Texts in Conversation
Psalm 82 opens with God standing in a divine assembly to judge other gods. The Melchizedek scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls quotes this and says Melchizedek is the one who judges, with the gods on trial identified as Belial and his spirits.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Psalm 82:1
Hebrew Bible
1 A psalm of Asaph. God stands in the assembly of El; in the midst of the gods he renders judgment. 2 He says, “How long will you make unjust legal decisions and show favoritism to the wicked? (Selah) 3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless. Vindicate the oppressed and suffering.
11Q13 2
The Heavenly Prince Melchizedek
Dead Sea Scrolls
And this thing will [occur] in the first week of the Jubilee that follows the nine Jubilees. And the Day of Atonement is the e[nd of the] tenth [Ju]bilee, when all the Sons of [Light] and the men of the lot of Mel[chi]zedek will be atoned for. [And] a statute concerns them [to prov]ide them with their rewards. For this is the moment of the Year of Grace for Melchizedek. [And h]e will, by his strength, judge the holy ones of God, executing judgement as it is written concerning him in the Songs of David, who said, ELOHIM has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgement And it was concerning him that he said, (Let the assembly of the peoples) return to the height above them; EL (god) will judge the peoples. As for that which he s[aid, How long will you] judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah its interpretation concerns Belial and the spirits of his lot [who] rebelled by turning away from the precepts of God to ... And Melchizedek will avenge the vengeance of the judgements of God... and he will drag [them from the hand of] Belial and from the hand of all the sp[irits of] his [lot]. And all the ‘gods [of Justice’] will come to his aid [to] attend to the de[struction] of Belial. And the height is ... all the sons of God... this ... This is the day of [Peace/Salvation] concerning which [God] spoke [through Isa]iah the prophet, who said, [How] beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who proclaims peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion: Your ELOHIM [reigns].
Date: 100 B.C.E. - 50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... This thematic constellation also appears in a text in the Dead Sea Scrolls that cites Psalm 82 in connection with the figure of Melchizedek. This text, 11QMelchizedek (11Q13, column II), draws on a number of scriptural texts to explain the eschatological judgments to be executed; these include the condemnation of wicked spirits, which the text explicates by citing Psalm 82:1-2. For 11QMelchizedek, the ’elohim of Psalm 82:1 are nothing more than "Belial and the spirits of his lot." This passage shows a second shift with respect to ’elohim: Melchizedek himself is represented no longer as a non-Israelite king of Israel’s past, but as a major divine force serving with "all the gods" in the eschatological plan of God (column II, line 14). The figure of Melchizedek is also characterized in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice at Qumran as "priest in the [divine] assem[bly]" (4Q401, fragment 11, line 3), a characterization that perhaps echoes the council of God in Psalm 82:1 and shows another reconfiguration of this thematic constellation. ..."
Smith, Mark S.
God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World
(pp. 213-214) Mohr Siebeck, 2008
* 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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