Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

To me, this passage from 4Q521 illustrates what I said earlier: these texts rely heavily on the Hebrew Bible. In this case, the passage appears to be a rewriting of Isaiah 61. In Isaiah, the 'anointed one' (which some translators have has His Messiah...) probably refers to the prophet himself, and '...

Your title appears somewhat misleading. The Temple itself may be 4200 years old, but the colored artwork certainly is not. Cleopatra et al. lived merely 2000 years ago.

Grindheim's translation seems rather stretched; why would a comparison be made between atonement by a Messiah and atonement through sacrifice? It is not clear what the relation is between 'the messiah of Aaron and Israel" (in CD 14) and the 'he' in 4Q541. There is no mention of a messiah in 4Q4...

I have looked at a reputable translation of CD 14:18-20: The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, Florentino García Martínez Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar, Editors, BRILL (1999). It reads: " ....And this is the exact interpretation of the regulations by which [they shall be ruled] 19 [until there arises th...

Thanks John. I think you give a good example of what I called 'microscopic reading'. Out of the hundreds of Qumran texts, Chester (and also others) can sift 4 passages that describe he coming of messiah(s). And - as I said earlier - the messiah merely indicate the arrival of the end time, he/they do...

Regarding possible messianism in James 5:7 (or whether "the Lord" refers to God or Jesus here), Cheung notes (pg. 249-250): However the word παρουσία ('coming,' 5:7) is never used in the LXX with reference to the coming of God or any divine figures. In the New Testament, the expression &q...

I'm not sure that we can call James 'messianic". James mentions Jesus Christ by name (2x), but there is no messianic connotation in the letter. That is, Jesus is not described as King of God's kingdom, or as High priest, or redeeming anything. Hence, 'christ' functions as a name, not as identif...

Isaiah 19 probably refers to the Assyrian invasion of Egypt under Sargon, when Judah was still the ally of Assyria (ca 718 BCE).

Thank you for your extensive reply. I was particularly interested in material that predates the letters of Paul, as these letters are usually considered the oldest texts in the NT. As you indicate yourself, there is no indication in James' letter that Jesus was read into OT prophecies. The dating, r...

The infancy gospels also tell that the baby Jesus swaddling clothes had great healing power. They were taken to Persia and revered for centuries.