The “Messiah” Tablet

Apparently, a new stone has just appeared that comes from the Dead Sea area. While I have done nothing more than read an article about it, it sounded very interesting. It seems this stone relates to the Jewish concept of Messiah. Interestingly, it has been dated to the first century B.C. You can read more about it in a one page article here, a two page article here, or a three page article here.

Here are some noteworthy excerpts from the long article:

A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days…

The tablet, probably found near the Dead Sea in Jordan according to some scholars who have studied it, is a rare example of a stone with ink writings from that era — in essence, a Dead Sea Scroll on stone.

It is written, not engraved, across two neat columns, similar to columns in a Torah. But the stone is broken, and some of the text is faded, meaning that much of what it says is open to debate.

Much of the text, a vision of the apocalypse transmitted by the angel Gabriel, draws on the Old Testament, especially the prophets Daniel, Zechariah and Haggai.

It is interesting to read some of the commentary these scholars are making about the text. But I thought this one was noteworthy to the point of humor.

“His mission is that he has to be put to death by the Romans to suffer so his blood will be the sign for redemption to come,” Knohl said. “This is the sign of the son of Joseph. This is the conscious view of Jesus himself. This gives the Last Supper an absolutely different meaning. To shed blood is not for the sins of people but to bring redemption to Israel.”

From whence cometh that dichotomy?

I thought we (conservative Christians) were the ones who create unnecessary binaries of either/or and not both/and! I guess we’re not the only ones.

How exactly is redemption supposed to occur without the shedding of blood for the sins of the people?

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14, NASB)

O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities. (Psalm 130:7-9, NASB)