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

244 PREDESTINATION IN THE BIBLE AND THE SCROLLS
gathered parallels between Paul’s epistles and Qumranic literature
known at his time and reached an impressive number of 100. 38 Thirty
years later, H.-W. Kuhn and his colleagues had detected no less than 400
such cases. 39 Relationships between Dead Sea Scrolls passages and
Romans have been dealt with also by Flusser. 40
We would like to conclude with another predestinarian expression.
This is a very popular verse, one of the most popular in the New
Testament—Luke 2:14. In the version known to everyone who received
ever a Christmas card it says: “Peace upon earth to all people of good
will.” This is an excellent example of a “progressive” message, something
that seemingly suits practically almost every ideology. But, indeed, it
does not. The true meaning became clear only after the publication of the
Thanksgiving Scroll, which helped us understand that the verse should be
rendered something like: “Peace upon earth among people of His good
will.” That is something different altogether. Peace will be granted to
those whom the Lord has elected, not to people with good intentions or
good deeds to their credit. This is a predestinarian statement par excellence
which shares the same worldview as the author of the Thanksgiving Scroll
who speaks also of “sons of His good pleasure” (4.32–33). 41 Flusser has
shown convincingly that the original Lukan verse was altered slightly by
a later copyist in order to grant it the predestinarian meaning. The copyist
may have possibly been under Pauline influence. 42
CONCLUSION I
The space limitations of this paper, as well as the limitations of the present
author’s competence, preclude a more detailed and comprehensive
treatment of the subject. Certain important pertinent terms such as election,
grace and others that loom large in both the Scrolls and the New
Testament have not even been mentioned. However, we feel that we have
achieved, partially at least, two objectives. First, by reintroducing the subject
into the scholarly discourse. This is a claim that begs explanation.
38. Heinz-W. Kuhn, “ The Impact of the Qumran Scrolls on the Understanding of
Paul” in The Dead Sea Scrolls: Forty Years of Research (ed. D. Dimant and U. Rappaport;
STDJ 10; Leiden: Brill, 1992), 328n1.
39. Idem, ibid., 327–29.
40. Cf. Flusser, “The Dead Sea Scrolls and Pre-Pauline Christianity.”
41. Fitzmyer, Semitic Background, 101–104; idem, The Gospel According to Luke I–IX
(AB 28; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981), 410–12.
42. David Flusser, “Sanctus in Gloria,” in idem, Entdeckungen in Neuen Testament I:
Jesusworte und ihre Überlieferung (Neukirchen–Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1987).