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4Q246

An Aramaic Apocalypse

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1 He will be called the son of God, and they will call him the son of the Most High.⁠ Like the shooting stars 2 of the vision, so will their kingdom be. For years they will reign over 3 the earth and trample everything. People will trample people, and province will trample province,⁠ 4 until the people of God arises and all have rest from the sword. 5 His kingdom is an eternal kingdom,⁠ and all his paths are in truth. He will judge 6 the earth in truth, and all will make peace. The sword will cease from the earth, 7 and all the provinces will bow down to him. The great God is his strength; 8 he himself will wage war for him.⁠ He will give peoples into his hand, and all of them 9 he will cast down before him. His dominion is an eternal dominion, and all the depths of […]

Texts in conversation

Compare 4Q246 2:1 and Luke 1:31

Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocalyptic and Eschatological Texts · New Testament

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Summary

The Aramaic Apocalypse from the Dead Sea Scrolls describes a person called the Son of God and the Son of the Most High, whose kingdom will last forever. Luke’s account of the angel’s message to Mary uses the same language and interpretive tradition.

Passages

4Q246 2:1

Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocalyptic and Eschatological Texts · An Aramaic Apocalypse
1 He will be called the son of God, and they will call him the son of the Most High. Like the shooting stars 2 of the vision, so will their kingdom be. For years they will reign over 3 the earth and trample everything. People will trample people, and province will trample province, 4 until the people of God arises and all have rest from the sword. 5 His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and all his paths are in truth. He will judge 6 the earth in truth, and all will make peace. The sword will cease from the earth, 7 and all the provinces will bow down to him. The great God is his strength; 8 he himself will wage war for him. He will give peoples into his hand, and all of them 9 he will cast down before him. His dominion is an eternal dominion, and all the depths of […]
50–20 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4Q246

Luke 1:31

New Testament
28 The angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. 30 So the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God! 31 Behold100: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God.
75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

References

"... The concept of the "Son of God," a designation that is strongly associated with Jesus as Messiah in Christian theology, is referred to in a Dead Sea Scroll text called 4Q246 (or the Aramaic Apocalypse), written in Aramaic and dating to about the turn of the era ... This text contains a remarkable parallel to the Annunciation scene in Luke, in which the angel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary to announce the conception of Jesus ... Both texts maintain that he "will be great," he will be called the "Son of the Most High," he will be called "the Son of God," and his kingdom will be everlasting ..."
Hershel Shanks, The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Random House, 1998), 69.
"... This opens up the possibility that pre-Christian Judaism might already have sometimes thought of the Davidic messiah as God's son. The possibility is enhanced by an intriguing fragment from the Dead Sea Scrolls designated 4Q246 ... Unfortunately, the text, as said, is fragmentary, and this disallows a certain identification of the figure who is called "Son of God" and "Son of the Most High." Some have suggested he should be identified with an historical king of Israel, others with an Antichrist figure, still others that the Son of God is the angel, Michael, in his eschatological role. But many have instead given the text a messianic sense: the Son of God is the Messiah. The arguments in favor of this position cannot be marshaled here, but they should probably carry the day. One reason is the very close parallel in Luke: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end" (1:32-33). This, as has often been observed, is striking close to 4Q246, and it is a prophecy of the Messiah, Jesus. So while certainty eludes us, the Dead Sea Scrolls have given us additional reason to suspect that, among its other associations in a Jewish context, the title "Son of God" might very well have had royal messianic connotations ..."
Dale C. Allison, Scriptural Allusions in the New Testament: Light from the Dead Sea Scrolls (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2019), 33–34.

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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4Q246 2:1 and Luke 1:31

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