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

JACOB CHERIAN 359
4. THE NURSING-FATHER IN CHRISTIAN WRITINGS
In this final section, I intend to introduce briefly two similar instances of
parental imagery found in explicitly Christian authors. The first is found
in Paul’s letter to the Christians at Thessalonica; the second in the Odes
of Solomon, where one encounters an exceptional portrayal of God as the
Nursing-Father.
4.1 Paul as a Nursing-Father (1 Thess 2:7–12)
We turn our attention to a passage in 1 Thessalonians where Paul
describes the manner and motive of his pastoral ministry among the
Thessalonian believers. Here the apostle aptly chooses the potent maternal
as well as paternal imagery to speak of the nature of the leadership
exercised by the apostolic team.
(5) Neither did we ever come with flattering speech, as you know, or with
a pretext (arising out) of greed—God is witness…(7) although we could
have burdened you with the weight [of our privileged position] of being
apostles of Christ, instead we became (like) infants in your midst. As a nursing
mother cares for and cherishes her children (w(j e )a_n trofo_j qa&lph| ta_
e (auth~j te/kna), (8) so we affectionately longed for you, delighted not only
to impart to you the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, since you
had become so dear to us.…(11) even as you know, we (treated) each of
you as a father deals with his own children (w(j path_r te&kna e (autou~),
(12)encouraging and comforting and urging you to walk worthy of God,
who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. (1 Thess 2:5, 7, 8, 11, 12)
One cannot easily draw certain conclusions about the relation between
Paul and the theology and methodology of the Qumran community.
Nevertheless, it is reasonable to think that the “intertextual” consciousness
among the Qumran exegetes in their use of Scripture may have parallels
to that evidenced in Paul’s letters. 34 It also becomes clear that Paul
is using imagery that is not novel in any sense but is deeply rooted in his
Jewish heritage. Explicit parental imagery in Paul is also found in 1 Cor
4:14–21; 2 Cor 6:11–13; 11:1–3; 12:14–18 and Gal 4:19. 35 This imagery
34. See Stephen F. Noll, “Qumran and Paul,” in DPL, 777–83; esp. 779–80. “The
[Qumran] rules demonstrate an eclectic use of Scripture including quotation, allusion,
and paraphrase in the context of pastoral exhortation” (ibid., 780).
35. Cf. 1QH 11.7 (“I was in distress like a woman giving birth for the first time
when her labor-pains come on her”) with Gal 4:19.