Isaiah 45 — Dead Sea Scrolls
25 verses • 8 variants • Columns XXXVII-XXXVIII of 1QIsaiah-a
Scroll Overview
Summary
Isaiah 45 contains the astonishing declaration that Cyrus is God's 'anointed one' (mashiach, v. 1) — the only non-Israelite given this title in the Hebrew Bible. The chapter has 25 verses in columns XXXVII-XXXVIII. This is a theologically critical chapter and the scroll's readings here are closely watched.
Notable Variants
Verse 1: the scroll reads 'to his anointed one, to Cyrus' (limshicho lekoresh) identically to the MT — confirming that the pre-Christian text called a Persian emperor 'messiah.' Verse 8: a famous variant where the scroll reads 'let the earth open and let salvation sprout' with a different verb form. Verse 24: a minor plus in the scroll.
Scroll Condition
Well preserved. Column XXXVII-XXXVIII are fully legible.
This is what the LORD says to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
Masoretic (WLC)
לִמְשִׁיחוֹ לְכוֹרֶשׁ
to his anointed one, to Cyrus
Dead Sea Scroll
למשיחו לכורש
to his anointed one, to Cyrus
1QIsaiah-a reads 'to his anointed one, to Cyrus' (limshicho lekoresh) identically to the MT. This is theologically significant: the oldest manuscript of Isaiah confirms that a Persian king was called mashiach ('anointed one,' the word that gives us 'messiah').
The scroll provides no support for any emendation or alternative reading. The audacious theological claim — that God anointed a pagan emperor to accomplish His purposes — stands in the pre-Christian text exactly as in the medieval tradition.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVII, line 25
I will go before you and level the mountains. I will shatter bronze doors and cut through iron bars.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVII, line 26
I will give you treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVII, line 27
For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen one, I call you by your name; I give you a title of honor, though you do not know me.
Masoretic (WLC)
יִשְׂרָאֵל
Israel
Dead Sea Scroll
ישראל
Israel
Identical consonantal text.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 1
I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God besides me. I arm you, though you do not know me,
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 2
so that from the rising of the sun to its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 3
I form light and create darkness; I make peace and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
Masoretic (WLC)
יוֹצֵר
who forms
Dead Sea Scroll
יוצר
who forms
Identical consonantal text. 'I form light and create darkness' — the great cosmological declaration.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 4
Rain down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open and salvation spring forth; let righteousness sprout alongside it. I, the LORD, have created it.
Masoretic (WLC)
הַרְעִיפוּ
drip down
Dead Sea Scroll
הרעיפו
drip down
The MT reads 'Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may sprout.' 1QIsaiah-a's consonantal text is essentially identical here, though some scholars have noted a slightly different verb form for 'sprout' (yifru vs. yifreach). The overall meaning is the same — a prayer for cosmic salvation.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 5
Woe to the one who contends with his Maker — a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to the one who shapes it, 'What are you making?'
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 6
Woe to the one who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?' or to a woman, 'What are you laboring to bring forth?'
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 7
This is what the LORD says — the Holy One of Israel and its Maker: 'Ask me about what is to come concerning my children; will you command me about the work of my hands?'
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 8
I made the earth and created humanity upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.
Masoretic (WLC)
עָשִׂיתִי
I have made
Dead Sea Scroll
עשיתי
I have made
Identical consonantal text.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 9
I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his paths straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free — not for a price and not for a bribe, says the LORD of Hosts.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 10
This is what the LORD says: The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and the Sabeans, tall of stature, will come over to you and be yours. They will follow behind you, coming in chains. They will bow down to you and plead with you: 'Surely God is with you, and there is no other — no other god.'
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 11
Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 12
They are put to shame, all of them, disgraced together; the makers of idols go off in humiliation.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 13
Israel is saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation. You will not be put to shame or disgraced to all eternity.
Masoretic (WLC)
בֹּשֶׁת
shame
Dead Sea Scroll
בושת
shame
Plene spelling with vav. Same word.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 14
For this is what the LORD says — He who created the heavens, He is God; He who formed the earth and made it, He established it. He did not create it to be chaos — He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD, and there is no other.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 15
I have not spoken in secret, in a land of darkness. I did not say to Jacob's offspring, 'Seek me in chaos.' I, the LORD, speak what is right; I declare what is just.
Masoretic (WLC)
תֹהוּ
chaos
Dead Sea Scroll
תוהו
chaos
Identical. 'He did not create it a chaos' — same in both texts.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 16
Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations. They have no knowledge — those who carry wooden idols and pray to a god that cannot save.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 17
Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from of old? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God besides me — a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 18
Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 19
By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that will not return: To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 20
'Only in the LORD,' it will be said of me, 'are righteousness and strength.' All who raged against Him will come to Him and be put to shame.
Masoretic (WLC)
אַךְ בַּיהוָה
Surely in the LORD
Dead Sea Scroll
אך ביהוה לי
Surely in the LORD, he said to me
1QIsaiah-a appears to include an additional word 'li' ('to me') after 'in the LORD.' This may reflect a variant reading where the speaker explicitly says 'to me' or it may be a scribal addition for clarity. The MT's shorter reading is more ambiguous about who is speaking.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 21
In the LORD all the offspring of Israel will be vindicated and will glory.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXXVIII, line 22