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

440 THE BIBLE, THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON, AND QUMRAN
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
The Pss. Sol. reverse the order of the two lines and place the material
directly before the allusion to Isa 11:4c:
to smash the arrogance of sinners like a potter’s jar
to shatter all their substance with an iron rod
to destroy the unlawful nations with the word of his mouth. (Pss. Sol.
17:23b–24b)
Revelation places an allusion to Ps 2:9a directly after an allusion to Isa
11:4c, with an additional echo of Isa 49:2a (“He made my mouth like a
sharp sword”). In 19:15 we read, concerning the rider on the white horse:
From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and
he will rule them with a rod of iron.
In another passage that compares the role of the “conqueror” to that of
Jesus, John uses both Ps 2:9a and 9b in their original order:
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken
in pieces, even as I myself have received power from my Father. (Rev 2:27)
A final reference to Ps 2:9a is found in Rev 12:5 concerning the woman
clothed with the sun:
she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule the nations with a rod
of iron.
Two observations can be drawn here. First, Isa 11:1–5 had apparently
become an important (standard?) text for messianic exegesis in this
period. 27 Second, understanding the Messiah in terms of Isa 11:4cd
seems to have been especially prominent.
This second observation is particularly important. One of the most
controversial issues in understanding the messianic hope of Pss. Sol. 17 is
whether or not the Messiah is expected to be “violent.” For some scholars,
that the Messiah is said to “purge” Jerusalem, “drive out” sinners,
“smash” their arrogance, “shatter” their substance, and “destroy” the
unlawful nations (17:22–24) is rather self-explanatory. Collins’ comment
is typical of this position: “The initial role of this king is undeniably violent.”
28 On the other side are those who emphasize that the Messiah does
27. Surveying the Pss. Sol., the Scrolls, 4 Ezra, and the Similitudes of Enoch (but not
the NT), Collins observes that “there is…a very strong and widespread tradition that
interpreted Isaiah 11 with reference to a Davidic messianic king” (Scepter and the Star, 65).
28. Collins, ibid., 54. Cf. Ryle and James, Psalms of the Pharisees, liii, who use the
word “destructive;” and Atkinson, Intertextual Study, 369–77. Collins goes so far as to