Texts in Conversation
In 11Q13 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Isaiah’s release of captives becomes Melchizedek’s deliverance from sin. Luke uses the same prophecy from Isaiah 61 to describe Jesus’ mission, declaring that its promised release is already being fulfilled.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
11Q13 2:4-9
The Heavenly Prince Melchizedek
Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation
4 for God.” [Its interpretation] for the end of days concerns the captives, who […] and whose 5 teachers have been hidden and kept secret, and from the inheritance of Melchizedek, for […] … and they are the inheritance of Melchizedek, who 6 will bring them back to them. He will proclaim liberty to them, to release them from [the burden of] all their iniquities. And [thus] this thing will happen 7 in the first week of the jubilee that follows the nine jubilees. The Day of Atonement is the end of the tenth jubilee, 8 to atone on it for all the sons of [light] and the men of the lot of Melchizedek. […] … upon them … according to all their deeds, for 9 this is the time of the year of favor for Melchizedek and for his armies, the people of the holy ones of God, for a reign of judgment, as it is written
Luke 4:17-21
New Testament
17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.”
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Notes and References
“... After Jesus concludes, he tells those in the synagogue: “Today, this
Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” – the fulfillment of it is “rooted
in his person.”15 Jesus presents himself as the Spirit-anointed figure
portrayed in Isaiah 61. [...] But this reading of Isaiah 61 is not original to Luke, or at least he is
certainly not the first author to read Isaiah 61 with messianic
overtones.18 In 11QMelchizedek, Isaiah 61:1–2 is used to describe
a spiritual Jubilee during which Melchizedek and his armies will
release the “captives” [...] from the “debt of all their iniquities” [...] With
this much lexical overlap, the influence of Isaiah 61:1–2 seems
clear.20 But how does this passage contribute to the question of
the messianic significance of Isaiah 61 in Luke 4? ...”
Pierce, Madison N.
"Gospel Reading and Prosopological Exegesis in Luke-Acts" in Pierce, Madison N., Andrew J. Byers, and Simon Gathercole (eds.) Gospel Reading and Reception in Early Christian Literature
(pp. 56-57) Cambridge University Press, 2022
* 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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