Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (in Theology/Biblical Studies), Josephus, Qumranic Studies, Dead Sea Scrolls (Religion), Early Judaism (2nd Temple, Greco-Roman), Ancient Near East, Abrahamic Religions, and Biblical Studies
ABRAHAM AND THE NATIONS IN THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS: EXCLUSIVISM AND INCLUSIVISM IN THE TEXTS FROM QUMRAN AND THE ABSENCE OF A RECEPTION HISTORY FOR GEN 12:3
Mladen Popovi´ c . Introduction There is no reception history of Gen : in the Dead Sea Scrolls. That is, Abraham and the nations do not appear together. The idea that all the nations, or rather families, of the earth are blessed in, find blessing in, or bless themselves through Abraham does not appear in the Scrolls from Qumran. This may simply be due to chance. As is well known, most manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls have come to us in fragmentary form. If we consider the so-called biblical manuscripts from Qumran, there are the remains of possibly twenty manuscripts of Genesis. In addition, two come from Murabba#at, one from Sdeir and another one from Masada.1 None of these twenty-four “biblical” manuscripts of Genesis has preserved Gen .2 But we may assume that those manuscripts originally did contain Gen . Unfortunately, the “non-biblical” manuscripts also have no quotation, reference or allusion to Gen , or more specifically to Abraham and the nations.3 To be sure, Abraham appears in the non-biblical manuscripts, but he does not figure prominently. His name
See E. Tov et al., The Texts from the Judaean Desert: Indices and an Introduction to the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert Series (DJD ; Oxford ), –, . 2 Interestingly, the text originally published as QGenh-para (J.R. Davila, “QGenh-para, ” in Qumran Cave .VII: Genesis to Numbers [E. Ulrich et al.; DJD ; Oxford ], –) does contain (a paraphrase of) Gen :–. However, the same fragment has also been published as Q (M.E. Stone and E. Eshel, “An Exposition on the Patriarchs [Q] and Two Other Documents [Qa and Qb],” Mus []: –). This was first observed by Eshel. The latter assignment is correct, and the reference QGenh-para has been cancelled. I thank Eibert Tigchelaar for this information. 3 Except for Q , which refers to Abraham and Haran. See E. Eshel and M. Stone, “: QExposition on the Patriarchs,” in Qumran Cave .XIV: Parabiblical Texts, Part (M. Broshi et al.; DJD ; Oxford ), .
1
mladen popovi´ c
occurs some eighty times (forty-nine times as Abraham; thirty-one times as Abram), in a total of twenty-five of the non-biblical Hebrew and Aramaic Qumran texts.4 Only three manuscripts have preserved enough material to demonstrate the retelling of the narratives known from Gen –, to which I shall turn below. However, the apparent nonexistence of a reception history of Gen : in the Dead Sea Scrolls may not necessarily be the result of chance preservation or the fragmentary state of the manuscripts. I will argue that the absence of a reception history for this passage in the Dead Sea Scrolls is not a coincidence, as almost no early Jewish texts give evidence of its reception history, and should be understood against the extremely negative role that the Gentiles play in many early Jewish eschatological and apocalyptic texts. In order to put into context this non-reception of Gen : and the idea of the blessing of the nations in relation to Abraham, I will first discuss three non-biblical Scrolls in which Abraham appears, one of which may provide a clue that Gen : was ignored deliberately as a result of an exclusivist perspective on who was to possess the land. Second, a brief overview of early Jewish Abraham traditions will show that the theme of Abraham and the blessing of the nations was not a major issue in other early Jewish texts outside the Qumran collection. This may demonstrate that the absence of the theme of Abraham and the blessing of the nations in the texts from Qumran was not an isolated phenomenon at the time. Third, I will look at two texts from Qumran in which Abraham and the nations possibly appear together and that give expression to the idea that the nations are excluded from the benefits of the covenant with Abraham. Finally, a look at the role of the nations in apocalyptic and eschatological texts shows how they appear as the typical archenemy of Israel, only awaiting final judgement or to be destroyed at the end of times. This portrayal of the nations is hardly conducive to providing a context for the reception history of Gen : and the blessing of the nations in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Notwithstanding possibly inclusivist tendencies in some texts, the exclusivist strand remains dominant and may explain the absence of a reception history for Gen :.
4 Cf. C.A. Evans, “Abraham, EDSS :; S. Holst, “Abraham at Qumran, in Historie ” ” og konstruktion: Festskrift til Niels Peter Lemche i anledning af års fødselsdagen (ed. M. Møller and T.L. Thompson; Copenhagen ), .
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls . The Figure of Abraham in Three Non-biblical Scrolls from Qumran QPseudo-Jubileesa (Q)
The Hebrew manuscript Q, called QPseudo-Jubileesa and dated to around the end of the first century bce, contains a composition that was influenced by Genesis, Exodus and Jubilees. The extant text consists of three fragments, the third of which is too fragmentary to say anything meaningful about it.5 The two columns preserved in the second fragment deal with God’s promise to Abraham in Gen , the birth of Isaac in Gen and his binding in Gen and Passover and the escape from Egypt in Exod –, but are not relevant to our current conference theme; García Martínez has already discussed that material at a previous Themes in Biblical Narrative conference.6 The first fragment of Q was originally thought to deal with Abraham and the issue of circumcision,7 but a re-examination of the manuscript eliminated the reading ìîéå (“and he circumcised”) in line , replacing it with åìëàéå (“and they ate”) and also relocated frg. to follow upon frg. .8 According to the new reconstruction by Kugler and VanderKam, much of Q “recalls Jubilees’ account of the first Passover and the Exodus from Egypt (Jubilees –).”9
5 For the editio princeps see J.C. VanderKam and J.T. Milik, “: QPseudo-Jubileesa , ” in Qumran Cave .VIII: Parabiblical Texts, Part (H. Attridge et al.; DJD ; Oxford ), –. See also D. Hamidovi´, Les traditions du Jubilé à Qumrân (Paris ), c –; R.A. Kugler and J.C. VanderKam, “A Note on Q (QPseudo-Jubilees),” RevQ / (): –. 6 F. García Martínez, “The Sacrifice of Isaac in Q, in The Sacrifice of Isaac: ” The Aqedah (Genesis ) and Its Interpretations (ed. E. Noort and E. Tigchelaar; Leiden ), –. See also more recently, and for references to earlier studies J.A. Fitzmyer, “The Interpretation of Genesis :: Abraham’s Faith and Righteousness in a Qumran Text,” in Emanuel: Studies in Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, and the Dead Sea Scrolls in Honor of Emanuel Tov (ed. S.M. Paul et al.; Leiden ), –; B. Halpern-Amaru, “A Note on Isaac as First-Born in Jubilees and Only Son in Q,” DSD (): – ; J. Kugel, “Exegetical Notes on Q ‘Pseudo-Jubilees,’ ” DSD (): –; R.A. Kugler, “Q i –: A Possible Reconstruction and Explanation,” JBL (): –; R.A. Kugler, “Hearing Q: A Case Study in Reconstructing the Religious Imagination of the Qumran Community,” DSD (): –. 7 VanderKam and Milik, “QPseudo-Jubileesa, –. ” 8 Kugler and VanderKam, “Note on Q. See also R. Fidler, “Circumcision in ” Q? Notes on Sequential and Conceptual Shifts,” Meghillot – (): – (Hebrew). 9 Kugler and VanderKam, “Note on Q, . ”
mladen popovi´ c
From this short overview it becomes clear that the manuscript fragments of Q have not preserved any text from Genesis previous to the retelling of Gen . Nor in its retelling of the narratives from Gen onwards does Q seem to pay any attention to the blessing of the nations, such as in Gen :; :, or, in connection with, respectively, Isaac and Jacob, Gen :; :. It is possible that the nonappearance of Abraham and the blessing of the nations is due to the character of the text of Q. It is not just a retelling of narratives from Genesis and Exodus, displaying knowledge of Jubilees while doing so and following the biblical texts closely. On the contrary, the remaining portions of the text may have Passover as a unifying theme,10 which may explain the lack of attention to the theme of the blessing of the nations. Genesis Apocryphon (Q) The Genesis Apocryphon is an Aramaic text from Cave that contains the remains of twenty-three columns of a paraphrase of narratives from Genesis. But the text’s character is not limited to just an Aramaic paraphrase of Genesis. While sometimes adhering closely to Genesis, the text at times also departs significantly from Genesis. Through the use of traditions outside Genesis, some of which are also embedded in Enoch and Jubilees, a new composition emerged. The manuscript dates from around the beginning of our era, but the text was probably composed in the early first century bce or even earlier.11 Following upon the first person accounts of Lamech and Noah, Abraham was probably introduced in col. , which is so badly damaged that there is not a single decipherable word. Column begins in line , which has Abraham already in the land of Canaan calling upon the name of God, where according to Gen : he built his second altar in Bethel in the land of Canaan. Column must have contained the beginning of the Abraham story in Gen –.
Cf. Kugler, “Q i –,” –. The scholarly discussion regarding the Genesis Apocryphon is rapidly evolving. For orientation, see most recently D.K. Falk, The Parabiblical Texts: Strategies for Extending the Scriptures among the Dead Sea Scrolls (London ), –; J.A. Fitzmyer, The Genesis Apocryphon of Qumran Cave (Q): A Commentary (rd ed.; Rome ); D.A. Machiela, The Dead Sea Genesis Apocryphon: A New Text and Translation with Introduction and Special Treatment of Columns – (Leiden ); S. White Crawford, Rewriting Scripture in Second Temple Times (Grand Rapids, Mich., ), –. For another possible appearance of Abraham in the Genesis Apocryphon, see D.A. Machiela, “Who Is the Aramean in Deut : and What Is He Doing? Evidence of a Minority View from Qumran Cave (QapGen .),” RevQ / (): –.
11 10
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
It is certainly possible that a reference to Abraham and the nations was included in the badly damaged manuscript of the Genesis Apocryphon but is now lost. Regarding the Abraham cycle in general, the Genesis Apocryphon follows the biblical text more closely than in the case of the Noah material. Also, since the Genesis Apocryphon used Jubilees or its traditions as a source, this could be another indication of the appearance of Abraham and the nations: Jub. :– echo Gen :–. While it is possible that similarly to Jubilees, the Genesis Apocryphon originally featured a passage on Abraham and the nations, it is by no means certain. The Genesis Apocryphon not only shares features with Jubilees, but also differs from it. Be that as it may, it remains the case that the Genesis Apocryphon is not directly relevant for the reception history of Abraham and the nations from Gen . Commentary on Genesis A (Q) Another Hebrew manuscript from Cave contains exegetical material pertaining to Abraham and is therefore of interest for the theme of this volume. Moreover, this text may provide a clue that Gen : and the idea of the blessing of the nations in relation to Abraham was ignored deliberately. The manuscript of Q, called Commentary on Genesis A and dating from the second half of the first century bce, consists of six fragments that preserve the remains of six columns.12 The text contains a commentary on selected passages from Gen –. Q is probably a so-called sectarian text, meaning that it was authored within the community of Qumran.13 This composition is especially important because of “the variety of types of biblical interpretation that are represented, including rewritten Bible, halakhic exegesis, and pesher.”14 According to White Crawford, Q may exemplify a transition period between implicit exegesis in the form of rewriting a scriptural base text and, with what was to become the dominant form in later Jewish and Christian
12 For the editio princeps see G.J. Brooke, “: QCommentary on Genesis A, in ” Qumran Cave .XVII: Parabiblical Texts, Part (G.J. Brooke et al.; DJD ; Oxford ), –. 13 This is corroborated by its reference to the “men of the community” (ãçéä éùðà) in Q V, (cf. also QCommentary on Genesis C [Q] ) and by its use of the pesher method of interpretation in Q IV, – and Q V, –, which is characteristic of the sectarian commentary texts from Qumran (the pesharim). 14 G.J. Brooke, “Commentary on Genesis, EDSS :. ”
mladen popovi´ c
commentary, explicit exegesis in the form of citing a passage from the scriptural text and commenting upon it.15 The manuscript starts with a retelling of the flood.16 Several very fragmentary sections concern Abraham, but little can be said about this material and the manner in which it briefly treats the Genesis narratives in Gen (Q II, –: the covenant of the pieces), Gen (Q III, –: the twelve princes), Gen (Q III, –: the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah)17 and Gen (Q III, –: the binding of Isaac). There is one more instance in which the Commentary on Genesis A deals with the Abraham narrative and that concerns Abraham’s entry into the land of Canaan. Following a vacat, the short passage reads:
Terah was one hundred and fo[r]ty years old when he left Ur of the Chaldees and came to Haran, and Ab[ram was se]venty years old. Abram lived five years in Haran, and afterwards [Abram] went [to] the land of Canaan. Six[ty . . . ]. (Q II, –)
According to Brooke the text “attempts to solve the textual problems of Genesis . with a precise dating system.”18 In addition to the importance of such chronological concerns for the character of Q, I would like to emphasize that the text is apparently not interested in quoting from, referring to or retelling Gen :–. After the lines just quoted, the next line, Q II, , continues immediately with the covenant of the pieces from Gen . Although Q II, breaks off at “Six[ty . . . ],” there is enough space to contain Gen :– or a meaningful
15 White Crawford, Rewriting Scripture, –. For a discussion of the text’s character see also, e.g., G.J. Brooke, “The Genre of Q: From Poetry to Pesher,” DSD (): –; G.J. Brooke, “The Thematic Content of Q,” JQR (): –; M. Bernstein, “Q: From Re-Written Bible to Biblical Commentary,” JJS (): –; M. Bernstein, “Q: Method and Context, Genre and Sources: A Response to George J. Brooke,” JQR (): –; I. Fröhlich, “Themes, Structure and Genre of Pesher Genesis: A Response to George J. Brooke,” JQR (): –; G.J. Brooke, “Q as Early Jewish Commentary,” RevQ / – (): –; Falk, Parabiblical Texts, –. 16 Also already dealt with by García Martínez at the first Themes in Biblical Narrative conference: F. García Martínez, “Interpretations of the Flood in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in Interpretations of the Flood (ed. F. García Martínez and G.P. Luttikhuizen; Leiden ), –. 17 See E. Tigchelaar, “Sodom and Gomorrah in the Dead Sea Scrolls, in Sodom’s Sin: ” Genesis – and Its Interpretations (ed. E. Noort and E. Tigchelaar; Leiden ), – . 18 Brooke, “Commentary on Genesis, . ”
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
part thereof, the commentary seems rather to describe the sixty further years that Terah lived (cf. Gen :).19 In general, Q should be read as a discussion of selected passages of Genesis, not as a running commentary on the text of Genesis. Q is for example interested in the chronological issues in this part of the Abraham narrative. It tells that Abraham was seventy years old when he came to Haran and lived there for five years. In this part of the commentary text Q picks up on Gen :– where it is said that Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran for Canaan. Genesis :– is thus left out of consideration. In addition to the text’s chronological interest in determining the selection of passages from Genesis, there may be another reason for the silence on Gen :– in Q. Before the start of the Abraham narrative in Q II, , the Commentary on Genesis A retells part of Gen and explains why Canaan instead of Ham was cursed:
And Noah awoke from his wine and he knew what his youngest son had done. And he said: “Cursed be Canaan! He will be a slave of slaves for his brothers!” And he did not curse Ham, but only his son. For God had blessed the sons of Noah. And in the tents of Shem may He dwell. He gave the land to Abraham, his beloved. (Q II, –)20
The last sentence could refer to Chr : where the Judaean king Jehoshaphat prays to God: “Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your beloved.”21 This text too combines two motifs: () the land is given to the seed of Abraham; and () Abraham as the beloved of God (see also, e.g., Isa :; Q – I, ; Jas :).22 But the combination of these two motifs need not necessarily be an argument in favour of Chr : serving as a paraphrased scriptural source in Q. There are no indications otherwise that the book of Chronicles had any special or authoritative meaning in the texts from the
Brooke, “QCommentary on Genesis A,” . See also Q , –. G.J. Brooke, “Commentary on Genesis C,” in Qumran Cave .XVII: Parabiblical Texts, Part (G. Brooke et al.; DJD ; Oxford ), –. 21 Brooke, “QCommentary on Genesis A, ; Brooke, “Commentary on Genesis, ” ” ; Brooke, “Thematic Content of Q,” ; Falk, Parabiblical Texts, –. 22 On the significance of Abraham the “friend of God” in Chr as standing for both the observance of the law and the separation from the people of the land, see recently R.G. Kratz, “Friend of God, Brother of Sarah, and Father of Isaac: Abraham in the Hebrew Bible and in Qumran,” in The Dynamics of Language and Exegesis at Qumran (ed. D. Dimant and R.G. Kratz; Tübingen ), –.
20 19
mladen popovi´ c
Qumran collection. Quotations and allusions to Chronicles in other texts are completely lacking. The one manuscript that is claimed to represent a copy of Chronicles (Q) has part of Chr :–: in its second column, but the remains in the first column cannot be identified properly. There is thus very little evidence for the copying and use of Chronicles in the texts from Qumran.23 However, this lack of evident concern for Chronicles does not rule out the possibility that Q does pick up on Chronicles here. According to Falk, the writing of the name as Abraham, and not Abram as would be expected on the basis of the sequence of Genesis that the text of Q is following and indeed again gives in Q II, following the passage under examination, may suggest that the writer is indeed referring to Chr : and, while doing so, staying faithful to his scriptural source.24 What is interesting about the retelling and explanation of Canaan’s curse in Q for our purposes here,25 is the suggestion that the exclusion from divine favour of the descendants of Ham and Japheth “reflects a political wish at the time the commentary was composed for the exclusion of foreigners from the land of Israel.”26 Instead of the biblical version of Gen : where Japheth is the one to dwell in the tents of Shem, Q, and Jub. : as well, envisage God as the one who dwells in the tents of Shem. According to Brooke this change “probably reflects an anti-Greek exclusivism (the descendants of Japheth including Javan) which is characteristic of Jubilees and is explicit in some of the community texts from Qumran.”27 The concern of the author of Q in this
23 G.J. Brooke, “Between Authority and Canon: The Significance of Reworking the Bible for Understanding the Canonical Process,” in Reworking the Bible: Apocryphal and Related Texts at Qumran (ed. E.G. Chazon, D. Dimant, and R.A. Clements; Leiden ), ; G.J. Brooke, “The Books of Chronicles and the Scrolls from Qumran,” in Reflection and Refraction: Studies in Biblical Historiography in Honour of A. Graeme Auld (ed. R. Rezetko, T.H. Lim, and W.B. Aucker; Leiden ), –; G.J. Brooke, “Types of Historiography in the Qumran Scrolls,” in Ancient and Modern Scriptural Historiography (ed. G.J. Brooke and T. Römer; Leuven ), . 24 Cf. Brooke, “Thematic Content of Q, ; Falk, Parabiblical Texts, . ” 25 The curse of Canaan also appears in the extant text of Q. Q and Q share similarities but also differ; they are not identical compositions. It is possible that we are dealing with different recensions of a single work or different compositions of the same genre. Cf. M. Bernstein, “Contours of Genesis Interpretation at Qumran: Contents, Context, and Nomenclature,” in Studies in Ancient Midrash (ed. J.L. Kugel; Cambridge, Mass., ), –, ; Falk, Parabiblical Texts, –. 26 Brooke, “Commentary on Genesis, –. ” 27 Brooke, “Thematic Content of Q, . ”
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
section of his text is the gift of the land and who will inhabit it: it belongs to Shem and thus to Abraham and his descendants. The “proper understanding of the coming messianic age and the way that life should be lived in the land in anticipation of such an age . . . were matters for the men of the community alone whose attitude was clearly intolerant, particularist and exclusivist.”28 Falk suggests that “the compiler looks forward to God’s intervention to eliminate the threat of foreigners and fulfil the promise to Abraham.”29 If this is true, then the absence in Q, a manuscript copied sometime in the second half of the first century bce, of any reference to the blessing of the nations in Abraham from Gen : becomes understandable. Such a perception of the relations between Abraham and his descendants, on the one hand, and other nations, on the other hand, would be at odds in a text whose author apparently wished for the exclusion of foreigners from the land of Israel. This suggests that the sectarian author of Q from an exclusivist perspective deliberately ignored the notion that the nations were to be blessed in Abraham. This brief discussion of the most significant non-biblical material from the Dead Sea Scrolls relating to the figure of Abraham (Q; Q; Q) is illustrative to demonstrate two tendencies. First, although Abraham makes an appearance and figures significantly in a few passages, he is not a major character in the Dead Sea Scrolls.30 Second, Abraham and the nations is not a theme of concern in the Dead Sea Scrolls. This may be due to chance, but in the case of Q I have suggested that the passage on Abraham and the nations was deliberately ignored as a result of an exclusivist perspective on the possession of the land promised to Abraham.
Brooke, “Early Jewish Commentary,” . Falk, Parabiblical Texts, . 30 Evans, “Abraham, ; C.A. Evans, “Abraham in the Dead Sea Scrolls: A Man of ” Faith and Failure,” in The Bible at Qumran: Text, Shape, and Interpretation (ed. P.W. Flint; Grand Rapids, Mich., ), n. When the scope is limited to Gen alone, Abraham together with Noah are the characters most frequently alluded to in the Gen narrative material at Qumran (excluding En.), see Bernstein, “Contours of Genesis Interpretation at Qumran,” .
29
28
mladen popovi´ c . Abraham, the Blessing of the Nations and Early Jewish Abraham Traditions
Here I will widen the scope and briefly observe other early Jewish texts that transmit Abraham traditions. This will show that the absence of the theme of Abraham and the blessing of the nations in the Dead Sea Scrolls is not an isolated phenomenon within early Judaism and should, therefore, not be considered merely an issue of chance preservation of the manuscripts from Qumran. In the early second century bce we find two references to Abraham and the nations, in Ben Sira and in Jubilees. First, Ben Sira lists the blessing of the nations as one of the characteristics of Abraham. In Sir : it says: “Therefore he [i.e., God] established by means of an oath with him that nations would be blessed by his seed.”31 Here Ben Sira takes up the blessing formula after the binding of Isaac in Gen :, not the one from Gen :. This is also clear from the context. Ben Sira speaks first of the covenant of circumcision from Gen and the trial in which Abraham was found faithful from Gen (Sir :). However, unlike Gen : that has “all the nations of the earth” (õøàä ééåâ ìë), Ben Sira only speaks of the nations ( νη or íéåâ). This raises the question as to which nations Ben Sira had in mind here. In Sir : it is said that Abraham was a great father of a multitude of nations (in the Genizah manuscript B íéåâ ïåîä áà; in Greek μ γας πατ ρ πλ ους ν ν). This is based on Gen :– where Abram’s name is changed to Abraham as he shall be an ancestor of a multitude of nations (íéåâ ïåîä áà). Becoming an ancestor of numerous nations is, of course, presumed to happen through Abraham’s sons Ishmael and Isaac. The suggestion may be put forward, therefore, that while Gen :; : may have in mind all the families/nations of the earth, and more specifically those listed in the table of nations in Gen , Ben Sira may have thought only of those nations that came through Abraham’s sons Ishmael and Isaac. Furthermore, concerning the Hebrew text of Ben Sira it is possible that the next line immediately after “to bless the nations in their seed” (íéåâ åòøæá êøáì), namely “to give them an inheritance” (íìéçðäì), is a further explication of this. If this is true, then Ben Sira
31 Translation from B.G. Wright in A New English Translation of the Septuagint and the Other Greek Translations Traditionally Included under That Title (ed. A. Pietersma and B.G. Wright; New York ).
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
would presumably say that the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac shall inherit “from [s]ea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth” (Sir :), which could be taken to mean the large area between the Euphrates and the Nile.32 The second early Jewish text that mentions Abraham and the blessing of the nations is Jubilees. Jubilees : is based on Gen : but differs slightly in wording and also in the order in which Gen : appears. And Jubilees again refers to this blessing with regard to Jacob in Jub. : that takes up Gen :.33 It is interesting in itself that the author of Jubilees did not simply omit the passage concerning the blessing of the nations altogether, as in other parts of the book he clearly thinks highly negatively of the Gentiles. For example, the distinction between Israel and the other nations is brought to the fore in Jub. :– where the seed of Ishmael’s sons should be reckoned with the Gentiles, whereas Isaac’s descendants should become a holy seed, not reckoned with the Gentiles, but God’s possession alone above all other nations as a holy nation. In Jub. the marital laws aim to enforce this distinction. It is not altogether clear whether this incorporation of the blessing of the nations should be understood somehow as a universalistic streak in Jubilees. In addition to these two early second-century bce texts, Ben Sira and Jubilees, in the first century ce there is Philo of Alexandria who deals with Gen : in his characteristic manner.34 Apart from these three instances I was unable to find any other occurrence of Abraham and the nations in early Jewish Abraham traditions.35 The book of Judith, probably written around bce in Palestine,
I thank Eibert Tigchelaar for raising these possibilities. See also Jub. :; :; :. See the contribution by Jacques T.A.G.M. van Ruiten to this volume. 34 See the contribution by Phoebe Makiello to this volume. 35 On the figure of Abraham in early Judaism, see, e.g., N. Calvert-Koyzis, Paul, Monotheism and the People of God: The Significance of Abraham Traditions for Early Judaism and Christianity (London ); Evans, “Abraham in the Dead Sea Scrolls”; J.L. Kugel, The Bible as It Was (Cambridge, Mass., ), –, –; G.W.E. Nickelsburg, “Abraham the Convert: A Jewish Tradition and Its Use by the Apostle Paul,” in Biblical Figures outside the Bible (ed. M.E. Stone and T.A. Bergen; Harrisburg, Pa., ), –; A.Y. Reed, “The Construction and Subversion of Patriarchal Perfection: Abraham and Exemplarity in Philo, Josephus, and the Testament of Abraham,” JSJ (): –; A. Roitman, “The Traditions about Abraham’s Early Life in the Book of Judith (:–),” in Things Revealed: Studies in Early Jewish and Christian Literature in Honor of Michael E. Stone (ed. E.G. Chazon, D. Satran, and R.A. Clements; Leiden ), –.
33
32
mladen popovi´ c
contains some traditions about Abraham’s early life, but makes no mention of Abraham and the blessing of the nations. This is perhaps not to be expected in the historical survey of Israel that is given by Achior, the leader of the Ammonites. At the same time, such a positive remark about the nations being blessed in Abraham would be at odds with the clear message that Judith conveys at the end of the book. Judith : is openly negative about the nations who plot against Israel:
Woe to the nations who plot against my race; the omnipotent Lord will punish them in the day of judgment, to send fire and worms for their flesh, and they will wail in full consciousness forever. (Jdt :)
Prior to the first century bce, Pseudo-Eupolemus presents Abraham as a teacher of astrology and other sciences to the Phoenicians and the Egyptians, and he briefly recounts the events from Gen , albeit in a somewhat different version. But although he has Abraham interact with other nations, in Eusebius’ text Pseudo-Eupolemus does not make any reference to the nations being blessed in Abraham. The Orphica (second century bce-first century ce) also connect Abraham with astrology (– ), but not with the nations. In the latter half of the first century ce Josephus does not deal with the issue of Abraham and the blessing of the nations (Ant. .–), although he too connects Abraham with astrology. Josephus mentions Abraham’s move from Chaldea to Canaan, but he ignores Gen :– and relates that Abraham, once he had settled, built an altar for God and made a sacrifice to him. Pseudo-Philo has some colourful traditions about Abraham’s early life (L.A.B. :–:). Following the story of the tower of Babel (Gen :), the narrative continues with Gen : and Abraham’s move to Canaan. Pseudo-Philo briefly relates some material from Gen ; ; ; ; , but passes over Abraham and the blessing of the nations. The Apocalypse of Abraham (first-second century ce) relates that Abraham has to leave Terah, but immediately continues with the covenant of the pieces from Gen (Apoc. Ab. :–:), leaving out Abraham and the nations. Finally, the Testament of Abraham (first-second century ce) also ignores the theme of Abraham and the nations, although it does recount the blessing made to Abraham and his seed (T. Ab. :), albeit without further specifying it. This short overview of early Jewish Abraham traditions shows that the theme of Abraham and the blessing of the nations was not a major issue in early Jewish texts. If we do not take into account the unique reception of Gen : by Philo, we may observe that only two early Jewish texts from the second century bce refer to Abraham and the blessing of the
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
nations: Ben Sira and Jubilees. The theme does not occur in other early Jewish texts from a later date. Interestingly, this latter situation contrasts with Paul’s letter to the Galatians (:) and with Acts (:).36 For now, it may be surmised that these early Christian texts refer to Abraham and the blessing of the nations because they are directed at a non-Jewish audience. This universalistic tendency, that is, to mention the inclusion of other nations in the blessings promised to Abraham, is largely absent from early Jewish texts that transmit Abraham traditions. This may have to do with positions taken vis-à-vis other nations in different streams of early Judaism, or at least in different early Jewish texts. From this brief survey it is evident that the absence of the theme of Abraham and the blessing of the nations in the Dead Sea Scrolls was not an isolated phenomenon at the time. Abraham and the nations was apparently not a theme of much concern in the early Jewish texts that we know of. . Abraham and the Nations in Two Scrolls from Qumran? Up until now I have said that Abraham and the nations do not occur as a theme of concern in the Dead Sea Scrolls. That is true in as far as the blessing of the nations in Abraham is concerned. But it does not mean that they never occur together. There are two intriguing instances where Abraham and the nations may indeed occur in close proximity to each other. These examples may show us how the nations are to be excluded from access to God’s laws, and presumably from the covenant that God made with Abraham. The covenant with Abraham, in this case the promise of the land, stands in contrast to the nations. QNarrative and Poetic Compositionb (Q) Q is one of five manuscripts that present the remains of a Hebrew composition which withstands easy scholarly characterization regarding its content, meaning and genre.37 The text is a so-called parabiblical
36 See the contribution by Birgit van der Lans (“Belonging to Abraham’s Kin”) to this volume. 37 In addition to Q– (QNarrative and Poetic Compositiona–c), Q (Apocryphon of David[?]) and frgs. – from PAM . (= Qa, QNarrative and Poetic Compositiond) are the other manuscripts that contain the extant text. For Q– see E. Qimron, “Observations on the Reading of ‘A Text about Joseph’ (Q, ),” RevQ
mladen popovi´ c
text.38 As in the case of most non-biblical texts from Qumran, the manuscripts give no indications that this composition was authored within the community or communities that stand behind the collection of manuscripts found near Qumran. The manuscript of Q dates to around the middle of the first century bce, but another manuscript copy, Q, is dated to the first half of the first century bce. The composition itself may therefore indeed date from the second century bce, and if the editors are correct in their interpretation it should date before the attack of John Hyrcanus on Shechem in bce.39 In the official publication the editors speak of a puzzling composition.40 It was first named Apocryphon of Joseph, because Joseph appears as a central figure in the largest remaining part of the text in Q (with overlapping text in Q ). But the fragmentary nature of the manuscripts makes it difficult to determine the relationship of the Joseph fragment with the rest of the text. A salient feature of the composition is its combination of narrative with psalm-like texts. And although the exact nature of the juxtaposition of prose and poetry is not yet fully understood,41 this characteristic has earned the composition its official and more generic name QNarrative and Poetic Compositionb.
/ (): –; E. Schuller, “Q : A Text about Joseph,” RevQ / – (): –; E. Schuller and M. Bernstein, “–: QNarrative and Poetic Compositiona–c,” in Wadi Daliyeh II: The Samaria Papyri from Wadi Daliyeh and Qumran Cave .XXVIII: Miscellanea, Part (D.M. Gropp, M. Bernstein et al.; DJD ; Oxford ), –. For Q see M. Baillet, “: Un apocryphe de David (?),” in Les ‘petites grottes’ de Qumrân (M. Baillet et al.; DJD ; Oxford ), –. For Qa see E. Tigchelaar, “On the Unidentified Fragments of DJD XXXIII and PAM .: A New Manuscript of QNarrative and Poetic Composition, and Fragments of Q, Q, Q and QSb(?),” RevQ / (): –. 38 For a lucid discussion of the taxonomic term “parabiblical, with references to other ” positions and literature, see Falk, Parabiblical Texts, –. 39 But see H. Eshel, “John Hyrcanus, EDSS :; H. Eshel, The Dead Sea Scrolls ” and the Hasmonean State (Grand Rapids, Mich., ), n; H. Eshel, “The Prayer of Joseph, a Papyrus from Masada and the Samaritan Temple on ΑΡΓΑΡΙΖΙΝ,” Zion (): – (Hebrew). 40 Schuller and Bernstein, “QNarrative and Poetic Compositiona–c, . ” 41 Cf. M.J. Bernstein, “Poetry and Prose in Q– Narrative and Poetic Compositiona, b, c,” in Liturgical Perspectives: Prayer and Poetry in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls (ed. E.G. Chazon, R. Clements, and A. Pinnick; Leiden ), –. Specific attention has been given to the prayer of Joseph in Q . See, e.g., E. Chazon, “Dialogue with Scripture in Hymns and Prayers from Qumran,” Megh (): – (Hebrew); E.M. Schuller, “The Psalm of Q within the Context of Second Temple Prayer,” CBQ (): –; J. Vázquez Allegue, “Q: Dios como Padre en Qumrán,” in Dios Padre envio al mundo a su Hijo (ed. N. Silanes; Salamanca ), –.
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
Q consists of twenty-six fragments, but only three fragments are of a considerable size. Only the first and third fragment will be of concern here. The first fragment of Q deals with the figure of Joseph and also contains a psalm by him. Joseph is mentioned explicitly twice. In line it is said that “Joseph was cast into lands he did not k[now . . . ],”42 and in lines – it says that “Joseph [was given] into the hands of foreigners.” According to Schuller, in the first fifteen lines the text adheres to a chronological Sin-Exile-Return pattern, but she admits that lines – “are the least easily explained of the whole section by this interpretation.”43 Schuller argues for this chronological framework in the first part of the text on the basis of the supposition that the composition is not based upon the figure and story of Joseph in Gen –, but instead that “Joseph” designates the northern tribes of Israel.44 Accordingly, the text conjures up the context of the exile of the northern kingdom of Israel, the nine northern tribes.45 In the beginning of the text the Most High is said to have given them into the hands of the nations (line ) and to have exterminated them from the land (line ). In light of the above, it seems that the plural “them” here refers to the northern tribes of Israel.46
42 D.C. Mitchell, “A Dying and Rising Josephite Messiah in Q, JSP (): ” –, – questions the translation here of Schuller and Bernstein, “QNarrative and Poetic Compositiona–c,” , , and doubts whether this line contains a reference to Joseph’s exile. But he concedes that in Q úåöøà refers to the lands of foreign nations and thus may also have that sense in Q , with an exile of the Joseph figure in mind. 43 Schuller, “Text about Joseph, , ; Schuller and Bernstein, “QNarrative and ” Poetic Compositiona–c,” , . 44 Schuller, “Text about Joseph, –; Schuller and Bernstein, “QNarrative and ” Poetic Compositiona–c,” –. F. García Martínez, “Nuevos textos no bíblicos procedentes de Qumrán,” EstBib (): – argues that Joseph appears in Q both as patriarch and as representing the northern tribes, whereas M.A. Knibb, “A Note on Q and Q,” in The Scriptures and the Scrolls: Studies in Honour of A.S. van der Woude on the Occasion of His th Birthday (ed. F. García Martínez, A. Hilhorst, and C.J. Labuschagne; Leiden ), objects that there is “nothing in the psalm, or in the fragment as a whole, that reflects in any concrete way the story of Joseph in Genesis.” I was unable to consult M. Rossetti, Giuseppe negli scritti di Qumran: La figura del patriarca a partire da Q (Rome ). 45 Nine northern tribes, because Levi, Judah and Benjamin (line ) represent the three southern tribes in this text, as they do too in En. :–, QM I, , and T. Jos. :. 46 Mitchell, “Josephite Messiah in Q, – argues for a different understand” ing of the imperfect tense of the verbs used, and renders them as the English future.
mladen popovi´ c
Not surprising perhaps, the nations appear in a negative role in Q . They are associated with “the valley of the vision” (line ), although the precise interpretation of this line is very uncertain. The phrase “valley of the vision” (ïåæçä éâ) comes from Isa :, (ïéæç àéâ). For the author(s) of Q this reference to Isaiah here most probably invoked the setting of Jerusalem and its destruction, as becomes clear from the immediate context that mentions Zion and Jerusalem.47 Although the text is damaged, it is likely that the nations are the ones who turned Jerusalem into ruins and the mountain of God into “woo[ded] heights” (line ). When the scene shifts from the narrative to the psalm by Joseph, Joseph is said to have cried out to God to save him from the hands of the nations (line ). Also, Joseph complains in his prayer of a hostile people that live in the land (line ). Thus, Q seems to make a distinction between nations (íéåâ) farther away, where Joseph is in exile, and a hostile people (áéåà íò)48 in the land itself from where Joseph was exiled. Furthermore, in light of the above discussion regarding the Commentary on Genesis A, where Abraham was called God’s friend in the context of a concern about the gift of the land and who will inhabit it, it is interesting to note that in Q Jacob too is referred to as God’s friend (line ) in the context of a debate about the possession of the land.49 Schuller argues that Q is part of an inner Jewish polemic against Samaritan claims to be the descendants of Joseph. There are several elements in the text that suggest identifying the adversaries with the Samaritans and that the text’s aim is to deny their descent from Joseph, but that need not be discussed here. Thus, the text is taken as an antiSamaritan polemic against the Jewish community around Shechem with its cultic centre atop Mount Gerizim, arguing that Joseph, whose true
Instead of a reference to a past exile of the Josephite tribes, the text could also be “a proleptic summary of the fate in store for the southern tribes, or even for all Israel, after Joseph’s demise.” 47 Qimron, “Observations, ; Schuller, “Text about Joseph, ; Schuller and Bern” ” stein, “QNarrative and Poetic Compositiona–c,” . In the Dead Sea Scrolls the phrase only appears in one other manuscript copy of this text, Q . 48 This phrase does not occur in the Hebrew Bible. R.A. Kugler, “Joseph at Qumran: The Importance of Q Frg. in Extending a Tradition,” in Studies in the Hebrew Bible, Qumran, and the Septuagint Presented to Eugene Ulrich (ed. P.W. Flint, E. Tov, and J.C. VanderKam; Leiden ), refers to QM X, as another occurrence of this phrase, but there íò is the particle “with,” not the noun “people.” 49 Schuller and Bernstein, “QNarrative and Poetic Compositiona–c, . ”
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
descendants are the group with whom the author identifies, is still in exile, which would have invalidated Samaritan claims of Josephan ancestry.50 In the text of Q the nations have their stereotypical role to play as the ones who are responsible for destruction and exile. These nations are not further specified, but if the interpretation of Schuller and others is correct then it is possible that they also include a people living near to the author(s) of Q. According to biblical tradition a difference was to be made between nations living nearby and those farther away. The rules of war in Deut are exemplary in this respect. One should, therefore, allow for the possibility that this distinction was also made in Q between the Samaritans living nearby, the hostile people inhabiting the land (line ), and other nations farther away, who invaded the land and took Joseph into exile. However, when we turn to Q , the question is whether the Joseph figure, what it represents as well as the occurrence or nonoccurrence of polemics against the Samaritans continue to play a role in that part of the text. The fragmentary nature of the manuscripts makes it very difficult to relate the Joseph fragment to the rest of the text. It is, therefore, not clear whether Joseph is still the protagonist in the third fragment. In the extant manuscript the “I” of the text is not identified. Adopting wisdom language, the protagonist in Q says that Yhwh has opened his mouth and that Yhwh’s word is in him to announce (line ). The first part
Schuller, “Text about Joseph,” –; Schuller and Bernstein, “QNarrative and Poetic Compositiona–c,” –. Other interpretations of Q have been put forward. Kugler, “Joseph at Qumran,” argues that the polemic of the text may have been understood on a different level within the community of Qumran and that the community could identify with the Joseph figure from Q . Kugler suggests that the Joseph figure was read, heard and understood in the Qumran community as an ideal figure and scriptural archetype for the community’s own experience of living in exile from the temple while confident of return and vindication. M. Thiessen, “Q and the Continuation of Joseph’s Exile,” DSD (): – argues that the anti-Samaritan polemic was not the primary concern of the text’s author. Rather, influenced by Deut and its promised but unfulfilled deliverance of the northern tribes and reacting against Ps and its perspective of God’s rejection of Joseph, the emphasis in Q is on the significance of the true Joseph’s continuing state of exile and its importance for those in the south. Finally, Mitchell, “Josephite Messiah in Q,” argues against the prevailing interpretation of seeing Q as referring to the fall and exile of the northern kingdom and against the anti-Samaritan hypothesis. He suggests instead understanding the Joseph figure as a messianic character and Q not as a historical overview but as a prophecy, drawing from Ps ; ; , of future events.
50
mladen popovi´ c
of this fragment represents a wisdom composition (lines –), whereas in the second part (lines –) the topic shifts to a description of God’s relationship with Israel. It is therefore possible, but not certain, that the protagonist in Q is Joseph who embodies or represents Israel as the receiver of God’s covenant. Be that as it may, the text is very clear about the nations. For it is said that God “will not give to another nation (øçà éåâì) his statutes, and will not crown any stranger (øæ) with them” (line ). The notion that God will not give his laws to any other people but Israel is emphasized in Ps :– (cf. Deut :–). The idea of the law as a crown is known from rabbinic literature, but that is different from the image drawn in Q .51 The point in any case is clear that God’s laws are for Israel only, not for any other nation. In addition to the negative portrayal of the nations in Q , the third fragment not only excludes other nations from access to God’s laws, but also possibly puts Abraham in relation to the nations: “[ . . . the covenant of A]braham, which he made with Jacob, is to be with him forever[ . . . ]” (lines –).52 Contrary to what Paul will later argue in the letter to the Galatians, Q makes clear that the covenant with Abraham was not meant for any other nation, to include them, but for Israel only. If the nations are excluded from access to God’s laws, then presumably that also applies to the covenant.53 The notion that the nations are blessed in Abraham would, therefore, hardly come to the minds of the people behind the composition of Q; they would probably oppose the very idea or simply ignore it. The nations do not share in this blessing. The negative portrayal of the nations is continued in Q by referring to the nations as those who are intent on harming God’s inheritance, i.e., Israel (line ), and by stating that God will demand their blood from their hand (line ). This handling of the nations by God is reinforced
Schuller and Bernstein, “QNarrative and Poetic Compositiona–c,” . Schuller and Bernstein, “QNarrative and Poetic Compositiona–c,” – read ° ° ° íäéð[á] (“their [so]ns”), but also suggest the reading íäøá[à as a possibility, although the slant of the horizontal stroke is not typical for bet. They note that a combination of Abraham and Jacob would be more unusual in light of the many passages that speak of God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But that does not exclude the possibility that the name of Abraham is to be read at the beginning of line in Q . See also below on Q where only Abraham and Israel (Jacob) are mentioned. 53 The exclusivity of the covenant would still stand if Abraham were not the correct reading in line . Then it would be with reference to Jacob only.
52
51
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
through an exhortatory reference to the defeat of Midian (lines –), which is often used as a paradigm of God’s dealings with the nations (cf. Ps :; Isa :).54 In Q , where Abraham and the nations may appear in close proximity to each other, a point is made that other nations do not share in the covenant with Abraham. The idea that the nations are to be blessed in Abraham would most likely have been alien to its thinking. QCommunal Confession (Q) In another Hebrew composition we also come across Abraham and probably the nations. QCommunal Confession, the manuscript of which dates to around the turn of the era, has the character of a penitential prayer spoken from the first person plural and in form and content it belongs to a group of postexilic prayers of communal confession.55 The prayer in Q is based on the prayer of Moses in Deut :–, but creatively modifies the Mosaic prayer using both biblical and extra biblical traditions. In the third fragment of Q the prayer from Deut :– is modified in the light of Ps : in combination with the phrase òøä áì úåøéøùá from Jeremiah. Also, Q b– follow the pattern of Neh :– but for the important modification that God has forsaken his people instead of the assertion from Neh : that God did not abandon his people. Furthermore, the text’s editor, Falk, has noted this passage’s strong resemblance to Jub. : in particular and Jub. :– in general, which either may have been a source for the reworking of the Mosaic prayer or its interpretative tradition may have served as a counter text for a prayer which was patterned on Neh .56 In the third fragment of Q the protagonists ask Yhwh, who has chosen their fathers long ago, to raise them up as a remnant and to give them what he established with Abraham and with Israel:
Schuller and Bernstein, “QNarrative and Poetic Compositiona–c,” . For the editio princeps see D. Falk, “: QCommunal Confession,” in Qumran Cave .XX: Poetical and Liturgical Texts, Part (E. Chazon et al.; DJD ; Oxford ), –. See also J.A. Emerton, “A Note on Two Words in Q,” JJS (): – ; D.K. Falk, “Q: A Communal Confession,” JJS (): –; D.K. Falk, “Biblical Adaptation in Q Works of God and Q Communal Confession,” in The Provo International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls: Technological Innovations, New Texts, and Reformulated Issues (ed. D.W. Parry and E. Ulrich; Leiden ), –. 56 Falk, “Biblical Adaptation, –. ”
55
54
7May
mladen popovi´ c
you confirm us as a remnant for them to give to us (that which) you established with Abraham (and) Israel, dispossessing 8b[e]fore them [great nations], valiant warriors and those mighty in strength, to give to us houses full 9[of all good things, hewn cisterns and reservoir]s of water, vineyards and olive trees, the heritage of a people [ ].57 (Q –)
The protagonists ask God to drive out valiant warriors and those mighty in strength in order for them to enjoy their inheritance, the land and its fruits. But before the valiant warriors are mentioned a lacuna unfortunately occurs in the manuscript. The lacuna possibly contained a reference to “great nations” ([íéìåãâ íéåâ ]). This restoration fits the space available in the lacuna. The typical use of ùøé Hiphil makes this restoration likely too. Also, if the interpretative tradition from Jub. informed Q , then the negative occurrence of the Gentiles in Jub. may provide further support for the restoration “great nations” ([íéìåãâ íéåâ]) in line as a negative appearance of the nations in Q. Although the phrase ìéçä éøåáâ usually refers to Israelite warriors, it is also used of the armies of Assyria ( Chr :) and Jericho (Josh :)58 and in QM XI, of Goliath.59 We find here again the combination of the promise of the covenant with Abraham and Israel (Jacob), the possession of the land and the exclusion of other nations. Falk also notes that although the reference to Abraham and Israel, omitting Isaac, is unusual Isa : likewise limits its scope to these two patriarchs,60 as does Q , we may add. Thus, we have here another instance where the covenant with Abraham, in this case the promise of the land, stands in contrast with the nations. If this interpretation of Q is correct then it may present an interesting parallel to Q where possession of the land, being descendants of Abraham and the presence of foreigners/other nations also determine an exclusivist perspective. In addition, the text may be suggestive of another sort of identity boundary being made, namely an identity boundary within Israel. In the Dead Sea Scrolls and also in other Second Temple Jewish texts the notion of a remnant of Israel highlights divisions within Jewish society where some Jewish movements claimed to be the only true Israel. In addition to different positions being taken vis-à-vis other cultures and other nations, Jewish society in the late Second Temple period also clearly
57 58 59 60
Falk, “QCommunal Confession,” . Falk, “QCommunal Confession,” . See also Q – III, –. Falk, “QCommunal Confession,” .
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
evinces internal divisions and positioning between different groups. The notion of a remnant of Israel was one of the means of positioning that Jews could use to distinguish themselves from other Jews. In Q the request by the protagonists may imply this inner Jewish distinction. They ask God to raise them up as the remnant (line ). The two texts of Q and Q are the only two from the Dead Sea Scrolls where Abraham and the nations occur in close proximity to each other. They show that the nations could not be part of the covenant of Abraham. In various ways, they are instead excluded from the benefits of this inheritance. . The Exclusion and Inclusion of the Nations in the Dead Sea Scrolls While Abraham was perhaps not a figure of major concern in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as discussed above, other nations do appear in a significant way. The different ways in which the nations appear in the various Scrolls show too that the absence of Abraham and the blessing of the nations among these texts is probably not a coincidence. The nations figure prominently in eschatological texts. Here they are the typical archenemy of Israel or an elected part thereof. Especially in sectarian texts there is a strong rhetoric of the elect of Israel fighting the nations.61 For example, the Rule of the Congregation from Cave refers to the regular members going out to war to subdue the nations (QSa I, ). And in the Pesher Habakkuk from Cave :
God will not let his people (íò) be destroyed by the nations (íéåâ), but in the hand of his chosen ones he will place judgment over all the nations. (QpHab V, –)
In QpHab XII, –XIII, the point is made that all the idols of the nations will not save them on the day of judgement, when God will destroy all idol worshippers. The sectarian notion of being elected is also particularly clear in the War Scroll from Cave and its Cave copies, where the sons of light fight the sons of darkness. The sons of light are aided by God, whereas the sons
61 Cf. also L.H. Schiffman, “Non-Jews in the Dead Sea Scrolls, in The Quest for ” Context and Meaning: Studies in Biblical Intertextuality in Honor of James A. Sanders (ed. C.A. Evans and S. Talmon; Leiden ), –.
mladen popovi´ c
of darkness, a host of different nations,62 most notably the Kittim, have Belial as their leader. But after more than three decades of battle God will destroy the enemies of his elect ones. God has raised the assembly of the nations for destruction with no remnant to be left (QM XIV, // Q – I, ). All the wicked nations shall be destroyed; none of their heroes will remain standing (QM XIV, – // Q – I, –). The end time is a time of suffering for Israel and of war against all the nations (QM XV, ), a time of God’s war against “all the n[ations]” (QM XV, –), when destruction awaits for all the wicked nations (QM XV, ). God has summoned the sword against all the nations (QM XVI, ) and the weapons of war shall not be blunted until every wicked nation is destroyed (QM XVII, ). These examples from the War Scroll may prove my point that in sectarian texts such as the Pesher Habakkuk and the War Scroll, the nations figure primarily as the enemies to be destroyed at the day of judgement and in the final battle at the end of days. More sectarian texts could be adduced to support this point, but also nonsectarian texts. This is important for it shows that such eschatological ideas about the nations were not limited to the Jewish group or groups behind the collection of manuscripts from Qumran. These ideas were also prevalent among other streams of Jewish tradition, as is clear too from texts like Enoch or the Psalms of Solomon.63 In the so-called Pseudo-Ezekiel texts, the composition of which may date to the second century bce, there is a fragment that is based on Ezek , but that reworks the material. Significant for our purposes is the fact that before the prophecies of doom against specific nations begin, there is an important addition or explication by use of the non-biblical collocation íéåâ ïãáà íåé, building on Ezek : and resembling the rendering in the Septuagint. The prophet is ordered to prophesy: “See, the day of destruction (ïãáà íåé) for the nations is coming” (Qb ).64 These eschatological and apocalyptic texts give further context to the absence of Abraham and the blessing of the nations among the Dead Sea Scrolls, making it probable that this absence is not a coincidence. Of course, the nations and Gentiles are here treated as an amorphous
See a listing in, e.g., QM I and Q III. In some texts the Gentiles, being agents of demonic power, are also seen to play a negative role in subduing Israel before they are punished. See, e.g., D. Dimant, “Israel’s Subjugation to the Gentiles as an Expression of Demonic Power in Qumran Documents and Related Literature,” RevQ / (): –. 64 See D. Dimant, “b: QPseudo-Ezekielc, in Qumran Cave .XXI: Parabiblical ” Texts, Part : Pseudo-Prophetic Texts (D. Dimant; DJD ; Oxford ), .
63 62
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
unity, whereas individual texts also distinguish between different nations. But the general and negative sense in which the nations often appear may illustrate the stereotype character they have in these texts, which is sufficient for our purposes to understand the non-reception of the blessing of the nations, which is also only a general designation. To be sure, there are a few instances in the Dead Sea Scrolls in which the nations seemingly play a more positive role. For example, according to QHa XIV, – (VI, –) the men of God’s council, the elect, are to recount to everlasting generations God’s wonders so that all the nations (íéåâ) may acknowledge God’s truth and all the peoples (íéîåàì) his glory.65 And in Q XXIV, –, also known from later Syriac tradition as a noncanonical Psalm but in this first-century ce scroll from Qumran preceded by Ps and followed by Ps , the psalmist requests God:
Instruct me, Yhwh, in your law, and teach me your precepts. That many may hear of your deeds and peoples (íéîò) may honour your glory. (Q XXIV, –)
Holtz has argued in a recent article that the Dead Sea Scrolls, apart from the dominant strand of exclusivism, reveal clear inclusivist features, understanding inclusivism to mean “any attempt on the part of the Community to reach out beyond its own confines and to open up for the outside world.”66 She takes this inclusivist tendency to be directed primarily at the Jewish noncommunity members and thus having a panJewish/Israelite perspective. In addition to QSb IV, –, which Holtz gives as an example of a universal dimension, she briefly discusses QHa XIV, – to argue that the destiny of the nations is somehow bound up with the Qumran community.67 But for our purposes the examples that Holtz adduces do not alter much the predominant exclusivist tendency towards other nations in the Qumran texts.68
65 See now H. Stegemann, E. Schuller, and C. Newsom, Qumran Cave .III: QHodayot a with Incorporation of QHodayot b and QHodayot a–f (DJD ; Oxford ), , . 66 G. Holtz, “Inclusivism at Qumran, DSD (): . Furthermore, with regard to ” the exclusivist features she argues that “the self-centeredness and reclusiveness of Essene Judaism as represented in Qumran literature is not characteristic of the whole group as scholars often assume, but of one subgroup, namely the community behind S” (). See also G. Holtz, Damit Gott sei alles in allem: Studien zum paulinischen und frühjüdischen Universalismus (Berlin ), –, –. 67 Holtz, “Inclusivism at Qumran, –. She overlooks Q XXIV, –. ” 68 Discussing some of the legal evidence, Holtz, “Inclusivism at Qumran, – ” argues that the laws on dealings with the Gentiles are mainly concerned with the protection of the Jewish religious and national concerns. Members of the Qumran
mladen popovi´ c
In his argument for noticing universalistic patterns in early Judaism over and against the strongly particularistic picture drawn by an older form of (primarily Christian) scholarship, Donaldson understands Q XXIV, – to exemplify Gentile sympathizing with Judaism, since the nations are to honour God’s glory, whatever form that may take.69 However, one may question whether this feature in QHa XIV, – (VI, –) and Q XXIV, – of other nations knowing of God’s great deeds and paying homage to him implies that the Jewish authors behind these texts envisaged non-Jews somehow participating in the religious requirements of their cult. Rather, it seems that the theme of the Gentiles knowing God’s deeds and honouring him in these texts may simply be determined by scriptural language (e.g., Ps :; :; :; Isa :; :; :–),70 and may also be the case in QM and Q, to which we now turn.71 In QM XII, the wealth of the nations is to be brought to Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. They should open their gates continuously (see also Q , ). This means that plunder and booty from the nations is to go the land of Israel (see e.g., Isa :, ; :; Hag :; Zech :). A similar notion occurs in another text from Cave . In Q we can read the following:
And all the nations have seen your glory, for you have made yourself holy in the midst of your people, Israel. And to your great name they will carry their offerings: silver, gold, precious stones, with all the treasures of
community are to keep away from the nations. In addition to the texts that Holtz mentions, one should add the following passage from the list of transgressions in a Cave copy of the Damascus Document concerning “revealing a secret of the people to the gentiles” (Q II, ). This transgression also appears in the Temple Scroll, where one who passes on information against his people or betrays his people to a foreign nation will be hung on a tree to die, as will also someone who commits a capital offence, escapes amongst the nations and curses his people (Q LXIV, – // Q –). See also Schiffman, “Non-Jews in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” –. 69 T.L. Donaldson, Judaism and the Gentiles: Jewish Patterns of Universalism (to ce) (Waco, Tex., ), –. He overlooks QHa XIV, – (VI, –). 70 Cf. also Donaldson, Judaism and the Gentiles, –; S. Holm-Nielsen, Hodayot: Psalms from Qumran (Aarhus ), . 71 For the most recent discussion of the motif of the worship of God by all humanity in En. : (although it is not mentioned that this is to happen in Jerusalem), see L.T. Stuckenbruck, “The Eschatological Worship of God by the Nations: An Inquiry into the Early Enochic Tradition,” in With Wisdom as a Robe: Qumran and Other Jewish Studies in Honour of Ida Frölich (ed. K.D. Dobos and M. K˝ szeghy; Sheffield ), – o .
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
their country, to honour your people and Zion, your holy city and your wonderful house. And there will be no opponent or evil attack, but peace and blessing. (Q – IV, –)72
So on the one hand, the nations are there to be destroyed. On the other hand, their wealth is to be brought to the land of Israel—either by their victors, the sons of light (QM), or by themselves (Q). But despite some texts that, in the tradition of Isa ; and Zech , picture the nations coming to Jerusalem to pay homage, the overwhelming impression of the nations in the Dead Sea Scrolls remains negative, not positive, as both Donaldson and Holtz acknowledge too. Notwithstanding some possibly inclusivist tendencies, although those directed towards other nations are really weak in comparison to the possibility of a pan-Jewish/Israelite perspective, the exclusivist strand remains dominant. The nations are to be totally destroyed; no remnant left. Their function is that of end-time adversary so that Israel may rule. According to Q – – Israel was chosen by God “from m]any [peoples] and from great nations to be his people, to rule over all[ hea]ven and earth, and as most high over every nation of the earth.” The language used is Deuteronomistic (Deut : is quoted), with parallels in other nonbiblical retellings of the divine choice of Israel (e.g., QM X, ; Q – III, –; – IV –).73 The poetic text Q adds an eschatological perspective. It says that God will destroy nations (íéåâ) and cut down peoples (íéîåàì), and that God will renew the works of heaven and earth (Q , –).74 Destruction and judgement is what awaits the nations in the last days. In Q the Day of Atonement at the end of the tenth jubilee “is the time for the year of grace of Melchizedek and of [his] arm[ies, the nati]on [of] the holy ones of God, of the
M. Baillet, “: Paroles des Luminaires (premier exemplaire: DibHama),” in Qumrân Grotte .III (Q–Q) (M. Baillet; DJD ; Oxford ), –. Donaldson, Judaism and the Gentiles, – argues that, although the description is similar to the eschatological pilgrimage tradition, Q – IV, – has a pilgrimage in view that had already taken place in the ideal (Davidic) past. Cf. also E.G. Chazon, “QDibham: Liturgy or Literature?” RevQ / – (): –; J.R. Davila, Liturgical Works (Grand Rapids, Mich., ), –. 73 See Schiffman, “Non-Jews in the Dead Sea Scrolls, –; E. Schuller, “: ” QNon-Canonical Psalms B,” in Qumran Cave .VI: Poetical and Liturgical Texts, Part (E. Eshel et al.; DJD ; Oxford ), . 74 See M. Weinfeld and D. Seely, “: QBarkhi Nafshia, in Qumran Cave .XX: ” Poetical and Liturgical Texts, Part (E. Chazon et al.; Oxford ), –.
72
mladen popovi´ c
administration of judgement.” And the text quotes from Ps :–: “And] above [it,] to the heights, return: God shall judge the nations” (Q II, –).75 These eschatological and apocalyptic texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls where the nations appear hardly provide an atmosphere or a context conducive for the reception of the blessing of the nations through Abraham from Gen . The dominant exclusivism may explain the absence of a reception history for Gen : in the Dead Sea Scrolls. . Conclusion The texts from Qumran show no evidence for a reception history of Gen :. Usually, silence of evidence does not imply evidence of silence, but in this case, as I have argued, other contextual evidence may demonstrate that a reception history for Gen : was indeed absent in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the contextual evidence can also inform us about the reasons for this absence. Moreover, the absence of the theme of Abraham and the blessing of the nations in the texts from Qumran was not an isolated phenomenon at the time, as is demonstrated by the fact of it being largely absent from other early Jewish texts outside the Dead Sea Scrolls corpus. Scrolls that are patterned one way or another on the Abraham narrative in Genesis, and of which it could therefore be expected that they refer to Gen :, either do not have enough extant text (Q; Q), or do not refer to the verse. Some even deliberately ignore it because of contemporary claims to the land at the exclusion of non-Jews (Q). Two other texts have shed further light on the line of thinking expounded in Q. Q makes the point that other nations do not share in the covenant with Abraham. In Q the covenant with Abraham, rendered concrete as the promise of the land, also stands in contrast with the nations, thus paralleling Q where possession of the land, being descendants of Abraham and the presence of foreigners/other nations also determine an exclusivist perspective. These texts show that the nations were excluded from the covenant of Abraham. Such a line of thinking hardly allows for a view of the nations sharing in Abraham’s blessings. Finally, the stereotypical role of the nations in apocalyptic and
75 See F. García Martínez, E.J.C. Tigchelaar, and A.S. van der Woude, “: QMelchizedek,” in Qumran Cave .II: Q–, Q– (F. García Martínez, E.J.C. Tigchelaar, and A.S. van der Woude; DJD ; Oxford ), .
abraham and the nations in the dead sea scrolls
eschatological texts as the archenemy of Israel, only awaiting final judgement or to be destroyed at the end of times, also makes the non-reception of the blessing of the nations in the Dead Sea Scrolls understandable. These aspects from the texts explain the absence of a reception history for Gen :, while historical circumstances of the late Second Temple period may inform us further why texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls and other early Jewish texts exclude the nations from the covenantal blessings of Abraham to live peacefully and share in the land.76
76 I thank Jan Bremmer and especially Eibert Tigchelaar for commenting upon an earlier version of this paper.