Texts in Conversation
Isaiah describes God calling the stars by name as a sign of his power. In 4Q521 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the same language describes God calling the righteous by name, applying his care for the heavens to his faithful people.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 40:25-28
Hebrew Bible
25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?” says the Holy One. 26 Look up at the sky! Who created all these heavenly lights? He is the one who leads out their ranks; he calls them all by name. Because of his absolute power and awesome strength, not one of them is missing. 27 Why do you say, Jacob, Why do you say, Israel, “The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me; my God is not concerned with my vindication”? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is an eternal God, the Creator of the whole earth. He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his wisdom.
4Q521 4:3-7
A Messianic Apocalypse
Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocalyptic and Eschatological Texts
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,
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Notes and References
“... Most of the columns are exceptionally fragmentary. However, 2 ii + 4 preserve
a good deal of legible content. [...] Particular to this study is Isa 40 in line 5, “For the Lord will attend to the pious and the righteous he will
call by name” [...] Again, it appears that in the mind
of Second Temple authors, the “herald” passages of Isaiah fit together with
others in describing eschatological redemption. God (or his agent94)
redeem/save his servants from places of need (12–15). ...”
* 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.
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