Texts in Conversation
Acts 15 uses an unusual reading of 2 Samuel 7 that links God’s promise to David with the fallen tent in Amos 9. This same interpretation appears in the Dead Sea Scroll 4Q174, which joins the texts through “raise up” to describe a future Davidic king.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
4Q174 1-2 i 12
4QFlorilegium
Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation
10 And the LORD declares to you that he will build you a house. “And I will raise up your seed after you, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom 11 forever. I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to me.” This is the branch of David, who arises with the interpreter of the Torah, who 12 […] in Zion in the last days, as it is written, “And I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen.” This is the booth of 13 David that is fallen, who will arise to save Israel. 14 Midrash of “Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked.” The interpretation of the matter […] those who turn aside from the way of […]
Date: 160–60 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Acts 15:16
New Testament
14 Simeon has explained how God first concerned himself to select from among the Gentiles a people for his name. 15 The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written, 16 ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the fallen tent of David; I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, 17 so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord, namely, all the Gentiles I have called to be my own,’ says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from long ago.
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Search:
Notes and References
"... 4Q174 argues that the “house” that God will establish, referenced in 2 Samuel 7, does not refer (only) to Solomon’s temple but to an eternal eschatological “sanctuary” (compare Exodus 15:17) that is fulfilled and embodied within the sectarian community itself. This compositional strategy allows 4QFlorilegium to make connections across several more points of scripture. For example, further down in this same fragment, 4Q174 cites and interprets 2 Samuel 7:12 using Amos 9:11, relating the two passages via the word “raise up”. The scribe suggests that the prophesied offspring of David that God will “raise up” (2 Samuel 7:12) is, in fact, a messianic figure who will “raise up” the tabernacle of David (Amos 9:11) and “save all of Israel” (4Q174 fragment 1). This same association between these two passages is also made in Acts 15:16 ..."
Carlson, Reed
A Structure for the End of the World: 4QFlorilegium and the “Latter Days” in Early Jewish Tradition
(pp. 246-254) Word & World Volume 40, Number 3, 2020
* 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.
User Comments
,