Texts in Conversation
The Dead Sea Scroll 4Q418 and the Gospel of John portray “eternal life” as the reward for those who pursue truth and righteousness, an interpretive tradition based on texts such as Isaiah and Daniel. This idea was once thought to be exclusively Hellenistic but the scrolls reveal its Jewish history.
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4Q418 2
4QInstruction
Dead Sea Scrolls
And now, O you foolish hearts, What good is to (someone) who is not... [What] is silence for someone who does not exist, and what is judgement if it has no foundation? Why do the dead groan over their ... ... you have been shaped and your return is to eternal destruction. For it shall wake up... your sin Darkness will roar against your dispute. And all those who will exist for ever, those who search truth will be aroused for your judgement [and then] all the foolish hearts will be destroyed, and the sons of injustice will be found no more, [and a]ll the supporters of wickedness will be put to shame. The foundations of the firmament scream at your judgement and all the ... will thunder. And you, elect of truth and pursuers of [righteousness and] jud[gement] ... guardians of all knowledge, how will you say: We labour for understanding and keep awake to pursue knowledge ... and be not weary in all the years of eternity. Will he not delight in truth for ever and knowledge... The s[ons of] heaven whose inheritance is eternal life, Will they indeed say: We have laboured in the works of truth and we exhausted ourselves in all the ages. Will they not walk in eternal light [and inherit g]lory and great splendour. And you, O son of [understanding] ...
Date: 160 B.C.E. - 60 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
John 17:3
New Testament
1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you— 2 just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me at your side with the glory I had with you before the world was created.
Date: 90-110 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Notes and References
"... But secondly, the vocabulary of the New Testament is in many ways illuminated by the Scrolls. To illustrate this in detail would take too long, we refer briefly only to a few examples. The vocabulary of the Fourth Gospel has been particularly illuminated by the DSS. Phrases like 'Eternal Life', for example, which have been often taken to point directly to a Hellenistic and even Platonic milieu, are now seen to be perfectly compatible with Hebrew or Palestinian circles ..."
* 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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