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1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,⁠ “You have heard the sound of the words of 2 this people, which they spoke to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. 3 If only this heart of theirs would remain, to fear me and to keep all⁠ 4 my commandments always, so that it may go well with them and with their children forever. 5 I will raise up for them a prophet like you⁠ from among their brothers, and I will put my words 6 in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I command him. And the man 7 who does not listen to my words, which the prophet speaks in my name, I myself 8 will call him to account.” 9 And he took up his oracle and said, “The utterance of Balaam son of Beor, the utterance of the man 10 whose eye is perfect, the utterance of one who hears the words of God and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who 11 sees the vision of the Almighty, fallen down with eyes uncovered. I see him, but not now; 12 I behold him, but not near. A star shall march out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel,⁠ and it shall crush 13 the temples of Moab and tear down all the sons of Seth.” 14 And of Levi he said, “Give to Levi your Thummim, and your Urim to your faithful one, whom 15 you tested at Massah and with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah, who said of his father, ‘I have not 16 … him,’ and to his mother, ‘I do not know you.’ His brothers he did not acknowledge, and his son he did not 17 know. For he kept your word and guarded your covenant. They shall make your judgments shine for Jacob,⁠ 18 your Torah for Israel. They shall set incense before you and a whole offering on your altar. 19 Bless, O LORD, his strength, and accept the work of his hands. Crush the loins of his adversaries, and those who hate him, 20 so that they do not rise.” 21 At the time when Joshua finished praising and giving thanks with his praises, 22 he said, “Cursed be the man who rebuilds this city.⁠ With his firstborn 23 he shall lay its foundation, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.” And behold, a cursed man, one of Belial, 24 is rising to be a fowler’s snare to his people and a ruin to all his neighbors. And there will arise 25 […] … so that the two of them may be instruments of violence. And they will rebuild 26 [this city] and set up for it a wall and towers, to make it a stronghold of wickedness 27 [and a great evil] in Israel, and a horror in Ephraim and in Judah. 28 […] and they will commit profanation in the land, and great blasphemy among the sons of 29 [Jacob. They will shed] blood like water on the rampart of the daughter of Zion and within the boundary of 30 […] Jerusalem.

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 33:10 and 4Q175 17

Hebrew Bible · Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation

Summary

In Deuteronomy 33, Levi is blessed for teaching the Torah and serving at the altar. In 4Q175 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, this blessing joins promises about a coming prophet and ruler, suggesting that a priest is also expected.

Passages

Deuteronomy 33:10

Hebrew Bible

8 Of Levi he said: “Your Thummim and Urim belong to your godly one, whose authority you challenged at Massah, and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah. 9 He said to his father and mother, ‘I have not seen him,’ and he did not acknowledge his own brothers or know his own children, for they kept your word, and guarded your covenant. 10 They will teach Jacob your ordinances and Israel your law; they will offer incense as a pleasant odor, and a whole offering on your altar. 11 Bless, O Lord, his goods, and be pleased with his efforts; undercut the legs of any who attack him, and of those who hate him, so that they cannot stand.”

750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

4Q175 17

Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation · Testimonia

5 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put my words 6 in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I command him. And the man 7 who does not listen to my words, which the prophet speaks in my name, I myself 8 will call him to account.” 9 And he took up his oracle and said, “The utterance of Balaam son of Beor, the utterance of the man 10 whose eye is perfect, the utterance of one who hears the words of God and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who 11 sees the vision of the Almighty, fallen down with eyes uncovered. I see him, but not now; 12 I behold him, but not near. A star shall march out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and it shall crush 13 the temples of Moab and tear down all the sons of Seth.” 14 And of Levi he said, “Give to Levi your Thummim, and your Urim to your faithful one, whom 15 you tested at Massah and with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah, who said of his father, ‘I have not 16 … him,’ and to his mother, ‘I do not know you.’ His brothers he did not acknowledge, and his son he did not 17 know. For he kept your word and guarded your covenant. They shall make your judgments shine for Jacob, 18 your Torah for Israel. They shall set incense before you and a whole offering on your altar. 19 Bless, O LORD, his strength, and accept the work of his hands. Crush the loins of his adversaries, and those who hate him, 20 so that they do not rise.”

160–60 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4Q175

References

“... The best known of these excerpted texts at Qumran being 4Q175, variously described as ‘4QTestimonia’ or ‘Messianic Anthology’. 4Q175 was copied by a scribe in the first century BCE on a single sheet. There are four paragraphs with quotations from 1) Deut 5:28-29 and 18:18-19:2) Num 24:15-17; 3) Deut 33:8-11; and 4) Apocryphon of Joshua (= 4QPsJosh [4Q379, fr. 22, col. 2], an interpretation of LXX Josh 6:26). There are short sentences introducing all four paragraphs, but interpretative comment accompanying only the final citation of Joshua 6:26. The verbatim citation of Deuteronomy 33:8-11 is based on a text that is close to 4QDeuth and the final paragraph is in fact a quotation from the Apocryphon of Joshua. Presuming that this latter text is sectarian, the Qumran community would appear to have considered the Apocryphon of Joshua as an authoritative text alongside other books that were eventually included in the canon. Textually, the biblical quotations vary from passage to passage: the combination of Deuteronomy 5:28-29 and 18:18-19:2 is found in the Samaritan Pentateuch at Exodus 20:21b; Joshua 6:26 follows the presumed Vorlage of the Septuagint; and the others the MT. In my view, 4Q175 attests to the phenomenon among Jews and subsequently Christians in late Second Temple period of excerpting texts for various purposes, whether for study, liturgical practice or controversy. Ostensibly, the first three passages selected by the compiler of 4Q175 have a messianic theme. The passages point to the expectation of different messianic figures: a prophetic one like Moses; a royal one according to Balaam’s prophecy; and a levitical or priestly messiah. The fourth passage sits awkwardly with the first three in that it is an interpretation of the curse, found in Joshua, on anyone who rebuilds the city of Jericho. The man is accursed, a man of Belial, who rebuilds the city to fortify it as a ‘stronghold of ungodliness in Israel’. He may have had either two sons or a brother as accomplice, depending upon how one reads the pesheresque exegesis. In the past, this accursed man has been identified with Simon Maccabee and more recently with John Hyrcanus. In any case, 4Q175 illustrates well the nature of excerpts: they were compiled by someone, but without interpretative comment the original intention or raison d’être is lost. ‘Testimony’ or ‘messianic anthology’ is a partial description of only the first three paragraphs of 4Q175. ...”

Timothy H. Lim, “Deuteronomy in the Judaism of the Second Temple Period,” in Deuteronomy in the New Testament, ed. Maarten J. J. Menken and Steve Moyise (London: T&T Clark International, 2007), MS 11–12.

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

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Compare Deuteronomy 33:10 and 4Q175 17

Summary

Passages

Deuteronomy 33:10

4Q175 17

References

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