Isaiah 35 — Dead Sea Scrolls
10 verses • 6 variants • Column XXVIII of 1QIsaiah-a
Scroll Overview
Summary
Chapter 35 is the joyful restoration counterpart to chapter 34's judgment. The 10 verses — the 'Highway of Holiness' passage — contain mostly orthographic variants. This chapter's imagery deeply influenced the Gospels' healing narratives.
Notable Variants
Verse 5-6 — the blind see, deaf hear, lame leap, mute sing — are quoted in Matthew 11:5 as signs of the Messiah. Verse 8 has the 'Highway of Holiness.' All are preserved identically in both traditions.
Scroll Condition
Well preserved; fully legible.
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom — blossom like the crocus!
Masoretic (WLC)
יְשֻׂשׂוּם
will rejoice
Dead Sea Scroll
ישושום
will rejoice
1QIsaiah-a writes ישושום with a plene vav. The wilderness and dry land rejoicing — the desert blooming — opens the restoration vision. No impact on meaning.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXVIII, line 12
It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXVIII, line 13
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the faltering knees.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXVIII, line 14
Say to those with anxious hearts, "Be strong; do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."
Masoretic (WLC)
נְקָמָה
vengeance
Dead Sea Scroll
נקמה
vengeance
Identical consonantal text. God comes with 'vengeance and divine retribution' — but the next verses reveal that this vengeance is healing, not destruction. The reversal is stunning: divine vengeance against disability, disease, and death. No impact on meaning.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXVIII, line 15
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Masoretic (WLC)
עִוְרִים
blind
Dead Sea Scroll
עורים
blind
1QIsaiah-a writes עורים with plene spelling. 'Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.' This verse, together with v. 6, becomes the programmatic text for Jesus' messianic identity when John the Baptist asks 'Are you the one?' (Matthew 11:2-5). The DSS confirm the pre-Christian form of this healing catalogue.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXVIII, line 16
Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
Masoretic (WLC)
אִלֵּם
mute
Dead Sea Scroll
אלם
mute
Identical consonantal text. 'The tongue of the mute shall sing for joy.' The four healings — blind/deaf/lame/mute — form a complete reversal of human suffering. No impact on meaning.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXVIII, line 17
The burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water. In the haunt of jackals where they once lay, grass shall grow with reeds and rushes.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXVIII, line 18
And a highway shall be there — a road — and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not travel on it; it shall belong to those who walk the way. No fool shall wander onto it.
Masoretic (WLC)
דֶּרֶךְ הַקֹּדֶשׁ
Highway of Holiness
Dead Sea Scroll
דרך הקודש
Highway of Holiness
1QIsaiah-a writes הקודש with plene spelling. The 'Highway of Holiness' (derekh ha-qodesh) — a sacred road where the unclean cannot travel and fools cannot wander — is the eschatological pilgrimage route. This highway imagery connects to Isaiah 40:3 ('prepare the way of the LORD') and influenced John the Baptist's self-understanding.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXVIII, line 19
No lion shall be there, no ravenous beast shall go up on it — they shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXVIII, line 20
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy crowning their heads. Gladness and joy shall overtake them, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Masoretic (WLC)
שִׂמְחַת
joy of
Dead Sea Scroll
שמחת
joy of
Identical consonantal text. The 'everlasting joy upon their heads' — sorrow and sighing fleeing away — provides the climactic image. This verse is echoed verbatim in Isaiah 51:11. No impact on meaning.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXVIII, line 21