4Q266
Damascus Document
Dead Sea Scrolls
They prophesied deceit in order to divert Israel from following God. But God remembered the covenant of the forefathers. Blank And he raised from Aaron men of knowledge and from Israel wise men, and made them listen. And they dug the well: A well which the princes dug, which the nobles of the people delved with the staff. The well is the law. And those who dug it Blank are the converts of Israel, who left the land of Judah and lived in the land of Damascus, all of whom God called princes, for they sought him, and their renown has not been repudiated in anyone’s mouth.
Date: 100 B.C.E. - 80 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Philo Allegorical Interpretation
Classical
soul, and having taught me that it is not the difference of place that is the cause of good an devil, but rather God, who moves and drives this vehicle of the soul wherever he pleases. Moreover, the soul falls in with a scorpion, that is to say, with dispersion in the wilderness; and the thirst, which is that of the passions, seizes on it until God sends forth upon it the stream of his own accurate wisdom, and causes the changed soul to drink of unchangeable health; for the abrupt rock is the wisdom of God, which being both sublime and the first of things he quarried out of his own powers, and of it he gives drink to the souls that love God; and they, when they have drunk, are also filled with the most universal manna; for manna is called something which is the primary genus of every thing. But the most universal of all things is God; and in the second place the word of God. But other things have an existence only in word, but in deed they are at times equivalent to that which has no existence.
Date: 20-50 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Notes and References
"... The final, and perhaps most interesting, link in our discussion is supplied by the Damascus Document 6:3-4. It is written: "And they dug the well: 'the well which the princes dug, which the nobles of the people delved with the stave'. The well is the Law Not only does the writer quote Numbers 21:18, but he identifies the well as the law. This demonstrates that the covenanters had equated the well with the law and had related Numbers 21:18 to the task of Torah interpretation. While it cannot be established with certainty that this identification was known at an early date beyond the confines of the Qumran community, there are indications which suggest that it was. What we do know for certain, however, is that by Paul's day the connection between the well and the interpretation of the Torah was suggested, at least among the covenanters, by Numbers 21:18. And, as we have indicated, there is considerable evidence to show that the well and the rock had come to be associated in the language and imagery of Jewish tradition. Therefore, it is quite possible, even probable, that Paul was aware of a figurative connection or association between the rock from which water flowed and the Torah ..."
Aageson, James W.
Paul's Use of Scripture: A Comparative Study of Biblical Interpretation in Early Palestinian Judaism and the New Testament With Special Reference to Romans 9-11
(pp. 266-267) Mansfield College, the University of Oxford, 1983
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
User Comments
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.