shall send good news to the afflicted (Isa. 61:1), He shall sati[sfy the poo]r, He shall guide the uprooted, He shall make the hungry rich, and […] disc[erning ones…] and all of them as the ho[ly ones…] and […]”
Frags. 7 + 5 Col. 2 “[…] see all t[hat the Lord has made,] [the eart]h and all that is on it, the seas [and all] [that is in them,] and every lake and stream. […al]l [of you] who have done good before the Lor[d] [bless and no]t as those who curse. They shall be destined to die, [when] the Receiver [rai]ses the dead of His people.
Then we shall [give]e thanks and relate to you the righteous acts of the Lord which […] thos[e destined to d]ie. And He shall open [the graves…] and o[pen…] and […] and a valley of death […] and a bridge of de[eps…] the accursed shall languish (?) […] and the heavens shall advance […] [and al]ll the angels […]”
Frag. 8 “[…] a wall be[twe]en […] they shall shine forth […]Adam […bl]essings of Jacob […the temp]le and all its holy vessels […the priestho]od and all its anointed ones […] t[o be sanctified,] and the word of the Lord, and [they] shall sa[y…] […Ble]ss the Lord […] the eyes of […]”
Frag. 9 “[…] you sh[all] not […] […] and by [the se]rvant of the L[ord…] […] you have left in the hand of the me[ssiah (or an[ointed one)…] […]” (TDSS:530-532).