The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (31 page)

And the chief Priest and his brethren, [the Priests, and] the Levites and the m[en of the orde]r [shall stand]. And the Priests shall blow the trumpets continuously ... and a girdle of fine cloth of flax embroidered with blue, purple and scarlet threads, a many-coloured design produced by a craftsman, and a fine linen tunic and fine linen breeches and a mitred turban [on their heads]. They shall not take them to the sanctuary f[or] they are ba[ttle] raiments. According to all this rule ...

 

 

A collection of ten small fragments, designated by J. T. Milik as
Serekh ha-Milhamah
or Rule of War, are akin to the War Scroll, probably representing its missing end section. Allusions are found to Levites blowing trumpets (fr. 8), to the archangel Michael (fr. 10), to the Prince of the Congregation, identified as the Branch of David (frs. 4 and 7), as well as to the Kittim and their slain (frs. 2, 4, 7), all familiar from 1QM. The poorly preserved benediction (fr. 8) can be reconstructed with the help of 11Q14 which contains, however, some notable variants. Fragment 4 seems to identify the defeated opponent as the biblical Gog (Ezek. xxxix), the chief foe of the final age, here no doubt equated with the king of the Kittim. Fragment 7, erroneously labelled by some as the ‘Pierced Messiah fragment', is based on an interpretation of Isa. x, 34-xi, 1, and should be read in connection with 4Q161, frs. 8-10, an Isaiah Commentary from Cave 4, and the Blessing of the Prince of the Congregation (1QS
^b
, v, 20-29), both referring to the triumphant Davidic Messiah, expected to put an opponent, no doubt the king of the Kittim, to death. Only frs. 1, 4, 7 and 8 are suitable for translation.

For the
editioprinceps,
see P. S. Alexander and G. Vermes,
DJD,
XXXVI, 228-46. For 11Q14, see F. García Martinez et a/.,
DJD,
XXIII, 243-51. For a preliminary study, see G. Vermes, ‘The Oxford Forum for Qumran Research: Seminar on the Rule of War (4Q285)',
JJS
43 (1992), 85-90.

... because of Thy name and ... Michael, G[abrie]l, [Sariel and Raphael] ... with the elect of ...

... wickedness will be smitten ... [the Prin]ce of the Congregation and all Is[rael] ... [which wa]s written [in the book of Ezekiel the Prophet,
I will strike your bow from your left hand and will make your arrows drop from your right hand.] On the mountains of
[
Israel you shall fall]
... [the king of] the Kittim ... [the Pr]ince of the congregation [will pursue them] as far as the [Great] Sea ... [and they shall fle]e from before Israel. In that time ... he shall stand against them and they shall be stirred against them ... and they shall return to the dry land. In that time ... and they shall bring him (the king of the Kittim?) before the Prince [of the Congregation]

[As it is written in the book of] Isaiah the Prophet,
[The thickets of the forest] will be cut [down with an axe and Lebanon by
a
majestic one will f
]
all. And there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse
[
...
]
the Branch of
David and they will enter into judgement with [...] and the Prince of the Congregation, the Br[anch of David] will kill him [ ... by strok]es and by wounds. And a Priest [of renown(?)] will command [ ... the s]lai[n] of the Kitti[m ... ]

[Answering, he shall say] to the sons of [I]srael: May you be blessed in the name of the Most High [God] ... and may His holy name be blessed for ever and ever. [May all His holy angels be blessed. May] the M[ost High] God [bless] you. [May He shine His face towards you and open for you His] good [treasure] which is in heaven [to bring down on your land] showers of blessing, dew, rain, [early rain] and late rain in His/its time, and to give [you the fruit of the produce of corn, wine and o]il plentiful. And may the land [prod]uce for [you fruits of delight. And you shall eat and grow fa]t. And there shall be no miscarriage [in yo]ur [la]n[d] and no [sickness, blight or mildew] shall be seen in [its] produ[ce. And there shall be no loss of children n]or stumbling in [your] congrega[tion, and wild beasts shall withdraw] from your land and there shall be no pestil[ence in your land.] For God is wi[th you and His holy angels stand in your congregation, and His] holy [name] shall be invoked upon you ... in your midst...

And he shall bless them in the name [of the God] of Israel. Answering he shall say, ... to the sons of Israel: May [yo]u be blessed for ever and ever and may His ... be blessed ... and may His holy angels be blessed. May the Most High God bless you. May He shine His face towards you and open to you His good treasure which is in heaven to bring down on your land showers of blessing, dew, rain, early rain and late rain in His/its time to give you the fruit of the produce of corn, wine and oil plentiful. May the land produce for you fruits of delight. And you shall eat and grow fat. And there shall be no miscarriage in your land and no sickness, blight or mildew shall be seen in its produce. There shall be no loss of children, nor stumbling in your congregation and the wild beasts shall withdraw from [your land.] The sword shall not pass through your land. For God is with you and His holy angels shall be present in your congregation, and His holy name shall be invoked upon you.

 

 

Discovered in 1956 in Cave II, the Temple Scroll did not emerge from semi-clandestinity until the Six Day War in June 1967. It is the longest Qumran manuscript, measuring over twenty-eight feet. There are also other fragments pertaining to the same document from Cave 11 (11Q20) and from Cave 4 (4Q365a). Originally it consisted of sixty-seven columns.

The major part of the scroll deals with the Temple (building and furniture) and cultic worship, especially sacrifices on Sabbaths and the many feasts of the year. Most of the legislation depends, directly or indirectly, on Exodus, Leviticus, and more particularly on Deuteronomy, but there are also occasional non-biblical regulations. The beginning of the manuscript is badly mutilated. Column I is missing. Columns III-XII are so fragmented that only a very hypothetical reconstruction, exclusively from biblical texts, is possible (cf. most extensively E. Qimron,
The Temple Scroll,
1996). I have decided not to translate them but indicate their probable contents in the summary that follows:

The sequence of subjects generally follows the Bible, but an obvious effort has been made to systematize, harmonize and reinterpret the laws. Sections complementary to Scripture include the Temple legislation (III-XII, XXX-XLV), festivals (XVII-XXIX), purity material as rules relating to the Temple and the city (XLVI-XLVII), and the statutes of the king (LVI—LIX). The aim of the redactor is to present the message of the scroll not as an interpretation of the Bible, but as an immediate divine revelation. For this purpose, not only does he formulate the supplementary legislation as directly spoken by God, but also frequently substitutes ‘I' for 'the Lord = YHWH' of Scripture.

Although the view has been advanced that the Temple Scroll is not a Qumran composition, the contrary thesis has a solid foundation. The relationship between this writing and the Damascus Document is particularly striking in the case of the prohibition of royal polygamy, of marriage between uncle and niece, and of marital relations within the city of the Sanctuary (compare CD IV, 20-V, II; XII, 1-2 with TS LVII, 16-18; LXVI, 15-17; XLV, 11-12), to name the most significant instances. Note also that the death penalty of ‘hanging' (probably crucifixion) reserved for traitors appears both in TS LXIV, 6-13 and in the Nahum Commentary (cf. p. 504). Since the Damascus Document and the Nahum Commentary are more likely to depend on the Temple Scroll than vice versa, the latter may safely be dated to the second century BCE. But it may also have an antecedent history reaching back to the pre-Qumran age.

As noted, Cave 4 has also yielded five fairly mutilated fragments (4Q365a), palaeographically dated to the mid-first century BCE, some of which have been used by Yadin. Fragment 1 deals with the festival of Unleavened Bread (11QTS XVII, II); fragment 2 corresponds to 11QTS XXXVIII, 4-15 while the other three fragments cannot be placed within the known version of the text.

The composition is available in a magisterial edition by Yigael Yadin, who first published it in Hebrew in 1977 and subsequently, shortly before his death, in English under the title
The Temple Scroll I-III
(Jerusalem, 1983). My translation is often indebted to Yadin's editorial work. Further improvements are due to E. Qimron,
The Temple Scroll: A Critical Edition with Extensive
Reconstructions (Beer-Sheva/Jerusalem, 1996). For 11Q20-21, see F. García Martínez
et al.,
DJD, XXIII, 357-414. For 4Q365a, see S. White,
DJD,
XIII, 319-33. For 4Q524, see E. Puech, DJD, XXV, 79-114.

 

II
[Behold, I will make a covenant.]

[For it is something dreadful that I] will do [to you.] [I myself will expel from before you] the A[morites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashit]es, the Pe[rizzites, the Hivites and] the Jebusites. Ta[ke care not to make a cove]nant with the inhabitants of the country [which you are to] enter so that they may not prove a sn[are for you.] You must destroy their [alta]rs, [smash their] pillars [and] cut down their [sacred trees and burn] [their] idols [with fire]. You must not desire silver and gold so [that you may not be ensnared by them; for that would be abominable to me]. You must [not] br[ing any abominable idol] into your house [and come] under the ban together with it. You shall de[test and abominate it], for it is under the ban. You shall not worship [another] go[d, for YHWH, whose name is] [Jealous], is a jealous God. Take care not to make a [covenant with the inhabitants of the country] [so that, when they whore] after [their go]ds [and] sacrifice to [them and invite you,] [you may not eat of their sacrifices and] t[ake their daughters for your sons, and their daughters may not whore after] their [gods] and cau[se your sons to whore after them.] ...
⁹⁴

XIII
[This is what you shall offer on the altar:] t[wo y]ear[ling lambs] without blemish [every day as a perpetual holocaust. You shall offer the first in the morning; and you shall offer the other lamb in the evening; the corresponding grain-offering will be a te]nth of fine flour mixed with [a quarter of a
hin
of beaten oil; it shall be a perpetual holocaust of soothing odour, an offering by fire] to YHWH; and the corresponding drink-offering shall be a quart[er of a
hin
of] wine. [The priest who offers the holocaust shall receive the skin of] the burnt-[offering which he has offered. You shall offer the other lamb in the even]ing with the same grain-[offering as in the] morning and with the corresponding drink-offering as an offering by fire, a soothing odour to YHWH ...

On the S[abbath] days you shall offer two [yearling rams without blemish and two]
XIV
[tenths of an
ephah
of fine flour, mixed with oil, for a grain-offering and the corresponding drink-offering. This is the holocaust of every Sabbath in addition to the perpetual holocaust and the corresponding drink-offering. On the first day of each month you shall offer a holocaust to YHWH: two young bulls, one ram, seven yearling rams without blemish and a grain-offe]ring of fine flour, [three tenths of an
ephah
] mix[ed with half a
hin
of oil, and a drink-offering, ha]lf a
hin
for [each young bull and a grain-offering of fine flour mixed with oil, two tenths of an
ephah
] with a third [of a
hin
, and wine for a drink-offering, one third of a
hin
for each ram;] ... one tenth [of fine flour for] a grain-[offering, mixed with a quarter of a
hin
, and wine, a quarter of a
hi
]
n
for each lamb ... a soothing [odour] to YHWH on the first day of each month. This is the burnt-offering for each month for the months of the year ... On the first day of the [first] month [the months (of the year) shall start; it shall be the first month] of the year [for you. You shall do no] work. [You shall offer a he-goat for a sin-offering.] It shall be offered by itself to expiate [for you. You shall offer a holocaust: a bullock], a ram, [seven yearli]ng ram lambs [without blemish] ... [ad]di[tional to the bu]r[nt-offering for the new moon, and a grain-offering of three tenths of fine flour mixed with oil], half a
hin
[for each bullock, and wi]ne for a drink-offering, [half a
hin
, a soothing odour to YHWH, and two] tenths of fine flour mixed [with oil, one third of a
hin
. You shall offer wine for a drink-offering,] one th[ird] of a
hin
for the ram, [an offering by fire, of soothing odour to YHWH; and one tenth of fine flour], a grain-offerin[g mixed with a quarter of a
hin
of oil. You shall offer wine for a drink-offering, a quarter of a
hin
] for each [ram] ... lambs and for the he-g[oat] ...
XV
[ea]ch day ... seven [year]ling [lambs] and a he-[goat] ... according to this statute. For the ordination (of the priests), one ram for each [day, and] baskets of bread for all the ra[ms of the ordination, one basket for] each [ram]. They shall divide all the rams and the baskets for the seve[n days of the ordination for each] day; according to [their] division[s, they shall offer to YHWH the right thigh] of the ram as a holocaust and [the fat covering the entrails and the] two kidneys and the fat on them [and on] the loins and the whole fat tail close to the backbone and the appendage of the liver and the corresponding grain-offering and drink-offering according to the sta[tute. They shall take one unleavened cake from the] basket and one cake of bread with oil and [one] wafer, [and they shall put it all on the fat] together with the offering of the right thigh. Those who sacrifice shall wave the rams and the baskets of bread as a wa[ve-offering be]fore YHWH. This is a holocaust, an offering by fire, of soothing odour before YHWH. [They shall burn everything on the altar over] the holocaust, to complete their ordination during the seven days of [ordination].