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

264 THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN
receiver of a prophetic revelation. 29 Nevertheless, based on their respective
eschatological situations, both are granted unique authority to understand
the Scriptures. 30
Both the scrolls and Revelation are somewhat self-conscious in their
use of symbolism. Both use the verb is in a metaphorical sense (CD
6.4–11; 7.14–21; Rev 1:20; 17:9–12, 15, 18). However, in the scrolls, the
Scriptures themselves are seen as the symbol that must be identified. In
Revelation, both the symbol and its interpretation are part of the
revelation, in a manner that is closer to the Temple Scroll.
NEW JERUSALEM
A complex of fragmentary Dead Sea Scrolls refer to or imply knowledge
of a “new Jerusalem.” 31 These are usually designated New Jerusalem
ar and include 1QJN (1Q32); 2QJN (2Q24); 4QJNa and 4QJNb (4Q554–555); 5QJN (5Q15); and 11QJN (11Q18). Most scholars treat
these as separate fragments from the same core document, The Description
of the New Jerusalem or A Vision of the New Jerusalem. The Temple Scroll
also describes a restored Jerusalem, but its literary relationship to New
Jerusalem is disputed. 32
29. Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, The Book of Revelation: Justice and Judgment (2d ed.;
Minneapolis, Fortress, 1998), 136.
30. Cf. Moyise, The Old Testament, 98.
31. The literature on the new Jerusalem texts and their potential for understanding
Revelation is extensive. Among them are Maurice Baillet, “Fragments Araméens de
Qumrân: Description de la Jérusalem Nouvelle,” RB 62 (April 1955): 222–45; Dieter
Georgi, “Die Visionen vom himmlischen Jerusalem in Apk 21 und 22,” in Kirche:
Festschrift für Günther Bornkamm (ed. D. Luhrmann and G. Strecker; Tübingen: Mohr
Siebeck, 1980), 351–72; Celia Deutsch, “Transformation of Symbols: The New
Jerusalem in Rev. 21:1–22:5,” ZNW 78, no. 1–2 (1987): 106–26; Émile Puech, “A propos
de la Jérusalem Nouvelle d’après les manuscrits de la mer Morte,” Sem 43–44
(1996): 87–102; Michael Chyutin, The New Jerusalem Scroll from Qumran: A
Comprehensive Reconstruction, vol. 25 of The New Jerusalem Scroll from Qumran (JSPSup 25;
Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997); Johann Maier, Die Tempelrolle vom Toten Meer
und das “Neue Jerusalem” (Munich: Uni-Taschenbücher, 1987); Florentino García
Martínez, “The Temple Scroll and the New Jerusalem,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls after
Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment (ed. P. W. Flint, J. C. VanderKam, and A. E.
Alvarez; 2 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 1998–1999), 2:431–60.
32. See, e.g., Ben Z. Wacholder, The Dawn of Qumran: The Sectarian Torah and the
Teacher of Righteousness (HUCM 8; Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1983), 96, who
declares that New Jerusalem is dependent upon the Temple Scroll; Michael O. Wise, A
Critical Study of the Temple Scroll from Qumran Cave 11 (SAOC 49; Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1990), 64–86, who declares that the Temple Scroll is dependent upon
New Jerusalem; and Florentino García Martínez, “The ‘New Jerusalem’ and the Future