Sunday, March 22, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org

Narrative of the Beloved (4Q458) — Source Text

✦ ─── ⟐ ─── ✦

4Q458 — Cave 4, Qumran

Hebrew transcription of 4Q458, included in the Qimron composite edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls (CC BY 4.0, Zenodo 2020). The manuscript font encoding renders most of the body text opaque; only apparatus-confirmed readings are presented below. All lacunae are marked with brackets.

Fragment 1 — Apparatus-Confirmed Readings

Line 1: לידיד — to/for the Beloved (יְדִיד, one who is beloved)

Line 2: הידיד — the Beloved

Line 3: באהלו — in his tent

Line 4: לא ידעו אל — they did not know God

Line 5: שריפות אש עריהם — the burning fires of their cities

Line 6: אנוכי קדוש — I am holy (divine first-person)

Line 7: ראשון לאמר — the first one said / first in saying
אם למות אם לחיים — whether to death or to life

Line 8: ויך ואת הצנה — and struck with the shield
בחרמה — in the devoting to destruction (חֵרֶם / herem)

Line 9 (apparatus): לכזב ילקחו למצרים — for a lie they will be taken to Egypt

Fragment 2 — Apparatus-Confirmed Readings

Line 2: ותפתח הארץ את פיה / ויאבד חילה — the earth opened its mouth / and her wealth was destroyed

Line 3: ותבלע את כל הערלים — and swallowed all the uncircumcised

Line 4: וילך הצדיקו על לבו — the righteous one walked in his integrity / on his heart

Line 5: ויִמשח בשמן המלכות — he was anointed with the oil of kingship
Note: apparatus shows connection to 11Q13 (Melchizedek) col. ii

Notes on Key Vocabulary

  • ידיד (yedid, lines 1–2): "Beloved." A Davidic title (Ps 60:7/108:7; Deut 33:12 [Benjamin ידיד ה׳]); also a general term for the beloved of God.

  • ותפתח הארץ את פיה (Fragment 2, line 2): Verbatim echo of Numbers 16:32 (the Korah rebellion — the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them). The substitution of הערלים (the uncircumcised) for Korah's company universalizes the judgment.

  • ויִמשח בשמן המלכות (Fragment 2, line 5): The anointing with royal oil. Cf. 1 Kings 1:39 (Solomon anointed); 2 Kings 9:6 (Jehu anointed). The Qimron apparatus connects this to 11Q13 col. ii (the Melchizedek scroll's year of Jubilee proclamation). The phrase "שמן המלכות" (oil of the kingdom/royalty) is rare and significant.

  • אם למות אם לחיים (Fragment 1, line 7): "Whether to death or to life." The divine messenger dispatched with dual mandate — judgment and mercy — parallels 2 Samuel 24:13 (choose your punishment) and the Messenger tradition of Exodus 23:20.

  • לכזב ילקחו למצרים (Fragment 1, line 9 apparatus): "For a lie they will be taken to Egypt." Cf. Jeremiah 43:7 (those who refused the prophet's counsel and fled to Egypt).

Source: Hebrew. Cave 4, Qumran. DJD XXXVI (Pfann, Kister et al., 2000). Qimron composite edition (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0).

🌲