The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (48 page)

In the name of his holiness, the seventh of the sovereign Princes shall bless with seven words of his marvellous holiness all the holy founders of kno[wledge. He shall bless] all who exalt his statutes with sev[en] marvellous [wo]rds (which shall be for them) stout shields. He shall bless all [who are destined for] righteousness [and always] forever [pra]ise his glorious kingship with seven [marvellous words] for everlasting peace.

In [the name of his holiness] all the [sovereign] Princes [shall bless together] the God of the divine beings [in] all their sevenfold t[estimonies]. They shall bless those destined for righteousness and all the blessed... the eter[na]ll[y ble]ssed for them.

Blessed be [the] Lo[r]d, the Kin[g of] all, who is above all blessing and p[raise. He shall bless all the holy] who bless [him and proclaim him righ]te[ous] in the name of his glory. [And he shall b]less all who are blessed for ever.

For the Master. Song of the holocaust of the seventh Sabbath on the sixteenth of the month.

 

Praise the most high God, O you high among all the gods of knowledge. Let the holy ones of the ‘gods' sanctify the King of glory, who sanctifies by his holiness all his holy ones.

O Princes of the praises of all the ‘gods', praise the God of majestic praises,

For in the splendour of praises is the glory of His kingship.

In it are (contained) the praises of all the ‘gods' together with the splendour of all [His] king[ship].

Exalt His exaltation on high, O ‘gods', above the gods on high, and His glorious divinity above all the highest heights.

For He [is the God of gods], of all the Princes on high, and the King of king[s] of all the eternal councils.

By a discerning goodwill (expressed by) the words of His mouth a[ll the gods on high] come into being, at the opening of His lips, all the eternal spirits, by His discerning goodwill, all His creatures in their undertakings.

Exult, O you who exult [in his knowledge, with] an exultation among the wonderful ‘gods';

utter His glory with the tongue of all who utter knowledge;

may His wonderful exultation be in the mouth of all who utter [His knowledge].

[For He] is the God of all who exult in everlasting knowledge,

and the Judge through His might of all the spirits of understanding.

Celebrate O all celebrating gods, the King of majesty, for all the gods of knowledge celebrate His glory,

and all the spirits of righteousness celebrate His truth, and seek acceptance of their knowledge by the judgements of His mouth,

and of their celebrations when His mighty hand executes (?) judgements of reward.

Sing to the God of power with an offering of the princely spirit, a song of divine joy,

and a jubilation among all the holy, a wonderful song for eter[nal] rejoicing.

With these all the f[oundations of the hol]y of holies shall praise,

the pillars bearing the highest abode, and all the corners of its structure.

Sing to the Go[d who is a]wesome in strength ...

to extol together the splendid firmament, the supreme purity of [His] holy sanctuary.

[Praise] Him, O divine spirits, prai[sing for ever and] ever the firmament of the highest heavens,

all ... and its walls, a[l]l its [structure, its shape.

[The spi]rits of the hol[y] of holies, the living ‘gods', [the spir]its of [et]ernal holiness above all the holy [ones];

... marvellous marvel, majesty and beauty and marvel.

[Gl]ory is in the perfect light of knowledge ... in all the marvellous sanctuaries.

The divine spirits surround the dwelling of the King of truth and righteousness; all its walls ...

... and from among them run ‘gods' with the appearance of coals of [fire] ... walking round about, most holy spirits ... Holy of Holies, divine spirits, ever(lasting] appearances ... and divine spirits, forms of flaming fire round about it ... wonderful spirits. And the chief dwelling on high, the glory of His kingdom, the innermost sanctuary ... And He consecrates the seven elevated holy places. And a voice of blessing (comes) from the chiefs of His innermost sanctuary ... And a glorious voice of blessing ... is heard by God (the ‘gods') and the foundations ... of blessing. And all the ornaments of the innermost sanctuary burst into wonderful prayers in the innermost sanctuary ... of wonder, one innermost sanctuary to another, by the voice of holy crowds, and all their ornaments ... And the chariots of His innermost sanctuary will utter praises together and their cherubim and wheels will bless wonderfully the chiefs of the ‘godly' figure and will bless Him in the holy innermost sanctuary.
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For the Master. Song of the holocaust for the eighth Sabbath on the tw[enty]-third [of the second month].

[Praise the God of all the highest heights, all the holy ones for ever] and ever,

they who are second among the priests of the inner Temple, the second council in the wonderful dwelling, with seven words of ... eternally.

Extol Him, O sovereign Princes, in his marvellous portion, praise [the God of gods, O you seven priesthoods of His inner Temple].

... height, the seven wonderful domains by the precept concerning His sanctuaries.

The sovereign Princes of the [wonderful] priest[hood] ... the seven priest[hoods] in the wonderful sanctuary for seven councils of holiness ... the Prince, the angels of the King in the wonderful dwellings. The knowledge of their understanding is for seven ... Prince from the priest of the inner Temple. The Princes of the congregation of the King in the assembly of ... and praises of exaltation to the King of glory and a tower of ... for the God of gods, the King of purity. The offering of their tongues ... the seven mysteries of knowledge in the wonderful mystery of the seven domains [of] the Ho[ly of holies] ... [The tongue of the first shall be seven times stronger than the tongue of the second; the tongue of the second shall be] seven times [stronger] than that of the third; [the to]ngue of the thi[rd shall be] seven tim[es] stronger [than that of the fourth; the tongue of the fourth shall be seven times stronger than the tongue of the fifth; the tongue of the fifth shall be seven times stronger than the tongue of] the sixth; the tongu[e of the sixth shall be seven times stronger than the] t[ongue of the seventh]; the tongue of the seventh shall be [seven times] stronger [than the tongue of the eighth] ...

... tongue of blessing from the likeness [of the gods] issues a [v]oice of blessing for the King of those who exalt, and their wonderful praise is for the God of gods ... their many-coloured ... and they sing ... the vestibules by which they enter, the spirits of the most holy inner Temple ... [And the likene]ss of the living ‘gods' is engraved on the vestibules by which the King enters, luminous spiritual figures ... [K]ing, figures of a glorious l[ight, wonderful] spirits; [amo]ng the spirits of splendour there are works of (art of) marvellous colours, figures of the living ‘gods' ... [in the] glorious innermost Temple chambers, the structure of [the most ho]ly [sanctuary] in the innermost chambers of the King, design[s of ‘go] ds' ... likeness of ... most holy ... [the Temple] chambers of the Ki[ng] ... figur[es of the ‘g]o[ds' and from] the likeness ... of the Holy of Holies ...

The figures of the ‘gods' shall praise Him, [the most] h[oly] spirits ... of glory; the floor of the marvellous innermost chambers, the spirits of the eternal gods, all ... fi[gures of the innermost] chamber of the King, the spiritual works of the marvellous firmament are purified with salt, [spi]rits of knowledge, truth [and] righteousness in the holy of [hollies, [f]orms of the living ‘gods', forms of the illuminating spirits. All their [works (of art)] are marvellously linked, many-coloured [spirits], artistic figures of the ‘gods', engraved all around their glorious bricks, glorious figures on b[ri]cks of splendour and majes[ty]. All their works (of art) are living ‘gods', and their artistic figures are holy angels. From beneath the marvellous inner[most chambers] comes a sound of quiet silence: the ‘gods' bless ... the King ...

... His glorious chariots. When they go ... they do not turn aside ... but advance straight ...

For the Mas[ter. Song of the holocaust of] the twelfth [S]abbath [on the twenty-first of the third month.]

[Praise the God of... w]onder, and exalt Him ... of glory in the te[nt of the God of] knowledge. The [cheru]bim prostrate themselves before Him and bless. As they rise, a whispered divine voice [is heard], and there is a roar of praise. When they drop their wings, there is a [whispere] d divine voice. The cherubim bless the image of the throne-chariot above the firmament, [and] they praise [the majes]ty of the luminous firmament beneath His seat of glory. When the wheels advance, angels of holiness come and go. From between His glorious wheels, there is as it were a fiery vision of most holy spirits. About them, the appearance of rivulets of fire in the likeness of gleaming brass, and a work of ... radiance in many-coloured glory, marvellous pigments, clearly mingled. The spirits of the living ‘gods' move perpetually with the glory of the marvellous chariot(s). The whispered voice of blessing accompanies the roar of their advance, and they praise the Holy One on their way of return. When they ascend, they ascend marvellously and when they settle, they stand still. The sound of joyful praise is silenced and there is a whispered blessing of the ‘gods' in all the camps of God. And the sound of praise ... from among all their divisions ... and all their numbered ones praise, each in his turn.

... his whole-offering. The ‘gods' praise Him [when they take] up their station, and all the s[pirits of] the clear firm[am]ent rejoice in His glory. A sound of blessing (is heard) from all His divisions speaking of the firmaments of His glory, and His gates praise with a resounding voice. When the gods of knowledge enter by the doors of glory, and when the holy angels depart towards their realm, the entrance doors and the gates of exit proclaim the glory of the King, blessing and praising all the spirits of God when they depart and enter by the gates. None among them skips over a precept, nor do they ... against the saying of the King ... They run not away from the path, nor slip away from His domain. They are neither too high for His commission nor too lowly. For He shall be compassionate in the realm of His furious, destr[oying ange]r; He will not judge in the provinces of His glorious wrath. The fear of the King of ‘gods' is awe-inspiring to [al]l the ‘gods', [and they undertake] all His commissions by virtue of His true order, and they go ...

... At their marvellous stations are spirits, many-coloured like the work of a weaver, splendid engraved figures. In the midst of a glorious appearance of scarlet, colours of the most holy spiritual light, they hold to their holy station before [the K]ing, spirits of [pure] colours in the midst of an appearance of whiteness. The likeness of the glorious spirit is like a work (of art) of sparkling fine gold. All their pattern is clearly mingled like the work (of art) of a weaver. These are the Princes of those marvellously clothed for service, the Princes of the kingdom, the kingdom of the holy ones of the King of holiness in all the heights of the sanctuaries of His glorious kingdom. The Princes in charge of offerings have tongues of knowledge, [and] they bless the God of knowledge among all His glorious works ...

... their [mar]vellous marvels by the power of the God of [eter]nity; and they shall exalt the mighty deeds of the G[od] ... From the four foundations of the marvellous firmament they shall pr[oclaim] soundlessly (?) a divine oracle ... wall. They bless and praise the God of gods ...

(4Q
448
)

Written in a very difficult semi-cursive script, this text has been brilliantly deciphered by Ada Yardeni and edited by Esther and Hanan Eshel.

The top part of the fragment, or column A, preserving the first two or three words of ten lines, is an unknown Halleluiah psalm. However, the last three lines have been identified by E. Eshel, as well as by M. Kister, as belonging to the last verses of Psalm 154, included in the Psalms Scroll from 11Q, and partly reconstructed from the Syriac (cf. J. A. Sanders,
DJD
, IV, col. XVIII, lines 14-16), and ending with an allusion to God's presence in Zion-Jerusalem (cf. p. 307).

Column B, with its nine lines, is complete. It opens with a reference to the ‘Holy City', associated with ‘King' Jonathan, but the main theme appears to be a blessing of God's kingdom and name on behalf of the entire people of Israel. Note that Column A also ends with a mention of Zion-Jerusalem.

Column C, with the second half of each of its nine lines missing, also mentions Israel, together with God's name and kingdom, as well as what seems to be ‘the day of war'. The editors believe that they can read ‘Jonathan' in line 8, but this is far from certain.

4Q448 is a unique and significant Qumran text of historical importance. The editors assume that King Jonathan is Alexander Jannaeus or Yannai, i.e. a Hasmonaean ruler who, as a general rule, is presumed by scholars to have been hostile to the Qumran Community. They conjecture, therefore, that 4Q448 is not a sectarian composition. I prefer, by contrast, to identify ‘King' Jonathan as Jonathan Maccabaeus at the start of his political-military career, when he was celebrated as the liberator of the Jews and of Jerusalem, and link this text to the statement of the Habakkuk Commentary in VIII, 8-9, concerning the good behaviour ‘when he first arose' of the ruler who was to become the Wicked Priest. The identification of ‘King Jonathan' with Jonathan Maccabaeus proposed by me is shared also by E. Puech. The name ‘Jonathan' appears without context on a badly damaged fragment designated 4Q523; see E. Puech,
DJD
, XXV, 75-83. The script is dated to 150-125 BCE, which would suggest that the person in question is the Maccabee brother rather than Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BCE).