Texts in Conversation
In Numbers 18, Aaron is told that because he is a priest, God is his portion and inheritance among the Israelites. The Dead Sea Scroll 4Q418 quotes this but replaces the Israelites with the sons of Adam.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Numbers 18:20
Hebrew Bible
19 All the raised offerings of the holy things that the Israelites offer to the Lord, I have given to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual ordinance. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your descendants with you.” 20 The Lord spoke to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion of property among them—I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites. 21 See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service that they perform—the service of the tent of meeting.
4Q418 81 3
4QInstruction
Dead Sea Scrolls, Wisdom and Instruction
3 and gave each his inheritance. And he is your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Adam, [and over] his [inheritance] he has made you ruler. And you, 4 honor him in this: by making yourself holy for him, as he has set you as a holy of holies [for all] the world, and among all the [gods] 5 he has cast your lot, and your glory he has made very great. And he has set you for himself as a firstborn among […] … […] 6 “and my goodness I will give to you.” And you, is not my goodness yours? And in my faithfulness walk continually […]
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Notes and References
“... With the citation of Numbers 20:18 a deliberate change to the biblical text is made. Where Numbers has “I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites,” 4Q418 81 has, instead, “your share your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Adam”. Now this might be thought to support Elgvin’s view that a prerogative of the priesthood has been “democratised” or given a universalist perspective. However, here and in the expression “for the holy of holies for all the earth”, there is the cultic cosmology that we would expect from priestly tradition. ...”
Fletcher-Louis, Crispin H. T.
All the Glory of Adam: Liturgical Anthropology in the Dead Sea Scrolls
(p. 180) Brill, 2002
* 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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