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4Q521

A Messianic Apocalypse

About this book

Fragments 2 ii+4

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, 14 and the [discerning …] … and all of them like the [holy ones] 15 and … […]

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Samuel 2:8 and 4Q521 2 ii+4 5

Hebrew Bible · Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocalyptic and Eschatological Texts

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Summary

The Dead Sea Scroll 4Q521 reuses language from 1 Samuel about God lifting the poor but reshapes it into a vision of resurrection and God’s kingdom. It blends old themes with hope of a future Messiah, similar to ideas that are used in the New Testament.

Passages

1 Samuel 2:8

Hebrew Bible
6 The Lord both kills and gives life; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy; he humbles and he exalts. 8 He lifts the weak from the dust; he raises the poor from the ash heap to seat them with princes—he bestows on them an honored position. The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord—he placed the world on them. 9 He watches over his holy ones, but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness, for it is not by one’s own strength that one prevails.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Samuel

4Q521 2 ii+4 5

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

References

"... The second text is 4Q521. S. A. Reed catalogued it as a text on 'the resurrection.' There are 13 Fragments. The first line of the largest fragment has the noun for 'his (i.e. God's) Messiah.' On another fragment, we see 'all the Messiahs of'. The document thus does not consistently refer to one messiah; hence R. H. Eisenmans claim that this text refers to 'a Single Davidic-style messiah' is misleading. We need to allow for the possibility that in one place one Messiah is mentioned and in another two Messiahs as in 1QS are designated. Most importantly, the claim that the Messiah 'resurrects the dead' is inaccurate. The Lord becomes the ruling noun in fragment 1, line 3, and continues through line 13 in which we do find 'and he will give life (to) the dead ones.' As in many early Jewish texts, including the Amidah, God is perceived as the one who resurrects the dead ..."
James H. Charlesworth, The Messiah: Developments in Earliest Judaism and Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), xvi.

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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