The Works of the Messiah

Abstract

In a recent issue of Revue de Qumran, Emile Puech published exceptionally interesting text, 4Q521, which he dubbed a apocalypse. 1 The proposed designation is at best approximate indication of generic affinity. The extant fragments show none of the formal marks of apocalyptic revelation,2 but, like many apocalypses, they deal with eschatological expectations which include the resurrection of the dead. In another formulation of Puech, it is an exhortation based on the blessings or chastisements which God will bring about through, or in the days of, his Messiah.3 Three aspects of the text are especially interesting in this regard. First, there is explicit mention of a or anointed one,' and so the text is important addition to the limited repertoire of explicit messianic references from the preChristian period. Second, there is explicit mention of resurrection in two passages. References to resurrection are notoriously scarce in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Third, one of the resurrection passages has a very close parallel in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke and may throw some light on the categories in which Jesus of Nazareth was perceived by his followers at early stage. The fragmentary state of the text, however, leaves room for some questions about its interpretation. It is not immediately clear what role, if any, the messiah plays in the resurrection. I shall argue that he most probably serves as God's agent in raising the dead. Such a role, however, is not