Endnote 6 – The “Pierced Messiah” Text—An Interpretation Evaporates

It is noteworthy that the word mhwllwt, translated as “wounds” or “piercings,” which is similar to mhll (“wounded” or “pierced”) in Isaiah 53 5, derives from the same Hebrew root (H|LL) as the phrase “hlly (“the slain,” i.e., “fatally wounded”) of the Kittim [the final foe],” in the truncated line 6 of our fragment. Observe also that the Hebrew verb hll is used in Isaiah 51:9 (mhwllt) and Job 26:13 (hllh) concerning God’s hand transpiercing the primeval dragon or fleeing serpent In the Greek Psalms of Solomon 2:25–26, the divine punishment of the Roman Pompey, conqueror of Jerusalem in 63 B.C.E., is described thus: “Do not delay, O God, … to declare dishonorable the arrogance of the dragon. And I did not wait long until God showed me his insolence pierced (ekkekentemenon) on the mountains of Egypt.” See Charlesworth, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 2, p. 653.