Building a Temple of Men - 4Q174

By Pinchas Shir

January 01, 2020

7.8K 10

This is an excerpt from one of the Qumran scrolls, written by a member of the community of Jews who chose to seclude themselves in the desert opposite the Dead Sea. The text belongs to the very beginning of the first century CE and speaks of the community's understanding of God's true dwelling place. The scroll speaks of God building a "temple of men" (מקדש אדם) that cannot be destroyed or defiled by foreigners. Consider it as parallel to NT idea of temple being made from human beings (1 Cor 3:16, Eph 2:21). The larger passage is a Midrash on 2 Sam 7 and Ps 1 which speaks the fallen tent of David and the promise of the seed, the Messiah himself.

1 [will] an enemy [strike him any]more, 2 Sam 7:10 [nor will] a son of iniquity [afflict] him [aga]in as in the past. From the day on which 2 [I appointed judges] over my people, Israel». This (refers to) the house which [he will establish] for [him] in the last days, as is written in the book of 3 [Moses: Exod 15:17–18 «The temple of] YHWH your hands will est[a]blish. YHWH shall reign forever and ever». This (refers to) the house into which shall not enter4 [… for] ever either an Ammonite, or a Moabite, or a bastard, or a foreigner, or a proselyte, never, because his holy ones are there.

5 «Y[HW]H [shall reign for] ever». He will appear over it forever; foreigners shall not again lay it waste as they laid waste, in the past, 6 the tem[ple of I]srael on account of their sins. And he commanded to build for himself a temple of man, to offer him in it, 7 before him, the works of thanksgiving. And as for what he said to David: 2 Sam 7:11 «I [shall obtain] for you [rest] from all your enemies»: (it refers to this,) that he will obtain for them rest from a[ll] (4Q174 Martı́nez and Tigchelaar Translation)

Text in [] is a reconstruct and is missing from the original scroll.