The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (64 page)

And he bowed
[
his shoulder to bear and became
]
a slave
[
at forced labour
] (Gen. xlxi, 15). Its interpretation... [
Dan shall judge
]
his
[
peo
]
ple as on
[
e
]
of the tr
[
ibes of Israel.
]
Dan shall be a ser
[
pent in the way, a vip
]
er by the pa
[
th that bites
]
the horse's hee
[
Is
] (Gen. xlix, 15-17) ...

[On] the seventeenth of the month... Noah went out of the ark at the appointed time year by year ... [a ra]ven and it went out and returned to announce to the 1[ast] generations ... before him, for the ra[ven] went out and retur[ned] ...

Translatable fragments of four commentaries on Isaiah were discovered in Cave 4 (4QpIsaa—d = 4Q161—4). A fifth (4QpIsa
^e
= 4QI65) is too mutilated to be rendered into English. The first document alludes to the defeat of the Kittim and expounds the renowned messianic prophecy of Isa. xi. It is related to 4Q285 (cf. p. 188). The second and the third deal with the Jewish opponents of the sect. The fourth, relying on Isa. liv, identifies the Community as the New Jerusalem. They may all be assigned to the first century BCE. A small fragment from Cave 3 (3Q4) represents a commentary on Isa. i, I, but with no continuous text.

For the editio princeps, see J. M. Allegro and A. A. Anderson,
DJD,
V, 11—30.

...
[
and the tallest tre]es
[
shall be cut down and
]
the lofty [shall be felled] with the axe, and Lebanon through a powerful one shall fall
(x, 33—4).

[Its interpretation concerns the Kit]tim who shall crush the house of Israel and the humble ... all the nations and the valiant shall be dismayed and [their] he[arts] shall melt. [And that which he said,
The tallest
]
trees shall be cut down,
these are the valiant of the Kit[tim] ... [And that which he sa]id.
The heart of the forest shall be felled with the axe,
th[ey] ... for the war of the Kittim.
And Lebanon through a po
[
werful one shall fall
(x, 34). Its interpretation concerns the] Kittim who will be given into the hand of his great one ... when he flees from be[fore Is]rael ... vacat

[
And there shall come forth a rod from the stem ofJesseand a Branch shall grow out of its roots. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of thefearof the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or pass sentence by what his ears hear; he shall judge the poor righteously and shall pass sentence justly on the humble of the earth
] (xi, 1—3).

[Interpreted, this concerns the Branch] of David who shall arise at the end [of days] ... God will uphold him with [the spirit of might, and will give him] a throne of glory and a crown of [holiness] and many-coloured garments ... [He will put a sceptre] in his hand and he shall rule over all the [nations]. And Magog ... and his sword shall judge [all] the peoples.

And as for that which he said,
He shall not
[
judge by what his eyes see
]
or pass sentence by what his ears hear:
interpreted, this means that ... [the Priests] ... As they teach him, so will he judge; and as they order, [so will he pass sentence]. One of the Priests of renown shall go out, and garments of... shall be in his hands ...

[
For ten acres of vineyard shall produce only one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but one
ephah] (v, 10).

Interpreted, this saying concerns the last days, the devastation of the land by sword and famine. At the time of the Visitation of the land there shall be
Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after strong drink, to those who linger in the evening until wine inflames them. They have zither and harp and timbrel and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the work of the Lord or see the deeds of His hand. Therefore my people go into exile for want of knowledge, and their noblemen die of hunger and their multitude is parched with thirst. Therefore Hell has widened its gullet and opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude go down, her tumult and he who rejoices in her
(v, 11—14).

These are the Scoffers in Jerusalem who have
despised the Law of the Lord and scorned the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people. He stretched out His hand against them and smote them; the mountains trembled and their corpses were like sweepings in the middle of the streets. And [His wrath] has not relented for all these things
[
and His hand is stretched out still
] (v, 24—5).

This is the congregation of Scoffers in Jerusalem ...

Thus said the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, ‘You shall be saved by returning and resting; your strength shall be in silence and trust.' But you would not. You
[
said
]
, ‘No. We will flee upon horses and will ride on swift steeds.' Therefore your pursuers shall be speedy also. A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee
[
till
]
you are left like a flagstaff on top of a mountain and like a signal on top of a hill. Therefore the Lord waits to be
[
gracious to
]
you; therefore He exalts Himself to have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice. How blessed are all those who wait for him!
(xxx, 15—18).

This saying, referring to the last days, concerns the congregation of those who seek smooth things in Jerusalem ... [who despise the] Law and do not [trust in God] ... As robbers lie in wait for a man ... they have despised [the words of] the Law ...

O people of Zion
[
who live in Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. At the sound of
]
your crying
[
He will be gracious to you; He will answer you
]
when He
[
hears it. Although the Lord gives you bread of oppression and water of distress, your Teacher
]
shall be hidden
[
no more and your eyes shall see your Teacher
]
...
(XXX, 19—20).

Behold, I will set your stones in antimony
(liv, IIb).

[Interpreted, this saying concerns] ... all Israel is like antimony surrounding the eye.

 

And I will lay your foundations with sapphires
(liv, IIC).

Interpreted, this concerns the Priests and the people who laid the foundations of the Council of the Community ... the congregation of His elect (shall sparkle) like a sapphire among stones.

 

[
And I will make
]
all your pinnacles
[
of agate
] (liv, 12a).

Interpreted, this concerns the twelve [chief Priests] who shall enlighten by judgement of the Urim and Tummim ... which are absent from them, like the sun with all its light, and like the moon ...

 

[
And all your gates of carbuncles
] (liv, 12b).

Interpreted, this concerns the chiefs of the tribes of Israel...

Two fragmentary manuscripts (4Q166—7) include exegeses of Hosea. In the first, the unfaithful wife is the Jewish people led astray by her lovers, the Gentiles. The second refers cryptically to ‘the furious young lion', mentioned also in the Commentary on Nahum, and to ‘the last Priest who shall ... strike Ephraim'.

For the
editio princeps,
see J. M. Allegro and A. A. Anderson,
DJD,
V, 31—2.

II
[She knew not that
]
it was I who gave her
[
the new wine and oil
]
, who lavished [upon her silver] and gold which they [used for Baal
] (ii, 8).

Interpreted, this means that [they ate and] were filled, but they forgot God who ... They cast His commandments behind them which He had sent [by the hand of] His servants the Prophets, and they listened to those who led them astray. They revered them, and in their blindness they feared them as though they were gods.

 

Therefore I will take back my corn in its time and my wine [in its season]. I will take away my wool and my flax lest they cover
[
her nakedness
]
. I will uncover her shame before the eyes of
[
her
]
lovers
[
and
]
no man shall deliver her from out of my hand
(ii, 9—10).

Interpreted, this means that He smote them with hunger and nakedness that they might be shamed and disgraced in the sight of the nations on which they relied. They will not deliver them from their miseries.

 

I will put an end to her rejoicing,
[
her feasts
]
, her
[
new
]
moons, her Sabbaths, and all her festivals
(ii, II).

Interpreted, this means that [they have rejected the ruling of the Law, and have] followed the festivals of the nations. But [their rejoicing shall come to an end and] shall be changed into mourning.
I will ravage
[
her vines and her fig trees
]
, of which she said, ‘They are my wage
[
which my lovers have given me'.
]
I will make of them a thicket and the
[
wild beasts
]
shall eat them
... (ii, 12).

... and your wound shall not be healed (v, 13).

[Its] in[terpretation concerns] ... the furious young lion ...

 

For I will be like a lion
[
to E
]
ph
[
ra
]
im
[
and like a young lion to the house of Judah
] (v, 14a).

[Its interpretation con]cerns the last Priest who shall stretch out his hand to strike Ephraim ...

 

[
I will go and come back to my place un
]
til they
[
will
]
feel guilty and seek my face; in their distress they will seek me eagerly
(v, 15)-Its interpretation is that God [has hid]den His face from ... and they did not listen ...

[But they, like Adam, have b]roken the Covenant
(vi, 7).

[Its] interpretation ... they have forsaken God and walked according to the decrees [of the Gentiles] ...

Tiny fragments from Cave I (1Q14) represent an exposition of Micah. Although the prophet's words are intended to castigate both Samaria and Jerusalem, the Qumran commentator interprets Samaria as alluding to the ‘Spouter of Lies', the enemy of the sect, but relates Judah and Jerusalem to the Teacher of Righteousness and his Community. Further fragments of Micah iv, 8—12 are given the title ‘Commentary on Micah (?)', in 4Q
168
(DJD,
V, 36), but since neither the word
pesher,
nor any interpretative material is extant, the manuscript may be biblical.

For the
editio princeps,
see J. T. Milik,
DJD,
1,77—80.

 

[
All this is
]
for the transgression
[
of Jacob and for the sins of the House of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob?
]
Is it not
[
Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? I will make of Samaria a ruin in the fields, and of Jerusalem a plantation of vines] (i, 5—6).

Interpreted, this concerns the Spouter of Lies [who led the] Simple [astray].

 

And what is the high place of Judah?
[
Is it not Jerusalem?
] (i, 5).

[Interpreted, this concerns] the Teacher of Righteousness who [expounded the law to] his [Council] and to all who freely pledged themselves to join the elect of [God to keep the Law] in the Council of the Community, who shall be saved on the Day [of Judgement] ...

Substantial remains of a Nahum Commentary were retrieved from Cave 4 (4Q169). They cover parts of chapters i and ii of the biblical book, and the first fourteen verses of chapter iii. Their historical significance has been discussed in Chapter III (pp. 55—62). It is worthy of note that the commentator employs not only cryptograms (Kittim, furious young lion, etc.), but the actual names of two Greek kings (Demetrius and Antiochus). Reference to ‘the furious young lion' as one who ‘hangs men alive' shows that ‘hanging', probably a synonym for crucifixion, was practised as a form of execution. It is also legislated for in the Temple Scroll (LXIV, 6—13), where it is the capital punishment reserved for traitors. In biblical law, by contrast, only the dead body of an executed criminal is to be hanged, that is, displayed in public as an example (Deut. xxi, 21).

On palaeographical grounds the manuscript is dated to the second half of the first century BCE.

For the
editio princeps,
see J. M. Allegro and A. A. Anderson,
DJD,
V, 371—42.

[
In whirlwind and storm is his way and
]
cloud is the d[ust of his feet
(i, 3). Its interpretation] ... The [whirlwinds and the storm]s are (from) the fir[mam]ents of his heaven and of his earth which he has cre[ated].