by Geza Vermes
4Q287 fr. 3
... and they shall bless Thy holy name with benedictions of... the Holy of Holies. And all the creatures of flesh [shall bl]ess Thee, all of them that Thou has crea[ted] ... the beasts and the birds and the worms and the fish of the sea and all ... Thou hast created them all renewing ...
Fr. 10
... against the anointed ones of [His] hol[y] spirit ...
4Q286 (4Q287, fr. 6)=4QBerakhotb
Curses of Belial
Fr. 7 ii
II council of the Community shall all say together, Amen, amen. Afterwards [they] shall damn Belial and all his guilty lot. They shall answer and say, Cursed be [B]elial in his hostile design, and damned in his guilty dominion. Cursed be all the spirits of his [lo]t in their wicked design, and damned in their thoughts of unclean impurity. For they are the lot of darkness and their visitation is for eternal destruction. Amen, amen.
Cursed be the Wicke[d One in all the ages ] of his dominions, and may all the sons of Belial be damned in all the works of their service until their annihilation [for ever, Amen, amen.]
And [they shall continue to say: Be cursed, Ang]el of Perdition and Spir[it of Dest]ruction, in all the thoughts of your g[uilty] inclination [and all your abomina]ble [plots] and [your] wicked design, [and] may you be [da]mned ... Amen, am[en].
[Cursed be a]ll those who practi[se] their [wicked designs] and establish [in their heart] their (evil) devices, [plotting against Go]d’[s Covenant] ... to exchange the judgemen[ts of truth for folly.]
4Q280=4QBenedictionsf
Curses of Melkiresha’
Fr. 2
[May God set him apart] for evil from the midst of the Sons of Li[ght because he has turned away from following Him.
And they shall continue saying: Be cur]sed, Melkiresha‘, in all the thou[ghts of your guilty inclination. May] God [deliver you up] for torture at the hands of the vengeful Avengers. May God not heed [when] you call on Him. [May He raise His angry face] towards you. May there be no (greeting of) ‘Peace’ for you in the mouth of all those who hold fast to the Father[s. May you be cursed] with no remnant, and damned without escape.
Cursed be those who practi[se their wicked designs] and [es]tablish in their heart your (evil) devices, plotting against the Covenant of God ... , seers of [His] truth.
[Who]ever refuses to enter [His Covenant, walking in the stubbornness of his heart] ...
Confession Ritual
(4Q393)
Fragmentary remains of a communal confession of sins, spoken in the first person plural, recall the language of Psalm li, Jeremiah and Deuteronomy, and resemble confession prayers in Ezra ix, 5-15; Daniel ix, 4-19; 1QS 1, 24-11, 1. In the latter text, the parallel confession is part of the ceremony of the renewal of the Covenant. The script is dated to mid-first century BCE.
For the editio princeps, see Daniel Falk, DJD, XXIX, 45-61.
I ... in order that Thou be justified by Thy wor[ds] ... we were poured out through our iniquities ... they [stiff]ened the neck. Our God, hide Thy face from [our] si[ns and] blot out [al]l our iniquities and create in us a new spirit, O Lord.... [do not] withhold faithfulness and to rebels ... and bring back sinners to Thee. And [do not] reject from Thee the broken [spir]it, O God. According to Thy people in order to ... and always on ... nations and kingdoms ... their word[s] ... to Thy peoples in order to ...
II ... the faithful God who keep [the] covenant and loving-kindness to those who love [Thee and who keep Thy commandments which Thou didst command] to Moses. Do not forsake Thy people [and] Thine [in]heritance. And let no man walk in the stubbornness of his [evil] heart. O God, in Thy goodwill ... Thy people and Thine inheritance shall not be forsa[k]en and let no man walk in the stubbornness of his evil heart. And where is Strength? And on whom shalt Thou cause Thy face to shine without his being purified? And they shall be sanctified and exalted above everything. It is Thou O Lord who hast chosen our fathers from of old. Thou hast caused us to stand for them as a remnant to give us (the covenant) which Thou hast established with Abraham for Israel that they might possess the proud ... mighty men, the hosts of those who are powerful, giving us houses filled with ... water, vineyards and olive trees [and] an inheritance of the people ...
Purification Ritual A
(4Q 512)
Badly worn papyrus fragments from Cave 4 (4Q512) contain prayers: to be recited to obtain purification from various kinds of ritual uncleanness. M. Baillet (DJD, VII, 263-86) suggests an early first-century BCE date for the script.
Frs. 29-32
VII And he will bless there [the God of Israel. Answering, he will say: Blessed art Thou, God of Israel. And I stand] before Thee on the feas[t] ... Thou hast ... me for purity ... and his burnt-offering and he will bless. Answering he will say: Blessed art Thou, [God of Israel, who hast delivered me from al]l my sins and purified me from impure indecency and hast atoned so that I come ... purification and the blood of the burnt-offering of Thy goodwill and the pleasing memorial ...
Fr.II
X [And on completin]g [his] seven days of puri[fication] ... and he shall wash his clothes with w[ater and cleanse his body] and he shall put on his garments and shall bless ag[ain] ... the God of Isra[e]l ...
Purification Ritual B
(4Q 4]14)
Thirty-six badly damaged fragments, written on the verso of 4Q415, represent a purificatory ritual and prayers. The script dates to the turn of the era. Some lines are parallel to 4Q512, frs. 42-44 ii, 2—5.
For the editio princeps, see E. Eshel, DJD, XXXV, 135-54.
Fr. 2 ii 3-4
... and thou shalt purify us according [to] Thy precepts of holiness for the first, the third and the seventh ... by the truth of Thy covenant ... to be purified from the impurity of ... And then he shall enter the water ... Answering, he shall say, ‘Blessed a[rt Thou, God of Israel] for from the utterance of Thy mouth is declared the purity of all: to be separated from all the guilty men of uncleanness who cannot be purified by the purifying water ....
A Liturgical Work
(4Q 392-3)
This is a religious text, possibly liturgical, but strongly reminiscent of the language of the Thanksgiving Hymns. For the editio princeps, see D. Falk, DJD, XXIX, 23-44.
Fr. 1
... each to be united with [G]od and not to depart from a[ll] ... and their soul will cling to His Covenant and ... the words of the mouth of ... The Go[d] ... the heaven above and to search out the ways of the sons of man (leaving) no secret [in their heart(?)]. He created darkness [and l]ight is His, and in His dwelling is the most perfect light, and all gloominess ceases before Him. It is not for Himself the distinction between light and darkness, for He has distinguished them for the sons of man: light during the day by means of the sun; (and during the) night (by means of) moon and stars. The inscrutable light is with Him, and His knowledge is without [end, f]or all the works of God are multiple (?). We who are flesh, should we not consider this? With us ... for countless signs and wonders ... [wi]nds and lightnings ... [s]ervants of the most holy pla[ce]. From before Him proceed the lu[minaries] ...
Frs. 2 and 5 (4Q393 1 i)
... [they did not lis]ten to the signs and wonders ... plagues [which no kingdom has seen] until this day and ... He has brought us out [of the land of Egypt] without being counted. In the mighty waters he made a path ... the great [abyss] [and He made] him [sin]k like stone in the deep ...
D. Historical and Apocalyptic Works
‘Conquest of Egypt and Jerusalem or Acts of a Greek King’, Israel Antiquities Authority
Apocalyptic Chronology or Apocryphal Weeks
(4Q 247)
A fragment consisting of seven mutilated lines, and palaeographically dated to the last decades of the first century BCE, appears to belong to an apocalyptic account of world history, divided into weeks of years and possibly centred on the Temple of Jerusalem. Despite the lack of continuous narration, the significant details justify the inclusion of this text in the volume.
For th
e editio princeps, see M. Broshi, DJD, XXXVI, 187-91.
... [de]termined [end] ... [And afterwards will co]me the fif[th] week ... four-hundred [and eighty years (after the exodus from Egypt)] Solo[mon] (built the Temple; cf. 1 Kings vi, 1) ... (It was destroyed in the time) [of Zede]kiah king of Judah ...
(It was restored by) the Levites and the people of the Lan[d] ... (Final stage) ... kin[g] of the Kittim ...
Historical Text A
(4Q248)
The story told in this ten-line fragment, which contains only broken lines, resembles the account of Daniel xi concerning the ‘King of the North’ (Antiochus IV Epiphanes) who invades Egypt and ill-treats Jerusalem.
For the editio princeps, see M. Broshi and E. Eshel, DJD, XXXVI, 192-200.
... in Egypt and Greece and ... Therefore they shall eat ... their [s]ons and their daughters in a siege in ...
And (the Lord) shall cause [His] wind to pass [through] their court-yards and ... he shall come to Egypt and sell her dust and ... to the city of the Temple and shall capture her with all [her ... ] And he shall turn against the lands of the nations and shall return to Egyp[t] ... [And when the shattering of the power of the ho[ly] people [comes to an end] ... When all these [come into being] the children [of Israel] shall return ...
Historical Texts C-E (formerly Mishmarot Ca-c)
4Q331-3)
Three very badly mutilated calendric documents include references to Jewish and Roman historical personalities (Shelamzion/Salome Alexandra, wife of Alexander Jannaeus; Hyrcanus II, her son; Yohanan the high priest, probably John Hyrcanus I; the Kittim (Romans) and Aemilius (no doubt M. Aemilius Scaurus, governor of Syria). They all lived in the late second or the first half of the first century BCE. The compositions recall the early rabbinic historical calendar known as Megillat Taanit (see HJP, 114-5).
For the editio princeps, see J. A. Fitzmyer, DJD, XXXVI, 281-9.
Text C(4Q331)
Fr. 1 i
[the] priest ... Johanan to bring to ...
Fr. 1 ii
... Shelamzion ...
Text D (4Q332)
Fr. 2
... [to] give him honour among the Arab[s] ... [on the n]inth of Shebat—that is ... which is the twentieth (day) of the month ... Shelamzion came ... to oppose ... Hyrcanus rebelled ... to oppose ...
Fr. 3
... [of the Kit]tim killed ... [on the] fifth [day] in (the week of) Jedaiah - this is ...
Text E (4Q333)
Fr. 1
... [in (the week of) Je]hezekel which is ... Aemilius killed ... [in] the seventh [mon]th ... (the week of) Gamul ... Aemilius killed ...
Historical Text F
(4Q468e)
A tiny fragment is the only surviving part of a historical document containing the unusual name of Pwtl‘ys. The editor, M. Broshi, reads it as Ptollas, a Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Putiel, and probably identical with a companion of Herod’s son Archelaus, who accompanied him to Rome in 4 BCE. The journey was preceded by civil riots in Jerusalem which were suppressed by the army, killing three thousand people (cf. Josephus, Ant. xvii, 213-18; War ii, 8-14)’ Two other scholars, D. R. Schwartz and W. Horbury (see JJS 50, 308-11), suggest a reading of Peitholaus, a pro-Roman Jew associated with the massacre of many of his compatriots in mid-first century BCE (cf. Ant. xiv, 84-5; War, i, 162-3).
For the editio princeps, see M. Broshi, DJD, XXXVI, 407-11.
[to k]ill the multitude of men ... Potlaus/Potlays. And the persons that
The Triumph of Righteousness or Mysteries
(1Q27, 4Q299-3011)
Originally entitled The Book of Mysteries by J. T. Milik (DJD, I, 102-5), these fragments expound the familiar theme of the struggle between good and evil, but their nature is difficult to determine. Perhaps they derive from a sermon, or from an apocalyptical writing. Three further manuscripts (4Q299-301) yield badly damaged fragments belonging to the same writing. 4Q300 3 and 4Q299 partly overlap with 1Q27. An earlier passage may be reconstructed from 4Q300 and 4Q299.
For the editio princeps, see L. H. Schiffman, DJD, XX, 31-123.
1Q27 combined with 4Q300, fr. 3 and 4Q299, fr. 1
I ... all {so that they might know the difference between g[ood and evil] ...} (4Q300) the mysteries of sin ... {all their wisdom} (4Q300).
They know not the mystery to come, nor do they understand the things of the past. They know not that which shall befall them, nor do they save their soul from the mystery to come.
And this shall be the sign for you that these things shall come to pass.
When the breed of iniquity is shut up, wickedness shall then be banished by righteousness as darkness is banished by the light. As smoke clears and is no more, so shall wickedness perish for ever and righteousness be revealed like a sun governing the world. All who cleave to the mysteries of sin shall be no more; knowledge shall fill the world and folly shall exist no longer.
This word shall surely come to pass; this prophecy is true. And by this may it be known to you that it shall not be taken back.
Do not all the peoples loathe iniquity? And yet it is spread by them all. Does not the fame of truth issue from the mouth of all the nations? Yet is there a lip or tongue which holds to it? Which nation likes to be oppressed by another stronger than itself, or likes its wealth to be wickedly seized? And yet which nation has not oppressed another, and where is there a people which has not seized [another]’s wealth? ...
4Q299, fr. 3a 4-6 (4Q300 5)
... And what shall man be called ... wise and righteous, for man has no ... , nor concealed wisdom save the wisdom of wicked cunning and the de[sign of] ... a deed that shall not be done again except ... the word of his Maker. And what shall a m[an] do ... who rebels against the word of his Maker, his name shall be expunged from the mouth of all ... Listen, you who hold up [truth (?)] ... eternity and the plans of existence and the thou[ghts] ... every mystery and establishes every plan. He is the author of all [that is to come.] He is from before eternity. ‘He’ is His name and for e[ver] ...
4Q300 1a-b ii 4=4Q299 2 i 14
... [the sorc]erers, experts in sin, have uttered the parable and proclaimed the riddle in advance. And then you will know if you have considered ... and the attestations of heave[n] ... your foolishness for the [s]eal of the vision is sealed away from you. And you have not considered the mysteries of eternity and have not comprehended understanding. Th[en] you will say ... for you have not considered the root of wisdom. And if you open the vision, it will remain shut from you ... all your wisdom for the ... is for you ... his name for [wh]at is the hidden wisdom ...
4Q301
Fr.1
I will cause my spirit to flow and I will divide my words for you according to your kinds ... [a p]arable and a riddle. And those who search for the roots of understanding together with those who hold unto the [wonderful] my[steries] ... those who are silly, and the scheming men for all the acomplishments of their actions ...
Time of Righteousness
(4Q 215a)
Previously classified as part of the Testament of Naphtali (4Q215), the four fragments of 4Q215a, of which only one is translatable, belong to a work of poetic eschatology. The subject is the end of wickedness and the portrayal of final blessedness.
For the editio princeps, see E. Chazon and M. Stone, DJD, XXXVI, 172-86.
Fr. 1 ii
... and the stressful constraint and the ordeal of the pit and they shall be refined by them to become the elect of righteousness, and all their wickedness will be blotted out (?) because of His loving-kindness. For the age of wickedness is complete and all injustice has [passed] away. [For] the time of righteousness has come and the earth is full with knowledge and the praise of God. In the day[s of] ... has come the age of peace and the precepts of truth and the testimony of righteousness to make one understand the ways of God and the might of His deeds for ever and ever. Every ... shall bless Him and every man shall prostrate himself before Him. [And they shall have] one [he]art. For He knows th
eir recompense before they were created and had assigned the service of righteousness as their boundaries ... in their generations. For the dominion of righteousness/of goodness has come and He shall raise up the throne of the [kingdom], and intelligence is greatly exalted; prudence and soundness are tried by [His] h[o]ly desi[gn] ...
