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

CRAIG A. EVAN S 87
scholars, especially German scholars, to “Paulinize Matthean theology”
and thereby invest Matthew’s use of di/kaioj (“righteous”) and
dikaiosu/nh (“righteousness”) with Pauline nuances. 15 Przybylski concludes
that Matthew’s use of these words is consistent with their usage in
early Judaism. 16 The evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which is assessed
only in part by Przybylski, bears this out. qydc (“righteous”), hqdc
(“righteousness”), and qdc (“righteousness”) occur some 250 times in
the Dead Sea Scrolls. Only a few passages may be cited here:
So listen, all you who recognize righteousness [qdc],
and consider the deeds of God. (CD 1.1)
So He raised up for them a Righteous Teacher [qdc hrwm]
to guide them in the way of His heart. (CD 1.11)
Without these rules they shall obtain nothing
until the appearance of one who teaches righteousness
in the last days [Mymyh tyrx)b qdch hrwy]. (CD 6.10–11)
He is to discern who are the true Sons of Righteousness [qwdch ynb]
and to weigh each man’s spiritual qualities. (1QS 9.14)
Then [the Son of Rig]hteousness [qdch ynb] shall shine
to all ends of the world, continuing to shine forth
until the end of the appointed seasons of darkness. (1QM 1.8; cf. 13.10)
[For the wicked man hems in] the righteous man [qydch]. (Hab 1:4b)
[The “wicked man” refers to the Wicked Priest,
and “the righteous man”] is the Teacher of Righteousness. (1QpHab 1.12–13)
In his contribution to the Baumgarten Festschrift, John Kampen
believes that righteousness is more important for Matthew’s self-designation
than Przybylski has allowed. 17 Agreeing with Baumgarten’s earlier
study, 18 he suggests that the vocabulary of righteous and righteousness
functioned as a “sectarian indicator” and as such has important affinities
15. See Przybylski, Righteousness in Matthew, 105–15.
16. This is not to say that Paul’s understanding of dikaiosu&nh in Gen 15:6 is without
parallel among the scrolls. The appearance of the phrase hqdcl Kl hb#xnw
(“and it will be reckoned to him for righteousness”) in Some Works of Torah (cf. 4Q398
frags. 14–17 2.7 = 4Q399 frag. 1 2.4) suggests that Paul was not shadowboxing but
was contending with an understanding of righteousness and possibly an exegesis of
Gen 15:6 actually held by his contemporaries. See Martin G. Abegg, Jr., “Paul,
‘Works of the Law,’ and the MMT,” BAR 20, no. 6 (1994): 52–55. Also, see the contribution
by Dunn and Charlesworth in this volume.
17. John Kampen, “‘Righteousness’ in Matthew and the Legal Texts from
Qumran,” in Legal Texts and Legal Issues: Proceedings of the Second Meeting of the International
Organization for Qumran Studies, Cambridge 1995; Published in Honour of Joseph M.
Baumgarten (ed. M. J. Bernstein, F. García Martínez, and J. Kampen: STDJ 23;
Leiden: Brill, 1997), 461–87.
18. Joseph M. Baumgarten, “The Heavenly Tribunal and the Personification of
Sedeq in Jewish Apocalyptic,” ANRW 2.19.1 (1979): 219–39.