Re: Luke 2:14 EUDOKIAS and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Stephen C. Carlson (scarlson@mindspring.com)
Mon, 25 Nov 1996 14:56:43 -0500

At 02:04 11/25/96 -0500, Jonathan Robie wrote:
>How do I get the Greek text for excerpts from the Dead Sea Scrolls?

You generally cannot, aside from a few fragments from Cave 7, because
they were written Hebrew.

>Fred Danker's Multidisciplinary Tools for Bible Study says:
>
>Luke 2:14 has long been a vexing problem. (Note: I think we all know that now!)
>The problem appears now almost certainly solved in view of the scrolls' use
>of the phrases "sons of (God's) good pleasure" and "chosen of (God's) good
>pleasure" (cf. 1QH 4:30-38; 11:7-10). Ernest Vogt, a Jesuit scholar,
>concludes that "the Qumran texts do more than lend decisive support to this
>reading [EUDOKIAS]. They also indicate that 'God's good pleasure' here
>refers more naturally to the will of God to confer grace on those he has
>chosen, than to God's delighting in and approving of the goodness in men's
>lives. Thus neither 'good will toward men' nor 'peace among men with whom he
>is pleased' is an accurate translation, but rather 'peace among people of
>God's good pleasure,' i.e., God's chosen ones."
>
>I would love to see the Greek text to which he refers. My Bible doesn't have
>a QH in it...

If you Danker closely enough, you will find that he does not refer to a
Greek text. Instead, 1QH is the "Thanksgiving Hymns" from the Qumran
Cave 1. Other texts from the cave are 1QS (The Manual of Discipline),
1QSa (the Messianic Rule), 1QM (the War Scroll), and 1QpHab (the Habakkuk
pesher).

Stephen Carlson

--
Stephen C. Carlson                   : Poetry speaks of aspirations,
scarlson@mindspring.com              : and songs chant the words.
http://www.mindspring.com/~scarlson/ :               -- Shujing 2.35