The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The ... - josephprestonkirk

LOREN T. STUCKENBRUCK 117
hand, the metaphorical usage of blindness and going astray in relation to
the wicked does not occur in the book of Daniel at all. 45 Along these
lines, it is perhaps significant that the combination of these metaphors is
found in the Animal Apocalypse (1 En. 89:32–33, 54), and the vision goes
on to refer to the “dim-sightedness” or “blindness” of the unfaithful
Israelite “sheep” (e.g., 1 En. 89:74; 90:7, 26).
These considerations suggest that 4Q245, similar to the 4Q243–244
fragments discussed above, preserves elements found in both Danielic
and Enochic traditions. This signifies either a dependence in 4Q245 on
one or both literary collections, or reflects an early stage of tradition in
which the tradition-historical boundaries between the earlier apocalyptic
traditions are still fluid.
4QAramaic Apocalypse or “Son of God Text” (4Q246)
This manuscript, which consists of fragmentary portions in early
Herodian script from two columns, was one of the most discussed texts
before its official publication by Puech in 1996. 46 The reason for this
interest is the text’s reference to a figure designated “Son of God” and
“Son of the Most High” (2.1) and its possible significance as background
for Christology as preserved in Luke 1:32 and 35. Despite the fact that
there has been little unanimity concerning the identity of this figure—
whether the text refers to a “messianic” character or is an allusion to one
of the Seleucid rulers—there is wide agreement that 4Q246 is dependent
45. Blindness ((wr): Deut 27:18; 28:28–29; Isa 59:10; Zeph 1:17; Lam 4:14
(“Pseudo-Daniel Revisited,” 148); going astray (t(h; srr): Ps 58:4 (3 ET); 119:176;
Prov 7:25; Isa 53:6; Ezek 14:11; 44:10, 15; 48:11; Hos 4:16. Among the Dead Sea
texts, the Damascus Document includes both motifs: cf. CD 1.9, 14–15 (par. 4Q266 col.
1); 2.6, 13, 16 (par. 4Q266 col. 2); 3.1, 4, 14; and 4.1; in none of these references are
the metaphors directly linked with one another.
46. Émile Puech, “4QApocryphe de Daniel ar,” in Qumran Cave 4.XVII: Parabiblical
Texts, Part 3 (ed. G. J. Brooke et al.; DJD 22; Oxford: Clarendon, 1996), 165–84; in
addition to Puech’s bibliography on 165n1, see Florentino García Martínez, “The
Eschatological Figure of 4Q246,” in Qumran and Apocalyptic, 162–79; John J. Collins, The
Scepter and the Star: The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature (ABRL;
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1995), 154–72; Craig A. Evans, “Jesus and the Dead
Sea Scrolls from Qumram Cave 4,” in Eschatology, Messianism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls (ed.
C. A. Evans and P. W. Flint; SDSSRL; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 91–100, esp.
92–94; Beyer, ATTM Ergänzungsband, 145–49; and James D. G. Dunn, “‘Son of God’
as ‘Son of Man’ in the Dead Sea Scrolls?” in The Scrolls and the Scriptures: Qumran Fifty
Years After (ed. S. E. Porter and C. A. Evans; JSPSup 26; Roehampton Institute
London Papers 3; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997), 198–210.