Post by alon on Jul 31, 2023 14:39:07 GMT -8
This is a small excerpt from my notes on a course I am taking with the Israel Bible Center. I highly recommend them for improving your ability to understand the writers of our Bible.
The War Scrolls are apocalyptic literature, written on papyrus in Hebrew.
apocalyptic- when God breaks into human history. From the Greek apo, from or out of; an calupsis, something that is covered. Apocalyptic texts are an ‘uncovering.’ Something that is revealed. Seeing mysteries of the divine realm and cosmic events and their effects here on earth. They relate to the end times.
The idea of good vs. evil can often be better understood as chaos vs. order. Good (tov) is God’s order, and evil (ra) is disorder: ט֣וֹב וָרָ֔ע tov v’ra. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil can be better understood in terms of the knowledge of order and disorder/chaos:
- Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Going into the text: “For the In[structor, the Rule of] the War. The first attack of the Sons of Light shall be undertaken against the forces of the Sons of Darkness, the army of Belial: the troops of Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the [Amalekitesl, Philistia, and the troops of the Kittim of Asshur. Supporting them are those who have violated the covenant.” (War Scroll 1:1-2; Wise, Abegg, Cook)
“Rule” is in brackets, meaning it was missing from the original fragment. I am unsure how we get this term inserted- whether it was in another fragment dealing with this or similar texts or if just an opinion of a translator. We do not know what term the original Hebrew text applied, however the term in English may have many different connotations than what we see as apparent:
* A usual, customary, or generalized course of action or behavior: "The rule of life in the defense bar ordinarily is to go along and get along" (Scott Turow)
* A generalized statement that describes what is true in most or all cases: In this office, hard work is the rule, not the exception.
* To have a powerful influence over; dominate: "Many found the lanky westerner naive, and supposed that he would be ruled by one of his more commanding cabinet officers" (William Marvel)
* To be a preeminent or dominant factor in: "It was a place where ... middle-class life was ruled by a hankering for all things foreign" (Amitav Ghosh)
This doesn’t tell us who the “Sons of Light” are. It does tell us “The Sons of Darkness” are the army of Belial and who these people(s) are. These are traditional enemies of Israel. The commander, Belial is often associated with ha’satan or a demon, particularly a chief of demons. Here it appears as a name, but often it appears as an adjective- worthless, useless; wicked, wickedness; destruction, ruin; hopelessness. For instance the sons of Eli (1 Sam 2:12) who were wicked priests were called בְּנֵ֣י בְלִיָּ֑עַל bene belial- wicked, worthless. Could be (but not necessarily) a combination of beli- without, and ya’al- value or worth.
By the descriptions associated with the name we can see this is the description of the commander and his army as ‘worthless,’ ‘wicked.’ Note those who violated the covenant are included here.
This is all interesting to see the minds of those who wrote the New Testament; to get to the meaning of the NT texts- especially Revelation. Some of the enemies listed may be symbolic, but it clearly deals with biblical concepts stretching over centuries.
“Those who have violated the covenant” seems to say there will be those within Israel who have turned on their God, forsaking the covenant with Him.” However this could also indicate Christians who refuse to take up the covenant when they accept the God of Israel as their Lord and Savior. Much Christian doctrine (but far from everyone) says Gentile ‘believers’ will get all the goodness from the promises to Israel while the Jews will get the curses. So where is the line demarcating salvation? All I will say is what I always do: “The farther you are from Yeshua and the farther you are from Torah, the more danger you are in.”
We must understand whether biblical or extra-biblical, none of these texts were written to us. nd whether you believe the NT was written in Hebrew or Greek, only the dishonest or the brainwashed would argue the fact this was all written by Jew to Jews of the time. Therefore it was written so they could understand it. We on the other hand must work to do so. We must get into the minds of the authors and the recipients.
Since this text deals with 1st cen Judaism it likely refers to the covenant God made with Israel. And this is the covenant we accept when we accept Yeshua. Covenants are serious business with God. It is why I am now Messianic. And truthfully I do not keep the covenant (Torah) perfectly. I do the best I can, and as has been since the time of Adam Gods grace is sufficient to cover what I either truly cannot keep or repent of when I fail. Yes, Virginia, there has always been grace … but it does not cover the wicked who refuse His instructions (Torah) and covenant(s), nor those who use it as an excuse for disobedience.
Note: I am not using extra-biblical texts as equivalent to scripture. They are not. However I am using them to get into the minds of the men who wrote biblical texts. These were men of a race and a people created by the Almighty Himself, I believe in a language He created. Men of a particular time and place who underwent particular events which may have contributed to their mindset. Surely written at the unction of HaShem, yet like the sages of old their personalities and mindset comes through in every line. You can neither understand God nor His Word unless you can get into the minds of those He chose to write His apocalypse- His Revelation.
The War Scrolls are apocalyptic literature, written on papyrus in Hebrew.
apocalyptic- when God breaks into human history. From the Greek apo, from or out of; an calupsis, something that is covered. Apocalyptic texts are an ‘uncovering.’ Something that is revealed. Seeing mysteries of the divine realm and cosmic events and their effects here on earth. They relate to the end times.
The idea of good vs. evil can often be better understood as chaos vs. order. Good (tov) is God’s order, and evil (ra) is disorder: ט֣וֹב וָרָ֔ע tov v’ra. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil can be better understood in terms of the knowledge of order and disorder/chaos:
- Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
וּמֵעֵ֗ץ הַדַּ֙עַת֙ ט֣וֹב וָרָ֔ע לֹ֥א תֹאכַ֖ל מִמֶּ֑נּוּ כִּ֗י בְּי֛וֹם אֲכָלְךָ֥ מִמֶּ֖נּוּ מ֥וֹת תָּמֽוּת׃
This is but one Hebraic difference as opposed to what we might understand as good and evil. And this thought permeates both the Old and New Testaments and other writings. For instance, much of the terminology seen in Apocalyptic tests like Revelation is mirrored in apocalyptic writings like “The War Scroll” [4Q464]. Going into the text: “For the In[structor, the Rule of] the War. The first attack of the Sons of Light shall be undertaken against the forces of the Sons of Darkness, the army of Belial: the troops of Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the [Amalekitesl, Philistia, and the troops of the Kittim of Asshur. Supporting them are those who have violated the covenant.” (War Scroll 1:1-2; Wise, Abegg, Cook)
“Rule” is in brackets, meaning it was missing from the original fragment. I am unsure how we get this term inserted- whether it was in another fragment dealing with this or similar texts or if just an opinion of a translator. We do not know what term the original Hebrew text applied, however the term in English may have many different connotations than what we see as apparent:
* A usual, customary, or generalized course of action or behavior: "The rule of life in the defense bar ordinarily is to go along and get along" (Scott Turow)
* A generalized statement that describes what is true in most or all cases: In this office, hard work is the rule, not the exception.
* To have a powerful influence over; dominate: "Many found the lanky westerner naive, and supposed that he would be ruled by one of his more commanding cabinet officers" (William Marvel)
* To be a preeminent or dominant factor in: "It was a place where ... middle-class life was ruled by a hankering for all things foreign" (Amitav Ghosh)
This doesn’t tell us who the “Sons of Light” are. It does tell us “The Sons of Darkness” are the army of Belial and who these people(s) are. These are traditional enemies of Israel. The commander, Belial is often associated with ha’satan or a demon, particularly a chief of demons. Here it appears as a name, but often it appears as an adjective- worthless, useless; wicked, wickedness; destruction, ruin; hopelessness. For instance the sons of Eli (1 Sam 2:12) who were wicked priests were called בְּנֵ֣י בְלִיָּ֑עַל bene belial- wicked, worthless. Could be (but not necessarily) a combination of beli- without, and ya’al- value or worth.
By the descriptions associated with the name we can see this is the description of the commander and his army as ‘worthless,’ ‘wicked.’ Note those who violated the covenant are included here.
This is all interesting to see the minds of those who wrote the New Testament; to get to the meaning of the NT texts- especially Revelation. Some of the enemies listed may be symbolic, but it clearly deals with biblical concepts stretching over centuries.
“Those who have violated the covenant” seems to say there will be those within Israel who have turned on their God, forsaking the covenant with Him.” However this could also indicate Christians who refuse to take up the covenant when they accept the God of Israel as their Lord and Savior. Much Christian doctrine (but far from everyone) says Gentile ‘believers’ will get all the goodness from the promises to Israel while the Jews will get the curses. So where is the line demarcating salvation? All I will say is what I always do: “The farther you are from Yeshua and the farther you are from Torah, the more danger you are in.”
We must understand whether biblical or extra-biblical, none of these texts were written to us. nd whether you believe the NT was written in Hebrew or Greek, only the dishonest or the brainwashed would argue the fact this was all written by Jew to Jews of the time. Therefore it was written so they could understand it. We on the other hand must work to do so. We must get into the minds of the authors and the recipients.
Since this text deals with 1st cen Judaism it likely refers to the covenant God made with Israel. And this is the covenant we accept when we accept Yeshua. Covenants are serious business with God. It is why I am now Messianic. And truthfully I do not keep the covenant (Torah) perfectly. I do the best I can, and as has been since the time of Adam Gods grace is sufficient to cover what I either truly cannot keep or repent of when I fail. Yes, Virginia, there has always been grace … but it does not cover the wicked who refuse His instructions (Torah) and covenant(s), nor those who use it as an excuse for disobedience.
Note: I am not using extra-biblical texts as equivalent to scripture. They are not. However I am using them to get into the minds of the men who wrote biblical texts. These were men of a race and a people created by the Almighty Himself, I believe in a language He created. Men of a particular time and place who underwent particular events which may have contributed to their mindset. Surely written at the unction of HaShem, yet like the sages of old their personalities and mindset comes through in every line. You can neither understand God nor His Word unless you can get into the minds of those He chose to write His apocalypse- His Revelation.