Texts in Conversation
In Luke, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a seed that grows into a tree where birds find shelter. The Hodayot in the Dead Sea Scrolls similarly describe their community as a tree planted beside hidden waters, with branches for animals and birds.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1QHa 16:9
The Thanksgiving Hymns
Dead Sea Scrolls, Prayers, Hymns, and Liturgy
5 I thank [you, O] Lord, for you have set me by a source of streams in a dry land, and a spring of water in a parched land, and channels watering 6 a garden and a pool … the field, a planting of juniper and elm together with cypress, for your glory: trees of 7 life at a secret spring, hidden among all the trees by the water. And they are to make a shoot sprout for an eternal planting, 8 taking root before they sprout, and they send out their roots to the watercourse. And its trunk opens to the living water 9 and becomes an eternal source. And on its sprouting leaves all the beasts of the forest feed, and its trunk is a trampling place for all who pass by 10 on the way, and its boughs are for every winged bird. And all the trees by the water rise high above it, for in their planting they grow tall, 11 but they do not send a root to the watercourse. And the one that makes the holy shoot sprout for the planting of truth is hidden, not
Date: 150–100 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Luke 13:18
New Testament
17 When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated, but the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing. 18 Thus Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what should I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the wild birds nested in its branches.” 20 Again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.” 22 Then Jesus traveled throughout towns and villages, teaching and making his way toward Jerusalem.
Date: 75–85 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... On the growth of the kingdom of heaven Jesus also said, "It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches" (Luke 13:18-19). A similar image is to be found in the Essene hymnbook. The poet compares the congregation to a tree ..."
David Flusser and R. Steven Notley, Jesus (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1997), 110–111.
* 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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