Texts in Conversation
In Isaiah, an anointed messenger brings good news to the poor and freedom to captives. In 4Q521 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, good news to the poor becomes part of a list of God’s coming acts that also includes bringing the dead back to life.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 61:1
Hebrew Bible
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has chosen me. He has commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives and the freeing of prisoners, 2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor, the day when our God will seek vengeance, to console all who mourn, 3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion by giving them a turban, instead of ashes, oil symbolizing joy, instead of mourning, a garment symbolizing praise, instead of discouragement. They will be called oaks of righteousness, trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor.
4Q521 2 ii 12
A Messianic Apocalypse
Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocalyptic and Eschatological Texts
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,
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Notes and References
“... quotes Psalm 146:7-8 (line 8) and Isaiah 61:1 (line 12). Just before the citation that recognizably comes from Isaiah 61 (“he will bring good news to the afflicted”), the text adds two activities not found in either Psalm 146 or Isaiah 61: “for he will heal the wounded, and he will bring the dead to life”. ...”
Stuckenbruck, Loren T.
"The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament" in Dávid, Nóra, and Armin Lange (eds.) Qumran and the Bible: Studying the Jewish and Christian Scriptures in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls
(p. 154) Peeters, 2010
* 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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