the-bible-and-the-dead-sea-scrolls

226 THE SCROLLS’ IMPACT ON SCHOLARSHIP ON HEBREWS
Both Hebrews and the pesher call for continued fidelity, but construe
its objects differently. In view of imminent eschatological judgment,
1QpHab insists upon fidelity to Torah and its interpretation by the
Teacher of Righteousness. It is by that “faith” that the righteous will live.
Hebrews, which clearly uses a Greek translation making the subject of
the verb in the final clause of Hab 2:3 not “the vision” as in the MT but
“the one who is to come,” 89 applies the prophecy to Christ’s second coming
and urges imitation of Christ’s fidelity to God in the face of persecution
(12:1–2). By following his example of “faith,” the members of this
community can be assured they too will live.
The fact that Paul too could cite Hab 2:4 in arguments about faith and
the Torah (Gal 3:11; Rom 1:17) indicates its utility for early Christians.
His usage may share some of the interests of Hebrews but addresses
other issues than the need to remain faithful in the fact of opposition. 90
In its appeal to remain faithful, Hebrews deploys both warnings of
judgment and promises of the “rewards” of fidelity. 91 Among these are
the intimations of the “city” prepared for the faithful (11:10, 16; 13:14),
the “heavenly Jerusalem” (12:22) inhabited by saints and angels. The
image’s Jewish roots are obvious, 92 and the scrolls have added to the
dossier a series of fragments describing the ideal city. 93 Most of these fragments
treat architectural and topographical details. Hebrews, unlike Rev
21:10–14, is uninterested in such details, whatever their potential symbolic
value. The only points of contact between Hebrews and the scrolls’
descriptions of the new Jerusalem is the note that the city is where true
divine worship takes place, a place where, in the language of the scrolls,
the altar is set up and priests officiate (2Q4 frag. 4; 11Q18 frags. 1–3,
11–13), where atonement takes place (2Q4 frag. 8). The sectarian vision
sketched in this fragment and in the Temple Scroll, probably arising from
89. MT: d(wml Nwzx dw( yk LXX: kai\ a)natelei= ei0j pe/raj
bzky )lw Cql xpyw kai\ ou)k ei0j keno/n:
wl hkx hmhmty M) e0a_n u(sterh/sh|, u(po&menon au0to&n,
rx)y )l )by )b yk o3ti e0rxo/menoj h3cei kai\ ou0 mh\
xroni/sh
For detailed discussion, see Attridge, Hebrews, 302–3.
90. Paul and Hebrews may be closer than once thought, if revisionist views of the
significance of “Christ faith” in Paul are correct. See, e.g., Arland J. Hultgren, “The
Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248–63; and Richard B. Hays,
The Faith of Jesus Christ: The Narrative Substructure of Galatians 3:1–4:11 (2d ed.; Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002).
91. On those rewards, see Heb 6:9–12; 10:35–36; 11:26; 12:2.
92. For earlier literature, see Attridge, Hebrews, 374.
93. 2Q4; 4Q554; 4Q555; 5Q15; 11Q18. See García Martínez, DSS Translated,
129–35.