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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 Daniel 7:19 and 4Q246 ii 3

Hebrew Bible · Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocalyptic and Eschatological Texts

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Summary

In Daniel, the fourth beast crushes and tramples what remains after it devours its victims. In 4Q246 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, people trample other peoples, interpreting the beast’s violence as a description of warfare between nations.

Passages

Daniel 7:19

Hebrew Bible
19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet. 20 I also wanted to know the meaning of the 10 horns on its head, and of that other horn that came up and before which three others fell. This was the horn that had eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others. 21 While I was watching, that horn began to wage war against the holy ones and was defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days arrived and judgment was rendered in favor of the holy ones of the Most High. Then the time came for the holy ones to take possession of the kingdom.
200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Daniel

4Q246 ii 3

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.
50–20 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4Q246

References

“... If one isolates the correspondences, a closer comparison shows some notable differences: (a) In line 3, it is the people ((m) who trample, whereas Daniel 7 ascribes this activity to the fourth beast. [...] author of 4Q246 may have interpreted the beast of Daniel 7 to be the first “people” in line 3, to be distinguished from “a people of God” (line 4), through which a time of peace is introduced. ...”
Loren T. Stuckenbruck, “The Formation and Re-Formation of Daniel in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. James H. Charlesworth (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2006), 1:118–119.

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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Daniel 7:19 and 4Q246 ii 3

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