Fragment 1

1 Qahat there, to stay and to dwell and to build [the tombs of our fathers … and many men from among the sons of my uncle went up with us together … every] 2 man, and of our work there was a very great deal, until [the dead should be buried. In the first year of my authority, when there was a frightening rumor of war, our company turned back to the land of Egypt, and I went up to bury them] 3 quickly, but they had not built the tombs of their fathers. [And my father Qahat and my wife Jochebed left me to stay and to build and to take for them all that they needed from the land of Canaan. And we dwelt in Hebron] 4 while we were building. And there was war between [Philistia and Egypt,⁠ and Philistia and Canaan were prevailing over Egypt …] 5 And they closed the [borders of] Egypt, and it was not possible [for my wife Jochebed to come from Egypt to Canaan …] 6 for forty-one years. And we were not able to [return to Egypt … therefore not … the war] 7 between Egypt and Canaan and Philistia. And [during] all this, [Jochebed] my wife [was far from me in the land of Egypt … my charge … who with me] 8 was not. And I did [not] take another wife [for myself]. And women […] 9 all, that I would return to Egypt in peace and see the face of my wife [… and I was looking at the angels whom I saw] 10 in my vision, the vision of the dream. And behold, two were arguing over me⁠ and saying [… of his] 11 and they were holding a great dispute over me.⁠ And I asked them, “Who are you, that you thus [have power over me?” … And they said to me, “We] 12 [thus] are rulers, and rule over all the sons of Adam.” And they said to me, “Which of us do you⁠ [seek to be ruled by?” And behold, I lifted my eyes and saw,] 13 [and one] of them, his appearance was dreadful like a serpent, [and all] his clothing was many-colored,⁠ and he was dark with darkness. [His face …] 14 [And the other, I looked,] and behold … […] in his appearance, and his face was smiling, and [he was covered with clothing …] 15 [exceedingly, and above his eyes …]

Texts in conversation

Compare 1QS 4:23 and 4Q544 1:12

Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts · Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Retellings

Summary

The Community Rule, 1QS, assigns each person a share in the spirits of truth and evil. In 4Q544 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Amram encounters two opposing angels but is asked to choose which one should rule him.

Passages

1QS 4:23

Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts · Community Rule

23 and all the glory of Adam is theirs. And there will be no iniquity; all the works of deceit will be put to shame. Until now the spirits of truth and of iniquity struggle in the heart of a man. 24 They walk in wisdom and in folly. And according to a man’s inheritance in truth he is righteous and so hates iniquity, and according to his share in the lot of iniquity he is wicked in it and so 25 detests truth. For God has set them side by side until the decreed end and the making of the new. And he knows the working of their deeds for all the ages of 26 … And he gave them as an inheritance to the sons of man, to know good [and evil], to cast the lots for every living thing according to his spirit on the [appointed] day of the visitation.

160–100 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1QS

4Q544 1:12

Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Retellings · Visions of Amram

10 in my vision, the vision of the dream. And behold, two were arguing over me and saying [… of his] 11 and they were holding a great dispute over me. And I asked them, “Who are you, that you thus [have power over me?” … And they said to me, “We] 12 [thus] are rulers, and rule over all the sons of Adam.” And they said to me, “Which of us do you [seek to be ruled by?” And behold, I lifted my eyes and saw,] 13 [and one] of them, his appearance was dreadful like a serpent, [and all] his clothing was many-colored, and he was dark with darkness. [His face …] 14 [And the other, I looked,] and behold … […] in his appearance, and his face was smiling, and [he was covered with clothing …]

160–60 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4Q544

References

“... Unlike the Two Spirits Treatise, Visions of Amram presents Amram with a choice between the two angelic figures, between light and darkness, righ- teousness and wickedness (Popović forthcoming). They parallel the Prince of Lights and the Angel of Darkness from the Treatise, who have divided their author- ity over two groups of people between them. When asked by Amram how they can have authority over him, they both answer that they rule over all of humanity. The notion of choice is of particular interest here. The two figures ask Amram by whom he seeks to be ruled. This seems contradictory: on the one hand people are said to be ruled by either of these two spirits, while on the other hand it seems there was a choice to seek the rule of either one. Did ancient readers think this choice only applied to Amram or to others as well? In the Two Spirits Treatise the situation seems more or less settled by the text’s deterministic perspective: God has predetermined everyone’s path. At the same time, the text refers to this strug- gle between the two spirits within the heart of man. Whether the end result of that struggle was thought to be predetermined is not entirely clear. The text is not as systematic and explicit in its articulations as we would like it to be. However, the Two Spirits Treatise clearly does not present human beings with a choice, as does Visions of Amram. ...”

Mladen Popović, “Apocalyptic Determinism,” in The Oxford Handbook of Apocalyptic Literature, ed. John J. Collins, Oxford Handbooks (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 266.

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

Fragment 1

4Q5443 chapters

Compare 1QS 4:23 and 4Q544 1:12

Summary

Passages

1QS 4:23

4Q544 1:12

References

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