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4Q175

Testimonia

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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 5:29 and 4Q175 3

Hebrew Bible · Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation

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Summary

In Deuteronomy 5, God wishes that Israel would obey the commandments forever. In 4Q175 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, this wish leads straight into the promise of a prophet like Moses, linking future prophecy with obedience.

Passages

Deuteronomy 5:29

Hebrew Bible
28 When the Lord heard you speaking to me, he said to me, “I have heard what these people have said to you—they have spoken well. 29 If only it would really be their desire to fear me and obey all my commandments in the future, so that it may go well with them and their descendants forever.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

4Q175 3

Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation · Testimonia
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.”
160–60 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4Q175

References

“... The assumed juridical role of the eschatological prophet in 1QS 9:11 is likewise found in 4QTestimonia, where this association is made explicit. As discussed in the general treatment of 4QTestimonia, the first citation in this text comes from the Samaritan version of Exod 20:22, which represents a conflation of MT Deut 5:25–26 (Eng. 28–29) and 18:18– 19. Together, these biblical verses function as a prooftext for the future eschatological prophet. In this composite text, the role of the prophet is patently clear. [...] The alignment of MT 5:25–26 and 18:18–19 provides an added ele- ment to the post-Mosaic prophetic function. MT Deut 5:25–26 estab- lishes Moses as the mediator of law for Israel in addition to his other prophetic responsibilities. Here too, an immediate problem arises on account of the fact that Moses cannot carry out this responsibility for- ever. The alignment of this text with MT Deut 18:18–19 provides the solution. Moses’ lawgiving responsibilities will also be administered by the future class of prophets. This prophet will be the recipient of divine messages, which will then be relayed directly to the Israelites (4Q175 5–6). God insists that the prophet faithfully relate the divine direc- tive (4Q175 6). The immediate context of the tradition preserved in the Samaritan Pentateuch is concerned with Israel’s continued faithful adherence to the law after departing from Sinai. This task now falls to the prophet ‘like Moses’ who will appear in the future. 4QTestimonia, following closely related interpretive traditions, relo- cates MT Deut 5:25–26 and 18:18 in an eschatological context. A cen- tral task of the prophet ‘like Moses’ in the Samaritan textual tradition is to continue the lawgiving responsibilities of Moses. 4QTestimonia, by transforming the entire literary unit into an eschatological context, assumes the juridical function of the prophet in the eschatological era. ...”
Alex P. Jassen, Mediating the Divine: Prophecy and Revelation in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 171–172.

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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Deuteronomy 5:29 and 4Q175 3

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