Texts in Conversation
The Dead Sea Scroll 4Q525 has a series of blessings that praise those with pure hearts, clean hands, and devotion to wisdom and the Torah, showing how beatitudes were already being used in Jewish tradition. Matthew depicts Jesus following this beatitude tradition when sharing the Sermon in the Mount.
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4Q525 2
Beatitudes
Dead Sea Scrolls
[Blessed is] ... with a pure heart and does not slander with his tongue. Blessed are those who hold to her (Wisdom’s) precepts and do not hold to the ways of iniquity. Blessed are those who rejoice in her, and do not burst forth in ways of folly. Blessed are those who seek her with pure hands, and do not pursue her with a treacherous heart. Blessed is the man who has attained Wisdom, and walks in the Law of the Most High. He directs his heart towards her ways, and restrains himself by her corrections, and always takes delight in her chastisements. He does not forsake her when he sees distress, nor abandon her in time of strain. He will not forget her [on the day of] fear, and will not despise [her] when his soul is afflicted. For always he will meditate on her, and in his distress he will consider [her?] ... [He will place her] before his eyes, so as not to walk in the ways of [folly].
Date: 50 B.C.E. - 25 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Matthew 5:8
New Testament
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
Date: 70-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Notes and References
"... This Is where the Dead Sea Scrolls come in. Not only are they by far the most important archive of contemporaneous Jewish documents but, with very few exceptions, they are Jewish religious writings. Though they are often difficult to understand, they are concerned with theological issues, including many of the same issues that concerned Jesus and early Christians. Moreover, the scrolls have not been subject to later editing as have texts like the Gospels that have come down to us in later copies. What the scrolls show is that in almost every respect the message of early Christianity was presaged in its Jewish roots. And even the life of Jesus, as told in the Gospels, is often prefigured in the scrolls. The beatitudes, for example, familiar from the Sermon on the Mount, have their counterpart in the scrolls ... This passage is found in the Dead Sea Scroll known only by its number, 4Q525. The literary genre to which it belongs is the same as that found in the Gospel of Matthew ..."
* 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.
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