11Q13, also 11QMelch or the Melchizedek document, is a fragmentary manuscript among the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

( from Cave 11) which mentions

Melchizedek In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...

as leader of God's angels in a

war in Heaven In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, the Book of Revelation describes a future war in heaven between angels led by the Archangel Michael against those led by "the dragon", identified as the devil or Satan, who will be defeated and throw ...

against the angels of darkness instead of the more familiar

Archangel Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

. The text is an apocalyptic commentary on the Jubilee year of Leviticus 25. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain texts in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, the language of 11Q13 is Hebrew, date of composition is circa 100 BCE.

"Elohim"

In the fragmentary passage the term " Elohim" appears a dozen times, mainly referring to the God of Israel, but in commentary on "who says to Zion "Your Elohim reigns" (Isa. 52;7) 11Q13 states that Zion is the congregation of all the sons of righteousness, while Melchizedek is "Your Elohim" who will deliver the sons of righteousness from

Belial Belial ( he, , ''Bəlīyyaʿal'') is a term occurring in the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament which later became personified as the devilSee the reference to "Beliar" in ''The Ascension of Isaiah'', at EarlyChristianWritings.com', specifically at ...

.The Messiah: developments in earliest Judaism and Christianity: 1987 vol.2 James H. Charlesworth – 1992 "Apparently the obedient angels and even the powers of Belial are called by that name. But most probably in line 10 it means a divine figure or heavenly being, with whom Melchizedek is identified, so that he appears here as a Redeemer."

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External links

Translation in ''The Dead Sea Scrolls Today'' by James C. VanderKam (2010), pp. 73–74
{{Dead Sea Scrolls Dead Sea Scrolls Messianism Melchizedek Israel Antiquities Authority War in Heaven