Paraphrase of Kings

✦ ─── ⟐ ─── ✦

And I also abandoned you into the hand of Shishak — because you forsook me.

Cave 4 Hebrew manuscript. Published in DJD XIII (Qumran Cave 4.VIII: Parabiblical Texts, Part 1). Edited Qimron composite edition, pp. 843–849. Approximately 48 fragments; only those with sufficient continuous content are translated here.

4Q382 is a paraphrase of material from 1–2 Kings and 2 Chronicles — not a copy, but a free retelling that compresses, expands, and recontextualizes the biblical narrative within the sectarian theological framework. It covers a wide arc from the Elijah crisis under Ahab through to the Shishak invasion under Rehoboam, with a remarkable interjection of the Danielic "how long" formula and a full paraphrase of Jehoshaphat's prayer before battle. The organizing theology is covenant fidelity: God's abandonment of Israel to foreign powers is consistently framed as the consequence of Israel forsaking the Torah — and God's saving acts as the restoration that follows repentance.

The text is unusual in the DSS corpus for the breadth of its scriptural canvas. Most pesharim work a single prophetic book line by line; 4Q382 ranges freely across the Deuteronomistic History, the Chronicler, the Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, weaving them into a unified reflection on Israel's covenant history.


Fragments 3–1 — The Hiding of the Prophets

[Based on 1 Kings 18:1–17]

[...] the prophets [...]

And he hid them — fifty men in a cave — and fed them with bread and water.

[...] and from Jezebel [Ahab departed ...] and Ahab went to meet Elijah [...]

And when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him: Is this you, the troubler of Israel?

[...] to Israel [...]

[...] Ahab said to Ahachah [...] and the sons [...]


Fragments 11 + 9 — Elisha at the Jordan

[Based on 2 Kings 2:1–15; Deuteronomy 33:21]

[...] from the land of Jordan [...]

[...] the lawgiver's portion is hidden there [...]

[...] the sons of the prophets came out from the house of God [...] the altar [...] they came, serving the hosts of heaven [...]

And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel said to Elisha: Do you know that today the LORD is taking your master from over your head?

And Elisha said: Yes, I know — be silent.

[...] and Elijah said to Elisha: Stay here, please — for the LORD sent me to the Jordan.

And Elisha said: As the LORD lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.

And the two of them went on. [...]

And Elisha said: I also know — be silent.

[...] as the LORD sent me to Jericho [...]

[...] for there the portion of the lawgiver is hidden [...]

[...] as he swore — to give to Abraham [...]

[...] a good and wide land, a land flowing [with milk and honey] [...]

[...] hills and wheat [...] going out from springs and deep waters [...]

[...] pomegranate and olive and oil [...]


Fragments 15, 23, 25 — The Temple Gold

[Based on 1 Kings 6–7 or 2 Kings 25]

[...] and he refined it — hammered in gold [...]

[...] hammered silver [...]

[...] and he formed a gold ornament [...]

[...] a gold plate [...]

[...] a gold crown [...]

[...] he caused it to shine [...] his works [...]


Fragments 31–30 — Until the End of the Wonders

[Based on Daniel 12:5–6; Ezekiel 38–39]

[...] so that no fallen man will stand [...]

[...] for all spirits [...]

And behold, two others were standing [...] until when is the end of the wonders?

[...] to give into the hand of all Gog [...]

[...] in the latter days in all the lands [...]

[...] the prophets [...] and they will have gone astray from ancient time [...]


Fragment 37 — The Prayer of Jehoshaphat

[Based on 2 Chronicles 20:5–15]

[...] words of prayer [...]

And Jehoshaphat the king stood and prayed before the God of Judah [...] and to give thanks to God [...]

[...] a man who does not stand to strengthen himself against you — to turn your word back [...]

[...] your God [raised his hand over you] in all the lands [...]

[...] with shame and with dishonor on his face [...] over every king [...]

[...] and he fell, and the season of prayer [...]

[...] for they insulted and magnified against the people of the LORD of Hosts [...]


Fragments 46, 48 — The Hand of Shishak

[Based on 2 Chronicles 12:1–5; Isaiah 26:13; Ezra 9:6]

Your words [...] not to depart from your covenant — so that your heart might be for him [...]

So that their hands would be for them — and you — and they would be righteous [...] for God and father — not to turn away [...]

And I abandoned them from the hand of [...] and they did not act according to the covenant [...] and there was no dealing honestly with your people [...]

[...] to refuse your service — their sacrifices and their offerings were not for you [...]

[...] iniquity ascended above our head — our sin [...]

[...] and I also abandoned you into the hand of Shishak [...]

[...] your commandments given by the hand of Moses [...]

[...] lords other than you have ruled over us [...]

[...] the iniquities of your people are many, rising above the head [...]


Colophon

Source: 4Q382, Cave 4, Qumran. Approximately 48 fragments, 6 pages in the Qimron composite edition (pp. 843–849). Published in DJD XIII: Qumran Cave 4.VIII, Parabiblical Texts, Part 1 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994). Qimron composite edition used for source text (Elisha Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, CC BY 4.0, Zenodo).

Translation: New Tianmu Anglican Church (AI-assisted). Translated from Hebrew. Fragment numbers follow the DJD edition. The Qimron PDF uses custom font encoding; apparatus citations with clear Hebrew text (confirmed phrases noted in the source text companion) form the primary translation base. Highly fragmentary sections with fewer than 3 readable words are omitted. Lacunae marked [...]. The "golden objects" terminology (ניב זהב, טס זהב, זיר זהב) reflects the DJD apparatus directly.

Biblical framework: 1 Kings 18 (Elijah/Obadiah), 2 Kings 2 (Elisha/Jordan), 1 Kings 6–7 or 2 Kings 25 (temple gold), Daniel 12:5–6 (how long), 2 Chronicles 20:5–15 (Jehoshaphat), 2 Chronicles 12:1–5 (Shishak). The Dan 12:6 citation ("until when is the end of the wonders?") is attested directly in the apparatus; this is the only DSS Paraphrase of Kings text linking the historical Davidic narrative to Danielic eschatology.

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