Texts in Conversation
Matthew 9 shows Jesus forgiving sins in connection with healing as an indication of his authority. The Prayer of Nabonidus in the Dead Sea Scrolls shows a similar moment when a Jewish healer declares forgiveness for the Babylonian king while healing him.
Share:
4Q242
4QPrayer of Nabonidus
Dead Sea Scrolls
Words of the pr[ay]er which Nabonidus, king of [the] la[nd of Baby]lon, the [great] king, prayed [when he was afflicted] by a malignant inflammation, by decree of the G[od Most Hi]gh, in Teiman. [I, Nabonidus,] was afflicted [by a malignant inflammation] for seven years, and was banished far [from men, until I prayed to the God Most High] and an exorcist forgave my sin. He was a Je[w] fr[om the exiles, who said to me:] «Make a proclamation in writing, so that glory, exal[tation and hono]ur be given to the name of [the] G[od Most High». And I wrote as follows: «When] I was afflicted by a ma[lignant] inflammation […] in Teiman, [by decree of the God Most High,] [I] prayed for seven years [to all] the gods of silver and gold, [of bronze and iron,] 8 of wood, of stone and of clay, because [I thoug]ht that t[hey were] gods […]
Date: 160 B.C.E. - 60 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Matthew 9:6
New Testament
4 When Jesus perceived their thoughts he said, “Why do you respond with evil in your hearts? 5 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then he said to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your stretcher, and go home.” 7 So he stood up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were afraid and honored God who had given such authority to men.
Date: 70-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Search:
Notes and References
"... The only possible exceptions of a human forgiving may come from Qumran, in the texts of Prayer of Nabonidus and the Damascus Document. However in both cases it is unclear grammatically whether God or the person in question is doing the forgiving. If it were the person doing the forgiving in each case, the texts give no indication whether they were merely relaying a message from God or if they actually had the authority to forgive sins (granted to them by God). What seems clear, however, is that Jesus was not making a generic statement, not even a qualified one about prophets or Jewish healers and exorcists, given that no evidence conclusively indicates that they could ever do anything further than declare or mediate forgiveness of sins. Also, if Jesus were making a generic statement applicable to man in general, it would not even have been necessary to prove he had that authority by healing the paralytic ..."
Tejada-Lalinde, Andres A.
Jesus as the Son of Man in Mark
(pp. 51-52) Florida International University, 2014
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.