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Messianic Expectations in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Luke

Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocalyptic and Eschatological Texts · New Testament

Summary

The Dead Sea Scroll 4Q521 describes a messiah who brings freedom, sight to the blind, healing to the wounded, resurrection of the dead, and good news to the poor, based on Isaiah and Psalms. Luke shows Jesus describing himself with this same language.

Passages

4Q521 2 ii+4 1

Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocalyptic and Eschatological Texts · A Messianic Apocalypse

1 [For the] heavens and the earth will listen to his messiah, 2 [and all] that is in them will not turn away from the commandments of the holy ones. 3 Strengthen yourselves, you who seek the Lord, in his service. 4 Will you not find the Lord in this, all who hope in their heart? 5 For the Lord seeks out the faithful and calls the righteous by name. 6 Over the humble his spirit hovers, and the faithful he renews with his strength. 7 For he will honor the faithful on the throne of an everlasting kingdom, 8 setting prisoners free, opening the eyes of the blind, raising up those who are bowed down. 9 And forever I will cling to those who hope, and in his kindness … 10 and the fruit of a good [deed] will not be delayed for anyone. 11 And the Lord will do glorious things that have not been, as he [said]. 12 For he will heal the wounded and give life to the dead; he will bring good news to the humble, 13 and the [poor] he will satisfy, the uprooted he will lead, and the hungry he will make rich,

100–50 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4Q521

Luke 7:22

New Testament

20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” 21 At that very time Jesus cured many people of diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits, and granted sight to many who were blind. 22 So he answered them, “Go tell John what you have seen and heard: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news proclaimed to them. 23 Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

References

"... The concept of the messiah is a more sensitive matter in the Dead Sea Scrolls than the presence of beatitudes. At first, it was thought that the Dead Sea Scroll community believed in two messiahs, the Messiah of Aaron (a priestly messiah) and the Messiah of Israel (a royal or Davidic messiah) and that the double messiahs referred to in these scrolls were distinct from the Christian messiah. This distinction no longer holds. A recently released Dead Sea Scroll text known as 4Q521, or the messianic apocalypse, reveals a single eschatological messiah with attributes of the single Christian messiah ... Both Matthew and Luke echo the same passages in Isaiah and Psalms that appear in 4Q521 ..."

Hershel Shanks, The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Random House, 1998), 65–66.

"... Isaiah 35 and 61 are not the only passages evoked by Jesus’ description of the miraculous deeds he is performing. For other possible echoes, see Isaiah 26:19, 29:18, 42:18; and Psalm 146:7-9; compare also 4Q521. For a full listing of the allusive parallels. The multiplicity of echoes suggests that Luke 7:22 is not an allusion to a single text, but rather a richly suggestive evocation of a cloud of texts that characterized Israel’s expectation of restoration and healing ..."

Richard B. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2016), 149–150.

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

Fragments 2 ii+4

4Q52116 chapters

Messianic Expectations in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Luke

Summary

Passages

4Q521 2 ii+4 1

Luke 7:22

References

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