New Jerusalem At Qumran And In The New Testament

Abstract

Among the Aramaic texts preserved at Qumran, the so-called "Description of the New Jerusalem," is attested to in fragmentary form in several copies found in caves 1. This chapter discusses the function (or the absence of function) of Jerusalem in New Testament eschatology, and also discusses the function (or absence of function) of Jerusalem in Qumran eschatology. It focuses on the basic text: the so-called Torah of Ezekiel: Ezekiel 40-48. The author of Revelation has taken from the vision of Ezekiel the measuring angel whose rod serves to precisely determine the dimensions of the city, the square form of the city, its wall, and its twelve gates with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. The presentation of the Qumran data has been greatly facilitated by an article by Schiffman which collected and duly classified most of the references to Jerusalem in the Scrolls. Keywords: Aramaic texts; Ezekiel 40-48; Israel; New Jerusalem; New Testament eschatology; Qumran eschatology