'מטעת אמת לעולם': גלגוליו של מטבע לשון בספרות בית שני

This article examines the Aramaic phrase נצבת קשט לעלם and its Hebrew equivalent מטעת אמת לעולם in Second Temple literature, usually translated as “eternal plant of righteousness” or the like. The phrase and its variants are attested in a range of texts, albeit with differing meanings and connotations. Like many phrases and idioms, it was used creatively in literary sources, accruing layers of meaning that can only be appreciated when the basic sense and the full history of the term are understood.
I argue that the expression is not a biblical allusion (to Isa 60:21, 61:3), but a linguistic phrase with wider circulation. According to Akkadian, Phoenician and (biblical and postbiblical) Hebrew sources, the meaning of the collocation is “rightful offspring.” The word “plant” is a term for “descendent(s),” like the more common “seed,” and the words “true” or “righteous” are used in a legal sense denoting the legitimacy of the descendant. Likewise, the term “forever” is used in common formulae wishing for the eternity of a lineage, especially in royal contexts; thus, the basic meaning of the full phrase is “a long-lasting line of heirs.”
In Second Temple literature, this phrase is used mostly in connection with the patriarchs’ blessings of progeny, especially in the narratives of Noah and Abraham. In some contexts, the phrase is used creatively, by reinterpretation of its components according to their semantic range and by conflation with similar phrases. Especially productive was the ethical and religious sense of קשט and אמת, instead of or in addition to the legal sense, “rightful offspring.” Some sources conflate earlier traditions or expand them, while infusing the phrase with religious and ideological significance, such as the singling out of Israel as the sole rightful and righteous heirs of the patriarchs, or the reapplication of the term in an eschatological setting. The starkest development is found in the sectarian documents from Qumran, which incorporate the phrase in elaborate picturesque metaphors of the sect’s special place in a sinful world.
The bulk of this article contains a close reading of the phrase’s appearances in Second Temple sources, with special attention to semantic changes, expansions, and mergers with other phrases or biblical allusions. The main sources dealt with are: 1 En 10:3; 10:16; 65:12; 67:3; 84:6; 93:2, 5, 10; 2 En. 22:19 (=70:10); 23:49 (=71:37); Genesis Apocryphon 6:1; 14:13; Aramaic Levi Document 3:14; Jubilees 1:16; (6:13); 7:34; 16:17, 26; 21:24; 22:11 (24, 27); 25:3 (12, 18); 36:3; CD 1:7; 1QHa 14:18; 16:7, 11; 4Q161 1–6 9 (Pesher on Isaiah 10:22); 1QS 8:5; 11:8.