Digging Up the Bible: Messianic Apocalypse

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture

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Linda Manuel—1996

Messianic Apocalypse
(c. 100 BC)

The Messianic Apocalypse (4Q521) is a collection of fifteen leather fragments with three columns of Hebrew text. Originally called "On Resurrection," it is among the most intriguing of the newly released Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS). Abbe Jean Starky began the translation but died in 1988 before finishing. After Starky's death, Father Emile Puech of the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem took over the work and is the present official editor.

 

Qumran cave 4, where most of the scrolls were found

The largest fragment, consisting of fourteen lines from column two, appears above and is translated below. The precise date of the text is uncertain, from 200 B.C.—70 A.D., though perhaps soon after 100 B.C.

 

This text, designated 4Q521 (document 521 from cave 4), reflects a close relationship to messianic belief among certain Jewish groups outside Qumran. The most well preserved part of this text are fourteen lines from column two. (In accord with scholarly convention, the parts in square brackets are reconstructed on the basis of surviving portions.):

 

A Translation of U521

1. [...The hea]vens and the earth will obey his messiah.
2. [The sea and all th]at is in them. He will not turn aside from the commandment of the holy ones.
3. Take strength in his mighty work, all you who seek the Lord.
4. Will you not find the Lord in this, all you who wait (for him) with hope in your hearts?
5. Surely the Lord will seek out the pious, and will call the righteous by name.
6. His spirit will hover over the poor, by his might will he will restore the faithful.
7. He will glorify the pious on the throne of the eternal kingdom.
8. He will release the captives, make the blind see, raise up the do[wntrodden .]
9. For[ev]er I will cleave [to him ag]ainst the [po]werful, and [I will trust] in his lovingkindness
10. a[nd in his] godliness forever. His] holy [messiah] will not be slow [in coming.]
11. And as for the wonders that are not the work of the Lord, when he (i.e., the messiah) [comes]
12. then he will heal the sick, resurrect the dead, and to the poor announce good tidings.
13. ...he will lead the [holy] ones, he will shepherd [th]em. He will do
14. ...and all of it...

Both Matthew and Luke state that when John the Baptist was in prison he sent his disciples to ask Jesus about the rabbi's messianic identity. Jesus' reply settles their suspicions:

Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. (Matt 11:4-5 = Luke 7:22-23)

These signs of the messiah apparently confirmed Jesus' messianic identity to John's disciples, because they left without further discussion.

 

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Messianic Apocalypse is like passages in Matthew and Luke, and it may represent a tradition within Palestinian Judaism one hundred years before Jesus' birth. It offers a comparison between the groups that fled into the wilderness to prepare "the way of the Lord" (Isa 40:3; Luke 3:4). They had similar expectations and drew on similar texts from the Hebrew Bible. 4Q521 provides an important example of common messianic hope among Jews, including followers of Jesus and John.

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