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4Q213

Aramaic Levi a

About this book

Fragments 1ii-2

1 its hidden places, and they will not enter its gates, and not [… and not] 2 will they be able to conquer its walls … and not [… and not] 3 will they see its treasure. Its treasure … […] 4 and there is no price equal to it⁠ … […] 5 seeks wisdom; wisdom … […] 6 its hidden place from him […] … […] 7 and not lacking […] … all who seek it […] 8 and truth […] reading and instruction 9 of wisdom that … […] you will inherit them 10 … […] great, you will give 11 [… honor] 12 … […] also in the books 13 I read […] … chiefs and judges 14 know […] … and servants 15 […] even priests and kings 16 … […] … your kingdom 17 will be [… honor], and there is no end 18 forever [… and it will not] pass from you until all 19 [generations …] … in great honor.

Texts in conversation

Compare Job 28:18 and 4Q213 2:4

Hebrew Bible · Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Retellings

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Summary

Job says wisdom is worth more than pearls and cannot be bought with gold. In 4Q213 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Levi develops this image into a treasure with no equal price, protected by walls that cannot be conquered.

Passages

Job 28:18

Hebrew Bible
15 Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can its price be weighed out in silver. 16 It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires. 17 Neither gold nor crystal can be compared with it, nor can a vase of gold match its worth. 18 Of coral and jasper no mention will be made; the price of wisdom is more than pearls. 19 The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be purchased with pure gold.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Job

4Q213 2:4

Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Retellings · Aramaic Levi a
1 its hidden places, and they will not enter its gates, and not [… and not] 2 will they be able to conquer its walls … and not [… and not] 3 will they see its treasure. Its treasure … […] 4 and there is no price equal to it … […] 5 seeks wisdom; wisdom … […]
160–60 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4Q213

References

“... A dominant image in this passage is wisdom as a city, particu- larly as a city that cannot be conquered or plundered. This image is rather unusual. Later in the text, wisdom is described as price- less: see 13:13 and commentary there. [...] “Treasure” is often used of the fruit of wisdom or of righteous action: see Wisdom 7:14, ben Sira 29:11 and 29:12; compare 2 Enoch 50:5.374 Wisdom is also described as a treasure in 13:10 as in Isaiah 33:6 and Wis- dom 7:14 [...] In biblical wisdom literature, wisdom is often compared to gold, said to be better than gold, but it is not said to be gold. In many other passages it is compared with precious met- als and jewels: see Job 28:18, Proverbs 8:11 and 16:16. ...”
Jonas C. Greenfield, Michael E. Stone, and Esther Eshel, eds., The Aramaic Levi Document: Edition, Translation, Commentary, SVTP 19 (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 203, 213.

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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Job 28:18 and 4Q213 2:4

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