Visions of Amram

Qumram Cave Four

Visions of Amram, also referred to as

4Q543-549, is a collection of five
extremely fragmented copies found in
Qumran cave 4. In 1972, Jozef T. Milik
published a significant fragment of the
Visions of Amram.[1] Since then,
controversy has surrounded this
document at every turn. In this
testament, Amram gathers his sons,
Moses and Aaron, to his deathbed and
relates stories of his life, providing
wisdom and commanding
understanding.[2] This document is
named for a vision shared during this
time.

This document has many distinguishing

features that separate it from the other
Dead Sea Scrolls found in the Qumran
Caves. Primarily, copies of Visions of
Amram are written in Aramaic,[1] unlike
the majority of the Qumran texts which
were scripted in Hebrew. This unique
feature, along with its suspected dating
to the second century BCE, leads most
scholars to believe these documents
were written prior to and apart from the
Qumran sectarian documents.[3] Due to
the multiple copies, organization and
comprehension of this fragmented
document is two-fold. 1) First, fragments
are categorized into five groups based on
manuscript, creating pieces of a whole,
yet incomprehensible, document. 2)
Secondly, fragments are overlapped and
mixed to create a single, somewhat
coherent, account. Unfortunately, this
document is far from complete. Vast
sections of this account have been put
together through intensive
reconstruction, leading to controversy
and further uncertainties.

Manuscript Content
Upon the year of his death (136 years
old), Amram, (son of Kohath, son of
Levi)[2] gave in marriage his 30-year-old
daughter, Miriam, to his brother, Uzziel.
The wedding was 7 days long. After the
feast, Amram called for his children and
began to recollect the story of his time in
Egypt. Amram tells his son is Aaron to
summon his son Malachijah and Amram
tells him that he will give them wisdom.
Amram and Kohath go to Canaan from
Egypt to build tombs for those who
perished during the Egyptian sojourn.
Amram stayed in Canaan to finish the
tombs while Kohath left for Egypt due to
the threat of war. Amram was unable to
go back to his wife and family in Egypt
for 41 years until the war between Egypt,
Canaan and Phillistia was over [2]

Next, Amram presents his vision. He

accounts two divine figures fighting over
fate of his judgement. Amram inquires
about their claimed authority and
challenges their rule in his life. In
apparent unison, the figures declare their
rule over humanity, and offer him a
choice of destiny. One presents himself
as Belial, Prince of Darkness and Kind of
Evil, he is empowered over all
Darkness.[4] The other figure, dubbed
Michael, Prince of Light and King of
Righteousness, rules over the Light.[4]
Amram tells his audience that he wrote
down his vision as soon as he awoke.[2]

Amram also differentiates between light

and darkness. He tells his audience the
Sons of Light will be made light and Sons
of Darkness will be made dark.[4] Sons of
Light are destined for light and joy while
Sons of Darkness are destined for death
and darkness.[4] It fundamentally
explains how light will triumph over
darkness and it is declared that the Son
of Darkness will be destroyed.[4]
Type of Literature
The type of genre of the Visions of
Amram is decided according to common
features found in relation to other texts.
However, according to Jorg Frey, there
needs to be room for uniqueness and
character.[5] It is essential to use different
types of scholarly genres to categorize
the texts, even though ancient authors
did not use them or used them quite
differently.[5] This is a reason why there is
ambiguity surrounding whether or not the
Visions of Amram are classified as
"testaments" or "visions".

Jean Starcky was first to believe that the

Visions fall under a testament because
of the multiple similarities with the
Testament of Levi.[6] Here scholars
compared the introductory narrative of
the Visions of Amram with the
introductory sections of the Testaments
of the 12 Patriarchs, most specifically the
Testament of Levi.[7] Officially, Milik was
the first to call the Visions of Amram a
testament.[6]

However, people began to question why

the author called it the Visions of Amram
and not the Testament of Amram.[5] Here,
differing views started to emerge and the
world "testament" used to describe the
Visions, slowly began to disappear.[7]
Furthermore, John J. Collins, pointed out
how the introductory narratives does not
have the usual format of a testament.
Instead it has a summary heading.[7]
Collins would say that it is a vision of the
demonic Melchiresha and its angel
counterpart.[7] Similarly, Henryk Drawnel
would say that the genre of the visions
seems to be didactic.[8]

Dualism in Visions of
Amram
Example of fragmented manuscripts found at the
Qumran Caves (due to copyright, could not upload
pictures of Visions of Amram)

It is relatively certain that Visions of

Amram originated well before the scribes
of Qumran, and likely existed beyond this
community.[3] Nevertheless, based on the
evidence of multiple copies found
fragmented in cave 4, this text appears to
have been significant to the people of
Qumran.[9] Although never explicitly
referenced in Qumran sectarian
literature,[1] Amram's vision reflects
prominent themes, such as dualism,
which were cornerstone to the Qumran
beliefs.
Dualism in the Qumran community is
defined by the belief in a divine
predetermined plan, which offers two
ways of existence. On one end of the
spectrum lies goodness and light and on
the other, darkness and evil. These sides
are in continuous combat, but in the end
God will determine ultimate victory to the
Sons of Light.[10] Terms used in Visions
of Amram, such as Sons of Light and
Sons of Darkness, are also reflected
throughout Qumran Sectarian literature.
The Vision of Amram depicts a scene of
two divine figures who claim to rule all
humanity. These figures are extensively
reflected in significant Qumran literature,
such as the Community Rule, where the
theme of dualism is prominent.[10] This
extremely fragmentary piece of literature,
given its early origins, could have had
huge implications on the way dualism
developed in Qumran. Unfortunately, due
to its thoroughly incomplete nature, most
of the insights on dualism gleaned from
these documents only find their footing
in speculation. For example, 4Q544 has
been reconstructed to account a choice
of fate offered to Amram, represented by
these two figures. In the Qurman
community, predeterminism was the
common belief which would have led to
incongruiencies with this text.[10] It is
difficult to draw an absolute conclusion
on the specific brand of dualism depicted
in the Visions of Amram due to its
uncertain translation.[3] Nevertheless, it is
valuable in providing a more complete
look on the traditions and literature that
may have inspired and driven the beliefs
of the Qumran community.

References
1. Stone, Michael E. "Amram." In
Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls. :
Oxford University Press, 2000.
doi:10.1093/acref/9780195084504.001.0
001/acref-9780195084504-e-19
2. Wise, Michael, Martin Abegg Jr., and
Edward Cook. The Dead Sea Scrolls: A
New Translation. New York:
HarperSanFrancisco, 2005.
3. Perrin, Andrew B. "Another look at
dualism in 4QVISIONS of AMRAM."
Henoch 36, no. 1 (2014 2014): 106-117.
ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials,
EBSCOhost
4. Eisenman, Robert, and Michael Wise.
"Testament Of Amram." Dead Sea Scrolls
Undercovered. 375 Hudson Street:
Penguin Books USA Inc., 1993.
5. Berthelot, Katell, and Daniel Stokl Ben
Ezra. Aramaic Qumranica. Leiden , The
Netherlands: Brill, 2010. Accessed
November 1, 2016.
6. Tervanotko, Hannah. Denying Her
Voice: The Figure of Miriam in Ancient
Jewish Literature . Bristol, CT:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016. Accessed
November 1, 2016.
7. Drawnel, Henryk. "The Initial Narrative
of the 'Visions of Amram' and its Literary
Characteristics ". Revue De Qumrân 24,
no. 4 (96) (2010): 517-54.
8. Drawnel, Henryk. "The Literary
Characteristics of the Visions of Levi ".
Journal for Ancient Judaism, 2010.
Accessed November 1, 2016.
9. Duke, Robert R. The Social Location of
the Visions of Amram (4Q543-547). New
York: Peter Lang, 2010.
10. Flint, Peter W. The Dead Sea Scrolls.
Core Biblical Studies. Nashville: Abingdon
Press, 2013.

External links
Visions of Amram in the Leon Levy
Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library

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