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

JOHN J. COLLINS 83
The miraculous manner of slaying the wicked, with the breath of his lips,
does not mitigate the violence of his role.
The blessing of the Prince of the Congregation fits a consistent pattern
in the messianic texts in the Dead Sea Scrolls. These texts are based on a
small number of biblical prophecies: Isaiah 11 (4QpIsa a [= 4Q161],
4Q285), Balaam’s Oracle in Numbers 24 (CD 7.19–20; 1QM 11.6–7),
Genesis 49 (4Q252), 2 Samuel 7 (4Q174) and a few others. 34 These same
texts are also interpreted as messianic in other contexts that are remote
from Qumran. 35 Philo of Alexandria cites Balaam’s oracle from the
Greek Bible (the Septuagint or LXX) as a prophecy of a man who will
lead his host to war and subdue great and populous nations. 36 The same
oracle was cited by Rabbi Akiba when he allegedly hailed Simeon bar
Kosiba as messiah in the revolt against Rome in 132 C.E. 37 The fact that
the same text is interpreted as messianic in such diverse locations shows
that this was a well-established exegetical tradition. Similarly, it is important
that the Psalms of Solomon are not found at Qumran, and indeed are
often thought to derive from the Pharisees, the archenemies of the Dead
Sea sect. Here again we see that the expectation of a Davidic messiah was
not a peculiarly sectarian idea, but was grounded in an exegetical tradition
that was widely known across sectarian lines. Equally, the role of the
Davidic messiah is consistently understood as that of militant liberator,
from Qumran to Alexandria, and from the Psalms of Solomon to the later
apocalypses of 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch. It was also enacted with tragic consequences
by a series of messianic pretenders, culminating with Bar
Kochba, in the Roman period. 38
Was there then anything distinctive about the understanding of the
Davidic messiah in the Scrolls? Most scholars would say that the distinctive
element lies in the way the kingly messiah is paired with a priestly
counterpart, who takes precedence over him. It has long been recognized
that this kind of dual messianism corresponds to the organization of the
Jewish community in the early postexilic period, as reflected in the latter
part of the book of Ezekiel, as well as Zechariah and Chronicles. 39 Ezekiel
40–48 relegates the prince to a cultic role, subordinate to the High Priest.
34. See Collins, “Method in the Study of Messianism.”
35. See especially Samson H. Levey, The Messiah: An Aramaic Interpretation: The
Messianic Exegesis of the Targum (Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1974).
36. Philo, Praem., 95.
37. Ta(an. 68d. See Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981), 133–34.
38. Collins, The Scepter and the Star, 195–214.
39. See especially Shemaryahu Talmon, “Waiting for the Messiah. The Spiritual
Universe of the Qumran Covenanters,” in Judaisms and Their Messiahs (ed. J. Neusner, W.
S. Green, and E. S. Frerichs; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 111–37.