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

JOSEPH L. TRAFTON 437
The gospel according to his Son, who was descended from David
according to the flesh. (Rom 1:3; cf. 2 Tim 2:8)
Lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered.
(Rev 5:5; cf. 3:7; 22:16)
J. J. Collins has correctly observed that “the expectation of a Davidic messiah
had a clear basis in the Scriptures, and became very widespread in
various sectors of Judaism in the last century before the Common Era,
in reaction to the rule of the Hasmoneans.” 26 John 7:42, a passage that
Collins does not mention, is worth noting in this regard. Following Jesus’
public appearance in the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles (7:37–39),
the people are divided as to how to respond:
40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This is really
the prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the
Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the scripture said that the Christ is
descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where
David was?” (7:40–42).
If this passage is in any way reflective of Jewish attitudes around the time
of Jesus, it attests to a well-known and continuing expectation of a
Davidic Messiah among at least some of the populace.
In addition to sharing a hope for a Davidic Messiah, the Pss. Sol., the
Scrolls, and the NT have all drawn upon Isa 11:1–5 for their understanding
of the Messiah, though in different ways. Isa 11:1–5 reads as
follows:
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 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 the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist,
and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.
26. Collins, Scepter and the Star, 95.