The Dead Sea Scrolls

"Slain Messiah Test"

4Q285

Fragment 7

This fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls, when released in 1991, caused a great deal of controversy among scholars. The following is the actual text remaining on the fragment.

Line 1 …..Isaiah the Prophet….

Line 2 …..The septer shall go forth from the root of Jesse…..

Line 3 …..branch of David and they shall be judges…..

Line 4 …..and they put to death the leader of the community, the branch …

Line 5 …..with piercings and the priest shall command….

Line 6 …..the slain of the Romans…….

The controversy and scholarly debate continues over this and another 6 fragments that make up the "Slain Messiah Text." These debates are centered around speculations over the missing part of the text and on the correct translation of the actual text. It remains one of the most interesting texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls.