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1 from iniquity, and in the furnace of her who was pregnant with me I burst forth for truth. And when I came out of my mother’s womb I was planted for truth, 2 and I conducted myself in truth all my days, and I walked in the paths of eternal truth, and with me was the Holy One […] … 3 on my path truth hastened, and to warn me away from the … of falsehood that lead to darkness. And … … 4 … and I girded my loins with the vision of truth and wisdom, in the robe of … […] 5 … all the paths of violence. […] 6 Then I, Noah, became a man, and I held fast to truth and took strength in … […] 7 … and Emzara, his daughter, I took as my wife. And she conceived by me and bore me [three] sons [and daughters.] 8 [and females.] Then I took wives for my sons from the daughters of my brother, and my daughters I gave to my brother’s sons, as prescribed by the eternal statute 9 [that] the Most High [gave] to the sons of humankind. And in my days, when there were completed for me, by the reckoning that I reckoned, 10 […] … ten jubilees, then my sons finished taking wives for themselves in marriage 11 […] … heaven. In a vision I saw⁠ and was shown and made aware of the deed of the sons of heaven, and what … 12 […] … heaven. And I hid this mystery in my heart, and to no one did I make it known. 13 […] … to me, and a great Watcher to me, by an envoy, and by a messenger of the Holy One … 14 […] … and in a vision he spoke with me, and he stood before me … 15 [… the] messenger of the Great Holy One called out to me, “To you they are saying, O Noah, 16 […] … and I considered … all the conduct of the sons of the earth. I knew and made known all […] 17 […] … voice, they will succeed, and … them … 18 […] two weeks. And then … sealed […] 19 […] … the blood that the Nephilim had shed. I was quiet and waited until … […] 20 […] the holy ones who were with the daughters of [humankind …] 21 […] … […] … and … […] 22 […] 23 [… And] I, Noah, found favor, greatness, and truth … […] 24 […] … […] the Most High, the day of … […] 25 […] … to you […] as far as the gates of heaven … […] 26 […] … for humans and for cattle and for beasts, for birds and […] 27 […] … […]

Texts in conversation

Compare 1Q20 6:11 and Luke 2:19

Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Retellings · New Testament

Summary

The Dead Sea Scrolls Genesis Apocryphon describes Noah receiving heavenly visions that he hides in his heart, keeping them unspoken. In Luke, Mary uses similar language as she treasures and reflects on the revelation about her child Jesus in her heart.

Passages

1Q20 6:11

Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Retellings · Genesis Apocryphon

7 … and Emzara, his daughter, I took as my wife. And she conceived by me and bore me [three] sons [and daughters.] 8 [and females.] Then I took wives for my sons from the daughters of my brother, and my daughters I gave to my brother’s sons, as prescribed by the eternal statute 9 [that] the Most High [gave] to the sons of humankind. And in my days, when there were completed for me, by the reckoning that I reckoned, 10 […] … ten jubilees, then my sons finished taking wives for themselves in marriage 11 […] … heaven. In a vision I saw and was shown and made aware of the deed of the sons of heaven, and what … 12 […] … heaven. And I hid this mystery in my heart, and to no one did I make it known.

160–60 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1Q20

Luke 2:19

New Testament

16 So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger. 17 When they saw him, they related what they had been told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were astonished at what the shepherds said. 19 But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering in her heart what they might mean. 20 So the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told. 21 At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

References

"... Tales of miraculous births feature across cultures and corpora of antiquity, with a particular concentration in classical sources. Stuckenbruck observed that miraculous birth narratives often relate to exemplary or controversial figures. While none of these include the specific response of heart pondering or hiddenness, Suetonius notes the fright of Vitellius’ parents at the astrologers’ predictions and calculations of the time of birth (Vitellius 3). Plutarch relates a series of parental revelations and portents regarding the conception and future of Alexander (Plutarch, Life of Alexander 2–3). We should bear in mind, therefore, that our ancient Jewish and emerging Christian writings are also speaking into and out of Hellenistic culture. The Aramaic corpus at Qumran includes at least four compositions that feature birth notices and narratives of infant prodigies. These include: 1 Enoch 106–107, Birth of Noah (1Q19; 4Q534–536), Genesis Apocryphon (1Q20), and ALD (1Q21; 4Q213, 4Q213a, 4Q213b, 4Q214, 4Q214a, and 4Q214b). The majority of these pertain to the birth of Noah, which connects with a much larger body of traditions among the Dead Sea Scrolls associated with Genesis’ flood hero ... Mary is presented with knowledge of Jesus’ otherworldly ancestry or claims to his remarkable future on two occasions in the Lukan materials. How do these texts sound differently in the context of Aramaic Wunderkind traditions and revelatory reactions? The first response comes in Luke 2:19. The shepherds receive an angelic visitation regarding the salvific potential and messianic identity of Jesus, a child whom they will simply recognize when they encounter him (Luke 2:8–15). When these matters are relayed manger-side to Mary, we hear “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart” ..."

Andrew B. Perrin, “Greek Gospels and Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls: Compositional, Conceptual, and Cultural Intersections,” 6.1 (2020): 440–456.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Column 6

1Q2021 chapters

Compare 1Q20 6:11 and Luke 2:19

Summary

Passages

1Q20 6:11

Luke 2:19

References

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