ANTHRŌPOI
EUDOKIAS (LUKE 2:14) AND ʾNŠY RṢWN (4Q416)
It has long been known that the well-known song of the angels in Luke
2:14 reflects a Semitic background, most probably Hebrew. In particular, the
awkward phrase anthrōpoi eudokias,
which has no parallel in Greek literature elsewhere, has been explained as
reflecting a Hebrew original. Since eudokia
is rare in extrabiblical Greek, but in the LXX regularly renders Hebrew rāṣôn, it was suggested by A. Merx in
1905 that the Hebrew corresponding to anthrōpoi
eudokias was ʾanšê rāṣôn. This
suggestion was picked up by J. Jeremias in an influential article published in
1929 and was expanded to include bĕnê rāṣôn
as a possible Hebrew equivalent. G. Schrenk, in his authoritative article on eudokia in the second volume of Kittel’s
Wörterbuch (1935), returned to Merx’s original proposal, and wrote of the phrase
anthrōpoi eudokias: “Es wird hier
zugrunde liegen: ʾanšê rāṣôn.”
The situation changed after the discovery of the first Dead Sea
Scrolls. C.-H. Hunzinger pointed out in 1952 that the phrase bĕnê rĕṣônô occurs in1QH 4:33, and in
1958 that the analogous bĕnê rĕṣônĕkā
occurs in 1QH 11:9. This evidence was supplemented by J. A. Fitzmyer in 1958,
who revealed that the Aramaic expression ʾnwš
rʿwt[h], which he translated as “men
of [his] good will,” was attested in another Qumran document, 4QhcAc.
He concludes his article as follows:
[This Aramaic phrase] is the exact equivalent of the Lucan expression,
anthrōpois eudokias. Since rĕʿû is the normal Aramaic cognate for
the Hebrew rāṣôn, we now have both an
Aramaic and a Hebrew equivalent for Luke’s expression. The occurrence of the
same phrase in both languages indicates its common and frequent usage and
confirms the interpretation that Dr. Hunzinger first suggested.”
Since then, two further examples of Aramaic phrases meaning “sons of
(his) good pleasure” have come to light. Consequently, it is widely assumed
today that its Hebrew equivalent bĕnê rĕṣônô
constitutes the Semitic background of anthrōpoi
eudokias.
There are of course minor difficulties with this consensus view. The
correspondence between anthrōpoi and bĕnê is not exact, and the pronominal
suffix is not reflected in the Greek. Although these discrepancies can be
explained by referring to similar instances elsewhere, it remains true that a
more precise Hebrew parallel would be the one advocated by Merx and Schrenk
before the Qumran finds, namely, ʾanšê rāṣôn.
In light of this, it is of interest to note that this Hebrew phrase
does occur in the recently published Qumran document 4Q416. Photographs of two fragmentary copies of the relevant passage,
numbered 1006 and 1429 (= PAM 42.758 and 43.479), have been published in the
facsimile edition prepared by Robert Eisenman and James M. Robinson, and the
passage in question has also been published as fragment 1 of “The Children of
Salvation (YESHAʿ) and the Mystery of
Existence (4Q416, 418)” in the recent book by Eisenman and Wise.
The relevant line in 4Q416,
following the collation of Eisenman and Wise (frag.1, line 10) reads as
follows:
… wbydkh lhšyb ʾp m ʾnšy rṣwn w]pqwd[
This is translated by Eisenman and Wise as follows: “It is in your
power to turn aside wrath from the Men of His Favor, and to appoint.…” The
verbal parallel of ʾnšy rṣwn with
Luke’s anthrōpoi eudokias is evident.
There may be substantive parallels as well. It is not possible in this
brief note to deal with 4Q416 as a
whole, but it is worth pointing out that the words quoted are addressed to an
individual of considerable religious prominence (he is called “the most holy
one” in line 4), whom God has set apart for some special task. The repeated wʾth in lines 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, and 15
(which Eisenman and Wise mistakenly translate with the plural “O ye”)
highlights the prominence of the person addressed, who is here said to have the
power to avert God’s wrath from “men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14 NIV).
The similarities with NT soteriology are striking. (Al
Wolters, “ANTHRŌPOI EUDOKIAS (Luke 2:14) and ʾNŠY RṢWN (4Q416),” Journal of Biblical Literature 113 [Summer
1994]: 291-92)
